Free The Weight of the World by Amy Leigh Strickland

by his collar when his
expression faltered.
    “ Uh,
are there bears in this area?”
    “ In
a suburb?” Diana asked. She looked behind her. It didn't make much
difference if there were supposed to be bears in a densely populated
area. They were here. Fifty yards behind Diana, two bears, one very
large and one just a cub, stood on their hind legs, watching the
couple. “Walk very slowly backwards,” she told Ryan. They weren't
very far from her house.
    “ Alright,
my son,” Diana understood from the larger bear, “The tall one is
slower on his feet, but don't underestimate him.”
    “ Yes,
mama. Can I eat him?”
    “ Of
course,” the mother bear said, sounding all too pleased. “Divide
and conquer, my little one. Happy hunting.”
    “ Run!”
Diana shouted. She didn't worry too much about Ryan keeping up. He
was no Lewis Mercer, but he was on the varsity track team for a
reason. They sprinted up the grass, the bears running after them.
Diana vaulted over her mother's herb garden and ran up the short
steps to the back porch.
    She
could distinctly hear the padding of bear feet, four large, four
larger, and Ryan's gym shoes as he clamored up the steps behind her.
She grabbed the handle of the screen door. Diana was relieved to find
the back door unlocked. She threw it open, jumped inside, and slammed
it behind Ryan.
    She
flipped the lock, even though bears couldn't normally work doorknobs.
Diana heard the beasts on the porch. She heard their breath as they
sniffed the trail the two teenagers left. Their claws scratched at
the wooden doorframe. She heard the doorknob jiggle.
    Diana
was overwhelmed by the smell of Ryan's sweat mixed with his cologne,
and she could hear his heart beat like a nearby drum. Diana turned to
look at him, confused. The scent of his cologne, the Chinese food she
had dropped on her jeans, the potpourri in a basket on the coffee
table... the smells were getting stronger. So were the sounds. The
ice-maker kicked on and the resulting noise was thunderous. The
lights in the room seemed to get brighter. The smells were so strong
now that Diana thought she might throw up.
    Astin
entered the room. He stood at the end of the hall, his eyes darting
from Diana to Ryan. “What's going on in here?” His voice sounded
sharp and deafeningly loud to Diana.
    “ Are
you okay?” Ryan asked. He put his hand on her shoulder and Diana
went down. The overload of sensation became too much for her. Diana
blacked out.

“ Pure
women are only those who have not been asked.”
    -Ovid

    viii.

    After
her union with the god, Poseidon,
    Alope
soon delivered a healthy son.
    She
hid him from her father because he was
    illegitimate.

    The
newborn was left to die of exposure
    but
was found by shepherds who argued over
    the
fine cloths that the abandoned infant wore.
    They
were royal dress.

    To
settle their dispute, they brought him before
    King
Cercyon, who was Alope's father.
    The
King recognized the child's royal garments
    as
his own textiles.

    Enraged
he ordered Alope put to death.
    He
sent the child to be abandoned again.
    Once
more, Poseidon's son was found by sheperds
    and
called Hippothoon.

“ A
horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and
outpace. ”
    -Ovid

    VIII.

    Nick
Morrisey let his phone ring as he drove. It played “I Hate You”
by Field Mob. He had heard it playing three times already since he'd
left home. Nick didn't have a particular problem with talking while
driving. He had a problem talking to who that custom ringtone
belonged to: Zach Jacobs.
    “ What?”
he snapped as he finally answered the phone.
    “ Finally.
Have you had your phone on?”
    “ What's
it to you?” Nick didn't think it was any of Zach's business. He was
growing impatient with taking orders from their fearless leader. He
was no better than the rest of them.
    “ Never
mind,” Zach said. “Diana's in the hospital.”
    “ Again?”
    “ Well,
this time we think her powers went haywire.”
    “