The Unfolding

By Maddie Roy

Alex Olympia is more than she looks, a lot more in fact. The result of foster care and adoption she takes nothing for granted. When she finds her long lost parents, all twelve of them, her world changes forever. The Science Child has returned to Olympus, but as far as she knows she has never been there before. She has a past, one she can't remember. Visions swirl in her head and fill her dreams. Something is happening and she has to find out what before the world finds itself in a war that it has never seen the likes of before. Nothing will ever be the same again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496910875

Maddie Roy

Maddie Roy is a small town author from Indiana. She started her career with a fan base that consisted of friends and members of her community. With a hunger to tell the world stories that her characters bring her, she is out facing the unknown and putting her adventures into words and then writing.

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© 2014 Maddie Roy . All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/05/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-1088-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-1087-5 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Glimpse At Godly Roses

DEDICATION

To my friends who never questioned worlds made from dreams and the voices that begged to have their stories told, it’s been fun.

INTRODUCTION

The Unfolding, which started out as a what if question my freshman year in high school, has turned into a whole new world. When it appeared that the new fad after teenage vampire romances was going to be the reinvention of Greek myths I latched onto it.

The story—originally called The Gods’ Revenge—was intriguing to me but it wasn’t turning out how I had hoped. I continued to write until I had a dream one night. I was Alex Olympia and I was walking the streets of Olympus during Olympia Carnival Day. I visited strange places, much like the spaceships from Star Trek to be honest, until I fell through a hole in the ground on a side street. I entered Hypnos’ underground lair. He told me I could have a nap there if I wanted and maybe I’d remember who I was when I awoke. Weird as it was I loved it and I was intrigued. From the moment I woke the story was changed.

I continued writing both versions of the story, one where Alex knew who she was and had been kidnapped as a child and one where she didn’t know who she was, with the idea that my friends would decide which version was superior. For a couple of weeks I went with this, but I quickly lost interest in the original and so The Unfolding was the winner. Alex is my true masterpiece out of it all and she is my favorite character out of all of my stories so far. She is loyal, honorable, and kind. She is the perfect sort of hero and I hope that I’m not the only one who thinks so. This is Alex’s story come Hell or high water and this is The Unfolding.

CHAPTER ONE

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the last time you will ever have to listen to an old fart like me try to teach you about mitosis and meiosis, Mr. Kent’s voice sank into my barrier, At least so it should be unless you plan to go to college and learn about it again. God help those of you who do.

Snickers raced through the classroom and woke me with a start. I silently cursed. It always ends, always. This time, the dream seemed more urgent. It almost appeared to be… new. The room wasn’t torch-lit as it usually was, the thrones seemed newly chiseled, and the clothing was definitely not old. More than that, it didn’t feel like a dream, it felt like someone had found a way to put Skype in my head and they were warning me. There was something coming, but they couldn’t tell me what.

I felt a sudden stabbing pain in my diaphragm and I gasped without thinking about the fact that I was in a classroom full of people.

Is everything alright Miss Olympia, Mr. Kent asked and I wasn’t sure what to say but I knew it couldn’t be the truth.

Fine, I’m fine.

You’re sure?

Definitely.

With that he went back to the class and I escaped into my thoughts. It had been a while since I had felt that pain, maybe even a year had gone by since the last time, but I was familiar to it and it always took me off guard. It was as if someone invisible were stabbing me with a knife, but I knew I was only imagining things.

When the bell finally rang and I was in my car, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go home just yet. I needed some time to clear my head and think about what I’d seen. I quickly made up my mind and called Leslie.

Hey, would it be alright if I go for a jog before I come home, I asked.

If you exercise any more you’re going to be a toothpick, she replied calmly and I could almost hear her cooking.

You’re one to talk. Okay, how about I walk?

Do you have money? Is your phone well charged?

I always have money, you stuff my pockets when I’m asleep, I laughed and she laughed too, And I charge my phone every night.

Alright, but don’t be out too late Alex. Tomorrow is your birthday, Christmas is in a few days, and you just graduated a semester early; we have a lot to celebrate.

I’ll try to be home at six, but definitely seven tops.

Alright, have fun.

I tucked my phone in my pocket with my wallet, cranked up the heater, and took off to my favorite part of the city. In my twenty minute drive my mind was a constant blur of images and speech. A man named Zeus was prepping for a major war and his son, Jason, was telling me to find my way home. I knew all about Greece and its gods, but I didn’t understand why I kept dreaming about them; more than that I felt as if I should know them, especially Jason. I’d never dreamed about him before, never even seen his face before, but I felt like I should know him.

When I reached the outskirts of town I parked the car and began my walk down No Man’s Land. I’m the only one that comes here, the only soldier walking between the two fronts where bullets and cannonballs fly, so I wouldn’t have to worry about someone chasing me down or interrupting my thought process. I didn’t have to feel singled out or feel like the world was out to get me. This was the only place that I didn’t feel that way. I was always watching my back and always curious why. In reality it was just a road leading through the woods, but it was my sanctuary.

The air was nippy and snow was starting to fall, but I kept walking. Winter is my favorite season next to fall. Even though everything is barren and dead, it reminds you that even when it feels like there’s no hope spring is always around the corner waiting to give the world a rebirth. What I love most is seeing the evergreens covered in snow, but still growing strong. They stand for the people who are the light unto the darker souls of the times; at least that’s how I looked at them.

I didn’t know how long I had been walking, but the air was becoming hard to breathe through the cold and the sun was all but forgotten. I was almost ready to turn around and head back for the car when I stopped. I felt a tingly sort of burning on the back of my head, like how you feel when your brain tries to tell you that someone is watching. I slowly turned to the right, my breath coming out in a white cloud. I couldn’t see anyone, but I couldn’t shake the feeling. I took one step closer and squinted into the night and the dark wall of trees. Several seconds passed by before I heard a loud hoot and the dark shape of an owl took off above me, giving me heart failure. I stood in the dark, letting my body reach normal levels again. I felt silly, but I didn’t feel as if I were being followed any more.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and pushed a button to check the time and I cursed. It was already seven o’clock. Leslie was going to kill me. I zipped my phone back in my pocket and ran back to the car that I had walked at least three miles from, if not more.

Out of breath I locked the doors, turned on the heater, and called Leslie.

You’re late Alexandria, she answered and I took a deep breath.

I lost track of time. I’ll be home in fifteen minutes if I drive the speed limit.

Yes, please. I’ll see you in a bit.

With that we hung up and I started my drive home.

Todd and Leslie, my adoptive parents, had to be the most easy-going people alive even when they set rules. Leslie, the more organized and controlling of the two had red hair and green eyes and looked like a thirty-five year-old Irish woman. Todd had tousled auburn hair and blue eyes. They were opposites and the same and they fit well together. Out of the seven adoptions I’d gone through, they were my favorite. They liked to keep themselves busy, they were into pretty cool things, and they never backed away from a challenge no matter what the cost.

I pulled into the drive in time to notice the new additions to the house; twinkle-lights on every bit of the gutters. I began to laugh thinking of what I was in for when I walked through that door. Inside there were boxes everywhere with various Christmas labels. After I called down the hall to tell them I was home, I tossed my bag into my room and followed the smell of fresh cookies and hot chocolate.

The kitchen was a mess of ingredients, but I didn’t care, I