Paxton - Chapter 17

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

It vibrated against the counter for what felt like the fiftieth time that hour, and I swore it was starting to rattle loose one of my fillings. I gritted my teeth, plastered on my customer service smile, and handed over a plastic bag filled with bait, a couple of collapsible rods, and a wide-brimmed fishing hat to a sunburnt tourist who looked like he'd never baited a hook in his life.

"Have a good one," I said, voice flat. He gave me a thumbs up like we were lifelong mates and walked off humming some country tune.

The bell on the shop door jingled as he left, and I let out a groan loud enough that Mira turned her head from where she and Hayden were sharing a paper bag of greasy hot chips behind the side counter.

"For some cursed reason," I muttered, leaning my elbows on the counter, "everyone and their dog thinks March is the perfect month to go fishing. It's humid, it smells like old bait, and I haven't sat down since ten."

Mira tossed a chip in the air and caught it with a grin. "Might have something to do with the weather report. Good swell, decent winds. Ideal for snapper, apparently."

"Ugh. I hate snapper season," I grumbled, just as my phone buzzed again. I didn't even bother checking it this time; I already knew who it would be. Same three notifications for the last ten minutes.

Zach. Zach. And yep, Zach again.

"Mira, babe," I said, turning and holding out my phone. "Please check who's blowing up my phone before I toss it into the bait freezer."

She rolled her eyes fondly, taking it from my hand. "Sure-"

"'Babe, could you do this?' 'Babe, could you check that?'" Hayden mimicked in a sing-song voice, biting into another chip. "God, you two are like a Netflix couple in season one. All cute and clingy. Disgusting."

"Hayden," I said, deadpan, "your flirting technique needs serious work."

He snorted.

Mira scrolled, then blinked. "Zach says he needs to meet up. Urgent stuff. Something about… hooves?"

"Great," I muttered, rubbing my face with both hands.

The front door chimed again before I could even consider texting back. I turned, and there they were. Zach and Lena, standing just inside the shop, looking sweaty, windblown, and way too serious for a Thursday afternoon.

Zach lifted a hand in a sort of awkward wave. Lena was already scanning the room like she was expecting a monster to jump out of the icebox.

I pointed around the shop with both hands. "Dude. I am working right now. See the rods? The customers? The literal job I'm doing?"

Zach ignored the sarcasm. "Yeah, cool, but you need to come with us. Like now."

Lena crossed her arms. "We'll explain everything, I promise. But you're going to want to hear this."

I looked at Mira, who was already nudging me toward the breakroom with a smile like she'd been expecting this all day.

"Go," she said. "I'll cover."

Hayden popped another chip in his mouth before he got up. "Alright, I wanna hear this too."

I stared between my girlfriend, my friend, and whatever-this-was supposed to be... then sighed.

"Fine. But if my dad shows up, I'm blaming all of you."

And with that, I yanked off my apron, shoved it under the counter, and followed Zach and Lena out into whatever chaos they were dragging me into.

~~~

We crammed ourselves into the cramped break room behind the counter, the air smelling faintly of salt, grease, and lemon cleaning spray. The flickering overhead light buzzed annoyingly, but no one seemed to notice.

Hayden and I took the far side of the small metal table, facing Lena and Zach, who both looked like they'd just sprinted across town and had something explosive to say but didn't quite know how to say it.

I leaned back in my chair, arms folded on the table, trying not to sound too annoyed. "So. What was sooooo urgent that you had to drag me out of work during peak bait-buying hour?" I raised an eyebrow. "This better not be about you two getting back together."

Zach scratched the back of his neck and glanced at Lena like she might have a better explanation. She didn't.

"Okay, so," Zach started, "you remember how I told you I saw something weird with Mr. Quinn? Like… super weird?"

I groaned. "You mean the 'he has hooves' thing you texted me like six times in all caps?"

"Yes! That," Zach said, pointing a finger at me like he'd just won a game show.

But before he could go any further, Lena threw her hands up. "Oh my god, okay-Paxton, long story short: we're pretty sure Mr. Quinn is a satyr. Like, legit. Hooves, horns, cryptic riddles, the whole mythical deal. And apparently, we're not just normal kids." She gestured between herself and Zach. "We're from… somewhere else. A different life. That's what we're calling it for now."

I blinked at her, slowly. "Are you high?"

Hayden snorted behind me, but I noticed his thumbs stopped moving over his phone screen. He looked up, eyes narrowed.

"A satyr, you say?" he repeated slowly, tilting his head. "Like… from mythology? Pan, Dionysus, fauns, goat legs, that kind of satyr?"

"Yeah," Zach said, nodding quickly. "Except not just in stories. Like, real. He cornered us in an old shed on the footy oval, showed us this hidden mural with glowing symbols and everything. Said some stuff about Titans and memories and… well…" He trailed off.

Lena sighed, rubbing her temples. "And he called me Hera."

That made Hayden actually sit up. "Wait, like the Hera? Queen of the gods, Hera?"

She gave him a tired look. "That's the one."

"And me Zeus," Zach added with a shrug, like it was no big deal.

I stared between the two of them, trying to process what the hell I was hearing. "Okay, okay. Let me just, let me get this straight. Mr. Quinn has goat legs, called you both ancient god names, and now you're here telling me we're in some kind of... what?, Greek myth AU?"

Lena shrugged. "Not AU. Real life, apparently."

I shook my head, laughing without humour. "Mate, I don't know if you hit your head on something or if this is some weird roleplay thing you're both into, but-"

"Paxton," Hayden said, voice low and surprisingly serious, "what if they're right?"

I turned to him, frowning. "Seriously?"

"I've been seeing things," he said, shrugging, like he'd just admitted to skipping class. "Shadows. People in places they shouldn't be. Symbols I don't recognise, but somehow know." His voice dipped. "I thought it was just stress or… I don't know. My meds. But maybe it's not just me."

The room went quiet for a second, the hum of the fridge suddenly loud.

"Mr. Quinn said something," Lena said. "That there are more of us. Fourteen total. Reincarnated gods or whatever, born human this time. He said the Titans are waking up, and the veil, whatever the fuck that means, is breaking."

I leaned back, eyes locked on hers. "And you think I'm one of them?"

Zach nodded. "That's why we came. I don't know who you are yet, exactly, but you're not just a fishing shop kid with a sarcastic streak."

"I am a fishing shop kid with a sarcastic streak," I muttered. "But now I'm apparently a demigod too? Or a full god? What's the tier system here?"

"No clue," Zach said. "But I figured if we're in this together, you'd want to know."

I stared at them. At Hayden. At the half-eaten chips still on the counter. None of this made sense, but something in my gut… buzzed like the moment before a storm rolls in. Something was shifting.

I sighed, rubbed my hands over my face again, and groaned.

"Fine. But if this turns out to be some drama assignment or hidden camera show, I swear to the gods I'll kill you."

Lena cracked a tired smile. "Funny choice of words."

~~~

I sat at the edge of the dock, alone.

The sky had turned a bruised kind of purple, the last streaks of sun sinking behind the horizon as the night crept in. The wooden planks beneath me groaned softly with every shift of my weight. Far off, I could hear gulls and the occasional hum of a car on the road beyond the trees, but out here, it felt like the world had thinned. Gone quiet.

Zach's words echoed first.

Then Lena's.

And finally, Hayden's, low and careful, like he wasn't even sure he believed what he was saying.

What if they're right?

I stared down at the water. The surface rippled and danced with reflected starlight, calm and dark and endless. I lifted my vape to my lips, took a long drag, and let the smoke sit heavy in my lungs before breathing out into the cool air. For a moment, the nicotine wrapped itself around the mess in my brain, dulling it. Just a little.

But their voices wouldn't shut up. Not even in the silence.

I leaned forward on my elbows, gaze locked to the water. Everything around me had faded; the quiet chatter of people had long disappeared as the pier emptied out. The world felt paused. Waiting.

And that's when I saw her.

Or... it.

Movement in the water, just in the corner of my eye. I blinked and turned my head quickly.

There, floating just below the surface, was a girl. Or a woman. I couldn't tell which. Her body shimmered, translucent and glowing faintly like something half-remembered from a dream. Bioluminescent blues and greens shimmered along her outline, lighting up the water around her.

She looked… like Mira. Almost. But not. There was something off, something more ancient, something wrong in a way I couldn't place.

I jolted upright, heart racing, as I glanced around the dock.

No one else was here. No one to ask, "Hey, are you seeing this too?"

I looked back down.

She was still there.

And she was waving at me. Slowly. Like she was inviting me to join her.

I took a step back.

"What the f- AH!"

Before I could even react, something latched onto my ankle with icy force and yanked.

Hard.

My body slammed sideways into the water with a splash that swallowed the night.

Instant panic exploded through me.

I flailed as the cold wrapped around me like claws. My ears rang with the sudden pressure, the dock spinning away above me. I tried to swim, kick up, claw toward the light, but my foot snagged on something heavy and immovable. A rock? A root? I didn't care. I kicked harder, lungs burning, arms slicing wildly through the black water.

That's when I saw her again.

Drifting in front of me, undisturbed by the chaos I was causing. Her hair floated like ink through the water, her body still glowing with that eerie light. She hovered close now, so close I could make out her eyes.

And she was looking right at me.

Not angry. Not scared. Just… watching.

She exhaled. A long stream of bubbles drifted past me, curling upward like smoke. Then she raised a hand and pointed at me.

I stared at her, wild with fear, my chest tightening like it was about to cave in.

I tried again to wrench my foot free, panic clawing at my throat. My lungs screamed. The need to breathe overwhelmed everything. I didn't care if this was a dream, or a hallucination, or some cursed ghost-witch from hell. I just wanted out.

Then her hands touched my shoulders.

And suddenly, everything went quiet.

Her expression didn't change. She simply mimed a breath. Inhale. Then exhale. Calm. Deliberate.

My eyes widened in panic, but my body betrayed me. I gasped.

Water surged into my lungs.

But instead of choking… I felt it settle.

No pain. No pressure. No burning.

Just… breathe.

Like the ocean had wrapped itself around my ribs and whispered, You're mine now.

Bubbles streamed from my lips as I exhaled, stunned. I turned my head, and she was still there, closer than ever. But now… her face wasn't staying the same.

It shifted.

For a second, she was Mira.

Then my mum.

Then someone else... a face I didn't recognise, but felt like I should. Like an echo of a memory I'd buried a lifetime ago. Eyes that looked straight into me like they knew everything.

She let go of my shoulders and drifted downward, toward my trapped foot. With one smooth motion, she brushed her hand over the rock, whatsoever had me stuck, and it released instantly.

Then she turned.

And beckoned.

I floated there for a beat, suspended in stillness, blinking like an idiot.

I looked at my wrist. My watch was cracked, its face dark and dead. My vape, gone. Probably at the bottom of the bay by now. Great.

I looked back at her.

I shouldn't have followed.

I knew I shouldn't have.

But curiosity is a bitch, and it's always been my worst enemy.

So I took a breath. Water filled my lungs again, but it didn't hurt. It felt… right.

And then I followed her.

Deeper into the sea.