Interlude I : Thalia's Tale

“Also chihuahua, that’s a block.” I snorted at Bacillus, the youngest brother of the three, for his incompetence in the Sudoku night out.

“Oi! Don’t call her names, and Thalia be respectful to your brother….” But I couldn’t care what Helios was saying because Calyx, the middle man, was mimicking all his actions in a cartoonish way.

“Seriously, Bacillus? You know, it’s not organic chem," I teased, watching him scratch his head with the pen in confusion. Almost getting his pen stuck within his curls.

Bacillus shot me a glare but quickly realized I had a point, muttering under his breath, "Shut up…. you’re not the queen of numbers either."

"Agreed," I nodded with a grin, tossing the Sudoku book aside. "But first, Calyx, if you can stop mimicking Helios for one second, you might actually have a chance of being useful."

Helios finally shot a look back, but Calyx was already buried under the black and white polka dot blanket, laying flat on the sofa. His head firmly in the clouds, blue highlighter in hand, dutifully shading random squares in his upside-down Sudoku book like it was a spiritual ritual.

Bacillus and I bark out in laughters because the fight between the oldest and the second-oldest is always golden. My stomach starts to hurt so much that I almost fell out of my velvet bean bag while, Bac was already full-on rolling on the floor like a loose carpet roll.

And then my ringtone blared.

“Well, my boyfriend's in a lab,”

“He turns on my bar while I sing Lou Reed,”

“I've got feathers in my hair,”

“I get down to Beat poe-”

“Sammy?” I squinted at the screen. “Huh… why’s that lovey-dovey calling me at 9’o clock?”

With the living room lit only by the soft flicker of scented candles on the coffee table, navigating was a challenge. I tiptoed, trying not to stomp directly onto Bach (a.k.a. Bacillus), who was still wheezing on the floor.

“Move your sulfuric ass, Bac,” I muttered, nudging him with my foot as I picked up the call, a little out of breath and still grinning.

I stomped into the dark hallway, the grand clock still ticking away the minutes along with my heartbeats. I hushed my brothers to cleanse their noise, before tuning in to listen to my sweet pea.

“Hey!” Shit… too high-pitched.

“Ahem… Ahem, I mean how are you? Did you have dinner yet? I mean— of course you-” Really, Thalia? Slow down a bit!

I mentally kicked myself for being such a wreck at this-

“Thank god… you’re-re alive! I-” I don’t know what he wants to talk about, but my guts’ telling me that it’s not good news. Damn sure.

Something’s definitely off.

He’s parent are chill, but they are strict with his phone usage, especially after he got in a relationship with me. It’s not personal. They do like me. It’s just that he’s their only child. Their miracle baby, as his mom calls him. And honestly? I can’t blame them for it.

Heck, even I would do the same.

“Sammy? Are you okay? You don’t usually call this late-”

A sigh escaped my lips—-

‘💝Sammie 💝’ FaceTime calling…..

That’s why this is so weird.

Because for him to risk a late FaceTime like this…

Something’s wrong.

Like really wrong.

I stared at the screen, eventually picking up the FaceTime, not knowing what horror awaited for me.

Sammy didn’t just look okay, he looked marvelous.

He’s flawless curls that shined in the light, blinded me in the dark. His skin was smooth, like he hadn’t cried himself to sleep just two nights ago. And those eyes—ugh. Golden-Retriever-vibe brown, glassy but glittery, like he just stepped out of a 2000s rom-com scene.

Meanwhile, I was in my koala PJ with my hair down and no makeup.

I rolled my eyes, to prevent the overthinking to overexaggerate even more.

“My parents are dead.”

What…..

That…..

Completely shut down my thoughts….

All of them.

“Wh-what?” My mouth let out a gasp as he switched the camera to-

Dr. Birchers on the floor…..

…..with a bullet…..

……in her head.

So much blood…..

It’s all over her forehead.

Her mouth wide open as if to yell out for help.

I could barely recognize her if it weren’t for the purple lipstick.

The one I gave her…..

For her birthday.

A sharp daring tone.

Said it made her look like the head of the house.

She laughed and said—

The flokati rug, the rectangular white woolen rug bordered with a faded cobalt blue Greek key pattern, was now absorbing her blood as we spoke. It lies on wooden floors, probably in a room trying to feel safe, but that was then. Now the yellow woods are tainted with the marrowish-dried blood of my supposed-to-be-future-mother-in-law.

Viviane.

On the floor. With a bullet in her head.

She took upon herself to be my mother as soon as my mother's passed away when I was six. Our families have been friends ever since we came from Greece to the US for my parent’s research work transfer. Since both our parent’s life revolt around biology, it was bounded by the laws of nature that I would fall in love with Sammy.

My first genuine relationship.

And now….. I don’t know anymore.

Sammy or Sammie (it’s an inside joke among the boys about his name being misspelled on the first day of school) isn’t him anymore.

When the camera switched back, it wasn’t him.

Same eyes.
Same lashes.
Same light freckles that only showed up at rare occasions.

But not him.

His eyes didn’t flinch.
Didn’t water.
Didn’t blink.

Did he do it?

I stumbled toward the bathroom at the thought of that, phone slipping from my hand as I pushed open the door. I couldn’t hold in my dinner anymore.

The thought slithered in before I could block it.

“Yo! I need to–” I heard Bacillus whitewashed accent slip off while he shouted out for Helios in Greek. Helios’s urgent footsteps echoed, the sound of them hammering the silence of the floor.

I slumped into the floor just as Helios’s gentle yet firm grip took hold of me.

“What did you put in her dinner?” He barked at Bacillus who just shrugged.

My head felt like it was splitting open...

It was as if someone had transferred my period cramps straight to my head.

I curled in tighter, hands gripping around the sitter so hard my knuckles went white. My breath came shallow—barely skimming the surface like a drowned thing trying to breathe.

Thankfully, my oldest and the youngest brother’s argument kept me awake from fainting….. In broken Greek.

“I JUST MADE IT FROM THE LAST NIGHT INGREDIENTS THAT PAPA GAVE US! ” Bacillus yelped while storming into the kitchen. His footsteps are the lightest among the three, but loud and quick enough to distinguish them from the kitchen.

“WELL WHATEVER IT IS, IT’S GIVING HER FOOD POISONING-” Helios yelled back, crouched beside me, his hand still on my shoulder like an anchor to the ship.

I continued with my puking, with Dr. Birchers’s lifeless face flashing behind my eyelids.

“SMELLED AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG! VERIFY ME!” Bacillus slammed the fridge door, bring in the bowl of humus we had earlier for dinner.

How did I know that?

Even in the midst of vomiting, I could still smell that fresh coriander in that state.

Maybe a good sign that I might not be in that bad of a state.

“EHH! NOTHING WRONG CHECK AGAIN! Thaliana? You good? Give me a sign.” I raised a thumbs up, while my head still slumped into the toilet.

“You know this could mean…. Only one thing….” Bach mumbled out.

No, you stupid bastard. Don’t you dare say it-

“SHE COULD BE PREGGO WI-ITH THAT BO-OY!” H e exclaimed, causing Helios to nearly drop the bowl.

“HER PERIOD GOT OVER LAST WEEK! YOU BASTARDO! IT GOTTA DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR WACKY COOKING! ” Helios snapped, dragging a shaky hand down to drop the bowl onto the flower.

“YOU BETTER RESPECT ME YOU BALD HEAD! I COOK FOR ALL THE FOUR OF US-” He yelled at the oldest, making a fatal mistake.

“THE TARTAROUS YOU ON ABOUT? WHAT ARE YOU, A DRUID???” He shook his head, focusing all his energy on me.

Thank god! If it weren’t for me, Bach would be six feet down the ground…. Just like Dr. Birch-

“Guys!” Calyx cut in, the only sane one for once. His voice called out from the couch, slightly muffled as he was still under the polka dot blanket.

For protection.

“Wasn’t she on a call with—” He nearly tripped on his way to the bathroom, blinded by his own ridiculously long platinum blonde hair, streaked with neon orange and maroon. It spilled past his shoulders like a chaotic, fluorescent fire.

And then everything went silent — except for Sammy’s voice, still echoing in my head.

“No-oo…” I whimpered as Helios pinned my hands to the floor while Bac grabbed the phone.

They both went still.

Eyes locked on the screen.

Their faces didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

“What… are you seeing?” I croaked, but neither of them answered.

Not right away.

Because the screen was still glowing.

“Listen here, Samuel you have three-” Bacillus’s voice cracked mid-threat, his mouth falling open as he stared.

The phone slipped in his trembling hands.

“Dr. Birchers…Barry..” The name hit the air like a thunderclap. His knees hit the tile next to me, his voice barely holding.

“No. No, no…. No…” He called out, water almost pouring out of his eyes.

He handed the phone to Helios, slowly, like it burned him. Helios took it, his brows furrowed, jaw clenched like he already knew what he’d see. He handed the phone to Helios while he sat next to me, patting me down on the back.

Bac sat beside me without a word, his hand hovering over my shoulder, unsure where to land. Then he gently patted my back in slow circles—like I was a kid again, crying after poking my index finger off onto the slide. I still have that dotty scar on my fing--

And that’s when it hit him too.

That Viviane Birchers and Barry Birchers weren’t coming back.

I felt the wave of grief pass between us like a shared current.

Not loud.

Not wild.

Just deep.

The kind that makes your bones ache.

Because Bacillus—he worshiped him.

He cleaned his lab equipment display every spring break when we visited.

He dusted his framed autographs every year, hands careful like it was glass from the Vatican. Always cleaning it meticulously as if it was the Nobel Prize.

He also memorized his research papers like bedtime stories.

He wasn’t just Sammy’s father.

He was his role model.

Ours.

And now… he was gone.

I felt a wave of grief wash over the both of us.

I didn’t realize I was shaking until Bac’s arms wrapped tighter around my side, grounding me.

Then came the shriek.

“WHAT THE FUCK YOU MEAN THEY GOT SHOT?”

Calyx’s voice cracked like a gunshot itself from the living room.

I pushed myself up onto one knee, using the side of the tub. Bac’s arms—slender, strong—kept me steady.

Though he’s younger than me by two years, he still acts tough around me. Bossing me to do his homework, afterward treating me with his homemade treats. For once, I was relived that there were silences to fill in the talks. Without it, I would be a broken dam letting all the water to rush out.

We walked back to the living room like we were stepping out of a war bunker.

And then Calyx dropped the bomb.

“—THE FUCK HE MEAN SHOT? LOOK, I’M NO ARM’S DEALER, BUT THEY LIVE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! HOW COULD WE HAVE NOT HEARD—”

Bacillus and I locked eyes.

A silent ‘oh shit’ passed between us.

Finally, the logical part of our brains kicked in—groggy and slow, like it had just been yanked from sleep.

Calyx frantically deciphered the whole situation into perspective onto his phone, his stylus vigorously sliding off his screen, mapping the whole situation in his whiteboard app.

While Helios crouched lower to the phone, voice steady but sharp.

Authoritative in that way he always got when things got serious.

There was no reason I could make up to intervene in this part of discussion as I will never be able to confront this side of the future head of our family whose’s in the military.

“Sammy,” he said, every syllable spelled out. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Start from the top. Don’t leave anything out.”

And then began the grotesque.

Worse than any ‘Saw’ movies my brothers and I have ever watched.

I don’t know how to elaborate as to how bad it was—and honestly, I don’t want to. It was so graphic that I don’t even have the words for it. Bacillus and I kept switching roles—one of us puking while the other held their head like some tragic relay race. First him, then me, back and forth like we were stuck in a loop of misery.

Fortunately, Calyx took over my station, considering that even he looked an inch closer to puking. He was JUST one breath away from joining the club.

As for the time being, I decided to whisk in some Lemonada to refresh myself. Mixing the lemon juice with water, I sweeten with a few spoons of sugar. Lastly, I added mint leaves for a refreshing touch.

The drilling pain in my head began to fade away as I downed the juice in one long gulp. It flushed out the frustration, gore, stress, and fatigue out of my system at once, as if it was a magic potion for the utterly wrecked.

“WHAT! SAMUEL, DON’T GO! LIS–” That made me choke on my drink.

Helios’ face hardened every second of the call. He grunted, trying to say something or to just follow up but getting cut off. That’s what happens to you when you're talking to someone who hadn’t even gotten the first glimpse of horror firsthand.

I am so grateful that he switched the call back to voice from speaker.

“Helios? What’s goin’ on?” Urgency snapped through my voice as I turned toward him.

He pushed aside the blanket with his free hand, making space for me on the sofa. I poured him a glass of juice and dashed to sit beside him.

“Alright,” He finally spoke.” Be safe. We will stay here, call Casper for heads up.”

Casper? I furrowed my brows.

“You will be safe there, Detective Piers and his team is scouting the hospital.”

He took the glass from my hand and, in return, placed my phone into it.

I exchanged looks with him before pressing the phone to my ears, finally hearing the voice I longed for.

“Thalia? Listen to me…. whatever you do…. don’t come after me, okay?” The voice called in.

I hummed in response.

Too afraid, too dazed to say anything.

“Those people were Coby’s friends,” In the background, I caught the clink-clack of wheels, a few startled ‘whoa-oh!'s, and the thud of something hitting an obstacle.

“...if my theory is correct….” He paused for some time to explain, but he didn’t need to.

I already knew what he was thinking.

His blonde hair stood out, a pale blur against the dark night. His clothes were soaked through with blood, dark patches clinging to the fabric like bruises. Beside him, his bicycle wobbled under his grip, the wheels squeaking and shuddering with every uneven step he took.

Even though I was talking to him on the phone in my house, he looked exactly at the window that I was looking out for him. It was as if telepathic, that he read my mind and shot his crooked smile at me one last time.

Except, the sparks in his eyes were no longer bright anymore.

They were dull, hollow—like dying stars.
Cold.
Empty.

“.... Then they might come after the both of you. I have to go and warn Casper.” He’s voice getting puddled in the static.

“I know,” I said without breaking our eye contact. “I will stay here with my brothers. Once you reached the hospital, look for a SAT phone.” In the background, I caught the crackle of the news on Calyx’s phone — a rushed voice warning about the incoming aftershocks from the earthquake.

“Make sure to call in the correct network. You remember my SAT phone number right?”

“Yea, I do. But wait, what if I have Inmarsat? CUZ yours is Iridium— ”

“It doesn’t matter!” Helios snapped, urgency cutting through his voice. “Regardless of the network, it’ll connect. Just be fast.”

My gaze darted back to Sammy, desperate — greedy — for just one last look at his face.

But he didn’t look back. Neither did he call back.

The call went dead. The line cut to a hollow silence, and Sammy was already gone — flying down the empty street on his bicycle like he was strapped into an F1 car.

I never wanted to hit my brother this much in the whole eternity of my life. First, he scolded Sammy, interrogated him, then screamed at him. Seriously?

I get it that he’s my boyfriend, and all older brothers are protective…yada yada.

The Universal Sibling Policy rule.

“He hung up—” I started, anger flaring in my chest... but it flickered out just as fast.

Sammy didn’t run away because of Helios’ outburst.

He ran because they were here.

Coby’s friends.

The cultists.

Casper and I had seen them, surrounding us in a circle last week or so — a black SUV skidding to a halt in the dirt. Two figures dropped out, the vehicle growling back to life before roaring off again.

The first one wore the same plain mask with black holes for eyes, nose, and mouth.

Except for the second one.

The mask they wore... they were different this time.

Greek letters, sharp and dark, etched across them like curses.

The letters were engraved in silver, reflecting the street-lights. Bright enough to make out clearly for me to read the letters spread across on their mouth.

ΦΟΒΟΣ.

Phobos.

Fear in English.

For the first time ever, I felt a strange sense of gratitude for Papa’s illogical overprotection.

The boys might see you.

They will take pictures of you.

They will catcall you.

He even made Helios use every resource at his disposal to black out our windows — from the outside, nothing but a wall of darkness, but from the inside, we could see everything.

Hell, Helios — the suck-up to Papa — took it even further.

He made sure we got a house with windows positioned perfectly for a 360-degree view, like some paranoid fortress. Including looking at who’s at the front-door.

Nothing could sneak up on us.

All we had to do was pull the curtains back a little and look sideways at the door.

So, imagine my stomach drop as soon as I saw them pull up the guns to the front door.

Pointed.

At.

Our.

Door.

I didn’t bother to look out anymore, because they dropped a bloody plastic bag on our ‘welcome’ doormat.

Having using the sign language to inform the boys about our ‘guests’, Calyx took our phones and router upstairs, along with our respective water bottles. He darted up while calling out for Bacillus.

Who was still preoccupied with his puking.

Helios skidded across the room to reach for his guns. They were locked away in the vault with his fingerprints as the passcode.

He tossed me a look — silent, sharp — mouthing:

Go upstairs. Take the second gun to Calyx.

There was also a hidden motive behind it : we would have ammunition, if things were to go sideways.

I was right behind Bacillus, when the doorbell rang.

And then.....

The music started.

Just after Casper picked up my call.