Aliana struggled as the officer forced her into a small room furnished only with a metal table, two chairs, and a panel of one way glass on the front wall.

He slammed the door and locked it behind him.

She ran up and pounded her fists against the thick steel door. "This is wrongful imprisonments! I didn't do anything!" She turned with a sigh and leaned against the door. Chewing her bottom lip, she wandered the tiny room. May as well look for something to use as a weapon if things went bad, which they usually did.

As she was examining the bottom of the table, the door opened and someone walked into the room.

She straightened, her braid hanging over her shoulder.

The officer was a young man in a uniform with short cropped auburn hair and evergreen eyes. He walked with the slightest limp, proof of an old injury that never fully healed. That could be useful. He approached the table and sat down. "Have a seat, Miss..." he scanned the papers on his clipboard. "Breck."

Aliana raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. "I'd rather stand. Thanks."

He sighed. "Alright. Do you know why you're here?"

"No." She stared at him resentfully. "Because I. Didn't. Do. Anything!" She glared at the wall to her right.

The officer took a deep breath. "You ran from the police."

She shrugged. "How do you know I was running from him?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It was pretty obvious."

She met his gaze. "Was it?"

The officer took a deeper, longer breath. She was obviously getting on his nerves. Good.

"Miss Breck." He clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "This is not the first time you've fled from the authorities."

She glared at him. "Oh, you mean when I was seven and I had just watched my father die? What did you expect me to do? Act like a little angel and not the screwed up kid that I am?"

He opened his mouth to talk, but Aliana cut him of. She was on a roll and there was no stopping her now.

"I never knew my mother and my father was slaughtered in front of me." Tears rolled down her cheeks a mix of sorrow and anger. "I had to watch helplessly while he died! I ran because there was nothing else I could do. No one would believe my story and I didn't want another family." She shot him with a death glare. "So get off my back."

He just sat there for a moment regaining his composure. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Well, that aside, where have you been for the last eight years. There's no record of you anywhere, then you suddenly pop up in St. Louise." He leveled her with a stern gaze. "So... where have you been staying that you are completely off the grid."

Aliana met his gaze head on. "I don't think that's any of your business. Not that you would believe me if I told you."

"Try me." He challenged.

Aliana smirked. "Fine. My father was murdered by a Chimera. I'm a half-blood - the child of a mortal and one of the Ancient Greek gods. I've been living in the only place that's safe for people like me and the only reason you found me is because I went on a quest to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus' master bolt." She leaned back again. "Think I'm crazy yet. I could go on."

She'd said it so matter-of-factly that the officer blanched. He opened and closed his mouth several times in an attempt to speak. Finally, he reached for his radio.

Aliana darted around the table and pinned his arm helplessly to his side. "I don't want to hurt you, but you have to let me go."

He breathed shakily.

Aliana slipped the keys off his belt. "Don't worry." She raised her free hand. "You won't remember what actually happened." She snapped her fingers and punched him in the face as the cool breeze rushed through the room, knocking him unconscious. She twirled the keys on her finger, unlocked the door, and walked out of the room.
                                 *   *   *
Getting out of the police station proved to be a lot easier than Aliana had expected. Once she was back on the streets, she looked for the nearest bus station. She couldn't risk going back to the airport. They would still be looking for her.

She had no clue where anything was in Omaha so it took her longer than she would've liked to find an actual bus station. She bought a ticket to L.A., earning some weird looks from the people around her. She want to yell 'yeah, I'm a 15-year-old traveling on her own. Get over it.' But that would draw too much attention.

She settled onto the bus. Thank the gods, she was sitting by herself. She wasn't great with people, especially mortal people who couldn't understand her. She stared out the window as the scenery whizzed by.

Eventually, the adrenaline wore off and she realized how tired she was. Her eyelids got heavy and she drifted off to sleep.

A maniacal laugh echoed through the dark. "So, you pieced it together." The deep voice resounded through the emptiness. "Very good."

She sneered at him. "Don't tell me you entered my dreams just to congratulate me."

Another laugh sounded, more amused this time. "Of course not. I just wanted to talk to you one more time before we're face-to-face."

"How sweet." She retorted sarcastically. "Wish I could return the sentiment."

A hot wind washed over her, saturated with the stench of death.

She choked on it, coughing.

He took a long breath as if breathing in her fear and disgust. "You are a very stubborn girl... and very powerful. You don't even know how powerful. It's as if you've locked a part of yourself away, but I know someone who could help unleash it."

"I don't want anything from you." She spat.

He chuckled. "You say that now. Oh well, I'm looking forward to meeting you, Aliana Breck."