Eliza's POV
I shudder as I think of those games. All of us gods live together and the mortals worship certain groups of us. Some of us, Michael and myself included, work behind the scenes instead of being out and asking for praise like the Norse gods etc. However, some of the more popular gods one day took over the rest of us. Me and Michael were not even born by then, but that group declared that all gods that were not pregnant or very badly injured names were put in a hat and thirty name were picked out. Those who's name was picked out had to participate in a game of survival where everyone is pitted against each other, their names being put in as soon as they turn 10. The times and dates for these games where decided randomly and everyone who died was brought back to life,  but the memories of what everyone else would do in a situation like that was scary and the rescan process was painful and glitchy. It was times like that when Michael earns his name. We all had a certain set of skills and powers, related to what we were. Michael could teleport, he was faster and stronger than a human and he could fly. His most interesting ability is unique to him, as the rest he shares with at least one other God. My own skills were that I can fly, I am faster than a normal person, I can see things 100x better and my unique ability is to draw upon others feelings of love and hate and become either 100 times faster or stronger depending on which one I get more of. This however, drains all of my energy. Michael fights in the games by teleporting behind people and killing them, framing people for killing their team mates and stealing things from those who are arguing. I tend to stay near the back and pick off others with a ranged weapon. We usually last till the end with our hit and run tactics and if we are the last two he slits his own throat so I can live. Sure, we are revived at the end, but dying hurts like hell, and ever since we both turned 10, he has always tried to save me from that, no matter how hard I tried to stop him. That nightmare is one I have had for the last few years, since we became close friends. That we would be forced into a game and he would snap. It's not that I feared death, but it's that the man I knew would be gone. But, he has always assured me the same thing. "I won't let that happen to you." I guess I have to believe him. I shrug off his arms and walk out to the lounge room/kitchen, getting myself a bowl of cereal and turning on the TV. I scream as I see the headline on the news.
Michael's POV
I sit there by myself in the bed as the Suns warm rays creep through the windows. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And not just the on outside. If someone looks nice but is an asshole, they can rot for all I care. She was the most caring, loving person I knew. I would die many times over for her. If it were any other person, mortal or goddess, I'd be cursing myself for being toyed with by Venus or Aphrodite, to name a few that could make me feel like this. But I had known Eliza since I was born and I'd always liked her. It was only recently that I had realised I liked her as more than a friend and that I loved her. For years she had stuck by me as I slowly descended farther into a pit of self-loathing, guilt and rage. She was the rope that was thrown down the hole to save me. She had helped me get through some tough times in my life and when the time came, I protected her in any way I could, much to her annoyance. It's not that I didn't think she could take care of herself, it's just that I never want that happening to her.
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Flashback. Also, abuse warning.
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I look out of the reenforced window of my bedroom. If you could even call it that. It had a simple single bed, a cupboard and a lamp in it, with a door that was crisscrossed with steel and iron, trapping me inside. I looked at the timber floor and saw the faint splashes of red everywhere. I shuddered and felt my back. I could feel my body working to close the scars, but for the next few hours they would still be there. I feel my back groan in pain as I stand at my full height, moving under my bed and looking into my orange bag. I had managed to sneak two things in here with me before I was locked in here by my parents. A photo of my dog (May Hades, Lucifer, Hel, Ach Puch etc etc watch over her soul) and my dagger. I sharpened my dagger daily, using it to cut things, practice sword fighting against the air and cut myself to clear my head. I was locked in here almost all week, only coming out for school. I had pushed my friends away, as much as it pained me to do so and I had tried to become emotionless and detached from the world. After all, if they saw what was happening at home, what would they think of me.....
I hid the picture and the dagger back in the bag and I looked at the time and my heart skipped a beat. 8:31. I was up late. Mum would not be happy. Just as I was trying to hide myself under the covers of the bed and pretend I was asleep, the door flew open and my mother stepped through with a whip. She glared at me with only malice and hatred in her eyes. The look on her face remained cold and heartless as she pulled me out of the bed, winded me and bent me over. I winced at the pain and she brought her hand up. The hand came down, the whip coming with it, striking my back. I could feel the pain erupting all over my skin, opening up previous scars and creating new ones. I saw my blood splatter to the floor as she brought her hand up again. I bit my tongue, almost drawing blood in a effort not to cry out. This continued until I could feel the whip had stricken me 100 times, peppering my back with scars that I hoped would heal by tomorrow morning. The room suddenly became cold as she walked out, the temperature becoming somewhere around -10 degrees Celsius. My body curled up and I shook unvoluntarily as I tried to sleep. I wondered what new torture my parents would cook up for me tomorrow as I slowly fell into a restless sleep.
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Flashback End
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Those memories were my daily life through almost my entire school life and my parents had come out the worse from them. I was wondering how long the calm would last before the storm inevitably rolled though, thinking maybe now would be a good time for something to happen, but dismissing it right as I heard her scream. "When people say no time like now, they don't mean it literally you heartless a**holes" I mutter under my breath as I run to kitchen to see the news broadcast. "Ahhhhhh shit."
Authors note
Yo. So, I finished the second chapter. This was mostly filler and some more info about Michael, but it also let me begin the main part of the book. Also, if the whole time thing doesn't make sense and you can't understand how old they are, they are the same age, but that age isn't specified. I don't know myself and I figure it works fine without specifying. So yeah. Thanks for reading! Cya!