Contents
2. The Monster
Overview
During a brutal winter night, Alexis overhears her foster parents planning to “get rid of” Charlie and intervenes. A violent struggle erupts; Nyx breaks in to help, and an unseen monster kills Mother. Alexis pins the murder on Father, who is arrested. Injured and altered—half-blind and half-deaf—Alexis, Charlie, and Nyx lose their home when it’s seized as a crime scene, pushing them into homelessness.
Summary
In a freezing 2091 Montana storm, Alexis overhears her foster parents plotting to “get rid of” Charlie. She wakes Charlie, sends him to lock himself in the bathroom with the emergency phone, and confronts the foster parents. They attack her; Alexis fights back while dissociating through an internal symphony.
Nyx returns from hunting, shatters a window, and helps Alexis retreat into the bathroom. Outside, Mother and Father descend into panic as something invisible ravages Mother. Father begs the children to call 777, but Alexis holds position to protect Charlie and refuses to open the door.
Silence follows Mother’s final screams. First responders arrive; medics apply scarce Spartan gel, and a House of Artemis policeman questions Alexis. Instead of blaming a Titan, Alexis states Father killed Mother, prompting the officer to end the interview and have Father transferred for life imprisonment.
After the responders leave, Alexis realizes she is blind and deaf on her left side, her irises now mismatched—white left, black right. She steels herself, feeling both freed from her abusers and changed.
Later, a federation worker declares the trailer a contaminated crime scene and tows it away. With only a blanket and a small box of belongings, Alexis, Charlie, and Nyx step into the snow to seek shelter, officially homeless.
Who Appears
- AlexisEleven-year-old protagonist; protects Charlie, survives a beating, refuses to call 777, later half-blind/deaf, forces Father’s arrest.
- NyxInvisible echidna ally; breaks the window, aids Alexis’s retreat, coils protectively, urges vengeance.
- CharlieSilent foster brother; hides in the bathroom on Alexis’s orders, traumatized but safe.
- Mother (foster)Plots to dispose of Charlie; assaults Alexis; dies violently to an unseen attacker.
- Father (foster)Agrees to harm Charlie; beats Alexis; begs for help during attack; arrested after Alexis’s statement.
- Policeman (House of Artemis)Questions Alexis about the killing; accepts her statement and orders Father’s transfer.
- Female medic (House of Zeus)Applies scarce healing gel; brusque and dismissive about Alexis’s injuries.
- Male medic (House of Zeus)Helps treat wounds; condescending about using expired Spartan gel.
- Federation workerDeclares the trailer uninhabitable and has it towed, leaving the children homeless.