Ruthless Divinity

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nova

Nova was utterly ignorant of the world above and beneath her. She was only aware that she was late for school and that her dog had chewed up her left green boot which was now hidden somewhere in her room. Before she could lose her head, Nova halted, taking a deep breath, grabbing her bag and sliding on her old tennis shoes. They would have to do it for today.

Nova yelled goodbye to her dad before leaving out the door. It was raining, of course it was raining, it never wasn't raining in the fall of Massachusetts. She pulled on her glasses as she slid into the front seat of her red minivan and started her car. Her minivan, her poor minivan, stalled. Nova took another deep breath before leaning against her headrest. They had two cars in the family, the other one being in her mom's possession at work.

Nova sighed heavily for the third time before getting out of her car. She went back inside, told her Dad she was skipping school, then returned to her bedroom. She threw her bag on the ground, took off her shoes, and crawled into bed, curling around her dog.

Today was not a good day. Tomorrow would be better she assured herself before falling back asleep.

When Nova woke up again, it was because lightning struck the tree outside of her house and caused it to crash through her window. She screamed, scaring her black cocker spaniel, and causing her dad to rush in. He stared at the tree, then at her, then back at the tree.

"Wanna go get lunch?" He asked, pulling out his phone to call someone about the tree.

Nova nodded, sliding out her bed. She tried to not look at the tree in her room or all the glass on the floor. Oh well, tomorrow will be better.

She pulled on the worn tennis shoes, grabbed her raincoat, and her dog before following her dad out the door. It was now pouring as thunder shook the ground. They took her dog, Winnie, with them as they walked swiftly through the storm. Their favorite restaurant was down the block and allowed dogs. Well, they allowed Winnie.

The restaurant was a diner that served the basic diner food. It smelled of rain and fries, not a good mixture of smells noted Nova as she slid into a booth, patting the seat next to her for Winnie. Her dad slid across and they looked at the menu even though they order the same thing everytime.

Ophelia, a young woman, rushes over to take their order. She kisses Winnie on the head despite the drenched dog hair, and jotted down their order without even asking what they wanted.

"Why aren't you at school today, Nova?"

"Our car stalled."

"Bummer. Glad to see you though! I'll get your food out right away."

Nova and her dad chatted mindlessly as they waited for their food. It arrives quickly, the diner basically empty.

Nova inhales her burger and fries then her milkshake. Her dad laughs but he eats just as quickly. It's their first meal of the day as it is only 9 am.

"So the tree?"

"Yes, the tree."

They sit in silence again. Neither father or daughter were people of many words. They were considered quite odd, preferring silence over empty sentences. The whole family was a family of introverts who cared little about socializing. Nova was the most eccentric of her family members since she could actually carry a conversation. People still found her off putting because she was so unaffected by life. They thought she didn't care but in reality, she cared far too much.

When she was expected to be sad, Nova was silent. When she was expected to be angry, Nova was silent. And when she was expected to be happy, Nova was silent. She found comfort in the silence because if she revealed even a fraction of what she was feeling, she was afraid she would break the very foundation of herself. Nova was resilient and she was quiet, living a life enclosed in her self-induced bubble.

It was what made Nova so unique. In a human world where everything was so loud, Nova listened. She was the calm in the middle of a storm, the kind of quiet only heard when the city goes to sleep leaving only the creatures roaming. The Reapers never chose humans, humans were ignorant, noisy, and utterly useless. But when Nova dies, she will be the first ever human chosen. Of course she doesn't know she's being chosen for a life of violence when she only craves peace. She only knows that she is a young human who has a long life ahead of her.

They leave the restaurant shortly after they finish eating, entering the storm all again. When they arrive back at the house, the ground around her window is soaked, the tree's leaves wilting on her carpet. Her dad calls another person, whispering into the phone. Nova glimpses at the tree before heading back downstairs to plop on the couch. She brought her school stuff down with her but instead drifted to the bookshelf in the living room. Closing her eyes, she runs her fingers over the binds of the books before randomly picking one. She has read every single book on this bookshelf many times, even the boring history ones. However, her fingers land on a spine of a book she's never seen before.

"Dad? Did you buy a new book?" She calls out, taking the book off the shelf.

Her dad peeks his head out from the kitchen, his phone still against his ear. He shakes his head before heading to her. He reads the title of the book before shrugging.

"I guess Mom did."

Her dad shrugs again before heading back into the kitchen. The book was titled Three Realms. What a catching title Nova thinks sarcastically. Probably another weird history book her mom is fascinated by. She has nothing better to do so she plops onto the couch, pushing her bag out of the way. She slides the fuzzy blanket off the side of the couch and drapes it over her legs. The book is heavy and a dark navy color with stars etched into the hard front cover. The pages are crisp as she opens the book up and dust springs from the pages. It's in supreme condition if her mom got it used. Opening to the front page, Nova dives into the history of the world unaware her life is about to change forever.