(Another Percy Jackson Story)
Maya woke up sweating. She'd been having this same dream for days. The monsters chasing her, a large lighting bolt flying across the sky illumanating the Empire State building. Carefully, Maya stepped out of bed and stuffed her feet into her fuzzy bunny slippers. She quitely tiptoeded across the hall and down the stairs, passing her mother's room as she went. Maya then slipped out the large window facing the back of the house. She'd stumbled into her hiding spot by accident when she was six. Ever since then, she'd visit it whenever she needed to calm her mind. Outside in the warm spring air, Maya could see every star in the night sky. She quickly climbed into her secret spot, a small wooden house hidden under a canopy of trees. Well, it wasn't exactly a house, more like a wooden box but she called it her own little house. She and Ryan goes here all the time. She still remembers when they were little and were putting secret messages under the removable brick near the door. But now laying under the dark blue sky, Maya has a feeling that those times were long gone.
Some people say life is full of wonders. Others say life is beautiful and magnificent. Maya says life is boring and pointless. Everyday she goes through the same routine, school, home, sleep. Nothing ever changes. But of course nothing happens in the boring town she lives in. It's a small village near the Mississippi River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The closest thing to interesting in this boring town of hers is the high school being remodeled. Maya has no idea why her mom chose this ghost town. They moved here when she was three, when Maya's parents went seperate ways. Her mom never liked to talk about her father, only that he turned out to be a selfish jerk marrying her mom only for money. Yes, they have a lot of money. But why you ask are they living in a town some people forget to even put on the map. Maya thought this was strange too, but she'd never thought about it twice. In Longington High School there were very few kids, and even fewer teachers. That's why most teachers have at least thirty students in one class. That's also probably why every year, Ryan and Maya end up in the same classes.
" Hey Ryan, what's up? " Maya said causually.
This is usually how they start a conversation.
" Nothing much. But hey I wanted to see if-, " Before he could finish, a loud bell rung and screaming kids ran for the exit. A boy in a gray hoodie with long pants ran up to them and started talking really fast in their faces. Maya could only pick up a few words.
" Hide- protector- Pandora-. "
Then just as quickly, he grabbed them by their wrist and started sprinting for the exit. Neither Ryan nor Maya bothered to resist. Why not find out what's going on they both thought in their minds.
Once outside, The boy with the unusually frizzy hair pulled them into a corner obstructed by cars.
" Listen, we have to move, fast. I can't exlain everything now but I will try as soon as we're in the train. Maya, you're mom's already there waiting for you. And Ryan, since you're mom doesn't know about... all this yet, I told her that you were going to be gone for a few days attending a field trip from school, " The kid let out a big sigh after finishing, " My name's Lenny by the way, " he quickly added.
" And why would we follow you? " Ryan asked suspiciously.
" Because I command you to, " Lenny then snapped his fingers together and started chanting in another language.
Maya woke up lying uncomfortably close to Ryan. She shook him awake and frantically searched around for a door. The last thing she remembered was following Lenny through the forest and climbing into a rusty old train. After that, Maya guessed she must have passed out. While looking around for Lenny, her eyes passed across an oil painting. If Maya were to take a closer look at it, she might have felt that she'd seen it before.
" Maya, I think we're kidnapped. "
" I don't know. I mean if we were then why aren't we tied up. And why did they give us a couch, pillows, and a blanket? "
Maya looked more carefully around the room. It was painted bright yellow, but many parts were starting to peel. Yes, there was a door, but with closer inspection, Maya saw that there was no handle. The room was windowless. The only furniture was the couch they were sleeping on, a metal chair in front, and a few paintings hung crookedly on the wall. Before Ryan could think of a scheme to kill Lenny, the door shook and both Lenny and Maya's mother came into the room. Lenny stood by the chair while Maya's mom sat down.
" Sorry I had to use the spell on you guys, " Lenny said sheepishly, " but that was the only way to get you to come. The spell makes people faint after a short period of time, "
" Mom-, " Maya began not even hearing what Lenny said.
" Maya sweetie, there's so much explaining to do. I'm sorry, I tried to keep you away from the family bussiness, I really did. But fate has pulled you back. " Maya's mom said sadly.
Maya studied her mother, somehow, she looked older and weaker than she remembered. But her mother's golden brown eyes and smooth silky blonde hair never aged. She was still as beautiful as ever. Maya thought she was unlike her mom in so many ways. For instance, Maya had her dad's deep blue eyes while her mother's was brown. Also, Maya's hair wasn't honey blonde. Instead, it was dark brown highlighted by dirty blonde. She looked at Ryan, and his light brown hair, tan skin covered with a sprinkle of freckles, and his bright green eyes that always seem to be smiling. Then she moved to Lenny, but he looked different then when they first met. For one thing, he was a lot cleaner and his usually curly hair was covered by a baseball cap. Brown eyes, brown hair, and light brown skin was the first thing Maya noticed about him.
" Oh, did you two meet yet? " Maya's mom asked.
" Uh, yeah. Lenny right? " Maya said nodding.
" Lenny was very helpful. He was the one to pull the fire alarm so you two could get out. He also came all the way here from Long Island New York to warn me, "
" You pulled the fire alarm? Nice, " Ryan said, clearly impressed.
" You're from New York? Awesome, " Maya said.
" Anyways, on with the story. When I found out that Ryan was one of us, I begged my best friend, Ryan's mom, to adopt him and move here. I would have adopted you myself but I knew having two powerful children together was risky. I moved to that quite little town of ours because I knew it wouldn't get a lot of visitors. I needed to keep you and Ryan hidden away. Then life went on beautifully, not once did I see any unusal behavior. But I knew in my heart that this day was coming. You two are already fourteen. It wasn't until today that I got the notice from Lenny that the gods wanted you to help them with something.
Complete Silence.
" Mom, what are you talking about? Monsters? gods needed my help? "
" Maya and Ryan, I know this may be hard to believe but gods, they're real. Greek gods. Greek stories. You know the story of Pandora? Where she opened the jar and let all the evils and hope world because of her curiosity? Maya, I am Pandora. I know Pandora's not a god but what the stories didn't tell was that Pandora became known as one. Except, I'm not a major god, so that's why I'm able to live here in the mortal world with you. I know you two learned about Greek Mythology already so that might help you a little bit. And monsters, Gorgons, Chimeras, Minotaurs. They're all real too. "
Another long silence.
Before somebody could say something to break the ice, the train lurched to a halt. Pandora and Lenny exchanged a nervous glance and quickly stood up simultaniously.
" Quick, out the door, " Lenny said, leading the way.
Outside the yellow room, they faced a long hallway covered by a thin layer of carpet with so much dirt on it, it was hard to tell if brown was it's real color. On one end were two big red doors facing the back of the moving train, banging hard against the wind. On the other side, there was a creature. It was massive, with the body of a furry creature like a lion, the head of an angry man with a red face, and the tail of a shiny black scorpion. Maya wanted to scream, she wanted to run away, but she was frozen with fear. She looked over to her mom who said in a whisper,
" The Manticore, "
Maya looked over at Lenny when she realised that he was talking to himself.
" The Manticore, it only feeds on human flesh, eating even the clothing and possesions of a person. A very dangerous monster with three rows of razor sharp teeth and a scorpion tail that allows it to fire deadly missiles, "
After hearing that encouraging speech, Maya was even more scared. The Manticore, meanwhile was bearing its fangs and progressing slowly towards them like a lion about to puond on its prey.
" We have to jump, " Ryan said, voice quivering.
" Wow, really, I thought we're just gonna stand here, " Maya said sarcastically.
" Shut up and jump, " Lenny shouted to be heard over the roaring wind.
But before any of them could move a single step, the Manticore pounced, missing them by an inch.
" RUN! " Someone shouted.
Everyone started toward the exit with Pandora in the front and Maya in the back. The hallway may be long, but it wasn't wide. The Manticore shook violently, making a dent on either side of him while the train lurched to the right then left. Everyone stumbled except for the Manticore, who had a steel grip on the floor with its claws. That stumble lost a few precious moments, just enough time for it to grab Maya aroung the neck.
" Maya! " Pandora shouted.
The Manticore opened its mouth, looking as if to eat Maya. Ryan didn't think think twice about what he was doing. You so owe me. He seemed to be thinking. He grabbed the nearest object, a broken lamp, and threw it at the Maticore's mouth. Maya took that chance to land a punch in its face. The Maticore let go of Maya, howling in pain. It raised its tail up high and started shooting at everything in sight. Maya ducked just in time, the fireball catching a few peices of her hair on fire. Everyone ran toward the open doors, but not Ryan. Instead, he headed for the Manticore, a look of determination in his eyes. He swung onto the railings at the ceiling and threw himself onto the Manticore's back. It raised its tail, aiming it directly at Ryan, and fired. Just before the first missile hit him, Ryan leaped onto the head of the Manticore, then jumped forward and started running.
Maya stared at the scene in front of her. The Manticore was engulfed in flames because it fired at itself. In a way, it was being cooked alive. Meanwhile, the burning train, combined with the Manticore's weight, looked about to blow.
" Jump, JUMP! " Ryan shouted.
Together, everyone jumped out the train and landed with a thud on the prairie grass. The train kept moving for a couple of meters then stopped suddenly and blew up on the spot, with the Manticore trapped inside.
" We. Have. To. Go. " Lenny said panting hard.
" Why? It's dead, " Ryan said, barely getting out the words.
" I think we only have a few days to get away from here before that thing starts to reform again. " Pandora said.
" Wait, reform? " Maya asked weakly.
" Every monster can reform back to itself after dying. Some take days and some take months, some even take years. But this thing, I don't think it's willing to wait so long in the underworld. " Pandora explained.
Maya was scared to say the least. After seeing the Manticore, she now believes everything her mother told her earlier. But one thing still bothered her deep in her head.
" Mom, if I'm a child of Pandora, does that make me a... god? " Maya asked.
" Like a god, a demigod is the correct term. " Pandora said.
" So, if I'm a child of Pandora, then who's Ryan's parent? "
Pandora hestitated before continuing, " I don't know. But I do know that it's his dad that's a god. His mom was the one to drop him of at the orphange, "
Pandora looked at the setting sun for a moment. " It's almost seven. I have to go. I can't help you guys any further. This is your quest, not mine. I'm sorry. But I will be watching and helping you along the way. I will be waiting for your return at Mount Olympus. And remember, you're unique trait is the trait from Pandora, "
" Wait, we didn't get our prophecy yet, " Lenny exclaimed.
" You can make up your own prophecy along the way, " Pandora said, starting to get up.
" What-, but, but every quest needs a prophecy, " Lenny complained.
Pandora sighed, " Fine. Three kids shall go and find the secret of the gods. The will probably see some clues along the way. The should follow suspicious activity, " Pandora nodded, " That sounds pretty good. Maya, remember I will love you no matter what happens.
A large streak of thunder echoed in the sky.
" That was Zeus, he doesn't like waiting. Goodbye and good luck. " Pandora took one last look at the children, then started fading away into the air.
" Mom? " Maya asked as if waiting for her mother to come back.
" What kind of a prophecy was that? It didn't even rhyme! It didn't give us any instuctions at all! " Lenny complained.
While Lenny kept muttering to himself, Maya looked into the distance. A dozen helicopters were starting to swarm around the exploded train.
" Uh-oh, guys I think we have to go. " Maya said.
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