Leo
I was at my fourth foster home. It was in the middle of California, in this city called Bakersfield. I only realized that once I was settled in the home. My foster parents, Leslie and Brett, had six foster kids. Me, Adelyn, Tristan, Joel, Intensity, and Devonne. I actually wasn't the oldest here, like I had been at my last foster home. Adelyn was the oldest, she was sixteen. Then it was Joel, who was fifteen, then me, and I was fourteen. I would be fifteen in a month. Then it was Intensity, who was twelve, Tristan who was eleven, and Devonne who was nine.
So anyway, today was going by extra slow for some reason. I was at school, in math period. I was in the same class as Joel, who was my best friend. Joel was sitting in the seat next to mine, (the teacher thought it would calm me down if I sat next to someone I knew.) But today, I couldn't think. No matter how hard I tried, I always ended up thinking about different things, like my mom, or that it was Adelyn's party today, that our foster parents were throwing her. "Mr. Valdez, would you care to answer number five that's on the board?" said my teacher, Mrs. Ramirez. I looked over at the board. Uh oh, it was something I clearly didn't understand. I never really paid much attention in class, so this made absolutely no sense to me.
"Uh, no. I don't understand." I replied, embarrassed. "Which part don't you understand?" she asked. "All of it." I responded, completely honest. "No, but which part?" she insisted. Jeez, was she trying to make me lose my temper? "I don't understand the whole problem!" I exclaimed. Mrs. Ramirez sighed. She asked one of the super smart kids in the front row. They got the question right so I turned back to looking out the window. Suddenly, I thought I saw a woman standing under a huge palm tree, looking at me. I looked around at the other kids in my class. No one else had noticed the woman outside. She wasn't a pretty woman. I'm pretty sure it was just me, but her skin looked a disgusting shade of gold/green. Her hair was a writhing bed of snakes, and her legs weren't even there. All that was there were two snakes, instead of legs.
Okay, I was totally freaking out. I had no idea if it was possible for her to have snaky hair and legs, but the fact the fact that she was staring at me
made me just about pee my pants. I looked away, feeling totally creeped out, and when I looked out the window again, she was gone. Whoa. Maybe I'd had too much caffeine or something. The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. I got my stuff, slung my backpack over my shoulder, and headed out the door. I exited the school and walked down the stone steps. As i was waiting for the light to turn red so i could cross the street, i got the feeling that someone was watching me. I turned around, slowly. No one was there, but the bushes on the side of the sidewalk were swaying, like someone had just plowed through them to get somewhere. Or to hide.
I shook off the creepy feeling and crossed the street. I turned left in front of the CVS pharmacy, and passed by other small shops like boutiques and Goodwills. I heard footsteps behind me. After jumping about a foot in the air, i swung around, but no one was there. Literally, no one. I was the only one on the sidewalk, and there were no cars driving like there were only a moment before. I turned back around, pulling pipe cleaners ut of my pockets and messing with them. I passed by a Chik-fil-a, when i heard more footsteps behind me. This time, i was prepared, i turned around fast enough so that the person wouldn't have enough time to hide. I nearly collapsed right there. It was the lady who was staring at me through the window.
I ran as fast as I could down the street, desperately trying to escape the creepy lady following. I looked back over my shoulder, in case the snaky woman had stopped. Nope, there she was, flying toward me with incredible speed. Wait a second, flying? I looked back again to make sure I hadn't imagined it. Sure enough, her feet hovered about three feet above the ground, and her reptilian hair writhed around her head. She was gaining speed, and I was losing speed. So I did what might have been the biggest mistake ever. I turned and ran down an alley. Now I know what you're thinking, but it's not like I could have ran back to my house, that was at least two miles away. I ran past trash cans and empty storage boxes that had been abandoned there. A frightened cat hissed at me as I knocked over a bucket it had been hiding in.
Uh oh. The alley ended in a dead end. I frantically looked around, for any sign of escape or even protection. Just my luck, there was none. I said something that would have made Leslie wash my mouth out with soap. I had no time to feel pity for myself though, because right then, Miss Snake came up a few feet in front of me, her clawed hands outstretched in front of her, her fingertips ablaze with flames that intertwined through her long scaly fingers. She lunged forward, aiming for my throat.
"Aaaaaaaggggh!" i cried, dodging her and falling down a few feet away. I rolled, and the uneven pavement scraped my forearms. "Leo Valdez. This is the beginning. If you truly are a child of the future prophecy, you must be stopped." The lady said. I expected her to like hit me or something, but instead she stood a yard away, and observed me the way a dog observes his bone. I sat up, my feet positoned so that if the woman made one wrong move, I would be ready to spring upward and escape her. "What the heck are you talking about?" I demanded, rubbing my bleeding arms. "Oh, what a weak demigod. You will be easy to finish off." She made this odd noise that could have been laughter but to me it just sounded plain scary. She pounced again, but I was ready. I picked up the tin bucket and chucked it at her head, but unfortunately, she sidestepped it with such agility, I truly thought I wouldn't escape. I grabbed a role of barbed wire, holding the end so it wouldn't cut my hands. When the snake woman tried to soar over me, I swung upward, jabbing at her eyes with my awesome barbed wire baseball bat. She shrieked, and fell down, stumbling around, trying to find me. Her hands covered her eyes, and she wailed curses in a strange language that i didn't understand.
"Die, Halfblood, die!" she yelled, wacking the head off of an old moldy teddy bear. Haflblood? Who did this nutcase think I was? I took her confusion and used it as an escape route. I was just exiting the alley, when I ran into something tall and solid. I flew backwards, rolling on the ground and cutting up more of my arms. "Leo? What the heck are you doing?" The figure asked. I quickly stood up and brushed myself off. It was Joel. "Hey man, we gotta go. Leslie is making me go to the grocery store to pick up some stuff for Adelyn's party." he said. "Dude, we have to leave now. Like right now." I said, grabbing Joel's arm and running down the street. "Hey, where are we going?" Joel asked, stopping. I stopped too, anxious to get away from the creeper lady. "I'll explain later, let's go." And so I once again took off down the road, my heart pounding. I didn't stop running until I stopped in front of my door. I was about to throw open the door, when it swung open, and someone stepped out. A round face sprayed with orange freckles came into view, framed by long auburn hair. "Intensity, let me in! I have to come in!" I said desperately. "Chill, Leo. You can come in whenever. Just say the password and you'll have that liberty for all eternity." said Intensity, trying to block my path. I pushed her out of the way and ran into the kitchen, dropping my backpack on the floor. Joel came into the kitchen, his eyebrows knit together.
"Dude, what happened?" he asked. I was about to respond, when Intensity came back, skipping around. "Intensity, get out." I said. "I don't take orders from peasants." she said, opening the refrigerator and taking out apple juice. "Get out!" Joel and I said at the same time. Intensity groaned and stomped out. Right when I was about to talk, someone else came into the kitchen. "Hey guys, so excited for tonight!" Adelyn said, sitting down at the table across from me and Joel. Adelyn was pretty, I'll admit. She had blonde hair, tucked into a high ponytail, and electric blue eyes.
"Ad, Leo was about to tell me something important." Joel argued. "Well, he can say it in front of me." Adelyn protested, staying rooted to the spot. I wasn't ecstatic to tell Adelyn my encounter, but I decided it was the only way for me to be able to tell Joel about it. I told them about it, and when I was finished, I was surprised by their reactions.
Joel just nodded, like he understood, but I got the feeling that he didn't. On the other hand, Adelyn's face was filled with concern, her blue eyes wide and fearful. "Um, Ad? You don't seem very surprised." I told her. "Because I'm not." She said, looking down, suddenly interested with her shoes. "Then why...?" I tried to say, but couldn't. "I didn't believe her, but she was right." She muttered. "Ad, are you okay? Who didn't you believe?" Joel asked. "Missy... No, I did my best. Should've believed her. She's gone, she's gone." Adelyn muttered. She was seriously scaring me now. "Adelyn! Stop it!" I yelled, surprised by my own tone. Adelyn looked at me, tears brimming her eyes. "Leo, come with me. Pack your stuff. I'm going to save you like I should have saved Missy." She said. "Ade-" I started to say. "PACK YOUR STUFF!" She shouted, pointing at the door to the kitchen which led to the stairs, tears spilling out on her face. "Okay, okay." I left as quickly as possible, and packed my few belongings from my room, I stopped by Joel's room. "Hey, I have no idea where I'm going, but if they ask, say I'm getting the stuff for Ad's birthday, 'kay?" I asked him. He nodded. "Just in case, nothing works out, and I don't see you, I just wanted to tell you that you've been a great brother." I said, turning and walking down the hall. Adelyn was waiting in the kitchen like before, holding an old skeleton key.
She walked out the door, without a word, and I followed her. I had to run to keep up w ith her long strides. "Where are we going?" I asked, between breaths. "I made this place with Missy a few...a few years ago. Take as much as you need, and leave. Run away. Never come back. Act normal." She turned into an alley, and I got an uncomfortable feeling. "You're not taking me to a monster right?" I asked, unsure. "No. I'm taking you to a place I made for Missy, so she could hide, and be safe from the monsters. It has all kinds of Celestial Bronze weapons to protect you." she said. "Hold up, hold up, hold up. Celestial Bronze? Is that even a real type of bronze? And who is Missy?" I asked. "Missy was my friend. She was special...and she told me I had to help her, I helped her, but I didn't try to save her when the monsters came. I thought it was fake, all a game." she responded. She stuck they old skeleton key into a door that was hidden behind a stone panel. "Get in, grab weapons, and leave." She said, holding open the door. I walked in, and my breath caught.
Rows upon rows of weapons lined the walls. Old rifles with packs of bronze bullets next to them. A wicked looking, double-sided bronze axe, and a bronze sword that was like three feet long. I took weapons, and left the door. Adelyn was waiting outside. "Do not do anything strange. Act completely normal. Get to a different state, and find a new foster home." she said. "Um," I started to say, but she cut me off. "No. You have to go, and so do I. Missy called herself something... a half something, but whatever it was, that's what you are. Now, go." she said, and ran down the alley, her blonde hair flying behind her. What a weird day. First, I see a creepy snake lady staring at me. Next, I get attacked by the creepy snake lady. And finally, Adelyn ditches me in an alley. How fun!
So anyway, I had about forty bucks in my pocket that I'd found on the floor at school a few days ago. I decided to hit the road as I'd done many times before. Wherever I was going to go, it was not going to be Houston. I had a terrible experience there. So I walked to the nearest bus station and hopped on a bus to Nevada. Night was falling, and I sat alone in the back of the bus, I stared out the window thinking about well, life, I guess. I thought it was just so unfair that my mom had died so I had to be moving around all over the country from foster home to foster home. At every place I had found friends and a new family, and then eventually I would have to move again and start ANOTHER new life. Suddenly something caught my eye outside the bus. I pressed closer to the window so I could get a closer look. There was a horse, wait no, a man on a horse. Was that it? No. It was a man and a horse combined as one, the man's body ended at the bottom of his torso, and then started out into a black Arabian horse. The guy/horse's torso was clad in bronze and leather battle armor, with hieroglyphs or something printed across his chest. He held a bow, and galloped across the street, almost getting run over by the bus, and dissappearing in the tall grass on the other side. The bus swerved to avoid it, and crashed into a huge Oak Tree on the side of the road.
"Everybody out!" The bus driver yelled, and I was the first one out. I ran to the door, pushing people back into their seats, and causing much cursing directed at me. "Watch it, boy!" a man called to me, after he was shoved back into his seat, pushing his wife against the window. I pried the door open with my fingers, and bolted out the door. The night was warm, and a dry breeze blew, leaves flying in my eyes. I walked to the edge of the road, where a field of tall grass started, I pushed the reeds out of my way and started walking. The grass came up to about my waist, which was fine by me because I could still see my path. Scarce trees and bushes were clumped around here and there, and the stars and moon shone brightly above me. I decided to spend the night here, after all, I was used to sleeping outside. So I set my backpack down and, using my arm as a pillow, fell asleep.
My dream started like this. I was free falling through the air, but for only about a second, because right then, I slammed into a canyon wall. I frantically tried holding on to small crevices and ledges along the rock, but I was slipping too quickly, and the rock scraped and cut my hands. I was finally able to grab on to a ledge big enough. I held on for dear life, and, you know, since I had no idea where I was, I decided to look around. I was dangling way too far off the ground, in the Grand Canyon. Way below me, a river glittered in the sunlight. I strained my neck and looked up. About fifty feet above me, on the little glass catwalk thing, stood a P.E. teacher in an orange shirt and gym shorts, a tall, muscular blonde haired boy in a purple shirt, a pretty brown haired girl in a snowboarding jacket, and a tan black haired, white-toothed boy. I called out to them, "Help! Rope, please? Bungee cord? Something?" Suddenly, the P.E. teacher took off his shoes, and jumped straight over the railing, landing on the canyon wall. He ran down with agility on his goat hooves. Wait a second. Goat hooves? Yep, sure enough, he had goat hooves, which were keeping him from falling to the bottom of the canyon. "Come on, cupcake!" He said, lifted me up, and began to climb back up to the catwalk.
We made it to the top, where the coach dropped me and said to the blonde boy, "Curse it, boy! Didn't you leave some for me?" I like a challenge!" "Yo, Coach Supergoat, whatever you are, I just fell down the freaking Grand Canyon! Stop asking for challenges!" I yelled at the P.E. coach. Just then, the black haired boy turned into air, I mean, I could still see him, but his molecules were practically dissolvng so he looked almost transparent. He shouted, and I flew backwards, slamming into the glass on the catwalk.
I woke up with a jolt, and stared into the face of a police officer.