People. Too many. Hurt my brain just looking at them.
We were in NYC, driving to a camp for gods (Something like that) summer had just started and now it was already ruined. It had all started yesterday, when my friend Douglas revealed to me that he was a satyr, a half-goat half-man animal. I had freaked out big-time, hey, it's not every day your best friend revels to you he has goat legs.
Then there was Clarisse, Daughter of Ares, god of war. I asked if she meant the dude from the video game, but she just gave me a look that said, I'm considering whether to kill you or not. She had come to "escort" me back to camp. LOL. I kept thinking this was a prank of some sort, but then she showed me her weapons, an electric spear, beautifully carved, and I started respecting her more. Whoever can handle that deserves some respect.
My mom stayed in North Carolina, she said it would be safer if we traveled without her. I disagreed, but I didn't want to cause a scene in front of our new guest, Clarisse. So here we are, about 11 hours later, driving our lives away, I had long since given up the feeling of puking, I felt that every 3 minutes.
"Can we stop? I need to use the restroom" I asked. It was a lie; I needed to get out of this car. Douglas had eaten all the Doritos 3 stops ago, and I had nothing to do except watch him drool on his shirt.
"No" Clarisse said, keeping her eyes on the road, not even glancing in my direction. "Can we stop? I need to use the restroom" I repeated, I wasn't one to give up easily. "No" she said again, I got the feeling that she wanted to keep her distance from me, like she didn't want to get involved with me. I also got this feeling from Douglas, like they were hiding something from me.
Finally after some begging, fake tears, and some arguments, I got her to stop at a gas station. We parked in the back, to draw less attention Clarisse said. As I entered the gas station, Douglas asked me if I had some money for Doritos, I handed him a couple dollars and he gave me a handful of coins in return, Douglas was weird like that. Clarisse insisted she stay with me, but as I entered the bathroom, she stopped at the entrance. I looked back at her and cocked my head into the bathroom, "Stopping so soon?" I said with a disappointed tone, "I thought better of you," I exclaimed as grin slid across my face. She didn't show any emotion, just said "Be quick".
Public bathrooms are one thing, public bathrooms in NYC are another thing, but this one was a whole different thing. The first wave that him me was the smell, rotten, is the only word that crossed my mind. The second was the taste; I know you're probably thinking, how can you taste a bathroom? And I don't know, but it just made my mouth fill with disgust, I might as well have eaten a raw chicken. Then, at last, I saw it, a man, crooked, with an ugly green jacket and dark jeans, old he was, facing the wall, he was shivering, muttering something that only he could have understood. He had little hair, and the little he had looked burnt. I immediately turned around and started running towards the exit, I was only three steps away, but as soon as I turned the man materialized in front of me. I tried to scream, but the sight of his face closed my vocal cords. His face, I remember every single detail from it. Burnt, like he has walked through fire. Then claws of animals, all around, specifically on his upper mouth, it was yellowish with some kind of liquid pushing out of it. His lips were gone; you could see the muscle where his lips should have been. As quickly as he appeared he grabbed me by the throat and lifted me with one hand. "You're back, I see" His voice. I will never forget it, it has made its way into my memory, rooted itself in. Raspy, frustrating, dead. Dead. I cannot describe it; there are simply no words to describe its horror. I will let your mind take care of it. His rotten fingers gripped my neck, I was surprised at his strength, but the only thought that came into my mind was death. I tried to focus on other things, Douglas, when he was hungry, then I thought about Clarisse, three steps away, she was. Yet so far away. The coins, a distant, god like voice said, The coins! It seemed to be frustrated at my ignorance. For a second, it was like my mind cleared, I focused on the disgusting face in front of me. The coins! I though, with my last bit of strength, I grabbed the coins from my pocket and threw them against the bathroom mirror. I dimly heard it, for I was already slipping away, then, everything went black. I could no longer think.