I arrived in front of the school an hour late. I could smell the excrement and garbage wafting off my clothes and wished I had an extra change. I couldn't go back home; my mom would kill me. And I couldn't go to school either, I'd be humiliated even though it was the last day of school.
I walked around the Chelsea Neighborhood and eventually found the Chelsea Market. I went to the bathroom and took off my shirt, glancing around me. Miraculously, the coast was completely clear. I washed my shirt as best as I could, using the hand soap to wash away the smell. Someone came in and I quickly hid inside one of the stalls. I wrung the shirt over the toilet, thinking about what the man was thinking outside the stall. Probably that I had a very big bladder or severe diarrhea.
I slipped the shirt back on and smelled the damp sleeve. A mix of hand soap and garbage juice. I gagged. It'll have to do for the day, I just hoped no one would get too close to me.
I left the bathroom, avoiding the man's eyes, and went back to school. The security guard wasn't very happy to see me walk in so late.
"Why did you even come to school?" she sighed, writing my name down. "Attendance doesn't even count anymore, you graduated." It was true, I wasn't technically a middle schooler anymore, more of a high school freshman, the most awkward year of all of school.
"I… I wanted to see my friends," I said, even though my only friend was Damien. It was a wonder neither of us had been expelled throughout the school year. I walked up to the fourth floor and entered the science room, where there was a massive paper ball fight going on between two groups of boys. All the girls sat in a corner on the floor, giggling as usual.
Someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled me behind a wall of tables and chairs. I noticed the science teacher sitting in another corner, reading a thick novel on atoms and quantum physics.
"Why are you so late?" asked Damien. He wrinkled his nose. "And why do you smell like garbage and cheap soap?" For some strange reason his portuguese accent was more pronounced than last year.
"Long story," I said. Damien jumped up, let out a battle cry and threw a paper ball at a kid's face. He was too slow. Damien ducked back behind the wall.
Damien chuckled, looking me up and down. "What happened? You look like a homeless person! Did you fall in a garbage truck or something?" I rolled my eyes.
"Stop laughing, it's seriously very important!" Damien's smile faded when he saw I wasn't laughing. He frowned.
"Did something happen?"
"I had a dream…" I started. The bell rang and everyone jumped up. "Let's talk outside."
"I have to go to my English class now," said Damien.
"Doesn't matter," I answered, shaking my head. "Meet me at lunch, when school's out."
Two hours later, everyone rushed out of school, impatient to start summer vacation. Girls hugged, some were crying. Damien was waiting on the street. I walked up to him.
"So, what happened?" he asked impatiently.
I quickly explained to him my dream, the news and the train ride. "Oh, so that's why you were so late." I nodded.
"What do you think we should do?"
"I have no idea, if we want to go to camp, then we have to get some things from home, like clothes and stuff," Damien said.
"But what if we get there too late," I argued. "What if they manage to get past the dragon and the tree? They'll destroy it!"
Damien hesitated. "What about Zoe? Weren't we supposed to find her somewhere?"
"We said we would meet outside of camp, a few towns away," I said.
"You think she's already there?"
"I have no idea, but we should go anyways," I urged.
"What about your mom? And how are we going to get there?"
"My mom won't worry, she knows about what's going on at camp, she won't be surprised to not see me home tonight. I'll send her an Iris-message anyways,"I said, waving it off. "As for getting there, we could maybe sneak onto the train, or use the river."
"You want to use the river? You're forgetting I'm not a son of Poseidon." I sighed.
"You're right. Well, I guess our only choice is to take the train," I said.
"So, we should go to Penn Station?"
"Yeah." We walked to the nearest subway station and got on the train. An hour later, we'd managed to sneak onto the Long Island bound train, where we kept on moving around so the conductor wouldn't catch us. I sat down in an empty seat and sighed after another hour.
"I'm so tired," I muttered. Damien sat across from me.
"You think Zoe will be there?" He sounded worried. I nodded, even though I had no idea if she'd arrived in New York or not. I felt my eyelids growing heavier. It had been such a long day…
BANG! I jumped. The whole wagon tilted to the side. Passengers screamed in fright and I was thrown out of my seat. I landed in the aisle, Damien on top of me. The train screeched to a stop.
"Sorry," he muttered, getting to his feet. There was another bang and this time, the wagon tilted to the other side.
"Search every single car!" bellowed a strong voice. I glanced at Damien in fright.
"Who is that?" he asked, worried.
"It's him," I whispered. "Let's leave, before he finds us!" I ran down the aisle, jumping over a fallen lady, who was slowly getting to her hands and knees, dazed. Damien followed close behind. He had pulled out his boomerang. My sword was in my hand.
"Let's leave the train!" I shouted over the screams and chaos. That's when the conductor finally found us.
"Boys!" he shouted, blocking our way. "Be careful with those sticks! Where are your parents?" I glanced back at Damien for help.
He stepped forward and snapped his fingers. He said in a smooth voice, "We are not kids, we are adults." He waved his hands in front of the conductor's nose. The conductor blinked and looked away from Damien's hands.
He looked into Damien's eyes, his glazed over. "Yes… I apologize for assuming your age…" He stepped aside. I glanced at Damien, frowning.
He grinned and continued down the aisle. "How did you do that?" I called after him. He glanced back, still running.
"I'll explain later!" We came to an emergency exit. Someone had already tried opening it but had failed.
"I wish Zoe was here," I muttered under my breath as I set to work on trying to open it. Suddenly, I was knocked backwards, the door flying. My back slammed against the opposite side of the train. Damien was lying in an aisle. Someone jump over him, screaming at the top of their lungs like a lunatic.
Standing in the doorway was a Hellhound. It barked loudly at me. I gripped my sword tightly. She glanced outside and barked again.
"He's coming," I shouted to Damien, doing my best to stop my voice from shaking. "She's alerting him." Damien got to one knee and with his left hand, threw the boomerang at the Hellhound. It disintegrated with another bark.
"Lord Atlas, he's over there!" shouted a monster.
"Let's get out of here!" I jumped out of the train, Damien close behind. I landed in a pile of gravel. Surrounding the train were hundreds and hundreds of monsters, trying to find a way inside.
Looking right at me, from one hundred yards away was Atlas. "Three times today," I muttered to myself. He began to run in my direction, a spear appearing in his hand.
"Damien, run!" Damien stopped and glanced at me.
"But he'll kill you!" he protested. I shook my head.
"This is my fight," I said slowly. I raised my sword and yelled out a battle cry.
Author's Note:
I've decided to be a bit more organized this time around. New chapters will be posted every Saturday and Wednesdays.