Chapter 2: We are saved by a Goat Man: Val's POV
We took one of those rental vans to Garcia's, the local Mexican restaurant. Everyone here loves Garcia's, however, it was pretty much empty on this school day; save for the staff and three men in business suits sitting in the corner booth.
The lunch was… well… awkward. No one said anything. The only sound was the echo of us using our silverware in the big restaurant. Cinder and I went to Garcia's together every week, twice a week since we were kids, and we still got lost in the giant place.
I sat in between Cinder and Ashton. We all sat on one side of the table, near the windows, while Ms. Nemi, our chaperone, sat near the exit of this section of the restaurant. It was a very peculiar set-up. 'Almost like she's guarding us…' I thought.
After around 20 minutes of silence, Ms. Nemi spoke up.
"So, Cinder, Chris. It's quite exciting that you two got in, hmm?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess." Chris said.
"Sure." Cinder agreed.
"Well, Val, I hear you're at the top of your class!" Ms. Nemi changed the subject abruptly "Despite your dyslexia? And ADHD? How intriguing!"
She hit a soft spot. I didn't like talking about my disorders; it made me feel like a weaker person. As if everyone around me was bigger, and I was just small and afraid.
"Well, um, I-"
"In fact," she continued, "All of you have dyslexia and ADHD! How extraordinary!"
Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats. This wasn't exactly the academic chatter I expected to go on at this lunch…
'Something's going on,' I thought, 'Ms. Nemi has some sort of point to this, but what?'
"Ms. Nemi, I hate to be rude here, but what's your point?" Colin said, like he was reading my mind.
"My point? Well… How do I put this?..."
It all happened so quickly. She sprang up and pushed the table—and us—into the window. I was surprised it didn't shatter. Then, Ms. Nemi, she… she glowed… and then she was wearing a white tunic with golden embroidery, like some ancient Greek person.
She smiled at us, "I don't believe I've properly introduced myself. I am Nemesis, the ancient Greek goddess… of revenge."
"WHAT?" We all shouted in unison.
"Surprised you, didn't I? Well, I suppose I got to you before that annoying little camp did… Ah, well, I guess I must do the explaining then…"
"Wh-what explaining?" Sam said with less confidence than a piece of bread.
"Pitiful. You? You're supposed to be the most powerful child of Demeter, huh? I doubt my sources are that reliable for that to be true. The rest of you, with the exception of the drunkard here," she pointed to Chris, "seem like very powerful demigods."
Cinder and I both sprang up. We had studied Greek mythology together for a project in 7th grade together.
"Demigods," Cinder mumbled, "are the offspring of a god or goddess and a human… But that's just-"
"Ancient myth? I think not." Nemesis smirked.
"So," I finally gained the confidence to speak up, "You're saying that we're the children of gods? And, by default, you're saying that these ancient Greek gods still exist in modern times? In America?"
"That is exactly what I'm saying. They've been here this whole time. Do you remember that natural disaster that happened in New York earlier this year?"
"Sure," Ashton said, "It's not exactly easy to forget something that almost wiped out Manhattan."
I remembered it too. Sure, we lived across the country in Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, California, but that didn't mean we didn't watch the news.
"That 'natural disaster' was actually a war between the gods and the titans. And after that war, the gods promised to claim all of their demigod children. They're still searching for them. But I was lucky to find you first."
"So, then what do you want with us?" Chris asked.
"Well, I saw a vision that, in the future, the six of you would be my downfall. And I can't let that happen. So, instead, I will eliminate you. And once I do, I'll be in trouble. So, instead of enduring eternal punishment, I will take over Olympus, the home of the gods, and the world."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Sam started sobbing, and Chris took a small bottle out of his pocket and started drinking it. When Cinder raised an eyebrow at him, he said, "One last drink before I die."
"No," Ashton and I both, surprisingly, said at the same time.
"You won't get us," Ashton continued, "We'll fight you."
Nemesis laughed, "That's what I love about you demigods! You're so ignorant. I can't fight you unless you attack first. And I'm sure you don't want to fight a goddess unarmed, now, do you?"
"Then how are you going to 'eliminate' us, as you said?" I yelled. I was getting riled up. If this person knew something about my mom, and who she was, but wanted to take me away from her… I just couldn't let her.
Nemesis snapped her fingers and the three business men in the corner stood up and walked over to us. Once they were at her side, Nemesis snapped her fingers again and the business men turned into…
"Hellhounds." Cinder and I said. We had read about them during our project.
"I'm afraid only celestial bronze will defeat them… and seeing as you're new to the demigod thing, I doubt you carry swords around."
It was then that the hellhounds pounced.
We split up and ran in three directions. Colin and Ashton ran left, while Chris and Sam scurried through the right corridor. Cinder and I swiftly ran past Nemesis. The three hellhounds ran in the three directions we went.
We ran to the front of the restaurant. Francisco Garcia was at the bar.
Cinder shouted, "Help us! We're going to die!"
I don't know what was going through Francisco's head, because he did nothing but say, "Crazy kids these days…"
The hellhound drew closer, ready to attack.
"It was nice knowing you Val!" Cinder cried.
I gulped back tears. "Same here."
But then, the roof caved in on the hellhound. A chunk of roof flew at Francisco's head, and he was knocked unconscious.
"What the heck was that?" Cinder yelled.
The smoke began to clear, and we discovered that the thing that hit the roof was… a chariot.
Two people were in the chariot, if you could call them people. There was a girl with pale green skin who looked to be about eighteen. She had a dress made of white silk, and hair that was braided down her back. The guy with her also looked about eighteen, but he had, well… the lower body of a goat.
"Need some help?" The goat boy said?
Cinder and I were still in shock.
"Geesh, don't talk my ears off. Nice to meet you too. You know, I'm only saving your lives."
"Um, sorry." I said, "I'm Valerie, and this is Cinder."
He shook my hand, "Grover. The name's Grover."