Chapter 3: Attack of the Purple Ninja

I'm scared. For the first time ever, I'm scared. This gryphon thing is going to kill me. It killed Lau, and I get the feeling that I'm next. The Gray Sisters squabble, but I ignore it. The gryphon zeroes in on me, and it circles over the cab despite the speed. I should run. Or scream. Or hide.

But it killed Lau. A stranger who died for me. I open the door. The Gray Sisters look at me with their eye sockets. "What are you doing?"

I gulp, but don't look at them. I focus on the gryphon. The air rushes at my face. "Wait for me," I tell the sisters. "Wait for me. If I'm alive, I'll give you back the eye."

The sisters start wailing. "He's going to die! We'll never get our eye back." That was my vote of confidence. Great.

I stand tentatively, my leg halfway out the car. The wind blows fiercely and I'm panicking. The Gryphon turns his head to me and I know that its kill time. Strangely my ADHD isn't going haywire. I'm focused on the Gryphon. But then my sense panic intensifies even more, and then suddenly the strangest thing happens.

I relax. There is no tension. I feel great, euphoric. A smile breaks out on my face. The Gray Sisters gasp, as if sensing something. I look at myself.

I'm glowing purple. Great. Now everybody will respect me. Nothing more commanding then a kid shining purple. And yet, I see things clearly and more defined. Colors become vibrant. I note the gryphon's sharp beak. Hooked, to kill the prey in one fell swoop. I laugh, uncaring. This sense of power in me was overwhelming. I felt like I could do anything.

The gryphon swooped down with a shriek. Its plummeting dive is ready to snatch me up and tear me into oblivion. I laugh again. The gryphon moves so slowly. I know it's actually moving fast, but my reaction speed has somehow sped up.

I jump effortlessly, landing on the gryphon. It squawks and spirals out of control, and I am hanging on for life. Suddenly, it charges toward a building. It's trying to knock me off.

I get ready and as I speed toward the wall I push off the gryphon. The chicken cat crashes into the building. Unfortunately, my leap carried me toward the wall. I have an impending fate of crashing, and yet the only thing I feel is the excitement of some super adrenaline. In the back of my mind I wonder what I'm going to do.

A split second passes and I touch the wall with my hand. I feel my hand and two feet touch the wall with my unreal reaction senses. Then I push off the wall, launching myself at the gryphon. The dagger flashes out, a blur of bronze.

And all this happens in a matter of seconds. We hit the asphalt, hard. The moment I plunge the dagger into the gryphon it explodes. I find myself sitting on the ground with yellowish monster powder all over me. And the only thing that I'm thinking is did I just wall jump?

I get up, and then fall down. My adrenaline fades, and I don't feel normal. I'm exhausted. My vision turns black and I crash, face planting on gravel. Ouch. My world fades to black.

When I wake up after nearly dying I want to be groomed by kind doctors and pretty nurses. I got something else instead.

"By Tartarus! WAKE up!" screeched a voice in my ears. I groan and get up. My head is pounding, I'm seeing spots, and my throat is painfully dry.

Ugh. "Where am I?"

"Camp Half-Blood. That's where you wanted to go. Or has that fall made you dumb?" Wasp, the Gray Sister, is looming over me. I get my bearings and realize that I'm still in the cab. Outside is a hill and on it is a massive pine tree. Something golden is on it, and the bright shine hurts my eyes. I think about how beyond that point would be rest, a sanctuary of peace. Then I see the dragon.

"Oh, come on!" I yell, exasperated. "How do I get past that?"

"Not our problem," replies Anger. "Three drachma," she says, hand open.

I stare. "I already paid you."

"Yes, but you've been unconscious for hours. Our parking meter fee is enormous." I wonder if the ransom eyeball will help me. Then Tempest looks at me, and I freeze. She has the eye.

"We got it off you earlier. Now are you going to pay?" suddenly the sisters seem dangerous, as if a dark shadow is looming over them. I wonder what I'm going to do, but before the fear registers, a hand taps on the windows. Anger tries to open the window, but she can't find the button without an eye.

The hand punches through the window. The Gray Sisters scream. The outstretched hand opens showing 3 golden coins. Trembling, Tempest picks up the drachma. I see the open palm and gasp. There's an eye on it. It scans the cab and then sees me. The hand opens the door, and I get out.

I'm in for another shock. If the Gray Sisters need more eyes, this guy is the person to ask. He looks like a surfer, but blue eyes cover his body. He has a tough look on his face. But the steely gaze softens, and suddenly I'm getting at a lot of sympathetic looks from just one person-thing. He motions to me, and I follow. We climb the hill.