Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Sorry for not updating in a very long time, but I've been having a tough time with some things. I'll be back to updating this on a daily basis, though.

Daniel

We were in a lot of trouble. The serpent was overpowering us, and was pretty mad. Randy and I were trying our best, but I was now counting about 10 bruises only on my left arm. The thing was lashing at us from all directions. It could either hit us with its head, or the tail, or crush us.

"Rainbow dude, here they come!" Randy yelled, pointing up at the sky. I looked up, and saw Rojo, my Pegasus friend, swoop in and headbutt the monster. I'm pretty sure it was going to give both of them a headache. Rojo whinnied at me and watched as Ms. Rolland ran away.

"I know, we'll deal with her another time, get us out of here!" He nodded, and landed in front of me. His brother, Chomper, landed in front of Randy. "Fly!"

We took to the air, dodging balls of fire from below. It seemed Julian and Simon were still getting used to the turbulence, as their pegasi dodged the blasts. Julian looked like he was ready to barf, and Simon was hugging onto Cloppie's mane like it was for dear life, which, it pretty much was. I saw smoke rise into the air, as the snake's flames spread. Fire trucks were already driving down the road, alarms on full blast.

"I got a feeling that this is gonna make for one weird parent teacher conference." Randy yelled from his pegasus, and Porky whinnied in laughter. I couldn't help giggling a little myself.

"This is just a dream. I'm not really on top of a flying horse. I'm going to wake up any minute, and find myself in my bed." Julian spoke to himself, trying to find a reasonable explanation. Sadly though, it was far from that.

"Sorry, Julian!" I yelled, "This isn't a dream!"

"Daniel, cut it out, his panicking is hilarious!" Randy complained, watching as Julian had a nervous breakdown. I gave him a cynical look.

Darwin was chewing on a tin can he had put in his backpack, and Simon, though I have no idea how, managed to fall asleep, using Cloppie's main as a pillow. Cloppie didn't seem to mind, either way. He wasn't the smartest Pegasus, but he would go his way to help. I tapped my shield, and it shrunk back into its watch form. Soon, Alameda came into view. I had a lot of explaining to do.

We managed to light down in Julian's backyard. Simon was still fast asleep on Cloppie's back, and Julian had managed to calm down. Well, he was still blinking every now and then, still semi-convinced that he was dreaming. By the looks of it, Julian's parent is upper class. The garden was top notch, enough flowers to make a Demeter kid jealous. I could see a flat screen TV through one of the windows, as Julian's father watched a movie. He looked familiar, but I just couldn't recognize him. Julian unlocked the back door, and we walked in.

"Dad!?" There was a silence, before Julian's father ran down the hallway. He stared at us, and then got a serious look on his face.

"What are you doing back from school so early? Did you ditch!?" Then, he saw Darwin's legs, and after probably 1 minute, he managed to piece together the puzzle, and his eyes widened. "Everyone except these two, in the kitchen.'

He pointed at me and Darwin, and we followed him. We walked into the backyard, and into the greenhouse. He took three deep breaths, and stared at me and Darwin.

"What happened?" He asked, fear in his eyes. I knew this wasn't going to be the first explanation this day.

"Originally, we were supposed to find a more powerful demigod, but we accidentally found Julian along the way." The man's eyes grew gravely, "Simon's most likely a more powerful demigod, but... Do you know who Julian's mother was?"

He shook his head sadly. "I don't. She said it would be best if he learned on his own."

Darwin nodded understandingly. "Whatever that was that attacked us, it has the ability to follow us. It's best we go soon, before it follows us here."

Julian's father gulped, and nodded again. "Still, why don't you three stay here for the night? Try to recover from the fight?" I was about to decline, when Darwin gave me a pleading look. I sighed, and nodded. The man grinned, and told us he would explain everything to Simon and Julian.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Julian yelled at us, as he slammed a fist against the table. He wasn't going to accept the truth so easily.

"No, Julian, you and Simon's parents were Greek gods." David plead for his son to agree. I finally stepped into the room.

"Then why hasn't she visited? Does she even care about me?" He yelled, frustrated.

"Julian." I said, "Gods aren't supposed to have direct meetings with their children. It's a law that has been around since their beginning."

Julian looked at me. "And how do you know this?" He asked, anger in his voice.

"I know this," I took a breath, "My mother is a god."

"Yeah right. So, how come we don't see monsters on a daily basis?" He asked. This wasn't going to be easy.

"They exist in this invisible magic, we call it the Mist. It blocks the images of the mythological and unexplainable from mortal eyes, it's what's keeping them hidden." I increased my glare. "Monsters can sense us demigods, they know when we're close. Yet, when we realize what we truly are..."

"We're easier to find." He finished, realizing I was telling the truth. He sat down, and looked at the table blankly. This was the worst part of a demigod's realization. The moment where they realize that they've been lied to, fooled, for all these years. I knew how he felt, I knew the feeling.

"Who was she?" He asked. His father opened his mouth to tell him he didn't know, but then he asked, "Who was your mom?"

"Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow. She met my dad 14 years ago. I am the result of that meeting." I looked up at the sky through the kitchen window. Even now, I could sense my mother, watching over me, though I couldn't see her. "When I found out, me and another demigod, Zane, travelled with our satyr."

"I have a growing suspicion on who Randy's dad is." On cue, my friend looked at me, with hope in his eyes. "I'm not telling you yet." Then he looked at me again.

"What about Darwin?" Julian asked.

"He's a satyr. They're sent to schools and towns all over the world to find demigods." I said, "The actual person we were here for was Simon."

He stared at me, confused. "You see, Satyrs can sense monsters and demigods alike, but the thing is, the children of the most powerful of the gods, the Olympians, are easier for both monsters and Satyrs to find," Julian nodded, taking every detail in, "Yet, there are minor god children, like you and me, who are easier to miss, and is easier to live normally," I finished. He stared at his dad, devastated.

"Cheer up, Julian, at least you're not the only one that's going to die. We both are," Simon said patting his back. I looked at him. I had completely forgotten the others were in the exact same room.

"You're not going to die," I spoke, trying to sound supportive, "We can take you to a place safe. A place where demigods can learn to survive our life."

Julian looked over at Simon, and they nodded. Julian looked back to me.

"Where?" He asked. I pulled a map out of my backpack, and pointed at our spot.

"Long Island, Manhattan. All the way across America. It's safest there, mainly because the island has magical borders, and Mount Olympus is in New York city." He looked at me confused.

"Yes, I said that. You see, the very existence aura of the Gods settles in the best civilization of the time." I began.

"So, when the first holder, Greece, fell out of power, the aura moved to Rome." Darwin continued on. Simon looked at the map.

"And now, it's in America." He finished. I nodded, and traced my finger straight through from Manhattan to San Francisco. "Darwin and I tried a crooked path. It didn't really work out. That monster, the snake, it's been following us ever since we set foot out of New York."

"It first sunk the boat we were taking across the Great Lakes." Darwin said, putting an acorn marker in the section of the lake in Pennsylvania. "Then, the thing demolished our train in Indiana. Then it chased us through the subways in Missouri."

He placed two more markers. "Then, now this is the crazy part, it managed to get on the train we took to Nevada." He placed an extra marker. "Finally, before we came here, it tore apart an entire carnival in Vegas."

Darwin placed one last marker in the park, concluding our last encounter. Then, as to prove a point or something, he pulled out a picture of the serpent, trapped in one of those weird clown cars; I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"We'll stay the night, and then ride the pegasi to the city they can reach by sundown."