AN: Hey guys! I'm FINALLY back after taking an unplanned week off (again). I'm really sorry about that, because your support has been so fantastic so far on this book. But there was stuff out of my control going on last week, and I was unable to upload. So I'm sorry about that.
Before we get into it, let's do some review responses. First from RockRoy: "Aha, she finally realizes she can't do it on her own, possibly deflecting her fatal flaw :) Can't wait to see what happens next :)"
A: Well, she sort of realizes it. You'll see what I mean!
From EllaAnnieGrace: "Well, The Grace's place is eve more destoyed. And You should should watch the whole series of 'NCIS' The latest episode of is a tearjerker, though, be warned, w/ Tony leaving, and Deaths... ;::::::( [Crying my heart out]-Victoria"
A: Yeah, the Graces' place is probably gonna need some major repairs, haha. And I'll be sure to put NCIS on my to-watch list.
From AnamariaJovel: "Oh my goodness Elizabeth and Augustus SMACK-DOWN! Jocebeth is adorable yes, but that was so hard to read! Can Elizabeth and Augustus please at least be friends again? Honestly I feel so bad for Gus... I don't know, as I was reading this (not sure if this was your intention) I felt like Gus was just at his absolute worst point. I don't think he came because "he can get there fastest", I think he just wanted to be a friend and keep Elizabeth from dying, and then it was thrown in his face that he was broken up with, and forced to fight the girl that used to be his friend and is now his bitter ex. :( Elizabeth kind of bothered me here because she was so bitter and angry in the way she spoke to Gus, even though she was kinda the one who brought it upon them, when she tried to avoid breaking up with him, and then it all came out at Thalia's funeral. I feel like Elizabeth needs a chill pill. Her rash decisions are going to get her in BIG trouble sometime soon, I can feel it. She needs to realize that she's not the only one grieving here, and like Gus said its ok to ask for help. It's time for her to get out of her own head, I actually agree with Mr. D on this one, she seems to be getting arrogant almost... She has so much weighing on her emotions and mind, she really needs help before she explodes... Aye Aye Aye, such drama, as always you have a gift for making it feel so real!"
A: Yeah, the Gus v. Elizabeth fight was supposed to be tough to read. Honestly, I feel bad for Gus, too (even though I'm the one who wrote him into the predicament he's currently in!). He really is trying to do his best, and he's hurting pretty seriously from the Seven's disappearance, too. I won't say exactly what ends up happening with his and Elizabeth's rocky relationship, but I will say that it becomes much less toxic eventually. As for your thoughts on Elizabeth - Yeah, she's going off the rails a little right now! You'll have to wait and see where it takes her!
From George Oswald Dannyson: "these kids are a horrible mess"
A: That they are!
From J. Cage: "I think you meant Damascus the good giant. Bob is Ipaetus the Titan. JC"
A: Whoopsy, made a mistake! Good catch, and sorry about that.
From Person: "Alright, I'll bite. Where is Matt? Where is Sierra? They are my favorite characters and they aren't in it! What a world!"
A: Fear not! Matt and Sierra will have more prominence later in the book. Especially Matt.
From N: "#JOCEBETH2016"
A: Hahahahahaha, glad you like it!
From EllaAnnieGrace: "UUUUUMMMMM why are you EXTREMELY late? I hope it's 'cuz you're binge watching NCIS.-Victoria"
A: Sorry to say that it was nothing as fun as binge watching a TV show. Life just got in the way.
Alright, that's it from me. Now let's get on with the chapter. DFTBA!
Chapter 7: I Trash a Tourist Trap
Jake answered on the first ring. "Elizabeth!" he exclaimed, his face filling up the screen. I could tell by his surroundings that he was in Bunker Nine, presumably alone. That was good. I didn't want to involve anyone else in this. "Everyone here is worried sick!" he went on. "Theo barely ate at breakfast this morning. And Augustus! He left to track you down before anyone could stop him. Did he find you?"
I glanced over at Augustus, laying on the floor, unconscious. "Yeah, he found me alright," I said. "He's… unavailable right now. Look, Jake, I'm fine. I don't want you or anyone else to worry about me. I just… I need to do this on my own. Hell, I wouldn't be calling at all, but I need help from someone who's good with computers and hacking and all that stuff. And it was either you or Jocelyn, and I have a feeling that Jocelyn is pretty pissed at me right now."
Jake raised his eyebrows. "And you didn't think I would be?"
"Not like Jocelyn," I muttered. I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "Uh… how is she, anyway?"
Jake frowned. "Not great. She broke like three plates at breakfast. She said that if you survive to make it back, she'll kill you."
I winced. "Yeah, sounds about right. Jake, I know I'm asking a lot, but I need your help. I don't mean that I want you to come and join me. I just need you to help me with some computer stuff from there. But if you're going to help me, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone, not even Theo, where I am and what I'm doing."
"Elizabeth –"
"This isn't a negotiation, Jake," I said, somewhat more harshly than I'd intended I sighed. "Sorry," I muttered. "Look, I'm going to do this whether you help me or not. But if you won't help me, then I'm going to have to figure out a different lead. And it might take me a long time to get back to camp. But if you agree to help me, I should be able to get back a lot sooner."
"Fine," Jake said wearily. "But I don't approve of what you're doing, Elizabeth. You really shouldn't have just up and left. And you definitely shouldn't be doing this on your own."
"Well I did and I am," I said. "Are you helping me or not?"
Jake sighed, but he nodded. "What do you need?"
"I need to access this building's security camera logs," I said. "Can you walk me through hacking in?"
Jake rubbed his chin. "Maybe," he said. "But you'll need the right equipment. Either that, or you'll need to get into the security office so I can walk you through getting into their computer."
"Let's go with that one," I said. "I'll call you back when I'm in the office."
I went down to the first floor of the Graces' apartment building and over to the security office. I peeked inside. The door was closed and locked. There was no one inside. I noticed through the window that a red light was flashing on the phone. No doubt a bunch of people were calling in about the sudden lack of water pressure. Whoops. No doubt the security guard was looking into it, which meant I had plenty of time to get in and check the security camera logs.
First, though, I had to get through the door. If Jocelyn were here, she could get open the door with her cool daughter-of-Hermes-lock-picking-skills. But luckily, she'd taught me a couple basic tricks. I pulled a bobby pin from my hair and put it into the lock. After a few minutes, I had managed to twist the bobby pin into the shape of the keyhole and…
Click.
"Gotcha," I muttered, smiling slightly. The door swung open.
I went inside and plopped down in the chair. In front of me there was a bank of television screens that showed images from all the different security cameras throughout the building. They were all connected to an ancient desktop computer. It was locked. I called Jake back. He answered just as quickly as he had before. "I'm at the security computer," I said immediately. "Any tips on breaking the password?"
Jake walked me through the steps to bypass the password screen. Once I was in, I showed Jake. "Alright, nice work. Now are you going to tell me exactly what you're looking for?"
"The vehicles," I said, already going into the files to find the security logs from a couple days ago. "The demititans probably drove here, which means that they probably parked their cars in the underground parking garage before going up to take down Augustus's parents. The Mist probably prevented the guard from noticing anything was off, but I bet the cameras still caught everything."
"And what are you going to do with that information?" Jake asked.
I had clicked on the relevant file and brought up the camera footage from the parking garage from two days ago, scrolling through and looking for the demititans to show up. "If I can get a license plate number, can you search the Internet and law databases for places that car might've shown up?" I asked.
"Unless they got pulled over recently, they won't be in any law databases," Jake said. "But there might be a way to search for a license plate number in any pictures posted online. Like in the background. It'll be tricky, and it probably won't give us any fast results, but I can do it."
I nodded, still scrolling through the footage, looking up every once in a while to see if the security guard was on his way back. "There!" I exclaimed. On the screen in front of me, I saw several black SUVs pull into the parking garage. Several fully armored demititans jumped out of each SUV and went towards the elevators. I scrolled ahead in the footage. According to the on screen clock, the demititans returned to their vehicles fifteen minutes later carrying the unconscious forms of Aunt Piper and Uncle Jason. I squirmed and my heart seemed to drop out of my body. Actually seeing the demititans take them was... surreal. And extremely disturbing. I pushed my emotions back. I had to pay attention. See which vehicle they were thrown in so I could give Jake the right license plate number. After all, there was no guarantee that all the vehicles were going to the same place. "Ah ha!" I exclaimed. The demititans shoved my Aunt and Uncle into an SUV. I gave Jake the number.
"Alright," he said, typing away at his own keyboard back in Bunker Nine. He raised his eyebrows. "Well that was… way too quick."
My heart pounded like a bass drum. "You know where they went?"
"Lake Placid," Jake said. "A black SUV with the license plate number you just gave me was caught in the background of a picture taken there later that day."
I was already clearing out of the security logs and locking the computer back up. I practically dashed out of the office, though I stopped long enough to make sure the door locked behind me. Didn't want to leave any sign that I'd broken in. "Listen, Jake," I said, "thank you so much for this. Sincerely. I know I'm asking a lot –"
"Just be careful Elizabeth," he said. "And make sure you come back in one piece."
"I will," I assured him. "Oh! And one last thing. Augustus. He's out cold in his apartment. Could you send someone to pick him up?"
Jake pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated. "Yeah, I'll come and get him."
"Thanks," I said. "Gotta go!"
"Be careful!" Jake reiterated as I hung up the phone.
The long drive to Lake Placid gave me time to think – mostly about how I'd reached a whole new level of hatred for Gaius, which I hadn't even thought was possible. But aside from that, the drive also gave me time for my feelings of guilt to increase. I'd left camp, despite everyone's warnings. I had run away. And now everyone was upset about it. I couldn't imagine how worried Theo was. And Jocelyn… from the sounds of it, she was really pissed. I had expected that, but it still hurt. Any chance I'd had with her was surely gone now. Then there was the fact that I was asking Jake to lie to his boyfriend for me. That wasn't fair. And Augustus! I'd just gotten in a huge fight with him – a fight which had left him unconscious, waterlogged, and probably full of renewed bitterness towards me. And there was Hannah, who'd just arrived at camp and was trying to find her place amidst a crisis that none of us should have to be going through. That wasn't to mention my Roman friends. Sierra and Amy were already at Camp Half-Blood and were no doubt just as upset as everyone else. And when Matt found out…
Yet despite my increasing guilt, my resolve was not wavering. I was going to find my parents. I had to. And I could repair all the damage I'd done with Matt, Sierra, Augustus, Emily, Hannah, and even Riley if I brought all of our parents back safely. That didn't solve my Jocelyn problem, but I couldn't think about that just now. One problem at a time.
After four and a half hours of driving, I arrived at Lake Placid. It was a lovely little town. Lots of cute shops along the main street. The place was also packed with tourists. A popular place to go, it seemed. The lake itself was perfectly reflective. The town shone right off the surface, surrounded by a ring of mountains. The Adirondacks, specifically. I thought back to the last time I was here, when I was a kid.
Finally, a few minutes later, we were actually in the town of Lake Placid. Matt leaped out of the car so quickly, I thought I heard a sonic boom. I got out of the car like a normal person. I turned to follow Matt and Mom down the hill towards the lake, but before I could, Dad placed his hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you owe me one," he said.
I suppressed a smile. "Alright, alright. I owe you one. Thanks for saving me back there, Dad."
"You're welcome," he said. He sighed. "But uh… well, you're not usually so short with Matt. Is something wrong? Did you two get in a fight or something?"
I looked down. I'd been trying hard not to think about it. This was the first family vacation we'd been on in ages. Mom was usually too busy with work to take enough time off for a vacation, much less a full week. I didn't want to ruin it by being upset the whole time. Even so, I couldn't hide anything from Dad. He knew me too well. "It's about when we went to the beach the other day."
"Oh," Dad said with a frown.
"I just… I know you took both of us there, but it seemed like it was something you just wanted to do with Matt. I mean, you spent the whole time teaching him tricks with his water powers, but…"
"You don't have any," Dad finished. "And you felt left out."
I nodded, hiding my face and trying really hard not to cry. "I guess I'm just jealous of Matt. Not just because he has powers and I don't, but also because you and him have something to share that you and I don't."
Dad rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I shouldn't have done that. Worst dad ever, huh?"
"No!" I protested. "Dad, I love you. You're the best dad ever."
Dad snorted. "Yeah, right. Listen, I shouldn't have been helping your brother practice when you were there too. That was my bad. Don't take it out on Matt, alright? And that part about you and I not having a thing for just the two of us? Well let's fix that."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, I have a couple of tickets to a concert," Dad said. "An old hardcore band I've liked for a long time. They're doing a reunion tour. I was going to take your mother, but she doesn't really like that sort of music. Do you want to come with me instead?"
That had been a really long time ago. I had been… what, twelve? So much had happened since then. I'd gotten the powers I'd always wanted, but… well the tradeoff had been this whole awful war. A war in which I'd lost an arm, my friend, Thalia, had died, and now my parents had disappeared. I'd gotten those powers, but I'd lost so much else. I slammed my fist on the steering wheel, accidentally honking at some mortals walking down the sidewalk.
After a couple more minutes of driving around Lake Placid, looking for the demititans' SUV, I finally decided to park and search on foot. That didn't do much good either. I was getting desperate. They had probably already left Lake Placid. And who knew if Jake could locate them again? My lungs tightened. I leaned against the outer wall of a shop, clutching my chest. I needed to calm down. There had to be something I could do.
I glanced up, the lake down the hill, reflecting the town, beautiful as ever. The lake. I dashed down the street, startling a mortal couple out of staring lovingly into each other's eyes. After a few short moments, I made it to the beach. It was already cleared out. After all, the sun was setting, and most mortals were heading indoors to get dinner. Perfect. I needed to be alone for this.
"Uh, excuse me," I said into the water. "Is there a naiad here I can talk to?" Silence. I cleared my throat. "Look, I hate to bother you and all, but I could really use your help. I'm the granddaughter of Poseidon, you know."
"And you think that makes you special?" came an annoyed voice right behind me. I turned and was met with a woman who was clearly the naiad of Lake Placid. She had the elfish features and all. But unlike the naiads that lived in the canoe lake at Camp Half-Blood, she looked very serious and not at all like a giggling airhead. She was dressed in a broad brimmed hat and a vest with about a million pockets, each one stuffed with all sorts of things. Like a fisher-woman. "If I had a sand dollar for every demigod coming to my lake thinking they're special just because of who their godly ancestor is, I would be able to purify all the fresh water in the Adirondacks."
"Uh, technically, I'm a legacy, not a demigod," I pointed out.
"Whatever," the naiad said. "The point is, you lot always want things from me and what do I get in return? Nothing but more pain and suffering and pollution. No thank you."
"I'm not asking you to do anything," I snapped back. "I just have a couple questions for you, then I'll leave you alone to do… whatever it is you do."
The naiad sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"
"There was at least black SUV here, probably more," I said. "Recently. Within the last couple of days. And I think there were some demigods in them. One of them… One of them may have been a son of Poseidon. Did… did you see or feel anything?"
"A son of Poseidon was here, you say?" the naiad asked. She closed her eyes, thinking for a moment. "I would've felt it if there were a son of Poseidon in the area. I mean, I felt you and you're Poseidon's grandkid. But you're the only descendant of Poseidon to come to this town in more than a year. At least that I've felt. It's possible that I missed something, but it's unlikely."
My spirit plummeted. My chest tightened painfully and my head pounded. "Are you absolutely sure?" I choked out. "What about other demigods? Did you see or sense any other demigods?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean anything," the naiad said. "Demigods pass through this town all the time. I rarely pay them any attention. Mostly I just hope that they'll leave me alone."
I clenched my fists and bit my tongue, trying my hardest not to have a panic attack. So this was… it? Did the trail just go cold here? I turned to the naiad trying in vain to form words. The harsh look on her face softened, no doubt seeing how distraught I was.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I can see that whoever you are looking for is important to you. But I'm afraid I cannot help you."
I nodded stiffly. "It's fine," I croaked. "Thank you anyway."
The naiad frowned, laying a hand on my shoulder. But then she was gone.
I ground my teeth, trying to control my surging emotions. But how could I? My parents were gone and so were the rest of the Seven and Calypso. And now I had no leads. I was going to fail. And my family… they were…
"AHH!" I screamed, throwing a rock angrily into the lake, and dropping to the ground. I panted, trying to get my emotions under control. It's fine, I told myself. So the naiad doesn't know anything. That doesn't mean they're… gone.
That's exactly what it means, I responded to myself. Oh great. I was arguing with myself again. I stood up, clenching my fists. So, I was out of leads. What next?
My stomach answered me by growling loudly. I sighed. "Looks like I'm eating," I grumbled. I turned away from the lake and looked up and down the mostly empty street, the sun setting behind the hill. The first restaurant I saw made me choke, my eyes tearing up slightly. The Dancing Bears. The place my family had gone to eat when I was a kid, visiting Lake Placid for the first time. I took a deep breath. For some reason, I knew that that was where I needed to go. I'd eat, I'd make a call, and I'd regroup. But this wasn't over. I was going to find them.
The inside of the Dancing Bears restaurant was much as I remembered it from when I was a kid. Near the entrance were a couple of mechanical bears that you could make dance by turning a handle. The main dining area was split level, with the bar in the upper part. Several tall tables stood by the window. The place was packed with mortals. The bar was surrounded. People sat at tables with their friends and family, eating and laughing.
The stewardess smiled when she saw me. She seemed friendly enough, with brown hair that had blonde streaks in it. Her eyes were odd – they were such a dark blue, they were almost purple. Despite her apparently friendly nature, I felt uncomfortable. But I pushed the feeling down. My nerves were just frayed, and I really was very hungry. I hadn't eaten all day. "Hello, how may I help you?" she asked.
"Uh, hi," I said, my voice still scratchy from screaming and crying. "Um, could I have a table for one?"
"Certainly," the stewardess said. "Would you mind sitting at one of the tall tables by the window?"
"That's fine," I said.
She led the way, taking me up the short couple steps and bringing me over to one of the only unoccupied tables in the place. She set a menu on the table. "Your server will be right with you." After she'd stridden away, I pulled out my phone. I plugged in a pair of earbuds I kept in my jacket pocket and called Jake again. It was a few rings before he answered this time.
"Elizabeth," he said, his voice right in my ears. "Are you in Lake Placid?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding at his image on the screen. He seemed to be walking away from the dining pavilion. No doubt he'd snuck away to answer my call, and that was why it took him a little bit to answer. "Listen," I continued, "I have another favor to ask. Could you please run another search for the same license plate? It doesn't seem to be here anymore."
Jake sighed. "Yeah, sure. I'll get on it. But just so you know, it might take a while. We were incredibly lucky it was so fast last time."
I nodded in understanding. "As long as we can find them. I'm… I'm really worried, Jake."
"I know you are," he said quietly. "Elizabeth… I know you don't want to hear this, but I don't think what you're doing is right. You're putting yourself in danger, you're worrying everyone at camp… can't you just come back? I mean, there's no guarantee that I'll even be able to find the SUV online again."
"I'm sorry," I said. "But I have to do something. If my family… if something happens to them and I could've done something about it but didn't… well I'd never be able to forgive myself. Plus it makes sense, if you think about it. I'm the only one Gaius cares about keeping alive. I'm the only safe one."
"Well correct me if I'm wrong, but don't most of Gaius's subordinates want you dead?"
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I thought about my dream; Eliana and Marcus had something up their sleeves, some sort of trick to take me out. But I wasn't about to say that. "They can't do anything if Gaius is watching them. And I feel like my family is in the same place Gaius is."
Jake looked like he was going to argue, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something odd. "Uh, Jake, I'm gonna have to call you back." Before he could answer, I'd hung up and stuffed my phone and earbuds back in my pocket.
I looked around the restaurant nervously. Mortals were getting up and moving to the door en masse, shuffling as if in a daze. There was no fire alarm or anything. The customers were just getting up and leaving, as were some of the staff members – though not all of them. I glanced at one mortal's face as she passed my table. Her eyes were glazed over. And then there were the staff members that were staying behind. The bartender stood still, glaring over at me. A couple of waiters stood near him, also looking over at me. Down below, the stewardess was having a hushed conversation with what looked like the chef, both of them glancing over at me. Two more servers stood with them.
After the customers had finished filing out, the two servers standing with the chef and stewardess locked the door. The chef pulled the blinds. The stewardess approached me. I reached for my sword hilt, but only grasped air. I cursed silently at myself. I'd left it in the car. Even with the Mist, I had decided not to risk carrying around my sword in blind daylight. I hadn't wanted to draw unnecessary attention to myself. Good doing, me, I thought bitterly.
The stewardess stopped about five feet away from me. The rest of the staffers that'd stayed behind held their positions. "Hello, Elizabeth Jackson," she said.
"Hi there," I said, my mouth dry. I looked around the room, trying to come up with a plan. I had no weapon. And even though these guys didn't have any weapons readily apparent, they still outnumbered me seven to one. "So, I'm guessing you guys are demititans, yeah?"
The stewardess laughed, all pleasantness gone from her voice. "Oh, excellent observation, Elizabeth. Really, stellar detective work."
I rolled my eyes. "Did Gaius put you here, or is this Eliana's trap?"
That shut the stewardess up. "How – how'd you know about Eliana's trap?"
"So that is what this is," I said. "Frankly, I'm disappointed. I thought for sure she'd want to be here in person to kill me."
The stewardess shook herself. "Stand down, Elizabeth Jackson, and we won't hurt you. Our orders are to bring you before Eliana - alive. That doesn't mean we have to bring you to her in good health."
"Oh, so she does want to kill me in person," I said. "Got it." I looked around, still trying to formulate a plan, but it still escaped me. It didn't look like I would have much choice than to try and fight my way out. With my fists. Yeah, that'll go well, I thought.
"Last warning, Jackson," the stewardess said. "Stand down."
I stood up. "I think I'll pass."
The stewardess shrugged. "Suit yourself."
She yelled and ran at me, ripping a knife out from under her uniform. I ducked around the attack, grabbed the back of her head, and slammed her face first into my tall table. She fell to the ground, dazed. I reached for her knife, but before I could grab it, one of the waiters had tackled me to the ground. I scrambled, trying to free one of my arms. The other demititans were making their way over, and pinned to the ground as I was, I was vulnerable.
Finally, I freed my right arm. I smashed my elbow into the side of the attacker's face. He fell sideways off me, dazed, blood trickling from his temple. I kicked out, my heels smashing into another demititan's stomach. I rolled backwards, leaping to my feet. The guy I'd kicked was doubled over, but he wasn't out of the fight by any means. The chef and the bartender were on me. They each grabbed an arm, holding me in place. I tried to yank free, but all I accomplished was twisting my shoulders painfully. The two uninjured waiters took turns punching me in the gut, and the one I'd kicked in the stomach was just about to join in. I felt the urge to vomit. My midsection burned. This is it. I can't do this anymore. Suddenly an idea flared up in my head.
I pushed off the ground with my feet hard and kicked one of the waiters in the face. He toppled over backwards, unconscious. The chef and bartender fell over backwards from my sudden move, their grips on my arms loosening. I used my momentum to yank my arms out of their grip and roll back to my feet. I dodged sideways around one of the remaining waiter's punches and jabbed him hard in the side three times. He screamed and fell over sideways, clutching his ribs.
Oh right, metal fist, I thought.
The bartender was climbing to his feet. I went to kick him, but he dodged sideways and shouldered me hard. I fell back, slamming into the bar. The bartender ran at me, yelling. I rolled away, along the edge of the bar. He slammed into the wood. I reached out wildly and my hand closed around a bottle. I swung hard, smashing a beer bottle over the bartender's head. He crumpled to the floor, down for the count. Beer had flown ever, soaking my hand and sleeve, but I had more important things to worry about. The chef was still in the fight, as was one of the waiters.
They both ran at me, shoulder first. I leaped over the bar and picked up a bigger bottle labeled The Knot, Irish whiskey. I threw the bottle hard. It pegged the waiter in the face, putting him down for the count, but the bottle didn't break. Thick glass. The chef was still coming. I dodged sideways as she leaped over the bar, pulling a meat cleaver from under her chef apron. "Oh, come on!" I complained. She swung hard. I dodged backwards, but she was fast. She brought the cleaver around, aimed straight for my face. I raised my right arm in defense. The blade cut hard into my metal arm. I winced, thanks to the pain sensors in my robot arm, but I was fine. The chef, however, was incapable of yanking her meat cleaver free from my arm. I smirked. Perfect.
I punched her in the nose with my left hand. She stumbled backwards, letting go of the meat cleaver stuck in my arm. "Game over!" I snapped, punching her straight in the face with my metal hand. She was down. "Thanks for playing." I said to her unconscious form.
I looked down at my right arm, where the cleaver was still stuck. I grabbed the handle with my left hand and with a great tug pulled it free. I looked at the damage. The cleaver had sliced through the sleeve of my leather jacket and wedged itself between two of the metal plates. Sparks flew out of the newly widened gap. "Well that's not good," I muttered.
I felt a tingling on the back of my neck. I whirled around, raising the cleaver still in my hand. Just in time, too. The stewardess was on her feet, and she'd thrown her knife at me. The blade ricocheted off the cleaver. I leaped over the counter, running at the stewardess. She grabbed a nearby chair and tossed it towards me. I rolled sideways, right into her escape path and tackled her full force. We fell to the floor, a mangle of limbs as we rolled around, hitting and clawing at each other, fighting for dominance. Finally, I ended up on top, pinning her down with my knees, my left arm wedged underneath her chin. The stewardess choked. I panted, tired from the fight and enraged. "Nice try," I growled. "Now, listen here, lady. You are going to answer my questions."
The stewardess choked out a laugh. "And what'll you do if I don't? I already lost."
I raised my right hand to my face and yanked the glove off with my teeth, revealing the metal hand. "You see this?" I asked. "I got this metal hand thanks to your boss, Gaius. It's pretty strong. Want a demonstration?" The stewardess was silent. "I'll take that as a yes, then?" I punched the floor about an inch from her face as hard as I could, cracking the hardwood floor. The woman whimpered, her dark blue eyes widening in fear. "So, how about this? You answer my questions, or…" I grabbed one of her fingers in my metal hand, "I'll squeeze really hard. One finger at a time. And if you still haven't answered my questions by the time I do all your fingers, then I'll have to find another way to motivate you. Understand?"
The stewardess's face was ashen. "Alright," she grunted. "What do you want to know?"
"The black SUV with the Seven in it," I said. "I know it came to this town. Where did it go next?"
"There's a big house near the base of Mount Marcy," the stewardess answered. "They're being held there. I'll give you the exact address, if you like."
I smiled dryly. "I would like that very much." She listed off the address twice, just to make sure I'd gotten it. "Thanks!" I said in a falsely cheery voice, then I lifted my left arm only to punch her in the face. The stewardess fell unconscious.
I sighed, standing up with effort. I was sore all over, I was still hungry, but I was satisfied. Not only had I just beaten seven demititans in a fight without my sword, but I'd also gotten the very thing I needed – my family's location. I sent Jake a text, letting him know that he could stop looking for the SUV. Soon enough, I'd get my family back. And I would make Gaius pay for taking them and for every other awful thing he'd done. I was fired up, and there was no stopping me.
AN: Alright guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter! The next chapter *should* be up next week. So I'll see you guys then!
