AOG8
I'd really like to say that when Chiron trotted in with some Athena kids, I went to him calmly to tell him what happened. Instead, when they walked in, I was running around in a circle while panicking and shrieking about golden shawls and men wearing them.
While the Athena kids moved the bodies to the Big House, Chiron pulled me aside, frowning. His t-shirt, which read "Ponies Don't Drink Root Beer", was the only thing I saw as I stared blankly at him. "Terra, what happened?"
I just shook my head.
"Spit it out, kid," Bob urged. "I can't sense Lindsey anywhere. Maybe she went down with the twins."
Chiron put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Terra, we need to eliminate you from our list of suspects."
I shook my head again. "And what? Everybody already thinks I'm doing this because I'm the only kid in this camp without an alibi. I have no evidence to support me."
Chiron sighed, shaking his head. "You can't possibly gather the evidence you need. You need to find out who is doing this – unless you are, of course."
I scowled, wrenching my shoulder away from Chiron's grasp. "Oh, so now you think I did it, horse man? Whose side are you on?"
Chiron stared at me, and his look was that of an angry old man's. "None," he said finally. "I am on no side. I only want to find out who is doing this to the demigods and mortals, and stop them before they discover how to make the gods turn into ghosts themselves."
I narrowed my eyes. "How many mortal victims have there been, Chiron?"
Chiron wrinkled his nose. "None, since you first arrived at camp. But six in total. Nine demigods."
"Can I talk to Nina?"
"Sure, talk to the chick who could probably prove you did it."
I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Shut up, Bob."
Chiron looked over at one of the Athena kids, trying to pick up the six-foot tall Warren with a seven year old girl and a really short twelve year old boy. "Howard, go get Nina for me!"
"And Harold Van Horn," I added.
Chiron eyed me cautiously before calling out, "And Harold Van Horn! He's at the Mess Hall with the dryads."
The Athena kid nodded, dropping one of Warren's legs, saluted Chiron, and ran off.
Chiron sighed, and turned back to me. "I hope you know what you're doing, Terra. Nina and Harold might not be of much help at all."
I folded my arms across my chest, tapping my foot impatiently. "Of course I do, Chiron. Nina and Harold will help me through this."
Nina and Harold arrived a few moments later, looking tired (since it was only six in the morning). Chiron trotted away to help the Athena kids pick up Warren, while Nina and Harold lumbered over.
"Yes, Terra?" Harold asked. He rubbed his eyes, yawning.
I grabbed Harold's arm. "Do you know how to drive?"
His eyes widened slightly. "Er, no. But my daddy goat does."
Nina narrowed her eyes, touching her belt. "What are you planning, Terra? Some sort of escape plan?"
I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. We're going to go to the Underworld."
Harold and Nina paled simultaneously. "B-b-but Terra," Harold stammered, "that's virtually impossible. We probably won't be able to get in and out without dying."
"Chiron would never let us out of camp for that," Nina added. "He wants everybody to stay in camp now."
"My mom is goddess of ghosts, and she gets in and out of there all the time," I told them, shrugging. "Says Wikipedia, anyway. Maybe we could use her way in and out of the Underworld."
"Melinoe's cave is the worst way," Nina murmured. "Too many ghosts lurk there. And then your mom shows mortals or demigods who go anywhere near her cave the ghosts of people they had never made peace with..." She shuddered.
"We should stay here," Harold muttered. "I-I don't want to get anywhere near your mom, Terra. Not since..." His voice trailed off.
"Since what?" I demanded. "What happened?"
Nina shook her head. "Don't tell her, Harold. It will just make Terra even more determined."
"I don't want to be framed anymore," I told Harold. "You can tell me."
Harold shut his eyes, and bleated. "Melinoe's shawl was stolen a month ago. Ghost-production has been reduced dramatically, and Chiron thinks the shawl is what is causing all of the living-to-ghost transitions. After all, the shawl is what Melinoe uses to control her ghosts..."
"Then we're getting my mom's shawl back," I told them confidently, then frowned. "Wait... What the hell does it look like?"
Nina elbowed Harold hard in the ribcage. "It's golden, for one thing."
"Emily told me that," I muttered.
"Who?"
"Nobody you'd know," I replied. "But somebody told me that a figure wearing a gold shawl turned Warren and Leah into ghosts. I think that shawl is my mom's."
Nina raised an eyebrow. "Well, how are you sure that what this 'somebody' said was correct? For all you know, it could have been Chiron talking to them."
"The figure was male," I recalled, "and the 'somebody' who told me said that he was somebody Leah and Warren recognized. But I don't think it's Chiron."
Harold folded his arms across his chest. "Well, then who is it?"
"Whoever has the shawl must be the one who is turning everybody into ghosts," Nina concluded. "I'm sure of it. It has to be a demigod or monster; no god can take each other's symbol of power. Chiron would never do that, so he's off our list, since he can't wear shawls. Makes him too sweaty, he claims."
"Has to be a demigod," Harold muttered, glancing at Chiron. "Monsters are too stupid to figure out how the shawl would work. Has to be someone smart, like one of Athena's kids." He glanced at Nina, whose expression had darkened, and added, "Doesn't have to be one of Athena's kids, though."
Nina grunted. "Whatever. Now, how are we going to get to the Underworld? Melinoe's way, to be exact."
I shrugged. "No idea."
"Then why the hell did you suggest going Melinoe's way?"
I lowered my eyes to my shoes. "Er, I don't know. Maybe because my mom would probably let us through?"
Harold bleated. "I don't want to go anywhere near her. She's probably going to chop my head off."
I held up my sword, and he flinched and took a step back. "I don't think so. With me there, my mom wouldn't chop a person's head off."
"You don't know Melinoe," Nina muttered uneasily. "But we'll go with you. Isn't that right, Harold?"
Harold bleated again, his eyes darting about. "Do I have to go?"
Nina glared at him. "Do you want me to ask Grover Underwood, or should I-"
"No, no..." Harold bleated, laughing nervously. "I-I think I'll go. You know, protect you two and such. 'Cause I've gotta be a man... A goat-man, that is."
I rolled my eyes, grinning. "Then get packed. We're going on a road trip."
It took Nina and Harold only a few minutes to pack a bag. I just walked to Thalia's Tree and stood there, waiting with my sword. I didn't have anything to pack, except for the things I wore; Nina had promised me that she'd pack a change of clothes for me, since I couldn't buy anything from the store, and Harold was just bringing a bag of soda cans and food.
I was about to fall asleep when a hand slapped my shoulder. I looked up. "Nina?"
Nina grinned, and held up her flash drive sword. "Yup." She glanced nervously behind her. "I hope Chiron doesn't notice we're gone..."
"Well, I couldn't care less," I muttered. "He's probably going to just lecture us. After all, we're doing this for a good reason."
"Nina! Terra!" shrieked an angry voice. Nina and I looked up. Chiron was charging at us, scowling angrily while Harold ran behind him, yelling excuses like "We need to find some more toilet paper!" and "Nina left her favorite teddy bear at home, so we're going to get it!"
Nina sighed. "I knew Harold wouldn't keep his mouth shut."
"Please, Chiron!" Harold shouted over the noise of running hooves. "Terra needs a chance to prove everybody wrong! We can't let her be framed for this!"
"Joy," Bob muttered. "You're gonna get killed by an angry centaur. Hey, look, it's Harold's daddy-goat and his car!"
"Yay!" I threw my arms up into the air like a little girl, earning a weird look from Nina. An old, red-going-on-gray truck was pulling up to the hill, with a man who had a sort of resemblance to Harold in the driver's seat. He wore a plaid jacket with the sleeves torn off at the elbows, showing off really hairy arms, and a lollipop stick in his mouth. He had a brown beard, and was wearing a snow cap on his head, probably to hide his horns. (Weren't satyrs supposed to be saving nature, not polluting? Ah well, we were desperate.)
"Daddy!" Harold yelled, waving his arms frantically as he ran alongside Chiron, who just scowled and charged towards us.
Nina yelped, and shoved me down the hill. I fell and began rolling down, like a barrel (as Harold would say), shrieking, "Nina, I'm going to- ow! Shit, my leg!"
I put my arm out and stopped the rolling, wincing as I jumped to my feet. There was a four-inch long rip in my jeans, and a three inch cut showing on my leg.
Nina jogged down the hill, like there wasn't an angry centaur running for us. "Get up. We need to leave Harold here."
"Crazy bitch is crazy!" Bob muttered. "Leave behind your nature guide? Insane."
"We can't," I insisted. "Chiron's gonna interrogate Harold and then he'll know where we're headed and attempt to get somebody to stop us. A god, maybe."
Nina snorted. "Are you kidding me? Most of them are hiding in Olympus."
"We can't leave Harold. If he stays, I stay."
She stared at me, wide-eyed. "So, you want to get in trouble? Just for Harold?"
"I'm pretty desperate, but I'm not going to be ruthless." I looked up the hill, as Chiron began charging down. Harold was clinging to his back, pleading with him to stop and listen to him.
Like that would work.
Harold's dad beeped the truck's horn. "Let's go, girls! And Harold. I don't have all day. Nature is a-waiting."
"Harold!" I yelled. "You know what Nina's brother always says. Do a barrel roll!"
Harold stared at me for a moment as Nina and I made a mad dash for the truck, and nodded. With a sigh, he grabbed Chiron's sides and threw himself to the side, like he was trying to make Chiron turn right.
Instead, they both went down, Chiron on his side with Harold's leg stuck under him, just as I grabbed the door handle of the truck. Harold muttered something (probably "Sorry"), pulled his leg out from under Chiron, and ran for the truck as Nina and I piled in.
"You're screwed, Terra. Just needed to throw that out there."
I nodded, watching as Harold leaped into the truck like he was James Bond trying to escape in an epic way. He shut the door, and Harold's dad drove off, leaving behind an angry Chiron and a few bystanders as we left the scene. Of a crime? Maybe not.
Only if it's illegal to run away from camp to clear your name of a crime.
Nina was dozing off next to me during the car ride, while Harold was chewing empty can after empty can of soda. I was staring out the window, watching as the trees rapidly passed (I saw a few dryads, too) while Bob rambled on about how much trouble I was going to be in if I went back to camp.
"... and do you know what we used to do to campers who left camp? The camp director – who wasn't Dionysus back in my day- would cast them into the woods and set a few hellhounds free in there. Never saw half of them again. If Dionysus weren't a lazy bum, he'd probably..."
I'd stopped listening after the "he'd probably" part, mainly because I didn't care. My freaking half-siblings were ghosts now, and now I was screwed in several ways. Chiron would kill me and Harold when we got back (don't know about Nina). Dionysus probably would make my death real, real painful. The dryads in camp... What would they do?
Oh yeah. Kill me for getting Harold to get his dad to drive us somewhere.
Pollution. It's serious business, yo.
I hugged myself, sighing.
"Are you listening to me, young lady? Is there no respect for your elders anymore?"
I frowned. "You're just a bodiless voice."
"So? I'm way older than you. Maybe a few centuries older."
"Uh-huh." I scratched my nose. "Right, right."
Nina, who had been awoken from her doze by a bump in the road, furrowed her eyebrow at me. "Are you alright, Terra?"
I shot an angry look at her. "Fine. I'm awesome. Thanks for asking."
"Look, Terra, this isn't your fault. I don't think you turned anybody into a ghost." Nina settled back in her seat, staring at the back of Harold's dad's seat. "Well, I hope so."
I snorted, glaring out the window. "You hope so. I really didn't do it. Why won't anybody believe me?"
"Because you're one of the only known Melinoe kids."
Harold spat out a mouthful of tin can into a bag. "Yeah. Nobody would dare accuse Hades's kids, and Melinoe's kids... Well, they're plain-out scary."
I scoffed. "Thanks. That statement made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."
Nina held up her hands. "Look, Terra, don't take this the wrong way, but-"
"Well, I am!" I snapped. "Whenever somebody tells another person not to take something the wrong way, that person does! Are you freaking kidding me?" I slammed my fist against the window. "If you guys don't believe me, then I'll just leave."
Harold paled. "Wait, what?"
"You heard me, Llama. If you don't believe me, I'll just get out of the car."
Nina scowled. "Don't be an idiot, Terra-"
"Mr. Van Horn, sir, can you pull over?" I asked him. Harold's dad grunted at me.
"You sure you wanna do that, missy?" His voice was gruff, probably because he was cranky that he had to drive so much. "Monsters could getcha. People aren't so friendly these days."
"Yessir," I replied, saluting him Army-style.
Nina grabbed my arm, shaking it like, er, a water bottle full of Kool-Aid powder. "Are you freaking serious? You're going to get freaking killed out there! Every god is pissed at you. Well, except for Melinoe, she might be enjoying this."
I scowled. "Yeah. You're such a good friend."
"Come on, Terra!"
My eye twitched. I opened my mouth to respond, when Bob shrieked, "Look out! Major... Uh... What is that?"
Nina and I turned our attention to the front car window (and I don't know what it's actually called). A large, black mass of fur the size of a tank was flipping cars upside down, while somebody was yelling, "Find her! Find that stupid child and bring her to me! In pieces, if you will."
"Damn it," Harold's dad grumbled. "A hellhound, and it looks like somebody else, too... I s'ppose this means you aren't going to pay me for this. Get out of the car, all of you. I'll stay behind and run them over."
"But Daddy!" Harold protested. "You're gonna die..."
Mr. Van Horn gave Harold a sly look. "There's a brick or two under your foot for emergency purposes. Give them to me, then all of you get out of the car. Then run."
Harold paled. "B-but-"
"Harold, I'm not gonna die."
"Harold!" Nina and I hissed.
Harold swallowed, picking up a red-ish brick at his feet (hooves). He handed it to his dad, as Nina and I opened the car door and scrambled out, towards a very promising looking alleyway.
The hellhound swung its head towards us. The thing on the back screeched, "There she is! Get her, Fluffy!"
Barking, the hellhound began to run towards the truck.
I don't know what happened then. All I saw when I turned around was Harold running towards us, and his dad leaping out of the car as it sped towards Fluffy the hellhound, who barked and probably tried to run over it. Sadly, it didn't work that way; I guessed that the car hit one of its legs, because it had face-planted on the ground, growling angrily.
I didn't watch anymore. I ran into the alleyway with Harold, not bothering to check on Harold's dad.
"How selfish of you, Terra."
A/N: Not my best chapter... But I hope my next one will be better. :P Thanks for reading.
