I cannot believe I am on CHAPTER 10! AHHHHH! Wow. Most stories I write just kind of dribble off and I forget about them or don't have time but THIS one I won't. Mostly because I'm having too much fun with it. :D

And I would have had it up sooner, really, but I was sick the fourth through the ninth, and I was out of town for new years. So, just bear with me!

-Calypso C.

Like I said before, it was around dust when we had entered the abandoned warehouse, so by the time we back on the cement floor, the sky was mostly dark.

When I say mostly I mean that if we were out in the country the world around us would have been totally dark and un-see-able, but the city lights kind of canceled that out. In fact, we could only see a few stars! I guess it was better than New York, but in Ashville…you see tons of them! Just by glancing up, you'd find a twinkle of lights.

And, believe it or not, I've seen my fair share of meteor showers. My dad, being the crazy scientist/inventor that he is, would wake me up in the middle of the night and let me take peak through his telescope.

What I saw…it was amazing. Seeing those meteors shoot through the sky, knowing that they're going faster than I can comprehend, leaving trails of fire…

But I then realized I hadn't thought about my dad all this time. At ALL. He must be out of his mind with worry! Or maybe Chiron called him or something…all I could hope is that one this quest was over I could talk to him and you know…explain things.

Back on track. So then we gathered up some weirdo stuffed animals each and sank down into their plushy fluffiness. For the first half hour or so, everything was fine. Then, Tanner fell asleep. Then Theo. Then me. And didn't put ANYBODY ON WATCH.

That was pretty stupid. But now we've learned our lesson.

I woke up tied and gagged.

Yeah. I WOKE UP tied and gagged. I didn't feel the ropes being put on, or the sweaty cloth shoved in my mouth. I didn't even get to fight back! How unfair is that?

Totally, I know. But there was much I could do. I glanced over to where Theo and Tanner had been sleeping and saw that they have received the same treatment.

Then I took a look at my captors, who were standing in front of us with glaring eyes, and my breath was taken away. Well, what was left of it any ways. One of the cutest boys I had ever seen was standing up in front of me and looking down at me like I was some sort of bug he wanted to stomp on.

Fabulous.

This boy (let's call him OOTCBIHEM, One Of The Cutest Boy I Had Ever Met) had shaggy dirty blonde hair just below his ears, in the same swoosh-y style Tanner had. OOTCBIHEM had eyes that were ever changing. One moment they were this piercing blue and the next they were a warm chocolate brown.

OOTCBIHEM was of medium build, but obviously had muscle. In fact, his ratty T-shirt had the sleeves cut off and holes just about everywhere. My eyes traveled back up to his face and I say that his nose was rounded, not like a pig's, and not like a button, but in a very cute way. OOTCBIHEM skin tone was also a lot like Tanner's. It was a very dark beach tan, so over all he looked a lot like a California surfer dude.

Of course, all of this took place in my mind in a few seconds, and OOTCBIHEM asked us a question (but of course took my gag out first). "Who are you?"

For a moment I was distracted by his now honey colored eyes, but then pulled my brain back together. I had to, to get us out of this. "Well, er, my name's Ella. This is Tanner-" I inclined my head towards Tanner, then Theo. "—And that's Theo. We're, well…on a, ummmm…" I trailed off, not knowing whether or not these people who tied us up were demigods or not.

This was the point where I finally took notice of three other guys beside's OOTCBIHEM. One had olive colored skin and dark hair, and he wasn't facing me. The two other's had brown hair, although one looked African American, and the other Caucasian. They all were around OOTCBIHEM's build, but a few inches shorter. Except of the black haired one. He looked about forty pounds heavier, all muscle.

None of them I wanted to mess with. Of course, if they weren't half-bloods, I doubt they would be a problem at all. However, if they were…

I wouldn't dwell on that.

This time, the black haired boy spoke up, in a deep tone that suggested he had already hit puberty, "Well? What were you going to say?"

"Now, now, Josh, calm down. The girl, Ella, will answer. Won't you?" OOTCBIHEM said, calmly.

I ignored his cuteness and gave a panicked glance towards my friends, silently asking what I should say. Apparently though, Tanner and Theo are really bad body language readers, so I didn't really get a reply.

I just sort of stared for a few moments when the African American guy said, "Clay, she's not answering. What if they were the ones who took down the Cercopes?"

I took a guess that he was the brains of this gang of boys. Just a guess, though.

OOTCBIHEM, I mean, Clay, replied in return, "Did you? Or do you have no idea what we're talking about?"

I nodded, realized my mistake, then piped up, "No, I know what you're talking about. And yes, we did kill those Cercopes. We're half-bloods, just like you, I'm assuming."

At that point I figured I had nothing to lose. If they weren't demigods, they think I was nuts. If they were, we might be saved.

Suddenly, Clay's expression turned to one of interest. "You did? How?"

I carefully explained my method, and Clay whistled softly. "Wow. Never thought of doing it that way. We only have one sword."

When I had been speaking, a few times one of the other guys had interrupted me with a question or comment, but Clay had shushed them. I seemed like he was their leader of some sort.

"Uhh…would you mind untying us? We really won't do you any harm. Seriously." I asked politely. I gave him a (what I hoped was) dazzling smile, you know…a bit flirtatious. I blinked my eyes at him, but not so much that I was over doing it. Actually, it wasn't that hard. After all, like I said before, he was one of the cutest boys I had ever seen.

A few moments passed and Clay seemed to consider this proposition. At last he nodded, and the big guy named Josh untied Tanner, the brainy boy Theo and Clay pulled off mine.

Tanner, Theo and I stood up and dusted our self's off. Now that I was standing, I felt a lot better, braver, and much more annoyed. I planted my hands on my hips and began a rant. "Do you do this to all the people that pass through here? And you ARE demigods, right? Why aren't you at Camp Half-Blood or Lupa's Camp? Do ya'll have a name? I know your name is Clay and the body guard dude is Josh, but what about the other two? And why do you live here? And why-"

"Hold on! Slow down, and I'll do my best to answer all your questions."

Clay interrupted me mid sentence, and I rolled my eyes and huffed. I started tapping my shoe on the ground in a simple beat. Okay, I was severely irritated. But you know…there's been a lot to deal with lately. I guess he took that as a hint to continue, so he started speaking again.

"No. You're the first. Yeah, we're demigods all right. We don't need them. And we don't need to gods either, for that matter. Our name is DEALL, Demigods Enjoying and Living Life. I'm Clay, this 'big dude' is Josh, this-" He gestured to the brainy kid. "—is Coy. And that's Sanders." Clay took a breath, then continued. "We live here because we're out casts. The gods didn't want us; they practically threw us away! And the camps don't want or need us either. We survive on our own, we're our own family."

After his mini speech was done, tanner piped up, somewhat aggravated. "So, that's it? You tied us up for no good reason then go about saying you don't like the gods at all? Of course they want you! And why wouldn't the camp want you? This is ridiculous, Ella, Theo, let's go. Now."

I had never heard Tanner like that before. Never so strict or harsh…never so, I guess irritated is the only word that works here.

By now my annoyance had passed, and I frowned. "Hold up Tanner, it's the middle of the night. We can't just leave. And your opinion isn't the only one! If Clay will let us, I think we should spend the night. It's not like we have anywhere else to go."

Theo eyebrows were raised, but he also took a step back, clearly telling me and Tanner that he had no part in this. In answer to his silent retreat I said, "Oh no you don't! You're in this as much as he is!" I flung my arm out towards Tanner.

"It's fine with me if you guys stay the night. We'll show you back to HQ. We even have a few extra beds." Clay said. He flashed a smile at me, and I returned it.

Tanner clinched his fists tight against his hips. "No thank you. We're fine."

"Tanner, be reasonable! Clay is being perfectly polite, and offering us a place to stay!" I yelled.

"Ella! They tied us up and don't like the gods and you still trust them?"

I opened my mouth in astonishment, Tanner was never this rude or mean! What in the world had come over him? "Yes. I don't believe that they would hurt us! It was all just a big misunderstanding, right Clay?"

Clay nodded his blonde hair. "Of course it was. We didn't mean to scare you."

Tanner still shook his head and started gathering up our packs.

I whirled toward Theo. "Theo! Tell Tanner he is being completely unreasonable!"

Shoulders hunched and hands in his pocket, Theo glumly said, "Tanner, sorry dude, but I agree with Ella. We have nowhere else to go, this is our best option."

Tanner face turned beet red and took a menacing step towards Clay. "Fine! But if anything funny is going on…" He trailed off, threat implied.

The guy with the brown hair, Sanders, snorted in amusement. "You'd think we were giant cannibals the way your acting."

Clay raised his hands in the air, open palmed. "Tanner, I'm not going to hurt you guys. What's my motive? But come on, I'll show you to our hideout." He started walking to one of the conveyor belts.

We trailed after him, and Theo hung back and gave me this look that I didn't get. "Ella, I know what I said earlier…but I still think we should be on the lookout. Just in case."

What was the deal? Clay, Josh, Coy and Sanders were perfectly nice and polite. For heaven's sake, they were giving us beds to sleep on! Why were Tanner and Theo being so rude? Like Sanders said, they're just boys, not monsters. They're completely harmless.