We have a new chapter! We have a new chapter! We have a new chapterOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
And you can start dancing now!
Hello my dear and beautiful readers! I don't know about you, but March took forever for me. But we're finally at the first of the month and that means being able to enjoy a new chapter of this beautiful story! (modesty sold separately)
Now I'll leave you in peace so you can read to your heart's content:
I'll see you in the endnotes!
Chapter 4:
"Nomad"
A loud bark echoed in the night. Several people in the square looked around, frightened, trying to see where it had come from or if the dog was near them, but they saw nothing strange. The place was lit up by the high candlesticks, the dark trees, some families walked here and there, couples strolled among the candy stands and a catchy fairytale filled the air. They had almost forgotten the stray dog they had heard barking, when something else caught their attention.
A woman screamed something in German seconds before an out-of-control motorcycle came out of nowhere and crashed into one of the trees. Many people reacted in alarm, but chaos really set in when one of the cotton candy stands burst into flames. Automatically all the people in the square started running, some wood debris jumped into the trees and the fire started to spread.
A man took his daughter and lifted her in his arms and started to run; the little girl, barely aware of the danger around her, could observe something among the flames and the shadows they produced: it was the figure of a boy running next to a huge animal.
-Suddenly the little girl was no longer in her father's arms. Now she was lying on the floor watching her father being pulled by... by something. It was huge, and it looked like an animal, a lion like the one she had seen at the zoo-Emili!
But the last thing the little girl saw before everything went dark and silent was a couple of bright green dots glowing and moving in the dark, leaving a final wake behind them. Just like the revenge lights she liked to play with.
It was... a nice last thought.
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The sunrise was at its peak. The darkness on the savannah began to recede but the sky above it was bright and blue, with only a few elongated clouds furrowing it. In the middle of the savannah, a gigantic circular rock cast its shadow. On it, Miss O'Leary was sitting on her back quarters looking at the rising sun and beside her her master was busy stoking the small fire in which he was trying to cook some sausages. She had her backpack on one side, her shoes and her shirt.
-Ah, it's so hot...-For being so early, my forehead was already slightly pearly with sweat. He took the first sausage and ate it in one bite-Have-Threw the second one at his dog, although he must have barely felt it between his teeth as small as it was. Still, Miss O'Leary thanked her by hitting her face with her nose.
When he had finished eating, the sausages and half a loaf of bread he had left over from the previous night, he got up and stretched as high as he could. He could feel the sun hitting his whole body, especially his face and torso, since he was not wearing anything from the waist up, it was a nice warm feeling; at least on his skin. He must have been in his second month since leaving camp, or maybe it was his third; he wasn't sure, he wasn't keeping track. What she was sure of was that she was in Australia, and since she had been there for the first time she had gotten into the habit of going there to rest.
It was impossible for anyone, or anything, to disturb him while on top of that famous rock.
-Mmm...-He unconsciously held his arm in his hand. In the same place where he had been burned the night before on his little sightseeing tour. Of course there was no trace of a scar, no, it had healed with the water from the beach.
Since his escape he had been fighting constantly. Thieves trying to take him for an underdog, cops trying to get smart with him, drunks, truckers and bikers in bars. Only a couple of times had he encountered a monster, and it had been nothing serious; it was exactly what he had been wanting. But he never thought he would meet the manticore face to face. Not so soon.
But I didn't want to think about that now. He finished his breakfast as the sun was just coming up, took his backpack, climbed on Miss O'Leary and together they jumped into the shadow cast by the rock they were on. By this time she had gotten used to the shadow trip; she was no longer dizzy and her skin seemed to have become insensitive to the cold that used to attack her in the dark. She closed her eyes, held her breath and when she breathed in again, the cold air from the north entered her lungs.
-Good girl, have fun-I scratch her infernal dog's ears a bit, to which she responded with a lively bark before starting to run and go into the trees, lifting the snow behind her big legs. Percy placed his backpack on his shoulder and smiled from the middle, he had discovered that his dog enjoyed running and hunting on his own while he did the same.
This time he had chosen Quebec City, Canada, it was the middle of winter if he wasn't mistaken but there was only a small snowfall; so there were some people in the streets, but nobody noticed the young tanned man who came out of the forest, shirtless and with a backpack on his shoulder. Of course, he only had to cross one street so that all the people on the sidewalk would look at him; but he couldn't care less if they pointed at him or looked at him with suspicion, he just wanted to find something to drink. It took him a while but in the end he was able to find a tavern a couple of streets away from where he appeared, by then the cold was already starting to get to him so he stopped earlier in an alley and put on a military camouflage shirt.
There were not many people inside; it was a small place, with the bar and some tables in the background, everything was made with a rustic wooden air. At any other time it would have seemed cozy, but now he just wanted to sit at the bar:
-He asked the bartender for a beer; a grown man, with a wide complexion, an incipient bald head and a well-groomed moustache.
-You're not something-but his inquiry was cut short when he saw the boy holding his identification high with his elbow on the bar, with a bored expression on his face. It was obvious that he was often questioned about his age. With no argument against it, he took a glass jar and filled it with the barley liquid-Here you go.
The mysterious boy didn't say anything, he just took the jar and drank half of the contents in one gulp.
-Fence...-said the man at the bar in astonishment. Percy just ignored him; he finished his drink and asked for another. A couple of other men, also sitting at the bar, a couple of places looked sideways at the quietly drinking boy as if he were the end of the world.
-Once again the green eye kept silent with its eyes fixed on some point of nowhere.
-Hey kid-I call him one of the men at the bar. Big, with a beard, the typical village trucker-I don't know who you think you are, but here, when someone talks to us, they respond out of politeness.
-I'm not from around here - I just answer Percy, leaving his jar halfway in his mouth.
-He asked, "How are you supposed to get there?" Another man asked, "The road is blocked by a snow slide on the mountain.
-with my dog-
-Arrogant brat-But before he finished his sentence the trucker ended up falling backwards with his chair. No one noticed how it was Percy who simply shoved it with his foot; he ran out of beer, left a couple of bills on the bar and walked away. All those present who were left stayed watching the man get up from the floor and sit down again on one of the benches of the bar.
The bartender, on the other hand, only set out to clean up the beer spilled from the bar.
Outside, the small snowfall had turned into a strong blizzard, forcing everyone in the streets to run for shelter from the wind and snow. At least, for most of them. Percy had to go straight back to the forest, where the trees gave him a good shelter from the snow, but not from the wind; he walked a little further into the trees. Luckily the snow was no different from water and could be kept dry. When he considered that he had walked enough, he gave a powerful whistle and supported his back against the trunk of a tree.
He amused himself by drawing figures in the snow with his finger while he waited; inevitably his thoughts turned to Frank. He remembered his previous visit to Canada, with Frank and Hazel on their way to Alaska; he didn't regret leaving without telling anyone. Nor was he mortified that possibly everyone was worried about him after two or three months of not hearing from him. Then a big move through the trees caught his attention, and a moment later Miss O'Leary was in front of him sniffing him out.
-How about a warmer place this time," he whispered. His dog nodded energetically as he started to run, a few feet later the footprints in the snow abruptly disappeared before they were covered by the snow. No one would ever know they were there.
The next thing Percy felt was the incandescent sun hitting him full in the face; he had to cover his eyes with his hand for a few moments while it stopped hurting. When he finally could open them a wide cliff extended in front of him, underneath he could see a small city bordering the sea. Green near the shore and an extensive blue as it opened up to the horizon. He could feel the salt in the wind and even the dog from hell seemed very motivated to go for a swim. Going down to the city was fast, the bad thing was that it seemed to be the season since it was especially crowded, or maybe it was just the weekend, I didn't even know what day it was.
It was fortunate that Miss O'Leary could now be reduced to the size of a common mastiff, a large but normal one. The first time he saw her do it he was very surprised; the trick was in that shiny red necklace she was wearing. She supposed it must be Nico's work, she still couldn't explain how her cousin had guessed her intentions.
He stopped thinking about it and started walking. There was an extensive boulevard that bordered the coast; the streets were made of stone and tourists strolled among the street stalls of food, souvenirs and things like that. Percy paid no attention to anything in particular, he just looked around while his dog went ahead or lagged behind to sniff out a delicious snack at some grill. Several people were curious about him, but the mongrel couldn't care less.
At the end of the boulevard, right in front of the beach, they had placed a platform with some enormous speakers on the sides and on top of it a young twenty year old cheerleader, very well endowed, was in charge of raising everyone's spirits by inciting them to dance and shout; Percy ignored the deafening music, the last thing he wanted was to endure a euphoric crowd. The warm sand under his feet made him feel a little better, and the sun mixed with the sound of the waves stimulated his senses a little more. He could feel every inch of his skin roaring to come into contact with the vital liquid.
-Come on, baby," he said, "but he didn't intend to give his father such a taste; let him know that the ocean had such power over him. Instead he reached into one of his backpack pockets and pulled out a tennis ball. As soon as Ms. O'Leary saw it, she started jumping up and down and waving her tail anxiously.
As he was going to look for the toy, he dropped his backpack in the sand and took off his T-shirt, leaving only the shorts he was wearing. He had long since become accustomed to his new life as a nomad, or a "backpacker" to use more common words. He lay down on the sand, resting his head on his backpack, fixing his eyes on the few clouds that furrowed the sky. He kept his mind firmly occupied with nothingness until he felt Miss O'Leary sit down next to him and drop the ball on his chest.
-Jmmm- As he stood up to throw the ball again he could see a group of girls a few meters away who were looking at him and laughing silly. He raised a corner of his lips in a sock and arrogant smile as he winked at them.
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-The young mestizos breathed a sigh of relief. Clarisse was in charge of teaching fencing to the youngsters, but this did not stop her from being as tough and demanding as she was with everyone. Daughter Ares dismissed them all and went to the big house. On the porch of this house were Chiron and Mr. D, playing one of their legendary basket games-Hello Chiron, Mr. D..
-Miss LaRue-Hailed the centaur as the god ignored her-What about sword lessons with the little ones?
-Naah..." He answered quietly, shaking his head from side to side.
-They're just kids, you should have more patience-Piper's restraint was also coming.
-This isn't even my job," he said, "it's Jackson's.
Chiron opted not to argue with the counselor in Cabin Five. After finishing his card game, he left his wheelchair and went to his archery class with the boys from cabin seven, but first he made a short stop at cabin thirteen. Inside his only occupant was sitting on the bed reading a comic book. The boy didn't even flinch when the door to his cabin opened and he heard the centaur's hooves.
-Hello...-I greet you without looking away from your comic and lazily turning the page.
-Hello Nico-Chiron, as in previous times, used all his patience to start a conversation- I wanted to
-I don't know anything about him-Nico left his reading and fixed his eyes directly on the centaur's coffees-I've investigated, but there are no clues as to his whereabouts.
-Nico, I know you've been trying hard and I hate to pressure you-Concilio Chiron-but it's imperative that we find Percy, we can't let him-
-Chiron is old enough to take care of himself." Shortcut Nico, making his best face, "It's Jackson we're talking about; he's not going to show up one day with a bunch of monsters behind him wanting to declare war on Olympus. His sarcasm cost him a hard look from his activities director.
-I'm worried, we all are," he said. "It's been a long time, no news from him. Sally and Paul especially. Reyna and Frank are trying to find him, but it's like he's disappeared.
-I'll keep looking, okay?" Nico said. The director took it for granted and left the place, now heading for his class. Once Hades' son was left alone, he locked his door and went to lie down on one of the bunks. It was only a week before everyone in the camp learned that Percy had escaped. The first ones to scream in the sky, literally, had been the director of activities and the son of Jupiter. Both had gone straight to the apartment just to make sure it happened. But they found nothing. No trace of a fight, no footprints.
Nothing.
Almost immediately everyone had started looking, even those at Camp Jupiter. And, even with two powers behind him, there was no trace of Poseidon's only son.
-Hey, Death Boy! -
-That had taken him so by surprise that he almost fell off the mattress onto the floor. The time it took the other boy to finish coming in through his window he used it to calm his heartbeat and, in the process, appease his homicidal urges.
-How are you?
-You know, some people seriously consider entering my cabin like this as a method of suicide. But no matter how threatening it might sound, nothing could shake the smile on that blond son of Apollo's face. He sighed with resignation and lay back in the bunk. What do you want now, Solace?
-I heard that you arrived this morning from one of your underworld trips; I want to make sure you're not overdoing it.
-And Nico responded with his best "go to hell" tone.
-All right...-To which Will seemed to be immune. He took a corner bench and sat down next to the bunk where Nico-Can I know where you were this time?
-Phoenix, California -Nico responded without giving it a second thought.
-Any sign of Percy?
-If there was, Chiron would have sent someone by now, don't you think?
-I guess...-Sarcasm was another thing Will seemed immune to. It drove Nico crazy easily. Why don't you seem worried like everyone else?
-Jackson knows how to take care of himself.
-I agree...-
-But I add Nico with simplicity.
-But I think if I needed help, I'd want to support him-he's got the blonde. Earning a curious look from Nico, with a raised eyebrow-Well, he saved me during the Battle of Manhattan and also helped me when I became a cabin chief. All in the same day.
-Mmmm-Nico looked at him for a few seconds before looking back at the bunk beds on him-You're an idiot.
-Oh, thank you, that's just what I needed to hear.
-Solace-
-Yes?
-Close your beak -I wasn't even looking at it. But I could see perfectly out of the corner of my eye as Will looked at him with an innocent smile as he started tapping his toe on the ground. Nico grunted audibly as he wondered, for the umpteenth time, how he could stand that fool with a Salvation Army doctor complex.
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The week went by quickly. Charlie continued to investigate the case of the beaten up assailants, without any progress; he had questioned the three involved as soon as they woke up. But all he could get out of them was a lot of inconsistent testimony, which he attributed to alcohol and drugs. Apart from that, things were very quiet in Forks. If it weren't for her daughter's courtship with the Cullen boy, she could almost put her feet up on the desk and take a nap.
On the other hand, the herd continued with their extra patrols, looking for some indication of the huge animal that had been roaming the forest. There was no sign either, which brought a small sense of relief. The kids followed their normal routine, joking, studying and changing. The only one who seemed to have something else on his mind was Jacob. He wasn't sure why, but he hadn't stopped tapping his foot on the floor or drumming his fingers on the table for a while. Already several of his classmates had complained about this new habit.
-I don't know...-It was his answer every time he was asked if something was wrong. And that's because he was, he was fine.
Nothing was happening.
To be continued...
Uhhh! With that ending, even I got anxious...
UHUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Alright my loves, unfortunately that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. Anyway you have no idea of everything that is coming our way in this story so I recommend you to get ready, maybe a seatbelt or a helmet. Ok ok, also an axe or a shotgun because, I'll be honest, you're going to hate me.
On the other hand, I can't wait to read what you thought of this chapter, don't forget that reviews are a vital part of a good feed.
See you in May with a new chapter!