What am I writing again?
Oh yeah. Ma Gasket.
God damn. Uncle Rick, you have a weird brain. Especially since she actually crops up again as a character.
Anyway. On wITh tHe SToRy!
Fayden's POV
Huh.
The ground came closer.
Fayden was still in that 'just woke up' state of mind.
The ground came even closer.
This sucks.
He heard someone screaming, "Not cooooooooool!"
Then he heard another voice. "Piper, level out! Extend your arms and legs!"
Fayden frowned inwardly. He tried to do the same. It was really uncomfortable, so he let himself plummet.
The same female voice: "We have to get Le…"
Her voice slowly faded, as if it was far above him.
Then, all of a sudden, it grew viciously cold. The wind whipped around Fayden like iced rope. Snow seemed to float around his face. Ice actually spread over his body, small frost covering his T-shirt.
About fifty feet below, a giant factory complex spread out over the ground – warehouses, smoke-stacks, barbed-wire fences and parking lots lined with snow covered vehicles. What was odd, was the snow seemed old. There was snow under the cars, as if it had preceded the vehicles.
The snow wrapping around Fayden, however, had appeared out of nowhere.
The building complex loomed even closer.
The largest warehouse in the area was directly underneath him.
Then, with a massive stomach lurching gasp, his entire body was wreathed in snow. He held his mouth open in a silent yell of shock at the sudden cold.
In the distance, he heard someone yelling in horror, "FAYDEN!"
Then he plummeted straight through the corrugated metal of the warehouse roof and crashed against something soft, but cold.
He felt the thud of impact, but it was muffled, almost the same way sound was through headphones.
He'd fallen hundreds of feet through the air, Fayden realised. And he wasn't dead. Before darkness took him, he glimpsed his surroundings.
He'd fallen into something white. It was freezing upon touch, and his face rested against a bank of the stuff.
He fell unconscious.
When Fayden woke, it was no longer cold. He was wrapped in something fluffy, and had an arm resting on his back. He groaned, and the hand retreated sharply.
"Fayden?"
It was Piper.
He lifted his head slightly, and realised he was sitting up, having been leant against a wall or something.
Someone else stuck their head into Fayden's vision. As his eyes cleared, he saw it was Jason.
"Fayden?! Are you okay?"
An upbeat sounding groan. At least he hoped it sounded like that.
Jason smiled in relief. "How the hell did you survive, man? You fell hundreds of feet, and I couldn't catch you."
Fayden dragged his head around, and his eyes fixed on the mass of white stuff. Jason noticed his gaze and said,
"It's snow. That's where we found you. I have no idea where it came from."
Fayden grunted. He tried to stand, but was pushed back down.
"Wait here with Piper. I'll go find Leo."
Fayden couldn't argue. Sitting down was very comfortable. He wished snow was comfier. A sudden icy pain shot through his head like a brain freeze. Wind seemed to blow and whisper, You're welcome, ungrateful brat. Fayden stared at the snow bank. There was no way it just whispered.
He forced his ridiculously heavy head over to his left, and nearly headbutted Piper. He leaned away as fast he could manage, his eyes widening.
She grinned. "Hi. What a pair, huh? You survive a splat fall and I break my ankle."
Fayden glanced down at her foot, then started feeling grateful he couldn't talk. Opening his mouth would spew more than just words. Toes should not bend like that. Piper seemed to notice his look.
"I'm not looking. I'd be happy if you stopped looking like that. Is it okay?"
Fayden dragged his eyes back up to meet hers. In a croak of a voice, he said, "Um. Yeah. It's. Fine. Toes should. Bend like. That. Okay!" With the last word, his face lit up in a dumb grin that must've looked even more stupid on his numb face. Still, it made Piper laugh.
"Thanks, Doctor Thatch."
He grinned. Piper grinned back, then frowned. "So," she said, "how come you landed in a snow bank? Lucky hero much?"
Fayden grinned, saying nothing. Piper slumped her head against the wall they leant against, staring at the ceiling. Fayden decided to look around as well, ignoring the noises coming from above, like heavy thumps.
He saw a hole in the ceiling, like a giant starburst of metal leaning in where the other three had fallen. Hanging from the inside of the roof were a few dimly lit lightbulbs, which did a poor job of illuminating the giant warehouse. One wall had what appeared to be a company logo, but it was covered in graffiti. Fayden barely made out a red circle. Looking around, he saw giant half-finished projects: robotic arms, assembly lines of trucks without wheels or axles, etc. It looked like someone with little skill had tried to imitate Hephaestus' forge within the Labyrinth.
Someone came running over, and Fayden recognised Leo's voice.
"Oh, crap. Piper."
She groaned. "Thanks for the reassurance."
Fayden saw Leo bend down around her foot, and then Jason appeared, saying, "Can you heal her? Leo, you've got first-aid supplies, right?"
"Yeah – yeah, sure." Fayden heard rummaging, and leaned forward. Leo was rifling through his empty tool belt. Then he pulled out a wad of gauze, and a roll of duct tape – both of which were too big to fit in the pockets.
Before Fayden could ask, Piper groaned out, "How did you…how did you pull that stuff from an empty belt?"
"Magic," Leo said. "Haven't figured it out completely, but I can summon just about any regular tool out of the pockets, plus some other helpful stuff." He reached into another pocket and pulled out a tiny tin box. "Breath mint?"
Fayden tried to grab them, but Jason snatched them away and chucked them into the dark. Piper saw Fayden's pout and laughed while Jason replied, "That's great, Leo. Now, can you fix her foot?"
"I'm a mechanic, man. Maybe if she was a car…" He snapped his fingers. "Wait, what was that godly healing stuff they fed you at camp – Rambo food?"
Fayden snorted. "Ambrosia, you imbecile."
Leo grinned as Piper tried to clasp at something with her hands. "There should be some in my bag, if it's not all crushed."
Fayden watched as Jason carefully extricated the bag from around Piper's back, and dug through it. Fayden watched as he pulled out an airtight bag full of smashed Ambrosia. He broke off a massive piece, and Fayden knocked it out of hands, his arms still to clumsy.
"Dude!" Jason yelled.
"Too. Much," Fayden croaked. "Would've…killed her."
Jason sobered up and broke a smaller piece out of the bag, holding it up to Fayden, who nodded. Jason fed it into Piper's mouth, who suddenly gasped. Fayden knew the reaction. The little pastry lemon squares tasted nothing like shortbread, huh. He wondered what Piper tasted. He waved his arms again, painfully reminded of how much he looked like a Parkinson's victim. Jason glanced at him.
"What?"
Fayden eyed the bag, and grunted, "Small. Piece."
Jason broke an even smaller piece off, and eyed Fayden. "You sure?"
"Gimme."
He felt the crushed Ambrosia melt away in his mouth, and gasped a lot louder than Piper. They all looked at him, but he was lost in the taste of the golden apple, and he felt small amounts of energy surge through him. He wasn't technically injured, so he had to limit himself, but that small a dosage wouldn't do much. He felt his vocal cords relax and tested his voice.
"Ahhhhh. Oh, thank god. I can talk."
Leo groaned, and Fayden kicked him. Jason was talking to Piper as Leo yelped in pain. Fayden's ears pricked slightly, and Jason's voice muffled, as if he was filtering, "Yeah…I think so."
Fayden was listening to something far above. There was a second floor, and the heavy thumping was back. It was like…giant footsteps.
A sudden yell, well, two sudden yells brought him back down to the ground floor. Piper's foot was facing the right way, splinted with gauze and duct tape. Leo was rubbing his arm as if he'd just been punched.
"Jeez, beauty queen! Glad my face wasn't there."
"Sorry," Piper replied. "And don't call me 'beauty queen', or I'll punch you again."
"You both did great." Jason found a canteen in Piper's pack and gave her some water. After a few minutes, she seemed to relax slightly.
"Hey, what about me?"
Jason looked at Fayden. "You, um. You stared at the ceiling pretty well."
Fayden looked back up into the roof. "Yeah, well. It's an inauspicious ceiling."
Hopefully his tone of voice gave the impression he wasn't making a joke, but Piper chuckled softly. Then focused on Leo.
"What happened to the dragon?" she asked. Fayden nodded. "Good question…actually, where even are we?"
Leo's expression turned sullen. "I don't know what happened to Festus. He just jerked sideways like he hit an invisible wall and started to fall."
Fayden started to think. An invisible wall. Obviously some kind of immortal interference. Maybe the woman in her dream, What's-her-dirt?"
Leo pointed over to the graffitied wall. "As far as where we are…"
Fayden squinted back over to the graffiti. It was in the dark, but the red circle was definitely a singular red eye. Underneath, overlapped by other words, were the stencilled title: MONOCLE MOTORS, ASSEMBLY PLANT 1.
"Closed car plant," Leo said. "I'm guessing we crash-landed in Detroit."
Fayden had no idea why closed car factories and Detroit correlated, but went with it. He was pretty decent at American geography, however, and said, "What is that, three-quarters of the way from Quebec? Not far…with a dragon."
Jason frowned. "But we don't have one. We're stuck to travelling overland."
"No way," Leo said. "It isn't safe."
Everyone stayed silent, thinking, then Piper said, "He's right. Besides, I don't know if I can walk. And four people – Jason, you can't fly that many people across country by yourself."
"No way," Jason said. "Leo, are you sure the dragon didn't malfunction? I mean, Festus is old, and…"
"And I might not have repaired him right?"
"I didn't say that," Jason protested. "It's just – maybe you could fix it."
"I don't know." Leo sounded crestfallen. He pulled a few screws out of his pockets and started fiddling with them. "I'd have to find where he landed, if he's even in one piece."
"It was my fault."
Everyone looked at Piper. Jason and Leo were looking understanding, but in a condescending way, as if they knew she would blame herself. Fayden had been in too many dangerous situations to know when someone who apparently isn't at fault blames themselves, there's a fifty-fifty they are actually at fault. He flipped a mental coin and guessed Piper was hiding something.
"Piper," Jason sounded comforting. "You were asleep when Festus fell. It couldn't be your fault."
"Yeah, your just shaken up," Leo agreed. "You're in pain. Just rest."
Fayden watched her half open her mouth, then close it, before realising the guys were looking at him. His face was blank. Jason sighed and said,
"Well? It's not Piper's fault."
Fayden eyed her, and the longer he looked, the more nervous she became under his gaze.
"I'm not sure."
Piper's eyes snapped up, wide and panicky. He could almost feel the disapproval radiating of Jason. Leo muttered, "Dude. Not cool," but Fayden watched Piper's response. She was like a deer under headlights.
In reality, he had no idea, but her response confirmed it.
Leo stood and said, "Um, Jason. Maybe if you scout ahead, I'll go and find Festus and see if I can fix him. I'm fairly certain he landed outside the warehouse."
Jason opened his mouth, gesturing to Piper and Fayden. "But…"
Leo waved his hands. "They'll be fine. Fayden's probably still a badass when he can't move, and Piper with a broken ankle just relieves me…I won't be dying in the next couple hours…she can't catch me."
Everyone laughed slightly at his joke, but Jason still looked unsure. Fayden noticed his worry was slightly more directed towards Piper, and frowned. Jason was being swelfish. Not caring about Fwayden.
Ok, he'll stop.
"It's fine. Leo's right, I'm still a badass. Go and find out where we are."
Jason paused, then nodded. "Yeah, sure. Leo, you good?"
Leo reached into his tool belt and pulled out a flashlight. "I've got duct tape and breath mints. I'll be fine." Leo flipped the torch and caught it again, and Fayden noticed the forced grin. "Just don't run off without me."
He headed out across the warehouse floor, disappearing into the dark. Jason looked back at Piper, then to Fayden, "You'll look after her?"
Fayden scoffed. "Her? I'm surprised if she doesn't look after me!"
Jason smiled but Fayden noticed he was worried. He nodded and slapped Piper's thigh, causing a glare. He smiled in return, then looked at Jason.
"She'll be fine."
Jason nodded, and pulled his golden coin out of his pocket. Concealing it in his hand, he walked off in the opposite direction to Leo, vanishing into the gloom.
Fayden turned to Piper. She saw his face and shook her head. "No!"
He frowned. "How did you know what I was going to say?"
She gave him a look. "Because I've met you. I'm not playing eye spy."
"Ah."
A few moments silence.
Fayden shuffled slightly.
Piper sighed, and muttered, "I spy with my little eye something beginning with…"
Jason's POV
Jason didn't really like the idea of leaving Piper and Fayden alone. Neither could walk, let along fight. But he did, and now he was walking around a dark and damp warehouse, with absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing. Finding out where we are was actually quite difficult.
This place was definitely a closed car plant. Broken down BMWs littered the place. Rusted Fiats stood on broken suspenders, and abandoned step ladders lay lying around. He'd gone a floor up from where Piper and Fayden lay, and the hair on the back of his neck was prickling.
He looked around, finding many more mechanical parts: Spanners, Screwdrivers, Drills and many other bits and pieces he couldn't name. Engines or different sizes lay everywhere. But a few things kept throwing him off.
One, a giant piece of cloth, covered in metal grease, as if something huge had used it as a napkin…but it was huge. Two, an empty tub or something red, and when Jason smelt it, he withdrew quickly – it was spicy, but strangely, smelt edible. Three, a dusted footprint, that Jason could stand in, mostly blown over, as if something had been creepy, dragging its foot so not to make a thud upon stepping.
There was also some kind of scent that put him off. It wasn't an actual smell, more a sense, like something here wasn't human. Everything seemed too wild, and not habitable enough for a human hideout.
Jason walked on, past a scrapped truck, and climbed another set of metal stairs. He nearly gagged.
The smell was awful. It was like a mixture of motor oil and sour breath. He sorely wished he'd not thrown away Leo's breath mints. He looked around, and saw a truck engine – huge, rusted, and dangling from a crane's chain. Below it on a conveyor belt sat a truck chassis.
But what was odd was the ash in the centre, and broken pieces of wood. There was even a half-melted tire, as if it had been used as burners for a fire. A bottle of what smelled like petrol sat near the truck frame. This was a makeshift fire pit.
Jason instantly flipped his sword and caught the handle, now walking more quietly. Someone had been here, or was here.
He crept along quietly, then heard a shout. Spinning, he jogged over to the sidewalk, and waited.
"Jason?"
It was Piper. He sighed in relief. Then someone else spoke. Wait, no…
"Jason, are you there?"
It was still Piper. Why had he instantly thought it was someone else?
"Jason? I'm coming up. I don't like this."
Jason's breath hitched. How could Piper walk with a broken ankle? She wasn't going anywhere.
"There you are!"
Piper's voice was right behind him.
Yelling, "What the…!" he swivelled, thrusting his sword up, but it was knocked aside, and he was grabbed.
Something huge had snatched him, and hung him upside down.
Before he could yell, he was flicked. That's all. Flicked.
He was unconscious immediately.
Fayden's POV
"What was that?"
Piper looked round.
"I told you. Something beginning with…"
"No, no. That noise."
Piper stopped talking, and listened. Fayden cocked his head.
A loud metal thump had sounded out above them. Then Jason's voice. "What the…!"
Piper paled. "Jason?! Jason!"
Fayden had also paled, but he didn't know why. He clamped Piper's mouth shut. She looked at him with disbelief, then quickly relaxed when she saw his expression. When he pulled his hand away, Piper whispered,
"What?"
Fayden held a finger to his lips. "Do not say another word."
"Wha…ughmf!"
Fayden had clamped her mouth again. "Shh!"
Piper stared at him, trying to silently ask what the hell was going on. Fayden struggled to a crouching position, stopping when he saw stars, leaning against Piper. He pulled away, and whispered,
"That wasn't Jason."
Piper couldn't stay quiet. "What? Yes it was?"
Fayden shook his head, struggling to reach his katana. "It was his voice."
Piper opened her mouth, then closed it. Then, "What?!"
"Shut up!"
Fayden was aware his voice turned sharp, but at least it made her finally silence. Something was up there, and it wasn't Jason. It was imitating him. But not many monsters were capable of…
Loud metal thumping interrupted his thoughts. Whatever it was, it was coming down the metal staircase. He struggled into a kneeling position, and crawled along the floor. Peeking out of the dark from around a broken car, he almost had a heart attack.
He was staring at a giant torso. The head was directly above him. All it needed to do was look down, even in the dark.
He held his breath.
Then he heard an animal grunt. The thing spoke, addressing the area Piper was slumped, hidden in the shadowy light, having no idea what was going on.
"Piper?"
Fayden went pale. It was a pitch perfect imitation of Jason's voice. Fayden was stuck staring at his hand, trying desperately not to move.
"Jason?"
Shit. Crap. Mother…Piper! What the fuck did he tell her!
The creature grinned; Fayden could sense it.
"Piper, can you come here for a sec?"
Fayden couldn't do anything. He was still staring at his hand.
Wait a sec…his hand.
Focusing on his closed fist, he glared into the gloom. For a split second, it glowed gold. The creature above him grunted and looked down, but he was already in slow-motion.
Fayden rolled over, and stared straight up into its face.
Ugly, rotten teeth,
Misshapen face.
One, singular, bloodshot eye, right in the centre of its head.
Fear shot through him in the form of adrenaline. He shot to his feet, and sprinted over to where Piper was opening her mouth in slow motion. He used his momentary strength to lift Piper up to his chest, and lugged her over into an area where no light touched. He couldn't see Piper's frozen face, centimetres from his own.
The adrenaline producing fear was quickly fading. Fayden slumped Piper into the dark area as he stumbled back, unfortunately – into the light.
The lapse in concentration broke his time freeze, and a looming face appeared out of the dark.
"Well, well, well."
The voice was an animalistic growl, much to low to be normal.
He was snatched up, and before he could even think, blackness engulfed him. His last hope was that Piper would stay quiet.
Leo's POV
Why did he have to land in the toilets?
Goddamn it Festus.
Of all the places to crash, a line of Porta-Potties would not have been his first choice. A dozen of the blue plastic boxes had been set up in the factory yard, and Festus had flattened them all.
Fortunately, they hadn't been used in a long time, and the fireball from the crash incinerated most of the contents, but, still, there were some pretty gross chemicals leaking out of the wreckage. Leo had to pick his way through and try not to breathe through his nose. Heavy snow was coming down, but the dragon's hide was still steaming hot. Of course, that didn't bother Leo.
After a few minutes of climbing over Festus' inanimate body, Leo started to get irritated. The dragon looked perfectly fine. Yes, it had fallen from the sky and landed with a big ka-boom, but its body wasn't even dented. The fireball had apparently come from built-up gases inside the toilet units, not from the dragon itself. Festus' wings were intact. Nothing seemed broken. There was no reason it should have stopped.
"Not my fault," he muttered. "Festus, you're making me look bad."
Then he opened the control panel on the dragon's head and Leo's heart sank.
"Oh, Festus, what the heck?"
The wiring had frozen over. Leo knew it had been ok yesterday. He'd worked so hard to repair the corroded lines, but something had caused a flash freeze inside the dragon's skull, where it should've been too hot for ice to form. How? It was like the snowbank they had found Fayden in. Snow and ice don't just appear.
But it had. And it had caused the wiring to overload and char the control disk.
He could replace the wires. That wasn't the problem.
The charred control disk was done. The Greek letters and pictures carved around the edges, which probably held all kinds of magic, were blurred and blackened.
The one piece of hardware Leo couldn't replace – and it was damaged. Again.
He imagined his mom's voice: Most problems look worse than they are, mijo. Nothing is unfixable.
His mom could repair just about anything, but Leo was pretty sure she'd never worked on fifty-year-old magic metal dragon.
He clenched his teeth and decided he had to try. He wasn't walking from Detroit to Chicago in a snowstorm, and he wasn't going to be responsible for stranding his friends.
"Right," he muttered, brushing snow of his shoulders. "Gimme a nylon-bristle detail brush, some nitrile gloves and maybe a can of that aerosol cleaning solvent."
The tool belt obliged. Leo couldn't help smiling as he pulled out the supplies. The belt's pockets did have limits. They wouldn't give him anything magical, like Jason's sword, or anything huge, like a chainsaw. He'd tried asking for both. And if he asked for too many things at once the belt needed to cooldown before it could be used again. The more complicated the request, the longer the cooldown. But anything small and simple that you might find around a workshop – all Leo had to do was ask.
He began cleaning off the control disk. While he worked, snow collected on the cooling dragon. Leo had to stop from time to time to summon fire and melt it away, but mostly he went into autopilot mode, his hands working by themselves as his thoughts wandered.
Leo couldn't believe how stupid he'd acted back in Boreas' palace. He should've figured a family of winter gods would hate him on sight. Son of a fire god flying a fire-breathing dragon into an ice penthouse – yeah, maybe not the best move. Still, he hated feeling like a reject. Jason, Piper and Fayden got to visit the throne room. Leo got to wait in the lobby with Cal, the demigod of hockey and major head injuries.
Fire is bad, Cal had told him.
That pretty much summed it up. Leo knew he couldn't keep the truth from his friends much longer. Sure, Fayden knew, but that was Fayden. He literally didn't give a shit. If Leo had told him they were about to be ambushed by…cyclopes or something, Fayden probably wouldn't have batted an eyelid.
But not everyone else would see it that way. Ever since Camp Half-Blood, one line of the Great Prophecy kept coming back to him: To storm or fire the world must fall.
And Leo was the fire guy, the first one since 1666, when London burnt down. If he told his friends what he could really do – Hey, guess what, guys? I might destroy the world! – why would anyone welcome him back to camp? Leo would have to go on the run again. Even though he knew the drill, the idea depressed him.
Then there was Khione. Dang, that girl was fine. Leo knew he'd acted like a total fool, but he couldn't help himself. He'd had his clothes cleaned with the one-hour valet service – which had been totally sweet, by the way. He'd combed his hair – never an easy job – and even discovered the tool belt could make breath mints, all in hopes to get close to her.
And she fricking likes Fayden!
Leo knew full well there would be some back-of-the-mind resentment for Fayden over that. He couldn't help it. Leo had tried is hardness – granted, not much – and Fayden just acted like his normal idiotic self.
And who gets the ice girl?
I mean…Fayden has a girlfriend!
Second place. Getting frozen out. Story of his life. Relatives, foster homes, you name it. Even at Wilderness School, Leo had spent the last few weeks feeling like a third wheel as Jason and Piper, his only friends, became a couple. He was happy and all, but it still made him feel like they didn't need him anymore.
When he'd found out that Jason's whole time at school had been an illusion – a kind of memory blip – Leo had been secretly excited. It was a chance for a reset. Now Jason and Piper were headed towards being a couple again – that was obvious from the way they talked back in the warehouse – and Leo was back to being number three. What had he expected? He'd obviously spend his whole life being Mr. Odd Man Out. Khione had just given him the cold shoulder faster than most.
"Enough, Valdez," he scolded himself. "Nobody's going to play any violins for you just because you're not important. Fix the stupid dragon."
He got so involved in his work, he wasn't sure how much time had passed before he heard the voice.
You're wrong, Leo.
He fumbled with his brush and dropped it into the dragon's head. He stood, but couldn't see who had actually spoken. Then he looked at the ground. Snow and chemical sludge from the toilets, even the asphalt itself, was shifting like it was turning into a liquid. A ten-foot-wide area formed eyes, a nose and a mouth – the giant face of a sleeping woman, eyes closed, smile plastered over her face.
She didn't exactly speak. Her lips didn't move. But Leo could hear her voice in his head, as if the vibrations were coming through the ground, straight into his feet and resonating up his skeleton.
They need you desperately, she said. In some ways, you are the most important of the seven – like the control disk in the dragon's brain. Without you, the power of the others means nothing. They will never reach me, never stop me. And I will fully wake.
"You." Leo was shaking so badly he wasn't sure he'd spoken aloud. He hadn't heard that voice since he was eight, but it was her: the earthen woman from the machine shop. "You killed my mom."
The face shifted. The mouth formed a sleepy smile like it was having a pleasant dream. Ah, but Leo. I am your mother too – the First Mother. Do not oppose me. Walk away now. Let my son Porphyrion rise and become king, and I will ease your burdens. You will tread lightly on the earth.
Leo grabbed the nearest thing he could find – a Porta-Potty seat – and threw it at the face. "Leave me alone!"
The toilet seat sank into the liquid earth. Snow and sludge rippled, and the face dissolved.
Leo stared at the ground, waiting for the face to reappear. But it didn't. Leo wanted to think he'd imagined it.
Then from the direction of the factory he heard a crash – like two dumpster trucks slamming together. Metal crumpled and groaned, and the noise echoed across the yard. Instantly, Leo knew something was wrong.
Walk away now, the voice urged.
"Not likely," Leo growled. "Gimme the biggest hammer you've got."
He reached into his tool belt and pulled out a three-pound club hammer with a double-faced head the size of a baked-potato. Then he jumped off the dragon's back and ran towards the warehouse.
Leo stopped at the doors and tried to control his breathing. The voice of the earth woman still rang in his ears, reminding him of his mother's death. The last thing he wanted to do was plunge into another dark warehouse. Suddenly he felt eight years old again, alone and helpless as someone he cared about was trapped and in trouble.
Stop it, he told himself. That's how she wants you to feel.
But that didn't make him any less scared. He took a deep breath and peered inside. Nothing looked different. Grey morning light filtered through the hole in the roof. A few lightbulbs flickered, but most of the factory floor was lost in shadows. He could make out the area where Fayden and Piper had lain, but there was no movement – no sign of his friends.
He almost called out, but something stopped him – a sense he couldn't identify. Then he realised it was smell. Something smelled wrong – like burning motor oil and sour breath.
Something not human was inside this factory. Leo was certain.
His body shifted into high gear, all his nerves tingling.
Then he heard shuffling.
He spun, raising his hammer.
Nothing.
He edged closer to the dark patch, still holding his hammer above his head.
A pair of legs came into view, and one of the feet had a makeshift splint.
"Piper?" he whispered.
The shuffling stopped.
"Leo?"
Leo rushed forward, and pulled Piper out of the dark, resting her against a tipped over bench.
"What happened?" Leo was still keeping his voice as quiet as possible, a breath on the wind.
Piper looked scared, and really worried. "I don't know!" she whispered back. "Jason called out, then Fayden told me to be quiet, and that it wasn't Jason, then he disappeared, reappeared…"
Leo held up his hand. "Woah, Piper," he bent closer so they talk quieter. "What do you mean, Jason but not Jason? Where's Fayden?"
Piper was pale. "I don't know! Fayden heard something, and made me stay quiet. Then something huge grabbed him. I heard it. It was…horrible."
Leo looked at the end of his hammer. It was shaking slightly. "So, how are you here?"
"Fayden dragged me into the darkness. That's how he got captured."
Even though Leo was terrified, he had to hand it Fayden. He got captured protecting Piper. "So, what do you mean, Jason but not Jason?"
Piper rubbed her leg as if it were cramped. "He said…it was Jason's voice. Not Jason. I had no idea what he meant. But just then, before you came in, Fayden called out 'Piper! Come up here! I want to show you something'"
Leo frowned. "But Fayden knew you had a broken ankle."
"Exactly!"
"So, something's mimicking voices?"
Piper winced, still rubbing her leg. Then she nodded.
Leo still wasn't sure, but while he paused, Piper called. "Hey! Leo! You there?!"
But Piper hadn't opened her mouth. Leo gasped. It was an exact replica. If he had heard that call for help in the dark, he would've run straight forward.
Piper looked at him. "See?"
"How do they know my name?"
Piper glared. "How would I know?"
Leo rolled his eyes. "Okay, stay here. I'll try and…"
"No!" Piper had tried struggling to her feet, then slid to the floor. The noise made Leo wince as he peered over the broken table to see if anything had moved.
"Piper, you can't stand. If you make any more noise trying to stand up, whatever the hells up there will hear you! Stay here. I got this."
Piper looked murderous, but she couldn't stand to follow him, so Leo slipped off.
He stopped when he heard grunts. Peering round the machinery, Leo saw a crane. A rusted link of chains was hanging from tip, and a massive truck engine dangled in the gloom. Below it, on a conveyor belt lay a truck frame, all the parts removed, leaving just the metal chassis.
And gathered round this frame were three dark shapes the size of forklifts. Nearby, dangling from more chains on two other robotic arms, were two smaller shapes – maybe more engines, but one of them was twisting around as if it were alive.
Then one of the forklift shapes rose, and Leo realised it was humanoid of massive size. "Told you it was nothing," the thing rumbled. Its voice was too deep and feral to be human.
One of the other forklift-sized lumps shifted, and called out in Fayden's voice this time: "Leo, help me! Help…" then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?"
The first monster chuckled. "Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or the guy was lying about a third demigod. Let's get cooking."
Leo didn't like that sentence much, but breathed a sigh of relief. The things thought he might have been out there, but they had no idea Piper even existed. Thank god.
Snap. A bright orange light sizzled to life – an emergency flare – and Leo was temporarily blinded. He ducked behind the crane until the spots cleared from his eyes. Then he took another peep and saw a nightmare scene even Tía Callida couldn't have dreamed up.
The two smaller things dangling from crane arms weren't engines. They were Fayden and Jason. Both hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocooned with chains up to their necks. Fayden was struggling, and Leo could see, well, sense his glare from here. His mouth was gagged, but at least he was moving.
Jason didn't look so good. He hung limply; his eyes rolled up in his head. A red welt the size of an apple had swollen over his left eyebrow.
On the conveyor belt, the bed of the unfinished pickup truck was being used as a firepit. The flare had lit old pieces of wood and what looked like half a tire. From the smell, all of it had been doused in kerosene. A big metal pole was suspended over the flames – a spit, Leo realised, which meant this was a cooking fire.
But most terrifying of all were the cooks.
Monocle Motors: that single red eye logo. Why hadn't Leo realised.
Three massive humanoids gathered around the fire. Two were standing, stoking the flames. The largest one crouched with his back to Leo. The two facing him were ten feet tall, with hairy muscular bodies and skin that glowed red in the firelight.
One of the monsters wore a chainmail loincloth that looked uncomfortable. The other wore a ragged fuzzy toga made of fibreglass insulation, which also would not have made Leo's top ten wardrobe ideas.
Other than that, the cooks could've been twins. Each had a brutish face with a single eye in the centre of his forehead. The cooks were Cyclopes.
Leo's legs started quaking. He'd seen some weird things so far – storm spirits and winged gods and a metal dragon that liked Tabasco sauce. But this was different. These were actual, flesh-and-blood, ten-foot-tall living monsters who wanted to eat his friends for dinner.
He was so terrified he could hardly think. Despite himself, he kept wishing he had that nonchalance 'I don't give a crap' thing that oozed off Fayden. Or even Jason's stoic bravery.
It was possibly this thought that made him take a deep breath. He didn't need anything from anyone. This was his problem. Exhaling, he looked around for a suitable plan.
Leo could have worked with his fire-breathing sixty-foot-long tank, but that was out of action. All he had was a backpack and a toolbelt. His three-pound club hammer looked awfully small compared to those Cyclopes.
This is what the sleeping earth lady had been talking about. She wanted Leo to walk away and leave his friends to die. That decided it. No way was Leo going to let that earth lady made him feel powerless – never again. Leo slipped off his backpack and quietly started to unzip it.
The Cyclops in the chainmail loincloth walked over to Fayden, who squirmed and tried to head-butt him in the eye. Then his foot slipped out of the cocoon of chains and kicked the Cyclops in the face.
It reared back roaring. The other two rose as the first one yelled, "I'm eating that one first!"
Then the one with the fibreglass toga slumped over. "Can I take off the gag? I want to make it scream."
The question was directed at the third cyclops, apparently the leader. The crouching figure grunted, and Loincloth reached forward to rip the gag of Fayden.
Then he snatched back as if he'd been burned.
"What is it?" The third Cyclops grunted.
"Its eyes are glowing."
Leo's heart leapt. If Fayden could escape. He had to have fought Cyclops before. Leo watched, then his excitement dropped. Of course. He'd used his incredibly energy draining abilities, not to escape, but just to talk. His gag was missing, a pale glow surrounding it.
"Hi, evil monster people. I come in peace!"
The Cyclopes stared.
"Right. I have places to be. So, I appreciate this bonding moment. I've never been invited to a meal, as consumer or consumed, actually, but really…I need to get going."
The third Cyclops laughed. "You are funny, pathetic human."
Fayden frowned. "Um, yes I know. But I did make a point?"
The Cyclops stared. "You think we will just let you go?"
Fayden did what Leo assumed was a shrug, only he was upside down, so it looked strangely disturbing. "I've seen your kind doing stupider things."
The three erupted in complaints. Loincloth yelled, "We are not stupid. Sump, hit it!"
Sump, the Cyclops in the toga, rose and said, "Hmm. Torque, I think we both should. Take turns."
They both tried to crowd the robot arms, and Leo lost sight of Fayden and Jason.
Then both Cyclops glowed gold, and they panicked. "What the…!" One stepped back, but he didn't. Leo watched as the simple movement sped up massively, and the Cyclops shot backwards, slamming into the floor.
The third Cyclops rose and shouted, "Fools!"
Leo almost dropped his screwdriver. The third Cyclops was a female. She was several feet taller than Torque or Sump and even beefier.
She wore a tent of chainmail cut like one of those sack dresses Leo's mean Aunt Rosa used to wear. What'd they call that – a muumuu? Yeah, the Cyclops lady had a chainmail muumuu. Her greasy black hair was matted into pigtails, woven with copper wires and metal washers. Her nose and mouth were thick and smashed together, like she spent her free time ramming her face into walls, but her single red eye glittered with evil intelligence.
The woman Cyclops stalked over to Sump and pushed him aside, knocking him over the conveyor belt. Torque was still on the floor.
"You are going to be very tasty," she leered at Fayden, who shrugged again.
"I'd say so. Don't use too much spice, it'll ruin me. But you won't get that far, and I doubt someone of your…intelligence has a plan B."
The Cyclops roared and grabbed Fayden by the waist. Leo thought he saw maybe a flicker of fear, but it was gone instantly, replaced by that polite, sarcastic smile.
"You dare! I'm Ma Gasket! Even eaten tougher heroes than you!"
But Fayden had burst out laughing. "Whaaat?! Ma Gasket?! What?!"
The female cyclops, Ma Gasket, roared again. "Torque. Knock him out again!"
Torque strolled over and reached round and punched Fayden.
He went limp instantly.
Great. Thanks, Fayden.
Leo's hands worked furiously as the Cyclops argued around him. He twisted wires and turned switches, hardly thinking about what he was doing. He finished attaching the remote. Then he crept over to the next robotic arm while the Cyclops were talking.
"…eat him last, Ma?"
"What! Why! He insulted me! Moron!"
Leo realised that Sump and Torque must be her sons. If so, ugly definitely ran in the family. "I should've thrown you out on the streets when you were babies, like proper Cyclops children. You might have learned some useful skills. Curse my soft heart when I kept you!"
"Soft heart?" Torque muttered.
"What was that, you ingrate!"
"Nothing Ma. I said you've got a soft heart. We get to work for you, feed you, file your toenails…"
"And you should be grateful!" Ma Gasket bellowed. "Now, stoke the fire Torque! And Sump, you idiot, my case of salsa is in the other room. Don't tell me you expect me to eat these demigods without salsa!"
"Yes, Ma," Sump said. "I mean no, Ma. I mean…"
"Go get it!" Ma Gasket picked up a nearby truck chassis and slammed it over Sump's head. Sump crumpled to his knees. Leo was sure a hit like that would kill him, but Sump apparently got hit by trucks a lot. He managed to push the chassis off his head. Then he staggered to his feet and ran off to fetch the salsa.
Now's the time, Leo thought. While they're separated.
He finished wiring the second machine and moved towards a third. As he dashed between robotic arms, the Cyclopes didn't see him, but Leo thought he saw Fayden crack and eye open in his direction. Apparently unconscious meant something different in The Book of Fayden.
Ma Gasket suddenly boomed with laughter. "Ah! Something you've said right, for once, Torque! These don't seem to be screaming quite as much."
Torque muttered something, and Ma Gasket grunted thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose they are sort of knocked out. Stupid demigods."
"Um, you punched them, Ma."
"Silence!"
Torque shuffled back to the fire as Ma Gasket said to herself, "At least we don't have to hear the 'I won't taste good! I'm stringy!"
Torque heard, and laughed. "Yes, Ma. Who was the last hero we ate?"
"A son of Mercury! Ha! He did taste stringy, but it was rather nice."
Torque nodded. "Yeah, he tasted like mutton. Purple shirt. Talked in Latin. Like a good mutton chop."
Leo's fingers froze on the maintenance panel. Fayden also opened his eyes, rather wider than normal. Forgoing any attempt to remain unconscious, he said, "Wait, purple shirt? Latin?"
The two Cyclopes jumped, then turned. Ma Gasket said, rather confused, "You should be all knocked cold and such!"
Fayden shrugged upside down. "Maybe you're growing weaker with age. Purple shirt? Latin?"
Ma Gasket roared and stood. "Weak! I'll show you!"
She stomped over, and raised her fist high above her head. Leo watched in shock as she slammed it towards Fayden, then walked off. But as she passed, Leo got a view of the smiling demi-titan.
"That was it?"
Ma Gasket swivelled. "How!" She roared.
Fayden grinned. "Ah-ah. Purple shirt. He spoke in Latin?"
Ma Gasket grumbled. "You have spirit, soon-to-be-salsa-accessory. Yes, we ate him. Tasted sort of stringy, like we…"
"No, no! Do I look uncivilised? I don't give a damn what he tasted like…he spoke in Latin?"
The Cyclops seemed confused as to why their food was trying to engage in conversation, so maybe this was why they went along with it – a change of pace.
"Hmm. Yes? Why, that is not strange?"
Fayden suddenly said something Leo couldn't understand. "Anne einai emitheus, giati nha milaei latinika; miluse ellinika, elithioi."
The Cyclopes stared. "You speak Greek?" Torque grunted.
"Of course I do, like every demigod…"
Leo mentally disagreed with that one. He had no idea what Fayden had just said. Ma Gasket interrupted, "Not all. Son of Mercury. There was another…daughter of Ceres. She was a squealer. Very tender."
Fayden had frowned, then gone pale. Leo knew he knew something, but raised an eyebrow when he didn't say anything. The Cyclopes noticed as well.
"You finished talking?"
"Yep. Unless you want to untie me, so we can have a conversation at ground level?"
Torque looked over at Ma Gasket. "Can we?"
Ma Gasket punched him. "No, you idiot!" Then she turned to Fayden. "I don't know how you can convince my simpleton son to let you go, but I won't be fooled. We are Northern Cyclopes! We don't fall for tricks and riddles!"
Fayden glanced at Torque, who was rubbing his face. "Sure you don't."
Leo blinked, and snapped back into focus. Fix machinery. Fayden couldn't talk forever.
Wait.
Just fix them anyway.
His hands went to work, but his mind was racing. A kid who spoke Latin had been caught here – in a purple shirt like Jason's? He didn't know what it meant, but was fairly certain Fayden did, which ticked him off. Fayden always seemed to have an aura of 'I know more than you' about him, but Leo assumed it just came with the reputation. But it seemed the loose-lipped sarcastic son of Kronos wasn't as loose-lipped as he let on. Withholding information on a quest like this didn't seem like a smart move to Leo, and he made a mental note to mention it.
Leo looked up at the engine block suspended right above the Cyclopes' campsite. He wished he could use that – it would make a great weapon. But the crane holding it was on the opposite side of the conveyor belt. There was no way Leo could make it without being seen and, besides, he was running short on time. Sump and the salsa would be back soon.
The last part of his plan was the trickiest. From his tool belt he summoned some wires, a radio adapter and a smaller screwdriver, then started to build a universal remote. For the first time, he sent a silent thank you to his dad – Hephaestus – for the magic tool belt. Get me out of here , he prayed, and maybe you're not such a jerk.
Fayden was back to blabbing. "Huh. Northern Cyclopes. Never heard of them."
Ma Gasket looked annoyed. "Now, why is that! We are famous!"
Torque interrupted. "Ma, it may be the fact we eat anyone who visits."
Fayden at Torque with a grin. Yep, still weird while he's upside down.
"Right, but why don't you build stuff? Like, I get Cyclopes are split down the middle between good and bad, but you all make stuff, right?"
Ma Gasket snorted. "Bah! Yes. I'm better at eating people…and smashing. Good at building things, yes, but not for the gods, if that's what you mean. Our cousins, the elder Cyclopes, they do this, yes. Thinking they're so high and mighty 'cause they're a few thousand years older!"
"Well, that does usually create a social high ground situation. And they don't eat people, so there's the moral high ground. You guys don't really stand on a lot of high ground, do you?"
Fayden was enjoying himself, Leo could tell. From the trembling fingers and the chattering teeth, Leo found it annoying that he was moments from peeing himself and Fayden was just mocking the giant muscular cannibals for something to do.
Ma Gasket let out a low rumbling growl, but continued. "Our Southern cousins, they live on islands and tend sheep. Ha! Pathetic! But we Hyperborean Cyclopes, the northern clan, we're the best! Founded Monocle Motors in this old factory – the best weapons, armour, chariots, fuel-efficient SUV's!"
"Fuel-efficient SUV's, wow," Fayden muttered. "You must be so proud."
"And yet," Ma Gasket continued, "We had to shut down! Laid off most of our tribe. The war was too quick. Titans lost. No good! No more need for Cyclops weapons."
Fayden rolled his eyes. "I'm playing the smallest violin for you. I guess I should apologize, you know, being one of the main reasons the Titans lost in the first place. So, really I took you out of business."
He paused. "Oh well…I'm sure I'll sleep tonight."
Torque frowned. "Silly demigod. You won't sleep at all. We'll eat you!"
"Sure. And, best weapons? Please."
Torque looked offended. "Hey! You don't even have a weapon!"
Fayden grinned. "How do you know it's not concealed?"
Torque stopped. Ma Gasket came forward, and stared at Fayden for a few seconds. "You do not have anything that could be a weapon, food. Don't lie!"
Fayden shrugged, and massively exaggerated patting his left thigh, where his golden key chain hung, the hourglass probably pressed against his stomach. "I guess you're right. But what have you got?"
Torque grinned. "Squeaky war hammer!" He picked up a large pole with an accordion-looking metal box on the end. He slammed it against the floor, and the cement cracked, but the noise it emitted was like the worlds largest rubber duck squeak.
"Wow. Really strikes fear into the hearts of your enemies."
Torque obviously didn't understand the concept of sarcasm, and looked pleased. "Not as good as the exploding axe, but this one can be used more than once."
Fayden nodded understandingly. He opened his mouth, but suddenly Ma Gasket yelled, "Enough! I'm getting hungry, so stop talking. Kill the other boy, before he dies on his own. I like my meat fresh, and this one can have a nice long preparation."
No! Leo's fingers flew, connecting the wires for the remote. Just a few more minutes!
"Yeah, sure. Eat him first. You might have some short-term memory loss problems afterwards, but you'll manage. Not much up there to forget, is there?"
Ma Gasket was glaring now. "Silence! Or I will…"
Sparks flew in Leo's hand as he worked. Ma Gasket froze, and both Cyclopes looked over in his direction. Then Torque picked up a truck and threw it at him.
Leo rolled as the truck steamrolled over machinery. If he'd been a half-second slower, he would've been smashed. He got to his feet, and Ma Gasket saw him. She yelled, "Torque, you pathetic excuse for a Cyclops, get him!"
Torque barrelled towards him. Leo frantically gunned the toggle on his makeshift remote.
Torque was fifty feet away. Twenty feet.
Then the robotic arm whirred to life. A three-ton yellow metal claw slammed the Cyclops in the back so hard, he landed flat on his face. Before Torque could recover, the robotic hand grabbed him and hurled him straight up.
"AHHHH!" Torque rocketed into the gloom. The ceiling was too dark and too high to see exactly what happened, but, judging from the harsh metal clang, Leo guessed the Cyclops had hit one of the support girders.
Torque never came down. Instead, yellow dust rained to the floor.
"Yes, man!" Fayden cried.
Ma Gasket stared at Leo in shock. "My son…You…You…"
As if on cue, Sump lumbered into the firelight with a case of salsa. "Ma, I got the extra-spicy…"
He never finished his sentence. Leo spun the remote's toggle, and the second robotic arm whacked Sump in the chest. The salsa case exploded like a piñata and Sump flew backwards, right into the base of Leo's third machine. Sump may have been immune to being hit by a truck chassis, but he wasn't immune to robotic arms that could deliver ten thousand pounds of force. The third crane arm slammed him against the floor so hard, he exploded into dust like a broken flour sack.
Two Cyclopes down. Leo was beginning to feel like Commander Tool Belt when Ma Gasket locked her eyes on him. She grabbed the nearest crane arm and ripped it off its pedestal with a savage roar. "You busted my boys! Only I get to bust my boys!"
Leo punched a button, and the two remaining arms swung into action. Ma Gasket caught the first one and tore it in half. The second arms smacked her in the head, but that only seemed to make her mad. She grabbed it by the clamps, ripped it free and swung it like a baseball bat. It missed Fayden and Jason by an inch. Then Ma Gasket let it go – spinning it towards Leo.
He yelped and rolled to one side as it demolished the machine next to him.
Leo started to realise that an angry Cyclops mother was not something you wanted to fight with a universal remote and a screwdriver. The future for Commander Tool Belt was not looking so hot.
She stood about twenty feet from him now, next to the cooking fire. Her fists were clenched, her teeth bared. She looked ridiculous in her chainmail muumuu and her greasy pigtails – but given the murderous glare in her huge red eye and the fact that she was twelve feet tall, Leo wasn't laughing.
"Any more tricks, demigod?" Ma Gasket demanded.
Leo glanced up. The engine block suspended on the chains – if only he had time to rig it. If only he could get Ma Gasket to take one step forward. The chain itself…that one link…Leo shouldn't have been able to see it, especially from so far down, but his senses told him there was metal fatigue.
"Heck yeah, I've got tricks!" Leo raised his remote control. "Take one more step, and I'll destroy you with burning hot fire!"
Ma Gasket laughed. "Would you? Cyclopes are immune to fire, you idiot. But if you wish to play with flames, let me help!"
She scooped red-hot coals into her bare hands and flung them at Leo. They landed all around his feet.
"You missed," he said incredulously. Then Ma Gasket grinned and picked up a barrel next to the truck. Leo just had time to read the stencilled word on the side – KEROSENE – before Ma Gasket threw it. The barrel split on the floor in front of him, spilling lighter fluid everywhere.
Coals sparked. Leo closed his eyes, seeing Fayden watching, wide eyed.
A firestorm erupted around him. When Leo opened his eyes, he was bathed in flames swirling twenty feet in the air. Ma Gasket shrieked with delight, but Leo didn't offer the fire any good fuel. The kerosene burned off, dying down to small fiery patches on the floor.
Fayden whooped, "Yeah, man! Fire proof badass!"
Leo grinned slightly as Ma Gasket stared. "You live?" Then she took an extra step forward, which put her exactly where Leo wanted. "What are you?"
"The son of Hephaestus," Leo said. "And I warned you I'd destroy you with fire."
He pointed one finger in the air and summoned all his will. He'd never tried to do anything so focused and intense – but he shot a bolt of white-hot flames at the chain suspending the engine block above the Cyclops' head – aiming for the link that looked weaker than the rest.
The flames died. Nothing happened. Ma Gasket laughed. "An impressive try, son of Hephaestus. It's been many centuries since I saw a fire user. You'll make a spicy appetizer!"
The chain snapped – that single link heated beyond its tolerance point – and the engine block fell, deadly and silent. Also, bloody heavy.
"I don't think so," Leo replied.
Ma Gasket didn't even have time to look up.
Smash! No more Cyclops – just a pile of dust under a five-tonne engine block.
"Not immune to engines, huh?" Leo said. "Boo-yah!"
Then he fell to his knees, his head buzzing. After a few minutes, he realised Fayden was calling him.
"Hey! Leo! You nearly had it! You were awesome! But don't faint. And get me the hell out of this!"
He stumbled to his feet. He'd never tried summoning such an intense fire before, and it had left him completely drained. It took him a while to get Fayden out of the chains. He, then got Jason out while Leo's head was busy spinning.
Fayden's hand glowed slightly, and Leo watched as the ugly welt on Jason's head shrank, and lost its angry red colour. His skin grew less pale.
"Yeah, he's fine. Nice thick skull." Fayden knocked it.
"Hey, cut it out."
Leo was exhausted. Fayden looked up and grinned. "The fire, man. I knew you could do that, but I didn't know you could do that."
Leo grinned slightly. There were times where Fayden's 'I don't give a crap' attitude was welcomed, and this was one of those times.
His grin grew, and soon he was chuckling along with Fayden. Then he noticed something, and his smile faded.
The yellow dust next to Fayden's foot. It was reforming – maybe into Sump, or Torque – but the dust was folding back into itself like dough.
"They're forming again," Leo said. "Look."
Fayden looked down, and hastily stepped away. "That's not possible. Monsters stay dead for much longer than that. They're too dissipated."
"Well, nobody told the dust that." Leo watched as it collected into a pile, then very slowly spread out, forming a shape with arms and legs.
"Wait…" Fayden frowned. "Boreas said something about this – the earth yielding up evil or some godly crap. 'When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades.'"
Leo thought about the woman in the ground. She was definitely a horror of the earth.
"How long do we have?" he asked.
Fayden looked up. "I don't know. But we need to get going. Grab Jason, I'll run and get Piper."
And he jogged off, leaving Leo to lug Jason's heavy ass across the ground towards the Porta-Potty crash site.
Fayden's POV
Fayden jogged forward past a dark patch on the wall, and a voice cried out, "Fayden?! Get here now, so I can beat the crap out of you!"
He grinned, and back-tracked to where the angry patch of darkness continued ranting. "You leave me here, all in the dark, with a broken ankle, so all I can hear are various sounds! I'm going to headbutt you so haaarrr…!"
Fayden had grabbed her by the waist out of the gloom, and lifted her up. "Tempting offer, Piper."
He grinned, and saw her unimpressed scowl in return. "Not that easy, Mr. Thatch."
"Is it not, Miss McLean?" He flashed his most dazzling smile, and Piper just scowled back. "You forget, I'm not another little fangirl. You…are…annoying!"
Fayden grinned again, this time for real. "You're amazing. Now shut up and limp. We need to get out of here."
He let her feet go down, and she leant against him as they made for the doors.
Fayden heard a loud thump, and Piper jumped. "You killed the monsters, right? Where's Leo and Jason?"
Fayden wasn't grinning. "Cyclopes. And Leo's carrying Jason down the stairs. Look."
He pointed, and sure enough, he was right. Leo came round the corner, a limp Jason on his arm.
"Jason!" Piper cried. She tried to get out from under Fayden's arm, then nearly fell over.
"Woah, watch it princess! He's fine!" Fayden caught her again.
Leo limped over and glanced at Fayden as Piper gently prodded Jason's welt, muttering softly.
"We good?" Fayden asked. Leo nodded, heaving Jason again.
They trudged out, each holding an injured person on their arms.
Festus was standing in a pile of chemicals that Fayden did not want to go anywhere near, but Leo weaved in and out, and climbed up onto the dragon, lugging Jason up to.
Piper hung onto Fayden as he tried to avoid stepping in the toxic waste, then lifted her up onto Festus. Happy the dragon certainly looked happy at being able to stand up…or perform any basic motor function.
Fayden climbed up at the rear. Leo was in the front, Piper in front of him, holding onto Jason as he slumped there. Piper suddenly asked,
"So, Fayden. How did you…"
She gestured back to the warehouse. Fayden grinned, looking at Leo. "I didn't. Ask Human Torch."
"What? Human…Leo?" Piper turned to him. Fayden watched him struggle to start a sentence, then launched into an explanation as Festus flapped his wings. The cascading coins felt like music to Fayden's ears as Festus took to the sky amid gasps from Piper.
Leo was explaining how he was actually super hot.
Piper was a brilliant audience.
Then there was Jason.
He was unconscious.
Slacker.
And, another one. This one was fun as well. Fayden being injured and Leo actually saving the day was cool. I decided Fayden wouldn't help this time. This was Leo's time to shine. And I love writing Piper and Fayden's bonding over how much she'd like to punch him. They'll be brother and sister in no time.
Also, sorry for the late delivery. I was stoned for most of the last week.
And drunk.
It was one hell of a time. But now, my full, non-inebriated focus will be on the next chapter.
Um, yeah. That was a bare-faced lie.
Enjoy waiting another week for Chapter 8.
:)