5
Mason
Reyna told him everything.
Well, probably not everything. Mason knew better than to think she wasn't leaving things out. Personal moments, needless details, secrets. He didn't blame her. He wasn't about to demand every last detail. He didn't even really want them. He just wanted to know as much as she wanted him to know.
She also didn't get to talk for that long before they made their first stop.
But what she did talk about? Boy, was it a lot to take in.
She talked about how she and her sister Hylla were daughters of Bellona, a Roman goddess of war, and how they had both run away from their father's home. She talked about the two of them fending for themselves until they found Camp Jupiter and the Amazons, respectively. She talked about how the mortal world was actually filled with gods, and monsters, and demigods, and Titans, and everything horrible and weird in-between. She talked about how she became the leader, or Praetor, of Camp Jupiter, and her experiences in leading the camp of Roman demigods. The last thing she talked about before they pulled off the freeway in the city of Grand Rapids was the arrival of the demigod named Percy Jackson at the camp, and how it would be the beginning of the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Seven.
Mason did his best not to zone out as he came down the exit ramp. "Wait, so this Percy Jackson, he was from the other camp, Camp Half-Blood?"
Reyna turned her head to look out the window. "Yes, the Greek demigod camp. Where are we going?"
"We need some gas, plus I was going to pick up a few things for the trip," he said as they drove down the small street. "Need anything specific? No ingredients for a secret demigod firebomb or anything?"
She smirked as she glanced at him. "No, although, snacks might be in order, since we have much further to go."
In a minute they pulled into a gas station. Reyna spoke up before Mason could. "I will be back shortly, I have some calls I should make," she said as she stepped out of the car.
"Wait, what do you want from inside?"
She responded without looking back, just waving her hand. "It doesn't matter much to me."
Mason smiled as he stood up out of the car, beginning to fuel up the car. It was a bright day, but still cool, with a brisk wind blowing through Grand Rapids. He rustled his hair as he glanced back to where Reyna had walked, catching a glimpse of her before she walked around behind the car wash.
He was happy to see her somewhat more relaxed. When they had first run into each other, she seemed so tired, yet so determined at the same time. After a night's rest, there was still that fire of determination in her eyes, but with new energy and certainty. He did wonder how she could seem so confident in her mission in a world like hers, which was clearly very different and much more dangerous than the one he knew.
Despite most of the logical parts in his brain short-circuiting at the concept of the mythical gods and monsters being real, Mason knew it was true, in part because of the weird things he had seen leading up to this moment of his life, but also because there was a now a person directly telling him that it was all real. He figured that Reyna didn't have much reason to lie, especially not so thoroughly, and she didn't seem out of her mind, either. In fact, she seemed to be one of the most competent and authoritative people he had ever met, which was both surprising and humbling. What exactly had he done up to this point, being the same age as her? He had practically been handed everything he had, as much as he would wish that weren't the case. And he hadn't even done anything significant with it. What would his parents-
Mason's thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice, immediately interrupted and replaced with the sound of metal clanging. He glanced over and realized it was coming from the same direction Reyna had gone. He quickly replaced the gas nozzle and closed the cap on his car, then jogged in the direction of the noises.
Turning the corner of the car wash, he glanced around, not seeing anything, before noticing two items on the pavement: a gold coin and a gold sword. Picking them up, he felt an immediate dread as he recognized the sword as Reyna's.
Rapid thoughts filled Mason's head as he looked back up, his eyes darting up and down the closest street. He couldn't lose her, not this fast. There were a few people around, one man walking a dog down the sidewalk, a woman and a girl coming out of a shop across the street, and a few others. After a panicked moment, he caught something: a white-clothed figure turning the corner of the street behind a building, pushing something that looked like some kind of cart. Except that he was pretty certain he had seen a pair of feet dangling just off the side of it. Huffing briefly to steel himself, he ran after them.
Swinging around the corner, he saw the back of the person again, pushing what he now saw as a gurney, but with some kind of white leather cushioning, like someone had decided to make the process of riding a gurney into a first-class experience. He also saw two more figures, dressed in similar white robes: one at the front of the gurney pulling it along, and the other out in front of it, holding something in their hands. They were moving quite fast despite only looking as if they were walking moderately quickly, and there was definitely someone lying in the gurney.
"Hey!" Mason yelled out from a distance, still running down the sidewalk. He was about to yell something else, but he stumbled over his words, realizing he had no idea what to say. As he did, he watched the strange medical entourage make another rapid turn around another building. Having no other ideas, Mason continued giving chase.
After a minute or so of trying to keep up with the disturbingly fast gurney-transporters, they turned onto a blue footbridge spanning a river, which Mason recognized as the Grand River. He watched as they continued on, not letting up in speed and not even glancing back towards him, despite a couple more attempts to get their attention. Some of the passers-by gave him weird glances when he ran by yelling, but none of them seemed to notice the stranger sight of the people he was chasing.
The Mist is what Reyna had called it. That must be what it was. The magic that hid things from mortals; the magic that he could see through at times. People must have seen something else, like a cyclist, and simply moved aside.
Which meant that this wasn't some mix-up with some medical staff from a nearby hospital, or even a weird kidnapping scheme from a few shady humans. This was something stranger, something to do with the gods. Or monsters. Whatever it was, it wasn't normal, and Mason didn't know exactly how to feel about that at the moment.
As he crossed the bridge, he felt a soreness flare up in his left ankle, burning a little each time he put his weight on that foot. Of course. Of all times, it had to be now. He couldn't even go five minutes without it coming back. Even though he couldn't remember the last time he had tried to go running, he definitely still remembered this part of it.
Regardless, he kept running, trying his best to keep the gurney in his sight even as he had to start limping slightly as he ran. They made their way down a couple more streets and around a couple more corners before Mason realized they were coming up on an actual hospital. However, instead of dashing up to the main entrance or even a side door like Mason expected, he watched the gurney team wheel their way into the connected parking garage. With heaving breaths, Mason followed after them, dipping into the shaded parking structure.
For a moment, he thought he had lost them, as he glanced around and only saw a few parked cars. But then he saw the tail end of a coat dart around another corner, and he dashed after in that direction.
However, as he turned the corner, he was met with nothing but a small alcove in the brick wall, with no door or trace of the gurney in sight. He winced in both frustration and pain as he put his hands on his knees, his eyesight adjusting from the sunny outdoor light. It really was just a blank wall. They had definitely come this way, there was definitely no other way they could have gone, and they definitely were not there.
Mason tried to steady his breath as he walked up to the wall. Surely there had to be something here. Some kind of secret passageway or trick wall, maybe a button hidden somewhere.
After a few labored moments of pressing around on the wall, he felt the panic of a dead end, both literal and not, creep into his mind. It couldn't end here. Not without some kind of fight or confrontation, at least. Isn't that how it was supposed to go? Reyna had talked about so many situations she had found herself in, many of them being life-or-death, and she had always come through. Pirates, ghosts, even giants. And she was still here. Nothing had stopped her before, and she didn't seem ready to let that streak end.
And what stopped him? A couple of hospital workers and a brick wall.
Although, as he thought about it, maybe that was all that it was. He didn't know that they meant to hurt her, or even keep her. Maybe this would all be over in a few minutes, and they could move on.
Mason sat against the side wall, finally slowing his breathing down to a relatively normal rate. The pain in his left ankle still throbbed, but much less so. He realized he was still holding Reyna's golden sword, which he had been carrying the entire way here. Thankfully the Mist seemed to hide that, too.
After a couple of minutes, he stood up, resolving himself to keep looking, and almost immediately he spotted something. Right on the brick wall, over to the side, there was a device. Upon a closer look, it seemed like some kind of building intercom, with a card swipe slot on the side and a number pad. How had he not seen this before? Was it not there before? He definitely should have spotted it immediately.
Regardless, he looked it over for a moment before pressing the largest unmarked button, holding it down.
"Hello?" he spoke into it.
After a second, he heard a slight static and some rustling, then a female voice spoke in a flat and professional tone. "Immaculators, Theta Facility. Do you have an appointment?"
Mason froze, mouth slightly agape. He realized he hadn't thought about what he would say if he had gotten a response.
"Uhhh, maybe? Sorry, I'm… new around here."
"Very well, last name?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your last name, sir."
"Oh." He thought for a moment about whether to lie or not, then decided that with all the weirdness of this world he was getting into, it would probably be better to tell the truth.
"Jackman."
He heard the muffled sounds of rapid typing. "Sorry, it doesn't look like you have an appointment set up with us today. Would you like to make an appointment, free of charge?"
Free of charge? What kind of hospital was this?
"No, actually, I'm here to… visit a friend of mine. I think you just brought her in a few minutes ago. I'm not sure why, but-"
"Ah, a visitor! Very well, we can get you in rather quickly, I believe. You'll just have to provide some basic information about yourself, and agree to a preliminary screening and decontamination. Does that sound alright?"
Mason pursed his lips in hesitation. He didn't exactly have a choice. "Sure."
"Very well. Gender?"
"Male."
"Age?"
"18."
The questions continued on in much the same vein for a minute or so, listing off basic questions he would expect on any informational fill-in sheet. Then they started to veer off into the unfamiliar.
"Have you ingested nectar or ambrosia within the last twenty-four hours?"
Mason was relatively certain he had never eaten nectar before, and he had no idea what ambrosia was, so at least that was an easy question.
"No."
"Have you recently come into contact with any Katoblepones or Telekhines?"
Again, no idea.
"Nope."
"Have you recently visited Athens, Mount Olympus, The Underworld, and/or Detroit?"
He had to think for just a moment about the last one.
"No."
"Alright. Last question. Who is your godly parent?"
Mason titled his head back in mild surprise. Godly parent? Were all the patients for this place demigods? He supposed it wasn't too weird for this place to only be used by non-mortals. It was pretty clear at this point that it wasn't a normal hospital. Or at least this wing wasn't.
But what was he supposed to say? Reyna had been curious about whether he was a demigod, but she seemed to dismiss the idea after only a few pressing questions. Still, he had so many questions about… everything. Even after all Reyna had explained. Who were the gods, really? Why could he see through the Mist, and why did it only work sometimes? And what was his place in all of it? Maybe he was a demigod, and he just didn't know it yet. Maybe he had gotten lucky and dodged all of the dyslexia and ADHD and murderous monsters.
No, he was fairly certain of it. As much as a part of him wanted into this world, he still knew deep down that he didn't belong, and that he was just an observer to the larger things happening in the world. Maybe that was alright, though. Maybe it was enough to just help out a demigod or two. Still, he couldn't shake the small voice in the back of his head that wanted so badly to be something more.
Regardless, he shook himself out of his thoughts. Everything considered, he concluded that his previous plan of honestly would be the most likely path to the least amount of trouble.
"I don't have any."
He listened for a response through the intercom. It didn't come. The soft static of the speaker droned on, without any other sound. After a long moment, the voice spoke again.
"Sorry, I didn't catch your answer. Could you repeat that?"
"I don't have any godly parent."
More silence filled the space, before he heard the muffled sounds of keyboard clicking, a beep, and hushed voices he couldn't make out entirely. After a second, the device went entirely silent.
Well, now he had ruined it.
He was just about to give up and look for another way in when he heard a sound like the whistling of gas being released from something, and he watched as a crack in the brick wall opened up, revealing itself to be a large sliding door. Inside there was a hallway of blindingly bright white tile and fluorescent light, in stark contrast to the worn brick wall that had hid it. Just inside, a figure stood, looking towards him.
It appeared to be a woman, dressed in a long white medical coat that seemed even more pristine than the walls she stood between. The rest of her clothing was similarly white, from the shoes, to the pants, to the gloves, to the face mask, to the hairnet. The only part of her that showed was a small gap where her eyes were, blue and shining with intensity, interest, and analysis in equal parts. Mason gulped and shrunk a bit under her unwavering gaze, feeling a sort of awe and dread that he never had before.
The thing his eyes were drawn to most, however, was what was curled around her neck and draped across her shoulders. In a shockingly matching shade of white that almost blended in with the rest of her, the long and winding body of a snake sat on her shoulders, resting comfortably. Its head was trained on Mason, and as he saw it, he realized the creature's eyes were gleaming with much the same intensity as the woman's.
"Normally," he heard the woman say, in a voice that wound its way into the corners of his brain. "I would ask to see a copy of your insurance card."
He saw the woman's eyes light up with what seemed like an amused interest. "But it has been a very long time since a mortal has found their way to one of my facilities. And that has me both concerned and interested. So, you say you are visiting someone?"
Mason managed some words, finally. "Um, yes. She just arrived, I think."
He saw the corners of the woman's face lift into what he assumed was a smile behind the mask. "Excellent, right this way. We'll have you decontaminated in no time."
He hesitated. "Okay, but… sorry, who are you?"
The woman cocked her head. "Right. I forget sometimes what they do or do not teach at mortal schools these days."
"I am Hygeia, goddess of health, sanitation, and cleanliness, and Director of the Immaculators. Come, Mr. Jackman. There is much we should discuss."