I regained consciousness in a room I didn't recognise. Everything was quiet, which was a welcome change. Normally there would be a bunch of Apollo kids crowding around and chatting away when this happened, but the face that stared down at me startled me even more.
It was Afro Boy, and he was peering over me with a stare that sent a shiver through my entire body. I jolted upwards and nearly fell off the bed it had been propped on. From up close, I could see that he was only about twelve years old, which made sense. Those wiser than me have said it's always the eight grade.
'He's awake!' Afro Boy called towards the door. Moments later my suspicions were confirmed when a second boy with long mullet, slim physique and leather jacket opened the door.
'Hiya, Basil?' he smiled. 'How're you feeling?'
'Better for seeing you, Jeffery!' I replied, much to the indignation of Afro Boy.
'You know each other?!' he exclaimed. Jeffery and I exchanged a look. Not only did we know each other, but he knew why I had come.
'Is it him?' I asked.
'Yes, it's him,' nodded Jeffery.
'It's me what?' demanded Afro Boy. 'Jeff, who is this guy?'
'I am one of you,' I responded. 'I assume Jeffrey already filled you in.'
'Nope!' beamed Jeffrey. 'Managed to keep my mouth shut this time.'
'Good. Then we should get going. Where's Lysander?'
'Mrs Buenafuente is tending to him outside.'
'And that's…'
'My mom,' snapped Afro Boy. 'Now, do you want to explain yourselves to me?'
'Actually, it's best if we don't,' I said matter-of-factly. 'You'll only be at greater risk by understanding. We'd better get you off to camp before much else happens.'
Afro Boy grabbed me by the shirt and placated me against the wall.
'Now you listen to me!' he snarled. 'We agreed that there would be no more talk about sending me to military camp!'
'What are you talking about? I only just met you today!'
'He means him and his mom,' explained Jeffrey. 'There was talk that his… aggressive nature needed to be channelled somewhere.'
Afro Boy spun his head around to Jeffrey, looking at him with pure unadulterated malice.
'How do you know that? Has she been blabbing to you too?'
'I had to know. She told me when… when she asked me here.'
Now Afro Boy had released me completely and was staring Jeffrey down like he was his next meal.
'She… sent… you here?'
With every pause he took a step closer to the poor guy, and Jeffrey's face said it all.
'You're a demigod!' I blurted out.
Okay, I know I should have done that, because the moment someone learns they're a demigod they're pretty much set up for a life of constant battles, perils and struggles to stay alive. But, come on! If you'd seen the mortifying stare and experienced the brutal strength of the guy, you'd have done the same too. No monster in their right mind would dare cross him. Not only that, but if Chiron was right about who he was, this was no ordinary demigod. But time would tell us how true that was.
'That's right. You're a demigod. Half mortal, half god. There, I said it.'
Now Afro Boy just looked confused.
'Are you on something?' he asked.
'Yes, a time crunch! It's not safe for you here anymore! They've found you! And if we stay much longer, those birds from today will seem like mosquitoes in comparison to what is to come.'
'Okay, you're totally on something. Maybe you should lie down some more.'
I rolled my eyes and whistled. Moments later, Lysander swooped up next to Afro Boy's bedroom window. The kid nearly fell backwards from the sheer shock of the moment and the Pegasus whinnied is if to say 'Yep. I'm awesome. What of it?'
'Is that horse… flying?'
'Yep,' I replied. 'But that's not it. Jeffrey…'
On cue, or mutual friend began to take off his trousers. Afro Boy really did recoil this time, even before seeing the reason why.
'Dude! What the heck, man? What is wrong with you?'
'Just look…' I sighed.
'Heck no! I'm not staring at anything! You two are crazy if you I'm going to…'
Jeffrey clopped his hooves. Afro Boy had no choice but to respond to the curiosity.
'You're… you're a… what are you?'
'A satyr,' said Jeffrey. 'Basil, you take him from here. I'll catch you guys up.'
No more protests were had. Afro Boy climbed onto the back of Lysander out of morbid curiosity and before long we had taken off into the sky, leaving Jacksonville behind us.
Not long after that, we were blasted from the sky.