Alright, so I took a month and a half. It is long though, so that's a good thing. Okay, to be honest, I was thinking of a bunch of things that'll come later on. And I needed to think about setting that up. I did, so I added some things. Also, I figured out a way to separate the things. Look!
LC
Cool, right? No? Okay. I'll use a different one them. Thanks for continuing and reading this. Honestly. Updates are obviously going to be irregular, since I need time and my writing skill fluctuates per day. Anyway, continuing with the thank you. Thank you all for continuing to read. Thank you especially to Tgm102 dor the favourite. Sorry for the wait. Have fun.
FT
My friends took off for the fourth floor immediately. I, being a responsible teenager, went to the receptionist to ask for permission. She was a nice lady who seemed to daydream a lot. She helped me fill up some forms for our visitation and as I was a former resident, I was allowed in, no questions asked. Now that I think of it, that might be illegal. I hope she doesn't get fired.
I got in an elevator quick. I pressed the button for the fourth floor, but it seemed to be malfunctioning. I pressed it a couple more times before giving up on normal means. I ignored the man who had just ran in the elevator, barely making it in before the doors closed.
I closed my eyes, focusing on trying to feel electricity. I knew what had happened back there with the car. I had a hunch, so I decided to test it out. I reached for one of the elevator buttons.
I took my time feeling it out. It was like evaluation, watching the object's history and having knowledge appear in your head. Except that I knew exactly what it was. I felt like I knew everything about the elevator. It wasn't evaluation, I think it was some sort of other ability. Maybe it was my specialty.
The man next to me tapped the sixth floor button, but the elevator didn't move. His arm seemed to slow when he touched the button. He frowned before stepping back and watching me work. He probably thought I was mashing the buttons or something. In truth, I was sending electricity up the circuits. There was a problem with the wiring all the way back to the engine room in the basement. Because of that, the motor couldn't get any electricity. I couldn't fix it from here, so I had to feed the motor with my electricity.
"Broken elevator huh? Not exactly the best of circumstances, wouldn't you say?" The man cut in.
"Yeah. It's old though, so we probably need to wait." I pointed to the buttons of the elevator. "The buttons are lit up."
The elevator began moving slowly. And by slow, I mean turtle pace. No, wait, turtles can be fast. Tortoise pace. I didn't know how much electricity the wires could handle. If I shot in too much, I could break the wires and that would increase costs for the hospital. It was better if I didn't risk it.
I looked back. The man had raised an eyebrow. "You were right. Tell me, how did you know?"
"Oh, I was a resident here," I answered. I had a hand on the button, but I could still turn around to face the man.
The man looked young for an adult, probably in his 30s. His eyes were calm and taciturn, constantly observing his surroundings. The rest of his face was more normal. Light stubble that matched his brown hair. His slight smile contrasted his eyes. It was strange. I liked it when he was frowning instead. Did that make me weird or did that make him weird?
"I see. I've been thinking of transferring my two boys to this hospital, they're always getting in trouble. Do you think that is a good idea?" He raised his hand to his chin and closed his eyes in thought.
"Sure. The patients are a tight-knit community and we have taken up babysitting jobs while still stuck here. I think your kids will do fine."
"I'm glad to hear that." The man took a closer look at my face. It was as if he was scrutinising me, checking through every feature I had. His eyes shifted around, evaluating every single bit of me. Eventually though, they landed on my earring.
"That is a magnificent earring. It looks good on you." I blushed a little bit at that compliment. The compliment made me self-conscious. It was like having Selena around.
"Thanks. It was a gift from a friend."
"You have a good friend then." The man smiled.
We stood in silence for a few moments, thinking about what to talk about. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, as if he was concentrating on something. When he opened them, he looked as if he had just went jogging for an hour. I looked at the floor number above the elevator door.
The man must have noticed me looking, because he said, "The elevator skipped your floor."
"It did? Maybe the elevator was more broken than I thought," I lied. If I left on the fourth floor then the man would have been stuck. As such, I controlled the elevator to move past my floor.
"Perhaps. Let's move on from that. What are you here for?" I perked up at the question.
"I'm visiting a friend." Great, I had to lie again. "You're here for a checkup right?"
"How did you know?" The man asked while lifting an eyebrow. He cupped his chin with his hand as if he was investigating a deep mystery.
"You winced when you tapped the button," I pointed out.
The man gave me a smile. He waited a bit before he answered, as if he was choosing his next words carefully. "I hurt my arm, playing with my boys. They can be a bit rough at times. Since we might see each other again, I'd like to learn your name."
The man spoke as if he was going to end the conversation right there, no matter if it was going to be awkward. I took a closer look at his mannerisms, instead of his face. Sometimes, a person's actions tell more than their face. When I observed him, I felt he was—I don't know—out of place. His eyes were constantly observing, his hands were moving aimlessly. His feet repeatedly tapped the ground, enough times that I felt like he might have been a tap dancer. His body seemed as if they were itching to move, go somewhere, do something. Sort of like Galin and Dahlia. Galin loved playing with stray pieces of machinery and Dahlia played with water. Come to think of it, the kids back in Epineio were like that too.
"I'm Flak Tartrum." I reached out my hand. "And you are?"
"Jaz. It's short for a name most can't pronounce." Jaz decided not to take my hand. I frowned. These were sad times.
"Let me try." How hard could it be? However, before I got to learn Jaz's full name, the elevator doors opened.
"I'd love to chat some more, but we'll have to say goodbye here." Jaz waved his hand goodbye as he stepped off the elevator. "I hope we meet again, little Flak."
And with that he left. A man whose mannerisms resembled a demigod, but whose face resembled a statue. A finely chiseled one at that. I sighed a little bit as the doors closed. Was he a demigod? I didn't feel any godly presence from him.
As I pondered those thoughts, the elevator moved. I looked back up at the elevator numbers. They were moving up. The elevator was moving to the 7th floor, the final floor of the hospital. I shrugged. I might as well escort those guys before getting to my floor. Shouldn't take too long.
"What took you so long?" Galin looked at me with a face that didn't seem to believe I took such a long time. I smiled wryly.
"I thought becoming an elevator attendant would be fun. It wasn't." Galin moved along the hallway and I followed.
The hospital hallways were relatively normal. Windows covered the walls of the hallway, allowing us to see all the cars that drove down the streets. It was still somewhat early, so there wasn't a lot of movement down there.
These hallways were nostalgic to me. I could see Docker and I leaning against the windows, talking about random stuff. Stuff like how much money it would cost to replace an arm or whether there was a god shooting lightning at me out of spite. One of our favourite topics was about the weird alleyways in the city. The ones that led to mysterious caves that always seemed to change every time someone entered. Now that I think of it, the last time and only time I went to one was with my childhood friend, Clair. We were heading inside one for-
CRACK
Suddenly, my head bursted with electricity, not literally. It was like trying to evaluate Astrapí back then. I held my head with both my hands. My thoughts were all jumbled up and crossing my mind with every step. I flash-backed to so many different memories, events which shared one thing in common. They were events that I considered unbelievable.
I remembered my mom telling me how some plants exploded to transport seeds, how I first got struck by lightning. So many memories pierced my head, but one memory stood out to me. Lightning, striking at some sort of shiny blob.
FT
I was younger then. Maybe 3 years younger. I was walking with Clair, my childhood friend, though I always thought of her as an older sister. We were investigating those alleyways we heard at school. Those strange alleyways that people disappear into. Some came back out, shaken up. But others never did. Despite that, Clair dragged me along on that adventure. She was two years older than me, if I remember correctly.
"Snowflake! I think I found one of those alleyways?" Clair shouted from around a corner. I sighed when I heard her voice. I really wasn't looking forward to exploring some ghost alleys.
"Really?"
"Yep." Clair came out from the corner and motioned her hand to tell me to come in. "Let's go in."
I fidgeted around nervously. "Clair, can we not? My mom's gonna worry."
"And my mom would throttle me if we didn't. Don't worry, we'll look around and get out quick," Clair retorted.
"Promise?" For a second there, I believed Clair would promise. "Actually, never mind. You'd just cross your fingers again."
"I would."
I popped around the corner and took a look at the alleyway. The two buildings it was between were brick-red. The alleyway had a dumpster to the right, filled with trash. I took a look at Clair to make sure she wasn't rummaging in the trash again for spare parts. One time, she made a car out of an Italian restaurant's trash. Her mother burnt it to a crisp and called it edible.
"Over here!" Clair called out from behind the dumpster.
I gloomily walked over to her, ready to face whatever monstrosity she probably invented. I already thought that the ghost alleys were a sham, so the only reason Clair would have to bring me along was to surprise me with a weird invention of hers.
"A staircase leading down?" I muttered. Clair grinned a big silly grin. She knocked her fist against my head playfully.
"Weird, right? This has to be the one."
I questioned, "But where does it lead to-?"
Without warning, Clair pushed me aside. I crashed into the dumpster, almost falling into it. Clair jumped back, taking out her baseball bat from her bag. Even with my head dizzied, I managed to look at the reason behind why Clair pushed me.
A shiny blob stood where I was standing just before. It was something I felt I shouldn't be able to comprehend. A formless haze that looked vaguely like a blob. It shined in the sunlight, spinning around as if surveying its surroundings.
"Snowflake, you see that thing right?" Clair shouted from the other side. I nodded. She readied her bat as if she was holding a sword. I was about to tell her to swing, when the blob turned to me.
I whimpered. I closed my eyes, my hands blocking my body. I was sitting there, waiting to die. Then, I felt a familiar presence. A cloud, just waiting to hit me.
Lightning struck me. I vibrated heavily, shaking the dumpster behind me. The dumpster bursted, launching trash into the air. The trash scattered everywhere, spilling on me, Clair and the blob. The lightning took that opportunity to discharge at the blob, stunning it.
Clair, with a ramen cup in her hair, took that opportunity to slam the bat into the blob. She took a standard batting pose and swung as hard as she could. The blob was launched at a high velocity to the wall opposite the staircase. I couldn't blame her for not swinging the other way, she was left-handed after all.
"Snowflake!" Clair said. She ran to my side and took my hand. She pulled me up and dragged me behind her.
The shiny blob turned to look at the two of us. Our backs were against the staircase. We had nowhere to run, except back. I looked back, trying to see if there was anywhere we could go. The stairs led down and down. I couldn't see through the darkness.
I could hear Clair's shoes start to smoke. I looked at the ground she was standing on. Traces of the blob's ooze were still on it, slowly melting the ground. Some of the ooze had gotten on Clair's shoes. She shook the ooze off to the side when she realised I was staring.
"Clair, we have to run down that staircase." I grabbed her arm and began to run. She pushed me aside.
"We can't. Who knows what we'll find down there? That shiny screwup of a slime came from there," Clair said. She still had her eye focused on the blob. She clicked her tongue in frustration.
I could tell she was thinking of all sorts of ways to kill the blob. Never mind that we had no idea what that thing was. It attacked us, and we had to defend ourselves. That was all she had on her mind.
"What else do we have? The lightning didn't hurt it." She turned to look at me with unconvinced eyes. "You didn't do any damage!"
Clair stubbornly stood her ground. I knew she was trying to protect me, but this was going too far.
"We can run out of the alley. Run home and forget all this happened," she reasoned.
The blob split into multiple blobs. Its body sort of slid apart from one another. It was as if it was two scoops of ice cream and someone only scooped the top scoop. Except that there were 5 blobs now. 5 scoops of pain ice cream.
"Not anymore."
"Fine, let's go." Clair finally conceded.
I ran down the stairs, skipping a stair at a time. Normally, I wouldn't risk my life like that, but if I didn't, I would surely die to the blobs. I made it only a few steps down before I heard Clair scream in pain.
I turned around and opened my arms. Clair fell backwards, almost flipping over. She crashed into me, sending us tumbling down the stairs. Her bat hit my head several times in the process and both our bodies ended up battered. My clothes ended up getting singed somehow.
We weren't knocked out. However, Clair was on fire. And since we tumbled together, that also made me on fire.
"Snowflake! You're on fire!" Clair quickly patted down the fire on my clothes. Luckily, the flames didn't have time to spread to my skin and were snuffed out the moment they appeared.
"You're on fire too!" I screamed. Clair didn't seem to notice the flames on her.
"No, I'm not," she said. I crawled away from her, pointing towards the burning ramen cup still on her auburn hair. She brushed it off nonchalantly.
Clair took a look at the ramen cup. She looked very unconvinced that it was on her. The ramen cup then decided to be engulfed in flames. Clair slowly walked towards it, not feeling the heat.
She grabbed the ramen cup. From my point of view, Clair's hand was totally engulfed in fire. Yet, they didn't seem to be burning. Clair looked unimpressed with the flame and waved it off. The flames went out at her command.
"Good news, I command fire now."
FT
And that was where I blacked out and where the memories stopped. The memories that followed were hazy. Whenever I tried to remember what directly happened, I only got waking up in my bed. Nothing in between. Maybe we were knocked out immediately after and the blob brought us to our parents?
Some memories after that had some discrepancies. There were entire weekends that ended with a single nap. And then there was the summer break. All of that gone. I went to bed excited and woke up in bed all tired out. That was it.
I didn't want to believe it. I really didn't. But, I had no choice. I had amnesia. That staircase must lead to somewhere. And I needed to know. I should call up Clair and explore with the rest of us. We had today and 9 more. What's a little detour in our quest?
Galin interrupted my train of thought. "That elevator was broken. How did you move it?"
"I have lightning powers, Galin." I looked at Galin with a dirty look. He seemed unfazed, probably because he didn't notice my headache earlier and kept on trucking along.
I shook my head. Maybe I should let that train of thought go. I should focus on the letter. I'll ask the others to explore with me before leaving the city. We have 10 days, shouldn't take long.
"I know that. It's just that I haven't seen any Zeus kid power electrical machinery without destroying the whole thing. Exept Cull, duh. He has some serious skills with his lightning." Galin did an impression of Emperor Palpatine. The impression was really good. I'll replay the memory in my head for Selena to see.
"Well, everyone's unique right? Maybe I have more control over my lightning than others." Galin looked unconvinced. "Like Dahlia."
It was true that Dahlia has an obscene amount of control over her water compared to her siblings. When we were cleaning the dishes together, a couple of the Poseidon kids(which was almost all of them) tried to use their water powers to clean the dishes. Dahlia slapped them with her own water and she managed to stave off any retaliation without getting exhausted. Eventually, the other kids tired and had to wash the dishes the old-fashioned way.
"I don't think it's like that. When you think of lightning, you think of the lightning bolt in a thunderstorm right? Not the jolts that power a phone."
I nodded my head. He got it exactly right.
"Yeah. Where are you going with this?" I shuffled along next to Galin, looking for the room number. 407. Despite walking with Galin for awhile, we hadn't come across the room. It was 407. It should have been the seventh door we see.
"Zeus is the god of lightning specifically. All lightning is electricity, but not all electricity is lightning. So, if lightning is only the lightning bolt then his kids shouldn't have precise control over electricity. At least, not off the bat. But, for a kid to have years of training without the years?"
The chair part of Galin's wheelchair lifted up, like a platform. It slowly spun around and turned to face me. Galin tapped a few buttons on his armrest, as the chair descended onto the machinery. He reached over and fiddled with the wheels. The wheels began moving automatically, without Galin needing to use his hands. I then began to wonder why he hadn't used that during our hike to the city.
I shrugged. "It's weird, yeah. Maybe it's a tradeoff? Dahlia can't do any earthquakes other than rippling water. The kid who can't control water much has pretty good earthquake powers."
"Right, but that's because Poseidon has other abilities. He isn't just Aquaman, he's also that giant catfish. Zeus, though, is only lightning and the sky. I don't know anyone who has the sky part, which means that they should be the same as you, but they aren't." Galin closed his eyes and thought deeply. "Can you evaluate the lights?"
I hesitated for a bit. Selena was the only one to know about me not being Zeus' kid. She thought that I was Jupiter's kid, while her mother, Psyche, thought that my mom was a demigod. That two different religions clash within me.
It wasn't like that. Mom was not a demigod. That leaves my dad. Jupiter or Thor. Maybe something else. Indra? But, Galin did sort of confirm something. All of those gods are gods of lightning, but not electricity. So, my dad is the god of electricity. At least I know something about my dad now.
When I came out from my thoughts, I saw Galin impatiently waiting. I hurriedly looked at the lights and the circuitry in the roof. The lights led to an engine room. The engine room was on the same floor working perfectly fine. The wiring was a tad shabby, but it worked. The elevator's wiring though.
"Yes. I can see the circuits and where it's connected to," I said.
Galin spoke his thoughts. "That's unique. Literally no Zeus kid I know has ever done that. Even Cull. I don't think even the Grace siblings have that power."
"The Grace siblings? Who're they?" I asked.
"Just the strongest Zeus and Jupiter kids of our time. Jason Grace was one of the Seven Heroes, the people who stopped Gaea. His sister, Thalia Grace is head of the Artemis Hunters. Jason Grace was the son of Jupiter, while Thalia Grace is the daughter of Zeus."
That was a lot of history dumped onto me. Why were there seven heroes that stopped Gaea? Isn't Gaea supposed to be nice and motherly? Mother Nature and all that? Thalia Grace did not interest me as much, other than the fact that her father is apparently different than Jason. They have the same last name, so their mother is the same. So, why did Zeus or Jupiter father only one child? Shouldn't Zeus or Jupiter sire both children? I had a lot of questions, but I decided to focus on one thing.
"Was?"
Galin looked a little uncomfortable. "He died sometime ago. When Apollo was solving that whole communication problem."
He was probably 30 or so when he died. Cull looked that age. So, no problems there. Except that Galin looked unnerved, as if he began to wonder after saying those words. I disregarded the Apollo thing(Good job Apollo) and asked Galin about it.
"They're adults, right?" I made a hopeful smile. The look on Galin's face told me all I needed to know.
"No. Jason Grace died young, like most demigods. The Artemis Hunters don't grow older, and most of them are kids or teenagers," Galin explained.
It was hard to digest, harder than learning I was a demigod and I had to fight monsters. To be honest, when I first heard that I was a demigod, I was excited. I was happy to get out of my normal life.
"He's one of the most powerful demigods of our time and he died young?"
Then this bombshell dropped. Jason Grace, apparently one of the most powerful demigods, died young. He was probably a teenager when he died. It was like hearing about someone from your school getting murdered. You couldn't believe it, but it didn't really affect you. You still had to go do your work. But, the thought still laid with you. You would keep thinking about that death. And eventually, you'd think of how easy it would be for you to die.
Galin's eyes had a forlorn look to it. He sighed before continuing. "That's how our lives go. Most demigods don't make it past 20. The ones that do are wildly successful. Obama is a great example."
"He's a demigod!?" I could tell Galin was trying to cheer me up. Obama is always a good way to cheer people up. Obama. You're welcome.
"Michelle Obama. I think she's the daughter of Athena. I heard Cull mention it once. That doesn't change who we are though. We'll probably die young." And there goes the cheering up. Obama. It wasn't working anymore.
"Is camp the only place that's safe in this world?" I thought to myself out loud. Galin didn't get that though, so he responded.
"Probably. Just 3 camps to stay in. Epineio, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Camp Jupiter has a whole city for demigods."
It was awhile before I continued the conversation. I was paying attention to our surroundings. Everything seemed normal, but we had not been able to find the room. Which was very strange, since I knew the numbering system of the hospital. We should have found room 407 a long time now. Yet, we hadn't. I knew we had turned several corners after the hallway with the window, but it looked like we came there again. Something was wrong.
"I'm getting tired of walking, let's wait for the others," I told Galin. He messed with his wheels and the wheelchair stopped.
I was so tempted to evaluate his wheelchair then. But, I decided not to. The inner mechanisms of the wheelchair would probably fry my mind. I could evaluate it anytime we had to sleep. We would have time to sleep, right? Right.
"You're tired? How? Oh, wait, I forgot people get tired of walking," Galin chuckled. I didn't.
"So, Camp Jupiter is Epineio but better?" Galin did not laugh at that.
"No. Maybe. Probably." Galin scratched his head. "Epineio is new though. We don't have traditions and stuff. We can mostly do whatever we want. Like on this quest. We went with 4 people instead of the usual 3."
"So, how do we decide which camp gets which demigods?" I was assuming that each camp was like different schools and had different cultures. While we call Epineio a camp, it's only because the other two camps are camps. At least, that was the impression I got from Galin.
"All three of the camps search for demigods. Camp Half-Blood gets the Greeks and Camp Jupiter gets the Romans. Typically. Depends if the person wants to move or not," Galin said.
"And Epineio?"
Galin shrugged. "We grab anybody we find. Once we talk about the other camps, the newbies usually ask if they can move there."
I raised an eyebrow. "You guys didn't ask me if I wanted to move?"
"We were going to tell you after we got rid of your lightning curse. It's just that we have to go on this quest where if we fail, lightning will destroy a lot of things. And that's bad." Thanks Galin.
"It's my fault. I'd still like to stay in Epineio though." I paused, thinking how to best ask. It was taking several seconds, and I decided that was too long to take, so I blurted out the first question I thought. "Can I?"
"Sure you can." Galin grinned. "Gotta ask Selena what she feels about you staying though."
"Why her?" I asked.
Galin began grinning even wider. He made some hand expressions, while thinking of something to say to me. He took an even longer time than I did, which made me realise I was being stupid earlier.
"No reason. Don't worry about it," Galin waved the problem off, but to me, it still seemed very real. I was about to ask again, but the subject of our conversation appeared.
"Why do you have to ask me?" Selena asked us. Dahlia was by by her side, twirling her hair. Dahlia was also grinning a little.
"Selena and Dahlia?" Galin turned around again. "I thought you guys went ahead."
"We did, but the room is hard to find. Even with the blessing of Hermes. Flak, you've been here before, right?" Dahlia asked me.
I explained heavily, "I have. I know the general layout of the place, but it feels like we've been walking in circles. The elevator marks one end of the hospital. The room numbers are numbered floor number then how many doors away from the elevator, hugging the right wall. Room 407 should be seven doors away. Yeah, I know, it's weird, but it's easy to memorise."
"And yet we haven't found it yet. I don't think we're that incompetent." It looked like Selena dropped the permission question.
"Someone manipulating the Mist? The same person that resurrected the boar?" Dahlia looked angry whenever she mentioned that person. I decided to change the topic a little.
"Hey, how do people manipulate the Mist?"
"It's magic, none of us know that," Galin responded before Selena could.
"I can manipulate it a little, so I can explain. The caster has to make the Mist show what their victim wants to see, but in a way that benefits the caster, or they can try to force them to see an illusion, but that's hard. Children of Hecate can form physical objects. In some cases other people can form physical objects and do other magic things."
Galin perked up upon hearing the last line. "You think Gordin can make us celestial bronze?"
"Probably not. Anyway, if we are under the effect of a Sleight, then what we are seeing is what we want to see, hopefully. Everybody, say what you're seeing here. Number on the doors too."
Everybody began looking around themselves. Some of them touched the walls and paid specific attention to the door. None of them looked at the window. I didn't look, but instead, I opened the window. I felt the air breeze in, just as Galin began talking.
"Wall. Doors with cool knobs. The numbers are multiples of 16."
Dahlia reacted immediately. "Wha-? Never mind. I see IV drips laying around next to normal hospital doors. The numbers are 408 and so on."
"I see a general hospital hallway. Some patients are walking around and several nurses are rushing through the hallways. There are blinking lights in the hallway. Numbers are the same as Dahlia's."
I knew what everybody else said was nonsense. First of all, where are the windows? Second of all, Galin, what's with the multiples of 16? Anyway, I had to correct them on this. If someone was using a Sleight, I'll just say use the Mist, because it's easier. If someone was using the Mist to make us all see what we wanted to see, then I knew that my vision is correct. I would never view Chrysanthemum as a different place.
The others began babbling, so I cut in. "It's a normal hallway with windows. I've lived here, I know what it looks like. I've opened a window, you guys stick your hand in and feel the air."
Galin looked at me with accusing eyes, as if I was going to suggest he should stand up. I quickly explained myself.
"The Mist only affects sight, right?" I started.
"Wrong," Selena cut in. I gave her a dirty look before continuing.
"I don't think it affects touch."
Selena bitterly disproved me. "Sometimes it does. When it does, usually the victim is stuck in a hallucination and rooted on the spot. Sorry I forgot about that earlier."
That meant that the window I opened meant nothing.
"So, we could all be sitting in the elevator right now," Galin summarised. Great summary.
"Yes. I am not strong enough to break this Sleight, so we have to figure out how to break it."
Selena closed her eyes, then opened them. Her pink eyes shined slightly, as if she was focusing on reading any souls she could see, even while in the Mist. So, Selena thought that she can read souls even through the Mist. Could she though? Or, alternatively, could I sense through the Mist?
Dahlia piped in, "Maybe we have to reach our destination. Room 407, only reason anyone has to Mist us is to stop us from getting there."
I decided to put my plan into action. "To me, the hospital looks like it did from back then. I think I can figure out how to get there."
Selena closed her eyes, obviously frustrated. She couldn't see living beings beyond the Mist. However, I would only be vaguely sensing any electrical lines and following them. I hoped it would work, but I couldn't be sure.
"Lead the way Flak," Dahlia said.
I walked forward, looking at the lights above. I focused on them, recognising their structure. Well, lack thereof. No electrical wiring whatsoever. The lights above us were all the Mist, unlike the lights before. I smirked a little bit. I continued walking, looking everywhere for any sort of electrical wiring.
It was only after a full minute of running around that I found electricity. And by that, I meant the elevator. Nothing on this floor had electricity, except for the elevator. I sensed the wiring of the elevator, confirming where the engine room was. The lights I sensed earlier was the elevator, somehow. Don't ask me about this Mist thing. Strangely, the wires led into the elevator, as if the elevator could be opened on both sides.
"Into the elevator," I muttered.
I turned around to make sure everyone was following me. Dahlia and Galin had gotten bored within seconds. They were doing their own things. Selena was pushing Galin's wheelchair. I waved them over and opened the elevator.
"We're on the fourth floor, aren't we?" Selena asked.
I shrugged. "Basement, I think. Wait here."
I walked into the wall of the elevator. The wall didn't last long, I was out in a manner of seconds. I looked around the room, following the wiring yet again. The wiring led straight into another wall. I tried to walk into that wall, but the wall blockaded me. The wire led through the wall, and there was no hole for them. I fumbled along the wall, searching for a hidden doorknob.
I let out a jolt of lightning, not really caring where it went. The lightning went straight towards an invisible object. The electricity thrived inside the object, as if it had found a home. Like an electric hermit crab trading shells with other hermit crabs and finding the perfect shell. A metal doorknob shell.
"Got it." I smirked again.
I twisted the doorknob and opened the door. All of a sudden, a barrage of mist came rolling towards me, engulfing my body. I could barely see anything. I began to hear voices in the mist. Shrieking and voices that screamed of death. I hoped they were wrong.
In the midst of the confusion, I stumbled around. I walked forward and backward, unsure of where I was going. I tried to feel my way around, keeping my hand on a wall.
It was just a constant mess of me stumbling around. I didn't know where I was. I kept walking around, probably in circles, or even in zig-zags. It wasn't until I fell down a hole that I had an inkling of where I was. When I landed on the ground, I was assaulted by a strange feeling. It felt evil, yet familiar. As if an angry cat was welcoming me back home. A cat that would constantly nip at me, tolerating my presence. I was there many times, but the cat would never go away.
'I won't actively try to kill you, but I would prefer you dead.' That was the feeling I got from where I landed.
When I regained my bearings, I wasn't sure what to do until Selena sent me a soul message.
'Flak, don't move, we're heading your way.'
'Where am I, Selena?' I thought back.
'This may come as a shock. Do you know the minotaur?"
I recounted the tale in my head. Something about Poseidon getting angry and him pulling the most atrocious act of punishment to make the minotaur. Asterios was its name, I think. It lived in a great maze designed by the genius inventor Daedalus. The maze was said to be inescapable, but a great hero managed to get through. Remembering all this brought me to a conclusion I thought was impossible.
"Am I in the Labyrinth?' I grimaced at the thought. I pulled out an arrow and extended it into a lance, just to be safe. If I was right, I had to be prepared to fight anything in these caves. Or anyone. Anyone?
I gripped my head in pain again. The same pain with the Astrapí and the realisation of the memories back then. I knocked my head with my hand. The pain didn't stop until I knelt down on the ground. It was there where I had to realise the truth of this place.
I had been here before. Some memories were drifting back. There were people living in the Labyrinth. Maybe they were still there, but I couldn't be sure. I knew that I had met people here and I remembered having friends that lived here. This place was full of memories, perhaps even where I spent the entirety of those two years. That didn't matter right now though.
Selena's voice sounded worried. 'I think so. It's getting harder to communicate with you, so you need to stay where you are.'
The mist was still covering my eyes. I closed them and instead sensed wherever I could. The wires I followed were gone, and any spark of electricity I could sense was from me. I focused even more, trying to see past the walls. Inadvertently, by focusing so hard, I was directing electricity to my eyes. It was at that moment, I managed to sense a faint glimmer of lighting. It was connected to several lamps and lightbulbs, so it had to be human.
'No. Selena, you guys stay there. I'm the only one who can sense my way through the Mist. I'll find my way back," I thought out loud with such confidence, I nearly fell over. It was a good thing Selena couldn't see that.
'...Fine. Be careful.' The reluctance was seeping from her voice. I tried to think of one last message for her to read, but nothing came out. I couldn't feel that ridiculously small presence in my head anymore. I knew then I was on my own.
I walked and felt my way to the light. There were several staircases and unstable ground that nearly tripped me. My lance was used as a walking stick, actually, more like a poking stick. I poked the ground and ahead of me, hoping to meet solid stone. I was pretty sure this part of the Labyrinth was made of stones, because some nearly tripped me. A nice trip this would be.
The mist stopped when I reached the lights. I stabbed towards it, and I felt resistance. The lance was jabbed into something, wood probably. I quickly contracted the lance into an arrow and found the doorknob. The door's wood felt familiar, somehow. Like I had felt it a million times.
When I opened the door, I blinked multiple times, just to make sure I wasn't seeing wrongly. I really didn't think I was seeing correctly, so I rubbed my eyes.
"Don't do that. Rubbing your eyes ruins your eyeshadow, so you ought to avoid it."
I turned to the owner of the slightly effeminate voice. I was a little surprised to find out that it came from a man. The guy coughed into his arm and muttered a few words. He noticed me looking at him, and gave me a sweet smile before pulling out lipstick. He uncapped it and began reapplying it on himself.
"I-" I had my mouth in silence for awhile- "don't wear eyeshadow."
"You don't? Then how were you able to see through the Mist to find my shop?" He asked, having finished reapplying. He put the lipstick down on a counter and sat himself down on one of the many chairs.
The place I had entered was like a makeup store in a mall. There were various products on display with some off-putting brands like Shadow Monster or Monster Sense or even Monster Radar(Now in makeup form). Some of them were in containers and others weren't. There were also a ton of mirrors around the place. The mirrors were placed on tables with glass surfaces. Underneath the surfaces were some products. Chairs were set beside the tables. The whole place smelled faintly like roses. Romantic love.
"I can sense electricity. So, can we start with introductions?" I smiled slightly, to say that I came in peace.
"Of course, of course. You wouldn't know me, but I am Prance, son of Venus."
"Venus? A Roman goddess?" I muttered.
Some memories unearthed themselves from my mind. I remembered how normal it was for Roman demigods to roam here. They frequently explored the Labyrinth, avoiding contact with other demigods, if they could. They were split up into multiple factions, after all. Any wrong move and war could ensue. How I had that knowledge, I didn't know.
"Indeed, indeed." Prance paused, smirking while doing so. "But you wouldn't have been able to get here without having some contact with the other demigods here."
"Wait, where is here?" I decided to ask. Prance's smirk didn't stop.
"Where is here? What a stupid question. You end up in my shop, and you don't know where you are?" He gestured for me to sit down on a chair.
"Sorry, I got lost." I took a seat and faced Prance. Prance crossed his feet and clasped his hands. I, not knowing the customs here, followed suit.
"You are in my shop, Prancing Prayers. My shop is in the Labyrinth. Though, of course you knew that," Prance said with great confidence. I nodded along.
Prance got up and began walking along the tables and shelves, checking his products. The chair I was on was a swivel chair, so I turned to face him. He answered my questions without looking back. I had to say, Prance was sort of cute.
He looked like if someone decided to make a man androgynous. His face had thin eyebrows and long eyelashes, but I could see the faintest hint of stubble. As if he had just started growing facial hair, which was odd, because he looked 20. It was like he had gotten a very late puberty or a second one.
"The Labyrinth. That's where all the weird alleyways lead to?" I asked, just to make sure.
"Of course, of course. May I ask you a question?" He finally turned to look at me.
"I'm Flak Tartrum. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."
Prance laughed a bit. His laughing almost made me want to join him. "That's fine. I knew who you were the moment you set foot in here. I was playing is all."
"You know me?" I questioned, having stood up. "From the Labyrinth?"
"Yes, yes."
"You need to tell me what happened in the Labyrinth. Listen, I have amnesia about the whole Labyrinth thing. I lost weekends and summer breaks. Please, I need to know." I stepped towards Prance, lightning trickling from my fingers. It happened unconsciously, having reacted from my emotions.
The lightning in my fingers calmed down after awhile. Prance didn't seem to want to talk before I calmed down. How could I have acted so angrily? I only discovered today that I had amnesia and then I found a guy who could explain everything to me. It wasn't like I had amnesia for half a year, but my desperation was the same. No matter whether I lost 2 years or all of them, I had to know.
"Are you done?" Prance looked unfazed. I took a step back and explained myself.
"I just need to know."
Prance seemed bemused. "Well, this is a conundrum."
"How so? Can't you tell me?"
Prance shrugged, walking back over to his counter with light steps. He reached into a cabinet and took a pill bottle. He swallowed a pill without water and placed the pill bottle back. For a second, I thought I saw the words 'Test-' on the bottle, but I didn't have enough time to read all of it.
"I can't, sadly. There is a prophecy about you floating around. Something about never entering again or the territories would be destroyed. Of course, I don't belong to a territory, so I don't care."
I perked up. "Another prophecy about me?"
"Oh, yes. You are quite important around here. I may not care about the destruction of the territories, but I do care about my friends who live there. So, I can't tell you anything."
For a second, I felt like I knew which people he talked about. "Nothing at all?"
"Nothing with a capital N."
I picked up some of his products. My lips were feeling pretty dry, so some lip balm would be nice. Foundation could be useful, but the Mist could handle that, couldn't it?
I shook my head. These were magical makeup products, as Prance had implied earlier. Eyeshadow that can see through the Mist. I looked for other products, with the same effect, that could be more easily applied, but I found nothing.
"Okay, what if I buy your eyeshadow? I'll pay you to apply it on me." I brought an eyeshadow palette to Prance's counter.
"Well, that's certainly a nice deal," Prance said while putting the eyeshadow palette in a case. "Applying eyeshadow on the Flak Tartrum? That sounds fun. What do you have to pay with?"
I rustled through my pockets. No money there. I took out my bag and looked through my supplies. All I found of money were several dollars, but I felt Prance didn't deal in dollars. I couldn't sell him the ambrosia or nectar. So, I looked towards my weapons.
"I don't have much cash." I held a finger up. "But, I have celestial bronze. You don't belong in the territories right? That means you aren't privy to their resources."
"And how many arrows do you think you can give me? Only the arrowheads are celestial bronze." Prance shook his head slowly as if the deal was over.
"They aren't just arrows. They can extend into lances with entire spearheads made of celestial bronze."
I took out an arrow and extended it to its full length. I placed the lance on the counter. Prance took the lance and inspected the tip. After several seconds, he looked satisfied.
"Children of Hecate have worked on this," Prance noted. "Then I shall take it. 2 lances then."
"No," I refused. "You tell me about myself."
"3 lances."
"Info or we aren't dealing." I crossed my arms. Electricity crisscrossed between my arms, sometimes straying and hitting the counter. It didn't damage it, though.
"Resolute when it comes to it. Fine. 5 lances. You get to ask a single question. Just the one."
I agreed to the deal. That was probably the best deal I could get. There was a prophecy and prophecies could not be broken. No matter how one tried. I felt the last few thoughts of mine were from experience, but I couldn't be sure.
Prance got to work. He sat me down on one of the chairs in front of the mirror. I had my eyes closed the entire time, but I could feel his skill. I may never have had eyeshadow applied to me before, but even I could feel the skill Prance had. It wasn't just being the son of Venus, he had years of training. He treated his work as if a single mistake would cost him his life.
It felt like an instant, but Prance was finished. He had tiny beads of sweat on his forehead and wiped them with a towel. I didn't realise he brought a towel over.
I looked at the finished product through a mirror. I closed one eye and observed it with the other. There was barely any difference between my skin tone and the colour of the eyeshadow. I wouldn't have been able to tell if I didn't know it. I reached my hand to brush it, but refrained. It had a subtle beauty that I could not disturb.
Prance sat back down on a chair, satisfied with his work. "Have you come up with a question yet?"
"The territories." I turned to look at him. "What am I to them?"
"I expected you to ask about your personal relationships here, to be honest. Very well," Prance said. He breathed in heavily, probably while thinking of what to say.
"Full detail, please."
"You are a leader. An opponent to be feared. And an ally anyone would be glad to have."
I nodded. It was weird to hear this sort of thing. It was as if he expected me to do great things, because I had done it before. I had no idea what I was doing on this quest, to be honest. It was like comparing a younger sibling to a successful, older one. They did it before, so surely the younger one could too.
Prance muttered, "Especially to the Ceres territory."
"Ceres?"
"Roman goddess of farming and the like." Prance looked as if he was tired of accidentally muttering new tidbits of information. "They have a very special boy there, whose information I cannot divulge."
I brought my hand to my chin. I felt like I knew the special Ceres boy personally. "Why especially to the Ceres one?"
"I can't tell you. I don't know what your current relationship with him is," Prance emphasised, "and I do not want to make things awkward between you two."
"Him? Is him that special farm boy?" I closed my eyes, hoping to get any memories of him. Nothing came up. For some reason, I felt sad.
"Perhaps. Perhaps." Prance decided to change the topic. "You need to go soon don't you? You have new friends waiting for you. And I smell the scent of love on one of them."
"The scent of love?" I questioned.
Prance's eyes were closed, he was focusing on smelling. "Related to Venus, no, Aphrodite. Your current friends are Greek."
"So?"
"Nothing wrong." Prance looked amused. "Is the friend related to Aphrodite her child?"
"Psyche is her mom. So, grandchild of Aphrodite," I answered.
"A niece, how wonderful."
I remembered the question Prance wanted to ask me earlier. "You had a question for me right?"
"Ah, about that. You have amnesia, so it would be pointless for me to ask." Prance waved it off.
"Well, what is it anyway?"
"I would have asked you to deliver some makeup to the Venus territory. Anyway, off you go." Prance waved his hand as if he was shooing a dog away.
"I can still deliver it," I said with confidence. Prance immediately shot me down.
"No, you can't. The Venus territory has been a little hostile towards me ever since I left and they would be very unwelcoming if you came there unannounced. With your memories, you could have easily done the task."
I smiled wryly, in defeat. "Alright then. Anyway, thanks, Prance. It's a prophecy and all, so I understand why you can't say more. I might visit you later."
"The pleasure is mine." Prance rummaged in his cabinet and picked out a small vial. "Oh, and here."
Prance tossed me the vial. The vial was small, and barely fit inside my hand. There was a label with the words, 'Prance Pheromones' on it. There was also fine print on the back: 'The producer of this product is not responsible for what the buyer does with this product. May it be murder, love, or worse.'
"Prance Pheromones?"
"I am a particularly special child of Venus. My scent or 'pheromones' can invigorate people. You will need it in your quest," Prance decided. He looked as if he had said that a thousand times before. I wondered how long he had been here.
"Thanks, Prance. If I regain my memory, I'll see if I can get you into a territory or something." I scratched my head and bowed. I shoved the pheromone bottle into my bag, next to the eyeshadow case and the golden apple.
"You don't need to. I left of my own volition," Prance said, with a forlorn look on his face. That look confirmed a lot of things I thought of him.
"You didn't," I laid down my answer. "I don't know why you were forced to leave, but I have a feeling I won't like the line of reasoning. When I regain my memory, I'll help you find a place where you belong."
Prance looked grateful. He didn't say anything back, letting me leave before things got awkward. I felt the door a little bit, reminding myself of its feel. A tree popped up in my head. A willow tree.
The willow tree. My mom had told me stories of it. How people used to gather under them, for any reason really. It was like a hearth, in a way. People gathered there for whatever they wanted. Be it for picnics, or for relaxing, or for cultural festivals. That reminded me of the Qingming Festival. A Chinese tradition.
The Qingming Festival is called Tomb-Sweeping Day or Ancestors' Day in english. People cleaned their ancestor' gravesites, prayed to them for guidance and made offerings to them. They carried willow branches with them to ward off evil spirits while cleaning. The willow branches were also hung on doors and gates. According to legend, the ruler of the underworld allowed the spirits of the dead to wander on earth on Qingming. That is why willow branches were used on that day. My mom has a willow branch in the front of her store and our house.
I remembered I told her to put it up. But, I forgot why. I was told to by a friend of mine, but I didn't remember who that was. He was close to me, maybe we were even romantically involved. Whoever he was, that was one more link to the past that I had to get back. And one more reason I had to survive this quest.
As I was leaving, I heard Prance mutter one last thing. "Thank you, Praetor of Jupiter."