Here's a secret;
Garden gnomes are actually really ugly. Most of them.
Honestly, stone statues of any kind terrify me.
Now, being an avid Doctor Who fan, 'I can attest to the fact that shadows, mannequins, and statues were all on the list of the banes of all existence.
Now I just have one more reason to be completely certain of the fact that—
Statues are evil.
Just evil.
Chapter Twelve
It sure was nice to know there really were Greek gods out there, Riker mused. At least he had someone to blame when things went wrong.
Not that anything had gone wrong, per say. Everything was going splendidly, actually. The only thing that wasn't according to plan was being without a ride, since they'd had to forgo the next bus ride their tickets had had scheduled to get away from the police and new-reporters.
So now they were forced to walk along the riverbank of the Hudson, through the woods of New Jersey, with the skyline of New York lighting the sky yellow behind them.
Living in New York all his life, Riker's sense of direction was on par with that of a navigator—except, he didn't know New Jersey like he did Manhattan. This was uncharted territory, for all of them, and they were quite lost, as it was.
"Seriously, though," Jesse said as he bounced on ahead of them. "All three Furies at once? I can't wait to tell Jace! 'Magine what he'd say," the redhead grinned so large his eyes were squeezed shut.
"They kind of lost their "rare occurrence" badge with me after the first time," Riker said, walking a few paces behind him with his arms braced behind his head. "I mean; all three, phew, nothing to scoff at—but they get old real fast."
Clarisse snorted from her own path beside him, clipboard/folder clutched to her chest." They were like broken records. I mean, really! You think Lord Hades programs them with pre-selected phrases like those toys that talk when you squeeze them?"
Riker snickered. "'Lord Hades will have your soul!'" He squeaked, in a bad purposefully bad imitation of his ex-math teacher's voice. "'You shall rot forevermore in the Fields of Punishment!'"
The children of Ares cracked up, laughing so hard they clutched at their sides and Riker decided they should pause for a short rest.
Jesse rubbed at his eyes as he sat down with a huff, his back against the trunk of a pine tree. Riker fell down next to him and shrugged off his messenger bag while Clarisse sat on the trunk of a fallen oak. He glanced at Jesse and frowned. "You okay? Your right eye's a little red 'round the edges."
The redhead blinked and looked to the side, biting his lips and moving his eyes around as if they felt uncomfortable and out of place in his skull. Clarisse looked up and stared. Jesse just shrugged. "Uh-hm. Gets like that, sometimes. Just dry, s'all."
Riker shared a glance with Clarisse, and the Jackson fell back against the tree with a huff. "'Sure. Just speak up if it starts bothering you, mmkay?"
Jesse looked reluctant, but he nodded and Clarisse leaned back again, rubbing her head against the bark of the tree to get rid of a scratch.
Riker pulled out a few granola bars from the bag sitting next to Jesse, and tossed one over to Clarisse. "So, you know about me, just about. I'm curious about you two, though. What's your home life like?"
Clarisse tore the wrapper off and tapped her bottom lip with the edge of the bar, contemplating taking a bite. "My mom's ex-air force. Ran into our dad just as she was finishing up her last tour. He was posing as an army officer and they first met at the naval base for a big-shot military meeting. She totally fell for him, and he asked her on a date after the meeting... I usually spend most of my year at the Camp, but I go home for holidays and some school years if I'm not in some boarding school. I live in Connecticut." She nibbled on the end of her granola bar as Jesse scarfed down his and Riker listened. "Um, I really like theater, chess, and sports. My big brother—he's not a demigod, like me, we have different dads—used to take me to dirt bike races when I was little... I used to want one so bad. First thing I'm doing when I'm old enough is getting a motorcycle and learning how to drive."
Riker grinned. "I already know how to drive. Manual, stick shift, and motorcycle!"
The blond girl stuck out her tongue at him, envious. "I hate you!"
"Oi! My turn!" Jesse hollered, and the two fell silent to look at him. He blinked. "I was born down south in Louisiana. I have two little brothers and a little sister, she's the youngest. Her name's Evelyn. Jace is the oldest—I'm the second child. Tommy and Gideon are both seven, they're twins."He paused her to take another bite of the granola bar. "But only me an' Jace are demigods. Step dad's a trucker. Drives delivery for wine companies."
"We live in a ranch house with our mom. She owns a vineyard. Pays some pretty penny, and we're not too bad off. Me an' Jace come up to Manhattan to go to school and camp, and the younger kids go to the townhouse for elementary school back home. Mom met dad back when she was younger, when she was in college. She drove a delivery truck for an army surplus store. She dated him for a while, but then she moved to Tijuana to study medicine. 'Ventually she started the vineyard business and met up with dad again and, viola, I was created. Bless the gods. I came after Jace, though. Mom and Dad stopped seeing each other for a while, 'fore they got together again and had me. She dated this one guy, but ditched 'im cuz he was a right bastard."
"What he do?" Riker asked. "Like, Gabe Ugliano bastard, or like... parents-were-married-but-he's-still-a-dick bastard?"
Jesse scrunched up his nose. "Both, I think."
"Oh gods," Riker let his head fall into his hands. "I was putting some faith into humanity to assume there was no one on earth that would meet such 'qualifications.'"
Clarisse harrumphed. "What was he like, then?"
"He kept gettin' drunk, bad. That's what Jace said. Mom said he kept spending the money on drugs and stuff so she just decided that he wasn't worth keeping 'round. Whenever me, or Jace, or the little guys bring him up, she just says she wonders how she got trapped with him."
"I'd wonder too," Clarisse seethed. "Guys like that don't deserve life," she cracked her knuckles.
"I guess I should go next," Riker mused. "I mean, You guys told me more than I've told you. Here goes." He cleared his throat. "Mom met my father—that guy—on the beach one summer. They got to know each other during and after a game of volleyball with Mom's high school friends. He took mom out for a few dates, then they rented a cabin together. Same cabin I usually go with mom to, for summer vacation. It's fun, and mom... was always really happy when we went there." He swallowed thickly, throat suddenly closed up. Clarisse tossed her granola bar wrapper onto the bag and came over to slide down next to him. She put a hand on his knee and Jesse slung an arm over his shoulder.
"Hey, man." Jesse said quietly.
"We're going to the Underworld, right?" Clarisse pipe up suddenly, frowning in thought. "And if we get on Lord Hades' good side, maybe.. maybe he'll let you talk to her!"
Riker straightened up, staring straight ahead. He didn't say anything, so the other two hesitantly picked up their wrappers and tossed them into the plastic sack in Bag #2 that served as their rash for now. But a plan that Riker had forgotten earlier began to take shape in his mind, once again. He compared it with the quest plan and made a few tiny changes until they were merged, and the corner of his lips upturned just a little.
Jesse tucked his jacket around him and un-zipped the front halfway down to show the black tie over the white button up, now that the chill in the air had abated. He pulled uncomfortably at the tie for a moment, before Clarisse shot him a stern glare and he reluctantly left it alone, albeit slightly loosened.
Riker crossed him arms and tightened them around his chest in an almost-hug. He looked down to examine the ground very closely, Then he let out a soft sigh, eyes softening behind his sunglasses.
"I suppose," He said, finally, as he put his hand on his knees and rose into a standing position. But that was all, and Clarisse shared a glance with Jesse before they all began walking again in silence.
The rain had stopped falling a few hours before, so the ground had started to dry up. Fortunately it wasn't as soft or muddy as it had been earlier, so they didn't have to be as careful about where they placed their feet.
A few more hours of walking, and it was starting to get dark out. Clarisse was a little offset about the prospect of having to sleep outside in the woods of New Jersey, especially since she'd never actually been camping before. But Jesse had taken a look at the map in bag #3, had finally figured out where they were, and Riker had concluded they wouldn't reach any establishment before night came.
As the blond girl bit her lip and stared down at her feet as she walked, Riker stopped so suddenly that she and Jesse almost ran into him.
"Captain?"
"Do you smell that?" He asked, looking almost startled behind his shades. Clarisse frowned, taking a small whiff of the air, before her eyes widened.
"Is that—?"
"Hamburgers...?" Jesse blinked, stunned. "But, we're in the middle of the woods!" He exclaimed.
"We looked all over the map just a short while ago, and there weren't any fast food joints nearby..." Clarisse pointed out dubiously.
Riker straightened up and tilted his head. "And we're not near a road or anything, I don't hear any cars..." He took a few steps back the way they'd came, before veering off toward their right.
"C-Captain!" Clarisse called after him, and the two children of Ares stumbled as they tried to keep up with him. Riker turned back and smiled.
"Always follow your nose!" he called, before considering it himself. "Wait. No, never mind. Don't do that, that's a terrible way to make decisions."
"He was just referencing Lord of the Rings," Jesse muttered, scowling, and Clarisse snickered. Jesse had been a huge fan, especially of the movie franchise, until Riker had accused him of having a guy-crush on Legolas. Then, the redhead had started glaring at the Jackson whenever the popular book series was brought up. Riker absolutely loved teasing him about it.
The three of them stumbled int a clearing, blinking furiously as the light of a large neon sign assaulted their vision, which was uncovered by shades and use to the darkness of the woods. They demigods glanced at one another before sliding their sunglasses back over their eyes and making their way to the door of the establishment, which seemed to be a warehouse-like shop. Only, half of it looked like it had been remodeled into a greenhouse sort of building.
"What the hell does that say?" Riker squinted, but the other two only shrugged.
"How should we know?" Jesse asked. "We're all dyslexic, man."
Clarisse stared, barely blinking, and the boys stopped to stand next to her. Her eyes began to tear up, though, and she had to look away after a while. "Um, all I got was "Ant, weird letter, weird letter, space, Shme, space, weird letter, Gerda, space, Go Men... space, weird letter, weird letter..." She paused, then giggled, "Um, Rump Me..."
They stared at her, then burst into laughter.
"Wha-what the hell i-is this place?!" Riker giggled, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Hell no, he did not just giggle, he doesn't giggle, he doesn't!
Jesse clutched his stomach and Clarisse had to grip Riker's shoulder in order to keep from falling over. "I-I think I read it wrong..."
"Definitely," Riker gasped, taking his hand off from his mouth and grinning. "'Shme' isn't a word."
That just made them laugh harder.
Jesse glanced at the entrance, and shuddered. Two bearded garden gnomes stood outside, waving happily, as if they were about to get their picture taken. He gestured at them, and his two companions made faces.
"Ugh. The detail is too much." Clarisse stuck out her tongue, and Riker pursed his lips, shaking his head.
"Yeah. Sometimes you have to keep that cartoon-ish quality or they just look plain disturbing..."
They glanced at one another for a short moment, silent. Then, in unison, they all stepped onto the asphalt to cross the two-lane road.
"Place is kind of weird," Jesse observed, tilting his head.
Clarisse hmm'ed. "Odd place for any establishment. Probably doesn't get any costumers at all."
"The lights are on inside," Riker said. "Guess it's open, too. 24/7 joint?"
The other two teens shared a wary glance, but they'd crossed the street already. The front lot was a literal forest of statues, and not just gnomes. Cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr, playing it's reed pipes. Riker groaned quietly when he saw it.
"Dammit, I thought I'd get a break from Stalker-boy on this quest."
Jesse and Clarisse snorted.
"Kinda looks like him too," Clarisse mentioned. "But, y'know, older."
Jesse made a strange sound in the back of his throat that almost sounded like a purr. "I smell burgers... We didn't pack burgers..."
"Obviously, you idiot," she grunted, but Riker could see the longing in her eyes, too. The roast beef sandwiches the nymphs back at camp had shoved in their bags didn't sound as appetizing anymore, he had to agree.
They stopped, and the door in front of them creaked open. Clarisse bumped Riker's shoulder with her own, and he nodded. Standing in the doorway was a tall, Middle-Eastern woman who wore a long black gown that covered anything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. At this choice of clothing, Riker's internal alarm began to blare. He subtly moved an hand each to pinched Clarisse and Jesse's pockets and jerked them back before they could take a step forward, and they both glanced at him. He stared up at the woman, meeting eyes that glinted behind a curtain of black gauze.
"Children," She spoke, accent there but not thick enough to really take note of. "It is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"
Jesse and Clarisse stepped and Riker nodded at them, before looking back at the woman. "They're back down the street with the motor home and truck. We were on a long drive, but my stupid big brother did something again and now we need to find a phone to call a gas station. We can't find any signal." Riker scowled, seemingly irritated at a older brother who didn't exist.
The woman paused, her hands clasping in front of her. "Awfully nice clothes for camping..." She observed, and Clarisse grinned brightly. "Yeah! My sister, Hailey, she got married down in Jersey. She had the ceremony in this really big, pretty log house, and it was huge!" She motioned wildly with her hands, the held them behind her back, trying to look excited. "Daddy said lumber-jacks built it, a long time ago—but only like two centuries or so, and not a thousand years..." She pouted.
Jesse played the part of the apathetic best friend well. "She don't care 'bout the wedding, Sarah." he drawled, leaning heavily on his southern accent that wasn't normally discernible. "She weren't there, yeah?"
Clarisse jabbed him in the ribs. "'Doesn't,' and 'wasn't,' Grant. Mom said to watch your grammar or you'll never get into college!"
He swatted her back, glaring. "I ain't wantin' to go, Sarah. Ma'am Sheryl gotta lay off my case!"
"Guys!" Riker snapped, before he bit his lip and turned back to the amused looking Middle-Eastern woman. "Um, I'm sorry! They're just dumb, sometimes. But, Dad told us to come ask if you had a phone we could use?"
The woman smiled. "Of course, my dears. Right back this way, why don't you follow me." She pushed the door open wider to make room for them to enter, and lead them toward the back of the front room. The three hesitated, but crossed the threshold anyway, following her to what looked like an office door. She unlocked it as they reached it, and opened it up to flick on the light. Then she turned to them. "Phone's right on the desk, honey. You can use it, just press 9 before entering the phone number, okay?"
Riker glanced and Jesse, who rolled his eyes and nodded, striding into the room and wandering over to the phone. The heavy door slammed shut behind him, but they could still see him through the glass window that viewed the desk. The three of them watched as he picked up the phone and fiddled with the keypad for a moment, before pressing the receiver to his ear.
The woman turned to them and clapped her hands. "Are you dears hungry? I could pack you a light snack for to road, perhaps? I've just made a batch of burgers..."
Riker bit his lips and exchanged a glance with "Sarah," who then flicked shy eyes toward the floor. Riker grinned, taking in a deep whiff of the pleasant odor of grilled meat and nodded. "Oh, yes please, ma'am!" He crowed, playing his own part of the excited child.
The woman gave a light chuckled, and started toward a door that was ajar to the left hallway of the front room. "Call me Aunty Em, my child. 'Ma'am' makes me feel like an important businesswoman!"
He called an affirmative after her... and then swiveled around to grab Clarisse's shoulders as soon as she was out of sight.
"Clarisse! This is kinda fucking bad!"
She frowned at him. "What's wrong? I mean, this place is creepy, but..."
"Are you even looking?" He hissed, brows turning downward. "Lady wears a veil so we can't see her eyes. All the stone statues around us? Aunty 'Em'? As in, the letter 'M'?"
Clarisse seemed to stop breathing for a moment, and her eyes flew open. "Oh, shit..."
Jesse chose that moment to come out of the office, flicking the light off before he shut the door behind him. He took note of their faces, and blinked in concern. "Uh, guys? What's up?"
Clarisse jerked back and stumbled over to shake him quietly by the shoulders, barely concealed panic in her wine-colored eyes. "Fuck, Jesse. We just walked right into Medusa's lair!"
Jesse froze. "What?!"
"Keep it down!" Riker hissed placing a hand on both their shoulders. "Alright, head's on, you guys. I've got a plan, alright? I'd never lead you into an unknown location without some back-up plans, okay?"
They both traded uneasy looks, before nodding shakily, taking in deep breaths.
"Okay."
When 'Aunty Em' came out of the back kitchen with a platter full of hamburgers and fries, Sarah, Grant and the newly dubbed 'Chris' all sat at one of the tables in the front room, chatting—or more like, Sarah and Grant were arguing and taking jabs at one another while an exasperated Chris tried his best to referee.
The elder woman smiled sweetly, and set the platter down on the table before them, and Sarah and Grant paused their squabble to eye the food on it hungrily. The three children looked up at Aunty Em in askance, then dove into the meal greedily when she nodded.
"Now," the woman began as she settled into a seat next to Grant, who blinked up at her before going back to his food. "What are all your names? I believe I caught Miss Sarah's and... Grant, was it?" As the redhead's nod, she made a satisfied humming sound, before turnign to the other boy. "But, I don't think you introduced yourself, my dear."
Chris blushes sheepishly. "Oh. Uh, sorry. Mom always says that's rude..." he cleared his throat and held out a hand. "I'm Chris!"
Aunty Em chuckled and shook the offered limb, and Chris picked up a fry to munch on as soon as she let go. "Oh, I don't mind, you three are very well mannered compared to other children I have met."
Chris looked at her disbelieving. "Really?" He asked doubtfully, before his gaze slid over to his friends, who were almost devouring their paper plates as they ate. "Because Sarah and Grant are always fighting..."
A mischievous glint ignited in his eyes, and he snickered. "That means they're gonna get married when they grow up!"
Sarah and Grant choked on their food, looking up with irritated looks on their faces.
"No we're not!, Chrissy!" Sarah huffed angrily, and Chris narrowed his eyes at the play on his name. "I hate that jerk!" She jerked her thumb toward Grant, who rolled his yes.
"Nah, you don't." He said simply. "Otherwise we wouldn't be friends."
"We're only friends 'cause our parents met at the doctor office and forced us on play dates," Sarah said hotly. She took another bite out of her burger.
Chris giggled. He turned to Aunty Em and grinned. "They're always like this. My big brother Markus said that they'll get married if they keep fighting like this, and they do!" He said, shooting a triumphant look at the other two as he finished.
Grant grunted, sipping from his glass of iced tea that their host had made available on the tray for them. "Mark ain't always right, Chris."
Chris stuck out his bottom lip. "He's older than us, so he'd now better than we would, duh!"
"I thought you said he was stupid," Sarah snickered.
Soon enough, they'd finished eating, and Grant was breathing in and out deeply as if he'd just had a feast and was trying to keep his stomach from bursting. Chris ran his tongue over his teeth and crunched don on the rest of the ice in his glass before the three children turned to face Aunty Em. Sarah bit her lip shyly, before smiling.
"Thank you so much for the food!" She said. "Mrs. Sheryl and Mr. Daniel, Chris' mom and dad, said there wasn't gonna be another fast food place for a while!"
"It was my pleasure," the Middle-Eastern woman said as the four of them stood up. Then, she hesitated, as if afraid to speak, but she seemed to toughen up and turned to them. "Ah, children? Might I ask something of you? Consider it a favor in repay for the food, perhaps?"
The three of them paused, exchanging glances. Chris, apparently the default leader of their trio, bit his lip, before nodding slowly. "Um... yeah, I guess so.. But we can't be too long, otherwise Mom and Dad might get worried... And then Dad will get mad and I might get grounded again for taking too long..."
"Oh, nothing to difficult!" Aunty Em simpered, shaking her head. "It's just, I haven't gotten any good inspiration for a statue for so long, and you three just so happened to get my imagination running again with out conversation. Sch bright children you are.." She tilted her head "Would you mind too terribly if I took your picture?"
Chris seemed to still all of a sudden, but then he shook himself a little and made his eyes widen. "Y-You wanna make statues... of us?" He asked.
Grant and Sarah stared at her in surprise.
"Ya mean, like them garden pieces out there?" Grant jerked a thumb toward the front entrance and, in relation, to the small army of cement statues.
"Exactly like them, dear." the woman clasped her hands eagerly. "Oh, please?"
Sarah bit her lip. "U-Um, I'm not very photogenic... I mean..."
"Oh, don't kid yourself, my dear. You're quite beautiful."
Her face turned red, and Chris shot Grant an amused glance.
"I think that would be okay..." Chris turned back to look up at their host. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad, right? We can wait here while you go get your camera."
The woman, paused, as if she hadn't really thought of a camera at all, and Chris internally narrowed his eyes. Ah.
"Yes, of course," Aunty Em breathed, patting him on the shoulder. He grinned up at her sweetly. "Just wait right here, and I'll go get my... camera, dears."
They all stood and watched silently as she made her back into the hallway. There was a second of stillness, before the three traded panicked looked and bolted for the door.
Ω Δ Σ
They camped in the forest for the night, lounging on the sleeping-bags that had been in Jesse's back. They'd been blessed by Hermes, Chiron had said, so they held much more than they appeared to be able to.
But none of them got any sleep. They were just waiting it out, the night cast in an eerie green glow and the smell of burning everything permeated the air. Clarisse had chucked a small pot of Greek fire through the door when they'd fled, and they'd had only a ten second delay before it exploded.
"I hope to God she perished." Jesse groaned, stretching his arms above his head. His voice still held a Southern lilt to it, but it faded more ever hour.
"It was either Greek fire or cutting off her head," Clarisse told them from her place slouched against the tree-trunk of a cherry tree. "And I just can't see how we would have gotten into a good position of cutting off her head, y'know?"
"Would've been messy," Riker agreed, voice muffled. He'd climbed onto the low branch just above Clarisse's head and was lying along it, on his stomach with his head in his arms.
Jesse crossed his arms and let out a long breath. "... I'm bored."
"Twenty questions," Clarisse piped up, blinking a single eye open. "Then we can know the little things, too."
"I dun wanna play a game right now," Riker groaned sleepily, shifting on his perch. Jesse reached up to poke him in the side, and laughed as the sable-haired teen hissed at him.
Clarisse frowned. "C'mon, it's not like we have anything better to do right now."
"Oh, I don't know," Riker drawled. "How about.. sleeping? Yes, of course not..."
"Well, we're waiting the fire down," Jesse pointed out. "Then we'll go scavenge to see if the bitch had any drachmas. I mean, you could sleep until then, but..."
"Mmf," Riker sighed. He lifted his head sleepily, the sunglasses that were propped above his forehead askew. "...Fine. We can go alphabetically. Girl first."
She rolled her eyes and snuggled back into the trunk of the oak. "Aight. Um... My favorite color is maroon?"
"Yellow." Jesse yawned.
"Mmm. Blue."
Their redheaded friends shuffled over with his sleeping back and tossed it next to Clarisse's. "I guess we doing the lame, easy question's first?" He winced at her was caught under a death stare. "Hmm... My favorite animal is lions."
Riker rested his chin on the back of his crossed wrists. "Snake."
Clarisse sniffed. "... Cat."
"Pffft," Riker huffed in amusement. "How mediocre." She glared at him, and his rolled his eyes. "Just kidding, cat's are adorable... Uh, my turn. Let's see.." He closed his eyes and locked a yawn behind his jaw. "Mmm. Favorite food is... Italian. Except I hate tomatoes and mushrooms."
Clarisse made a face. "Ugh, Mushrooms. So gross." She shuddered, before tapping her lip. "I like Greek food. Otherwise, pizza."
"Asian for me," Jesse hummed. "Though I do like a good old Southern spread from time to time. Mom makes the best food... I hate, hate, hate limes and lemons." He slid down against the trunk and snuggled down into his own sleeping bag.
"While we're on the topic of food," Riker yawned, "Let's do favorite drinks. I love root beer—"
"Seconded!" The other two laughed.
He grinned. "And bubble tea. It a Thai thing, the street vendors down in Madison Square sell it."
"I love those guys," Jesse replied. "When we finish with the quest and get back to Manhattan, let's take a detour to Madison Square and try a bunch of new foods."
Riker glanced down to meet Clarisse's eyes, and they nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
Clarisse stretched, popping her back. "Back to me, then. Favorite song?"
The two boys gave frustrated groaned, and she snickered. "Hard one, I know. Sorry. Mine is... "Renegade," by Styx. And my Favorite band is Breaking Benjamin."
"Ehhh..." Jesse shrugged. "I like "I Want You Back," by Jackson 5. Favorite band is... ACDC, I guess."
Riker grinned. "My current favorite song is the Five Night's At Freddy's song, by The Living Tombstone, and I absolutely love Skillet, or Thousand Foot Crutch."
"That horror game?" Clarisse shook her head. "Mom wouldn't let me pay that."
Jesse winced. "Jace and Mom got in a fight about that. Lucky," he stuck his tongue out at Riker, who reached down and grabbed it.
Clarisse rolled her eyes as the redhead let out a strangled yell, that was muffled by their friend's fingers in his mouth. He jerked back, which made Riker pitch forward and fall off the branch, Landing in both their laps. She flinched, then glared at them, but the look went unnoticed since they were too busy wrestling each other. The blond growled and joined in the fray with a tackle aimed at Jesse.
"My favorite mode of transportation is by speedboat!" Jesse hollered as Clarisse attempted to back in his skull.
Riker rolled to avoid being trapped under their kicking feet. "Motorcycle!"
"Same," the blond girl growled as she reached out clawed fingers and made a grab for raven hair.
Ω Δ Σ
Early the next morning, three sleepy teens stumbled across the two-lane road and into a clearing that used to hold Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium—Clarisse, after standing before the fallen sign and staring for a good few minutes, finally deducted. They slipped past the charred remains of the front door, barely standing. They wandered past the table that they'd eaten dinner at the night before, eyes roaming over the collapsed chairs that really didn't even look like chairs anymore. The shared a collective glance, before heading toward the back office.
The office door was barely clinging to the burnt door-frame, and it fell as soon as Clarisse poked it with her finger, a large crack appearing straight down the middle and the edges crumbling a bit. She raised her eyebrow at Jesse, and he shrugged. Riker shouldered past them and ventured into the room.
"I actually can't fucking believe the desk seemed to have survived."
Jesse poked his head through the door way. "Seriously? What are the chances?"
"Move your fat ass, Jesse, you're blocking the doorway," Clarisse grumbled, before stepping to the side and entering the room through on of the many spaces in the demolished wall, and taking a look for herself. "Huh."
Riker shifted forward and started to search through the desk drawers, pulling open filing cabinets and shuffling through papers on the shelves. There was $600 and a collection of golden drachmas in the cash register, along with some packing slips for Hermes' Overnight Express. He slipped those into Clarisse's bag, which held the rest of their money as well. What he was really interested in was the account book Medusa had kept on her desk. It showed her six most recent sales.
And they were all shipments to the Underworld.
"Guys, check this out," He said, showing them the documents. "The entrance to the Underworld is where we thought it would be."
"California." Clarisse said, satisfied at their correct guess.
"Hollywood, should have known..." Jesse pulled the account book closer to him. "DOA Recording Studios?"
"Just a front, I'd say." Riker said, flipping the book shut and tossing it back on the desk after ripping out the bill with the sales to the Underworld and slipping it into Clarisse's bag as well.
"Alright, time to go." He said, rubbing his eyes under his shades. Maybe they could get more sleep next time night came around.
"Wait, guys?" Jesse turned around and stared closely at the front lot, a confused look on his face. Clarisse and Ricker turned to him, each raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Where the fuck did all the statues go?"
Ω Δ Σ
Aight, so I'm tired, and school is here now and it's sucking the life out of me and insomnia and COMIC CON IS LIKE SO HERE THIS WEEKEND AND IM GOING TO MY FIRST CON EVER I'M SO EXCITED but school and why can't it just not exist anymore I mean it takes so much of my life from me it's like do I even want to be smart I mean really what if I want to be dumb and a failure its not fair they never ask me us kids never get any say
Okay, rant over. Again, I'm sorry This chapter took me so long to write...
Bunch of revelations. I'm a little anemic, I guess I'm smarter than I thought I was because early college seems to be a real thing and not just a myth, I have insomnia and apparently I'm asexual
I mean how did this happen I'm so confused
JUST
HERE IS YOUR CHAPTER
YES
~Skye
PS: As for their favorite songs, I literally just scrolled through my songs on my iPhone while on shuffle and picked a random one for each character. Except Riker's favorite song, I was listening to that on Youtube the entire time I wrote the second half of this chapter.