Rose's POV
I was staring out the window, watching the landsacape roll by. I felt pretty bad about snapping at Alex...and Matt, I guess. But no way was I apoligizing. I don't know why that name dug at me so much.
That's not true, a little voice said in my mind. Ugh. NO I DON'T! Oh great, now I'm thinking to myself. "Uuhhh...I'm hungry." Matt moaned. I rolled my eyes. "Then let's stop to eat." I said. "Ok, where?" Alex asked.
"IHOP." Matt said. "You want to go to the International House of Pancakes*...for lunch?" I said. "Yup." "Fine." I grumbled as Alex pulled into the IHOP. We all got out of the car, and I felt a little weird. Like a premonition...
We all went into the IHOP and ordered our food. I wasn't that hungry, so I mainly just sat there. "I'm going to go use the restroom, guys." I said, as the rest of them finished up. I walked back to the restroom, quickly using it and washing my hands. When I walked out, I heard a crash from the back.
My half-blood instincts kicking in, I ran back to where the crash came from. And I stopped short.
Because there, feasting on the blood of a male waiter, was and Empousa. The one monster I hated above all the rest.
I was terrified, but I knew I would go even quicker if I didn't fight. I fingured my necklace, a gift from my mother, causing it to grow into a long sword. I took a deep breath, trying to shake all fear out of myself, and charged the monster. She must have heard me coming, because she whirled around, blood dripping from her mouth. I slashed at her, but she side-stepped me easily. "Hello, dear." she said to me. I stopped and stared. No, it couldn't be..."How's your little sister?" it was. I felt angry, all of the fear leaving my body. I knew it wasn't safe to fight a monster angry, but I couldn't help it. I charged again, this time getting slashed in the arm by her claws.
It continued to go like this - me making the first move and getting hurt, when I told myself to stop. You've got to win. I raised my sword. For Tammy. I brought it down, slicing cleanly through her arm, and disintigrating her to dust.
Then I walked back to the rest of the group, wincing with every step. Everyone in the IHOP was staring at me. I wondered what I looked like to them. I wondered what they thought had happened.
When Matt saw me he - literally - spit out his pancakes. Everyone else looked and gasped. "Gods, what happened?" Stef said. "I'll tell you...in the car." I said through clenched teeth. They all nodded and Stef, Matt, Lia, Carlos and I headed to the car while Alex paid for the check.
"Alright, tell us what happened." Lia said after feeding me ambrosia. "An empusa attacked." I whispered. And then I broke into tears.
Why am I crying in front of them? This is so unlike me!
"Tell us why you're crying." Carlos said. I shook my head. "I really don't want to." I said between sobs. They all looked at eachother, and must have decided it was best to leave me alone. When Alex came out, we all got into the car, this time with Matt driving, Stef in the passenger seat, Carlos and Alex together in the middle, and Lia and I in the back.
"You know, I've never liked Empousa." Lia said out of the blue, "And I'm assuming you don't either." "What? Why?"I didn't know to which statement I was questioning. "They're my half-sisters. We're all daughters of Hecate." she looked at me, lowering her voice, "And you don't seem like the kind of girl to cry." I nodded my head, feeling much younger than fifteen.
"So, how are we going to drive to Alaska in time to save Hebe?" Carlos asked. "You don't know?" I said, astonished. He, and the rest of the passengers, shook there heads. "How? Chiron told us." I said. "We all don't wake up at dawn to watch the sunrise." Matt grumbled. "How do you knw about that?" I asked, suspicious. He blushedbright red but didn't answer.
I sighed, but told them anyway. "We aren't driving to Alaska, we are flying there. We're just driving because Chiron couldn't book any plane in that short amount of time except for on three days away from camp. Why do you think the GPS says we're going to get there in two and a half days?" There was a collective 'Oh' after my explanation. I put my iPod on shuffle and put the earbuds in my ear. The first song that came on was 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day, then 'A Hard Day's Night' by the Beatles. I hummed along with the last few cords. Then a song came on that I forgot I even had, because I never listened to it.
If I die young,
Bury me in satin,
Lay me down on a,
Bed of roses.
Send me down the river,
At dawn,
Send me away with the words of a love song.
I felt tears start to well up in my eyes, and before I knew it I was crying. For the second time that day.
"What's wrong?" Lia asked. I know she wasn't pushing or anything, but I got angry. "Nothing!" I snapped. And then I felt bad, "Something." "What?" Stef asked. I decided to just tell them. At least it would stop future interrigations.
"Before I came to camp, I lived with my dad, step-mom..." I took a deep breath, "and step-sister, Tally. Most demigods don't like there step-family, but even though my step-mom wasn't the best, I loved Tally. She was my best friend. Then...then an empousa attacked. And not just any Empousa, but the one I just fought and killed. She killed Tally. My step-mom hates me for it, and I...I hate myself for it."
"My sister hates me. That's why I ran away." Lia said. "My step-moms dead. It was just me, my dad, and my step-sister." Stef said. "My mom died." Matt said softly, almost so soft I couldn't hear him. I felt a pang of sadnemm for him. "I never really saw my dad. He was a bigwig at an astrology company." Carlos aid nonchalantly.
I felt bad for making such a big deal about my loss. Sure, it was terrible, but not anymore terrible than what happened to any other half-blood
I smiled. "Thanks." I told everyone.
Maybe, just maybe, I made some new friends.
Then I told myself to shake out of it.
Nothing is worse than when you loose those friends.
A/N Alright, so I have updated three times in one day! Whoo-hoo! I need to pace myself, though, because what will happen is I will have all this creativity, and then I will have writers block.
