A/N- Yo! Next chapter here! Enjoy!
Disclaimer- Now, if it were up to me, I'd do away with these things, but the guidelines say to put them in every blasted chapter. So I don't own PJO, blah blah blah. Can I go now?
Chapter 11: Day 5-Day 6: Run
Lief
The first thing to register was shock. I mean, I had been really far ahead of the Stolls, and they hadn't known where I was going, and then- poof! There they are, sitting in a car, looking very, very smug and totally confident. So, of course, I did what I did best. I ran. To be more exact, I ran up into the woods lining the road and disappeared into the brush. Once in the woods and beyond the view from the road, I sat down, back against a tree. Closing my eyes and staying absolutely still, I listened for any trace of the Stolls. I was not disappointed, and heard them crashing through the brush. "Where'd he go?" One of them asked.
"I dunno. I swear, sometimes he disappears so fast you'd think he was a deer or something. It's like there he is, and then -poof!- he's gone. How does he do it?" the other replied. I stifled a grin. A deer, eh? Perhaps I could give them something to think about. A little reminder not to underestimate me. With this thought in mind, I crept forward from my hiding place, slowly circling around so that I was between the Stolls and their car. While they were busy searching the woods, I could wreak a little havoc.
Grabbing the key out of the ignition -very stupid of them to leave it there, someone could take it-, I dove into the back seat of their car, hiding it between a crack in the cushions. Perfect. For now, at least. As I was climbing out, I vaguely saw the Stolls emerging from the woods. One of them must have spotted me, because he shouted something and they sped up. Naturally, I dove back into the underbrush. You know, all that brush can be either really annoying or really useful. Most of the time it was annoying, but hey -this time, it suited my purposes perfectly.
The Stolls crashed around for a couple more minutes before giving up and going back to their car. I heard them rummaging around and cursing. Finally, one of them straightened up and said, "Lief, you-" here he called me just about every unprintable name I'd heard, and some I hadn't, "-you better not have taken those keys or I'll…" he trailed off, unable to find a sufficient threat.
I tried, I really did. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to insert a comment. The kind you always regret later. "Oh, yes, I'm absolutely terrified. In fact, I'm quaking in my boots. That dramatic pause- unbelievable. I'm totally scared of you now." The plus side is that I pulled it off with a straight face and heaped it with sarcasm. The minus side is that the Stolls now had a fix on my location. Shoot. I'd have to make a break for it. Not that I wasn't used to doing just that.
So, of course, I ran again. What did you expect me to do, stand there and take on the Stolls? You did? Really? Let's take a look at the odds, here. The Stolls are both roughly 6 feet, 2 inches, and they definitely outweigh me. Plus, there's two of them. They're older, stronger, and have more experience. On the other hand, I'm pretty small, about 5'4. I'm lighter and not as experienced. On the plus side, though, I'm faster and more agile. The only thing that is good for at the moment is running, which I was in the middle of doing before I had to explain the odds. Anyways, let's get back to the original storyline here, 'kay? Here I was, crashing through the underbrush and really wishing it weren't there. I mean, it can be useful, but it can also slow you down like nothing else will. I made it far enough that I couldn't see the road, then turned and ran parallel to the road. Or at least I hoped it was parallel to the road. I didn't hear any signs of pursuit, and took that to mean that the Stolls were still searching for their keys.
About an hour later, I stopped for a long-ish break. It was about noon by then, or at least I thought it was. It was kind of hard to tell, since I didn't have a watch. I dug a carrot out of the stash Erin had so kindly sent me, and chewed on it while I thought. I mainly thought of where I was going, although I have to admit, I wondered a little bit about people's reactions to finding out I was gone. Erin would be angry with me, and would definitely try to get me to come back. I couldn't help but hope that she would be a little saddened that I was gone. If she wasn't, nobody else really would be. I mean, Noah and Theo are good friends and all, but they're twins. They have each other. Like you and I did, I heard Shannon say in my head. Yes, in my head. It's not like I hear her actual voice or anything, it's just that sometimes I feel like she's still here with me, adding her little smart-alecky comments.
Like I said, Noah and Theo had each other, they wouldn't feel that bad that I was missing. Who else was there? Matt? He'd be fine, it's not like we really knew each other. Will? He'd act worried, that's for sure. He was always one for putting up an act. I didn't really know what Will would be feeling. Autumn? Another of Erin's friends. She'd be fine. Really, I didn't have many friends. I was always more of a loner. Personally, I'd always said that I could count my friends on one hand, but I ran out of things to count my enemies on. I liked it that way. Me against the world, ya know?
I must have dozed off thinking, because when I opened my eyes, the sun was shining in them, and I was cold and slightly damp. Looking around, I realized that the grass was wet too, and concluded that dew must have fallen while I was sleeping. Calculating my position, I reasoned that I must be facing east, which would explain the sun in my eyes. I also concluded that I had slept through the afternoon and night, and that this was morning again. Staggering to my feet, I stretched and groaned. Really, you'd be amazed at how stiff you'll get sleeping on the ground. I munched a carrot and set off again. With luck, I could reach Kilton before lunch.
I held true to my predictions and reached Kilton near noon. It was your typical small town, a couple stores, a park on a small lake, nothing much. That was why I liked it there; there was nothing that could attract attention. I immediately headed to the park. Pitching my stuff into the nearest tree, I ran for the lake and jumped in. It was pretty small, but dropped off substantially. After swimming around for a while, I started washing my hair out. No, Erin, I'm not a girly-girl, I just believe in taking care of my hair. Climbing out of the lake, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to bring a spare set of clothes. Well, that presented a couple problems. I decided to go with the simplest solution, which was taking off my shirt, but leaving everything else on to dry out its own. My side was aching where I had been stabbed a couple days ago. Looking down, I noted that it was healing up pretty quickly. It's a perk of being an Apollo kid. Your wounds tend to heal faster. Was that just a couple days ago that I was attacked? It seemed like it had been a long time ago.
I was sitting on the lakeshore, just relaxing, when the back of my neck seemed to tingle with a bit of premonition. I started to turn around, but was stopped by something cold pressing into my back. "Don't move," a voice hissed. I stopped cold. I knew that voice. It was so familiar, but I just couldn't place it. I decided to venture a guess.
"Shannon? Is that you?" I could hear the disbelief in my voice. Shannon had died two years ago. Hadn't she?
"Lief?"
"Yeah, it's Lief. Who are you?" I tried to turn my head around, but was startled by something plopping in the sand beside me. I glanced over and saw something I thought I would never see again. My twin sister Shannon. "Shannon!"
"No, you idiot, it's Sherlock Holmes," my sister said, hugging me so tightly I thought I'd suffocate then and there.
"But- wha- how- how are you not dead?" I stuttered.
"Dumb luck and a very smart neighbor," was all Shannon would specify, pulling back with an expression of pain on her face. "What happened to you?" I explained about Aunt Jessie, Camp Half-Blood, everything. Shannon's face lit up when I mentioned our father. "So it's really Apollo?" she asked, curious.
"Yeah, really. No joke."
Shannon started to say something, but it was choked out as something bright and cold pierced her throat. "Lief," she gasped out, before she collapsed sideways in the sand. The thing in her throat, a dagger, I realized, twisted and cut further, making sure she was dead.
"NO!" I yelled. How could my sister be dead again? Only this time, it was for real. There would be no coming back for Shannon. She looked very dead. Besides, there was no way someone could survive having most of their throat cut out. No way. My beautiful, laughing sister was dead. Again. I turned to face her attacker, a roar of fury in my throat. It died as soon as it started, because there, facing me, was Suzie. "You're dead," I said. "I killed you."
"Oh, Lief," she purred, "I can never stay dead long." And with that, the same dagger that had killed my sister stabbed deep into my side. I fell over in the sand on top of my dead sister. Something was wet under me, and I realized that it was my own blood. Suzie stabbed me twice more, once in the ribs and once in the back. After this last stroke, she left the dagger embedded in my flesh and laughed, a cold cruel laugh. Red was flashing before my eyes. The pain was beyond anything I could describe. I knew I would be dead soon if nobody came. My vision was on the edge of blacking out, and I prayed that Suzie's cold laugh wouldn't be the last thing I ever heard on this earth. I heard a dull thunk, a heavy weight fell across me, and I lost consciousness.
Erin
After spending the better part of an hour running from an enraged Noah, I explained my plan in detail to them. Theo readily agreed, but Noah was a bit skeptical. "Erin, consider this. What if Lief doesn't want to come back?" he asked.
"I don't care if he doesn't want to come back, he needs to come back," I retorted.
"I don't think this'll work, but I'll come along. Even if it's just to make sure nothing goes wrong." We spent the night in various cabins. The next morning, Friday, found our trio up and ready to go.
"So, how are we going to get one of the camp vans?" Theo asked.
I grinned. "We steal it, of course."
Fifteen minutes later, I had hotwired my second car. The first one was a couple years before, when I first learned how. I still remembered most of the basic steps. "Okay gentlemen. Hop in," I said with a mock bow.
Noah hopped into the driver's seat. "I'm driving."
"But you don't know where we're going," I protested.
"Yeah, but I have a license. Do you?" he asked.
"No. I have a permit, though."
"There aren't any adults here. Therefore, you need someone who has a license."
"Who hotwired the car? Me. Who thought of this crazy idea in the first place? Me. Who should be the one to drive? Me." I was just getting started, but Theo cut me off.
"I'm driving," he stated, pushing Noah out of the way. "Now sit down and buckle up."
As it turned out, we didn't even get to start, because Noah suddenly cried out in pain. "What is it?" I asked.
"My ankle. Something's grabbing it." I looked down at his ankle. There was a vine wrapped around it. A grape vine.
"Good morning, children," a mocking voice said.
"Good morning, Mr. D. Could you let go of my ankle now?" Noah asked. The sudden wince he gave after that gave me the feeling that that answer was no.
"And what, exactly, do you think you are doing?" Mr. D asked, looking bored.
"We're going to help Lief," I explained. "He ran away, and so we're bringing him back."
"What's one brat, more or less? Let him go. He'll either make it on his own or die a painful death, neither of which concerns me. Oh, and a month of kitchen duty for trying to sneak out of camp," Mr. D said.
"But you have to let us go!" I started before Theo covered my mouth with his hand. I bit him and he yelped.
"With all due respect, sir," Theo said calmly, "I feel that we should be given the opportunity to go after Lief. Imagine if Ellie went missing. Wouldn't you want to go look for her?" Ellie was Dionysus' 12-year-old daughter. I had to admit she could be a bit of a brat, but Theo played the point well.
"Ellie is not this boy. This boy, Lane, was morose, gloomy, and overall a negative addition to the camp. You are strictly forbidden to go after him," Mr. D said.
"It's Lief," I growled.
"Say," Theo said, changing the subject, "have you ever played Angry Birds?"
"What in the name of good wine is Angry Birds?" Mr. D asked.
Theo gave a short explanation, which included how to play. "So, that about wraps it up. As a matter of fact, I have that game on my phone. Perhaps, if I let you play, you could let us go?" He held out his phone, which Mr. D snatched up.
"You think you can bargain with me, eh? Well…just this once. But if you even think about breaking the rules again…" he trailed off threateningly. The vine released Noah's foot, and he slammed the door. Theo stepped on the gas, and we pulled out of camp, leaving Mr. D muttering something about birds and cannonballs.
Fifteen jolting minutes later, we arrived in Kilton. "Where to now?" Noah asked.
"Where would Lief go first?" I replied.
"The lake. He probably wouldn't swim, but he likes just sitting by the water," Theo suggested.
"The lake it is. Lead the way," I said. Theo parked the van, and we walked down to the lake. We were getting closer when I noticed something and gasped. There was a dark shape down by the water. Dark red. There were two smaller shapes laying in the dark red. Two human forms. I recognized the top one immediately. It was Lief, and he was laying in a pool of blood.
A/N- Well, I feel in a dark mood right now. Review? And on a side note, does anybody else like Angry Birds?
-Smartone101
