I know what I said before about having chapters too long, but I can't find a good point to split this. So I eventually said screw it, and I'm giving it to you in one heaping pile. Enjoy, and don't forget to tell me about my many flaws in the reviews.

The next few months were blissful. The man took care of me as best as he could. He wasn't a natural, but he was better than I could have hoped for. As the days passed he started to spend more time with me. We didn't go outside or anything, but he would always make time for me, even if he had no clue what he was doing most of the time. He wasn't the best dad, but he was something when I could've had nothing.

I even remember the time he decided to name me. He just 'casually' sat down, and just stared at me with this look on his face. It was like every emotion you could have was on his face, right there. After what felt like hours he finally said, "Well might as well just give you the name of the most skilled and famous man in history. A man that could face any challenge, and defeat any enemy. Daedalus!" I don't know who the hell that is honestly. I couldn't care less.

Telling this part of my life brought a smile to my face, but it quickly faded.

I loved it there. I think It would've been better if I just stayed with him..., but he apparently didn't like the idea a kid running around the house.

In the middle of the night he somehow got me through those twisting tunnels, and out of a cellar behind some warehouse. He was dressed in black with a hood. We got into this stupid looking minivan. I guess it was because it was so inconspicuous. There really aren't a whole lot of people who have minivans and aren't parents, the local daycare managers, or anyone suspicious in the slightest. He was just trying to keep a low profile. He didn't have any car-seat so I just sat in his lap while we were driving.

I kept looking out the window and seeing these bright beautiful specks of light. They were amazing to me at the time. The only thing I'd seen that was even close to it was the guys glowing laptop screen. Through the open windows I could feel the cool night air brushing against my face like a splash of ice water. I could smell the dew coating the ground, but the scent quickly changed, it started to smell really sweet, and fruity.

The man parked at the bottom of a hill, and opened the door while taking me out. I could see an endless sea of green on either side of the road with, small dots of red. At the top of the hill there was a huge pine tree glistening with dew. He started the trek up the large hill mumbling to himself. He tightened his arms around me the closer we got to the top. I could sea his breath puff into the freezing air. When we finally made it to the top, he paused. He took a long shaky breath, and looked down into my eyes. "I'm sorry little one," he said with trembling lips, "I wish you could stay, but I can't let myself turn you into something like my nephew... or son."

He continued to walk ahead into the valley below, but when he took his first few steps he suddenly jolted back, and I felt pressure between him and... something else. His grief stricken face suddenly looked shocked and confused. He tried again and the same thing happened. He walked backwards into it, and he went through the invisible wall just fine, while he was trying to pull me through with no success. "What?" he asked, "this doesn't make sense. I ran tests, there isn't any way that you aren't... aren't... a half-blood," he stammered.

He rushed back to the car determined and drove us back the way we came, and into his home. He put me on the steel table covered in blankets and pillows that I'd been using as a makeshift bed. He scrambled to his laptop and started to mash furiously at the keyboard. He quickly took a blood sample from me. I started crying from the small amount of pain, but he didn't seem to notice. He just kept typing furiously away on the computer to try and find the answers he was looking for. After a few short minutes, he abruptly stopped, and backed away from the screen. Sweat was dripping from his nose, and suddenly tears were following them. "No," he whispered, "No... no," he kept growing louder until it turned to a scream, "NO NO NO!" He ran to his bedroom, and slammed the door, sending a ricochet through the building.

All the while I was still laying there from the pain, and loud noises. Then the black fury behemoth of a dog came over to greet me in my discomfort. She looked down at me with gobs of drool dripping from her mouth. She bent her head down and licked off the tiny drop of blood that sprouted from my finger. I brought my screaming down to a whimper. She nuzzled me, and I slowly stopped my sobbing long enough to hear crying from the other room.

The door cracked open with the hinges screaming from the movement and the man spilled out of the small opening with a sad, crazed look in his eye. His face was drenched from all the sweat and tears he'd shed. He turned to me and started to walk slowly almost in a shamble. As he turned I saw the gleam of a small knife in his hand. He started to wave it at me, muttering incoherently as he still walked getting only a few feet away from me now. Mrs. O'Leary by now had backed away in submission, obviously scared of what would happen next. He came up next to me, and I could see the tears still streaming down his face. He raised the knife over my stomach. He held it there with a stern, dark look on his face. He took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, and slowly let the breath loose. I could see his hand starting to shake violently. His hand abruptly dropped like a stone.

The knife clattered onto the table beside me, and the man dropped his head onto the same smooth surface, sobbing, while his arm laid across me. "I can't," he cried, "I can't, I can't, I just fucking can't." He looked up at me, "I can't kill you. Even if you are his son, I can't kill you, because you're my son too, gods damn it!" He stayed there crying like that for hours. He cried until the sun rose again, and I fell into sleep like it was a safety net.

When I woke up, I was in passenger seat of the van, the man was still crying, and I was tightly wrapped up in several blankets that only exposed my face. The blankets were really itchy, like I went skinny dipping in a tank of mosquito's before getting in the car. It was night again, but the windows weren't open this time. There was no fresh night air to breath. Despite that I was wearing five different blankets, I wasn't hot at all, I was actually still a little cold. As we kept driving I could see tiny white specks floating from the sky. They would rush into the windshield, then suddenly disappearing before they got to us.

That was the first time I saw snow. I know it sounds corny to say that 'it was so amazing and magical, and ever since I've loved snow', but that's how it felt. It was like seeing light for the first time, if that makes any sense.

After driving for gods knows how long, we finally stopped. The man had miraculously stopped his flow of tears and wiped his face clean with his sleeve. He opened his door to get out and a gust of freezing wind swirled around me. I swear, it was so cold it felt like the snow was burning the skin on my face. The man opened my door and put me in his arms. The wind whipped in the air making his jacket billow around us as he ran. We quickly came to this white wooden door. The man knocked and a few seconds later a huge man with short brown hair and a huge tangled beard appeared at the door wearing one of those stereotypical red and black plaid lumberjack flannel shirts and jeans all topped off with a pair of gigantic snow boots. When I say he was huge I don't mean buff like Jesus, he was just burly as all hell. He was about seven feet tall and three feet wide. He was a very big guy. It honestly looked like he could pick up the front end of the mini van, and maybe tip it over.

"Jacub, what he hell are you doing here?" the talking gorilla asked in a strong gravely voice that was a little muffled by his beard.

The man seemed a little taken aback by the name, but the look of confusion was barely there for a second and sprung into a look of realization. He rubbed his eyes,"Hi, Steven. I'm sorry that I came unannounced, but it's an emergency," he said, worried and groggy.

"Emergency, well I'm happy to help in any way I can, but now isn't the be...," he looked down as he scratched his head, "Who's that you got there?"

"He's the reason I'm here. Remember when you said you would do 'anything' to repay me. I found the perfect opportunity."

"Jacub, when I said that, I meant something that you would need a Clearsighter for, not a... a babysitter," he said exasperated.

"I know it's a lot to ask for, but it will only be for a few years, an..."

"A few YEARS!" he exclaimed.

"Well, twelve to be exa..."

"TWELVE YEARS!" he repeated, "Jacub, I... I...,"

"I need you to do this for me, Steven," he pleaded, "I don't have much time, will you do it?"

"Jacub, I'm about to become a father, in a few more weeks my wife will..." Steven explained.

"Your kid will have someone to play with then," he countered.

"We're barely making it out here as it is, with all the nightly raids on the town getting so much worse. The monsters have only been increasing in numbers the past few months" he said running a hand through his short hair.

"I know that things haven't been easy living all the way out here, but I have no one else to turn to."

"Why the hell can't you take care of the kid, huh?" he asked aggressively.

"I can't tell you."

"Really? Ya' want me to just take this kid in with no questions asked? Ya' want me to risk everything to repay a favor? Is that it?"

"I know it's a lot to ask," he yelled, "I wouldn't ask unless there wasn't any other way. You would be giving this child a quick imminent death versus a risk of a hard life with you. Are you going let this child die?"

Steven stood there a moment, rubbing his head in thought. I didn't know that this guy was so good at guilt tripping. "Fine, I'll take him," he said defeated.

"Swear on the Styx," he commanded in a dead serious tone.

"Really?" he whined.

"I can't take any chances, I'm sorry."

He raised his right hand, "I swear on the River Styx."

"That you'll what?"

"That I'll take care of the kid," he said, still raising his hand.

"For how long."

"For twelve damn years," he exclaimed with a tinge of anger.

"Thank you," he said in a genuinely sincere voice, "I want you to know that this does so much more than repay me, you're helping a lot more people than just me by doing this."

"Yeah, yeah. I expect you'll be back after those 'twelve years'?" he questioned as he took me in his arms. He was a lot warmer, and held me a lot tighter, like if he wasn't careful I might explode.

"Probably not. I only want you to take care of him til then. After that, you're no longer responsible for him. Again, I can't thank you enou..."

Steven held a hand up to stop him, "I know."

The man smiled,"Goodbye," he waved and started walking away into the dark blizzard towards the van, that was barely visible at this distance.

"What about him?" Steven asked.

"What about him?" he replied.

"Aren't you gonna say goodbye to 'him'?" he asked gesturing to me, "I'm guessing that ya' didn't drag him all the way out here because you didn't care about him."

The man turned back to me and locked eyes with me,"I don't think either of us are much good for final farewells," he told me rubbing the top of my head with his hand,",but you deserve as much." He leaned in close to my ear, and whispered in a voice so soft I knew only I could hear it,"Goodbye... son. May your wits be as sharp as you sword." He stood up straight, and looked back at Steven, giving him a nod. He nodded back in understanding.

The man, my father, then turned away into the icy darkness, to that stupid minivan. I saw the headlights flare up as the vehicle started, and the glow from the dashboard lit up his broken teary face. He drove forward to make a u-turn out of the driveway, but stopped in front of the doorway. "The sleek black window slid down and a small golden ball flew out for the giant to catch. "That should help out with the night raids. Just put it in the center of the house," he said shakily. He let out a final sigh, and drove out. I watched him until the taillights disappeared. That was the last time I saw him. I've looked for that house before, and no ones ever seen or heard of that place. I never even knew his name. These days I don't really blame him for leaving me, but I've always thought... if I could've stayed.