REYNA- I
Even before she got extremely shocked, Reyna was having a rotten day.
She woke up on the backseat of a school bus, not sure where she was, holding hands with a boy she didn't know. That wasn't necessarily the rotten part. The boy looked creepy, sure, but he seemed like a nice guy. But she couldn't figure out who he was or what she was doing here. She sat up and bit her fingernails, trying to think.
A few dozen kids sprawled in the seats in front of her, listening to iPods, talking, or sleeping. They all looked around her age... fifteen? Sixteen? Okay, she had to admit that was scary. She didn't know her own age.
The bus rumbled along a bumpy road. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright blue sky. Reyna was pretty sure that she did not originate in the desert. She tried to think back... the last thing she remembered...
The boy squeezed her hand. "Rey-Rey, you okay"
He wore an army fatigue jacket and brown trousers that were covered in grime and machine oil. He looked like a elf, with pointed ears, a mop of curly black hair, and a mischievous smile that told Reyna immediately that he was trouble. He also seemed to be extremely hyper, but his nimble fingers seemed to be used for patient objectives. He was good-looking in a completely strange sort of way.
Reyna let go of his hand. "Who-"
In the front of the bus, a teacher shouted, "All right, cupcakes, listen up!"
The man was obviously a coach. His baseball cap was pulled low over his head, so you could see his piercing eyes. He had a wispy goatee and a disgusted face, like he had just eaten extremely bitter. His arms were well-muscled and his chest pushed against a bright orange polo shirt, and he wore nylon workout pants and spotless white Nikes. He would have looked intimidating if he hadn't been so short. When he stood up in the aisle, one of the students called, "Stand up, Coach Hedge!"
"I heard that!" The coach scanned the bus for the offender. Then his eyes fixed on Reyna, and his scowl deepened.
There was an uncomfortable feeling on Reyna's spine. She knew that she did not belong here, and the coach knew it too. He was going to demand what Reyna was doing on the bus- and Reyna didn't have enough time to make up a story.
But Coach Hedge looked away and cleared his throat. "We'll arrive in five minutes! Stay with your partner. Don't lose your worksheet. And if any of you precious little cupcakes causes any trouble on this trip, I will personally send you to campus the hard way."
He picked up a baseball bat and made like he was hitting a hammer.
Reyna looked at the boy. "Can he talk to us this way?"
He shrugged. "Always does anyways. This is the Wilderness School. 'Where hyper kids are chimpanzees.'"
He said it like it was a joke the two had shared before.
"This is some kind of mistake," Reyna said, narrowing her eyes at her surroundings. "I'm not supposed to be here."
"Are you okay?" a girl sitting in front of her turned. "Leo, did you do anything to her?"
"No!" Leo raised his hands defensively. "But seriously, Rey-Rey. Yeah right. We've all been framed! I didn't run away six times. Piper didn't steal a BMW."
Piper turned red. "I didn't steal that car, Leo."
"Oh I forgot, Piper. What was your story? You 'talked' the dealer into lending it to you?" He raised his eyebrows to Reyna like, Can you believe her?
Piper was wearing faded jeans, hiking boots, and a fleece snowboarding jacket. Her brown hair was cut choppy and uneven, with thin strands braided down the sides. She didn't wear any makeup, but even without it she was pretty. Her eyes seemed to change colors like a Venus girl's- Wait, where did that come from? Reyna shut her eyelids and tried to think, but all that happened was a major headache.
"Yes!" Piper said exasperatedly, raising her arms. "How many times will I have to explain it to you?"
"Anyways," Leo continued, like he hadn't been interrupted, "I hope one of you two have your worksheets, 'cause I used mine for spit wads days ago. Why are you looking at me like that? Someone draw on my face again?"
"This is going to sound weird, but I don't know you," Reyna said.
Leo gave her a crocodile grin. "Sure. I'm not Leo Valdez. I'm his evil clone."
"Leo Valdez!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "Problem back there?"
Leo winked at Reyna. "Watch this." He turned to the front. "Sorry, Coach! I was having trouble hearing you. Could you use your megaphone, please?"
Coach Hedge grunted like he was pleased to have an excuse. He unclipped the megaphone from his bekt and continued giving directions, but his voice came out like a vaguely familiar evil voice that sounded like it was from Star Wars. As the kids burst into uncontrollable laughter, the coach tried again, but this time the megaphone blared: "The cow says moo!"
The kids howled, and the coach slammed down the microphone. "Valdez!"
Piper stifled a laugh. "By god, Leo. How did you do that?"
Leo slipped a tiny Phillips head screwdriver from his sleeve. "I'm a special boy," he grinned impishly.
"Um... you two, I'm serious," Reyna interrupted. "Do you know what I'm going here? And where is this bus headed?"
Piper scrunched up her eyebrows. "Reyna, are you actually joking?" She asked, confused.
"No! I'm not-"
"Yeah, she's joking," Leo said. "She's trying to get me back for the shaving cream and the Jell-O thing. Though it's not bad for a first-time prank." Reyna stared at him blankly.
"No, I think she's serious," Piper frowned.
"I don't get this-"
"That's it!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. "The back row has just volunteered to clean up after lunch!"
The rest of the kids cheered.
"There's a shocker," Leo muttered, trying to put his hand on Reyna's but she pulled it away quickly.
But Piper kept her eyes on concerned eyes on Reyna like she was extremely worried. "Did you hit your head or something? You really don't know who we are?"
Reyna blinked. "No, I don't think it's only that. It's worse. I don't know who I am."
The bus dropped them off in front of a large stucco complex that Reyna calculated to be a museum. A cold wind blew across the desert. She shivered. Reyna hadn't paid much attention to what she was wearing earlier, but it wasn't warm enough: a purple T-shirt with faded words that she couldn't read, a black miniskirt and strange brown sandals that laced up her feet.
"So, a crash course for the amnesiac," Leo said, in an overly helpful tone that made Reyna think that whatever he said would not be helpful. "We go to the 'Wilderness School'- Leo made air quotes with his fingers. "Which means we're 'bad kids'. Your family, or the court, or whoever, decided you were too much trouble, so they shipped you off to this lovely prison- sorry, 'boarding school'- in Armpit, Nevada, where you learn valuable nature skills like running ten miles a day through the cacti and weaving daisies into hats! And for a special treat we get to go to 'educational' field trips with Coach Hedge, who keeps order with a baseball bat. Is it all coming back to you now?"
"No," Reyna glanced apprehensively at the other kids: maybe twenty males and half that many females. None of them seemed like hardened criminals, but she wondered what they'd all done to deserve a place at this 'school', especially herself.
Leo rolled his eyes. "You're going to mock me, eh, Rey-Rey? Okay, the three of us started here together this trimester. We're totally tight. You do everything I say and act like my slave-"
"Leo!" Piper snapped.
"Fine. Ignore that part. But we are friends. Well, at least Piper and you..." Was it just her, or was Leo's face turning red?
"She's got amnesia or something. We'll have to tell somebody," Piper said, frowning.
Leo scoffed. "Who, Coach Hedge? He'd try to fix Reyna by killing all her brain cells."
The coach was at the front of the group, barking orders and blowing his whistle to keep the kids in line; but every now or then he would sneak a suspicious look at Reyna and frown.
"Leo, Reyna needs help." Piper insisted. "She's really gotten a concussion or something-"
"Yo, Piper." One of the other guys dropped back to join them as the group was heading into the museum. The new guy wedged himself between Reyna and Piper and knocked Leo down. "Don't talk to those bottom-feeders. You're my partner, remember?"
The new male had dark-cropped hair, a deep tan, and extremely white teeth. He was wearing a cowboy jersey, Western-style jeans and boots, and he smiled like a stereotypical self-centered jerk. Reyna disliked him immediately.
"Go away, Dylan." Piper grumbled. "I didn't ask to work with you."
"Ah, that's no way to be. This is your lucky day!" Dylan hooked his arm through hers and dragged her through the museum entrance. Piper shot a look at Reyna and Leo like her life depended on it. Reyna frowned.
Leo got up and brushed his clothes. "I hate that guy." He offered Reyna his arm, like they would go skipping inside together. "I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but I can't figure how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!"
"That's... a strange way to put it," Reyna blinked.
"Tell me something I haven't heard," Leo grinned. "But if you don't remember me, that means I can use all my old pick-up lines. Come on!" Reyna figured if this was her boyfriend, her life must be pretty messed up; but she followed Leo into the museum.
They walked throughout the building, stopping some parts of the way to wait for Coach Hedge to finish one or another lecture in his microphone. which alternatively modified his voice or burst out completely unrelated comments like: "The pig says oink!"
Leo kept on pulling out objects from the inside on his army jacket like nuts, bolts and pipe-cleaners and Reyna figured that he must really have a serious case of ADHD.
Some girls kept glancing at Piper and Dylan and snickering. Reyna decided that those were the 'popular' clique, judging by the matching jeans, pink tops and plastered makeup.
A short and particularly chubby girl stepped up, twirling her stumpy blond hair. "Hey Piper, does your tribe own this place?" she leered. "Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?"
The others in the group laughed, and Reyna felt rage boil up in herself as she realized that even Dylan was suppressing a smile. Piper's snowboarding jacket hid her hands, but Reyna could tell that they were clenched.
"My dad's Cherokee," Piper said, "not Hualapai. Not that you have the brain cells to know the difference, Isabel."
Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, but before she could speak Reyna felt herself running forward and punching the girl in the face. As her hard fist met soft flesh, she heard loud gasps from Isabel's so-called friends and then catcalls and laughter.
Coach Hedge didn't seem to notice the commotion as he charged straight ahead. "Enough over there!" he barked. "Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"
"But Reyna-" Isabel pouted, her flabby cheeks bouncing up and down.
Reyna glared at the other girl and she shut up quickly.
"Thanks," Piper said, her face a little distracted as she quickly adjusted to the pace of their group, leaving Reyna and Leo behind.
Leo sighed dramatically. "Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if Isabel or her gang ever heard who was Piper's dad, they'd be bowing down and shouting 'We're not worthy!'"
"Why? Who's her dad?" Reyna asked curiously.
Leo laughed in disbelief. "You're not kidding? You don't remember that your best friend's dad is-"
"Leo. If I can't remember who she is, how can I keep tabs on her dad?"
Leo whistled. "Whatever. When we head back to the dorms, we have to talk."
They reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out to a terrace.
"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced. "You are to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other off the ledge, as that would cause me extra paperwork ."
The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a omega-shaped walkway made of glass, so a person could peer right through it.
"Man," Leo said, "that's pretty wicked."
Reyna couldn't help but agree. Despite the nagging feeling that she didn't belong there, she still couldn't help but feel impressed.
The canyon was larger than any postcard could capture. They were so high that when she looked down, she saw birds circling below her. About five-hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Storm clouds had moved overhead while the group had been inside, casting silhouettes on the cliffs. As far as Reyna could see, red and grey ravines cut through the desert like a rampaging god had cut through it.
Reyna felt the same pain from before when she had seen Piper's eyes, piercing her head. Rampaging gods... Where had that idea sprang up from? She felt that something wasn't quite right- there was something missing, and that thin empty space was the only thing protecting her from grave danger. And then a wave of naseua passed her, and she clutched her head again.
"Rey-Rey, you all right?" Leo asked. "You're not going to throw up on me, right?"
Reyna grabbed the railing. She was shivering and sweaty, and it had nothing to do with the heights. She blinked, and the pain behind her head subsided. "I'm fine," she managed. "Just a headache."
Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind nearly knocked her over, and she shivered again.
"This can't be safe," Leo squinted at the clouds. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?"
Reyna looked up and saw that Leo was right. A dark circle of storm clouds had gathered over the skywalk while the rest of the sky was perfectly clear. Reyna had a very uncomfortable feeling about that.
"All right, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it bothered him too. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!"
The thunder crackled again, and Reyna's head felt strained again. Out of habit, she reached into her pocket and was ready to pull out a-
"Dang, is that a ruler?" Leo asked, peering at her hands. "You carry a ruler everywhere and you didn't even bother to help me in my math test? "
"Uh..." Reyna looked down and saw that Leo was right. "I didn't know it was there. It's nothing."
Leo shrugged. "Come on. Dare you to stick a leg off the edge."
The two didn't try hard on the worksheet. Reyna felt she was much too distracted to do anything, and Leo wasn't much help either. He was too busy building a helicopter out of something that looked like pipe-cleaners.
"Check it out, Rey-Rey." He nudged her, launching the helicopter. Reyna stared at the design and thought it would plummet, but the pipe-cleaner blades actually spun. The copter made it half way before the winds pushed it back and it spiraled down without momentum.
"How'd you do that?" Reyna asked, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.
Leo made an indifferent face. "Would've been much awesomer if I had brought some rubber bands," he said, making a face at his army jacket.
"Seriously, are we actually... you know, boyfriend and girlfriend?" Reyna asked, analyzing him again.
"Last time I checked."
"Are you certain? When did we meet? How did you talk me into this relationship?"
"It was..." Leo frowned. "I don't recall exactly. I'm ADHD, Rey. You can't expect me to remember details."
"But I don't remember anything or anybody. What if-"
"You're right and everybody else is wrong?" Leo asked. "You think you just appeared here this morning, and we've all got fake memories of you?"
A little nagging voice in Reyna's voice said, That's exactly what I think. But it sounded crazy, because everybody here took her for granted- except for Coach Hedge.
"Take the worksheet," Reyna handed Leo the paper. "I'll be right back. I just need to... handle a certain subject."
Before Leo could protest, she was already half-way across the skywalk.
Their school group were the only tourists in the area. Maybe it was too early for people to start arriving, or the strange weather that scared them off. It didn't matter to Reyna, she thought, as she walked past the pairs of people talking. Piper was trying hard to finish her worksheet, but her partner Dylan was too busy hitting on her. She shot Reyna a look that reminded her of Help me.
Reyna gave her a sorry glance and shook her head slightly. She walked up to Coach Hedge, who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds.
"Did you do this?" the coach asked.
Reyna looked at him, startled. "Wait, what?" she asked, blinking. "What did I do?"
Coach Hedge glared at her with beady eyes. "Don't play games with me, kid. What are you doing here, and why are you messing up my job?"
"You mean... you haven't ever seen me before?" Reyna asked, startled. "I'm not actually one of your students?"
Hedge snorted. "Never seen you before today."
Reyna had to gasp for breath, relieved. Maybe she wasn't the only person going insane. "I don't know why I'm here. I just woke up on the school bus, and all I know is that I definitely don't belong here."
"Got that right," the coach's voice dropped to a murmur, like he was telling her something he didn't want anybody else to know. "You've got a powerful way with the Mist, girl, if you can make all these people think they know you, but you can't fool me. I've been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood. So- who are you, and where'd you come from?"
Reyna didn't understand anything he said. "Coach, I don't know who I am or who anyone is. I just woke up on the bus without any memories."
"Great," Coach Hedge muttered, "you're being truthful." He narrowed his eyes at Reyna, and she shuddered at the feeling. "I don't know who you are, but I know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I've got to protect three of you, not two. Are you the special package?"
"What are you talking about?"
Hedge looked at the storm. "This morning," he said, "I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on the way. They're coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn't give me any details. Now, the two that I'm watching are older than most and leave a greater scent. I know they're being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. That's why the camp is so frantic to pick them up. But then you pop out of nowhere. So, are you the special package?"
The pain in Reyna's head got even worse, and she winced. Half-blood. Monsters. Camp. The words gave her a migraine, like there was information in her brain she couldn't access. She stumbled, but luckily the coach caught her.
"Whoa there, cupcake. You say you've got no memories, huh? Fine. I'll just have to watch out for you, too, until the team gets here. And then the director will figure everything out."
"Director... camp..." Reyna mumbled, as if in a trance. "I've heard these words before..."
"Just sit tight," the coach pressed on, oblivious to Reyna's mutterings. "Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before-"
Lightning crackled overhead, and the wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew out into the Colorado River, and the bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, gripping the railing.
"I had to say something," Coach Hedge grumbled. He bellowed into his megaphone: "Everyone inside! The horse says neigh! Off the skywalk!"
"I thought you said this was architecturally stable!" Reyna shouted.
"Under normal circumstances," Hedge agreed, "which these aren't. Come on!"