"Thanks for the ride Mrs. Swift" said Thalia, climbing out of the battered black 1997 Mustang. It had been several weeks since Thalia had treated Arianna's injuries, and the two had become friends ever since. Amber and Rayne had crawled out through the other door. "No problem girls call me when you want to be picked up" said an older version of Amber. "Thanks mom, I'll try not to get into too much trouble" said cheeky Amber. Mrs. Swift rolled her eyes at her daughter, handing her a twenty. "Get yourselves some snacks and enjoy the game" she said before driving away.
The trio hurried up the steps of the school and sneaked past the ticket seller's booth, they wanted to save enough money for snacks.
Thalia stepped into the gym, scanning the bleachers for a good seat.
Thalia!" The hunter turned and saw Arianna waving at her, dressed in the school's blue jersey and shorts, her lucky number 11 on the back in silver. Thalia smiled at her friend, silently wishing her luck. Winning tonight's game meant going to the semi-finals, something the Garcia Gators hadn't done in two years.
Coach Harris was determined that this year her girls would win their way to the top.
The three girls quickly found a pair of good seats and watched the Gators warm up.
A girl Thalia recognized from one of classes, Michelle, passed the ball towards Arianna. The brunette girl fumbled with the ball, flushing at her mistake and returned her forcus to the task at hand. She dribbled once, twice and smirked as the ball fell into the basket with a gentle whoosh.
The opposing team was doing a similar drill, looking menacing in their black and red uniforms. Thalia heard mutterings about Perkins Middle School and she recognized the name from numerous jokes about Perkins being a bad school.
The Perkins girls were taller than most of the girls on Garcia's team, and definitely a lot buffer. For a fleeting moment, Thalia pictured Clarisse on the team and had to stifle a laugh.
The buzzer sounded, ending the warm up. Excited chatter rose through the crowd; Garcia and Perkins had been bitter rivals for as long as anyone could remember.
The ref twirled the ball around his finger as he instructed Arianna and Number 5 from Perkins to have a clean game. The two captains shook hands, a look of fierce competiveness flashing through their eyes.
Garcia's Center, Maria faced off against Perkin's Center, a girl with bulging muscles.
The ref tossed the ball into the air and both girls jumped up into the air, fingers grasping for control of the ball. The Perkin's Center tipped the ball towards her teammate, Number 5.
The petite girl darted towards Garcia's baske, only to be challenged by Arianna. The two girls fought for control of the ball, both determined to control it.
Number 5 darted to the left, but was met by Arianna, her hand trying to snatch the ball away. Number 5 turned her back towards the Hispanic girl, passing the ball to one of her teammates. The girl caught the ball and flicked it into the basket. The Garcia fans groaned in disappointment, quickly cheering up when Arianna passed the ball to her teammate, Number 17.
The girl passed the ball back to Arianna, and the lean Hispanic caught it with practiced ease, dodging her opponents and passed it back to the girl, a move that surprised the Perkins girls. The Garcia cluster cheered as the ball sunk into the basket and the Gators hurried back onto defense.
The game continued on in this fashion until the 3rd quarter when both teams were tied, a score of 25-25 with only a minute left on the clock.
Thalia spared a glance at her friends, amused when she caught sight of Rayne twirling a strand of blond hair around her index finger; something she only did when she was nervous. Amber was busily munching on her 4th hotdog, courtesy of the concession stand.
Suddenly, an odd tugging at her stomach began, similar to one Thalia had experienced in the cafeteria weeks ago. She frowned as the tugging increased. A silent gasp escaped her lips as her skin began tingling and she hurriedly scanned the crowd before her eyes locked onto Kashia.
The pain increased tenfold as Thalia continued to stare at Kashia. The girl was benched, eyes following the movements of her teammates.
A memory hit Thalia like a missile, all she could was watch as it replayed itself in her mind.
They were sitting on the steps of Arianna's tiny apartment. Her father was at work, he had just left a few minutes ago. The girls were sitting in comfortable silence, watching the cars whiz by the tiny place.
Thalia was musing; it seemed that this was the right moment to tell Arianna about her past. Thalia parted her lips; it was now or never.
"Did I ever tell you that Kashia smells funky?" said Arianna suddenly, forcing Thalia to clamp her mouth shut. "What do you mean?" asked the dark haired hunter, curious as to why her companion had decided to suddenly volunteer such a random bit of information.
"I mean, she smells weird. Like clean animal fur. I used to have a puppy named Jesse and I remember how her fur smelt after her bath, that's how Kashia smells all the time, except after practice she smells worse, all nasty and stuff" explained Arianna.
At the time, that information meant nothing to Thalia, but now, something clicked inside her mind and she understood completely; Arianna was in danger.
"Guys, something's up" muttered the daughter of Zeus. Her friends turned their attention to her as Thalia quickly explained.
"So what do we do, wait for someone to start scream-" Rayne was cut off as a high pitch scream punctured the air.
The demi-gods turned back to the game and to their horror, they found a monster snarling in Center court. Screaming and panicked people were desperately trying to leave the bleachers.
The monster was a woman from the waist up, a bit like a centaur. But, it had the body of a dragon instead of a horse; Thalia estimated it to be at least twenty feet long, the color of charcoal and scaly with enormous claws and a barbed tail. Snakes were sprouting from her legs, giving them the appearance to be wrapped in vines. Her hair was also made up snakes, reminding Thalia of Medusa. At her waist, where woman and dragon met, the skin kept on morphing into dangerous animals; the heads of a snarling wolf, of a growling bear and a lion with its fangs bared.
Thalia recognized the creature from a story Artemis had told her; Kampè, the Jailer of the Cyclops and Hundred-Handed-Ones.
Where Kashia stood was an empusa, and she was making her way towards Arianna. Thalia pulled out her can of mace and flexed her fingers as the tube grew into her spear.
Rayne's sun necklace had become her bow and she was taking aim at Kampè while Amber's iPod became a bronze knife. "I'll get Arianna, you guys distract Kampè!" shouted Thalia, leaping off the bleachers and onto the court, dashing towards her friend, Aegis popping out onto her forearm.
Kashia had backed Arianna into a corner, and she had a predatory grin on her face.
Thalia could see Arianna's pulse nearly jumping out of her throat, she had to move. "For the Gods!" cried Thalia, jabbing her spear at the monster.
Kashia snarled and whirled around, dodging the spear and hissed. "Half-blood, leave and you shall not be harmed, my master seeks her!" hissed Kashia.
Thalia bared her teeth; a silent act of defiance. Kashia smirked. "Then you shall die half-blood" she snarled, swiping at the hunter.
Aegis saved Thalia's life, blocking the monster's blow. A pounding headache erupted in Thalia's temples, and the tugging on her stomach increased.
Suddenly, a blanket of silence muffled the gym before an explosion ripped through the building, tendrils of darkness flying through the air and wrapping around Kaisha.
The empusa let out a ferial shriek of pain, a sound that would forevermore echo in Thalia's mind and come to haunt her dreams. The tendrils tightened their grip and Kashia burst into dust.
Thalia turned her gaze towards Arianna, who sat huddled against the wall, looking worn out and tired. "Thalia" murmured Arianna sleepily, eyelids fluttering shut. Thalia checked her pulse; it was slow and steady.
The two girls had managed to weaken Kampè, but they needed more help. Thalia jumped into the air, slicing her spear through the monster's hide. Kampè growled in agony, craning her neck, trying to find her attacker. Rayne loaded her bow, taking careful aim and fired the arrow into the monster's throat. The arrow missed and impaled itself through the wall. Somehow, Kampè had managed to throw off Thalia and was growling, hatred in her eyes. "Foolish half-blood, you shall all die!" snarled the monster, swinging her tail at the demi-gods. "Scatter!" yelled Thalia, rolling away from the barbed tail and leaped to her feet.
Rayne retreated back a few feet, still firing arrow after arrow, most of them missing their target. Thalia cursed; Rayne may be a daughter of Apollo, but she didn't excel as well as her siblings with the bow.
"Get Arianna, we've got to get out of here, I'll distract her" said Rayne, loading another arrow into her bow as Amber and Thalia rushed back for the brunette.
Together, the two girls were able to carry the 125lb girl into the parking lot with Rayne at their heels, firing more missiles at the beast. No one noticed them; they were all too busy with their own problems.
Thalia stopped when she caught site of a silver Mustang. She shared a grin with Amber. Together, the two girls were able to hotwire the car in a few moments while Rayne kept their guest busy. "Get in guys, Amber, we'll stop at your moms for a bit before we head out to Camp" said Thalia, shifting the gears, enjoying the low purr the engine made. One of Thalia's fellow hunters had taught her to drive before she had gone back to Camp, she could handle the car.
Rayne warily climbed in, muttering prayers to her father, Apollo. Amber dragged Arianna into the backseat, smirking.
Thalia pulled the car out of the parking lot, steering them past various burger joints and other stores before she pulled into the lat of a tiny apartment complex. Kampè had lost their scent a long time ago amongst all the different smells of Brownsville. Arianna was still passed out in the back; Thalia deemed it safe to leave her there.
"What's wrong?" asked Amber's mom when she saw Amber step into the living room. "We were attacked mom, we have to go back to Camp" explained Amber, hurrying to her small bedroom with Thalia and Rayne at her heels.
They packed whatever they could fit into their backpacks, and Thalia found an empty bag for Arianna.
Amber's mother appeared in the room, holding three Ziploc bags filled with ambrosia and separate canteens of nectar. She pressed a large wad of money that was held together with a rubber band into Thalia's hands for safekeeping. "Stay safe, Amber, listen to Thalia and Rayne, and for Christ's sake, try not to get into too much trouble" said Mrs. Swift.
Amber smiled innocently at her mother. "I can't make any promises mom, love you" said the daughter of Hermes, kissing her mother's cheek before bounding out the door.
A twinge of sadness vibrated up Thalia's spine, and for a moment, she wished her relationship with her mother had been different. But the odd emotion was quickly stamped out as Rayne hurried after Amber and Thalia was forced to follow them.
Thalia drove towards Arianna's apartment; she had been there a few times before with Arianna. The lights were off in her apartment, and Thalia remembered Arianna's father worked late. She checked her watch; he wasn't due back for another hour. "Wait here, and stay in the car" ordered the dark haired hunter, getting out of the car and slamming the door shut.
She picked the lock on the front door with ease; years of being on the run had taught her a thing or two.
She pushed the door open gently and crept through the dark hallway, fingers searching for the light switch. When she found the switch she flicked them on. An old, worn couch greeted her, along with a coffee table covered in various take out boxes.
In Arianna's room, Thalia had to hold back a smile. The walls were painted a soft aqua and the bed sheets were a warm chocolate brown with lime green and aqua polka dots. Various posters were taped to the wall, and countless cds and empty coke cans littered the nightstand and floor.
Thalia shook her head and went to work, grabbing clothes at random from Arianna's closet. A faint blush slowly crawled up the hunter's neck when she was forced to pack Arianna's under clothes.
Thalia shook her head again and closed the bag; leaving the room. She scrawled Amber's number down on a piece of paper and left in plain view for Arianna's dad to find. When that was done she went back out to the car and tossed the bag besides Amber.
"She's stirred a couple of times, but I think she won't come around for another six hours" reported Rayne, ever the medic.
Thalia nodded. "Hopefully we'll be in San Antonio by then" she said, pulling out of the crappy apartments.
Rayne frowned. "No plane?" asked Amber, pushing her head into the empty space between the passenger and drive seats.
"No plane. We need a lot of time to explain this to Arianna, and driving is the perfect way."
Thalia felt guilty about the partial lie; yes, she was driving because it gave them enough time for explanations, but also because Thalia feared heights.
Thalia smirked into the rearview mirror. "Let's get this dysfunctional show on the road."