Hello, hello, hello! Here's Chapter 8! Please enjoy and don't forget to review!
"Fine, I'll stay." Clotho's face brightened and she smiled widely.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll tell them you're here!"
Percy couldn't get another word in before Clotho ran off and left him standing alone, surrounded by string.
He prayed to the gods that he wouldn't regret this.
Percy had been waiting for 15 minutes for Clotho to come back with her sisters, but they still were no-shows. He ended up entertaining himself by browsing the strings that were all across the motel room.
At this moment he was running a deep red string through his fingers that felt like the softest wool. It wasn't particularly long, about only 5 feet, and it felt almost warm to the touch.
If he calmed his senses enough, Percy swore that he could feel the string pulse beneath his fingers as if it had a heart beat. As he waited he took note of all the things that could be different from string to string.
First was color. There were more colors than in a Crayola crayon box. He counted at least 42 different shades of blue on the couch that he sat on.
Then there was length. Percy found strings that were merely little scraps, no longer than his pinky, but then there were others that would swirl around the room without an end to be found.
Third, the material, he noticed, was always different. There were strings that felt smooth and silky, soft and plush, and even rough like twine.
One of the weird things Percy realized is that he always knew if he had touched the same string again. They each just felt different, like they had something special about them that he could always recognize.
Percy looked at a clock that hung on the wall. Now it had been 19 minutes since Clotho had left. You'd think that one of the fates would be more punctual seeing that they knew the future and all.
Percy sat back and closed his eyes. He might as well take a nap if was going to be waiting this long. He tried to will his muscles to relax and for his mind to go blank, but the strings were keeping him awake. He didn't know how, but there was this power come off of them sparking like electricity on his skin.
He could even feel the red string that was still in his hands thump harder.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
And maybe it was just him, but it felt like it was getting faster and faster.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart began to beat at the same pace, like it was connected with the string.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
His breathing started to become too fast. His heart was beating like he was running and the worst was that he didn't know how to stop it.
Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.
His heart hurt now, like it was going to burst. Percy tried letting go of the string in his hand, but his fist clenched it like a lifeline, unable to let go.
Thump.Thump.Thump.Thump.
His vision started to become dark and fuzzy. He was going to die from touching this stupid piece of string. He could hear his heartbeat roar in his ears and his head pounded.
Thump thump thump thump.
The string in his hand felt like it was on fire. His hand was burning. Sweat poured down his neck and his muscles spasmed.
Thumpthumpthumpthump.
The string was ripped from his grasp and he could finally breath again. His vision returned and he saw a woman in front of him. She was beautiful, in a harsh kind of way.
Her face was all edges and no curves. Her steel eyes looked like they could run him through like a blade and her high cheekbones were the kind that were only found on royalty. Her hair was the deepest black, so black it looked like it sucked the light from the room and it contrasted against her pale, almost translucent skin.
"What do you think you're doing?! Stupid boy, do you want to die?!" she screamed waving the string he once had in his hands in front of his face.
Percy was in too much shock that his chest didn't explode to answer. Then he noticed an old women that stood hunched behind the younger woman. If this young woman was the night, then the old woman was the day.
He hair was a bright blonde, looking like it was woven from pure gold. Her eyes were a deep blue like the sky on a cloudless day and her skin was bronze and tanned as if she had lived her entire life under the sun.
She wasn't pretty by any standards, her face was a mess of wrinkles and her skin sagged, but she glowed with a different kind of beauty. One that seemed like it could fuel a thousand stars.
"Now, now, Lachesis, don't scare the boy to death. He's the one we've been waiting for. And hand that thread to me." Lachesis's face dawned with understanding for a moment until it was replaced again with a cold mask. She handed the old woman the string.
The old woman quickly pulled a pair of shears seemingly from nowhere and snipped the string in half like it was nothing significant.
Percy almost threw up. If these people are who I think they are and these strings are... Holy shit, they just... A person just died... He had get out of here, now.
"Well, it was really swell meeting you all, but like I told Clotho, I've have these really important plans for later for this really important thing, so I better get going." Percy got up at rushed for the door. He was not go to stay one more minute with these crazy women.
What was he thinking staying here before? For gods' sake these were the women who condemned him to not one prophecy, but two major prophecies.
"But you promised! You can't just leave-" Percy had no time to see if Clotho was using her puppy dog eyes because the minute he ran through the doorway, he sprinted down the motel hallway to the nearest exit, not even bothering to go back to his room to get the rest of his things.
The three fates just stood in the doorway, faces crisscrossed with utter disbelief. The demigod just... ran away from fate in the literal and figurative sense.
Lachesis turned to face the older woman behind her.
"You just had to cut the thread in front of him, Atropos! And you're the one who told me not to scare him to death! He just about shit his pants when you pulled out those shears!"
"Oh buzzer off, Lachesis, if you had just hurried up, we wouldn't have had him waiting for us and touching the thread in the first place!"
"So it's my fault now?! Somehow you always make everything about me, don't you, Atropos?"
"I make everything about you? You're constantly grabbing for attention! No wonder mom liked me more!"
"Oh that is it!"
"Guys! Would you just shut the hell up!" The two women's voices died as they looked the Clotho who looked like she was about to burst at the seams. "While you guys are arguing, Perseus is running farther and farther away. If we want to talk to him, we need to catch him before he gets too far. Last time it took days to find him."
"Fine," Lachesis snapped, "Let's go."
And with that, the Fates went up into smoke.
Percy was so done. That was the last time he ever ever ever would try to talk with the Fates. They were harpy-shit crazy.
For all he knew, once the Fates had talked to him they could have grabbed his piece of yarn and sent him straight to Hades with one flick of their very scary scissors.
Once Percy had left the motel, he sprinted towards the nearest parking lot, jumped a car, and sped to the closest highway. He need to get as far away as possible from those freaky ladies.
Well, Clotho was nice I guess, but the other to. Hell no. His life would be complete if he got to never see those two again.
Percy shook his head. He had to stop thinking about them. They were probably chasing after him right now and he needed to focus on getting the hell away.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. If he made it through this year alive and in one piece, it would be a miracle.
Percy sighed and turned on the radio. His hands brushed over different buttons until he found a good station. He went over to turn the volume up, but suddenly smoke filled the car.
His hand slipped and he cranked the volume up so loud, he thought his ear drums might bleed. And on top of that he couldn't see shit.
"WHat the fuck is going on?!" Percy's arms jerked the steering wheel into place, hopefully moving the car forward and then his feet slammed on the brakes.
"Perseus watch out! I still don't have my seatbelt on!"
"Clotho?! What the hell are you doing here!" Percy could start to see bits of her flame colored hair in the passenger seat next to him through the smoke.
"We came to find you! You just ran off!"
"We? What do you mean we?" Immediately after he asked, all the smoke was blown away by some unnatural wind. In the back seat now, Percy could see Lachesis and Atropos. Lachesis raised her hand in a salute while Atropos waved at him kindly.
"Oh no. Oh hell no. Get out of my car. Now." This was not happening. How did they find him so quickly?
"Excuse me? Your car? Last time I checked, you stole this piece of junk from the motel parking lot. Really, Perseus? A Honda Odyssey? What, are you Odysseus now?" Lachesis sneered. Gods, she was so fucking annoying.
"Semantics," Percy growled, "Now leave. I don't care what you're selling, I'm not buying." Maybe it wasn't the best idea to order the Fates around, but he could crashed his car because of them!
Clotho looked at him pleadingly, but he wasn't going to fall for that again. He had made up his mind and no matter what they said, either they were going to get out, or he would find another ride.
"C'mon, Perseus, it'll only take a little bit," Clotho begged.
"No. No, no, no, no. The first time I tried 'talking' with you, you took out your garden shears and killed somebody. Who does that in front of someone?!"
"Oh please, Perseus, like you haven't killed anything before." Lachesis said.
"Not with scissors, I haven't!" Percy screamed. "You guys are absolutely crazy! Do you know what kind of shit you put me through? I had to lead two Great Prophecies! Two! And I am not taking my chances again here. There is no way I am getting mixed into this!"
Percy huffed. They weren't going to sway him. He would stick his ground.
"Perseus, we really do need to talk to you," Atropos said softly, trying to calm the demigod down, "It's about the deal you made with us."
"Deal? What deal?" Percy asked harshly.
"You don't remember because we made you forget. If you just hear us out, we will answer all the questions you have."
Fuck, first Hera and now the Fates?! What other ancient beings were going to fuck with his memory?
"And why did I make this deal in the first place? Why would I want to get involved with you?"
"Because you died," she replied.
Percy's hands fell off of the steering wheel and into his lap, his back slumped and he sat there dumbfounded.
Oh shit.
Well, there's that. Hope you liked it! Please leave a comment on what you thought about this chapter or the story so far!