By the time dinner rolled around we were deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania. We turned off of the interstate in search of food, as my trip into the gas station store had been so spectacularly disastrous and unhelpful in every way. The interstate exit led us to one of those towns that are so small that Main Street is the only street. A crooked wooden sign welcomed us to Gallispy, Pennsylvania, population: 431. However, the number had been sloppily crossed out and corrected to 433. Congratulations on the twins, I guess.
Every building in Gallispy was the same: wooden and rustic, square structure, wide front porch. As we slowly cruised through it, I saw that it largely consisted of houses with various pieces of furniture littering the lawn, resale shops, and a post office. A small, squat building labeled City Hall sat next to a sketchy looking tattoo parlor. Why a town -no- village needed a tattoo parlor was beyond me. Kayla cast a dubious eye over our surroundings.
"This place looks like a real winner." She said.
"I've lived in a few towns like this before." I commented and frowned at the memories. "It's as bad as it sounds."
"I doubt that we'll even find a McDonald's here." Louis put in mournfully.
We ended up at a restaurant on the outskirts of town. The mountain air was cool and refreshing. The setting sun had already slipped behind the neighboring peak, so the light was weak. Crickets and Cicadas chirped in the bushes, and fireflies already pierced the gathering darkness as we crossed the parking lot. The restaurant itself, Big Mama's BBQ, was an ugly building. The sign was partly crushed, as if someone had hit it with a truck and the outside walls were painted an ugly, sloppy, red. Kayla wrinkled her nose.
"Ugh, it looks like the Ares cabin painted this place." She said and Louis nodded in agreement. I was confused, but decided I didn't want to know. The bushes surrounding the restaurant were littered with beer bottles, and a few men gathered around an ash tray a few feet from the front door. They remained largely silent as we passed. One of them muttered something about taxes and the rest grunted halfheartedly. The place was so dirty and unwelcoming that we almost turned around. However, the smell coming from inside was absolutely heavenly. And, eventually, our stomachs won out over our common sense. Once we entered the restaurant the beer bottles in the bushes and half-crushed sign made sense. Big Mama's BBQ doubles as a bar. Louis, Kayla and I made our way over to the family friendly side of the restaurant and seated ourselves at a small booth in the corner. A waitress with frizzy brown hair came over to take our drink order.
"What can I get you folks to drink?" She drawled lazily. We all ordered water, since we were on a budget, and she scrawled down the order. Her eyes darted around the premises and her foot tapped like she wanted to be anywhere but here. She left, and the three of us fell into a comfortable silence as we studied the menu.
"It actually all sounds pretty good." I admitted grudgingly. "But I think I'm going to have to go with the classic BBQ." Kayla looked up from her menu, startled.
"Wait, you already read the entire menu?" She asked, awed. I frowned. What was so special about that?
"Yeah. So?" Louis looked at me oddly.
"Do you not have dyslexia?" I shook my head.
"What?!" Kayla exclaimed loudly. It came out louder than she intended and she slouched down further in her seat as several heads swiveled to stare at us. "But all demigods have dyslexia and ADHD." She hissed in a raised whisper. I shrugged.
"I have ADHD, all right, just not dyslexia. I can read perfectly fine." I paused. "Maybe it's because I'm so good with other languages."
Louis gave me an odd look and Kayla muttered under her breath about the unfairness if it all.
"What do you mean you're good with languages?" He inquired. I shrugged for what felt like the 20th time.
"I just pick up other languages really easily, that's all." Louis looked thoughtful. Kayla was still trying to puzzle out the menu's fancy script. "Does that give you any clues as to who my father is?" I asked hopefully.
"Not really," Louis said and my face fell, "but you'll probably be able to pick up Greek in a heartbeat."
"What do you mean?" We fell silent as the waitress returned with our drinks. She waited for our orders and left again once we gave them.
"Did we not tell you any of this?" Kayla said once the waitress was out of earshot.
"No."
"Man, we suck at this."
"Louis, don't eat the napkins, we're in public."
Kayla and Louis spent the rest of the meal filling me in on everything I could ever want to know about Camp Half-Blood, the gods, and various monsters that want to kill me. After finishing our admittedly delicious barbecue, we leaned back in our chairs, bellies full, tired after a long day of travel, and ready for a nap.
"So, who do you guys think my father is?" I asked as we waited for the check. Kayla bit her lip thoughtfully.
"Well, we can't rule out Apollo." I opened my mouth to protest but she kept talking. "I mean, I have some siblings who can't sing well, so your terrible voice means nothing. And even if you don't fit the picture, not all demigods fit the stereotypical image of their cabin." Louis shook his head.
"I get a more Demeter feel from her. Mina, do you like cereal?" Louis leaned forward, as if this question was really important.
"It's alright, I guess?"
"Ok, but on a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like cereal?" I stared at him blankly for a minute and Kayla punched him in the shoulder.
"You numskull, we're looking for her father, not her mother." She said over his yelp of pain. "Demeter is a woman." Louis sort of deflated after that.
"Fine then, Kayla, if you're so smart, who is her father?" He shot out. Kayla sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"I don't know. I was never good at placing kids." The conversation was interrupted as the waitress arrived with our check and we quickly paid and left. It was fully dark by the time we settled down for the night. The truck was parked in a rest station a few miles from Gallispy. Kayla and Louis spread our thin blankets out in the bed of his truck, and I took first watch with instructions to wake Louis at midnight.
I sat on the edge of the truck bed, swinging my legs gently as I kept watch. The time passed peacefully. Out here in the mountains the air was clear and cool. The sky was cloudless tonight and more stars than I had ever seen before speckled the heavens. Smiling softly, I imagined that if I only reached a little higher I could touch the starry soup of a sky and stir it with my fingers. If I closed my eyes, and just sat, I could almost pretend that I was back on my porch in Illinois. Even so many miles away the crickets still chirp the same, and the honeysuckle still smells the same, and the breeze still tickles my nose the same. I half expected to hear the creak of the screen door as my mother told me it was time to come inside for the night. But then I opened my eyes to face reality. My entire life had changed within 24 hours. And I knew, deep down, that I would never get that old life back.
Before I knew it, it was nearing midnight, and I was shaking Louis awake.
"Uh…whaa?" He groaned sleepily.
"C'mon. It's your watch now." I said. The satyr just grumbled some more and rolled over. Gritting my teeth, I had to resort to poking him sharply in the side to get him moving. I slid into Louis' blankets as we switched spots and was asleep before my head was down.
In my dream I was sitting at a kitchen table. I vaguely recognized the rickety chairs and moldy cabinets. The light streaming in from the broken window was stained a sickly yellow from the frayed curtain fluttering over it. I was back in an old apartment in Oregon. My mother and I had stayed in this one for five months. The scene changed and I recognized another kitchen, this one in Omaha. We had lived in this apartment for an unusually short time: three weeks. But the odd, bright green carpet always stuck out in my memory. The scene changed faster and faster, showing the countless different kitchens I've seen. Little recognizable features jumped out at me from time to time: the stucco ceiling that was painted to look like the night sky on the outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the rattling overhead fan in Rolla, Missouri, the rose tablecloth in that little Maryland town whose name I don't even remember. Finally the dizzying shift in location stopped in a kitchen that was painstakingly familiar. The only kitchen I had thought of as home. Nothing had changed, not even the vase of dying daisies. I wasn't alone. My mother sat in a chair across from me, her head in her hands. For the longest time we just sat there, unmoving. And it suddenly struck me how lonely and tired she looked. Abruptly she looked up and our eyes met.
"Mina," She began, "I'm-" I never got to hear what she about to say though, because I was gently being shaken awake. When I opened my eyes, Kayla's face was inches from mine. I jumped involuntarily and she slowly put a finger to her lips. I looked around. Louis was crouched low in the bed of the truck, leaning forward like a hunting dog, nose twitching. A few clouds had rolled over the sky, dulling the moon's light. I could barely make out Kayla's form next to me as she silently packed our things. I looked at her questioningly.
"Louis smells monsters. Big ones." She said in a low voice. My heartbeat kicked up a few notches at those words. Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from the forest across the road. It was huge and vaguely humanoid, with broad, sloping shoulders and thick arms which hung low around its knees. We froze. The thing lumbered heavily down the road, the wind was in our favor. After a few tense minutes, it had walked out of sight.
"I don't believe it." Louis breathed. I smiled in spite of myself. I was so relieved I had the urge to laugh out loud. Kayla frowned.
"It walked right by us." She said. "It didn't even pause."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Louis said incredulously. I kept waiting for the frown to slide off Kayla's face, for her to look as happy as I felt. But she kept staring intently in the direction the thing had gone.
"We could have gotten it." She said. She stood abruptly. "I'm gonna get it."
"What?!" Louis hissed. "Are you crazy? We're in the clear." Kayla adjusted her quiver on her back and gripped her bow tightly.
"You can stay here then. I'll be right back." She said, looking down at us disdainfully. And with she leapt lightly out of the truck. Louis was gaping at her. He looked like he wanted to protest but couldn't come up with the words. Kayla took a few steps and then paused. She turned back and I felt hope that she had come to her senses. Those hopes were dashed almost immediately.
"Wait." She said, and pulled a hunting knife out of the sheath on her belt. "Hold down the fort, kid." The hilt of the knife was offered to me, and, unsure, I grasped it. Seemingly satisfied, Kayla turned swiftly on her heal and ran off. I felt glued to my seat in the truck bed. I wanted nothing more than to follow and help her, but my survival instincts were screaming at me to stay put.
Every time I had faced a monster I had run. Kayla had told me that demigods were often heroes. Heroes didn't run. This, staying put in safety, was just another form of running. It was cowardly. Pushing down my growing fear, I stood on shaky legs. Louis immediately yanked me back down.
"You are not moving a single inch." He informed me but I shook him off.
"I'm not leaving her to face that alone." I said, trying to make myself sound braver and more confident than I actually felt. Fake it till you make it. Right? I stood up again and, imitating Kayla, leapt lithely from the truck. Not bothering to look back to see if Louis was following me, I set off at a brisk walk. My feet moved silently over the ground. I had always been good at being quiet. I needed to get to Kayla as quickly as possible but I couldn't let myself run into this blindly. Surviving the other attacks had been pure luck. I had been all defense. Now, I was going on the offensive. I gripped the knife tightly in my hand. Its weight had felt awkward at first but I was slowly growing accustomed to it. The celestial bronze let off a faint glow and I held it low to the ground so as not to attract attention. Every nerve in my body was on high alert.
The night was deathly still. Too still. The fear threatened to rise up again and I tamped it back down. Suddenly, a deep shout, almost a roar, and the all too familiar twang of Kayla's bow sounded up ahead of me. The clouds shifted briefly in the sky and in the added light I could see them. Kayla was desperately trying to keep her distance and find an opportunity to take a shot but the giant-thing was faster than it looked. It roared again and threw a massive fist at her face. Kayla rolled to the side but wasn't fast enough. The thing's fist caught her bow and flung it to the side, where it lay splintered in the dirt. Kayla backpedaled frantically; her hand flew to her hip, only to find an empty sheath.
I ran, trying to get to the thing before it got to her. Kayla's only close range weapon was in my hand. I wasn't fast enough. The thing swatted at her. She went flying, much like her bow, and landed hard. I could hear her gasping as the wind was knocked out her lungs. She clutched her ribs in pain.
The brute of a thing advanced on her eagerly, sensing victory. I desperately wanted to call out to distract it from her, but I couldn't stand to lose the edge of surprise. It had been no more than a minute since the scuffle had begun. In my mind though, it had stretched into an eternity. An eternity that passed in the few steps it took me to reach the thing. I slashed at its' back with the knife, probably not the most strategic place to hit it, however, I was too short to reach its neck. I put a lot of force behind my strike, and was shocked when the blade was all but deflected by its' thick skin, leaving only a thin scratch. The force of the deflection sent the knife clattering out of my hand.
The brute turned to face me; rage twisted its misshapen features. Cautiously, I walked backward; my heart pounded in my ears. It lumbered slowly towards me. Beady black eyes sized up this new opponent. I tried to angle my steps back towards the knife, which lay, glowing softly, behind the giant. However, it seemed to tire of this circling, and lunged at me. Relying on instincts I didn't know I possessed; I ducked. The meaty fist missed me by a hair. Another fist was soon to follow and I found it was all I could to avoid getting the daylight punched out of me. I was feeling pretty good myself until a throw clipped my shoulder. It sent me spinning and I landed in the dirt with a dull thud. I gasped; pain flared up and down the left side of my body. I shakily got to my knees as the giant jumped in for the kill.
I saw it coming. There was no way to avoid it. I hadn't been fast enough. I stared into the giant's lumpy face as it brought its fist down on me. Somewhere to my right I could hear Kayla shout NO!
And then the giant was stumbling past me; its fist having swung harmlessly through empty space. Had it missed? That wasn't possible. I stood, frozen in shock. The giant however, was not so frozen. He turned, confusion written clearly on his face, and came at me again. It looked determined not to miss again.
It didn't.
I wasn't even sure where I had been hit. All I knew was that one moment my feet were on the ground, and the next they were not and that my whole body hurt. The world was blurry and held itself at an angle that shouldn't be possible. My head felt like a freight train was running through it, full speed ahead, and whistle screaming. I vaguely registered the fuzzy mass that was the giant growing nearer. I tried to stand and found I couldn't. My eyes closed involuntarily, and I waited for the final blow. It never came, however, and I was unconscious before I could wonder why.
My sense of touch came back to me first. I was on my side, cheek pressed against the cool, cracked leather of Louis' truck. A gentle swaying motion further supported my theory that I was in a vehicle moving down the highway. The pain came back a second later. I was sore everywhere, but it was bearable, and nothing compared to before. My hearing came next as I became aware of voices near me.
"When will she wake up?" I heard Louis ask, concern coloring his tone. There was a slight pause before I heard Kayla's answer.
"For the last time, Louis, I don't know. She received a pretty nasty blow to the head." Kayla replied tightly.
"You don't think there will be any head trauma, do you?" He asked. Kayla sighed.
"We got some nectar into her pretty quick, didn't we? The last of our nectar, might I add." There was another pause in which I could almost hear the disappointed look Louis was giving Kayla.
"C'mon man, I'm not a doctor." She said. "I'm not as good as any of my siblings at this medical shit. Hades, I'm not as good as my siblings at anything." She muttered the last part.
"Is that why you did it?"
"Did what?"
"You know."
"I'm pretty sure I don't."
"Kayla…" There was a swollen pause in which the tension was almost palpable. After some time Louis spoke again.
"You think you have something to prove."
"NO-"
"You think you have something to prove." Louis repeated calmly. "And you go searching for ways to show everyone that you can be a fighter. You do this all the time. You didn't have to go after the giant last night." Ah, so I've been out all night. I thought dryly. Lovely.
"I don't have anything to prove. To anyone." Kayla said stubbornly. The truck ran over a bump in the road and I groaned at the movement.
"Mina!" Kayla exclaimed. I pealed my eyelids back to look at her. Her sunny hair was disheveled and there were bags under eyes. "Oh my gods, Mina, are you alright?"
"Uh, ya… I think so?" It ended up coming out as more of a question. I lifted myself into a sitting position and looked around. We seemed to be on an interstate or something, no longer in the mountains. Just how long was I out? "Where are we?" I voiced my question.
"We're on the Jersey Turnpike, just about to cross into Manhattan." Louis told me. I leaned forward, pain forgotten, to try to see New York City. Kayla was still twisted around in her seat, her expression was unreadable.
"Mina, what do you remember of last night?" She asked. I thought about it. The whole fight was a blur.
"I remember trying and failing to cut the giant with a knife. And then trying not to get punched. And then getting punched a lot." I summarized. "Speaking of that… how am I not dead?"
"Louis stabbed it from behind but that is not the point. Mina, do you know what you did?" Kayla demanded. My confused expression seemed to serve as an answer.
"First of all, I have never seen anyone move that fast without training. Ever." Louis said.
"Second of all, that punch, the one where you were on your knees, should have, and would have killed you." Kayla cut in. I furrowed my eyebrows.
"What's so special about that? He missed." Kayla shook her head.
"No, it should have hit you. I saw, Mina. I saw. His fist went right through you." What?
"Are you sure you don't have a concussion?" I asked.
"I saw it too." Louis said quietly.
"What does that mean?" It was a long time before I was answered.
"I don't know."
Hey guys, so I would really appreciate some reviews telling me how I'm doing so far. How do you think the characterization is? The dialogue? Plot pace? I think I'm going too slow, so let me know what you think. Please and thank you!