SONG OF THE POST:
Lightning
by Alex Goot
Ever:
The first day was probably the worst. Andrew and Nico fought about almost everything, and Ever kept getting fart bombed by the satyr. At first glance, Andrew seemed like a nice guy, but he was deadly. Very deadly. His burp and fart bombs were like mini-explosions to the senses. Ever was pretty sure that she'd loose her sense of smell before the trip was over.
The food wasn't too bad; much like plane food, most of it was stale. They made a mean bacon burger, though. Probably the most nerve-racking part of the first day was the fact that she had to share a room with Nico and Andrew. The satyr talked in his sleep and fart bombed unintentionally. The Gloom Guy moved around in his sleep and groaned like he was having nightmares. Ever was tempted to wake him up, but Nico always seemed grumpy when Andrew woke him, so she just left it.
The second day was probably the coolest—yet scariest—day of her life. It wasn't the fact that the train served snails, or that they had free movies, no, it was the fact that they were attacked by cheerleaders with a mechanical leg and a donkey leg.
They had been sitting calmly at the restaurant car when the whole train shuttered.
"What was that?" Ever said cautiously. She'd seen the movies; the train always shuttered before it exploded. Nico frowned, apparently thinking the same thing. He stood up and slowly put a hand on his sword hilt. Andrew kept on munching his soda can.
"C'mon guys, it's nothing. These sort of things happen all the—" Andrew started. He was interrupted by the screams in the train car behind them. Nico didn't hesitate as he unsheathed his sword and jumped onto the table, stepping on her burger in the process. Ever would have been angry, except the screams got louder, and she was grateful that Nico knew how to swing that thing.
"If I die now, I just want to say—" Ever started. "It's all your fault."
Nico looked down at her and gave her a withering look before the door between cars exploded. Gloom Guy was knocked off the table and fell right on top of Ever. She shoved him off, and screamed when she came face-to-face with a vampire cheerleader.
I knew this trip was going to suck! Ever thought as she scrambled out of the booth. Andrew squealed like a scared little girl and kicked a vampire cheerleader in the face. It howled and bared its face. Or, her fangs. A dozen vampire-fied cheerleaders poured into the cabin, all of them girls. Their curled hair and make-up coated faces clashed with their pointy fangs and mismatched legs.
"Empousai." Nico said bitterly. "Be careful."
Oh, it never occurred to me to be careful.
Nico swung his sword professionally, and the first two empousai disintegrated into monster dust. Ever made a mental note to ask Nico about his magical sword. He cut down two more before the remaining eight hissed and lunged as one. Nico jumped back and grabbed Ever's arm. He tugged her behind him as they ran into the next train car. The sound of horses, machines, and vampires followed.
"How in the world does your sword do that?" She managed to ask Nico as they kept running.
"Stygian iron. An indestructible metal that sends monsters to Tartarus."
"Tartarus?"
"An abyss where the wicked are sent."
An explosion came from behind them, and Ever's ears ringed. Both of them were thrown into a pair of seats next to them, and she felt the train teeter. It groaned angrily, and Ever's breath was knocked out of her when Nico's whole body crashed on top of her. Screams could be heard in the background as the train literally fell into its side. Instead of stopping there, the train kept rolling like someone was kicking it. Nico and Ever tumbled along the walls as it rolled, every once in a while bonking heads or kicking the other. When the train finally moaned to a halt, Ever and Nico lay on the roof—now the floor—and breathed heavily. The world around Ever swirled and twirled uncontrollably.
"That was…exhilarating." Ever muttered unsteadily. Nico chuckled bitterly and patted her shoulder.
"You took that well." He murmured.
"I'm just that awesome."
Nico rolled his eyes and groaned before sitting up. He rubbed his head and looked at her. "We better find Andrew."
Ever nodded and sat up. Dizziness overwhelmed her, and she crashed back to the floor/roof. Nico smirked and stood up, once again lending a hand to her. She frowned and took his hand. He helped her up, but she teetered and started to fall. He grabbed her, and she threw her arms around him to keep herself steady.
This is awkward.
Nico blushed and cleared his throat. Ever loosed her arms and stood up, adjusting her shirt.
"Let's go." Nico said, clearing his throat once more. The blush was still on his cheeks when Andrew came galloping their way.
"Nico! Ever! Are you guys alright?!" He howled.
"We're just dandy." Ever told him with a grin. Nico rolled his eyes. "Ya know, other than the fact that I'm covered in bruises."
She and Nico has large purple marks from rolling all over metal and hitting hard objects. Gloom Guy looked down and grimaced as if he had just noticed the bright bruises.
The sound of cackling appeared, and Ever's face paled. The empousai were back. Nico's face set with something like determination, and he looked Ever straight in the eyes when he said, "Run."
Run they did. Nico ran straight at the glass windows and shattered them with his sword. Andrew ran right after him, and Ever had to get over her shock before she obeyed. The train had died by the edge of a forest, and Nico made a beeline for the trees. Andrew and Ever didn't think twice as they followed him. Before long, Ever's legs felt like jelly. Sweat trickled down her face, and she was puffing heavily. The train was far behind them, but Nico didn't stop running. Although he was huffing just as heavily as she, he kept going.
"Nico! We're safe!" Ever called to him as she halted to a stop. Her legs were jell-o; she couldn't run any farther. After sucking in deep breaths, Ever collapsed under a tree and calmed her aching body. Adrenaline raced through her veins, and she had the strange urge to laugh and cry at the same time.
The two boys paused, and Andrew collapsed near Ever. Gloom Guy put a hand to his forehead and leaned tiredly against a tree.
"Okay, I guess we are." Nico said with a sigh as he slowly inched onto the floor. "We'll take a little break, then I'll shadow travel far away."
"No! You're way too tired for that!" Andrew argued. Nico shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"You don't sound fine." Ever told him. She stood up and walked shakily to him on tired legs. "I don't know how you do it, but it seems like it takes a lot of energy from you. We are staying here until I think you're ready."
Nico stared at her incredulously as she plopped down next to him and glared at him. Her eyes sent a simple challenge: 'disobey me and you shall feel my wrath'. He silently nodded and stared at his hands.
"So, I've been wondering." Ever started conversationally, tying to get his mind off shadow traveling. "Who's your godly parent?"
Nico hesitated. "Hades."
"You mean like the god of the Underworld?"
"The same one." Nico said, his tone slightly bitter.
"That's cool." Ever replied, shooting a grin his way. A small blush creeped onto his pale cheeks.
"Really? You aren't…scared?"
"Of what?" Ever looked at him in confusion.
What is there to be scared of? The Teletubbies are scarier than he is.
Nico stared at her, like she should already know the answer. Which, of course, she didn't.
"You know, the whole Underworld thing, raising the dead—"
"You can raise the dead?"
"Well, I can summon them—"
"Cool!"
Nico glared at her suspiciously. "Do you really think so?"
"Well yeah!"
Nico was silent. Andrew watched the conversation awkwardly. Ever wondered if she said anything wrong.
"Let's go, I don't let being this close to the wreck." Nico mumbled after a brief pause.
Does he always push himself so hard?
"No, seriously, just chill." Ever commanded. He had started to stand up, but she grabbed his shirt and yanked him down. "If you push yourself so hard, none of us are gonna be fine."
"I said I'm fine."
"Nu uh! The last time we shadow traveled you were a little hazy."
Nico looked startled. "You noticed?"
"Of course I did! It's a little hard not to notice when your companion is turning invisible."
Gloom Guy nodded, and the forest was silent.
Nico:
Nico was now officially shocked. First Ever seemed so nonchalant about sitting next to a kid who could summon zombies—she even seemed a little bit excited—, then she gave orders that he actually followed—he wasn't expecting her to be so forceful when it came to him shadow traveling—, and now she demanded that he teach her to fight with a sword.
It had all happened so fast.
One minute he was chopping a random tree to pieces, the next minute Ever's in front of him demanding to get lessons. Her arms were crossed, and her eyes glistened with determination. Her facial expression was one that said: 'say no and you die'.
"No." He told her forcefully. Ever wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Aw, c'mon!"
"No."
"But what if those empousai come back?"
"We shadow travel."
"What if you shadow travel right into a mob of monsters and we can't escape?"
"We die."
"C'mon, Nico!" Ever whined pitifully. "Please please please please pleeeeeease?"
Nico stopped what he was doing and looked her right in the eyes. "If you want to learn, it can't be because you think it's cool. You have to actually want to learn."
Ever smirked. "Of course I want to learn! Haven't you been listening?"
Nico rolled his eyes and said, "Fine, I'll teach you."
"YES!" She howled and starting doing some strange victory dance. The dance included swinging her arms everywhere, running in place, and nodding rapidly.
What in the world is she doing?
Ever stopped dancing before he could voice his thoughts.
"So, what do we do first?" She asked him eagerly. Nico frowned.
"Right now?"
"Duh!"
I was hoping I'd get some time to actually figure out how to teach someone.
Nico had never taught anyone. Probably because he hated physical contact and everyone was, more or less, afraid of him. Ever, however, didn't seem frightened at all by his appearance or 'gloom', as she called it.
"Well, uh, first you need to be balanced." Nico held his sword in front of him and crouched like he was about to pounce. "You need to be able to keep your sense of balance while in a fight, or else small movements will topple you."
"Balance, got it." Ever copied him, but her stance was shaky and unnatural. Nico rolled his eyes and walked over to her.
"Don't go so deep. You'll get tired too easily if you focus on looking cool. Rest all your weight on your back leg so its easier to lunge and jump out of the way."
"Back leg, got it." She straightened up a little and leaned backwards slightly. It was a little bit comical to see her try and look like a martial artist.
"You don't need your arms up the high. You're not a boxer." He told her, smiling slightly. "When you hold a sword, depending on its type, you'll need to keep it level with your stomach and chest area."
Ever nodded and moved her hands from in front of her face. Nico pushed her. She fell.
"What was that for?!" She complained from the ground.
"You weren't balanced." Nico had to keep himself from laughing aloud. Instead, he allowed a single smirk to grace his mouth. Ever rolled her eyes and stood up, immediately getting back in position. "Remember, all your weight on your back leg, keep your hands level to your stomach and chest."
They went through that drill a couple times until Ever no longer toppled over like an empty water bottle. The sun was starting to disappear.
"You should set up camp." Nico mumbled to Ever.
"I should set up camp?" She asked incredulously.
"I'm teaching you to fight, so you have to set up camp."
Ever grumbled and searched for Nico's backpack. He lay under a tree, waiting for her to get everything ready. It didn't occur to Nico that Ever didn't know how to set up a camp until a half hour passed. He walked over to Ever and watched as she hopelessly smashed rocks together for a fire.
"I have matches you know." Nico told her with a grin as he threw her the pack. She glared at him and stuck out her tongue. "Have you done anything other than build a fire pit?"
Ever frowned and shook her head. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."
Nico sighed and set up the sleeping bags as Ever started a flame with the matches.
"BURN MY MINION OF DARKNESS! BUUURN!" He heard her exclaim once the fire started.
"Why is the fire a minion of darkness?" Andrew asked in confusion. Nico jumped. He had forgotten the satyr was with them.
"Because fire burns, and it hurts. Sure, it's beautiful and keeps us warm, but it only helps us because of its deadly nature." Ever said seriously as she stared into the fire. "BURN MY LOVELIES!"
Nico rolled his eyes and moved to sit next to her. He handed her a pot, a spatula, a water bottle, and a bag of rice. "Now, get started."
"On what?" Ever asked in confusion as she took the items from him.
"Cooking."
"WHAT?" She exclaimed in surprise. Her wide eyes looked at him, and he smiled evilly.
"Setting up also includes dinner."
Ever pouted and thought for a moment before she got to work. The first thing she did was pour water into the pot and dump the whole entire rice bag. She wrapped her hand in piles of cloth and stuck the pot over the fire. Nico laid on his sleeping bag while he waited for Ever to call dinner.
"Uh…Nico?" Ever asked nervously ten minutes later. He sat up and eyed the food she had made.
It was absolutely horrible.
The rice was burnt to a crisp and bubbled slightly.
What—what's that floating in there?
Ever seemed to read his mind because she said, "A fly was annoying me, so I hit it, and it fell into the pot…"
That's…gross.
"So you can't cook." Nico asked, although it was more of a statement than a question. Ever nodded solemnly. "What can you do?"
"I'm good at gardening. And I play five different instruments. I also dance pretty good."
Like those things help.
"But, I will learn how to cook, start a fire, and set up a camp! All while learning how to sword fight!" Ever exclaimed with a grin. She pumped her fist in the air and gave Nico a thumbs up. He was slightly astonished. Ever was just so…cheerful. She never seemed to give up. Not only did she not give up, she shot for the stars. Nothing seemed too big in Ever's eyes. Nico realized that he respected her for that. Even—liked her for it.
And that was slightly stressing.
If he opened up his heart for a friend, it'd be crushed like always. Like with Bianca, Percy, Will, everyone. It wasn't worth it. Nico pushed away his friendly feelings for Ever and focused on the most important thing: not being poisoned by her food.
Ever:
Ever was in a pretty good mood. Her rice didn't turn out poisonous, Nico had given her their first sword lesson—as if it could be called a lesson; they didn't even use swords—, he had taught her how to set up camp, and she was sleeping under the stars. Only one thing could have made the night better: s'mores.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE S'MORES?!" She hollered when Nico broke the news.
"Well, this isn't exactly a friendly camping trip—"
"SO?! You can't just go on an adventure and NOT pack s'mores!"
"Yeah, Nico." Andrew added as he stuck his tongue out at Gloom Guy.
"You're the one that said sugar made you hyper!" Nico complained.
"WHAT?" Ever howled. "How could you Andrew?! Sugar is SUPPOSED to make you hyper! That's what it was made for!"
"Yeah, Andrew." Nico copied exactly what Andrew had done, and they both glared nuclear bombs at each other.
"Well, now I'll just have to go to bed!" Ever said in exasperation. She threw her hands in the air and moaned. Nico looked slightly confused.
"Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? When did s'mores come up, anyway?"
"Nico, Nico, Nico. S'mores always come up. They are the essence of camping."
"Just go to bed!" Andrew said with a groan as he curled up on his sleeping bag. Nico and Ever both eyed the remaining sleeping bag.
"You can have it."
"You can have it." They both said simultaneously.
"It's fine."
"It's fine." Once again, they spoke together. Ever couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled in her chest. She laughed aloud and watched as Nico chuckled in amusement.
"Seriously, s'all yours." Ever said as she leaned against a tree. Nico frowned.
"No, you go ahead. I'm used to sleeping this way." He too leaned against a tree. Ever shrugged and scooted into the sleeping bag. She was grateful. Nico was more gentlemanly than he thought he was. She smiled as she though of Gloom Guy's silent kindness. Although he was rough on the edges, Ever knew he was a good guy.
?:
The preparations were going smoothly. He watched as his plan unfolded. Gleefully, he patrolled the many cages in his possession, most of them filled with his quarry. Crying echoed throughout the building, and he grinned joyfully. One cage caught his eyes, and he walked over to inspect it.
"Hello, little demigod." He said the the inhabitant of the cage. "I hope you're finding your room satisfactory."
The wretch growled and spat at him venomously. He frowned and signaled for his guards to take the prisoner away.
"It seems this demigod needs to be taught a lesson." He told his minions. The fox-headed monsters snarled and dragged the screaming demigod away. He cackled devilishly.
"Ah, I will soon rule, you shall see." He told the sky. "Enough of standing in the dark. My name will soon be the most feared out of all. Kronos and Gaea are nothing compared to me, young demigods. Prepare for war."
WHOOP WHOOP! Thank you all, beautiful reviewers! You make me so happy! I wrote this as fast as I could xD Keep it up! The more reviews, the more I write!
Hayden: Are you threatening your viewers?
Me: No! Of course not! It's called motivation.
Hayden: Same difference.
Sonic: Actually, they're two different concepts-
Hayden: Be quite Mr. Smarty-Pants.
Me: Don't be so mean, Hayden!
Ever: Yeah, Hayden. Don't be so mean!
Hayden: What is she doing here! This is Sonic and I's moment! She gets the story, we get the chat, that's how it goes!
Sonic: Hayden, I'm not sure it really matters-
Hayden: OF COURSE IT MATTERS!
Ever: Ha! I'm just that awesome; I get the story and the chat!
Me: You're only here because I want you to enjoy life before it all goes south.
Ever: ...
Hayden: ...that's cold.
Sonic: What's your plan? 0-0
Me: Evil things, evil things. MWAHAHA
Ever: ...
Hayden: ...
Sonic: ...
Hayden: I'll grab the rope while you two handcuff her to a chair.
Ever: I like how you think.
Thank you for reading! Follow, review, like, and all the fun stuff! xD PEACE OUT