Chapter 14: Cleveland Part II

Erin POV

Erin and Alejandro stepped out of grocery store into the cold wind. Suddenly someone in a white shirt and and black hoodie slammed into her.

"Rorik ?"

"Erin ?"

Alejandro jumped up in the middle of them. "ALEJANDRO !"

"Why are you here ?" Asked Erin after shoving Alejandro out from the middle.

The nordic boy took a couple seconds to catch his breath before speaking. "I may, or may not, have gotten into a fight with two hellhounds and an empousa then been chased down by the forest rangers."

"You what ?!" Erin stomped her foot in frustration. How could that have even happened ? "Shouldn't the Mist cover that stuff up ?!"

"I did that shouting thing that I used back at camp. It's noric so maybe the mist doesn't cover it up." He suggested. There were sirens in the distance. "Oh, and I forgot to mention. The rangers kinda called the military."

"Gods damn it Rorik ! Just give the the bag !" Rorik obeyed and Erin hastily dumped the food they had bought into the eternal space inside of it. "C'mon, we are leaving. Now!" They started running towards the parking lot, the sounds of sirens growing ever closer. "Ale, think you can hot-wire a car ?"

"Can I ?" he said rhetorically.

Rorik gave him a confused look. "You can, rig- ?"

"Of course I can amigo. I'm a son of Hephaestus for the god's sakes." Alejandro retorted. "Just make sure I don't get shot while I'm working with the car."

They stopped along side of a blue Nissan X-Terra. Alejandro pulled two thin pieces of scrap metal and started working the lock. The sirens sounded like they were just around the corner.

They were running out of time. 'Screw it' Thought Rorik. He kicked the rear door, snapping it off it's hinges. He crawled in and opened the driver side door. "Get in and get this thing driving !" The three of them hopped into the car as large military truck swerved into the parking lot. A half dozen men hopped out. Among them was a large, muscular man in a officers uniform with clean cut, salt and pepper hair and a thin beard and a desert eagle in a holster strapped to his leg. Another soldier handed him a megaphone.

"Half-blooded freaks, I am Sergeant Johunas ! You two are under arrest. Blondy, you and your friend in the back seat are gonna step out of the car or we will open fire" He shouted into the megaphone at Erin. 'Thank the gods. They haven't seen Ale' Rorik thought. Ale was crouched down in front of the driver seat working with the wires. Rorik pulled out the book the Chiron gave him, desperately searching through it. 'Kills the target, burns the target, senses the target, makes the user temporarily invulnerable. Perfect' Rorik slowly stepped out of the truck, the words for the 'Become Ethereal' shout running through his head.

"Alright, alright. You caught us Sergeant Jackass, cool your jets."

"Rorik ! What are you doing !?" Erin hissed from where she was hiding in the trunk.

"Just trust me." He whispered back, turning his attention back to the sergeant. "Ok, sir. What would you have us do ?" Rorik asked, sarcastically bowing.

"Well, personally I would shot the both of you filthy half-blooded freaks where you stand. But I have standing orders the bring you in."

"That's a shame Sergeant. Perhaps we can work out a deal ?" He said sarcastically. The sergeant looked angry by this point.

"There will be no deal you freak ! You are a offspring of … of … of THINGS that should not exist and you deserve to die. Now put your hands on your head you filthy nord !"

Now it was Rorik's turn to be angry. "Ya know Sergeant, I don't like your tone. Ale, let's get going."

The spaniard revved the engine. "Ready when you are !"

"What !? Fire ! Shoot them ! Shoot them now !" The Sergeant ordered, pulling out his pistol and shooting. Erin ducked down and Ale popped the truck into reverse and started driving. The soldiers let loose with their rifles. Before the bullets could make contact Rorik shouted.

"FEIM ZII GROH" Rorik entire person morphed into a wispy blue substance. When the bullets should have shredded his chest, they just passed through and pinged of the hood of the car two spaces behind where he was standing.

Rorik dove into the back seat of the reversing car. "Ale, I'm in ! Hit it !" The car sped down the the streets making left and right turns till they found the highway, the truck and two Cleveland Police Department cars on their tale.

Alejandro nearly crashed head-on into a SUV as he made the turn onto I-71 "Di immortales, Ale ! Could you drive a little more … less insane !" Scolded Erin from the trunk

"Would you rather be shot ?"

"Point taken."

Another military truck joined the group that was tailing the trio, though this one had a .50 caliber machine gun turret mounted on top. Erin rolled to the side, barely dodging one of turrets massive bullets as it ripped through the trunk door. Rorik looked at the driver side rear view mirror to try to see where their pursuers were but before he could get a good look the group the mirror was blown off by another high caliber round. More rounds kept hitting the car. Shattering the trunk window and shredding the passenger seat. Rorik decided to do something desperate. He jumped in to the trunk from the back seat, his arm getting just grazed by another bullet. Thankfully it was from one of the soldiers rifles and not the turret.

He used the 'Become Ethereal' shout again before positioning himself in front of the shattered trunk window. 'Here goes nothing'

Rorik let loose with a powerful 'Unrelenting Force' shout. "FUS RO DAH !" The truck with the turret slammed to a stop, sending the gunner flying forward out of the truck. The hood became crushed and the entire vehicle did a front wheelie. As if the car had hit an invisible wall. The two police cars that were flanking the truck swerved inward having only caught the edge of the shout. Which as a result made a very efficient road block.

After another mile the sound of sirens faded away and Erin bandaged Rorik's arm and cleared out most of the bullet shells and broken glass while Ale kept driving. Erin and Rorik were both surprised to learn how well Ale could drive. When they asked how he could he simply responded that cars are just bigger machines, like computers are just more complex machines, so they fell under his dad's jurisdiction.

After another 3 and a half hours of driving Ale pulled the car off the road and parked it in an abandoned barn that was in a unkept field. Alejandro opened the car door and stepped out, only to collapse flat on the ground from fatigue. Rorik walked around to the back of the car and opened the truck, where Erin lay sprawled out, half asleep.

She groaned and opened her arms. "I'm tired."

"I bet you are. Ale fell asleep as soon as he stepped out of the car."

She laughed a little. "Poor guy. Must be exhausted. Seems like you are too."

"Yeah, the shouts tire me out a lot." It was 6:30 in the evening at this point and they were all tired. "Are you gonna sleep here or on the ground ?"

"In here." She patted the floor of the trunk. "It's cold out" Rorik felt his cheeks turn a little red before climbing up into the trunk, wrapping his arms around Erin's waist and snuggling her up to him. Her head resting on his bicep. Before long both fell into deep sleep.

Hey guys. Sorry for the slightly late update, getting back from Greece was hectic. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, with all of the shouts and such. There's not much for me to say here except please fav, follow and review. It means a lot. Constructive criticism accepted but don't flame. Thanks for reading guys. Have a good week.