Chapter 3: What is this place?

Maxwell Arthur Alviva

I'll admit that I've always been popular. People tend to like me, and I can be a bit of a jokester. But today has tested me. I…I've never felt useless before in my life. I was good at sports. Decent in school. I try to portray the confidence I wish I had. But today, it made me realize how little I could actually do.

What is going on with my life? My sister can summon things out of thin air. Or maybe someone is protecting her from above the clouds. I don't know what's been going on with Damian. He's been acting cool and toughing it out, but he's in pain. Saving me and Kori from that pretty lady in the theater really kicked his butt.

Koris is exhausted, too. Usually, she's slept after this much activity, but it seems like whatever happened with that big doggo really drained her. All I wanted to do today was go see a movie with my best friend and maybe try and play matchmaker (I think they'd be cute sue me). But instead, all I've gotten is attacked. I won't let anything happen to them even if it kills me.

I ripped myself from my thoughts to see Kori fallen asleep leaning on Damian's shoulder. "Hey, Damian." I spoke softly to not disturb my sister. "Hm?" He was bright red and looked at me. He looked exhausted, but he looked at me clearly enough that I knew how little sleep he was used to. "Thanks man…for keeping her safe. And me. You really have been the backbone of all this. I may seem like I'm leading us forward…but I just can't sit still." He looked at me with a look I wasn't sure how to explain. This dude really was hard to read.

"We are in this together, Max. No matter what comes, we aren't gonna die. Not here and not like this." He sighed and leaned back against the seat. "Hey Max…I saw my dad this morning…and I'm worried all this is happening to you guys…because of me." I felt a shock in my stomach and turned to look at him. But whatever steam I had was taken away when I saw a few tears streaming down his face. He looked out the window. "I'm so sorry…if this is my fault…"He leaned against the window and seemed to pass out. He was exhausted…he needed the rest. Is he worried it's his fault?

That monster at the theater…she mentioned all three of us. She called us Halfbloods. I don't know what that means…maybe it has something to do with our fathers. None of our fathers have been present in our lives. The view outside the bus began to be trees, and the bus slowed, so I nudged Kori. "Hey Kori, wake up." She woke up and yawned before realizing she was leaning on Damian. She turned bright red. "Wake up, your pretty boy. We gotta go." She opened her mouth to protest, but I was already up paying the bus driver. (Oh yeah, I totally swiped Damian's wallet earlier)

I walked out, breathing in the cold air. The bus driver was a nice-looking guy. He was an Indian man with an accent who smiled at us kindly. I helped Damian and Kori out of the bus, and we began walking down the road together. As we walked, I looked over and got a look at Damian and Kori, trying to see how they're holding up. Damian was walking a bit easier now, but he still flinched occasionally and would hold his ribs. He looked a bit less tired after that quick nap, though. Kori, on the other hand, looked like she was a bit more pale, and she seemed to be sweating a bit.

I stopped her and Damian and said, "Hey. You alright, sis? You don't look so good." As I spoke, I walked over and unwrapped the bandage on her shoulder. The cut was looking worse. It might be getting infected. "That doesn't look too good." Damian whispered over my shoulder. I wrapped it back up and looked around only to see a small gas station. "Hey Damian, ya got any more cash? I wanna buy some first aid or medicine. I don't know."

We walked across the street when it was clear and started to approach the gas station. The sign said 'Quickie Fill''. They seemed to be open, so I opened the door first. It was a bit cleaner than normal, but it was definitely a real gas station. I walked over while Damian grabbed medical supplies and couldn't help myself. I grabbed some trail mix and a bag of chips running back up to the front of the store. The guy working there seemed like a high schooler. He was a young man with glasses and acne. He had short blonde hair, and bright green eyes caught me off guard. It looked like two emeralds staring back at me from under his glasses.

"Hey man. Long night?" While waiting for the others, I struck up a convo with him. His name tag said Nolan. "Ah yeah, man. Are you kids headed anywhere specific? You're a decent way outta the city." He chuckled as he scanned each of the snacks I grabbed. Damian walked up and sat some disinfectants and bandages and a bottle of ibuprofen for the pain and fever on the counter. "Yeah, man. My mom is picking us up out here to take us outta town. We are visiting family." I explained to the guy as he looked weird at the bandages and stuff.

"Oh yeah, our friend back there fell and cut herself pretty bad. Just gotta make sure it doesn't get infected." Damian said as Nolan looked up at Kori, walking up with a few waters and a coffee from the back. She walked up smiling. "Thank god you have coffee here." She sat it down, and Damian paid for everything. Nolan just smirked and wished us his best as we left.

Now, outside, Damian doctored her wound better and disinfected it properly before we got back on the road. As we started to walk, I couldn't help but ask, "Where'd you get the medical knowledge for all this Damian?" Kori turned to look at him, presumably curious about his knowledge too. "Oh. Didn't I tell you my mom's a surgeon? She made sure I knew basic first aid in case of emergencies." I was a bit surprised but realized I didn't know as much about Damian as I probably should. I don't even know how he sees me. Despite having a lot of friends, I see Damian as my best friend, and yet I have only known him for about 2 or 3 months. Hell, I even tried to set him up with my sister, whom I normally am super protective of.

I looked over to him again. "She sounds like a smart lady." Which got a chuckle out of him. "Well, I feel way better. Thanks, Damian's mom." Kori joked while rubbing her bandage. As we walked, I heard a rustle in the woods next to us. "What…what was that?" Damian whispered as we all stopped in our tracks. We all tried to see in the dark wooded brush but, of course, saw nothing. Then we heard a sound that made my bones shake. A loud growl came from my left. "Guys…the road we are supposed to turn on…is just up ahead…" I whispered as I noticed Damian pull

out a feather. "Run!"

I pushed Kori forward, and Damian reluctantly turned to follow. We ran, and when I looked back, I saw a sight that in any other context would have made me think my life is a movie. There was a 6-foot-tall wolf man barreling after us. Damian dodged his first swipe of his claws and stumbled but recovered and kept up pace. I turned back, realizing how far ahead I was. Have I always been this fast? I turned and ran back to the Wolf man. I ran at him, and the stench that hit my nose nearly made me gag.

I slid low under his swipe and turned back to see him stop and staring at me now. "Run guys!" I saw Damian hesitate, but he went and followed Kori up the pathway on the hill next to us. "Just you and me, big guy." The thing let out a sound I assumed was a snarl, but it didn't stop. "Are…are you laughing?" The wolf creature looked at me, and I saw something I didn't expect. He looked at me with a look of humanity. He looked like he was somewhat intelligent. "You think that was a noble sacrifice boy? You will die screaming.." he snarled out.

Before twitching and seemingly calming himself a bit. I was slack-jawed at this development. A giant wolf man was talking to me. "You can -" he seemed to smirk. "Yes, boy. I am King Lycaon. Defier of Zeus. And you boy. Will die here!" He rushed at me, and I tried to roll to the left to avoid the swipe. He managed to graze my forearm, and I could feel the warm blood pouring out quickly. I stumbled back to my feet and turned to see him swiping high, so this time, I slid under his legs.

I rolled up and saw something surprising. He had vines ripping from the ground and wrapping around his legs. He would tear at them, but they would regrow quickly. "Hey!" I looked behind him to see a pretty red-haired girl holding her hands out. She was gritting her teeth and struggling, but next to her was Kori. She waved at me and screamed, "Catch!" Throwing me a dagger that almost seemed to glow a bit. As I took hold of it, I spun to stab the wolf and aimed a bit high. He managed to swipe at me again, slashing my thigh, but I had already succeeded. The dagger was plunged through his left eye socket.

This beast let out a howl, but it was slow. It seemed to fall forward and collapse, and I followed suit. The last thing I remember hearing was the sound of…hooves?