Even before she was flung into the Grand Canyon, Reyna was having a terrible day.
She woke up in the back of a crowded school bus, surrounded by teens she didn't recognize. The worst of it all? She wasn't sure why she was here. In fact, she didn't remember anything before waking up. A stone dropped down to her stomach and her mind was filled with questions she had no answers to. That only proved to make her more anxious. Then miraculously, the feeling vanished. Reyna felt her mind clear of any unnecessary clutter. Her mind was sharp and focused, and she began to look around to analyze her situation.
She looked out the window to see the bus drive through a barren desert. She saw the shape of hills and huge plateaus over the horizon. Just ahead she saw the bus approaching a blue highway sign: Welcome to Arizona.
"Hey, you okay?." Someone asked. Reyna blinked. She whipped her head to look to her right. Next to her sat a beautiful girl about her age. She had long choppy and uneven brown hair, as if she tried to cut it with a lawnmower. She had sun-kissed skin and bright eyes that changed from blue, brown and green. She wore a green puffer jacket over a black shirt that had the words Free the Dolphins on it, as well as faded ripped jeans and converse shoes. Reyna realized she must've been staring. The girl gave a nervous cough.
"Bad dream?" The girl asked, "You've been asleep since we left the wilderness school."
"Wilderness school?" Reyna felt a million questions float around in her head, "Where is that? Where are we going?"
The girl blinked. "You don't remember? Coach Hedge is taking us to the Grand Canyon." She tilted her head to the side, then leaned closer towards Reyna. "Are you feeling okay? You look kind of pale."
"I…" Reyna couldn't answer. She was going to say she was fine when she obviously wasn't. Like she had forced herself to never look weak for years. Only now, she couldn't muster that strength. "I don't-"
"Alright cupcakes! Listen up!" A voice boomed. Reyna looked ahead. She saw a man dressed like a football coach. He wore a bright orange polo shirt that fit tightly around his buff arms and chest. He had a baseball cap that was pulled low, almost obscuring his narrow eyes. He had a scowl on his face, like he had eaten something sour. He might've been taken seriously if he weren't 5 feet tall. His beady eyes turned towards Reyna. His scowl deepened. Reyna wasn't intimidated. Instead she tensed and became alert for any possible threats, as if she found herself in these kinds of situations many times before. He hadn't been responsible for her being here. His confused scowl told her that much.
"Stand up Coach Hedge!" A teen called out, causing the others to chuckle and giggle like school girls.
"I heard that!" The coach yelled, now taking his eyes off Reyna to search for the offender. He cleared his throat. "We'll be arriving in five minutes!" The coach yelled, "stay with your partners, don't lose your worksheets! And if any of you sweet cupcakes cause any mayhem on our field trip, I will personally send you back to campus, the HARD way." The hedge smiled like he hoped someone caused trouble. He picked up a baseball bat and swung it around, as if demonstrating what would happen to them if they didn't heed his warning. Reyna rolled her eyes. The last thing she needed was a loud mouth chaperone screaming threats while she dealt with her amnesia.
"Is he always like this?" Reyna couldn't help but ask.
"Pretty much." The girl confirmed, "This is the wilderness school, where kids are the animals." The girl spoke as if it were an inside joke. Reyna took a breath.
"I'm not supposed to be here." She admitted with no idea of what else to do. The girl looked at her confused, while a boy leaned back to look at both of them, laughing to himself.
"Yeah right, miss reina." He said with a forced thick accent. "We've all been framed. I didn't run away six times and start eight different food fights. Piper didn't get her hands on a BMW."
The girl blushed. "I didn't steal that car Leo!"
"Oh, right. You asked for the dealer to lend it to you for free. Makes sense." He raised his eyebrows at Reyna with a flirtatious glint in his eyes, as if saying;
Can you believe her?
Reyna furrowed her eyebrows. Leo looked like the kind of guy she would avoid at all costs. He had curly brown hair and bright brown pupils. His ears were pointy and his lips curved into a mischievous smirk, like he was a lengthy hispanic cousin to the elves. He was tall and scrawny, which was hard to tell underneath his bulky military jacket and black shirt. He didn't look like much of a fighter, but his smirk made her weary of him. She felt her patience wear thin as the teen seemed unable to sit still. His long fingers tapped on the leather of his seat, pushed the hair out of his eyes, and fiddled with the buttons on his jacket. Reyna wanted to strangle him.
"Anyway~!" Leo continued, "I hope you two didn't lose your worksheet. I used mine for spit wads days ago." Reyna wrinkled her nose in disgust. "...Why are you looking at me like that? Did someone draw on my face?" Leo asked, now rubbing his face like he was spreading an acne cream.
"I don't know you." Reyna said. Leo gave her what he thought was a charming grin. He looked like he was about to commit a misdemeanor.
"Suuure~" He said, "It's not like I'm your best friend or anything. The guy you secretly have feelings for but are too shy to admit."
Reyna wanted to gag.
"Uh, since when does anyone have feelings for you, Leo?" Piper said with a teasing smile.
"I'll have you know I have plenty of girls." Leo said, feinting a hurt expression. "Just yesterday, Jessica confessed her feelings for me."
"Feelings of annoyance."
"Irrelevant." Leo said with a toothy grin. Piper laughed.
Reyna's head felt like it was made of jelly. "Can we please focus on-"
"Leo Valdez!" The coach yelled from the front of the bus. "There a problem back there?"
Leo looked at Reyna and winked. "Watch this, reina." He turned to the front. "Sorry coach, can't hear you! Could you use your megaphone?" The coach grunted, like he was glad to have an excuse. He eagerly reached for his megaphone at his hip and began to give instructions. But his voice was muffled by a recording that said 'THE COW SAYS MOO!' over and over through the megaphone. The group of teens cracked up and laughed.
Coach Hedge angrily turned off the megaphone and glared at Leo."VALDEZ!" He exclaimed before storming off towards the front of the bus.
Piper stifled a laugh. "God, how'd you do that Leo?"
"I'm a special boy." Leo said, pulling a flat screwdriver from a pocket of his military jacket. Reyna grunted impatiently.
"Quit fooling around." She said, "What are we doing here?" Leo blinked, then stared at Piper. He looked like he was about to ask her something.
Piper glared at him. "Don't you dare ask that."
"You don't know what I was going to say!" Leo protested.
"But I know you Leo. Only you'd be dumb enough to ask a girl that." Leo sighed and relented. Reyna had no idea what they were talking about.
"Can you two just please tell me what's going on?" Reyna asked desperately. Piper knit her eyebrows together in concern.
"Reyna, are you joking?" She asked.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Reyna said with barely controlled anger. It wasn't directed to the two teens, but they weren't exactly being helpful. Her frustration was at her situation. Why was her memory wiped? What was she doing here? Why were they going to the Grand Canyon of all places?
"No. No you do not." Leo said while leaning back. "Unless, this is a trick to get me back for all those times I've messed with you. Like the time—"
"Leo, I think this is serious." Piper interrupted. "What if she—"
"Looks like the back row just volunteered to clean up after lunch!" Coach Hedge yelled from the front. The other students cheered in approval.
"That's just great." Leo grumbled. Piper didn't take her gaze off Reyna. She had a look of worry in her kaleidoscope-like eyes. But strangely, Reyna noticed they held a glimmer of hurt, which Piper tried and failed to hide.
"Did you hit your head?" Piper asked. "You really don't remember us? What about the wilderness school?" Reyna shook her head and steadied her voice.
"It's worse than that. I don't remember who I am."
Thankfully, the bus stopped not too long after the awkward revelation. The group of teens spilled out of the bus in front of a lone museum. Reyna looked around. They weren't in any particular area. They just stopped by the side of the road, a museum to their left while the Grand Canyon was behind metal rails on their right. They were in the middle of nowhere. A cold wind passed by. Reyna realized whatever she was wearing wasn't nearly enough to protect her from the cold. She glanced down. She wore simple jeans, hiking boots and a purple shirt that had the letters SPQR in bold.
Something about those letters rang alarm bells in her head. Like she should know what they meant. Nothing came to mind. And it infuriated her to no end.
"So, a crash course for the amnesiac." Leo said. Reyna could already tell by his tone that whatever he said next would not be helpful. "We go to the wilderness school." Leo muttered with air quotes. "Which means we were deemed bad kids by your family, or court, or whoever. They decided you were too much trouble to deal with, so they sent you to this prison–sorry, 'boarding school', in armpit Nevada. Here we learn nature skills, like running ten miles a day and sometimes, we go on special trips to Arizona with Coach Hedge." Leo sighed as he finished. He looked at Reyna like she was pulling a prank on him. "Is any of this coming back to you?"
"No." Reyna said. She looked around. The group of teens they were with didn't look like hardened criminals. She wondered why she found herself surrounded by delinquents.
Leo rolled his eyes. "You're really going to drag this out, aren't you? Okay. So, the three of us started together this semester. We're totally tight. The best of buds. You are super kind and considerate and offer to do my chores and homework. You even give me your desserts."
"Are you done?" Reyna asked, giving Leo a hard stare. He raised his hands in surrender.
"Okay okay, ignore that last part." He said. "But we are friends." Reyna eyed him skeptically. "Really. We are."
"It's true." Piper said with a smile. "Leo's humor makes being here at least a little more tolerable." Reyna resisted a scoff. She could do without Leo's sense of humor. Although, it did surprise her to hear him say that they were friends. She knew he hadn't been lying. Or at least, he didn't think he was.
"I am truly touched, Pipes." Leo said sarcastically. Piper rolled her eyes before looking at Reyna worriedly.
"I think we should tell someone about her condition."
"Tell who? Coach Hedge?" Leo asked with a scoff. "He'd try to fix her by bashing her head with his baseball bat."
"I could do without the head bashing." Reyna muttered. Leo grinned.
"Look on the bright side, at least you still have your iconic sarcasm." He said. "Glad your amnesia didn't rid you of that." Reyna rolled her eyes and turned her attention elsewhere. She looked ahead of the group, eyeing the Coach who was barking orders and blowing his whistle. She noticed him giving her the occasional glance, scowling everytime. The coach knew something.
"Reyna needs help." Piper insisted. "Maybe it's a concussion or-"
"Yoo Piper! Reyna!" One of the other students approached them as the rest of the group headed inside the museum. He wedged himself between Reyna and Piper, shoving Leo to the side in the process. He threw his arms around both of them, flashing Reyna a blinding grin. The brightness of his teeth were the only reason she didn't throw his arm off her. "What're you two lovely ladies doing hanging out with this loser? You're my partner, remember?" He said, eyeing Piper. "But Reyna, you can join us. Wouldn't want you to be seen hanging out with that bottomfeeder." He laughed. As bad as Reyna thought Leo was, this guy was way worse. He had dark hair in a Clark Kent fashion. He had a deep tan and sky blue eyes. Reyna blinked away her temporary blindness and removed herself from the new guy's grasp. She glared at him and stood at Leo's side.
"I'd rather eat rocks." Reyna said coldly. She hated his smug smirk. As if he thought of himself as god's gift to women.
"Feisty." He said, flashing her a grin. Reyna averted her eyes to not risk having her eyesight taken away permanently. "I like that."
"Go away Dylan." Piper protested as she tried to wriggle her way out of Dylan's grasp. She wasn't successful. "I didn't ask to work with you."
"Don't be like that." Dylan protested. "This is your lucky day after all." He dragged her towards the museum. Piper looked back at her friends with a pleading look that screamed help.
"I hate that guy." Leo grumbled. Reyna couldn't help but agree. She watched Leo dusting himself off as if he could catch some sort of disease by simply being touched by Dylan. She was tempted to go help Piper, then wondered why she was so compelled to. Reyna didn't know her. "I wouldn't cause a scene if I were you." Leo said, breaking the silence. "Dylan is kind of untouchable. One complaint from him and you'll be scrubbing the toilets back at the wilderness school."
"Why would I interfere?" Reyna asked.
"Uh, 'cause you do all the time?" Leo said it like it was obvious. "Anytime Dylan or his goons try to mess with us, you step in and beat them up or roast them so hard they go crying to their mommy's. Honestly, I'd be flattered if it didn't get us in trouble all the time."
"...Really?" Reyna couldn't help but be surprised. She defended them from bullies all the time apparently. Could they actually be friends? Her thought was tested when Leo offered her his hand and made a smirk terribly similar to Dylan's.
"'Hey I'm Dylan, I'm so cool and handsome! I want to date myself but can't figure out how! What a bummer. You want to date me instead? Oh, you're so lucky…'"
"...I can't believe we're actually friends." Reyna said blankly. Leo shrugged but grinned all the same.
"Welcome to the club reina. And if you really don't remember me, that means I can test out my terrible pick up lines! C'mon!" The last thing Reyna wanted to do was follow Leo. Her life must've been pretty terrible to have friends like him. Reluctantly, she followed him to the museum.
They walked together through the building, stopping periodically to hear Coach give lectures through his megaphone. Reyna wasn't sure why he bothered. Everytime he used it, his voice sounded like Darth Vader, or blurted 'THE PIG SAYS OINK' over his frustrated screaming. Reyna watched as Leo pulled out gadgets, trinkets and tools out of the pockets of his jacket to distract himself and tinker with.
This guy has serious ADHD. Reyna thought. She didn't pay the tour any mind. She was too busy contemplating how the coach of all people might know who she was or why she was there. From the corner of her eye, Reyna could see a group of girls snickering and giggling amongst themselves, their gaze fixed on Dylan and Piper. The girls looked like the typical popular girl crowd; wearing matching jeans and blouses, as well as matching makeup. The girls began to make comments behind Piper's back about her mom and possibly alcoholic dad. Reyna struggled to contain her anger.
"Cool it sister." Leo said, grabbing her wrist. Reyna's first instinct was to grab Leo's arm and throw him over her shoulder for even thinking of grabbing her. Then she wondered why she thought she could even do that. She resorted to looking back at Leo with a skeptical look. "Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles."
Reyna gave a quick nod, before eyeing her wrist."You can let go."
"Do I have to?" Leo asked with a teasing smile. Reyna rolled her eyes and yanked her hand free. She looked ahead at Piper and the annoying group of girls. She could respect Piper for wanting to fight her own battles. To defend herself and not look weak. Still, it didn't stop Reyna from wanting to throttle all those girls. "I still don't understand why Piper keeps her dad's identity a secret. If those girls knew who he really was, they'd be bowing down to her and pleading 'we aren't worthy' over and over." Leo said.
"She wants to win on her own. Without help." Reyna said. Leo shrugged, although he still looked confused. They reached the end of the exhibit hall where big glass doors led out to a terrace.
"Alright cupcakes! You're about to see the Grand Canyon!" Coach yelled ahead of the group. "Do me a favor, try not to break it. That would be one helluva report to write."
"No promises!" Leo yelled. Some students chuckled while Hedge simply sent him a scowl.
"You will all be safe standing on the glass bridge crossing the Canyon as it can hold up to bazillion tons of weight blah blah blah. Please restrain from pushing each other off the edge, as that'll leave me with more paperwork."
"Nice to know you care." A student said within the crowd.
"Yeah yeah." The coach grumbled before opening the doors. The students all spilled out of the exhibit like spectators entering the stadium for the superbowl. Reyna had to admit, the view was something to behold. She imagined there was nothing quite like the Grand Canyon anywhere in the United States.
"Man! That's pretty sick." Leo said as the two walked onto the bridge. Against her better judgment, Reyna decided to look down below. She saw birds circling beneath them, a river flowing down the bottom of the Canyon floor. Then she looked up to see storm clouds beginning to form. Reyna felt herself become worried at the sight. Then, just like when she woke up, her mind calmed itself and she began to analyze the situation. Why were there suddenly storm clouds forming, just above them? She looked around. There were no other storm clouds over the sky's horizon. They were building up just above the group of teens. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was a fight about to take place.
"You alright?" Leo asked. "You're not going to throw up over the side are you? No shame in it. I'm sure plenty of other people have done it before." Reyna ignored him and grabbed into the railing. Thunder rumbled in the storm clouds. "This can't be safe." Leo said, looking up at the sky. "Storm's forming above us, but not anywhere else. Weird huh?"
"It's more than just weird." Reyna muttered. The coach yelled something about getting their worksheets done, but Reyna paid him no mind either. Something in the back of her mind tingled. Her hand reached into her pocket. Instinctively she gripped something she didn't know she had. Reyna fished it out of her pocket. A gold coin. It was about the size of a half dollar, though it was much too thick and worn out. It looked ancient, with images of battle axes stamped to one side. The other had some guy's face that looked vaguely familiar. As if she'd seen it in a textbook before, but their name was blurred.
"Is that freaking gold!? You've been holding out on me reina." Leo exclaimed. Reyna immediately put the coin back in her pocket in fear that Leo might somehow snatch it away. She wasn't sure why, but this coin was special. Someone special had given it to her. But who?
A face began to form in her mind. It was blurry, but Reyna could make out small details. She saw a fit, muscular figure, who wore a white and purple toga. He had chiseled features and a sharp jawline. He had a tiny scar just above his thin upper lip. The image was about to reveal their face when she felt something pinch painfully behind her eyes. Reyna groaned and gripped tightly on the rails, shutting her eyes.
"Hey, are you alright?" Leo asked.
"I'm fine." Reyna growled on instinct. "Just a headache." She blinked until the pain went away. For a moment, she felt as though she was going to remember someone. Now the memory is gone. The only image that remained in her mind was the small scar on someone's upper lip.
"Take the worksheet." Reyna said, handing Leo the paper. "Do not turn it into spit wads."
"What–?" Reyna stormed off before Leo could finish his question. "Where are you going?" She didn't answer to avoid lashing out at him. Reyna needed answers. And the only person who could possibly have them was about 50 feet away, leaning on the rails and staring up at the storm clouds. Reyna passed by some of her supposed classmates, watching them do literally anything else but their worksheet. The only person actually staying on task was Piper. She struggled to fill out the worksheet as Dylan kept distracting her with lame attempts to seduce her. Her kaleidoscope eyes met Reyna's brown ones, giving her a look that said beat this guy up for me, will you?. Reyna stared back. You wanted to fight your own battles, right?. She thought. Piper seemed to get the gist of her look. She shoved Dylan away and made a comment about helping her finish their work.
"Did you do this?" The coach asked as Reyna approached. She was a little surprised by his bluntness, but appreciated him getting to the point. It would be easier to get answers this way.
Coach Hedge was staring up at the clouds with the same nervous look she had. Reyna could tell he wasn't your average chaperone or football coach. Just like she wasn't your average teenage delinquent on a field trip to the Grand Canyon.
"The clouds?" Reyna asked. Hedge turned to look at her. She shook her head. "That wasn't me."
"Don't play games with me, girlie." He said, sending her a beady eyed glare. Reyna tried her best to ignore the 'girlie' comment. "What're you doing here? Why are you interfering with my job?"
"I was hoping you'd know." Reyna said. "I can't remember anything before today. I just woke up on that bus before arriving ro Arizona."
The coach snorted. "Well you certainly weren't on that bus an hour ago. Just poofed on in like you owned the place. Never seen you before in my life." Reyna felt a wave of relief flow through her. She wasn't going crazy. She really had just been teleported here with her memories wiped. She suddenly felt even worse than before, now confirmed this was truly the situation she found herself in.
"I don't know how or why I'm here. All I know is–" Reyna glanced up at the storm clouds. "-that I'm not supposed to be here."
"Got that right." Hedge muttered. "Been smelling a monster for weeks. I knew we had an infiltrator." He then glanced at her, then shook his head. "But you don't smell like a monster to me. More like a half-blood."
"Half-blood?" Reyna asked. Everything he said didn't make sense, but also did make sense at the same time. That word, half-blood. For some reason, it didn't seem like foreign concept to her.
"Are you the special package?" Hedge asked. "Is that it?"
Reyna blinked, then shook her head. "If I was, I wouldn't know. My memories have been wiped."
Hedge grunted, clearly displeased. "Great. Now I gotta protect three of you." He glanced at her. "You look more capable than the others though. By the look of these storm clouds, I'm gonna guess we're going to have a fight on our hands." Reyna instinctively grabbed the gold coin in her pocket. "You are taking this surprisingly well, for someone suffering from supposed memory loss." The coach said skeptically.
"I did freak out earlier." Reyna admitted. "I felt anxious and panicky when I woke up. Then my mind cleared. I relaxed and could think logically again. I'm a little worried I might be insane."
"Hmph." Coach grunted. Clearly, he was making conclusions in his head, but not sharing them with her. "You aren't going insane girl. You got a good head on your shoulders. Whatever the case is with you, camp is coming with an extraction group soon. Figured it was for the other two, but now you're here…" Reyna suddenly felt light headed. All this talk of monsters, half bloods and camps made her head swirl in pain. Her mind felt crowded. Like a damn was stopping a million memories from surfacing.
"Woah there, cupcake." Hedge exclaimed before catching her. Reyna hadn't realized she began to fall. For a short guy, the coach had arms of steel. "Take it easy now. I imagine whatever, or whoever did this to you took more than just your memories." He kept Reyna on her feet and helped her to the nearest bench, allowing her to catch her balance. "Sit tight. Reinforcements will be here soon. Hopefully, nothing happens until then–"
Lightning crackled overhead. The bolt was so powerful, Reyna felt shivers run down her spine, as if electricity coursed through her veins. The wind blew with a vengeance, causing her long black hair to go wild and obscure her vision. Through the strands of hair she saw worksheets being flung into the Grand Canyon with no chance of being recovered. The glass bridge they stood on began to shudder violently.
"I just HAD to say something." Hedge grumbled. He grabbed the megaphone from his belt and turned towards the panicking teenagers. "Everyone! Off the skywalk! THE COW SAYS MOO! Get inside the museum!" The crowd of teenagers rushed off the bridge, trampling each other to get to safety.
"I thought you said the bridge was safe!" Leo exclaimed. He was way behind the rest of the group. Clearly he had gotten distracted and explored farther than the rest. Stupid ADHD.
"Under normal circumstances!" Hedge yelled, taking out his frustration by tossing his megaphone into the Canyon. "Which these are clearly not! C'mon!"
