Chapter 5: My Brother the Boogie King
I stepped onto the greyhound bus and walked towards the back to get a seat out of the way of anybody. I sat down near the window and looked out at the passing cars on the highway. I pulled out another granola bar from my backpack, because the other one I pulled out was washed away during the bathroom incident. I unwrapped the bar and ate at it slowly while the bus pulled out onto the highway, heading to NYC. The passing cars on the highway lit up the inside of the bus as their headlights flashed by. My eyes were slowly closing, giving in to sleep, as I used most of today walking to the nearest bus station which took most of the day. The last thing I remember seeing was the headlights of the passing cars which now looked like shooting stars as my eyes shut and I fell asleep.
In my dream, I was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking over the nearby sea. I took in a deep breath and felt the air fill my lungs like a cool hug. The tall grass around my legs began slowly swaying from the wind and the grass felt like the edge of paper rubbing against my legs. I heard something approaching from behind me and as I turned around I was shocked to see a beautiful, white and blue pegasus. I walked around the pegasus and started to pet against its soft, blue mane. The pegasus then bent down and moved its head over to its back, signaling me to get on. I hopped on the pegasus back, directly in front of its wings, when it dove right off the cliff. The surrounding sea vanished with our dive and we were now flying over a battlefield, filled with hundreds of soldiers dressed in greek battle armor.
The dark, cloudy sky was torn through by a bright orange glowing rock formed arm. A large fist hit the ground, sending an earth shattering quake that knocked down some of the soldiers to their butts. Following the fist to the ground was a large end of a trident and peering down through the clouds could be seen the face of Poseidon. A large mass of gray clouds was moving against the wind, towards Poseidon and a loud clap of thunder was heard then Zeus was standing above the clouds, mighty and tall. "Fate is just a string" A deep voice was booming in my head, "keep it pulled straight and you'll meet your end fast". I looked at the towering Gods but couldn't see anyone speaking, "but if you bundle it up again, you can make a new ball". Pegasus then let out a loud neigh and I awoke back on the bus, the sunrise blinding my opening eyes.
I stepped off the bus in NYC, the surrounding streets were packed and filled with cars. The sidewalks were constantly moving with people flowing back and forth like a river split two ways. I pulled the map back out and looked at it, seeing if anything changed. New York City being the grid it is already, made it easy to traverse. My glasses printed out a path leading through Broadway and Time Square, ending up at some place called The Conch Shell. I looked up from the map and followed the guided trail, taking in the sights of New York City. As I walked, I noticed some of the signs that were advertising shows, were changing to reflect different things. A billboard that once showed Phantom of the Opera, changed to show Apollo's First Date in Paris. Another billboard showing the musical Cats changed to show Hephaestus's tragedy, now in previews.
The same thing happened in Time Square, all the hundreds of advertisements changing to show Gods, sporting different items. After taking in the sights and browsing through a wizarding store, I continued on my route. I passed by some restaurants and saw every table at each restaurant filled with people, chowing down on food and chatting away. I sat down at some fountain, giving my legs some rest, and took in the city while I sat. I took off my shoes, which were on the verge of falling apart from months of sleeping on beaches, and started to rub my feet to speed along the resting process. "Follow the smell" A loud thud was followed by a passerby and when I went to look up I couldn't see anyone, only a shoe box left at the bottom of the fountain. I picked up the shoe box and opened it, revealing a worn-in pair of converse. The shoes looked about my size and fit more comfortably than my fallen apart shoes.
I stood up and tried sniffing around for some noticeable smell, when three men passed by, reeking of sewage water. "Bbbmmmpudbbmmmmmdle" A loud cough and grumbled was followed by what could be assumed were words but I followed behind the three men. The men kept walking til they dead ended in an alley. I hid behind an overfilled dumpster and watched as the three men stood next to a puddle. One of the men, an white haired elderly man with a beard and hair that were competing for which was the longest, went for a jump and turned in the air to form a dive, facing down towards the ground. The man's hands touched the top of the puddle and I almost fell back as the man dove straight into the puddle.
The two other men then followed suit and jumped into the air, changing into a dive, and entered the puddle at the end of the alley. I walked down to the end of the alley and looked down at the mysterious puddle, it was gray, murky, all around just a regular alley puddle. I put my foot in seeing how deep the water was, when my foot barely went down an inch. The water splashed out of the pothole in the ground as I kept stomping down, trying to see the trick to enter this, I'm guessing, doorway. I stepped back and noticed the puddle barely lost any water, even though my pant legs were soaked. Deciding that I was going to have to try and dive into the puddle but I wasn't trusting my jumping skills. I moved some trash and nearby boxes into a pile then stood atop the pile making sure I was high enough to make the dive. With the pile starting to shake, I took my chance and jumped. I fell down towards the puddle and kept my hands in front of my head to make an attempt to dive.
As soon as my hands touched the puddle, I felt my entire body wash over with the cold water and felt my whole body turn as I started to slide down a neon glowing water slide. Music was being pumped through hanging speakers, a funky disco tune I didn't know, as a bright blue neon sign glowed above reading 'The Conch'. I've made it to the club where my Godly brother should be, I reached the end of the slide and saw the three men, now dressed in bright green, blue, and yellow suits. "Groovy man, this aqua dump is gonna be chill" The man in the bright blue suit was grooving in place as his two friends picked up packs of toothpicks, or what looked like toothpicks. I walked over to the coat check and saw a sand dollar left on the desk with a note 'Don't tell and I won't -Staff'.
I turned to walk towards a pair of double doors that I assumed led into the dance floor. As the doors pushed open I was hit with an odor of fish, fruit, and way too much hair product. The room was large and each of the four walls was glass, reflecting out to what looked like the ocean. Outside the glass were fish that were glowing different colors and synchronizing with the music. Everyone inside the club were wearing disco attire, men in bright colored suits with collar pointing out past their shoulder blades, and ladies dressed in bell bottom pants and shirts patterned with flowers, but the flowers were more aquatic. To my left was a bar with a mermaid behind the counter in a tank serving drinks to people. On my right and surrounding the rest of me was a giant dance floor with tiny spouts of water shooting water onto the dance floor, not seeming to make anyone slip while dancing and tiles that glowed different colors to match the fish outside the club.
The people on the dance floor were all paired up with one another, trying to keep their dancing with the beat of the music. Off off the dance floor, by a roped off table was sitting a man with bright blonde orangish hair. The man wore a baby blue suit and had a sparkling blue trident laced in between his arms. If that wasn't Triton, then feed me to a hellhound. I walked over to the rope and my chest was met with a big beefy arm, that was followed by a single eye man that accompanied the arm. "Go away" The man's voice was simple sounding but boomed like his voice was always reverberating in a cave. "I'm here to see my brother" I tried the straightforward approach, not wanting to waste any time and hoping my father sent word ahead to Triton. "BaHAHAHAH!" The one eyed man almost fell to the ground in a laughing fit from my response. "If you brother, then I'm Hercules" The man then banged on his chest in a tarzan imitation and pulled out a giant club then swung it around like a sword.
I spun my ring around on my finger, but held back my anger as I wanted to keep a cool head. "I am the son of Poseidon and he has sent me here to be trained by my brother Triton" I stood my ground firmly and moved against the rope even more, pressing my luck for what that rope was protecting me from. "Get lost or skull will be crushed" The giant man then cracked his knuckles and the sound made my eardrums shake. I figured the time for talking was over and focused on my ring and had it transform into a trident. I slammed my trident onto the ground and the surrounding glass shook, as if a giant finger tapped on the outside, like a fish tank. "Hold on a second" A buttery voice cut through the larges man's heavy breathing and the man stepped aside, revealing Triton. "I guess Dad wasn't kidding, You do have his temper" Triton stood up and the surrounding crowd around him stood up and went to the dance floor, before shooting me dirty looks as they passed by.
"I assume you found the place alright" Triton signaled the giant man to let me through and patted at the table for me to join him. "Well, it's not the easiest place to find" I let my trident change back in a ring and walked over to join Triton. "Well, I can't have just anyone showing up. Water beings only, not even Poseidon bothers stopping by to see my handy work. Now what can I do for you brother?" Triton's smile as he said brother didn't comfort me. I felt like Triton had some predetermined hatred for me and him training me isn't on his schedule. "Well, as you know, father sent me" "Uhg, father sent you" Triton started to stand up and walk away from the table, when he stopped and leaned on his trident. "I really don't do what father tells me, or better, what he tells his forgotten half-blood kids to do. I'm afraid you've wasted your time coming here, the only thing that's welcomed to you, is the door" Triton then spun his trident around his arm and made his way to the dance floor.
Outside the glass walls, I could see bunches of water nymphs and naiads, dancing in the water along with the music. I stood up from the table and went to the bar and sat down on a stool. "Drink?" The mermaid behind the bar was right in front of me, staring straight at me with deep black eyes. "Uhm… Water?" The mermaid bartender started to laugh and then gave me a glass of water, "You know he doesn't turn down challenges". "What?" I said, setting down my glass of water, "Triton, I saw you talking to him. If you want him to do anything, you've got to challenge him" the bartender was then called away and I was left staring out at the dance floor, where Triton was leading the whole club in some sort of dance. Well, if there was any time to back down this was it, after the next choice I make, it's all going to change.
I stood up and formed my trident then slammed the end of it against the floor, sending another large vibration through the glass walls. The music came to a sudden stop as the second shock brought the party to a halt. "What's the big idea, turn the music back on!" Triton was walking up the DJ booth when I decided to make my statement. "I challenge you Triton!" If the music cutoff was quiet, then I would describe this as deadly quiet. "What… Did somebody challenge me?" With a great leap Triton was suddenly standing right in front of me. "Yes, Poseidon sent me here for you to train me and I'm not leaving till you do" I slammed the butt of my trident against the floor again and this time the glass walls gave off a loud screech as they vibrated. "Alright! Just stop with the pitchfork banging. DJ, track 4" Triton then walked onto the dance floor, where a pool of people were surrounding the area to watch this inevitable disaster.
The dance floor changed to a fading white and the music started to pick up with horns blaring. Triton started to move with the music, his body effortlessly swaying side to side, when his legs then kicked up and the small spouts of water shot up, shooting out small jewels and stones to the watching crowd. "That was just my opener" Triton shuffled his legs across the dance floor, the lights now changing rapidly with the fast pace disco song. I couldn't make out any words from the song but the only thing that could catch my ear was "BOOGIE KING". Triton was now using his trident as his partner, each dancing around in a small pool that filled up to Triton's ankles. Triton was suddenly starting to rise and spun around and around, til the music blared a loud and long final note, ending the song and Triton dove from the top while doing a flip, only to land perfectly on his feet.
The crowd roared and swarmed the dance floor to lift Triton up. "Alright put me down, let's see my brothers attempt" The crowd put Triton down and quickly removed themselves from the dance floor. Before I could step foot on the dance floor, the DJ started the music, which sounded like a military march, only to bring shock to my face as the current song playing was the Camp Half-Blood anthem.
We Stay at Camp
It's where its safe
Train for the monsters and the turmoil
We're all different each,
And Everyone
Hopefully friends til the end
Which could be soon
So we stay at camp
And Thank The Gods
For
C-A-M-P-H-A-L-F-B-L-O-O-D
Blood!
The song ended and the surrounding crowd laughed at me and Triton stood on the dance floor raising his hands to quiet the crowd. "Alright, we've had our joke, now let's see what he's made of" Triton then looked at the DJ and the music started again this time a funky guitar and bass accompanied the opening song.