Birthright (Forgotten Daughter part 2)

Rescue

Ali glanced up from her lunch tray and stared at a boy with short cropped blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. He was laughing and talking with three other boys at a round table in the cafeteria of St. John's boarding school in Brooklyn.

She pushed her food around her plate half-heartedly. She'd heard bad things about school food, but this was exceptionally gross. Her toast was soggy and tasted like cardboard. The mashed "potatoes" were clumpy and had weird orange chunks in them. Then, there was the jello, or at least she thought it was jello. It was a pile of red goop that looked like it had been frozen, thawed, thrown in a blender, frozen again, then smashed with a meat tenderizer. All that to say, it didn't look like food anymore. If she'd had an appetite before lunch, this would've ruined it.

She tried to act natural, but she didn't really know what that meant. She'd been raised by soldiers, both modern and ancient. She didn't know how normal people acted.

The boy looked up and saw her staring at him.

She quickly dropped her gaze to her tray. When she raised her eyes again, the boy's friends were elbowing him and shoving him towards her table. Oh crap! They thought she was eyeing him. She groaned as the boy finally gave in and walked towards her. If he wasn't a half-blood, she was going to smack Chiron when she got home.

Chiron had assigned her the job of Protector. She went out looking for half-bloods and bringing them to camp. With Kronos rising, they would need all the help they could get.

The boy reached her table and stood there awkwardly.

Ali met his gaze expectantly, waiting to see what he would say.

"Hi." He finally stammered.

"Hi." She replied without missing a beat. "What brings you to the reject table?"

That seemed to catch him off guard and he blanched.

Real smooth. Ali couldn't keep herself from giggling.

The boy looked back at his friends, who were watching intently. They gave him a reassuring thumbs up, flashing big cheesy smiles. He turned back to face her, wringing his hands nervously.

Ali noticed a man leaning against the wall in the corner, staring at them. He wore sunglasses and a long, black, leather trench coat. His whole aura just screamed monster. When he caught her gaze, he smirked and pushed off the wall. Not good. He was coming over.

Ali stood and stepped right up next to the blonde boy. She brought her lips close to his ear, ignoring the shushed cheers and whoops from his friends. "Follow me."

He looked at her, his eyes wide. She knew what he was thinking and it made her want to walk away, leave him to fend for himself, but she just rolled her eyes, grabbed his wrist, and started dragging him towards the exit.

His friends were fist pumping the air and shouting encouragement, no longer trying to be subtle.

Unfortunately, the man in the corner didn't think they were two normal teens trying to hook up in the janitors closet. He followed them towards the door.

As soon as it closed behind them, Ali started running, dragging the boy down the hallway.

As they rounded a corner, the boy jerked free of her grasp. "Where are you taking me?"

She groaned and turned to face him. "Somewhere you'll be safe."

"Safe?" He asked, confused. "Safe from what?"

The strange man charged down the corridor towards them, his eyes glowing green behind his sunglasses.

"That." She grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him down the hall. Soon, the door was in view. Almost there.

Then the boy dug in his heels and skidded to a stop. "I'm not going anywhere until you explain."

Ali clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, trying very hard not to punch him. "I'll explain when we get to camp."

"Camp?" He met her gaze with suspicious eyes.

She sighed in frustration. "Look. You're not like other kids. Your life is in danger and if I don't get you to camp, you. Will. Die." She gripped his shoulders.

A spark of fear crept into his gaze when he saw that she was serious. "Why am I in danger? What's going to kill me?"

The man appeared around the last corner, his shoulders were hunched unevenly, his right shoulder hanging lower than his left. He hobbled down the hall like a zombie.

"That." Ali shoved the boy behind her and drew her knife, which had been sheathed to her thigh and strategically concealed by her cardigan.

"You thought you could escape me." The man spoke in a multitude of voice. A chorus of laughter shook his body. "I am everywhere." He dropped his trench coat and a black swarm exploded through the school hallway.

Ali backed up, pushing the boy towards the door. "Run!"

They turned and bolted out of the school.

When they finally stopped to catch their breath, the sun was dipping towards the horizon.

The boy sucked in heavy breaths. "What... the heck... was that?"

Ali was panting so hard her lungs hurt. "I have... no idea." She leaned back against a lamppost. She clutched her stomach, massaging the cramps.

Eventually, she straightened and scanned the street. She needed to get her bearings. They weren't too far away from a bus station. "Come on." She gestured for the boy to follow her and started walking.

"No." He didn't move. "Not until you tell me what on on earth is going on."

She crossed her arms and faced him. "I told you, I'd explain when we got to camp. Or would you rather take it up with the monster in your school?"

His eyes widened. "Fine." He jogged to catch up with her.
                                  *   *   *
Ali flopped into the bus seat, leaning her head back against the seat and slumping into the cushions. She had no clue what the monster was, but she would be glad if she never had to face it again.

The boy sat nervously next to her, twisting his shirt so tight it looked like he would rip it.

They got a few dirty looks from adults on the bus. Not surprising. They were two teenagers riding a bus out of Brooklyn during school hours, people probably thought they were skipping class or running away.

Other than the disapproving adults, the bus ride was uneventful. Thank the gods.

Ali and the boy hopped off the bus as it rode through Long Island, pulling the emergency brake to signal the driver to stop. Needless to say, he was confused, but it wasn't his job to ask questions. He almost looked relieved to have them off the bus.

Ali grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him into the woods. They trudged up a hill towards Thalia's tree.

Something rustled the bushes behind them.

Ali whirled, watching the trees expectantly.

A dark form moved among the shadows.

"Run." She told the boy, without turning around. She gripped her knife like a lifeline.

"Where?" He asked.

She spun and pointed with her knife, nearly slicing the boy's face. "Don't stop until you reach the farm house. And don't turn around for anything."

A stick snapped.

"Go." She shoved him towards the tall pine marking the border of camp.

Hesitantly, he turned and dashed away, quickly disappearing into the trees.

She turned back towards the noise. "Okay Ugly. Let's do this."

A/N
Yay! 200 reads. Thanks for all the votes and comments. I hope you all are enjoying the story so far.
-Cheshire