𝐹𝑢𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑒 ~ 𝑝.𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑛

014

[spooky scary skeletons and overgrown pigs]

I woke up gasping.

Blood rushed to my face, and everything felt hot; I grabbed onto anything I could around me as I tried to catch my breath and calm down.

Percy grabbed my shoulders to stabilize me. Distantly I could hear him, "Mel! Mel! Can you hear me?" He rambled, clearly not sure what to do.

I stopped flailing and regained a somewhat decent breathing pattern. Slightly embarrassed by what just happened, I whispered slowly, "Sorry."

"Jesus, you scared me, Mel." He said, slumping back in his seat. "What happened?"

My ex-brother stabbed me. Again.

"Nothing, I'm fine," I said, not wanting to get into a serious conversation.

He rolled his eyes, "Well, you're obviously not fine. But since I'm a nice person, I'll drop the matter."

Thank you.

"Yeah, whatever, asshole."

Percy grinned, "And she's back!"

I promptly slapped his shoulder, and he just laughed in response.

_

We arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said Welcome to Cloud-Croft New Mexico. The air was cold and thin, but not the type that makes you want to bundle up, no it was the crispy type that makes you want to put on shorts and a tank top and run through the cool air in the dead of the night.

I tried, I really did try and stop myself from thinking of Luke. But it's like he's stuck in my mind, and every time I take a step, I think about him, and I get a bit angrier. Like my blood was slowly coming to a boil. Subconsciously my hand left hand went to my abdomen as if to make sure there wasn't actually a hole there and blood pouring out.

As we walked, I looked around the small town. We were in the middle of main street, and you could pretty much see everything from there; a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis, No car rental. No way out."

I raised my hand, "We could always just steal a car. I doubt there are police for miles. It could get us far enough to get an actual ride."

"We are not stealing a car!" Percy said.

"Then how do you guys suggest we get out of this glorified rest stop of a town!"

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

"Jee Grover! I didn't think of that, you're right! I'm sure we can make a car out of pastries and use coffee as the gas!" I feigned realization. "Gods, I'm such a dummy sometimes. How the fuck does that help up" I snapped.

I didn't even realize I was that angry until my words slipped out.

Everyone looked at me, and I saw hurt invading Grover's eyes. I sighed, "I'm sorry, Grover. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. You were only trying to help," I took a breath. "A hot chocolate actually doesn't sound bad right now."

"Fine," Thalia said, cutting into the silence. "How about Grover and Zoe go get some food. Percy, Bianca, Vina, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

W agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with us, but she did.

Thalia, Bianca, and Percy went to the cashier to get some info. I went to the back to see what I could, um, permanently borrow.