misplaced || l. valdez

33 || don't mind us, just taking care of an a-list celebrity

° ~ •. ♆ chapter thirty-three ♆ .• ~ °
"don't mind us, just taking care of an a-list celebrity"

Piper needed only a few words though Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and rescue, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland airport, she readily agreed.

"No." Piper's dad muttered as they picked him up off the ground. "Piper, what— there were monsters— there were monsters—"

Piper needed all three of them to help hold him, while Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately, Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so they didn't have to explain the goat legs.

Tristan McLean looked terrible— pushed beyond the breaking point, crying like a heartbroken child. Mari had no idea what the giant did to him, but she didn't want to find out.

"It'll be ok, Dad." Piper said, her voice calm and soothing. "These people are my friends. We're going to help you. You're safe now."

He blinked, and looked up at the helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms..."

When they got him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Smoke inhalation." Jason suggested. "Or heat exhaustion."

"We should get him to a hospital." the pilot said.

"It's ok." Piper said. "The airport is good."

"Yeah, the airport is good." the pilot immediately agreed. Then she frowned, as if uncertain why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't that Tristan McLean, the movie star?"

"No." Piper lied. "He only looks like him. Forget it."

"Yeah." the pilot said. "Only looks like him. I—" she blinked, confused. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

Mari raised her eyebrow at Piper. She didn't know whether to be impressed or worried, but Piper just looked away.

Finally they got him on board, and the helicopter took off. The pilot kept getting questions over her radio, asking where she was going, but she ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed toward the Berkeley Hills.

"Piper." Her dad gripped her hand and held on like he was afraid he'd fall. "It's you? They told me— they told me you would die. They said... horrible things would happen."

"It's me, Dad." Piper said, trying to reassure him. "Everything's going to be ok."

As Piper continued to comfort her father, Mari stuffed her hands into her pockets, feeling around for the paper that Aeolus had given her. She was afraid to take it out, like it was a cursed relic. The poster had said that she'd gone missing back in October. She had been missing for a whole two months. She wondered what her old life must have been like— who her friends were, what hobbies she used to do. They certainly couldn't have been this.

She thought about her mother, wondering if she knew that Mari was a demigod. She wondered how her mother was doing, dealing with the disappearance of her daughter for two months. She wondered if she was as broken and scared as Tristan McLean was, all hope of her survival fading away. Mari squeezed her eyes shut, worried she might cause a hurricane if she were to start crying.