DIVINE » l. valdez

cheese ghost? but i'm lactose intolerant

The businessmen were almost on top of them. Hina wished they had all heroically into action and won the battle. What really happened was far more embarrassing: they ran.

Leo and Apollo led the way, Calypso propped between the two of them, doing her best to hobble along. They ran as fast as they could with the extra weight, Hina trailing behind as a last defence. 

"S-sorry, guys," she muttered, her face beaded with sweat. "Guess I'm not meant to be a melee fighter."

As much as it pained her, Hina called out to the girl. "Hang tight, once we find cover I'll do my best to heal you."

"I'm not much of a fighter either," Apollo admitted, not giving Calypso a chance to reply to Hina. "Perhaps Leo can hold them off while—"

"Hey, don't look at me," Leo grumbled, obviously still upset at Apollo's willingness to abandon Festus. "I'm just a repair guy who can throw the occasional fireball. Our fighter is stuck back there in suitcase mode."

"Hina?" Apollo prompted, glancing over his shoulder to check on the blonde. 

She did her best to hold off the approaching crowd, small walls of golden light separating the blemmyae from the group. 

"I doubt my sword will do any damage against that skin."

"Hobble faster," he decided. 

They only made it to the street because the blemmyae were slower than they were. Their top heavy disguises slowed the monsters down and made them waddle rather than walk.

"Good morning!" A police officer appear on their right, gun drawn and levelled at Apollo's face. "Halt or I will shoot! Thank you!"

Leo pulled a stoppered glass bottle from his tool belt. He tossed it at the officer's feet and green flames exploded around him. The officer dropped his gun. He began tearing off his burning uniform, revealing a chest-face with shaggy pectoral eyebrows and a belly beard in need of a shave.

 "Phew," Leo said. "I was hoping he was a blemmyae. That was my only vial of Greek fire, guys. And I can't keep summoning fireballs unless I want to pass out, so—"

"We find cover," Calypso relied. 

The idea seemed easier than it was in practice: the streets of Indiana were wide and straight, the landscape flat, the crowds sparse, the sight lines endless. 

The mob of smiling fake locals continued on their penguin parade, each holding a weapon made from whatever was closest. A construction worker held onto the fender of a car, the weapon rested calmly on his shoulder like a baseball bat.

Meanwhile, the real Indiana residents carried on with their day. A few milled around crosswalks waiting for the light to change, while others carried coffee cups and talked on their phones.

Hina's heart was beating so fast she could feel it in her throat. A metallic taste sat in her mouth, making it impossible to focus on creating a plan. They were running out of energy and they barely had a lead on the blemmyae due to Calypso's broken ankle.

"There!" said the sorceress. She pointed with her chin to what looked like a service alley behind a hotel.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hina asked, frowning at the gap between the buildings. 

"Do you have any other ideas?" Calypso snapped at Hina.

Apollo had paled upon seeing the alley. "What if it's a dead end? The last time I found myself in a dead-end alley, things did not go well."

Of course, things never went well for them, but Hina didn't think Apollo would appreciate her insight at the moment.

"Let's try," Leo said. "We might be able to hide in there, or...I dunno."