BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

14.

EDEN FUCKING HATED fountains. Just, bad memories.

According to the plaque, the ugly fountain in front of her was called Crown Fountain. All the water had emptied out except for a few patches that were starting to freeze. It didn't seem right to her that the fountain would have water in it in the winter anyway. She had a little bit of common sense, come on.

They stepped to the center of the pool. No spirits tried to stop them. The giant monitor walls stayed dark. The drain hole was easily big enough for a person, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.

Muscle Boy went first. Then Pretty Girl and Fire Boy, then Eden went down, mostly because she could control water and shit. She couldn't that well, but who cared? The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.

"Are all sewers this nice?" Kaleidoscope wondered.

"No," Eden and Fire Boy said at the same time.

Perfect Jason frowned. "How do you two know—"

Eden snorted. "Muscle Boy, you expect me to not know the difference between bad sewers and good ones? What a sheltered person you are."

She didn't want to mention her childhood at all.

"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?" Fire Boy asked, and looked at Eden as if she knew what the fuck she was doing.

Perfect Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. "That way."

"How can you be sure?" Pretty Girl asked.

"There's a draft blowing south," Perfect Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."

It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.

Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Kaleidoscope stumbled. Muscle Boy had to catch her.

"Stupid ankle," she cursed.

"Let's rest," Fun Police decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"

Kaleidoscope and Perfect Jason sat on a brick ledge while Fire Boy shuffled through his pack. Eden sat with Fire Boy, mostly because she didn't feel like third wheeling Fun Police and Kaleidoscope, and she laid on the ground as Fire Boy lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt. Eden started singing the Little Einsteins song, and he joined her.

"Never learned how to cook," Eden said nonchalantly, frowning at herself. "Wow. That's a depressing thought. Sixteen and can't make eggs. I am such a great person."

Fire Boy snorted. "Great people aren't we all. You know, sometimes I feel like I'm . . . not a good person."

"As long as your intentions are good," Eden offered as he prepared stuff. "I don't know what they like, but I hate flour tortillas. They suck." She looked down at the fire. "I was a selfish girl. I almost joined the Titans, actually."

"Really?" Fire Boy asked, half surprise half not.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I hated the gods back then. Not as much as I do now, but I hated them. My dad at abandoning me. He saw Percy all the time. I hated Zeus for hating me just because I was born. I hated Hera for too many reasons. Why did I have to depend on them for my survival when they all hated me? Why did I have to serve them when they didn't have an ounce of trust and respect for me? They don't do that. That's what doesn't make them human. Mortal."