A child of God

Chapter 9

Miraculously, everyone one on the bus survived with a few scratches. Percy had a swollen lip and the bus driver had a half-inch long cut on his left cheek. The rest were just fine and every one was awake by the time the police and an ambulance arrived. The police were looking into the matter and asking us survivors questions but they couldn't come to any conclusions on what had transpired. I shook my head. It still amazed me how much power the Mist had. I would have to ask Rhema or Yess about this sort of influence and how to deal with it as Christians. The police took care of transporting us to a little motel and the company sent another bus to us. Everyone on the bus got a refund and a free trip to Oakland hills and back.

Before I knew it, we were in front of the Caldecott Tunnel, the entrance to Camp Jupiter. Two guards were stationed there, as usual, but the second they recognised us, we were escorted to Hazel and Frank. We walked past the organised barracks and shops until we approached the Principia. Along the way, the Lares whispered among themselves in agitated huddles. One or two people noticed this and threw us suspicious glances but, for the most part, we were greeted with smiles.

"Annabeth! Percy! We were so worried!" screamed Hazel as she rushed to hug me. Frank attacked Percy with a hug so fierce, someone would have thought we were gone for a year.

"Come on, we have loads to talk about." said Hazel as she composed herself.

"More like lots of explaining to do..." supplemented a grinning Frank while he readjusted his Praetor toga.

The Praetor couple ushered us into the Principia, with its velvet-draped walls and glittering ceiling mosaic of the famous Romulus and Remus. Just then, Aurum, the gold greyhound, started to bark and howl. Gnashing his teeth, he bared sharp golden fangs at our direction. Before Hazel or Frank could do a thing, he leaped at us but stopped midway through the action and turned to his counterpart. Argentum, the silver greyhound, was a trembling and whimpering mess. His silver tail was tucked in his hind legs and his lips and nose were constantly moistened by his tongue. His lack of eye contact and his immediate desire to hide behind Frank conveyed one message: pure terror. Aurum glanced back at us, flattened his ears, and sought solace behind Hazel.

"I've never seen them behave like this. This reminds me of-"

"Mrs. O'Leary when she came back!" Frank completed Hazel's sentence.

Percy sighed and reached for a seat. He had a look on his face, like he was asked to eat minotaur dung to save a family of squirrels. He was battling in his heart on how to present this newest development in our lives. I, though struggling with the same, decided to take this head on. No way I was backing down now.

"Listen, stuff has happened and we need to explain a thing or two." I said, opting to remain on my feet.

"Yeah, duh. You two left to investigate some strange reaction a minotaur had and we didn't hear another thing from you! Not even an iris message!" Hazel was seated with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised, as if lecturing two children caught sneaking out of their rooms after bed time.

"That," continued Frank, who had gotten himself a cup of juice, "and the fact that Mrs. O'Leary came back in an inconsolable state, followed by us receiving an email from New Rome University signifying that you two had dropped out."

"Well, that is because we are leaving the demigod world." Percy's tone was the most serious I had heard it in a long while, maybe since the Gaia fiasco.

A palpable silence filled the room as I studied the faces of my friends. Creased eyebrows and a cagey expression graced Frank's baby-face and Hazel's golden eyes gazed at us with uncertainty.