Speed Demons

Part 32

Very long chapter this time. I couldn't find a good place to stop. This is easily the longest chapter I've ever written. Enjoy!

AN: As you may have noticed, all of the last few chapters were posted at the same time. That's because the events of the Magnus Chase trilogy felt like it's own mini-story to me, so I decided to save the chapters and post them all at once.

Alex

I fell into a relatively peaceful sleep, acutely aware Magnus and Percy were still talking. In my dreams, I saw the usual stuff. Nightmares about the usual things. My dad when he kicked me out, Abuelo passing away, and my mom, kind of in general.

I was surprised to see Percy Jackson, alone in the rain, running from something. He looked much younger than he was now, maybe 6 or 7. He was in a forest somewhere, and there was a man's voice behind him. The demigod was in a full sprint, but the ground moved beneath my feet. I was moving, even as my feet stayed glued to the ground.

The young boy didn't seem like much of a speedster to me. His pursuer (an ugly and overweight Latino man who was obviously drunk) was gaining on him. Looking back, Percy started running faster, slowly widening his lead on the man(who was running out of breath.)

Still, Percy kept running.

The scene shifted. Percy was now sitting up against the wall, looking older and skinnier than he had before. Cars drove past the alleyway he was in. Occasionally, someone in the passenger seat would point him out, in his ratty clothes, but naturally, nobody even stopped to talk to him. He's been on the streets, too, I realized. For a long time. He was so malnourished that I couldn't tell how old he was.

Percy's eyes widened as a police car showed up. He dove behind a dumpster, but the officer in the car had seen him. The cruiser pulled over by the road, and a man stepped out. The officer stepped into the alley, pointing his flashlight. It didn't take long for him to find the boy, quivering. "What's your name, Kid?" Percy flinched at the end, refusing to speak.

Sighing, the man reached down to grab Percy. The demigod tried to get away, tried to get himself out of the officer's grip, but he couldn't. The officer threw him roughly into the back of his cruiser and drove him off toward the station.

The scene shifted again. It was a clear day in the desert, and the sun was beginning to set. The quiet astounded me. Unlike Boston or Manhatten, the horizon stretched for miles. The only thing in sight was a small shack with a boy sitting on the porch. Percy stood up when he saw a red speeder approaching from a distance.

As the speeder pulled to a stop, I could tell how overcrowded it was. It was designed to carry one, maybe two people. A whole five people had squeezed on in various places. One of them was an unconscious man. Percy and another, taller boy slowly carried him inside, leaving the other three teens on their own.

One of the teens, the second tallest, was Latino and had watched Percy and the other boy carry the man inside. "Wow, Keith is hot now," he said breathlessly. The smaller boy rolled his eyes while the tallest looked at him like he was insane.

"What?" He asked. "But Lance, he yelled at you and hit you!"

Lance sighed, rubbing a spot on the back of his head. "Yeah, the pain kinda turns me on. Don't tell anybody that." The smaller boy groaned and covered his ears, looking like he wanted to throw up. "Oh come on, Pidge!"

My eyes widened. It was Pidge. Was he/she... I brushed the thought aside.

Pidge sighed, arms dropping. "Whatever. I like his friend, I think," He/she said. "He's pretty."