The Children of Demeter

Chapter 26: Cassandra Coon

Cassandra was the first to board the train. She didn't really like trains because of the pollution they give off, but Lizzy was afraid of flying and Scarlett was afraid of water, so this was their only option. Cassandra had never been to Ohio, and she wondered what New Rome would be like. Sabrina had a phone, but only for emergencies. They did not need any monsters on this trip. 

Soon, the eighteen demigods were rolling through New York near the New Jersey border. But as they neared it, the train came to a sudden stop and the lights went out. The eighteen demigods all shared separate compartments on the bus, and opened them when the train lurched to a sudden stop. 

"What's going on?" A worried voice asked. 

"What's happening?"

"Is there something wrong with the train?" 

"Sorry about that, folks." The captain announced through loud speakers. "We seem to have an unexpected passenger. We'll be starting up soon, and smoothly." Cassandra looked around. There wasn't anyone else on the train besides the eighteen demigods. Who was coming on the train? A monster in disguise? The doors of the train opened, revealing a nearly 6 foot tall man with messy black hair and an eye patch. But when the man came closer to the eighteen demigods, Cassandra could see that it wasn't a man; it was a boy. A very tall boy with an eye injury. 

The boy walked up to Cassandra without saying a word and handed her an envelope. 

"What does it say?" Madeline asked anxiously, looking at the envelope in Cassandra's hands. 

"It says, 'Hi. My name is Steven. I can not talk. I am a Cyclops. Please be nice to me. The gods sent me here to help you on a quest. They made me wear an eye patch as a joke. I can not read or write. I am also a demigod, son of Hephaestus. I am thirteen years old. Please help me. I want to be your friend.'" Cassandra looked up at all of her fellow passengers. 

"That's a Cyclops?" Ruby asked in surprise. "Cool!"

"He's kinda cute." Brittany admitted. Rudolph rolled his eyes.

"He was sent by the gods? They think we need help? With so much time on their hands, why don't they help find Hecate?" Lance and James seemed to agree. 

"I... I don't know. But if he's going to help us, we might as well teach him how to talk." Cassandra grabbed Steven's hand and motioned for James to follow her. She didn't know how, but she was going to teach this friendly cyclops how to read. 

"Are we sure he's a cyclops? What if he's a monster in disguise?" Cassandra could hear Frisco say through the glass door. Cassandra heard Samantha laugh and saw her open the compartment door. 

"We should get there in about six or seven hours, so get to work." Cassandra nodded and Samantha handed her a pen and paper, and sat down in a seat next to her. "I'll help train the Cyclops."

"Are you sure? Thanks, Samantha!"

Samantha shrugged. "There isn't anything to do on this train. I have to do something." Then she snapped her fingers. "You know how everyone's talking about splitting into groups to find the demigods and Hecate?"

"Yeah..."

"We'll, I think it'll be a good idea. I'll get to work on that." She grabbed another piece of paper and a pen, and left the compartment. Cassandra took a deep, shaky breath and turned to face Steven. She reached forward and carefully took off the eye patch. Since the Mist was fading, she could clearly see the large, single eye on his forehead. He smiled shyly. 

"Hi, I'm Cassandra." She started. 

"Ca....Ca...." Steven stumbled on the words. 

"Ca-san-dra." She pronounced the syllables slowly. James gave her a confused look, so she told him, "If we ever get separated, he has to know our names." James nodded and looked back at Steven.