The Forbidden Children- A Heroes of Olympus/ Percy Jackson Fanfiction

A Great Starchy Mess

Ainsley was having a terrible two weeks, even before she was being chased by mud men. 

She could smell them before she could see them. A really long time before she could see them. These muddy monsters had chased her all the way from Toronto, how they got across the border, she didn't know. She didn't know even how she got in. Ainsley had run right across without the border police seeing her, which was a relief. Ainsley didn't much like American border police, they made her feel guilty.

Ainsley was no stranger from guilt, she had received a strange dream two weeks ago telling her to leave the Calgary Youth Centre and head to the strawberries, whatever that meant. She was glad to oblige. She had landed there after running away from her apartment in Edmonton after her dad disappeared. She should have stayed put, cried, and called the police. There had been a lot of murders in the city this year and the police were suspicious. Ainsley felt nothing but the need to leave so she headed to Calgary.

It took her two seconds after she woke up from the dream to realize what to do. There was a plane ticket to Toronto sitting in her winter boot. She felt a pang in her chest. Her father had always said that he met her mother in Toronto. Maybe her mother was a strawberry farmer, even though there were probably none in Toronto. Ainsley packed her backpack with the essentials: clothes, toothbrush, plane ticket, and the iPad she had gotten for her birthday pre-loaded with all of the Harry Potter books.

Sneaking out was easy enough, but the fact that giant snakes trailed her all the way to the plane was a bit annoying. She almost would have prefered the snakes to the plane. She was seated between a couple on their way to Toronto to tell their family that they were getting a divorce. Aisley had was glad that the flight was over in four hours, any longer and she would have literally jumped out of the plane. 

As soon as Ainsley got off of the plane, she smelled strawberries. Fresh, juicy strawberries so sweet smelling that she was almost lifted off of her feet. Then the mud men started chasing her, "Magic girl! Bad girl!" they chanted as they trailed her very slowly. She followed the smell all the way to a hotel that eagerly let her stay the night. She woke up at a Holiday Inn Express next to the American border, the strawberry scent was gone. She met the mud men at the continental breakfast, burning themselves with the waffle iron. She sprinted across the border. No one seemed to see her.

Ainsley was now crouched inside a convenience store. The strawberry scent was giving her a headache. She tensed as she heard the bell ring, announcing unwelcome visitors. The cashier was sleeping behind the cash, iPod turned up so loud that Ainsley could tell that the man was listening to the newest LMFAO song. 

"Where Magic Girl?"

"Where Half-Blood?"

"Where Doritos?"

Those were all things that Ainsley heard as she glanced around of weapons? She looked at the shelved behind her. Could tampons be used as a weapon? Probably not. But maybe...

"Hey dirt-face!" Ainsley shouted.

They all looked at her with their normal unintelligent faces.

"Eat Doritos!" She shouted, raising her arms.

The entire chip section exploded, leaving the mud men surprised. Ainsley had recently learned that she could make things explode, like the waffle iron back at the hotel. 

Ainsley sprinted out, expecting the mud men to follow her. She didn't look back until she reached a hill. She focused, seeing in her minds eye the mud men gingerly picking out the Doritos from the great starchy mess. She came back to the hill, smelling the strawberries. She started to walk up th hill. When she reached the top, she felt as though she had reached her destination.