We Go For A Ride

Chiron sat in a wheelchair holding a soft blue cup with steam rising from it. Mr. D sat me and Juniper down on a couch. Chiron took a breath and placed his cup down on a side table. Mr. D grabbed a diet coke from the fridge and sat down on a chair, his purple eyes shifted Juniper and me to Chiron.

"Chiron are we in trouble?" Juniper gulped.

"Of course not. Your friend Alex Joseph has, I believe, informed you of a satyr who needs help." Chiron blinked at us.

"Alex told us it was something to do with a Demigod and a monster," I said while Juniper nodded.

"Yes, a monster is causing some problems for the satyr to get to the demigod. Mr. D and I were thinking since you both know the satyr well, you could go help." Chiron said.

"We'll go, but do you have any clue what the monster is?" Juniper spoke up.

"Mr. Jefferson didn't share that information, unfortunately," Chiron said.

"That makes sense, I mean if he said it was a monster and not exactly what monster it could be that he doesn't know or would rather not say its name. Because you know, it makes them feel stronger when their name is mentioned or somethin' like that." I shrugged.

"That's a fair point, Peggy." Mr. D said.

"Its Peck actually," I said.

Mr. D muttered something and took a long sip from his diet coke.

"Argus will drive you to Manhatten in the morning, then hopefully one of you will find someone who can help," Chiron said.

"Who's Argus?" I asked.

Someone grunted from behind me and I looked back. A tall man with blond hair stood at the door, the thing that made my eyes widen was the hundreds of eyes that were staring at us.

"That's Argus," Juniper said.

"Oh, hello," I said.

Argus just gave me a slight nod.

I turned back to look at Chiron and Mr. D.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Yes, you can leave and join your friends at the fire," Chiron said.

Juniper and I stood up and walked out of the Big House.

"So, we've got a quest," I said as we walked to the campfire.

"Yeah, I guess Alex was right," Juniper said.

"Let's hope no one dies or anything,"

***

The next morning I woke up early. I quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and my black sweater with the rips from the monster attack. I slipped on some black boots. I brushed my hair and teeth and stepped out of the Hermes cabin.

Juniper was waiting for me outside, she wore blue jeans, a Camp Half-Blood shirt, a jean jacket and some yellow boots.

"Hey," I said as we walked to the Big House.

"Sleep well?" Juniper asked.

"Sure." I shrugged. "You?"

"I slept... well."

"We should hurry, Argus, is probably waiting."

We picked up the pace and reached the Big House in no time. Argus was nowhere to be seen so, we waited on the steps of the Big House deck.

"Any idea who this Demigod is?" I asked.

"Could be any of the god's kid. My guess is it's an Apollo kid." Juniper responded.

"Want to make a bet?" I grinned.

"Sure, two drachmae's for who is right," Juniper said.

"Alright, my guess is it's an Aphrodite kid," I said.

"And my guess is it's an Apollo kid." Juniper smiled.

Someone coughed from behind us and we jumped to our feet. Mr. D stood at the top of the stairs with a frown, Argus stood beside him.

"Don't die and good luck." He said.

"Thanks, Mr. D," Juniper gave him a small nod.

Argus grunted and walked down the stairs. Juniper and I stepped out of the way and exchanged a look of confusion then quickly followed him. Soon we were past the border and heading to the road.

"Why doesn't he talk?" I asked Juniper.

"None of the campers know and Mr. D and Chiron haven't said anything. Argus is head of security as well, hence the importance of having a hundred eyes. It's really cool, to be honest." Juniper smiled.

"I can agree, it must be great being able to see everything," I said.

Argus pushed on through the forest until we stopped at the road. A big truck with painted strawberries and big words that read: Delphi Strawberry Service was parked on the side of the road.

"Delphi Strawberry Service? What's that?" I asked.

"Camp Half-Bloods' cover-up name," Juniper said. "Now let's get in."

Argus hopped into the driver's seat while Juniper and I hopped into the back of the truck. Argus started the engine and started to drive.

"Will this take long?" I asked.

"It shouldn't, at least I don't think. I haven't left camp for a long time not since my mom got married." Juniper said her eyes glistened with sadness.

"Did you not approve?"

"No, he wasn't too kind to me when we met. He was quite a jerk when my mom wasn't around."

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't be able to understand," I said resting my hand on her shoulder sympathetically.

"How come?" Juniper blinked at me.

"Well, my mom could never find someone who loved us for... us after Hades. After her boyfriend broke up with her six months ago she'd had enough and said she'd never find someone. So, we've been on our own for a while." I frowned and took out my iPod I always kept with me.

"Man, that sucks," Juniper said.

"Eh, I could understand why none of them worked out. I mean their men." I laughed.

Juniper chuckled softly.

"If I see my mom hopefully she'll understand and accept me."

"That's something we both need to hope for."

"Want to listen to some music?" I asked plugging in my earbuds.

"Is it safe?"

"The Mist will probably cover it up."

"Alright."

I gave an earbud to Juniper and pressed play. A favourite song started to play; This Side of Paradise by Coyote Theory from their album Color. Juniper shuffled over and rested her head on my shoulder.

"I knew you didn't sleep well," I said quietly.

"Oh shut up," Juniper mumbled tiredly.

I smiled and put my arm around her. Soon enough we both had fallen asleep.

I didn't dream thank the gods. It felt like only moments had passed till I was woken by someone banging a door shut. A new song was playing but I had no clue what it was, I quickly paused the music and took out the earbuds and shoved it into my pocket. I shook Juniper awake and she sat up rubbing her eyes.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

"Yep, the music really helped," Juniper said.

Argus opened the door to the back and we hopped out into the fresh, cold air. It was dark and quiet in the city, a few cars were driving around. The houses, stores and other buildings' lights were turned off. The street lights on the road gave off an edgy yellow light.

"Thanks, Argus, we'll be fine on our own for now." I smiled at Argus.

Argus nodded and hopped back into the truck. He started up the engine and drove off.

I looked around again and recognized where we were. "I know where we are."

"Where are we then?" Juniper squeezed my hand.

"We're near my house," I responded and we walked down the street.