10. The Nightmare at Macy's

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I never thought that I'd have the pleasure of visiting the sewers, but today was my lucky day

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I never thought that I'd have the pleasure of visiting the sewers, but today was my lucky day.

Jason climbed down first then me. I braced myself for the smell but it never came. The ladder dropped into a brickwork tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry, with only a trickle of water on the floor.

Piper and Leo climbed down after us.

"Are all sewers this nice?" Piper wondered.

"No," Leo said. "Trust me."

Jason frowned. "How do you know—"

"Hey, man, I ran away six times. I've slept in some weird places, okay? Now, which way do we go?"

Jason tilted his head, listening, then pointed south. "That way."

"How can you be sure?" Piper asked.

"There's a draft blowing south," Jason said. "Maybe the venti went with the flow."

It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better. I just stayed quiet. No irrelevant comment. No opinion whatsoever. I was still trying to process my dream last night.

As soon as we started walking, Piper stumbled and Jason had to catch her.

"Stupid ankle," she cursed.

"Let's rest," Jason decided. "We could all use it. We've been going nonstop for over a day. Leo, can you pull any food from that tool belt besides breath mints?"

"Thought you'd never ask. Chef Leo is on it!"

Piper and Jason sat on a brick ledge while Leo shuffled through his pack. I sat the farthest away I could but still be there if they needed me. I didn't want to rest, I wanted to get this all over with and go home but I knew Piper needed it.

I shut my eyes getting lost in thought. What was wrong with me? Why did I hate my name so much? Why did I kill Henry? So many questions and barely any answers.

A few feet away, Leo lit a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his pack and his tool belt.

I just sat drowning out the world around me. A little boy's voice sang a song in her head.

Ah! vous dirai-je, maman,
Ce qui cause mon tourment.
Papa veut que je raisonne,
Comme une grande personne.
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.

Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman,
ce qui cause mon tourment.
Papa veut que je demande
de la soupe et de la viande...
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
valent mieux que les mignons.
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
valent mieux que les mignons.

Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman,
ce qui cause mon tourment
Papa veut que je retienne
des verbes la longue antienne...
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
valent mieux que les leçons.
Moi, je dis que les bonbons
valent mieux que les leçons.

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