Olympus Drive Book 3: According to Plan

Epilogue

1

Ghost

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

I look up at the speaker. A girl, probably young woman. Maybe twenty but probably less. Big grey sweatshirt. She's clutching a bag like she doesn't ever want to set it down.

"Sure," I say, moving my leg a little so she can sit down next to me on the bus. I don't pull down the hood of my purple sweatshirt. If I'm being seen, I don't really want to be.

"Thanks," she says, sitting down and holding the bag still.

"You ah—okay?"

"Why?" she frowns like she's more used to that than smiling.

"You really don't look it," is that all she has? "This bus goes all the way to Tulsa."

"Good. I'm running away."

"Why?"

"I needed to keep a promise to somebody," she says.

"What's in the bag?" she's still clutching it.

"An urn," she says, darkly.

"Right, sorry," I say, leaning back, "My name's Hugh. What's yours?"

"Brianna."

"And why are you going to Tulsa with an urn?"

"Why do you ask me that?"

"Because I'm dead and most people can't see me and you can, so it's kind a different, I ah---might have gotten cursed by some fuck-lord of the Dead, so now living people can't see me. Except apparently you. Which is inconvenient because I'm trying to get revenge," I say, shrugging.

"I'm stealing my two only friend's ashes so I can bury them together like they asked," she says, staring at me a little.

"You believe me?"

"Of course I believe you. I just told you what I'm doing. I've always seen things I shouldn't," she says.

"Whose ashes are you stealing? I feel like that's something a kid like you shouldn't do," I say, a little concerned.

"It's cool, they wanted me to---my cousin that's whose it is, asked me to. In his homicide note."

"What is a homicide note?" I ask, amused.

"He said it was like a suicide note, only more violent, because he wasn't dying alone," she says, actually smiling a little, "And he wasn't leaving because he was sad. He was leaving because he wanted to be happy. I hope he is."

"I hope so too," the other side isn't all that great in my experience, but if it makes her happier to think it go for it. "Homicide note. I like it."

"How'd you die?"

"I got poisoned. I don't recommend it. Where are you going with that?"

"West coast---the beach. I don't know, Someplace far away, I could use to start over," she says, shrugging and still holding her bag.

"Yeah, yeah me too, kid," I say, leaning back. I need to find out how to come back to life. There's someone I need to kill.

2

Fury

"Thank you," I say, to the pretty lady, as she closes the door behind me. "Thank you for letting me say goodbye."

"Thank him," she says, smiling, "He pleaded your case."

"I don't think I'll remember him," I say, shrugging, "I never do, do I? I won't remember my mother, none of it."