𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇 》 LEO VALDEZ ¹

―ten. wouldn't want this families genes... yeesh

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𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄
𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆
𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐃
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BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. Charlie contemplated throwing the radio as far as she could, but even if she did reel her arm back in preparation for a launch, she doubted her vice-like grip would let go, her fingers wrapped around the object so tight that her knuckles were seconds away from splitting open. One nap. She had pulled over for one nap - was that too much to ask for?

Apparently so, because not even five minutes into her beloved beauty sleep, her radio decided to become a fucking alarm clock. Seriously. But then she looked at the screen, internally yelling at Leo for not telling her it had an alarm, but then she saw the screen and realised he had told her, and that it wasn't a wake up call. A chill had ran down her spine as she scrambled to her feet, mounting her bike and taking off before she had even sat on it properly.

Charlie wasn't sure how many road violations she had collected, but she was almost sure it was all of them. The map on the radio proved to be outdated, and Charlie decided she had no choice but to go through the field in front of her. It was bumpy, and she felt like she had permanently bruised every part of her, but she didn't have the heart to turn back around.

It was weird, the constant beeping didn't come with any sort of message, she had no idea of what dangers awaited her, and yet she hadn't thought to think about it. Apart of her still nagged that there was no point in going, that the second she realised she was in over her head, she'd turn around and never look back, but something reasoned that there was no harm in looking, that perhaps Leo had just accidentally turned it on, and it reassured her, let her know that if they were fine, she could rest easily.

Although - if it did turn out to be an accident, Leo would be dead by dusk.

Leo felt cold all over, and though part of the reason was because of the scene before him, another part caused him to look over his shoulder, as if he expected someone else there with an intention of killing him.

Leo peeked around the machinery. Hanging directly above the assembly line, suspended by a chain from a crane on the opposite side, was a massive truck engine - just dangling thirty feet up, as if it had been left there when the factory was abandoned. Below it, on the conveyor belt sat a truck chassis, and clustered around it were three dark shapes the size of forklifts. Nearby, dangling from chains on two other robotic arm, were two smaller shapes - maybe more engines, but one of them was twisting around as if it were alive.

Then one of the forklifts rose, and Leo realized it was a humanoid of massive size. ''Told you it was nothing,'' the thing rumbled. Its voice too deep and feral to be human.

One of the other forklift-sized lumps shifted and called out in Piper's voice. ''Leo, help me! Help!'' Then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. ''Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?''

The first monster chuckled. ''Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or the girl was lying about there being a third. Let's get cooking.''

Snap. A bright orange light sizzled to life-an emergency flare-and Leo was temporarily blinded. He ducked behind the crane until the spots cleared from his eyes. Then he took another peep and saw a nightmare scene even Tía Callida couldn't have dreamed up.

The two smaller things dangling from crane arms weren't engines. They were Jason and Piper. Both hung upside down, tied by their ankles and cocooned with chains up to their necks. Piper was flailing around, trying to free herself. Her mouth was gagged, but at least she was alive. Jason didn't look so good. He hung limply, his eyes rolled up in his head. A red welt the size of an apple had swollen over his left eyebrow.