Ransom

Chapter 6: Allie White

As Castor and Allie tore through the alleyways of Venice, they stopped to catch their breath.

"What was that?" Castor asked. "That," Allie started "was the weirdest thing that I have ever seen."

Allie had never seen monsters like that.

Then, she remembered those handy-dandy textbooks that Reyna had made her study. "They are katobleps. Don't breathe in their breath, it's poisonous." Allie told him after a minute of silence that was filled with them both catching their breath. "How are we not supposed to do that?" Castor asked her with a stage whisper. There was a dozen katobleps approaching the trash bin that they hid behind at the moment.

Allie made an air bubble that surrounded their bodies. "We have to run through. Maybe lead them into the water and they can drown?" She asked. Castor nodded his head.

Allie looked to him and said "Ready? 1...2...3...RUN!"

They tore through the small herd of katobleps and towards the dock. "I'll make a water bubble underwater, we gotta jump in!" Allie called.

"Okay!" Castor called back.

As they approached the dock, Allie made the bubble underwater. They had a major lead on the monsters, so Allie ceased to hold the air bubble. "Jump!" Allie called as the monsters approached the dock.

Castor held her hand as they jumped into the water. Allie closed the air bubble and the katobleps fell into the water around them. They clawed at the bubble, trying in vain to kill them or to pop the bubble.

Allie held the bubble as best she could. Eventually, the katobleps stopped struggling. Allie made the bubble rise above the water and drop them off on the dock.

"Good job." Castor said with a smirk. Allie took a deep breath and smiled at him. He was exasperating, but she loved that about him.

That first kiss in the garden; that was the best moment of her life. It was a great moment to start off her new life with.

"What now?" Allie asked him. She had to look up at him because he was so tall. "Wanna grab some breakfast?" Castor asked.

"Sure." Allie said. They walked around the square. It was a small, cute village. They finally found a small restaurant that sold bagels and coffee and such.

Once they got their breakfast, they sat at a table and ate together.

The man at the counter saw that they had scratches and bruises and were covered in dirt, so he just gave them their food for free. The hospitality of some people still amazed her.

As they ate their breakfast, Castor asked her "We should just get on a plane and fly back to Long Island."

"And how will we get the money to do that?" She asked him. He shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

"How about we find a drachma or two and Iris-message camp, telling them what happened" Allie asked. Castor nodded as he ate his donut.

The shop-keeper gasped and fell to the floor. "What's happening?" Allie asked. Castor shrugged his shoulder and bolted out of the store.

"Hey! Someone help!" He called to the pedestrians. Allie listened for a heart-beat, but she didn't hear one.

Allie then felt for a pulse in his wrist, and she felt a very faint beating.

Castor ran back inside with another man. "What's happened?" He asked them. "I don't know. He just passed out. He has a faint heart-beat, though." Allie told him.

"Alright, I'll fetch an ambulance. Give him CPR or something." the man told her as he stepped outside to make the call.

Castor looked to her and said "Ready?" She nodded as he started to push down on the old man's chest. Allie breathed into his mouth. They continued this for a little while until his heart-beat strengthened.

The doctors rushed into the room and asked what happened. Castor reiterated what Allie had said previously to the man who called the ambulance. They put him on a stretcher and sent him into the ambulance.

"Can you people close up his shop?" The nurse asked. "Uh, sure, I guess so." Allie said to the nurse.

He closed the door as he took the old man into the ambulance. As they sped off, Allie changed the opened sign to closed. "Where would he keep the keys?" Castor asked. Allie shrugged, and so, they started to search the store. As she looked in the back closet, Castor looked under the counter. "Allie, come take a look at this." He said to her.

Allie strode over to him and asked "What is it?" Castor pulled out a map that led to the Acropolis. He had drawn monsters on it and had detailed descriptions.

"What in Hades is this supposed to be?" Allie asked as she looked the map over. "I don't know." Castor said in astonishment.

Allie looked under the desk again and saw a box with golden inscriptions. She picked it up. "This is heavier than I thought it would be." Allie noted.

"How do we open it?" Castor asked. He looked over the inscriptions. "I think that these are in Latin." He noted. Allie looked at the inscriptions, and indeed they were written in Latin.

"Mittendum ad inferos et mortuus fuero." Allie read. The box's lid popped open. Inside, it was filled with golden drachmas. "What did it say?" Castor asked. "It roughly translates to 'is to be sent to hell, and I shall be dead'." Allie told him.

"Um..." Castor started. "I guess I have to tell you in the vernacular. It says 'I shall be sent to the Underworld when I rejoin the dead'." Allie retold him.

"What does that mean?" Castor asked in astonishment. Allie looked up to him and said "It means that this man was reborn, but remembers his past life."

😱
I will eliminate a few people
it's not a character we have already met.
You are welcome.
4 votes for the next chapter please!
Thanks for the support!
~camp_hero