Matt Jackson: The Demigod Trials - The Sacrificial Spire (Percy Jackson World)

Chapter 8: We Stop for Donuts

Our trip north was by far the scariest and most uncomfortable thing I had dealt with since being dropped off at Silver Creek. For starters, I was on the back of a magic flying horse in the air which made me uncomfortable, and I was constantly afraid I would be blasted by another bolt of lightning. Plus, we were flying towards some big quest to save my sister and my best friend from some unknown monster that apparently wanted to have his revenge by inflicting great pain and horror on me before killing me. I probably wouldn't have minded the ride too much if those were the only problems, I had to think about but no that wasn't the most nerve-racking part. Alison was sitting behind me on Blackjack with her arms wrapped around my waist to keep her on the back of the horse.

I could feel the warmth from her body on my back and I could feel her arms squeezing around me as Blackjack tucked his wings and dropped below a cloud. I felt like I was sweating more than normal, and I had to wipe my sweaty palms on Blackjack's flank multiple times as we flew.

Blackjack suddenly sniffed the air as we passed over a small village in the middle of nowhere. I smell donuts. Hey kid can we make a quick pit stop down here. A horse needs his energy.

I patted his side. "Yeah, sure man. Take us down just outside the village, we don't want to scare the people." Blackjack seemed to nod his head and dove straight down at the small forest on the edge of the village. I felt Alison tighten her grip as we divebombed the earth and I was sure we were going to die. Then at the last moment Blackjack spread his wings and we settled on the ground gently.

Alison climbed down with a huge grin on her face. "That was incredible!" She looked around seeming to only just now notice our location. "Why did we stop here?" She looked up at me confused.

I stumbled off Blackjack feeling exhausted. I must have been even more tense than I thought I was. "Blackjack wanted to stop here. He was getting tired. He probably traveled a long way to get to camp and pick us up before we even started." I explained leaning on his side to steady myself. "Besides it's getting fairly late anyway so we might as well make a camp here or check out this village." I shook my head clearing my thoughts and trying to shake the stiffness out of my body.

We left Blackjack to explore the forest while we walked down to the village. There were only three houses in the whole village and one large crop farm behind one of the houses. The only other building looked like a small church in the center of the village. The strange part was that there were no crops in the field and the church's walls were crumbling. All three houses were empty and there was no one in the entire village. It felt like a ghost town.

I had an unsettling feeling as we walked back to the forest looking fir Blackjack. He was standing in a small clearing sniffing the air. I smell donuts. Blackjack turned and tossed his head towards the trees we had just come from. "There were definitely no donut shops in the village. Sorry." I told him.

Alison raised an eyebrow at me. "Donuts?" She asked. Blackjack nodded his head pacing quickly. I smell it kid. You guys can get some too. I swear he was pouting. "Alright fine. I could use some donuts anyway. Lead the way." I stepped to the side allowing Blackjack to walk in front of us.

I walked next to Alison as we followed Blackjack through the forest. I felt like someone, or something was watching us as we walked, and I kept looking over my shoulder. "What's the matter?" I was so lost in my nervousness that when Alison spoke, I slapped at the pendant on my chain and sent it flying into the woods as it transformed into my sword. Alison yelped and dropped to the ground as it flew past her head only inches from impaling her. "I'm so sorry." I said as I reached out my hand to help her up.

She grabbed my hand and rose to her feet. "Jeez, what are you so jumpy about?" She asked dusting herself off.

I looked into the forest where my sword had disappeared. "I... I don't know." I answered simply. "I just have a weird feeling." I was sure that something was watching from somewhere in the forest.