Umbra

Chapter 15

The mountainside was on fire.

Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. There was a helicopter coming toward them, maybe firefighters or reporters. All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.

"We need to get out of here, quick," said Emilia as Coach Hedge began to stir. "The Earthborn could start to reform any minute."

Coach Hedge sat up, rubbing his head. He blinked and looked around at the battle scene, his canary yellow pants now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud. "Did I do this?"

"No–" began Emilia.

"Yeah, you wanted some hoof?" said Hedge, standing shakily and raising his club. "I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"

Leo cracked a smile, Jason started to laugh, and it took everything in Emilia to not fling Hedge into the crater with Enceladus and call it a day. Piper rushed to her father as he staggered forward, eyes hollow and shell-shocked. He looked ready to crack. Emilia wondered if they'd be taking him back to camp so Pollux and Will (or one of his siblings) could help him recover.

Piper caught Mr. McLean in a hug, sighing and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" whispered Jason to Leo as Hedge kicked rocks and made rude gestures at the piles of clay. "Piper has some talking to do."

Her charmspeak was so good (especially on mortals), that the Park Service copter immediately landed. The nice pilot was glad to fly them to the Oakland Airport.

"No," Mr. McLean muttered deliriously. He refused to be loaded onto the helicopter. "Piper, what– there were monsters– there were monsters–"

They had to hoist him up together as Hedge gathered their supplies. He sobbed and sobbed, muttering all sorts of things about the monsters, about machines with six arms. The pilot was skeptical about transporting him once she saw his condition, and Piper had to try extra hard to make her forget he was Tristan McLean.

They gave Piper her space to talk to her dad. He rambled on about real monsters, about Grandpa Tom's stories, about the realization that Piper's mother was Aphrodite. Leo fiddled with a lug nut from his tool belt, Jason gazed at the valley below– the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Emilia looked as far west as she could, imagining her aunt at her lunch break, watching the footage and wondering what was going on there.

Emilia tried not to intrude as Mr. McLean told Piper how proud he was, as he listened to her story of how they got here. This man, this terrified and traumatized man, he didn't look at any of them with disdain. Not even Emilia. He seemed so impressed by her, by Jason and Leo, especially by Piper.

"What's that?" asked Mr. McLean as they passed over the hills into the East Bay. Jason seemed just as curious, like something about this place was familiar. He pointed down at the Caldecott Tunnel, and Jason's mouth moved like he wanted to say something, but couldn't. At last, Mr. McLean sighed, "Monsters... I live in a world of monsters."

Piper had to convince the air traffic control personnel at the Oakland Airport to let them land unscheduled. They unloaded onto the tarmac quickly, and Piper announced, "First thing... I-I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."

"Oh," said Leo, his face falling. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."

"Pipes, no," said Mr. McLean, stumbling with a blanket around his shoulders. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't–"