CHANCE | luke castellan

ACCIDENT

When we finally finished counting those wines and woke up Mr. D from the "meditation" we started driving towards the camp. My job, as the person sitting in the front seat, was to follow the map. It's good, so I've always been good at geography. To be honest, the first few kilometers, until we left the city district, were normal driving. After we left the outskirts of town, the road was full of potholes, and Mr. D drove on each one. It was very quiet in the car, so I turned on the radio. There were some sad love songs on the radio, so after a few minutes I just turned it off.

We drove for another two hours and then we entered a forest. I looked at the map and estimated that we had maybe half an hour's drive through that forest.

After a few minutes of driving, the car started making strange noises and shaking. We suddenly stopped abruptly.
-What happened?; I asked Dionysus.
- I have no idea, I'm going to check.; Dionysus answered and got out of the car. He opened the hood and it started to smoke. The smoke was going as if something had caught fire. I went out to see what was happening and heard howling towards the sky:
-Go to hell Hermes where are you when god needs you?
- Can anything be fixed?; I asked.
- I'm not sure, I don't understand cars enough.; he replied.
-What happened? Will we be able to continue the journey?; Luke asked. He and Arthur went outside to see what was going on. Dionysus closed his hood and started walking in circles thinking.
-Guys, do you see this too?; Arthur asked sheepishly. We turned to see what he saw and we saw a boar running towards us on the road. Luke took my hand and started running. He didn't even turn to see where Arthur and Dionysus were. I tried to turn around, but Luke wouldn't let me. He dragged me along as if his life depended on mine. We ran to the nearest tree and started climbing. I looked and saw that Arthur was also climbing, but on a different tree. I was trying to see where Mr. D and then I saw him running, the boar was right behind him. If someone had told me a few days ago that I would see Mr. D as he runs, I would tell him he is crazy. This was definitely not on my list of things to see before I die, but I saw it anyway. Somehow he climbed the tree next to the one Arthur climbed. One would never say that he is one of the gods from Olympus.

-What the hell is this?; Luke asked.
- Boar if I'm not mistaken.; I answered. The boar was running in circles around the tree where Luke and I were. I once saw on those documentaries that the biology teacher let us watch boars crash into trees and knock them down. This boar was behaving a bit strangely.
-What will we do?; Luke asked.
- I have no idea, maybe we should ask him nicely to leave.; I joked. That's my problem, normally I don't joke, but in serious situations I do.
- Don't make sudden movements and be quiet, so maybe he will go away.; Mr. D said.
- He can stay down there longer than we can up here. ; Arthur said holding on to the large branch he was hanging from.
-GET OUT OF HERE!; I yelled. I don't even know what happened to me, but I just felt like shouting. Then something completely unexpected happened. The boar stopped running, stopped for a few seconds, looked at us and ran back in the direction it came from. None of us understood what had just happened. We waited a few more minutes before going down, just to make sure the boar was gone.

When we got to the car, we realized that it was no longer smoking. Mr. D tried to turn it on and it turned on on the first try. We got back in the car and started driving. The road wasn't even that bad. There were only trees around us, it was even pleasant to drive during the day. But I wouldn't want to drive on these roads at night. I feel like it would be really spooky to drive at night from here. You would probably have the feeling that something will jump out of the forest, out of the trees, a boar or a bear. I opened the window, the wind was really good for me. You know the way when the wind blows through your hair and you feel beautiful. I marvel at the silence that reigned in the car. Mr. D grumbled about how that boar slowed us down and that was the only thing that could be heard.

We had maybe another three hours to drive to the camp. It was already a bit late, but it was still day.
- We need fuel, Helen check on the map where the nearest gas station is.; Mr. D asked me to look at the map.
- We should be there in about ten minutes.; I answered.
- I guess this bucket from the car will last that long.; He said.

We arrived at the gas station.
- I'm going to buy fuel, and you kids can get some snacks or whatever you're eating.; Mr. D said and got out of the car.
- With what money?; Arthur asked, but Mr. D didn't hear. He got out of the car and followed Dionysus. Luke and I were left alone in the car.
- You're kind of quiet today, is everything okay?; I asked after turning to get a better look at him.
- Everything is fine, I'm just a little tired.; he laughed slightly.
- We will rest when we get back to the camp.; I said and turned back because it seemed like he didn't want to talk to me. Arthur got back in the car with a few bags of chips and a few bottles of soda. We were just waiting for Dionysus. When he finally came back, we started driving again.

The first hour of those three was a disaster. Arthur offered everyone chips, but he ate them as if they were his last. Dionysus complained the whole time that the mist of chips would suffocate us and that we had to open the window. Luke just kept silent and looked out the window. Suddenly some noises were heard, as if someone was about to throw up.
- Guys, I think I'm going to throw up.

Mr. D slammed on the brakes, and we started rolling in the car. We stopped and Arthur quickly ran out of the car. He vomited for at least seven minutes. Luke and I watched from a distance, and Mr. D had another of his nervous breakdowns. He kicked the tire of the car, cursed half of Olympus and said that everything was Chiron's fault.

- No wonder he threw up when he ate three bags of chips.; Luke said. He wasn't even wrong. That plus the bad driving of Dionysus. When Arthur finally stopped vomiting, we got back in the car. I gave him the passenger seat, he needed it more. Luke and I sat in the back for the rest of the ride.
- No more stopping! Clear?; Mr. D said, you could see on his face that he was nearing the end of his nerves.
-Clear!; we answered.

Luke really looked tired.
-If you want, you can rest your head on my shoulder, maybe you can fall asleep.; I whispered to him.
-With this kind of driving, I don't think so. Dionysus drives as if he has a sack of potatoes behind him, not children.; he whispered so that only I could hear him. That made me laugh. He rested his head on my shoulder and I rested mine on his.

I think that's how we fell asleep, because when I woke up it was already dark and we were close to the camp.