Petals on The Moon || Reyna Ramirez-Arellano x Fem!OC

IX

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-

Hello again.

We found our way to the highway and saw a pretty bad accident, which we were on the side of. Jason's eyes widened in shock at the little Beetle that had been ripped practically in half by an eighteen-wheeler that had been going to fast. I advised Jason and Suki to look away as we walked along the treeline, keeping the highway in view but making sure we were obscured from the police. They might question three unattended twelve-year-olds on the highway, covered in mud and scrapes.

The highway eventually brought us to the city of Sacramento, which was good. We weren't too far away from Camp Jupiter. Jason pulled us behind a Seven-Eleven and we crouched behind the dumpsters, which hadn't been emptied in a while.

"I know where we can go," Jason said. "A former legionnaire works at city hall. I've met him before, and we're on good terms. I bet he can give us a quick way to get back to camp."

I frowned. "One problem. Our quest wasn't authorized."

"I'll lie," Jason said to us. "I'm a respected centurion and I've only told the truth in the past, so he has no reason to not believe me." He raised his eyebrows. "Are we cool with this?"

Suki nodded. Her hair was covered in dust. "Okay." Her black eyes seemed to be swirling blue, like she was thinking of something else. I began to question whether or not she was telling the truth about what had really gone down when she spied on Somnus, the snake ball, and his sister. "Do you want Reyna and I to hide?"

"No. Just stay really quiet, and only speak when spoken to," Jason said. "That's what fresh legionnaires would be coached into doing. It'd be selling the point."

"Let's move," I insisted, rising. "We're losing time."

We were approached a few times on our way to city hall by various individuals; strangers with fliers for the One True Lord, homeless beggars, a small German child asking for a lollipop (we're all fairly certain that was a scam, but you never know). But we were able to blow by them quickly, and we arrived at Sacramento City Hall, which was a large white building with three visible floors and what I would expect to be a basement.

"Where does this former legion member work?" I asked. "Let's look for him."

"His name is Cody Novak," Jason said. "He might've been moved around-"

"Found him," Suki said, pointing to a name. "City attorney, Cody Novak, suite 113."

Unfortunately, we didn't get very far. We were stopped by the help desk worker, who smiled at us in a sinister way. Her face was pulled too tight. Maybe it was the foundation caked on there.

"Excuse me! Children shouldn't really be here unless accompanied by a guardian," she said. She batted her eyelashes and I noticed mascara goop in the corner of her eye. Suki looked at me for help, but I wasn't sure how to handle this. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Actually, we're looking for someone to meet," Jason said, approaching the desk. This was probably the best option. He has the most friendly appearance while not looking weak. "Our uncle, Cody Novak? He was supposed to take us to lunch."

She blinked and looked at all three of us. "He is... all of your uncles?"

"Adopted," Suki blurted out.