Return of the Goddess

Chapter 5

The moon disappeared and the transformation from night to day began. The sun was slowly rising, creating a sky of yellows, oranges and reds in the horizon. Calvin took a small branch from a tree and traced his named into the dirt over and over again. With every trace of the branch Calvin got more and more anxious. What if he couldn’t complete his task? What if he chickened out?

    Lucifiera shifted in her sleep, opening her eyes and staring at him. As she blinked he sensed her innocence. That was the only thing Calvin loved about being a child of Aphrodite. He could feel people. He could read their emotions and he was aware of the powers that boiled in the souls of the demigods. Then Lucy’s eyes turned black and she sat up, awake.

    “What time is it?” Lucy pulled her legs out of her sleeping bag and rolled it up little by little.

    Calvin took out his black IPhone and pressed the button to turn it on, “It’s four fifteen.”

    “We should get going,” Lucy stood up and shoved the sleeping bag into her backpack. “We’d be screwed if the cops saw us.”

    Calvin looked down at the tracing of his name. He took a deep breath, “Why don’t you like me?”

     Lucy frowned and straightened her back, “Because you have to be liked.” She kicked Charlie with her black combat boot and he jolted upright. He didn’t seem phased by the abuse and quickly started packing up his things.

    The ground began to shake under Charlie’s footsteps, waking up Sage. She sat up and used both hands to mess with her dirty blonde hair. Chelsea stirred and the two girls began to pack up together.

    The cool morning air was torturous for them as they began to get ready for the day. Calvin felt his bare hand numb, so he stuffed them in his pocket as they left their campsite. It would be nice if they could get steal jackets, but it was not possible with Charlie unwilling to take anything he couldn’t pay for.  Sage led the way across Central Park to the subway station. It would be easy to get to Maine from New York by Subways and buses.

   Central Park was quiet yet full this morning. People were peacefully reading on the park benches and jogging on the tracks. Couples were sitting in the tall green grass and riding in the horse drawn carriages around the park. No one seemed to notice the band of kids walking towards the city. Calvin drifted away from the group as he sensed a strong influence in the park.

    “Do you guys smell that?” Calvin asked. He could smell the ocean, which could be Chelsea. He could smell the olive tree, which easily could be Sage. But he also smelt the perfume of a child of Aphrodite. The smell that every child of Aphrodite was born with. It couldn’t have been him.

    “Smell what?” Sage turned around and kept walking backwards. “Is it danger?”

    “No, it’s smells sweet,” Calvin began to walk in the direction of the sent. In the park’s open area, under a shady oak tree, was a latent girl with long curly brown hair and auburn highlights shining in every curl. She was about their age and tall, using a small purple sack as a pillow.

    Calvin crept up to her and got a better look at her face. She had big features and a small owl necklace around her neck.

    “I think she’s one of us,” Calvin looked back at the group. “As much as I hate to have another mouth I have to fight for food over I think we need to help her.”

    Sage bent down next to the girl and shook her awake. The girl’s eyes shot open and she jumped away holding her hands in front of her in fists as if she was ready to fight. Sage got up and moved back to where everyone else stood.  Although she was fierce looking she looked confused as to where she was. Calvin could sense her innocence.