RECLUSE - (n) a person who lives a solitary life and tends to avoid other people.
MAISIE ELLIOT WAS ANGRY.
Angry at the world.
Angry at the Gods.
Angry at the demigods who seemed to move on too fast.
And when forced onto a quest with three stranger...
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LEO SHIFTED NERVOUSLY
Something not human was inside the warehouse. Hai body shifted into high gear, all his nerves tingling.
"Leo, help!" Pipers voice cried out from somewhere on the factory floor.
Leo was going to respond, but how would have Piper gotten to the floor with her ankle?
"Leo! Please, we need your help!" Maisie's voice cried.
Resisting the urge to run to her, he slipped behind a cargo container. She didn't call him Valdez, something was up.
Pipers voice called out again: "Leo?" Less certain this time, but very close.
Peeking around the machinery, he saw three dark shapes the size of forklifts. Above them, three smaller shapes— maybe more engines, hung. But one was twisting like it was alive.
One forklift shape rose, "Told you it was nothing."
Another one shifted, and called out in Pipers voice, "Leo, help me! Help—" then it changed to a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?"
The first monster chuckled. "Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or the girl was lying about a fourth demigod. Let's get cooking."
Snap. A bright orange light sizzled to life— an emergency flare— and Leo was temporarily blinded. He ducked behind a crane while the spots left his eyes, before taking another peep.
The three things dangling from the cameras weren't engines. It was Jason, Piper, and Maisie. All hung upside down, tied by their ankles and s wrapped in a cocoon of chains up to their necks. Piper flailed, trying to free herself. Her mouth was gagged, but she was alive. Jason didn't look so good, he hung limply, eyes rolled into the back of his head. A red welt the size of an apple over his eyebrow.
Maisie didn't look much better. She hung limply, blood running down her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and closed, almost as she was fighting unconsciousness.
MAISIE'S EYES FLUTTERED
Her head pounded, and the world was blurry. Her arms felt restricted, and her ankles were killing her. Blinking the fog from her eyes, Maisie was able to look around her. She was upside down, with a gag in her mouth. To her left, Piper was struggling in her restraints, and next to her, Jason hung limp.
Two Cyclopes stood not too far away, one in a chain mail loincloth and the other in a ragged fuzzy toga made of insulation.
The cyclops in chain mail turned to Piper, who squirmed and tried to head but him. "Can I take her gag off now? I like it when they scream."
The question was directed to the third cyclops, who Maisie assumed was the leader. The crouched cyclops only grunted in return.
As the gag was removed, Piper took a shaky breath, as if trying to calm herself down.
