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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THE SCENERY MOVED IN QUICK FLASHES
Victor Elliot put his foot farther on the gas and sped down the streets of Burlington Vermont. His daughter Maisie sat in the back seat, unknowing of what was to come. "Dad? Where are we going?" She asked.
"We're going to go visit a summer camp, Jay. Remember we talked about it before?"
"You said I wasn't going until I was thirteen!" She groaned. "I don't want to leave."
Victor's eyes anxiously darted from the road ahead and behind them. "It will be okay, Maisie. You'll make lots of new friends there."
"But I don't want to make new friends!" She complained. "People are scary."
"People are not scary, Jay. You just have to get to know them."
"I don't want to go!" She protested.
"You will do as I say!" Her father demanded.
They sat silently for a moment before he sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for yelling."
"It's okay."
"No it's not." He insisted. "Your mom," he paused. "She's the one who told me about this camp."
"Really?" Maisie asked.
"Yeah, really," He smiled. "It's a special place where kids like you can stay safe."
"From the monsters?"
"That's right, baby. From the monsters." He said.
"Are you coming with me?"
Mr. Elliot let out a shuttered breath, holding back his tears. "No, baby. I can't come with you."
"Why not?" She asked. "Have you done something wrong?"
"I'm just ... I'm not like you, Jay. You're special and—"
"You're special too!" She retorted. "You said everybody's special."
"That's true, but you're a special kind of special." He tried to explain. It seemed good enough for her because she dropped the subject and continued to look out of the window to the night sky.
You'll come visit me right?" The nine year old questioned her father.
"Yeah," he chocked out. "Of course I'll come visit you." He turned his head to conceal his tears. He knew he was losing his daughter, his only child, to a world full of monsters and magic.
He wasn't sure what the future held for Maisie Jay Elliot, but he knew that he was going to protect her until his last breath.
Sadly, that time came sooner than he had thought.
THEY HAD TRAVELED FOR HOURS
Maisie had fallen asleep in the back of the car, and the sun began to rise. He didn't dare to utter a word, let alone make a peep. He wasn't sure what type of monsters he was dealing with, just a vague message from a goddess telling him to flee.
