Cherry's Adventures of Hercules

chapter 7

"Here it is, kids, Thebes, the Big Olive," Phil told them as they landed as people passed by whether by foot or in chariots. It was like the Greek version of modern-day New York City.

"Wow, the city..." Cherry was delighted.

"Is that all one town?" Hercules asked the satyr.

"One town, a million problems," Phil told him, but mostly all of them. "Stick with me, kids. The city is a dangerous place."

"Oh, come on, how dangerous could it possibly be?" Atticus asked.

"Just watch." Cherry commented.

As they were about to cross, a man sped by on a taxi chariot. "Watch where you're going, moron!" he yelled at them.

"HEY! I'M WALKIN' HERE!" Phil yelled back, then looked back to his new friends. "This is what I mean, I'm tellin' ya, nutcases!"

"Come here, Pegasus..." Cherry said, nervous to be handling a horse despite coming from a long line of horse trainers in her family.

The winged horse snorted gently and followed them more into town. As they were getting closer, a shifty man came to them. He bounced in front of them and whipped open his cloak, surprising them in alarm. "Any of you wanna buy a sun dial?"

"They're not interested, go home and rethink your life," Phil snorted to shoo away the possible crook. "I'm tellin' you, kids, the city is full of whack jobs."

"THE END IS COMING!" a shaky man twitched around them, sounding hysterical. "Can you feel it!?"

"I think this guy has lost a few screws." Atticus whispered to Cherry.

Cherry waved her finger next to her ear and made coo-coo noises.

"Yeah, nice meetin' ya," Phil scoffed as they continued to stroll. "Like I said, this city is full of whackos. Keep your eyes on the road."

"Why are they all so paranoid?" Atticus asked, curiously.

"It's because they live in a city of turmoil." Phil answered him.

There was a sad family together as they were by a fountain. They looked more upset than the other people in the city they lived with. They freaked out once they saw a locust appear on the fountain and it made them scream out of fear due to being struck by several tragedies.

"That's it!" the old man snapped. "I'm movin' to Sparta!"

"Excuse me, but I think what you folks are looking for is a hero." Hercules said to the family.

The group stared at him with their arms folded.

"Yeah, and who are you?" the older, rough man questioned, glaring at him and breaking the silence.

Phil, Atticus, and Cherry gently shoved Hercules over to introduce himself and state his business.

"I-I'm Hercules and I happen to be a hero!" the demigod said, proud, but lost his confidence as the others laughed at him.

"He's serious!" Atticus told them.

"Some hero." the shaky woman laughed.

"Is that so?" the old man challenged. "Have you ever saved a town before?"

"Uh, no... But..." Hercules stammered a bit.

"Have you ever reversed a natural disaster?" the tough man asked, grabbing Hercules.

"Well, not exactly..."

"I knew it, he's just another chariot chaser!"

"Isn't that what we need?" the half-burnt man snorted.