Return of the Titans

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

It didn't take long for me to gather my strength.

Again, healing wasn't a problem for me. I got better pretty fast. I just thought that it was of natural causes, but now, apparently, it was the complete opposite.

After I left Doc, I went back into my room to change. Turned out, you couldn't go on a quest in pajamas two sizes too big. It defeated the purpose of being serious if I had Falling to Sheep written across my chest. In my dresser, I found a pair of faded blue jeans, a wrinkled undershirt, and a red-and-black plaid jacket. With my arms now covered again, I felt comfortable. Taking George Washington in my arms, I left to check up on the others.

I met up with Jay and Maria out in the gardens. One was sitting on the bench, thumping his leg as he tried (and failed) to withhold his shot nerves. The other paced impatiently with her bow in hand and backpack full of arrows bouncing behind her. When they heard me coming, Jay dashed over to meet me halfway.

"We can't bring her with us," he pleaded. "Dryads aren't like their cousins. They're mean, and smell like cow --"

"I can hear you, reject," Maria said, scowling at a clove of daffodils. I swear they recoiled at her intense glare.

I patted Jay's shoulder. "It's okay, dude. I'll handle this."

Jay looked at me with apprehension but let me step aside. Nodding gratefully, I approached the armed dryad.

"Maria --" She met me with a glower that was so hard, it could have broken a boulder in half. I did a double-take at how much anger was inside of her eyes. But then I remembered what Doc had wanted us to do.

I didn't want to be associated with a race that was as ruthless as they were mysterious. They were shadows in the night, watching and waiting for the moment to strike an unsuspecting person down. I wasn't any of those things, and I surely wasn't going to let that start today.

I put on a brave face, breathing evenly to calm myself. "Maria, I know that you're mad, but listen. Doc --"

"You do not tell me what to do," Maria spat. "You are beneath me, Beast, and so is a defective storm child and a less-than horseman!"

"Thomas Jefferson's mother!" Jay retorted.

I held up my hands. "Quiet, both of you. This isn't a shouting match. I'm just saying that in order to find the king, we've got to work together. Jay, what can you do?"

Jay rubbed his hands. From the friction, small sparks flew before dying at his fingertips. "That's all I got," he said sadly. "I'm a human defibrillator."

"That's okay. You can immobilize anybody we come across by touch. That'll do good for the big guys. Maria?"

Maria scoffed. "You're talking to the best shot that this school has. My eye never fails and neither does my bow."

I knew that that was for sure. She still had a piece of monster flesh hanging from her hair. "So you can hit a moving target?" I asked her.

"I can hit him while he's running home to his mother, my arrow six inches up his rectum."

Jay snorted but I nudged him into silence. "That works, too. While Jay shocks the guys, you can attack with your bow. You're both fast, so time isn't a problem."

"That leaves you," Jay noticed.

"Don't worry about me," I said. "I can cover myself. But for now, let's stick with what we have. Alright?"

There was scattered agreement between the two, and Maria still looked pissed about the whole situation, but it was better than where we were an hour ago. We couldn't be at each other's throats while out in the field. We had a mission to complete, and we couldn't do it hating each other. We had to work together.