Ethan vaulted into a small clearing, immediately showered in light. Ava ran forward, close behind. She was burning with a mixture of rage and grief. When the sun flooded her senses, she fell to her knees. Half-sobbing as she spoke
"I..I..I've never seen someone die," she looked up at the satyr, "It's horrible." Ethan pulled Ava to her feet, dusting of the small debris off her face.
"Hey, CJ gained honor in his death, like a child of Ares should," he stated.
"Why something as cruel as that? He was stabbed through by a wine bottle, he didn't deserve it." She said, wiping a tear from her eye.
"If you feel it wasn't a righteous way to go, we should do everything to honor him, meaning getting that spear back on a mantle," He continued on, his eyes scanning the woodland surrounding
"we need to get to highway 5, the hellhound is parked there every Sunday."
"The what?" Ava asked, questioning and wiping tears from her eyes.
"After the greyhound took a blow from a fury attack a few years ago, things have been under... New management." With that Ethan started to dive over foliage and fallen tree trunks, heading south. As Ava bounded after him, she felt a sudden calmness. It seemed her foot knew where to land before she thought it to, an unearthly grace surrounded her as she jumped from tree to tree. After thirty minutes of running (and a lot of half-breathed wait up!'s) later, they finally dragged themselves on to the pavement of highway 5. To the side, in a ramshackle parking lot, sat a large blue and grey bus. As she focused more clearly, the blue changed to a deep maroon and the grey turned to dark black. The Greyhound logo was changed to Hellhound. A burly man with a cheap conductors outfit stood grumbling near the fold-in door.
"Welcome to Hellhound bus service, how may I help you?" He said, looking at them ruefully.
"Two tickets to Camp Half-Blood will do." Ethan said sheepishly staring at the bulging muscles.
"Get on board." The man grumbled before slapping the side of the bus, its internal engine immediately humming to life. The satyr was the first to step into the vehicle, Ava closely following suit. The bus looked like a nuclear bomb exploded in the back seat. The top drawers were missing door handles, there was so much duct tape strewn across the seat that the cloth couldn't be seen. The windows had cracks, holes, and other dents embedded into the side. Ava looked to Ethan, eyes widened, and he just shrugged. The satyr carefully stepped between fallen debris and broken glass, reaching a window seat with the cushion ripped out. He sat as gently as he could and said, "Ava, sit here." He pointed to the seat next to him. A few moments later, they were speeding across the highway.
"How'd a Grayhound turn into this?" She asked, carefully avoiding a rusty nail.
"Awhile back, one of Poseidon's kids was tracked here by some furies and the place was torn apart. Hermes bought it a little bit later, but as you can see, he didn't take much consideration into a repair job," Ethan stated.
"And the guy in the conductor outfit?"
"That's Gus, he's the hellhound," the Satyr replied. Ava looked at Gus, his mouth seemed in a permanent scowl, with harsh stubble and beady eyes. His conductor's hat was slightly crooked, revealing an ugly mop of black hair.
"Jeez," was all that Ava could muster. Ethan nodded, looking around at the nuclear-aftermath of a bus.
Gus was munching on a Devil Dog, ironically, while he was driving. In the compartment, there was seven cases of the chocolate and cream treats stashed into the pockets. The hellhound stuttered to a stop after thirty minutes of bumpy traveling. Gus rose from the driving seat, his scowl turning more severe. The conductor walked to the tire, checking maroon red panels for a sign of error. The soft wisp of air rushing from a flat tire filled his ears. The real hellhound roared and slammed his fist against the side of the bus, leaving a nice sized dent below the window. He grasped the flat tire with both hands before ripping it off and throwing onto highway 9.
"I think he mighta, kinda has anger issues." Ethan whispered into Ava's ear. Immediately, Gus' ears pricked up (in a human type-of way) and he turned towards the satyr. Ethan paled as he saw the hellhound advance and started to raise his hands in peace. Safe to say... It didn't work.
"Nobody says I have ANGER ISSUES." He roared, spittle flew from his mouth and onto the poor satyr's brown curls.
"I'm sor-", Ethan was cut short by the massive hand that grasped his collar and threw him towards a ramshackle window near the front of the bus. In its brittle shape, the glass immediately shattered, sending Ethan slamming against the key slot and his knee on the pedal. A long sigh was let out as the satyr dozed into unconsciousness.
"I HATE THIS JOB!" Gus yelled in the same throaty roar as last time. All the while, the engine started a low drone and the wheels spun out from the trees and into highway 9. In Ethan's state, his entire weight was pressed on the gas and the Hellhound was picking up speed. As Gus rushed forward towards Ava, she somersaulted under his arms and ran towards her companion, worried for his safety. But the damage was done, she could hear the tires squealing and saw the blurry lights of cars speed past them as they dove between traffic. She tried to pry the driving wheel towards her but she heard the all to close thin of Gus' heavy boots. He slammed into her, his teeth braced with some sort of hellhound- human grin. Ava pressed her foot into the man's chest and another on the bus to stabilize herself. The wheel spun as her sneakers slammed into the rough leather and the entire bus shuddered with a sudden movement. Ava turned her head just in time to witness the hood of the hellhound slam into a massive oak tree.
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Hey guys. Next chapter, yah! I am really REALLY sorry for the time between updates. I just entered a new school and I have a lot on my plate. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy another chapter in the Daughter of Artemis!!
-W
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The daughter of Artemis
Dla nastolatkówAva has a pretty sucky life. She moves from school to school, her mom left when she was young and the only friend she has is a scraggly boy named Ethan. Her entire life has been a chain reaction of casualties and she finds that the explanation is ve...
