The Forbidden Children (on hold)

Chapter 5

Dylan

Dylan had thought being the school loser was enough. At least there -he and Reilly especially- weren't supposed to fit in with other kids, and really, they didn't want to.

 But here, a place he was supposed to belong, where he was supposed to be accepted, was different. He would have given anything to fit in with anyone, have anyone actually talk to him. They were just as exiled here as they had been in school. Everyone seemed to especially hate Dylan, always sneaking glances at him, then quickly dropping their gazes when he looked at them.

 Reilly wasn't much better off, honestly, but at least she'd found a friend in Paige, the daughter of Hermes who'd rescued them on that first day here. Even Molly had Gavin, who she was getting closer to every day.

 Dylan had no one.

 And even if everyone didn't avoid him, even if everyone loved him, he'd still want to leave. He was worried out of his mind about him mom and (adopted) brother, who he wasn't even sure if they were alive. What if they'd gotten attacked? What if they hated him for leaving?

 Dylan laughed lightly to himself. As if they cared about him in the first place.

 Dylan eventually tracked down Chiron, who was on the back porch of the Big House, watching the campers train, whacking each other with worryingly sharp weapons.

 "Chiron." Dylan said, coming up directly behind the centaur. Chiron turned around as fast as a horse could be expected to, turning to face him. "I was wondering if I could go back to my house just to check on my family. I need to know if they're okay."

 Chiron looked at him with a very serious expression.

 "I can't allow a demigod to go outside the camp alone, especially not a son of one of the Big Three. Dylan, I'm sorry, but you can't leave here, at least not now, maybe one day soon."

 "But, Chiron, you have to see, my mom doesn't know if I'm okay, I don't know if she's okay, something could have-"

 "Ah. We've contacted your mother already. She knows you're here. Now please, go back to your cabin." he said, turning as he waved his hand dismissively.

 Dylan saw red. He stormed straight past the cabins and to the stables, where the pegasi and chariots were held.

 I'm leaving, Whether Chiron likes it or not.

When he flung open the stable doors, Reilly and Paige stood side by side, feeding the pegasi and talking. Dylan cleared his throat, and they spun around. Paige's untrustworthy grin spread across her face.

 "Hey Dylan, what's up?" she asked.

 Dylan looked her straight in the eye and said "I'm stealing a flying chariot. I'm leaving to check on my family."

 Reilly looked at him, seeming surprised, but said nothing. Paige's grin, however, grew even wider.

 "Awesomeness! Lemme show you how to fly these things." she said, lifting a set of reins from a hook behind her.

 Dylan stared at her, completely incredulous. "You're not even going to fight me on this?" he asked.

 "Nope, I love helping people! Steal things, that is." she said, continuing to harness the pegasi. "I'm not a daughter of Hermes for nothing, you know. For example..." Paige dug around in her jacket pocket and produced a wallet containing a picture of an extremely obese Chinese man.

 Dylan laughed. "Where the heck did you get that?"

 "I picked this up last time I was in Manhattan." she said happily, as if it were a prize. After that, she showed Dylan how to control the pegasi and to steer them using the reins. Before long, Dylan had pretty good control over the pegasi. "That's good," Paige said. "They like you."