The Charm [discontinued]

The Blonde Boy With a Scar

Josh stood up, “We’ve got to get out of here, fast,” he alerted.

“Um… Why should I listen to you? This camp is the best place ever,” Alysa said.

I whacked her in the shoulder and said, “Just listen.”

“Saturn’s here. He’s coming for us,” Josh explained with a nervous look on his face.

“How’d you know that?” I whispered.

“This voice inside my head told me,” he replied.

“You have that, too?” Alysa piped up.

“You, too?” I asked them. They both nodded. Something fishy was going on, and it wasn’t Alysa’s talking-to-fish power. Because each of us had had a time when we listened to our ‘voice’ and it helped us out, we decided to not ignore Josh’s warning- or actually, his ‘voice’s’ warning. We packed up all our stuff and exited the cabin. “OK, according to my ‘voice,’ the Little Tiber is supposed to keep Greeks out, so we’ll be able to cross, but not come back in,” I informed.

“Oh, great. Mine says we should walk to Mount Tam and Josh will know what to do then,” Alysa said.

“Um… mine hasn’t said anything yet,” Josh looked worried. We sprinted toward the river and I saw a small bridge so I guided them to it. We crossed and hailed a taxi.

“Bottom of Mount Tam, please. Do exactly what we say, don’t ask questions, and we’ll give you a big tip,” I ordered the taxi driver. “Get us there, and fast.” I handed him a big wad of cash that would have paid just for the trip there, and gods, did he step on that gas pedal. It was probably about 100 miles distance and, at a normal pace, we should have gotten there in two to three hours. This time, no, it took about an hour, an hour and a half. Not to mention, the speed meter never dropped below 80. When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, I handed the driver another fifty dollars, which was about a fifty percent tip, so his face just lit up. We climbed out of the car and the driver drove away.

“So, do you know what you have to do now?” Alysa asked Josh.

“Um… Yeah, but I’m not doing it for you,” Josh replied.

“Why not?”

“Because I have to carry you up to the top.”

“Why can’t I climb?”

“Climbing is dangerous. We have to fly. I packed a pair of flying shoes. I’ll take Cristi up, but I ain’t carrying you.”

“Fine, I’ll just push myself up with water.”

“Great, we have a compromise,” I said. “I think we should eat something to get our energy up first. Josh has to fly with me in his arms, Alysa has to summon a large amount of water to get that high up, and I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot to do up there.” I pulled out the granola bars and water from my backpack and split them up between the three of us.

“Oo, oo! When we get up there, I’m going to need that bottle of salt water, all the water around here is fresh, so I’ll have a harder time,” Alysa told me.

“Save some, we might have to send an IM. My ‘voice’ is telling me we’ll need to contact someone up there, but after something happens,” Josh said.

We ate and drank like madmen, which we probably were, and got ready for the trip up. Alysa summoned up some water, gallons and gallons of it, and Josh put on his flying shoes. Alysa sat on her giant wave while Josh grabbed me by the waist. I signaled a three-two-one motion and we started going upwards. Higher and higher we went and the thinner the air got. Alysa and Josh didn’t seem to mind it, but my lungs started hurting. I looked down and saw my Athena charm glowing. Within seconds, I could breathe normally. Leo was right, that charm was a protection. We landed at the summit and Alysa’s water wall evaporated. I looked around and saw nothing suspicious… until Josh collapsed on the floor.