Piper was leaning against me as we sat in the ginormous bleachers while the marching band rehearsed. Mary was easy to spot, she was up front on her marimba on the far edge. Sam too. She was the shortest one on snare. But Gary and Valerie blended with the crowd of marchers. Their field show was called Medusa, which I found kind of ironic, but watching it was amazing. Sometimes I wondered if all of these kids were Apollo's children.
"They're really good," said Piper.
"Yea. New York State champions 5 years in a row. Mary won't stop blabbering about it." Piper laughed.
"She's really good at her marimba stuff."
"I still don't know how she holds four sticks in two hands. It seems impossible." Piper laughed again.
Then I saw one of the coaches talking to Mary. That coach didn't look too familiar since Mary, Gary, Sam, and Valerie all complained about all of them. And this one didn't match any descriptions I remembered. The coach then started dragging Mary away, her fellow pit members not noticing a thing.
"Piper look," I said and pointed to the coach.
"Let's go," she said as she fingered Katoptris at her side. Piper and I ran down the bleachers and went behind them trying to find Mary and that coach.
"There!" Piper whisper yelled. The coach was talking to Mary and she seemed really confused. Piper and I got close enough to hear what they were talking about.
"Look lady, I don't know why you pulled me all the way out here to correct something I did wrong, but I'm positive I didn't screw up as much as that trombone who forgot where his dot was."
"Enough! You will face your end!" the coach said, who was now morphing into what looked like a gorgon.
"Holy fuggle nuggets!" yelled Mary. "Medusa? Haha that's funny that's the name of our field show," Mary said distractedly. The Gordon growled and lunged at her. She jumped to the side last second. Only then was when Piper decided to throw her knife at the gorgon. It struck her in the arm.
The gorgon hissed and turned around.
I unsheathed my gladius.
"Three godlings! What a wonderful surprise!" Mary scrambled back in fear.
Piper was now defenseless and so was Mary.
"How about you just turn around and go back to where you came from," Piper said, using her charmspeak. The gorgon looked dazed for a moment before regaining her composure.
"Your charmspeak wont work on me, love spawn!" she yelled then lunged once again at Mary. Everything happened in slow motion. I used my powers over the wind to propel me forward. The gorgon got closer and closer to Mary. Then with one final swing of my sword she turned to dust. Piper retrieved her dagger as I looked over Mary. She had a huge gash on her arm and she was whimpering. Her band sweater was ripped to shreds.
"What in the name of cheesecake just happened?" she asked shakily while cradling her wounded arm.
"Calm down, for now we need to heal you and get you out of here," said Piper.
"But...but I have rehearsal a-and how am I s-supposed to play like this!" Mary's loyalty to marching band never ceases to amaze me.
"It'll all be explained later. Pipes do you have ambrosia or nectar?"
"Yea," she said as she fished a squared of ambrosia from her pocket. "Here eat this. It'll heal you, I promise."
Hesitantly, Mary took a bite of it and her eyes widened. She gobbled it down in a flash.
"How'd you make it taste like my mom's pumpkin cookies?" she asked.
"Like we said, it'll all be explained later. Pipes could you deal with the mortals?" I asked. She nodded and went back to the bleachers.
"I'm so confused what's happening. Why did the Medusa lady call me a 'godling' and why did that ambrosia or whatever heal me? And where'd you get that super cool sword? And what'd Medusa lady mean when she called Piper 'love spawn'? And-" she rambled.
"Whoa whoa. Calm down, Mary. All will be explained in due time. I'll tell you everything just not now because it'll just attract more monsters."
"Monsters?" she asked hesitantly.
"Like I said it'll-"
"All be explained later. Got it," she said, interrupting me. Then Piper came running back.
"The mortals are taken care of. They think she threw up and went home. Speaking of home, we should probably take her to her parent," said Piper.
The drive to Mary's house was silent. Mary just stared out the back window seat trying to comprehend everything that had happened to her. Once we reached her house Mary knocked on the door. Mrs. Thompson opened it.
She saw Mary's poorly bandaged arm, Piper's knife at her side, and my purple Camp Jupiter t-shirt. Her eyebrows kitted together.
"Is it time?" She questioned. I nodded solemnly.
"Mom?" Mary asked hesitantly. Mrs. Thompson looked down at Mary and placed her hands on her shoulders.
"Mary, I want you to follow these people. They're going to take you somewhere safe. Somewhere where your father wanted you to go," she said.
"My.....father?"
"Yes, your father. He had a very good reason to leave. You can't hate him for it. Just know that he loves you with all his heart. You'll be safer there than you'll ever be with me."
"Am I..........going to see you again?" asked Mary hesitantly.
"Of course you will. You'll have to stay there over Thanksgiving break okay?"
"But....okay." Mary sighed defeatedly and looked down.
"Now go, you're not safe. I love you."
Mary hugged her mom. "I love you too."
Once they let go of each other I asked Mary's mom, "Do you know which one?"
She shook her head no. "But I know he was one of them. He said so himself." I nodded and took Mary by her good arm. Then we began the drive to Camp Half Blood.
Mary stared out the window, lost deep in thought. I felt bad for her. Everything just got thrown at her all at once and she didn't break. Not yet at least.
