Now, before we dive right into the high-paced, suspenseful action, we're going to back up about five steps, and we're going to explain why we almost blew up half of New York. Well, Manhattan. But let's get to it.
Me and Jake were doing something we weren't supposed to. Now, hold your horses, this does not involve drugs or making children. We're talking about being somewhere, that's all. I SWEAR. Anyways, for our first "official" date, we took a trip to Manhattan. I know you're thinking: "But Christina, Uncle Amos says that's a big no-no!"
[Well just try to tame me!]
I know, I know, Manhattan is off limits, but the problem is that if we went somewhere in Brooklyn, Sadie would spy on us. THAT is worse. But, lets get to the story. Jake and I had gone to some small ice cream place which was alright [I mean the ice cream was alright] and we took our stuff to Central Park and had a small picnic. Romantic? Maybe. Bad ending? Of course, guys.
Jake and I were sitting on one of the big rocks, eating our cones, when Jake said out of nowhere, "Christina can you keep a secret?"
I looked at him questioningly. His eyes were distant, staring off into the sunset. Other then us, it must've been a slow tourist day, because not many other people were walking by. It was basically just us, "Um, sure, I guess."
Jake sighed and leaned a head on my shoulder, "I'm pretty lost. I know that sounds stupid probably, but I'm really, really confused. That thing, the prophecy or whatever..."
He sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head, "I don't know. And you know me, I like to know things. But this...this is out of my league."
[You prepare yourself for something bad when someone says they have a secret, but Jake just confuses you.]
I finished my ice cream come and tossed it into a trash can. I leaned my head back on Jake's and sighed, "I understand that. We've got to just keep working at it. I've got a sinking feeling in my gut that its only going to get harder. And can we do anything? I don't know. But me and you will be alright. That, I know for sure."
Jake did the "thing" where he makes a cat purring sound in his throat and he kisses me. I sighed and continued to kiss him, scooting closer to him on the rock. I probably could've stayed there forever. But the gods didn't give me the chance. Because just then, the trees started to shake, and a low rumbling sounded from the shade. Jake and I broke away from each other reluctantly and looked into the darkness. We've been in just enough fights with monsters to know that as soon as you feel like there is a monster there, there IS a monster there. Jake wrapped an arm around my waist and we slid off the rock and crouched behind it. The rumbling had stopped, but there was still a deep, booming, crunching sound. I prepared my wand and staff and Jake summoned his knives. We sat there, waiting, until the huge black dog bounded out of the woods. A few weeks prior, me and Jake had met these, uh, demigod people [FORESHADOWING] and they'd been fighting dogs like these. This one looked...well different. It was more like a big, slobbery black lab. It had a collar on with the name 'Mrs. O'leary' etched into the metal pendant. The dog, which happened to be the size of a school bus, collapsed onto his side and held his tounge out like a thirsty dog. I looked to Jake, who gave me the same look; that this was something we'd seen the likes of before. A boy and a girl walked out of the woods as well, and I grabbed Jake's sleeve. We'd seen these kids before [That's a story for...later] and I racked my brain for their names. The boy was named Nico, I remembered, and the girl was Hazel. We'd stumbled across each other, and we'd gone out seperate ways with caution, but now I wasn't so sure. The boy, Nico, sat next to the huge dog and sighed. The girl, Hazel, sat beside him, and I caught their conversation.
"...What were we thinking? Dad never tells the truth. He said that their would be an answer here!" The boy sounded agitated and his leather jacket hung loosely from his skeletal frame. The boy was sickeningly white, an opposite of the tan girl, but I remembered that they were related. The girl, Hazel, frowned.
"It's alright, Nico," She sighed, "Hades wouldn't have lied. He's a god. We'll find whatever it is."
Jake looked at me, and I got a sneaking suspicion that the "whatever" was a "whoever" and that "whoever" was us. And I knew that Hades, or Pluto, was their father. So why in the duat would he know about us? [Stick around to find out after these commercia-I'm joking.]
The dog suddenly stood up and looked over at the rock we were hiding behind. Nico and Hazel stood up and unsheathed swords. I swore under my breath.
Jake looked at me and whispered, "Weapons down. Let's try for diplomatic."
I laid my staff and wand on the ground and Jake got rid of his knives. Jake went out first, and after a count to 4, stumbled out with his hands up.
"AAAROOOF!!" The huge dog pounced, even though Nico shouted "Wait!" Jake rolled to the side, causing the dog to tumble hard into the trees. Jake recovered quickly, summoning the knives to his hands. The dog charged again, like the shadow of a monster truck, and Jake sidestepped, bounded off a rock, and landed in front of the dog, who would've run straight into Nico and Hazel, and Jake summoned the glowing green combat avatar. Instantly, he was about ten feet taller with massive claws and a catlike face and a human body. Reaching out one hand, he grabbed the dog by his snout and stopped him full. The dog looked up and whimpered as Jake growled, with the sound of about 20 lions. The dog bowed down and scampered away like a scared puppy, and Jake dispelled the combat avatar. He landed right next to the two demigod kids. Both of them stared at Jake in some state of awe. Jake reached out his hand and said.
"Nico Di Angelo and Hazel Lavesque. We need to talk."
