Silenced (Demigod Story)

Worst Translator Ever

I didn’t stop running until my legs died underneath me.  I fell to the ground, ignoring the sticks as the scraped my knees.

“Floret!  Are you okay?” I heard someone shout from behind me.  I got up and started to jog, but then realized that the person called me “Floret”.

I leaned against a tree and looked at the direction of where the voice came from.  I saw Alex running towards me.  I took a deep breath, getting ready to play charades.  While he was catching up, I carved a word into the tree that I was leaning on.  MUTE, it read.

“What were you talking about with that guy?  What haven’t you told everybody?” Alex asked.

I pointed to my carving and then pointed to my voice box.

“What?  I heard you talk before!” Alex exclaimed.

I tapped the wood in Morse code. ‘I will tell you tomorrow.’ I tapped.

“Is that Morse code?  I don’t understand that code, but I know someone who does,” he then took out a golden coin and made an iris message to a guy named Leo Valdez.

“Hey!” Alex said once the message reached Leo.  He was scrawny and tan.  His hair was in a curly mess and his clothes and face were full of grease stains.

Leo was startled by Alex’s sudden appearance, knocking some screws off a shelf and they spilt all over the floor.  Leo didn’t seem to care about it.  “Super-sized McShizzle here, what can I do for you?” he asked.

“Could you translate some Morse code for me?” Alex asked, gesturing to me.

“Why can’t she just talk?” Leo asked.  “Is she like Echo?”

‘Echo?’ I tapped.

“She was someone who could only repeat what someone said,” he explains.

‘That sucks, can you keep a secret?’ I tapped.

“I just met you and we are already telling secrets?  What the Hades?” Leo was confused.

‘Seriously dude, you are like a phone right now.  I can only talk through you,’ I tapped.

“You don’t trust me?” Leo seemed offended.

‘Leo, just keep whatever you hear to yourself, okay?’ I threatened with my tapping.

 “Gods, you are almost as violent as Thali,” he said.

‘I know that it is normal for demigods to have ADHD, but you got a lot of it,’ I tapped.  ‘Apollo took my voice at a young age, so I learned Morse code.  No one knew it so I was a mute until I met Apollo about a week ago.’

I waited for Leo to translate to Alex.

‘I must write a poem every day or I will not be able to speak the next.  The end,’ I looked away, biting my lip as Leo translated.

“That explains why you wanted to camp early, and why you left the camp,” Alex nodded.  I looked back at him.

‘So you did hear my clumsy flying’ I tapped.

Leo was eating popcorn, waiting for Alex to respond.  I snapped my fingers until Leo realized that Alex didn’t know what I said and then translated.

“Yeah,” Alex shuffled his feet.  “I thought it was a dream until I woke up and saw that you had a new bag.”

‘Yeah, that was a giveaway.  I will tell you more tomorrow,’ Leo then translated.

“What, you don’t like this translator?” Leo asked.

I held up my blistered knuckles up so he could see that I was not in the mood to punch trees anymore then I already have.  Leo laughed, “If we are done here, I could get back to work.”

‘Wait,’ I tapped.  ‘Tell Alex that he can leave now.  I rather be alone when I can’t speak.”

“She says that she loves you,” Leo laughed then waved the message out.  I face palmed myself, not knowing how I didn’t see that coming.