Heart of a Traitor

2: Anybody Have A Map?

I'm five miles away from home when I realize that though the man in my dreams is terrifying, there are other things to fear too. Like getting lost. Like the dark. Like the fact that I'm a ten year old girl in New York that's all alone and defenseless, since I hadn't thought to bring anything to protect myself with. I tell myself I should just go back home, that maybe it really was just a Dream, that the danger is all in my head. But the longer I walk the more awake I am and for the first time I realize that I actually like the city at night.

My family lives in Cypress Hills. It's a rich community just on the outskirts of Brooklyn. I get to the heart of the city before I start to feel tired. My feet begin to hurt and I question the practicality behind choosing Converse for shoes to wear on the run. My eyes begin to droop.

It's around this time when I spot it. The dog. I've seen runts before. I've seen disabled dogs before. Even the worst of them still resembled dogs, though. This animal doesn't. I'm not even sure it's a dog, but I don't know what else to call it. Out of the corner of my eye, it looks like a puddle with dirty fur, like it's been away from home for too long. But when I look directly at it, that isn't what I see.

It's at least five feet tall. It's eyes are pitch black. The fur is dark and wet at the ends, like the dog fell in something. There's a strong stench to it. I swear it smells like death. And when it spots me, it freezes. Not like it's scared. Like it's locking eyes with prey.

I'm running before I can think of how to outrun this thing. Behind me, I hear it's heavy steps following me. The sound grows as it comes closer.

I round the corner of a building, turning onto a new street--

And then run into something hard.

I stumble back, looking up to find myself staring at a boy who would have been beautiful if I wasn't currently being chased by the world's biggest dog. His eyes widen when he sees me. He opens his mouth to say something, then notices the fear on my face. He looks behind me, then must spot the dog because he turns on his heel.

"Follow me!" He tells me.

I don't protest.

We run for at least five minutes, passing cars speeding down the street in the opposite direction. Only in New York would there be busy streets at this hour. The boy pulls me down an alley, a shortcut to another street. There's two girls at the other end of the street, looking close to my age.

"Luke!" One of them yells, the one with pitch black hair.

"Run!" Luke tells them.

The girls exchange a look, then begin running next to us.

"What's going on?" The black-haired girl asks.

"Is it a monster?" The other girl asks. She's closer to my age.

"Hellhound," Luke gasps, struggling for breath.

I'm too scared to question the sanity of these people. The dog is still following us relentlessly.

"What do we do?" I question.

"We fight it," the black-haired girl says.

I look at her, wide-eyed, just as she pulls out a knife from her jacket. Instinctively, I jump away from her. She stops running. Stupidly, I do too, wondering what she's planning. She turns on the dog, aiming her knife at him.

"No!" I cry out, throwing the knife out of her hands. "Don't hurt it!"

She turns on me, fury in her eyes. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"Thalia!" Luke yells, just a bit behind us. "She's just a kid!"

Thalia's gaze softens only slightly. "I'm trying to save your life, kid."