Persephone's Cage [Connor Stoll]

chapter seven

"You're joking, right?"

"Of course not! How can you even think of eating eggs without bacon?"

"Connor, I'm vegetarian. I don't eat meat, which includes bacon."

Back on the move towards Chicago, Lilly was sandwiched between Connor and Aiden. The two were bickering, Connor being...well, Connor, and Aiden trying his best not to play his pipes and turn him into a sunflower.

Their mini mission was to find a place for breakfast, and perhaps find a new ride to their destination. "I get that. But why? I could never live without bacon." Connor rubbed his stomach, a dorky grin upon his lips. "It's so...amazing."

"It's probably because I'm basically related to everything in nature." Aiden retorted. "Imagine if someone were to cut up Travis and cook him. You wouldn't want to eat him."

Lilly couldn't help but snicker. "Knowing Connor, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a slice of bacon and Travis."

"Hey!" Connor complained. "We had a bonding moment last night! You can't be mean to me."

"As the leader of this quest, I'm obligated to practically do what I want." Lilly sent him a smile, broken giggles leaving her lips. She watched as Connor's eyes moved from her, his cheeks becoming dusted in red.

Soon enough, the trio sat down at a cafe nearby, happily munching down on their food. Lilly took a deep sip of her iced coffee (warm coffee made her sick) and glanced around. "Stoll." She spoke up, glancing towards the boy.

Connor perked up at his name, er, his last name being spoken. He had pieces of pancake on his chin, and she rolled her eyes. "You're the son of Hermes."

"Yes, I figured you would know that by now." He retorted sarcastically. "What gave it away? My charming good looks?" He smirked, placing his chin in his hand, swiping away the pancake pieces.

Lilly stared at him. "If by charming good looks you mean looking like an elf, sure." Connor gasped, causing him to nearly choke on a strawberry. Aiden slapped his back aggressively, causing the demigod to spit out his food. "Ew. Anyways, look over there." Lilly nodded her head towards the open street.

Not too many people were out, as it was still winter time. The chilly breeze of Pennsylvania shook their bones, but their coats and hoodies kept them warm. Cars, however, did litter the street. "What are you getting at, Lilly?" Aiden asked quietly.

"My point is, Hermes is the god of thieves." She pointed out. "Connor, you have the ability to unlock any lock, right?" She asked, as their blue eyes clashed. He gave her a nod, a mischievous smirk rising on his lips. "So, you can steal us a car, and we can be on our way."

Connor laughed. "Dixon, who knew you could be such a rebel?" He teased her, causing her to flush in embarrassment. "Aw, no need to blush! Mr. Stoll is on the job." He sat up from his seat, and looked around. Lilly figured he would pick his favorite car.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Aiden asked, picking at his hashbrowns. He much prefered the napkins, anyways. "I mean, stealing from mortals? It just feels wrong."

Lilly nodded. "I agree, but it's not like we can just hitch a ride." She glanced down. "Not after I got us attacked by that Cyclops."

"Lils, it wasn't your fault." Aiden slid his hand over hers. "We all decided to get into the car. Besides, no one could help that it was a monster."

"Guys!" Connor's voice shouted. The two friends followed his voice, watching his body wave at them from the driver's side of a red honda civic. "I got one, hurry up before we get caught!"

"His yelling is gonna get us caught." Lilly muttered, taking one last sip from her iced coffee. She placed down two drachmas, not caring that much if they would accept the payment or not. They were stealing a car, anyways. A free-ish breakfast sounded pretty cool, too.

Aiden and Lilly rushed to the car, watching Connor place his hand over the door handle. His eyes closed, his eyebrows downturned in concentration. A soft click was heard, and the son of Hermes opened his eyes and laughed. "Come on, gang! Get in."

Lilly was beaten to shotgun from Aiden, and pouted in the back. "Why am I in the back?"
She crossed her arms. "I'm the leader of this quest."

"Leader or not, the rules of shotgun still apply." Connor looked at her from the rearview mirror. His eyes were full of playfulness. "Don't worry, you big baby. We'll take turns on who drives and who's shotgun."

"Whatever." Lilly huffed, and watched the sights pass by the car. She wasn't sure how they had gotten so lucky stealing the car, but she just hoped it would last. The last thing they needed was to be pulled over by the police.

Besides, they had a week and a half to find Persephone and her cage, and free her. If they had even a minor setback, they might not get to her in time, and spring couldn't begin. A world with no springtime would be chaos, and despite Lilly's fatal flaw, she was determined to save the world.

Landon was right. Even the underdog could rise to power, and she would do it. She would make her name worth remembering, or die trying. She needed to prove that even the little guys were tough. She needed to show people like Percy Jackson should beware of people like her.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Aiden suddenly asked the driver.

Connor looked offended, taking a hand off of the wheel to put it against his chest. "Of course I do!" He gasped. "Hermes is also the god of travelers. All his kids have a good sense of direction."

"Is that why in the last game of Capture the Flag you took the flag, got turned around, and took it back to their base, ultimately losing the game?" Lilly spoke up, a small smile on her lips.

"Okay, that's different." Connor mumbled, causing the other two to laugh. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" But the boy couldn't help but laugh along with them.

Lilly sighed, content. It was in this moment Lilly could forget about the impending doom that awaited them. Right now, it felt like they were just three normal kids, on a road trip up in the country. Not half godly beings going to save a chained goddess.

"We should be up in Ohio in about three or so hours." Connor spoke up after their laugh fest. "You two should get some rest. I'm not gonna do all the driving, you know." He glanced at Lilly once more, and she gave him a small smile. He smiled back. "Don't worry, I'll wake one of you for a turn."

Lilly yawned, not realizing how tired the car ride was making her. She leaned her head against the window, closing her eyes. Sleep instantly reached out to her, and she was out in a blink.