Reincarnated

Chapter 11

We tore through the night along dark country roads. The wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the wind-shield. I didn't know how our mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas. She probably was just driving off of memory or from the little she could see from the bright lights.

I was sitting right behind Mom, Percy was next to me and Grover on Percy's other side. Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting and wondered if I'd gone insane, but no I really could see his aura. It was a forest green that was currently spiky around the edges with little rumples in it showing that he was angry and worried.

"So, you and mom... know each other?" Percy asked.

Graver's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said."I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you guys." 

"Watching us?" I asked. It sounds weird to say you're watching your best friend.

"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend." He doesn't want us to feel like he pretended to be friends just to get information. I mean, it is a logical explanation but obviously untrue.

"Urn ... what are you, exactly?" Percy asked. I guess he was still going on about that.

"That doesn't matter right now." 

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey-" Oh, Percy. Be glad you aren't getting trampled by Grover right now.there have been full-on stampedes because of that insult.

Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!" 

"Goat!" he cried. His aura flared.

"What?" 

 "I'm a goat from the waist down." 

"You just said it didn't matter, Grover." I point out.

"Blaa-ha-ha! Some satyrs would trample you underhoof for such an insult!" 

"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?" Percy seems astounded. Well, I should be too, but I got over it when I was firstborn. 

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?" 

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" I exclaim. It feels good to be told you're right after being repeatedly told that you're wrong for so long.

"Of course." He says it so plainly.

"Then why-" Percy started.

 "The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover stated like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are." 

"Who I-wait a minute, what do you mean?" I asked. I had to be confused otherwise Grover would sense that I wasn't and I would get caught knowing the future and that would change the future.

The weird bellowing noise rose again somewhere behind us, closer than before. The Minotaur was closer to us, still on our trail.

"Kids," mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety." 

"Safety from what? Who's after us?" I ask. They made it sound like we were the main target for some killer cult.

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions." I guess that's what you get when you call a satyr a donkey. The cold, hard truth.

"Grover!" Mom reprimanded.

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?" Well, hopefully, we can get through this all alive. 

 "Where are we going?" I asked. 

"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for our sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you." 

"The place you didn't want us to go to," Percy stated.

"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

" "Because some old ladies cut yarn." 

"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means-the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die." 

"Whoa. You said 'you.'" I stated. He thought we were going to die!

"No, I didn't. I said 'someone.'"

 "You meant 'you.' As in us." Percy said.

"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you." Grover argued.

"Boys!" my mom scolded. 

She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of the minotaur chasing us. 

"What was that?" I asked scared. It was one thing to read about dangerous things and know about them, it was another to be in one. Even though I know what is going to happen I'm still scared. 

"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please." She must really be scared, for us and herself. 

I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive. Suddenly, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom! , and our car exploded.

For a split second, I felt like I was on a roller coaster, right after the climax and I was heading straight down at 100 mph, weightless, except something happened and I got shocked by electricity from the seats and at the same time, the seat restraints that kept me from falling out got burned to ashes. I felt like I was numb, weightless, didn't have enough oxygen to breathe, and in utter danger.

"Percy!" mom shouted. It sounded like she was shouting through a wall, I could barely hear her.

"I'm okay... ." I heard Percy respond. It was barely a whisper in my ears.

"Diana!" mom shouted. 

I tried to respond but I couldn't. My mouth wouldn't open. I panicked and started thrashing my arms. There was this wet substance around me. Mud. I was drowning in mud. Just like Percy did in Alaska. Just a note, she means when she read the book, Percy hasn't yet drowned. 

I tried to shake it off. I managed to get some of it loosened around me, but other than that it was stuck.

The mud was drowning me.