Children of the Heroes: Omega

Chapter 13: Harpies On The Loose

Zac's POV

We snuck out of the cabin and waited at the river for five minutes. Everyone was confused as to why we were going to Detroit. But the only answers Rayn would give anyone was "You'll understand later," and "Tatar will understand." Jake and Tatar came running up the hill, and we left. A thought just occured to me, six demigods and a satyr just walked out of a camp that is supposedly heavily guarded. Interesting.

It's about 9:30 at night, we don't have any better transportation then walking, so I guess that'll just have to do. Savannah and Felix were reading I think. Clare, listening to her music, Tatar and Jake cracking jokes and telling stories. It was as if we were camping, but walking. I realised it had been a long time since Rayn said anything. She looked so conflicted and confused and troubled. So I decided to go talk to her.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked

"I'm fine, just thinking." She replied, her voice was shaky. Her hair was back in a ponytail, never down.

"What are you thinking about?"

"The quest, my parents, Jake, everyone, everything." she paused between sentences "Trying to solve the prophecy, wondering what my parents looked like, I don't want to let you guys down."

"You won't, you look like a leader and you are a leader. The only way you could possibly let us down is if you left somehow." She stopped in her tracks, was it something I said? "Rayn?" Everyone stopped what they were doing, Clare took here earbuds out.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Is she okay?" Jake questioned.

"I don't know, she just sort of, stopped." Then, we heard it, an ear piercing screech.

"RUN!!" Rayn screamed over the noise. She started running towards the road, but that would blow our cover. Everyone followed, unsure of what was going on. The closer to the road we got, the more we could see. There was a car sitting on the side of the road discarded. We got in and Clare started driving I like she's done this before. I looked down the road, we were so close to the city. Then one of the cleaning harpies from camp came down and attacked through the open window.

"Aahh!!"Clare screamed. She picked up an umbrella off the ground and started whacking it on the head. Her other hand was kept on the wheel, still driving. The car swayed from side to side until the harpy fell out. I looked behind us through the back window and saw a whole swarm of janitor harpies coming after us like the witch's flying monkeys. Before anybody could do anything, Jake jumped out of the passenger seat and started fighting them off while they were swooping down. They were not dying. Just like Clarrisse had said....The harpies started piling on top of him.

"I'm coming Jake!!!" yelled Clare. She swerved the car around toward Jake. Just then, Jake burst out of the pile up, swords in the air. His clothes were tattered and his face had various claw marks across it. Clare drove right past, and grabbed him with both arms just in time, forcing me take the wheel. I drove a little farther before stopping the car. Clare hurled out of the car landing right into Jake's arms as they hit the ground. After recovering for a moment she quickly stood up on her feet.

"How did they know we were gone?" Jake asked while standing up himself.

"I don't know, they weren't any out when we left." Rayn replied. Tater got out of the car and played a song on his pipes. All the harpies soon grew drowsy and fell to the ground asleep.

"Nice, dude. I didn't know you played that thing." Jake said.

"It's kind of a satyr thing." Tatar replied. With that, we all got back in the car, to startled to talk about what just happened.

Everyone was silent for a long time, we all took turns sleeping and watching out the windows. While I was on watch, so was Rayn. She kept staring out the window, like she was looking for something.

"You should sleep," I suggested. She didn't reply. I looked around me, Clare had continued listening to her music and fell asleep. Next to her was Jake, who was talking to Tatar. Felix lay next to Savannah. Casual things you do at camp, but this time our lives were at a greater risk. I looked out the windshield, looking at the buildings that loom above us, the street lights that give light when we pass. A little sleep couldn't hurt, could it? We would need our energy anyways, the car would last so much longer without gas. Another day, we don't know what we're up against, and the camp's survival is in our hands. Sounds like any other day as a demigod. Or whatever we are...