Falling Stars

My Mom Drives The Pacman-Mobile.

        The sun was shining through the large battered tent that was the inifirmary. Apollo kids were rushing around, feeding people squares of food, giving them a golden colored drink, and yelling and people that decided it was a good idea to fall asleep on the support beams. I woke up a few days after the Hermes cabin incidient. That didn't really surprise me, considering I recover from major injury in about twenty minutes. 

        However, what did surprise me, was my first visitor. The small frame that made up Fireball Flinger Rylie sat at the end of my bed, a look of concern on her face. That wasn't good, considering just three days ago she roasted my plate and toasted my eyebrows. As soon as she saw that I had woken up, she leaped to her feet, fireball in hand. 

        That was good I guess, because it meant she no longer cared if I was burned or not, because she was about to make sure it was confirmed. Instead of flinging it, though, she crushed it in her hand and sat back down. "You sleep with your mouth open, and sing Radioactive in your sleep." She said, now twiddling her thumbs.

        "Uh, that's nice, I guess." I responded. I tried to sit up, when she pushed me back down. As soon as my back hit the bed, I felt a spark of pain in my back, and let out a yelp.

       Rylie giggled, which was still out of character, and said between stiflied laughter, "Your entire back is covered in second degree burns. You aren't going anywhere for a few weeks." The archer kid that poked one of the giant snake's eyes out when I first got caught in this whole mess noticed I was awake, and trotted over.

        "So, you aren't dead. I owe Jake ten drachma now." The boy dug into his jacket, pulling out a bag. From the sound of it, the bag was filled with coins. "I'm Wallace," he muttered after cursing as he dug golden coins from the bag, and counting them.  "I was the guy that dragged you out of the fire and here."

        "Well, one, thanks for that, and two, why do you have gold?" I pointed to the coins in his hand now. Wallace had tucked the bag back into his jacket, and then slipped the coins into his pocket. 

        "These are drachmas, our currency here. You can use them at the camp store, to send Iris Messages, and to find the right Hermes kid to sneak you in snacks." Wallace responded. After saying the part about snacks, Rylie punched him with a flaming fist, which caught his jacket on fire.

        Wallace yelped, and patted the flame out. "You aren't supposed to tell people about snacks." Rylie scolded him, as if he was a puppy who just peed on the couch. 

        "Yeah, yeah. Snacks are illegal here and we can only eat healthy and nutrious food that will give us more energy when we go on quests and fire scary monsters and poke people's eyes out." Wallace joked, making his best impression of Chiron, the centaur who was apparently Camp Director here, which I still didn't understand becuse he should be long dead. 

        "So, how fast can you get me out of here?" I looked at Wallace, who in response shrugged. 

        "It depends on how fast you recover with the help of nectar and ambrosia. If you recover fast, two to three days. If you don't, two to three weeks." I grinned. I didn't care what this ambrosia and nectar stuff was as long as I got out of this place fast. I started to sit up again. This time, Rylie didn't push me down, which was good too, because I didn't want her to start giggling and saying "omg" like most of the girls did at my school. She looked like someone that would do that, I probably would've assumed that she did had I not seen her summon fire and blow up my car in a snake's mouth.

        I winced in pain when I finished sitting up. Wallace handed me a square of food like he had with other patients in the infirmary. I took a bite of it. It tasted like my dad's homemade chicken, before he passed away and I had to move to a foster home. I had forgotten the taste that my dad and I had always ate while joking about how well the Yankees were doing. 

        I could feel my face getting red, and tears running down my cheek as I was reminded of my father, the man who I looked up to until he fell victim to a hit and run. I stared at the cover draped over me. Seconds later, someone forced me to look up. Rylie was looking into my eyes. Her normally light blue eyes were dark, as if full of concern. It still bothered me that she looked like that.

        "Bad memories?" She asked, her voice light. All I could do was nod. I felt a lump in my throat, as if everything I wanted to say clotted there and refused to continue moving. Rylie, continuing to act out of character, put her arms around me. Wallace joined in. "Almost all of us end up having that happen," She continued to talk, "And the people we remember are normally the reason we're here."

        The pain in my back was now gone, which probably happened from the square of food that tasted like chicken. Rylie and Wallace pulled away, and I took another bite of painful memories. After the third bite, the square was gone. I felt tingling all over my body as it started to do it's work, healing me from head to toe.

        "So, uh, I think it worked." I muttered, as I had finally found words to say. Rylie smiled, and a thought clicked into my head. What if this is how Rylie really acts, and the tough girl stuff was just so no one would get too close to her. Man, I started to have a crush on her. That isn't good. Not good at all. 

        My thoughts were interrupted as a black car with a triangle missing from each axel, like they were a bunch of black Pacmans drove through the wall, honking. In the driver's seat was the person I hated with every piece of my heart, Ms. Lincoln.

        Ms. Lincoln was a thousand year old lady who  yelled at kids for sharpening their pencil the wrong way. Just about everyone hated her guts. Seeing her here made me angry. This place was supposed to be a safe haven for demigods, right? How'd this monster get in? Then Rylie hopped off the bed, and kneeled. Wallace fell in with Rylie. 

        "Lady Nemesis," They both said simultaniously. Lady Nemesis? Then it clicked in my mind from all of those stupid mythology classes. Nemesis was the goddess of revenge. That was probably why she looked like Ms. Lincoln, the person who I most wanted to get revenge on.

        Nemesis smiled cruely, staring at me. "So, this is one of my kids? You're scrawny." She remarked. Both Wallace's and Rylie's face went from poker face to surprise pretty quick. Nemesis laughed at the two of them. "You dolts didn't sense a single trace of me on him? Damn, demigods have gotten pretty weak."  That was when Rylie's face went from surprise to anger. Nemesis seemed to find amusement in that, too. "So, you must be the child of Hecate," She said, looking at Rylie, "well, I must be off now. Huge mystery about a bunch of meteorites falling."

        On that note, she backed out of the hole she had made, and disappeared with a flash, which lit up the entire infirmary. Rylie and Wallace stood, groaning. "If I have to bow to one more god that insults me, I'm going to burn someone's face off." Rylie growled. Wallace backed away from her. "Well, I suppose that makes you Jayce Garzin, son of Nemesis." While saying that, Rylie seemed to cool down, her face going from angry barbarian princess to really hot chick again. And damn it, I shouldn't be saying that. She can beat me up. 

        Wallace looked over at me. "Well, after you get out of the infirmary, and you can move into Nemesis's cabin. For now, get some rest." I had no objections, and laid back down, falling asleep as my head hit the pillow.