Chapter 34: Chapter 34
When Alex shook the last remnants of the Charmspeak used on him, he whirled around to grab his rucksack and rushed for Annabeth. The little girl was curled up in a ball by the large windows, clutching her abdomen and trembling in pain.
Jules said something to him, but he didn't listen — he didn't really care right now.
He dropped the rucksack beside Annabeth and dragged the zipper open. It was filled to the brim with his stuff, but that wasn't what he was looking for. He reached his hand deep into it until he felt a rectangular box. He brought it out.
The box was made of dark wood — nothing special, just an old glasses case. Opening it, he clicked his tongue when he saw only one small golden cube — the last of their ambrosia.
Even so, without missing a beat, he unwrapped the thin plastic foil that enveloped the ambrosia and brought the cube near Annabeth's mouth. "Come on, pipsqueak. Eat it," he urged her.
Annabeth bit down on the ambrosia cube in Alex's palm, swallowing it with some difficulty. Instantly, her expression eased up and her grip on her abdomen disappeared. She was still trembling a bit, but Alex knew that probably was the phantom pain coming from a confused brain that couldn't comprehend how fast wounds healed by consuming the food of the gods.
"You alright?" he asked, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
She nodded and, without much difficulty, got to her feet after grabbing her dagger. Leaning on Alex, they walked over to Luke, who was limping over towards them. The sandy-haired boy was rubbing his right shoulder, but apart from that, seemed to be mostly fine. His sword was back in its sheath.
"Somebody's roughed up," Luke joked with a small chuckle, looking at the blood dripping down Alex's nostrils and the purple swelling it had. Luckily, it was night, and it'd be healed in a few minutes.
Alex spit some of the blood that got in his mouth. "Just a scratch."
"A scratch?" Luke arched an eyebrow. "You got your nose smashed."
"I've had worse," Alex shrugged.
While that was true, it didn't change the fact that it hurt like a bitch. At least his wounds in this fight had been self-inflicted. Maybe that meant he was getting better with his sword and powers. Still, when he was caught off-guard by one of the empousa's charmspeak, he almost lost. How was he supposed to fight that in the heat of the moment?
Sure, it hadn't completely incapacitated him, but it gave Sirelin a chance to almost end him. If it wasn't for Jules firing that shot...
Speaking off...
"Oh, now you look at me, you little motherfucker!" The old dark-skinned dude was pissed. He was flailing his gun around as he yelled. "I saved your fuckin' ass by poppin' a cap in that bitch's neck!" he was almost foaming from the mouth, "The least you could fuckin' do is explain why—"
"Relax, dude," Vincent came from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be poppin' a vessel next by the way you're screaming."
Alex was confused. He was sure they weren't those clear-sighted mortals Luke talked about, but by now, the mist should've muddled with their minds enough that they would've forgotten what had just happened.
But honestly, it was normal for them to be excentric — at least Vincent was keeping Jules in check. They'd probably just seen four bulletproof, psychotic women fighting against three pre-teens and a child with... actually, could they even see their weapons? Did they see guns instead?
Whatever, he'd just use the mist and—
"Help would be nice!" Thalia hissed. Alex and the other two jogged over to her.
The punk rocker girl was sitting on the checkered floor, leaning against the jukebox that kept playing the Free Bird solo on repeat. She had her left hand holding onto her injured left leg. Her right arm appeared to be limp, most likely from the large gash on her shoulder. Alex kneeled beside her to get a proper look.
He grimaced. "Ah... that looks bad," he said, opening his rucksack again. Thalia also had a large puncture wound on her left thigh that was bleeding profusely.
They all watched Alex rummage through his backpack like it was a cooler and he was looking for the last soda. Instead, he found the nectar bottle. He clicked his tongue — it was almost empty; just enough to tackle one of Thalia's wounds.
"Alright, listen, we've got a situation here," Alex said, showing the bottle to Thalia. It had what probably was one or two drops of the golden liquid. "We've got enough for just one injury. Where do you want it?"
Thalia eyeballed her shoulder and then her leg like she was choosing between bad and worse. "Fix the shoulder. Just in case we gotta fight more freaks tonight. Can't use the spear with only one arm."
Nodding, Alex drizzled the nectar on her shoulder. The stuff worked like magic — literally. It closed up the wound as if Thalia's skin had a zipper. But her leg was still a mess. With the way it was bleeding, he had to quickly patch it up.
"Luke, can you grab some gauze from the truck? And see if there's something to clean this up," Alex called out.
Luke hobbled over to the truck and came back with the gauze and a half-used bottle of antiseptic. "Found these," he said, dropping them beside Alex.
"This is gonna suck for a sec," Alex warned Thalia. He cut the clothing around her wound with his sword. Immediately, he applied direct pressure using some of the gauze. Thalia yelped and flinched, but Luke and Annabeth held her in place. Luckily, the bleeding stopped with the pressure, meaning a tourniquet wouldn't be needed. Alex then cleaned her wound. Thalia just clenched her jaw and nodded when he told her not to move her leg. After cleaning, Alex wrapped her leg up tight.
"We gotta find somewhere to patch up the rest of this mess," Alex said, eyeing the bandages like they were duct tape on a leaking pipe.
Luke winced, holding his shoulder. Alex looked at him. They couldn't just go to the hospital without risking some monster in disguise attacking the taser-girl when she was being treated. He bit his nails. A place had come to mind, but Luke wouldn't be too happy...
"My mom's place has a proper first aid kit," Luke said all of a sudden. His teeth were clenched, but he spoke nonetheless. "and I'm pretty sure there used to be some ambrosia she'd keep in a cookie jar. Let's head there."
The idea of going to Luke's mom's house made Thalia and Annabeth pause. Alex would have been as surprised had he not thought of it moments before. Honestly, the way Luke described it, it was like suggesting they bunker down in a dragon's den, but desperate times...
"Okay, let's do it," Alex agreed. They really didn't have a better option. There were no hideouts close enough that wouldn't risk Thalia's wound getting infected, and going to a hospital was just asking for another attack.
Gathering their stuff, Alex helped Thalia up, careful not to elevate her leg. As they limped to the truck, Luke automatically went for the driver's seat but then winced as his right arm protested from trying to open the door of the pickup.
"Ah, crap," he muttered, clutching his right shoulder.
"What?" Alex asked, helping Thalia into the backseat.
"Think my shoulder is busted."
Closing Thalia's door, Alex walked over to Luke. He lifted his friend's shirt.
"H-hey!"
"Shut up."
Alex ran his eyes over Luke's shoulder. The shoulder pad was swelling, and the skin where the clavicle was was turning purple. He touched the skin and Luke flinched.
"Yeah, it's broken."
Luke clicked his tongue, rubbing his shoulder. He looked at Alex. "I can't drive like this."
Alex chuckled nervously. With Thalia injured as well and Annabeth being too young, that left him to be the one to drive. It couldn't be that hard, right? He just had to grab the wheel, hit the pedal to speed up and the brake to slow down. Clutch pedal to switch gears, and the gear stick... yeah, it wasn't going to be easy.
That's when Jules and Vincent, who'd been watching from a safe distance, decided to chime in.
"You little shits need a ride or what?" Jules called out, waving his gun with a little too much enthusiasm. "Because it looks like you're about two seconds from falling apart."
Vincent laid a hand on Jules's arm, lowering the gun. "What he means is, one of us will drive you. Where to?"
Alex hesitated. Trusting these guys was a gamble, but they didn't exactly have a lineup of options. Worst comes to worst, he'd just mess up their minds. "Westport. Luke here will tell you where exactly. It's got what we need to get patched up."
Jules snorted, shaking his head. "You kids are one hell of a mess, you know that?"
"Yeah, we get that a lot," Alex shot back, trying not to sound as grateful as he felt.
The dark-skinned man peered into the truck. "This ain't got enough space for all of us."
"I wasn't leaving my car in the sticks anyways," Vincent said. Alex saw him walk over to a red 1967 Chevrolet Malibu.
Jules grabbed the key from Luke's hand and turned to look at Alex and Annabeth. Thalia had her window open to listen.
"So this is how it's goin' to go," Jules said. "I'mma drive the truck with one leg there in the back," he pointed at Thalia before he turned to Luke. "You're the copilot. Tell me where to fuckin' go," then he looked at Alex. "One of you's goin' with Vince. And it definitely isn't little Barbie there. So that leaves you, buster."
Vincent twirled the key on his finger. "I'll be right behind ya, Jules."
"Whatever. Alright, let's go."
"A please would be nice," Luke mumbled.
"Come again?" Jules stopped and arched an eyebrow like he didn't hear it right.
"I said a please would be nice," Luke repeated.
Jules narrowed his eyes. "Get it straight, kid - I'm not here to say please, I'm here to tell you what to do and if care for hole-legged there is something you possess you'd better fucking do it and do it quick. I'm here to help - if my help's not appreciated then lotsa luck, gentlemen."
"No, Mr Jules, it ain't like that," Alex assured him. "Your help is definitely appreciated."
"If I'm curt with you it's because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast and I need you kids to act fast if you wanna get out of this and treat your buddy. So, pretty please... with sugar on top. Get in the motherfuckin' vehicles."
Luke took the passenger front seat and Annabeth gave Alex a quick hug before opening the door to the backseats. Jules got behind the wheel and turned on the car.
Alex sighed and walked over to the Malibu, opening his door and falling to his seat.
As they drove off, the diner and its lights faded behind them. Alex felt a weird mix of relief and uncertainty. Relief because they were getting help, and dread uncertainty... well, going to Luke's mom's house wasn't exactly like hitting up a 24-hour pharmacy. But it was the best they had.
Vincent rummaged around the glove compartment before taking out a CD and grinning at Alex.
"Ever heard Jungle Boogie?"
"Nah," Alex answered. He didn't know if CD players in cars attracted monsters, so, just in case, he scooted as far as he could from the dashboard.
"Prepare to," Vincent said, sticking the CD into the compartment and hitting the play button, "have your mind blown."
"Next time," Alex mumbled to no one in particular, "let's just stick to the drive-thru."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
NyanTa
NyanTa Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone