Off To Alcatraz We Go (CLOSED)

Finn scoffed and dug into her pocket with a snide look on her face, I was laying in the back seat. I had been in the process of crawling out of the back when we crashed. My face had been propelled into the back seat of the car, and my legs were dangling over the edge, still in the trunk. I pulled myself over with a grunt and collapsed onto the back seat beside Roxy. The police man looked at me, one eyebrow raised. He definitely wasn't impressed. Finn Finally reached her ID and handed it to the police officer, who took it and took off his glasses to reveal brown eyes. He read it, his mouth open. He looked at Finn, his face not changing from his skeptical expression.
"McLovin?" He asked. Finn snorted and laughed.
"I thought it was funny." She said with a shrug. Luke, Roxy and I all groaned as the police officer pocketed Finn's fake ID.
"Alright, kiddies, you're coming with me." He said, opening the back door so that Roxy and I could climb out.
"Up against the car, hands behind your backs." The officer said in a bored tone, as if he pulled over four, crazy-driving teen-aged Demigods everyday. He cuffed the four of us, Finn rolled her eyes as he did. Roxy didn't look impressed at all. As he went to cuff me he noticed my violin hanging from my back.
"Remove the instrument, son." He told me. I wanted so badly to turn the tuning peg and have it turn into a bow and arrow at my disposal, it would have happened faster than the officer could have even thought about reacting. I knew he wouldn't see it through the mist though. So I turned to him instead and looked him in his cold brown eyes as I stripped my violin from my back. I felt naked without it, exposed, unprotected. The officer took it from me, and I let go of it roughly. He pushed me into the side of the car by my shoulder and I turned over allowing him to cuff me. I was scared. I had never been to jail, and it was not somewhere I'd wanted to go. Back in New York City I had gotten Casper and I into a few run-ins with the police, not on purpose of course, but I had only ever gotten warnings from them. I was more angry than scared at the moment, I wanted to do something to the police officer, but his gun and tazer that sat comfortably in his pocket stopped me from kicking him in his manhood. I looked at Luke, who looked worried as the officer cuffed him.
"Alright, get in the car," the officer said. He first pushed Luke in by the back of his head, like you see in movies, then me, then Roxy. He took Finn by the arm and started to escort her to shot gun.
"Oohh.. I get the special treatment?" Finn asked in a mock giddy voice. The officer opened the door for her.
"What a gentleman," she said and batted her lazy eyes at him. He gave her a slightly disgusted look, and she sat in the seat before he could touch her hand. I felt like if he tried she wouldn't have made it easy for him. I guess he felt that way too. He got into the drivers seat and drove off, sirens on. We were all silent for the whole ride. He had dropped my violin in the passengers seat next to Finn, I felt a little safer knowing it was near her. She kept it in between her knees carefully, to make sure it wasn't being jerked around the car, I was thankful for her protecting it for me. We finally got to the jail, to bad it wasn't the jail we wanted to be at. The police officer picked up my violin and flung it over his shoulder. I bit my lip and squinted my eyes. I hadn't realized how much that special item meant to me until it had been taken from me. I guess Luke saw me worrying about it, because he walked beside me and bumped his shoulder into mine. I looked at him and he gave a reassuring look. We were lead into the entrance. It looked like a hospital, only there were more bars on the windows. There was a black lady sitting in a small office. The police man lay the violin onto a table. She looked at it and threw it in a blue bin filled with other possessions. I unintentionally made a small squeak noise as she did. She looked at me with a smirk, I continued to bite my lip.
"What's the story for these ones?" She asked eyeing Luke, Finn and Roxy.
"This one was driving over the speed limit and swerving all over a busy road." The officer said, pointing to Finn with a thumb. She winked at the black lady in the office. The lady ignored her and typed something on the computer.
"Take them in for assessment," she said, shaking her head at us. We walked in a single file line until we entered a room. There was one stainless steel table and two prison guards holding bats in the room. One was female, a pretty girl with blonde hair tied up into a bun and brown eyes, lighter than the Officers. The other was a tall, heavily built man with a buzz cut. He reminded me of an older Gary, that thought made me shudder. The one that had brought us in closed the door after we had all entered and left us with the two officers.
"Take off your clothes, and put on the prison jumpsuit." The guy said, with a think, gruff voice.
"Woah, there, Sparky," Finn said. "I don't just take my clothes off for anyone, you gotta pay me up front first, and believe me, I'm probably way more than you can afford." she said as she flipped her dirty blonde hair. The man at the door glared at her. His yell thundered and echoed through the room. Luke, Roxy and I jumped. Roxy inched closer to Luke and I, we both stepped closer to her, in a protective stance.
"CLOTHES OFF NOW." Said the man. Instead of jumping Finn grinned. The woman who stood beside him not so much as blinked at his thunderous voice.
"Man you're persistent," Finn muttered. She seemed to love that she was getting to the officer. "Gotta take these handcuffs off first though, man. I CANNOT STRIP UNDER THESE CONDITIONS." I wanted to laugh. Finn was making it so hard not to. I was way too scared for our well-being to laugh. The women stepped forward and uncuffed all of us. We all took our clothes off. Luke and I made sure to shield Finn and Roxy as they did. We got into the orange jumpsuits and they took us to another part of the jail. Cells lined up as we walked and kids sat in their cells looking at us with pleased faces, not the kind of pleased faces you see when you're at a family reunion, no, the kind of pleased face a wolf gives a sheep before he kills it.
"I'm too young to go to jail," I said out loud. I was starting to freak out. "Do you know what they do to guys like me in jail?" I asked. My breathing was starting to quicken.
"Guys like you?" Asked Finn looking back at me.
"Yeah. The pretty ones." I said. Luke sighed behind me.
"You are SO your fathers son." He muttered.
"Hey! Shut the fuck up back there," shouted the large Gary- like man as he lead us to our cells. We stopped in front of an empty one, and he opened it. He turned a cold gaze to Finn and Roxy and nodded at the entrance. Finn took Roxy's hand reassuringly and walked into the cell with her. I knew that Roxy probably felt a million times better having Finn as a cell-mate. I myself felt a million times better knowing Roxy was with Finn. The man then grabbed Luke and I by the necks as he closed the cell doors and locked it with a key Ours was right beside the girls, only ours was not empty, much to my dismay. The man opened the cell, and inside on the bottom bunk was a skinny looking boy about 17. He was pale with dark circles under his light brown eyes. His shaggy black hair stuck up to one side, like he had been sleeping on it for a day. The man threw Luke and I in, and locked the door behind us. I didn't take my eyes off the pale skinned, dark haired boy, and neither did Luke. I prayed to the gods that Finn would find a way out of this.

We were led into a large cafeteria room. The walls were white, there were windows but they had bars around them. The room was filled with criminal boys and girls wearing jump suits. Off to the side there was a bar where the food was being served. Grumpy looking elder women stood behind it with their big spoons, waiting for delinquents to grab a tray. I was looking around for Finn and Roxy, but I didn't see them right away. Dean led us over to the food bar.
"Better to get the food before the rush," he explained. "Or you miss your chance for lunch." We each grabbed a tray and slid it across the bar. Each of the old ladies scooped something out of a bucket and it hit my tray each time with a SPLAT. I wasn't too sure if I wanted to eat it or not. After we had gotten our food- er, slush, we walked around to find a table. I kept my eyes peeled for Finn and Roxy but I couldn't see them.
"Over there." Luke said pointing to his right. I looked in the direction he had motioned to and there sat Finn and Roxy. Finn sat on the table, and Roxy sat beside her on the bench seat. We speed walked towards the two, Dean following as he didn't know what else to do. My food sloshed from side to side as I did. I gagged. Even I wouldn't think about eating this.
"Finn, Roxy, are you two alright?" Luke asked as he approached them.
"Peachy." Finn replied, her usual sarcastic remark when she thought things could be better. "Who's that?" Finn asked, squinting her lazy black eyes a bit as she looked past Luke and I to Dean.
"This is Dean," I replied. Finn looked at me like she wanted me to explain further. "He was in our jail cell before us." I said. "He's got a... Uh, story I think you might be interested in." Roxy looked over at Dean. He stared at the two girls and shuffled awkwardly.
"Fletch, I really don't think-" He started. I cut him off. I felt like I had been cutting people off a lot lately.
"Dean, trust me. There is absolutely nothing you can tell us that will make us not believe you."
"Unless you tell us they have chocolate cake and ice cream for desert here," Luke muttered as he pushed his food around with his fork, a disgusted look on his face. Dean looked up at Finn and Roxy, both were looking at him with interest.
"Well, I was telling these two how I got here," Dean started explaining. "I'm here because I set a supermarket on fire... I had a good reason though! There was a twelve year old being attacked, I was just trying to help her." Dean sounded like he was trying to plead guilty to a jury.
"She was being attacked?" Finn asked. "By what?"
"a woman just turned into this hideous bat winged creature. When I finally killed her with my flaming milk cartons she just exploded into ash and the little girl was gone." Dean answered. Finn looked confused when he had mentioned flaming milk cartons.
"He's a bit of a pyromaniac." I explained. Finn nodded in understanding.
"He can see my sword." Luke added from the side. That caught both Finn and Roxy's attention. They looked at Dean, who backed up from their intense stares, probably thinking that he'd done something wrong. He stepped back up though, and returned their gazes. Brave guy if he's willing to look a woman in the eyes while she's looking at him like that... I thought to myself.
"He can see through the mist?" Roxy asked, looking at Luke and I.
"Is that even possible? Can Mortals even see through the mist?" I asked.
"Your mother probably had the same ability, or something close to that, Fletch." Finn said. The mention of my mother suddenly gave me a flash of anger. I rolled my eyes and set my jaw. Roxy and Finn both noticed they had stepped on a nerve and dropped the example. "What I mean is, there are some mortals who can see through the mist WAY clearer than normal mortals can." Finn explained.
"The mist?" asked Dean. "What's going on? What are you people? WHO are you people?" He sounded like he was going to freak out. I pushed him on the shoulder and he sat down on the bench across from Roxy's. He looked at the four of us with big light brown eyes.
"Will you believe us if we told you?" Luke asked.
"I'm gonna have to aren't I?" Dean said.
"Fair enough," Luke replied.
"Right, Dean, obviously you've seen some pretty weird shit in your life, eh?" Finn said. "What if we told you we were half human, half god? Demigods."
Dean was quiet. He looked like he was processing what Finn had just said.
"Gods? As in, like, Greek or Roman gods? Like Zeus or Jupiter?" Dean finally asked.
"Yeah, Greek. Zeus is my dad." Luke said, only the last part came out more forced. Dean looked at him with wide eyes.
"Holy shit! That's so cool! What about you? Who's your Greek parent?" He asked, looking at Finn.
"That would be Hermes." Finn replied.
"And you?" He asked, looking at me. I put my hand on Roxy's shoulder.
"We're Apollo's kids." I said.
"You guys are brother and sister?" He asked.
"Well, half brother and sister." Roxy replied. I nodded.
"This is heavy, guys." Dean said, running his fingers through his brown hair and holding it out of his eyes. His breathing was heavy and his mouth was open. He looked past us to the ground.
"What? Do you guys just walk around and fuck shit up? Do you, like, work for your parents?" I realized Dean probably shouldn't have asked that, as Luke tensed beside me. I didn't want him to burst.
"Not exactly," I said. "We go to this camp called Camp Half-Blood. That's where all demigods go. We train there, you know, swords, throwing knives, bow and arrows... But it's also like camp, we have bon fires and sing songs... Only we do things a little differently there."
"Yeah, like capture the flag, but with weapons and body armor." Finn said with a smirk. I thought that if Deans mouth opened and wider his jaw would unhinge. Just then, an alarm sounded and people started to calmly get up with sighs of frustration. The four of us looked at Dean now with wide eyes.
"Lunch is over," he explained, "time to go back to our cells." The five of us got up and made it towards the door. We watched Finn and Roxy as they entered their cell and it was locked. Finn stared at the lock, like she was analyzing it. I knew if anyone could get us out of here it would be her. Luke, Dean and I were escorted to our cell next. The three of us made our way over to the bunk bed. I sat beside Dean and Luke stood, leaning on one of the bed poles.
"So, how did that bracelet turn into a sword?" Asked Dean. He sounded like a 7 year old that had been brought to a completely new place.
"It's a magical item," Luke explained to him. "When I press one of the squares it becomes a sword." Dean stared at the bracelet. I wondered if he'd even blinked since we told him who we were.
"Fletch has one too," Luke said. Dean looked at me.
"You do? Can I see it? What does it turn into?" He asked. He asked a lot of questions and way too fast for my brain to handle.
" Well, uh, mine is kind of my violin. It turns into a bow and arrow when you twist the top right tuning peg. I'm pretty good with archery, being Apollo's son and all." I said.
"So they took it from you?" Asked Dean. He sounded like he was re-living the moment his father had taken his viola. I felt bad for the dude.
"Heavy..." Dean muttered under his breath. "Where's this camp you guys were talking about?" Asked Dean.
"Long Island." Luke said.
"Long Island? What the fuck are you guys doing out here?" There were those multiple questions again.
"We're on a quest-" I started to reply, but I was cut off.
"A quest? What are you questing for?" Asked Dean. He sounded like he was getting pretty excited.
"I'm getting there," I said with a smirk. "This kid, Charlie has been causing some trouble in our camp." I explained.
"He's the son of Dionysus, the god of wine and insanity," Luke put in. "Which mean he can get into people's heads." Dean was quiet.
"So, we're on a quest to get to Alcatraz, the jail he's at to stop him." I finished. Dean nodded.
"This is so fucking cool..." He said, "I'm so glad I'm not crazy! Wait- am I crazy? Are you even real?" He asked reaching out. He pinched my arm and I yelped.
"Last time I checked, yeah I was real! Shit, brah, that hurt," I said rubbing my arm. Dean gave a crooked smile.
"Sorry, man." He apologized.
"S'all good, dude." I said. Luke snickered and held out his fist for a brofist. Dean hesitated, but he returned it, and they shared a smile. I took the act as an initiation.
"Well, I'm glad my pain is bringing us all together," I said in a jokingly bitter voice.
"You guys need to get out of here if you need to go to Alcatraz," Dean mused.
"Yeah, we're hoping our daughter of the god of thieves and travelers is working on that," Luke replied.
"The blonde one," Dean said, mostly to himself, as if he was trying to get us all straight.
"Finn," I said. Dean nodded.
"Finn, okay, and the other girl? Your sister?" He asked.
"Roxy." I said.
"And you're Luke and Fletch. Finn, Roxy, Luke and Fletch. Alright, got it." Luke and I nodded. The three of us sat in our cell talking about the gods, teaching Dean about all of our traditions. Dean didn't even question it. It still blew my mind that he could see through the mist and all of this was so easy for him to take in. We told him about everything we did at camp. I told him about the Satyrs and the Nymphs, explaining the roll of a keeper to him. We waited it out until dinner, where we could discuss our plan with Finn and Roxy.

Luke, Roxy, Finn and I exchanged worried glances. I balled my hands up in tight fists. I had just almost been crushed by a guy who's weight had felt like a 250 pound baby elephant, I was so not down to fight a couple of ugly monsters. The two kids who called each other Bulldog and TJ sat down with a surprised look on their face, although it looked like Bulldog didn't like the sound of being called mortal. I didn't know why he was so pissed, I honestly doubted that he even knew the meaning of the word. I looked at Dean, who's light brown eyes were now wide with a mix of shock and fear. Instinctively I raised my hand over my head to twist the top right tuning peg of my violin, only to be painfully reminded that I had been stripped of my most prized possession. I hung my head in defeat. Luke adjusted his bracelet on his wrist so that the square that activated the sword was in reach.
"What do you want?" Asked Luke in a hard tone.
"Well, you have been causing a lot of trouble around here," said a voice from a pair of speakers that were off in the corner. The voice sounded like it was coming from the bigger guard.
"And?" Asked Finn, sounding almost bored. I wasn't sure what it was about being in jail, but it seemed to make Finn so sassy and sarcastic. I guessed it was just something she did to make herself not seem weak.
"And we've decided that you'd make perfect meals." The voice on the speaker said with a chuckle. A second chorus of laughter sounded from farther in the room and I could only guess it was the quieter guard. Everyone went silent. At first I didn't think they were serious, but then something clicked in my mind and I remembered a younger confused me walking down an ally way in New York City in the middle of the night with Casper in front of me urging me on. I remembered that there had been a gang of three kids, wearing over-sized hoods and dirty caps and beanies on. They threatened us, sizing us up. Casper had grown impatient and had asked them angrily what they wanted. They told us exactly what the two police man had.
"Laestrygonians..." I muttered. Everybody looked at me.
"Very good!" One of the giants clapped. "Now, to make this quick, we're going to come in there, and you're going to cooperate." One of them said. We heard a click, before any one of us could respond, and the PA was off.
"My ass we'll cooperate," said Luke. I looked over at Bulldog and TJ, they looked petrified. I don't exactly know what they were hearing through the mist, or what they were about to see. But it seemed to be negative, whatever it was. I looked over at Dean, who's mouth was open and his hands were back up through his hair, holding his bangs out of his eyes.
"Just don't get hit by the fire," I said to him. He looked at me as he heard fire, but said nothing.
As the Laestrygonians entered the room, they grew in size, giving us uncomfortable smirks and looking us up and down like a big steak... I guessed that was what we were about to become.
"This should be fun," the bigger guy said. Both of their hands erupted into fire in unison. The five of us, Luke, Dean, Roxy, Finn and I all got into a battle stance, crouching low to the ground and ready to jump. One of the giants threw his fireball at us to see which way we scattered. I jumped to my left, along with Dean. Finn, Luke and Roxy jumped to the right. One of the giants started to come towards Dean and I, and the other went towards Luke, Finn and Roxy. Luke and Finn stood in front of Roxy, I wasn't sure if that was intentional. Luke pressed the button on his bracelet and it grew to sword. I turned my attention to the Laestrygonian who was advancing on Dean and I. We both backed up on the floor until we hit the table that TJ and Bulldog were sitting in. The both of them had moved to the corner of the room and were huddling with each other. I flipped the stainless steel table over as another fireball came hurtling towards us. Dean and I covered our heads I could feel the table heat up with impact and it shot backwards towards us.
"Fuck, man! What do we do?" Asked Dean desperately looking at me. I tried to think of something to do, I tried to remember what had happened back with the gang Casper and I had dealt with when I had first come to camp, but my ADHD mind was buzzing violently. I looked over at Finn, Luke and Roxy as they screamed and dodged another fireball. Finn and Roxy pinned themselves against the door, as sweat dripped down their faces. Luke rolled on his side, out of the way and behind the giant, but the Laestrygonian wasn't paying attention, as he was advancing on Finn and Roxy. The one that had Dean and I in his sights approached the table we were hiding behind and looked over it with a smile. Dean and I screamed, and we dashed off beside Finn and Roxy at the door, which admittedly wasn't the best idea I've ever had. There was a thunderous scream that sounded through the closed room, which came from the giant Luke had rolled behind. I saw Luke, digging his sword into the back of the Giants neck, all that was visible was the hilt of the sword, the blade had been embedded in a downwards motion through his back. He fell to his knees and with one mighty, swift tug Luke freed his sword from the monsters back. Just in time, as the other giant yelled with anger at Luke and blasted anther fireball his way. Luke gave a 'ARGH' as he jumped in our direction, hitting the floor near our feet.
"Thanks for the help, guys! That was great!" He said sarcastically.
"D-didn't want to cramp your style" I stuttered. Luke huffed and sat up. We could tell that he giant on the ground wasn't dead, as he would have erupted into ash. He was simply rolling on the ground in pain.
"That's gonna give me years of back problems, boy!" He spat angrily.
The two Laestrygonians stood together, getting large fireballs ready to shoot at us. As they did, at just the right second we all jumped out of the way. There was a large BANG like a grenade had just gone off. My vision was blurry as I opened my eyes, and my ears rang. We all looked disoriented. I heard a scream of pain, and I looked over to my left, where Finn and Roxy were. Finn was laying over Roxy, both holding their ears, but Roxy's leg looked red and raw. I guessed she hadn't gotten out of the way. I looked at the doors. The giants looked disoriented too at the large sound, as they held their heads. There was a giant hole where the doors should have been, an opening to freedom. My vision was slowly coming back now, and my ears had nearly stopped ringing.
"Run!" I yelled at everybody, Dean, Luke, Finn and Roxy heard me. Finn helped up Roxy and helped her up, Roxy's arm over Finns shoulder. Dean and Luke dashed for the exit and I ran to help Finn. We ran as fast as we could with Roxy's ankle slowing us down a bit. The giants chased us, as I expected they were slow. That's how Casper and I had lost them the first time. We had given them the slip and had JUST gotten away. We ran down the hallway, inmates yelling and screaming to be let out as they noticed our escape. Luke and Dean opened the doors quickly and held it for us. They both looked at each other once we had gotten in and shared a smirk, looking like they knew what they were going to do. Just as the giants got to the heavy doors they shut them with another loud bang, and the two giants on the other side fell back, holding their noses. The five of us started running again, Luke and Dean leading the way. We took a sharp turn as we heard the door open and we continued down another hall. The giants saw us and charged. Roxy winced as she tried to run faster, Finn and I knew we had to pick up speed. We took another turn and to our luck there were more doors. Luke and Dean opened them and the flew open. The two held the door and closed them. There was a lock on the other side. They closed the doors quickly as the giants charged down the white hallway and they locked them. The two idiots chasing us ran into the door once more and fell back.
"Really?" Finn said as she looked back. "You would think they'd learned their lesson."
"Just a little farther, guys." Dean said through puffs of heavy breath. "Then we're home free. There's a garage somewhere here, where they keep the cars and whatever they took from the inmates." My mind clicked to my violin.
"I need to get my violin back!" I exclaimed.
"We'll get it buddy," Luke assured me," I promise. He gave me a sincere look from over his shoulder and I smiled gratefully at him. His look turned to panic, though, as the giants figured out that they could easily just burn down the door. There was another large explosion, I almost tripped over myself, but somehow managed to catch myself. We turned a corner, and to our luck, there were three other directions to go. Left, right, and straight. We took a sharp left, and kept running, the giants were too far back now to see where we went. There was a right turn further down the hall we took that lead us to another door that was dimly lit with garage lights We took that, Luke and Dean dashing forward to get the door. Finn, Roxy and I stumbled into the garage and Luke and Dean closed the door quietly. Dean looked to his left, then to his right. He picked up a lead pipe and stuck it through the two door handles. He then started looking around frantically for, what I thought would be my violin. Instead he pulled out a black fire blanket.
"Help me hang this, Luke!" He urged. Finn, and I set Roxy down on the ground. Finn nodded to me and then to the door.
"Go help, I'll stay with her." She said. Roxy was suffering in silence on the ground holding Finns hand tightly. I nodded and jumped at Dean and Luke.
"Agh! Too high!" Dean exclaimed.
"Here," I said. "I'll give you a boost." I knealt down and cupped my hands together. Dean stepped on my hands and I hoisted him up. He was surprisingly light for a 17 year old. When he got the fire blanket hooked up against the door, I helped Luke, who was JUST out reach if he was jumping. When he got his the three of us stumbled down the steps and fell next to Finn and Roxy.
"Car," I huffed. My breathing was heavy from running. Dean groaned and sat up. Finn got up with hesitation, she knew that there would be locks she'd have to pick, and wires she'd have to spark to start the car. Roxy nodded to her, although her face was contorted in pain. I sat with her and took her hand. She squeezed so tightly I thought my hand would break.
"Roxy, Roxy, it'll be okay," I assured her. She looked at me, and I could practically feel the pain welling in her eyes. I looked up at Luke who was looking around wildly. He looked straight and a look of satisfaction played on his face. He ran forward. There was a large bang at the doorway.
"Hurry, Finn!" I heard Dean exclaim. I heard Finn retort with a sassy comment but she was working on hot wiring the car, and her voice was muffled.
"Fletch!" I heard Luke yell. He was standing by a mound of items like knives and guns and other personal things like books that had been taken away from inmates. He was holding my violin case in his right arm, a thumbs up with the other.
"Oh, baby!" I yelled in happiness. Luke grinned at me and ran back to me, handing the violin to me, which I hugged tightly with the arm that Roxy wasn't crushing. Another bang at the door, this time from fireballs, which extinguished due to the fire blanket hooked to the wall. We were all silent, not that it mattered as the monsters could smell us. Suddenly, there was a loud VROOM as Finn got the car started.
"Get in!" I heard her yell. Luke helped me set Roxy in the back, Dean ran to the door to open it so Finn could drive away. The Laestrygonians burst through the fire blanket just as we skidded out, Dean jumping head first into the passenger seat as Finn drove off and slamming the door. The giants chased us for a while, throwing their fireballs which Finn dodged easily. She switched on the sirens of the police car we had just stolen and drove off, people moving out of our way. Roxy's head lay on Luke's lap, and her legs were sprawled out on top of mine. I looked at the raw flesh in horror, and knew we had to do something before it got worse, I just didn't know what.

Dean sat up excitedly, extending his arm upwards in a fist. Clasped in his hand were two hand guns. I put one hand on his shoulder and grabbed one from his hand. It was a semi-automatic pistol. I smirked.
"Not bad," I remarked. Dean looked at me with an expression of pride.
"Do they have ammo, though?" Asked Finn, looking at the both of us with her arms crossed. I slipped out the clip in the gun and checked the ammo situation.
"Enough for one round in this one," I answered and Dean did the same with his.
"Another round in this one." He said, slipping the clip back in with a click. Finn thought for a minute.
"Gonna look for some more ammo, just in case." She decided. "Fletch,help Luke with Roxy. Dean, go see if you can get the door open. Dean nodded and I crawled back towards Roxy and Luke. Roxy had her eyes closed, but it was obvious she was very much awake. Luke was asleep with Roxy still in his lap. I rolled my eyes and grinned. I flicked him in the nose and he woke up with a start, his green eyes wide. Dean got out of the car and jogged towards the house with his gun in hand. As he got to the door he tucked it in the back of his pants and started to play with the door, testing if it would open.
"Wakey, wakey Lukey-Pukey." I said, in as soft a voice as I could. Luke pursed his lips. "Gotta get Roxy in the house," I reminded. Luke carefully put his hands under Roxy's head, who opened her eyes as he did. She helped him by sitting up herself as she winced. Finn dug through the dashboard, but stopped what she was doing to look back at us.
"... Careful, you guys." She said quietly, but sternly.
"Don't worry Finn, we got her." I said. I started to straighten my back, and my head hit the roof of the car.
"Fuck." I said, raising my hand to rub the back of my head.
"You've barely got yourself." Finn taunted, although I sensed a bit of worry in her voice.
"I'll fix her up when we get in the house... How hard can medicine be for a son of Apollo?" I said, aware of the unintentional uncertainty in my voice. Finn looked at me with a skeptical expression and started to dig more violently. I heard the creak of a door and I looked up at Dean, who pushed the wooden door of the house open and looked our way with an accomplished smile. Roxy slipped out of the car, keeping her teeth clenched together as she did. I held out a hand for her, and allowed her to use me as a support. I had never really noticed the height difference between us. Luke had to crouch down slightly for her to use him as a support. We hobbled over to the house, and Finn started following us when we were half way there, two clips of rounds in her right hand and Roxy's bag slung over her shoulder. She caught up with us and started walking beside me.
"That was some pretty good shooting back there, Haiku face." She said, clapping me on the back with her free hand. I handed her the gun I was holding and adjusted my violin case. I could feel myself beaming. Being told I was a good shot by Finn felt good. When we approached the door Finn walked in first, followed by Luke and I, who had to lift Roxy a bit so that she could get over a step. Dean shut the door behind us and locked it. We walked around a corner and found a living room. There were two couches, one full and one love seat. There was also a chair with a foot rest. Luke and I took Roxy over to the chair. We lay her down carefully and Finn dropped her bag on the floor near the chair. When Roxy was situated comfortably, Luke shot himself back and landed on the love seat, sprawling himself onto the cushions.
"Goodnight," he mumbled.
"Sleep tight," Finn, Dean and I said in unison. The three of us grinned at each other and Dean took a seat on the three seated couch. Finn knelt down next to me as I crouched near Roxy's ankle.
"So, do you know what you're doing?" She asked.
"I... I sort of know. A couple years back in school they taught us first aid," I said as I tried to remember what to do first.
"Ice," Said Roxy quietly as she slumped in the large chair. "Makes it burn less."
"Where am I going to get ice?" Asked Finn.
"C-cold towel?" Roxy suggested. Finn stood and hurriedly walked into the kitchen to try the water. I heard the tap run and sighed in relief. She came back with a towel and gave it to me.
"Should have just held it to your heart," Luke muttered from the couch. Finn looked over with a glare, and Luke returned it with a smirk. Finn realized he had been joking and her glare turned into a grin. She let it slide and watched me as I placed the towel lightly on Roxy's leg. She flinched and tried to mover her leg away as the cold towel touched the sensitive skin. The ambrosia had worked, but it still looked pretty bad. It was about a second degree burn now, but slowly, very slowly it was healing itself. Finn extended her hand to Roxy, who took it once again, interlocking her fingers with Finn's and squeezed as I placed the towel on the burn and held it there. I wrapped it around the burn and as Roxy got used to the sensation she relaxed her muscles, she didn't let go of Finn's hand. We all sat around in silence. I dug through Roxy's bag and pulled out some antibiotics to use on the wound after to stop any infection that could occur, and some bandages to put on afterward. I looked around the room. It was only lit by the light that was dimming slowly as evening dawned on us. The ground was old and seemed to be rotting in some areas and the house smelled of gravel and moss. The roof sagged over our heads, which made me nervous, and the windows were cracked and broken, weeds growing all over them. I looked at Luke, who looked to be asleep on the love seat, then at Dean who was hunched over, playing with a lighter in his hand and focused on the ground. Finn was looking at Roxy, brushing her black hair out of her tanned face with the hand Roxy wasn't holding.
"Hey, Dean," I said to break the silence. Dean looked up at me, as I jogged him from his thoughts. "What're you thinking about?" I asked. Dean hesitated, rubbing his hands together before straightening up and setting the lighter on the wooden table in front of him.
"One, I was wishing I had a pack of smokes," he said with a crooked smile. "Two, I was wondering what I was going to do after this." His voice had dropped. Luke, whom I thought was asleep looked up and opened his eyes a crack.
"What do you mean?" Asked Finn. "Can't you go home?" Dean chuckled under his breath and looked at her.
"Nah, I can't go home. My rents don't like me all that much. When I first got into jail, they visited me to tell me that 'I was no son of theirs' and 'I was better off there than at home.' I guess you could say they basically kicked me out..." Dean answered. Finn looked down.
"Sorry," she said.
"Ah... Not like I wanted to spend the rest of my life with them anyway." Dean said. I looked at Luke. He looked angry. I knew what feeling abandoned felt like. My mother had done it to me when I was a baby, dropping me off at my grandparents and never making contact with me or them ever again. Like she just disappeared from all of our lives. But, I had no recollection of her voice or her appearance. I guess I had preferred not hearing her say goodbye, than hearing her say she didn't want me anymore.
"Now, I'm wanted back in jail and I have no where to go. I guess that's really the only place I belong," Dean said. I wished we could bring Dean back to camp with us, I wished so badly he could be a half blood, and we could be wrong that he was just a mortal who could see through the mist, but that's where every logical point directed us to.
"Too bad we can't bring you back to camp with us," I said sadly, hanging my head with defeat.
"Wait a minute..." Finn said, "you might be onto something, Fletch." Luke looked up at her, he was laying on his back now, obviously feeling better.
"What are you thinking, Finn?" He said, as if he thought it was going to put our lives in danger.
"I'm thinking we could bring Dean back to camp with us. We ARE allowed to invite people into it." She said. Everyone was quiet, but Dean looked at Finn, very interested.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well, our camp is protected by magic that keeps the monsters out," Luke explained.
"We're allowed to invite people and things into it," I said, catching onto what was happening.
"If we got permission from Chiron, maybe we could set you up outside the barrier." Finn said, looking at Dean.
"Wait? Monsters? I don't want to be sleeping where there's a bunch of monsters roaming around, and who's Chiron?" He asked.
"The monsters won't pay attention to you," Roxy croaked from her chair, "you're mortal. They'll leave you alone."
"Chiron is the camp director," Luke went on.
"He's also a pretty badass Centaur." I put in.
"Alright... So when you say 'set me up' what do you mean?" Dean asked.
"I mean maybe we could build you a cabin outside the barrier, your very own cabin. We could invite you in for meals and other things like camp fires and we could go out and visit you... Or invite you in." I said, getting excited now. Dean nodded slowly.
"Seems like that's my only choice, doesn't it?" He finally said.
"We'll see what Chiron says when we get back," Luke said. I felt Roxy move her leg behind me. I looked back.
"Sorry to bother you." She said, "but if you're going to use that antibiotics and bandage you should think about doing it now while my leg is numb." I carefully took off the damp cloth and set it on the ground. I took another cloth from the bag and poured the antibiotics on it, dabbing the wound. Roxy squeezed Finns hand a bit as I did. When that was cleaned, I bandaged her leg up tightly. Roxy looked at me with a smile.
"Thanks, Fletch." She said as she moved over in the large chair, giving enough room for another person to join her. She looked at Finn and patted the chair. Finn sat beside her and put her arm around Roxy. I dragged myself to the couch Dean was on and flopped into my seat. The sun had just finished going down and the room was pretty dark, although my eyes were used to it.
"Someone should go find some candles," I said.

The creaking of stairs indicated that Luke was coming back. I looked over the back of the couch to see him walking carefully down the stairs, holding the railing for support in case the stairs decided to collapse on him. In his other hand, he held an object I couldn't quite make out and some candles.
"What took you so long?" I asked as he got to the bottom of the stairs. He took the candles and threw them at me. I caught them and stuck them to the table.
"Oh, y'know, dad's just sending messengers," he replied. I half expected the answer to be spat like poison from his lips. I knew how much Luke hated his father, but he seemed a little bit more calm than usual.
"Oh? What did they say?" I asked. Luke set the object on the table next to the candles while Dean leaned over and flicked his lighter with his thumb. It made a couple clicking noises before the tip erupted into flames and he let the string on the end of the candle catch fire, and used the candle to light the others, obviously he didn't want to waste the fuel he had in his lighter. I turned my attention back to Luke,who was looking at the object. It was goat faced cup.
"Wanted to let me know that daddy doesn't want any insane children, so I should keep a level head." There was that sass I was looking for earlier.
"And... Uh, where'd you find the weird antique?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the cup.
"My half sister Eirene gave it to me, she said it fills with a drink that's supposed to help you from going completely mad," Luke explained.
"I see." I said. I poked the nose of the goat, squinting my eyes and pouting my lip. The candles burned dimly in the darkness, giving the cabin an eerie feel to it. I felt like I was in a horror movie, like The Evil Dead or something. I shivered and held my violin case to my chest. I looked over at the chair where Finn and Roxy were sitting. They had both slipped into a sleep. It had been a long day for us, even I was tired. I knew we were probably all exhausted. I turned myself and went to spread myself across the couch, only to remember that Dean was sitting right beside me. I hesitated with my legs, but Dean looked at me and nodded. I smiled gratefully at him and rested my legs over his. He stayed sitting but leaned to one side, resting his head in his hands and propping his elbow up on the arm of the couch. Luke yawned and stretched himself out on the love seat again. I looked at Luke, the flames caused shadows to dance around his face, illuminating his green eyes, which were wide open and looked to be in deep thought as he stared into the corner of the room. They did the same to Dean, making the dark circles under his eyes more prominent. He looked much older than 17 in the light. His light brown eyes looked golden as he stared at the flames, as if the fire was dancing in the darkness just for him. I yawned and my eyelids started to feel heavy. I closed my eyes and rested my head on my arm, quickly falling into a deep sleep. I was back in that dark room once again, no light, no people, only the darkness. Off into the distance I could hear my friends voices. They sounded distressed, angry, sad, worried. I listened for a while before trying to call out, but when I tried to yell at them I only made a squeaking sound. My throat felt as if I had swallowed a bunch of ashes from a fire place. I doubled over and held my throat while gagging on the thick lump I felt near the back of it. The ground I had my hand on felt hot, and I quickly stopped touching it. The dreadful beating of wings sounded from behind me, and heat pounded my back. My shirt stuck to me with sweat. I reached to my back and realized I had my violin case. I turned the top right tuning peg and my violin became my bow and arrow. I turned towards the heat and knocked an arrow to my bow, blindly shooting into the darkness. There was a shrill screech. The voices of my friends screamed in unison as the thing in the darkness. It made me want to, but when I tried I choked on soot. Something bright flashed from the side, and the smell of burning flesh became all that reached my nose. My cheek burned from my ear to the side of my mouth. I woke with a start, sitting bolt upright on the couch, only to be greeted by a startled looking Dean. I let out a sigh of relief and flopped back down onto the couch. The candles were dim, and had burned well through the night.
"Sorry..." I muttered to him softly, as everyone else in the room was asleep.
"What was that?" Asked Dean, leaning over to add more light to the wick of the candle.
"Nightmare," I answered, wiping the sweat from my face and running my fingers through my short hair.
"They always that bad?" He asked, not looking at me.
"Demigods usually get them bad," I said with a sigh. "They have hidden meanings behind them sometimes... Especially recurring ones."
"Was this one a recurring one?" Dean asked.
"... Yeah," I said. The sinking feeling of realizing that something bad was going to happen soon set on me.
"Heavy," Dean muttered to himself. "Should try and get some more rest, even though I've only known the four of you for a day, I know tomorrow is going to be busy as fuck." I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Good idea," I said, turning over on my side to face the back rest of the couch, and pulling my feet up and off of Deans legs to curl myself into a ball. The rest of my night wasn't haunted with dreams about the darkness and unknown monsters. Instead I was at peace the rest of the night, dreaming about Casper once more as I usually did. I was woken up to see Luke sitting on my stomach, flicking my nose. I hadn't expected seeing his face so close so early in the morning, so I flipped over and screamed. Luke fell to the floor, also screaming.
"Dude!" I said, sitting up and staring at him, my eyes wide.
"Dude!" He replied, propping himself up on an elbow and rubbing the back of his head.
"Not cool," I said, stretching.
"I'm not the one who threw me off a couch," Luke said. I looked at him with a smirk.
"Train," I retorted. He looked like he didn't get it at first, but then he looked like he registered what I'd said and grinned up at me.
"Man, are you still holding that over my head?" He asked.
"For the rest of your life," I said. I got off of the couch, my back stiff from sleeping on loose springs all night and held out a hand for Luke. He took it and I helped him up.
"Finn wants to get going," Luke said, punching me in the arm. I looked down, realizing that we were all still in our prison jump suits.
"We should probably get something else to wear, eh?" I said. Luke nodded, looking at his own jump suit.
"Yeah, I mean, as much as I suit orange, I don't think this is my kind of style," Luke said.
The two of us walked upstairs and entered a room to raid the drawers. I already missed my special sweater. Luke and I walked into the master bedroom and opened the drawers, to my amazement, our clothes were sitting in the top one, freshly cleaned and neatly folded.
"What?" I asked. Luke reached in and grabbed a note.
"Don't get used to me doing your laundry, brother. This is a one time thing. Eirene." Luke read out loud.
I grabbed my white v-neck t-shirt and slipped it on. It felt soft and smelled amazing. I found my thin, worn sweater and slipped it on, hugging myself with a comfortable smile on my face as I did. I put on some jeans over my ducky boxers and struggled with my red shoes on the ground. Luke wrestled with his pants, bouncing up and down as he tried to get his leg in, making the house shudder each time. I heard footsteps on the stairs, and Finn, Roxy and Dean appeared in the doorway.
"How'd you guys get your clothes?" asked Roxy, her mouth open. She looked a lot better than she did yesterday. She was walking- er, limping on her own now and her hazel eyes looked brighter and less clouded.
"Luke's half sister dropped them off for us," I answered. Finn, Dean and Roxy all rushed to the drawers, grabbing their clothes and all going to different corners of the room. Luke and I took the rest of the clothes we had packed and made our way down the stairs and out the door to the car.

Luke looked at me with a skeptical expression.I smiled innocently at him, he smirked and shrugged looking back towards the road. I shuffled my feet on the ground as we waited for someone to slow. If my grandparents saw me doing this they would have freaked. I drummed my fingers on my violin case strap as we waited, the sun beating down on us.
"How long does it usually take you to get someone to pull over for you?" I asked looking at Finn, who still had her arm out holding her thumb up.
"patience, padawan," Finn replied in a dramatic whisper. I was about to sit down when a black Ford car pulled up next to us, sitting in the front seat were two old ladies, well, I wouldn't say they were OLD old, but they were definitely getting on. Finn looked at me with a smirk and lowered her hand. The five of us walked up to the passenger seat window as it slowly rolled down.
"What are a nice looking bunch of kiddies doing out here on the side of the road?" Asked the lady that was closest. She had short blonde hair, which she definitely put in curlers before she slept, because it looked like one of those curly Afro's that women used to wear in the 70's. She wore bright blue makeup over her eyes.
"We need a ride," Luke spoke.
"Well, obviously you need a ride, sonny, else you wouldn't be hitchhiking," said the old lady in the driver seat in a rude tone. Her voice was scratchy and hoarse she sounded like she smoked a pack every day. She wore the same style makeup as the one in the passenger seat, but her skin was pale, like she didn't bother with tans... Or going outside for that matter. She wore a floral patterned scarf over her head, her ginger bangs poked out of it and fell just above her eyebrows which made her look like she had one big unibrow.
"Forgive my sister," said the nicer sounding old lady beside us, "she's grouchy because she's been driving all day."
"I hear you, sister," Finn said quietly. The two ladies didn't hear her, either that or they pretended not to.
"So, where are you kids headed?" Asked the driver impatiently, "Gladice here didn't let me drive past you."
"We need to get to the coast off of Alcatraz," answered Finn.
"Lucky for you kiddies, it's on our way!" Said Gladice, clapping excitedly. The five of us standing outside the car exchanged a glance. "Oh, Molly, unlock the doors for these wonderful kiddies!" Molly unlocked the doors of the black car, rolling her eyes and muttering some curses under her breath, although they sounded like they were in a different language. Wait, could it be ancient Greek? Nah, couldn't be. We opened the back door to see three seats.
"Uh, nice old lady?" I asked in a confused voice.
"Yes, deary?" She asked from the front.
"There are only three seats here," I said.
"Oh! Dear, I'm so sorry. two of you will have to sit in the back," said Gladice, sounding like she thought she was a horrible person for not taking that into account. Luke and I looked at each other and sighed, hanging our heads and taking the walk of shame to the uncomfortable trunk.
"Thanks, guys." Roxy said, as Finn helped her into the car, holding Roxy's hand like she was helping a princess into her chariot. Finn got in after Roxy, followed by Dean. Luke and I opened the trunk and climbed in. I leaned against the side of the trunk. The car smelled like soap and baked goods. The usual grandma smell.
"Do any of you kiddies want some brownies? I took them out of the oven before we left, they should be a little warm still," said Gladice, turning around with a sweet smile on her face, holding out a container of brownies. Roxy took it from her with a smile.
"Thanks very much," She said, opening the lid. The aroma of freshly baked brownies made me want to melt in a puddle on the ground. Luke looked like he wanted to make sweet, sweet love with the container of chocolaty squares. Roxy took one and handed the container around. When each of us got one, we handed the container back up to the lady who was still smiling. She waited for us to take a bite. I didn't have to be told twice. The brownie was crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey on the inside, baked to perfection. ALMOST better than the ones my grandma would make for me.
"These are amazing!" Said Luke as he fell back in the trunk, looking like he had just experienced the greatest orgasm. I grinned. We all made 'mmmm' sounds in agreement, as we were all chewing.
"Thanks you, lovelies," said Gladice turning around.
"Can we go now?" Asked Molly, taking a brownie from the container.
"Of course, sister," replied Gladice. Molly stepped on the gas pedal, and Luke and I were thrown into the back of the trunk. I hit my head on the back window.
"Agh, fuck," I muttered, rubbing the back of my head.
"So, what are you five doing going to the coast of Alcatraz alone?" Asked Gladice curiously.
"Oh, uh..." I started, picking my brain for an excuse.
"We're going to meet our parents there. We're going on a big trip," Finn lied.
"Are all five of you siblings?" Asked Gladice. We all glanced at each other.
"Yep," Roxy said in a short cheery way.
"Really? Wow, I remember back in my day it was common to have a lot of children, but now, not so much," Molly said in a rather suspicious manor.
"Oh yes, when we were young we were brought up in a house of seven children! Granted, some of us were adopted." Gladice said, turning around. She looked at the five of us, but I guess she noticed that we didn't really look related and her sweet, innocent face became suspicious. She looked at me.
"Pardon me, young man," She said. "But I couldn't help notice you're more tan than your brothers and sisters, and your eyes are very much blue..." Before I could answer, Dean spoke up.
"He's the adopted one." I looked at him, with a pained expression, as much as I knew it wasn't true, like he had just spoken about a touchy subject.
"Oh, don't be discouraged, dear. I'm sure your mother and father love you like their own,"
"I- Uh- Thanks," I said. Gladice turned around again, only slower this time, as if she wanted to ask more questions.
"So, where is it you're going?" Asked Molly. Finn rolled her eyes. These old ladies asked way too many questions for any of our liking. I couldn't shake the feeling they were trying to pry the truth out of us somehow.
"We're going to New York," answered Luke.
"Such a fun place!" Exclaimed Gladice, going back to her usual cheery self. "I remember when Molly and I had just graduated from school, we went there together, and oh! We had such fun!" She clapped her hands together and held them to her wrinkly orange face.
"We've heard it's pretty great," I said. We drove on in silence, a very awkward silence. I was laying down in the back with my head propped up over my hands, Luke was opposite of me, doing the same. I looked up to see the top of Deans head, he was peering out the window with his head propped up in his hand. I sat up to look out the window. We were driving by a busy beach filled with happy people spending the warm day tanning and in the water. It would have been a great day to go surfing, something I always loved to do when I went to Hawaii with my grandparents. I let out a deep sigh, and rested my head on my arms as I looked out the window. Birds flew overhead and people threw volley balls around nets and splashed around in the water. Dean suddenly sat up in attention, he tried to crane his neck as far as the window would let him, his light brown eyes were set on the birds, his eyebrows furrowed in a worried expression.
"Guys?" He asked cautiously. Luke, Roxy and Finn looked up at him, the two elderly ladies didn't look around, but I guessed they were probably curious.
"What is it, Dean?" I asked, looking at him. He pointed to the birds. "Are birds usually supposed to have metal feathers?"
The four of us looked at him like he'd gone insane, Roxy and Finn did their best to look out the window. I focused on the birds as they started to fly a bit closer. I felt Luke come over to me, he pushed my head down so he could get a better look. Sure enough, the birds wings were made of metal, and their beaks looked bronze.
"What are you kids looking at?" Asked Gladice sweetly.
"Uh, Ma'am?" Said Luke, "You might want to pull over for a bit."