Plight Of Olympus

EIGHT: SUICIDE MISSION (I).

“Oh no you didn’t…”

“Oh yes I did!”

“No…” my voice trailed off in disbelief as I eyed Silver, a small smile of amusement tugging at my features, before I turned my focus back on the road.

“Well, what was I supposed to do? Either way, I was gonna get expelled. So I decided, why not go out with a bang, ya know…” she defended, letting out a giggle, clearly reminiscing the event.

“Putting worms in their lunch… you’re the very reincarnation of evil. How did you even manage to do that without getting caught?!” I couldn’t hold in my own laughter as I slapped my hand on the steering wheel, my whole form shaking.

   “Dude, they made fun of me for being a witch first. They totally deserved it. Plus, a witch has her ways…” She replied, adjusting back her seat so she could sit back more comfortably.

“Witch ways?” I asked, and we both giggled at my awful pun.

“As nasty as that was… I would’ve done the same thing.” I added and she grinned widely.

   “Aren’t you tired of driving? There has to be a gas station somewhere on this highway.”

She was right. I had been driving for hours, and my legs were sore. I could feel a faint headache building its way up and I rubbed my temple. But Alverton was forty minutes’ drive away and I was eager to get to our first clue, and find the stones of guidance, so I could get this whole quest thing over with.

I spared a moment to glance over at Silver.

Registering her sunken eyes and the slight tan that was forming over her olive skin, I realized she also needed to rest. I was the one dragging her along with me on this, separating her from her family, to find out what happened to mine.

I decided that I was going to stop immediately we reached the next gas station.

  “Eyes back on the road, weirdo. You’ve never seen a tired teenage witch before?” Silver lightly joked, and I turned my head back to the road.

“To be honest with you, yes, I have never seen one.” I replied.

She rolled her eyes, and let out an over-dramatic sigh. Faking a French accent, her head rolled back and she exaggerated a hair flip. “Don’t ask for an autograph.”

I face palmed myself and snickered. “You put every French model to shame.” I sarcastically added, also faking a French accent and we both cackled in laughter, like two maniacs.

Which we both were, considering how we left civilization, to get to an old, deserted town, just to find nonexistent magical stones that will lead us to Olympus.

I lost a huge amount of brain cells just thinking about that.

   Out of nowhere, a red sports car sped past us, causing my attention to be jerked back to driving, and my arms automatically moved the steering wheel to the left, avoiding the collision and swerving on the road. The truck came to a halt, released a massive amount of exhaust, and then died down.

  Silver poked her head out the window, and angrily yelled profanities at the car that was now quickly turning into a dot in the horizon.

  I huffed out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. “Asshole.” I added, and silver stared back at me, her eyes wild.

“What?”

  “I think Becca is dead.” She muttered and I arched an eyebrow. Without missing a beat, I questioned “Becca?”

“The truck… Becca, the truck!”

“You named the truck Becca?” I inquired again, this time my voice gaining pitch.

   “Yeah. Don’t people in Evenwood name their cars?” Silver asked quizzically.

I shook my head no.

“Normal people don’t name their cars!”

“No. People in Evenwood don’t love their cars enough to name them. Do you know what Becca and my family have gone through together? My aunt gave birth to my cousin in this very car and…”

   “Okay! Stop before I start picturing your aunt in labor! Geez…” I swung out the car and popped open the hood.

“Don’t hurt her.”

“I’m trying to see if I can fix her.” I deadpanned, and then shivered. I just referred to a non-living item as ‘her’… what is happening to me? I glanced over at Silver, who was now standing next to the car, her face scrunched up as she inhaled the exhaust and smell of burnt tire.

   When it came to cars, the only thing I knew how to fix was the radio. Apart from that, everything else was like the laws of quantum physics to me.

I closed the hood and sighed in defeat, going back around to the trunk so I could fetch our belongings out of the car. There was no sign of an approaching automobile, and it seemed like Becca had given up on life. Our best bet was walking, and hoping to hitch a ride at the nearest gas station.

   “You can’t fix her?” Silver asked with a pout.

“Nope. I’m sorry, but Becca won’t make it. We will have to ditch her here, and call a towing truck to get her back home.”

She nodded in understanding, and silently placed her palms on the car, and closed her eyes, whispering a prayer.

Who says a prayer for cars?

   I shrugged, and focused back on lifting my black backpack out of the trunk and Silver’s luggage. The girl actually brought along a gigantic travel luggage that had cat stickers on every exposed surface…

We are going on a quest, not a trip to Hawaii.

I heaved out the luggage with much effort and then proceeded to drag it across to Silver, motioning her to carry her own burdens. Again, she pouted, but took hold of it and waited. I made sure the truck was safely locked before making a call to Silver’s uncle who promised to get it towed back. I texted him our location and quickly stuffed a screw driver into my pocket.

Hey, you never know when you need to defend yourself.

Hanging my backpack, and the extra duffel bag that held food, and sleeping bags, I looked towards Silver and sighed.

“Let’s go…”