The Flames of Hope Ch 21

Chapter 21~Late Night Drive
I tried to explain the best I could what had happened, while Megan filled in some of the stuff I forgot or didn’t remember. You tend to miss a few things when you are surrounded by a huge army of monsters that want nothing more than to eat you.

“And that about sums it up,” I concluded. Everyone was kind of looking at me with a strange look like I had just come up with the craziest story they had ever heard. I knew it was true because I couldn’t make up a story like that, I mean I’m not a writer after all.

“So a bunch of monsters we can't trust are going to help us at some unknown point in a location we don’t know. Does that sum it up?” Malcolm asked.

“That’s about right,” I said back.

“Alright then, let’s get going. Gear, step on it,” Malcolm called to the driver’s seat.

“You got it,” he said as he gave a big thumbs up and we were pushed back by the sudden acceleration of the car. We seemed to be making good time as we reached the border into California in about three and a half hours and were only about four away from Atlas. However, it was already ten at night and the highway was dark so we had to slow down.

“I think we should switch drivers soon,” I told Gear. “You’ve been driving for awhile now and I think I can take over.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said before letting out a yawn. He pulled over and we switched spots as he took his seat in back and quickly fell asleep. A few other people were awake as well, but I told them they should sleep while they could and they seemed to listen. All of them that is, except Megan who never seem to take anything I said seriously.

“You know you will need to rest at some point too,” she told me as she sat down in the passenger seat. I knew she was right too; she always seemed to be right. Like how most demigods gained power from their parent’s domain, I always felt like I could drive along a stretch of road forever. However, the minute we pulled over or got out of the car I would feel the fatigue hit me.

“I know, but I can go a little bit farther before we stop for the night. I want to arrive by early morning after all,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road but enjoying the conversation.

“That is just like you,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “You are always trying to go just a bit farther, just a bit faster, while never paying attention to your limits. I worry about you sometimes you know.”

“I know, I worry about you as well,” I told her. Megan always has had problems asking for help and I wondered if it was her fatal flaw, just as she knew mine was no thinking ahead. There was a long silence between us that lasted for awhile until I decided to break it with the only thing that came to my mind.

“Listen, there is something I have to tell you,” I told her and she looked at me with those grey analyzing eyes waiting for me to continue. “A few days ago your mother sent me a message, at least I think it was a message from her.”

“I haven’t heard anything from her for a few days now, what was it?” she asked and I could tell by the look in her eyes she thought it would be good news. It made it even harder for me to say what it was actually about, but she deserved to know the truth.

“I had a dream of her fighting Leiomenos,” I began.

“I bet she sent him home with his tail between his legs,” she said proudly, but he face seemed to drop when she saw that I wasn’t smiling along with her. “What happened in your dream?”

“She put up a good fight, she even managed to trap him under a pile of rocks. But in the end she was captured like the others,” I said in a saddened tone and I expected Megan to cry or deny it or something, but she didn’t and simply looked at me like she was studying a book.

“That isn’t right,” she finally said.

“I know it isn’t fair, but it is true,” I said trying to make her feel better.

“No, not that. However it isn’t right. Athena is the goddess of battle strategy and wisdom. She always has a plan in mind. I mean she is the kind of person that would know how to defeat you just from your first move,” she explained.

“So what does it mean?” I asked her, puzzled by what she was getting at.

“I’m saying she showed you that dream for a reason. It had something to do with the way she lost maybe or she was possibly showing you his abilities,” she said, sounding puzzled herself. “I don’t know, just don’t forget the dream, it is important.”

“I’ll try not to,” I reassured her and she smiled before climbing out of her seat and heading into the back.

“Oh and Swift,” she said as she popped her head back into the front seat. “Thank you for being honest with me, I know it couldn’t have been easy. Also, get some sleep”

She then kissed two of her fingers and placed them on my cheek before heading back and retracting her chair into a bed. I on the other hand continued to drive until well after midnight and pulled over about an hour away from Mount Tamalpais along the shores of the San Pablo Bay. It was about two in the morning at this point and we would leave first thing in the morning. For now I would get as much rest as I could as I didn’t know what to expect when we faced Atlas and we still didn’t know the location of our friends.

Darkcloud1111 ~Fastest Hero Alive