DIVINE » l. valdez

cheese ghost? but i'm lactose intolerant

'I dunno,' was not the most reassuring plan, but the group had no time to argue. 

Thankfully, the alley was not a dead end. However, that seemed to be the only good thing they found. The bay doors along the hotel were all locked, leaving no hiding spots except the row of dumpsters lining the opposite wall.

Growing up in a city, Hina knew there was nothing in the dumpsters useful to the demigods except suspicious bottles of juice and probably ten different diseases.

Leo sighed. "I guess we could jump in—"

"No!" Apollo shrieked. "Never again!"

If not for the dire circumstances, Hina would have tossed Apollo into the dumpster for a laugh like a 90's movie bully. However, running for their lives did not allow for such a feat.

Hina faltered however, when she noticed a faint shimmer of light in the form of a person. He wore a traditional chiton, sandals, and a sheathed sword, like a Greek warrior in the prime of life...except for the fact that he had been decapitated. Unlike the blemmyae, however, this person obviously had once been human. Ethereal blood trickled from his severed neck, splattering his luminous orange tunic

"What the—? Hijo," Leo stopped. "It's a cheese coloured ghost."

"Be nice!" Hina whispered, eyes darting between the two.

The spirit raised one hand, beckoning them forward.

The voices of the blemmyae grew louder as they approached, their joyful voices seeming menacing. 

"What do we do?" Calypso asked, wildly searching for a better exit.

"Follow the ghost," Apollo said.

"What?" Leo yelped, glancing to Hina for support, who took the very not childish move of ignoring him again.

"We follow the cheese-colored ghost. As you're always saying: Vaya con queso," Apollo declared, proudly enunciating his words.

"That was a joke."

The orange spirit waved them forward once more, then floated towards the end of the alley. Hina took the first step, edging towards the cheesy phantom.

From behind a cheerful voice called out, "There you are! Lovely weather isn't it?"

Hina turned to be face to face with a truck fender spiraling through the air towards them. She let out a series of harsh curse words rather than any helpful advice.

"Down!" Apollo tackled Leo and Calypso to the ground, provoking more pained screams from the latter. Hina hit the pavement hard enough to knock the wind from her lungs, but it was a better alternative to being crushed by a dismantled car part. 

The truck sailed over their heads and slammed into a dumpster, exploding in a confetti of nasty garbage.

Apollo struggled to help Calypso up, who no longer complained but only stared ahead with glassy eyes. Shock, no doubt, taking over her body.

Hina groaned, standing with a cough. She drew her sword slowly and faced to the entrance of the alley.

Leo pulled a staple gun from his tool belt. "You guys go ahead. I'll hold them off as long as I can."

"What are you going to do?" Apollo demanded. "Sort and collate them?"

"I'm going to throw things at them!" Leo snapped. "Unless you've got a better idea?"

"B-both of you stop," Calypso stammered. "We d-don't leave anyone behind. Now walk. Left, right, left, right."

The two grumbled in agreement, neither wanting to argue with the sorceress. Hina nodded, sheathing her sword before moving to follow, keeping herself between the group and their all too cheerful pursuers. 

The group emerged in the middle of a circular plaza, because of course Indiana didn't want the demigods to find shelter.

In the middle of the loop was a fountain with wilted flowerbeds, the normally vibrant flowers taking a rest for the winter. Oh, how Hina hated winter quests.

A few towering buildings encased the plaze, with a clock tower staring down on them. The ghost had vanished, leaving them defenceless in a wide open area. 

The blemmyae closed in, surrounding them from every entrance. A mob happily sauntered forward, holding makeshift weapons while a cop car drove directly into the roundabout. A bulldozer pulled into the hotel's driveway, the operator waving and calling out cheerfully, "Hello! I'm going to bulldoze you!"

Hina could hear Apollo whimpering in his spot, and nudged him. If they were going to fight, she didn't need the blemmyae to know how utterly terrified the god was. 

"Who has an idea?" Apollo asked, his legs still trembling as he propped Calypso up. "Please, any brilliant idea."

It appeared Calypso's best idea was holding a hand over her mouth to avoid throwing up, meanwhile Leo hefted his staple gun which seemed a minimal threat to the blemmyae. Hina sighed, drawing her sword once more.

From the midst of the mob, Nanette emerged. "Gosh darn it, dears, you've made me a bit miffed."

She grabbed the nearest street sign and single-handedly ripped it out of the ground. "Now, please hold still, won't you? I'm just going to smash your heads with this."

Hina assumed it was a little to late to apologize to Nanette and go their separate ways.