The Three Lives Of Luke Castellan

Chapter 2: Part One: Adam

While her most of her Hunters focus on the fourth and third floors, Thalia goes down to the second floor, kicking open closed doors, checking under beds, and making sure not to step on any of the mortals collapsed on the floor or draped over furniture. The monster had put some sort of sleeping enchantment on the hospital - it was the magic that had alerted the Hunters to the hospital in the first place and conveniently, the object of their quest had been there as well.

All the machines are still in working order, but a few of them aren't registering any signals from the patients they're attached to. From the looks of things, this floor is the place where all the really sick kids are and the monster's main feeding ground. Thalia really doesn't want to be here when the spell wears off and people wake up to realize their kids are dead.

After finding nothing but sleeping mortals in the last forty-nine rooms, Thalia is enormously surprised when she glances in the last room at the end of hall and finds the occupant of the room wide awake. At first, she thinks it might be a trick of the Mist, but when the image of a little boy propped up in bed and reading a book doesn't fade or transform into a fanged monstrosity, she decides the monster must've just been sloppy with his enchantments.

"Huh," Thalia says, lowering her bow and walking into the room. Even if he's a boy, she still has a duty to make sure he isn't hurt. "You okay, kid?"

He doesn't look like he can be more than seven years old, although it's hard to tell when his blankets are swamping him. He's small and skinny with an unhealthy, pale gleam to his skin, and there's a green cap over his head where his hair should be.

Cancer patient, Thalia thinks miserably.

"Would I be here if I was?" he says snottily, not looking up. "What a dumb question."

Thalia bristles instantly. Sick kid or not, she's the only one who's supposed to be copping attitude in the room.

"I didn't mean... you know, your... er - "

"Leukemia? Spit it out already," Cancer Boy interrupts, turning a page forcefully. "I'm not going to cry each time someone brings up the fact I'm diseased."

"Well excuse me for trying to be sensitive, you stupid kid!"

"Wow, you just called a dying kid stupid. I hope that makes you feel better about yourself."

Thalia grits her teeth and resists the urge to go find the monster and demand it suck out Cancer Boy's life before she kills it. She hasn't been this annoyed in such a short time by anyone in several years, probably because she doesn't hang out with men anymore.

Speaking of the monster...

An inhuman howl fills the air as something heavy drops on the floor above them, shaking dust from the ceiling. Thalia curses under her breath, suddenly reminded that she has more important things to be worrying about than arguing with a seven-year-old cancer patient, and starts backing out of the room.

"What was that?" Cancer Boy asks, finally looking up from his book and at the ceiling. There's a tremor in his voice that makes Thalia pause, and she wonders how (or if) the Mist is hiding this situation from him.

"Monster," Thalia says because she's probably never going to see Cancer Boy after this moment. "And I've got to go slay it, so if you'll excuse me..."

Thalia turns to go, but once again she halts because of the boy in the bed.

"You're a monster slayer?" he asks and she can hear the sneer in his voice. "Yeah right."

She glances over her shoulder, ready to tell him exactly how many unpleasant ways she can kill him with her pinkie finger, and notices he's turned his attention away from the ceiling and onto her for the first time. A second later, she notices the color of his eyes.