The Mighty Ones' Fall

Chapter 2: The Graeae

I nodded and explained,  "Brady and I are part of a society called the Knowing, made up of all the humans who have the Sight and know about the Greek myths. There are a few small camps around the world, but the biggest ones are the New York camp and the base camp in Kentucky. Jason is the leader of the base camp, where we're from. He sent us here to meet someone from the New York camp and pick up a package."

Layna stroked her chin in thought. "That's why you were at the McDonald's," she added, slowly putting the pieces together. "And then you saw me running away from the minotaur. Did you think I was the person you were supposed to meet? Is that why you came to save me?"

I nodded, but then Brady piped up, "Yes, but Jace didn't even want to help you. I literally had to drag him along."

"Oh, shut up, Brady. I didn't know she had the Sight," I hissed under my breath, angry at him for making me look like a jerk in front of a pretty girl, and Layna simply raised one eyebrow at me in amusement, her green eyes shining.

"Well, I can't speak Greek, but I'm assuming you told Jason about me?" Layna said as she paced around in circles in the abandoned hotel room. Meanwhile, lying on the small bed, Brady intently watched her every step, like the way she walked was the most interesting thing in the world.

I peeled my eyes away from Brady and gave her a short nod. "Jason wants you to come with us. He probably knows something we don't," I told Layna with a shrug and met her gaze, her bright eyes narrowed in pure determination. I knew instantly that she would agree to the plan.

Sure enough, her response was, "Then I suppose we'd better get to the airport."

.

We took a long taxi ride full of awkward silence all the way to JFK airport, where we quickly hopped out of the yellow car and raced inside to ticket counter. Layna's bag was small enough to be considered a carry-on, and Brady and I didn't have any luggage at all, so we didn't check any bags and made it through security without any major problems. The three of us made sure to keep a close eye out for monsters the whole time we walked through the busy airport, but we hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary so far.

Our luck continued as we boarded the plane and took our seats near the back. Of course, Layna chose the window seat, the best place the sit on a plane, in my opinion, and I let her have it after a short and light-hearted argument. However, I began to realize that Layna was one of those girls who usually got what she wanted, whether it was due to her excellent debating tactics or just her good looks, like the ones she used to score free food from a young male flight attendant. I knew Brady had his work cut out for him with this chick.

So, the three of us awkwardly sat in silence for most of the plane ride back to Kentucky, with the occasional joke about the absurd products being advertised in Sky Mall Magazine. Brady and I each tried to entice Layna to tell us her life story at least twice, but she wasn't taking the bait. The only remotely personal thing she told us was that she had never been outside of New York before, and I still wasn't even sure if she meant the city or the state. To be honest, I wasn't sure if she was holding out on us just to annoy us, or if she really was uncomfortable talking about it. So, Brady and I eventually gave up on getting her to talk to us on a more personal level.

When we finally landed at around midnight (Kentucky time) without any more issues, the three of us hopped off the plane and quickly made our way through the wide open halls of the busy airport. Layna obediently followed Brady and I out of the building, and then we halted next to a bus stop. Brady and I wanted to take a taxi half way to the base camp, since it was much more private and we had a lesser chance of running into a monster that way, but we didn't have enough American money with us to pay the pricey fare. After all, the Knowing camps produced their own ancient Greek currency, and Jason had limited American money at his disposal. So, the three of us were forced to wait under the hot sun for almost an hour for the right bus to arrive.