forest green ● jason grace

fourteen

As they bolted down the Pudget Sound, Daria felt like Arion's hooves were treading on her brain instead of the grass. She remembered what Gaea had said about the Gods cursing her, and Daria knew there was no other explanation for why her body felt like it was on fire.

Ella didn't help matters. She kept muttering: "Seven hundred and fifty miles per hour. Eight hundred. Eight hundred and three. Fast. Very fast." The horse rocketed onto dry land. He followed Highway 99 north, running so fast, the cars seemed to be standing still.

Finally, just as they were getting into Vancouver, the chariot wheels began to smoke.

"Hazel!" Frank yelled. "We're breaking up!"

She got the message and pulled the reins. The horse didn't seem happy about it, but he slowed to subsonic as they zipped through the city streets. They crossed the Ironworkers bridge into North Vancouver, and the chariot started to rattle dangerously. At last Arion stopped at the top of a wooded hill. He snorted with satisfaction, as if to say, That's how we run, fools. The smoking chariot collapsed, spilling Daria, Percy, Frank, and Ella onto the wet, mossy ground.

Frank stumbled to his feet. He tried to blink the yellow spots out of his eyes. Percy groaned and started unhitching Arion from the ruined chariot. Daria felt like she was going to throw up. She felt pale and weak, like Percy had looked at Iris's shop. Shakily, Daria played with Jason's necklace, this was ridiculous, she had to snap out of it.

Ella fluttered around in dizzy circles, bonking into the trees and muttering, "Tree. Tree. Tree." Only Hazel seemed unaffected by the ride. Grinning with pleasure, she slid off the horse's back. "That was fun!"

"Yeah." Frank swallowed hard. "So much fun."

Arion whinnied.

"He says he needs to eat," Percy translated. "No wonder. He probably burned about six million calories."

Hazel studied the ground at her feet and frowned. "I'm not sensing any gold around here.. ..Don't worry, Arion. I'll find you some. In the meantime, why don't you go graze? We'll meet you — "

The horse zipped off, leaving a trail of steam in his wake.

Hazel knit her eyebrows. "Do you think he'll come back?"

"I don't know," Percy said. "He seems kind of. ..spirited."

Hazel and Percy started salvaging supplies from the chariot wreckage. There had been a few boxes of random Amazon merchandise in the front, and Ella shrieked with delight when she found a shipment of books. She snatched up a copy of The Birds of North America, fluttered to the nearest branch, and began scratching through the pages so fast, Frank wasn't sure if she was reading or shredding.

Daria sat down by Frank who leaned against a tree, trying to control his vertigo. He probably still hadn't recovered from his Amazon imprisonment — getting kicked across the lobby, disarmed, caged, and insulted as a baby man by an egomaniacal horse. That had to have helped his self-esteem.

Daria sighed and placed her hands behind her, on the roots of the tree, only to feel the sensation of a thousand ants crawling on her hand. She yelped, jerking away from the large oak as Frank glanced at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I just-" she broke off as she peered at the base of the tree. There was nothing there. No ants, no spiders...nothing. "Nevermind, I'm fine."

Frank squeezed his eyes shut, only half-listening to her response, "Okay."

She glanced curiously at the roots. Carefully, she placed her hand there again, feeling the roughness under her palm. At once, small green particles made their way to her fingertips, greeting her, asking if she needed their help.