[ chapter two: jason ]
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Jason continued to glare at the door Hermia had walked through as Leo got up and brushed himself off. "I hate those guys." He offered Jason his arm, like they should go skipping inside together. "'I'm Dylan. I'm so cool, I want to date myself, but I can't figure out how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!'"
His gaze hardened as he said, "Don't even get me started on Jared. He seems nice on the outside, but I swear he's the devil. Not to mention he can steal your girlfriend with one stupid grin."
Jason stiffened when he heard that, but a moment later he relaxed and played it off. Besides Mia wasn't his girlfriend. But why did it kill him to think about her dating someone else? Jason turned his head to look at Leo. A moment passed before he cleared his throat and said, "Leo, you're weird."
"Yeah, you tell me that a lot." Leo grinned. "But if you don't remember me, that means I can reuse all my old jokes. Come on!" Jason figured that if this was his best friend, his life must be pretty messed up; but he followed Leo into the museum.
They walked through the building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture them with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out random comments like "The pig says oink." Leo kept pulling out nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together, like he had to keep his hands busy at all times.
Jason was too distracted to pay much attention to the exhibits, but they were about the Grand Canyon and the Hualapai tribe, which owned the museum.
Some girls kept looking over at Piper and Dylan and snickering. But they seemed to love the fact that Hermia and Jared were partners. They kept smiling whenever the two walked by them and some even took photos of them whenever Jared placed his hand on Mia. Hermia wasn't happy about this so she would always slip his hand off her and pretend nothing happened. That made Jason smile.
He figured these girls were the popular clique. They wore matching jeans and pink tops and enough makeup for a Halloween party. One of them said toward Piper, "Hey, Piper, does your tribe run this place? Do you get in free if you do a rain dance?"
The other girls laughed as Mia and Jared turned toward the group. Even Piper's so-called partner Dylan suppressed a smile while Jared surprisingly looked annoyed. Piper's snowboarding jacket sleeves hid her hands, but Jason got the feeling she was clenching her fists.
"My dad's Cherokee," she said. "Not Hualapai. 'Course, you'd need a few brain cells to know the difference, Isabel."
Isabel widened her eyes in mock surprise, so that she looked like an owl with a makeup addiction. "Oh, sorry! Was your mom in this tribe? Oh, that's right. You never knew your mom."
Piper charged her, but before a fight could start, Coach Hedge barked, "Enough back there! Set a good example or I'll break out my baseball bat!"
The group shuffled on to the next exhibit, but the girls kept calling out little comments to Piper. Hermia looked like she wanted to say something to Piper, but Jared just pulled her along as they followed everyone else.
"Good to be back on the rez?" one asked in a sweet voice.
"Dad's probably too drunk to work," another said with fake sympathy. "That's why she turned klepto." Piper ignored them, but Jason was ready to punch them himself. He might not remember Piper, or even who he was, but he knew he hated mean kids.
Leo caught his arm. "Be cool. Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd be all bowing down to her and screaming, 'We're not worthy!'"
"Why? What about her dad?"
Leo laughed in disbelief. "You're not kidding? You really don't remember that your best friend's dad-"
"Look, I wish I did, but I don't even remember her, much less her dad."
Leo whistled. "Whatever, but you seem to remember Mia just fine."
Jason paused as his gaze moved toward Hermia. She happened to be talking to Jared and at that moment he noticed she was laughing. Why was she laughing? That guy can't be that funny, right?
Leo turned his head to follow his friend's gaze. A small smirk made it's way on to his face when he noticed what his best friend was staring at. "Watch it, Jason your jealously is showing."
"I'm not jealous!" The blonde said as he snapped his head to look at Leo.
Leo chuckled to himself as he placed his arm around Jason shoulders. "Keep telling yourself that, buddy. Also we have to talk when we get back to the dorm."
When they reached the group at the far end of the exhibit hall, they came across some big glass doors which led out to a terrace. Hermia happened to be looking around when her gaze found his. He smiled slightly at her and she retuned the smile before turning her head again.
"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork."
The coach opened the doors, and they all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread before them, live and in person. Extending over the edge was a horseshoe-shaped walkway made of glass, so you could see right through it.
"Man," Leo said. "That's pretty wicked."
Jason had to agree. Despite his amnesia and his feeling that he didn't belong there, he couldn't help being impressed. Again his gaze moved to Hermia. She was standing on he's right side very close to the edge. She was even dangling her fingers over the railing. The movement she was making made Jason think she was playing with the wind, but that wasn't possible. Right?
The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they'd been inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliffs. As far as Jason could see in any direction, red and gray ravines cut through the desert like some crazy god had taken a knife to it.
Jason got a piercing pain behind his eyes. Crazy gods ... Where had he come up with that idea? He felt like he'd gotten close to something important-something he should know about. He also got the unmistakable feeling he was in danger.
"You all right?" Leo asked. "You're not going to throw up over the side, are you? 'Cause I should've brought my camera."
Jason grabbed the railing which made Hermia turn toward him. He was shivering and sweaty, but it had nothing to do with heights. He blinked, and the pain behind his eyes subsided. Hermia walked over to boys with eyes full of concern. "Are you okay?" She asked as she placed her hand on Jason's shoulder.
"I'm fine," he managed as his electric blue eyes found her sea green ones. "Just a headache." Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind almost knocked him sideways but Mia kept him up right.
"This can't be safe." Leo squinted at the clouds. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?"
Hermia turned her head upward at the same time Jason looked up and saw Leo was right. A dark circle of clouds had parked itself over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly clear. Jason had a bad feeling about that.
"All right, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it bothered him too. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!"
The storm rumbled, and Jason's head began to hurt again. Not knowing why he did it, he reached into his jean pocket and brought out a coin-a circle of gold the size of a half-dollar, but thicker and more uneven. Stamped on one side was a picture of a battle-ax. On the other was some guy's face wreathed in laurels. The inscription said something like ivlivs.
"Dang, is that gold?" Leo asked as Hermia let go of Jason. Her eyes watched him in confusion as Leo said, "You been holding out on me!"
Jason put the coin away, wondering how he'd come to have it, and why he had the feeling he was going to need it soon. "It's nothing," he said even though he had a feeling Hermia wasn't buying it. "Just a coin."
Leo shrugged. Maybe his mind had to keep moving as much as his hands. "Come on," he said. "Dare you to spit over the edge."
"That's gross." The red head gagged as she moved a step away from Leo. Even though this wasn't the moment Jason found himself smiling at her.
He didn't know why but he did feel some chemistry between them. He didn't remember much, but there was one memory that kept playing over and over. That memory being that he's talked about her before. He didn't know to who he was talking to or why but he could perfectly remember her name. Hermia Waverly King.
After Mia went back to finish her work with her partner Jason and Leo didn't try very hard to finish there worksheet. For one thing, Jason was too distracted by the storm and his own mixed-up feelings. For another thing, he didn't have any idea how to "name three sedimentary strata you observe" or "describe two examples of erosion." Leo was no help. He was too busy building a helicopter out of pipe cleaners.
"Check it out." He launched the copter. Jason figured it would plummet, but the pipe-cleaner blades actually spun. The little copter made it halfway across the canyon before it lost momentum and spiraled into the void.
"How'd you do that?" Jason asked.
Leo shrugged. "Would've been cooler if I had some rubber bands."
"Seriously," Jason said, "are we friends?"
"Last I checked."
"You sure? What was the first day we met? What did we talk about?"
"It was ..." Leo frowned. "I don't recall exactly. I'm ADHD, man. You can't expect me to remember details."
"But I don't remember you at all and nether does Hermia. I don't remember anyone here, she doesn't remember anyone here." He paused as his gaze moved to the red head. "Well, the only thing I seem to remember is Hermia's name, but what if-"
"You're right and everyone else is wrong?" Leo asked. "You think you and Hermia just appeared here this morning, and we've all got fake memories of the both of you?"
A little voice in Jason's head said, That's exactly what I think. But it sounded crazy. Everybody here took him for granted. Everyone acted like he was a normal part of the class-except for Coach Hedge.
"Take the worksheet." Jason handed Leo the paper. "I'll be right back." Before Leo could protest, Jason headed across the skywalk but not before walking over to Hermia and pulling her away from Jared. A confused look passed over her eyes but she didn't argue she just let him pull her along.
Their school group had the place to themselves. Maybe it was too early in the day for tourists, or maybe the weird weather had scared them off. The Wilderness School kids had spread out in pairs across the skywalk. Most were joking around or talking. Some of the guys were dropping pennies over the side.
About fifty feet away, Piper was trying to fill out her worksheet, but her stupid partner Dylan was hitting on her, putting his hand on her shoulder and giving her that blinding white smile. She kept pushing him away, and when she saw Jason with Hermia she gave them a look like, Throttle this guy for me.
Jason motioned for her to hang on. Together Hermia and he walked up to Coach Hedge, who was leaning on his baseball bat, studying the storm clouds. "Did you do this?" the coach asked him as Hermia looked at them in confusion. The coach then turned his head toward Mia and said, "Or was it you?"
Jason took a step back as he watched Hermia turn pale. He knew she was shaken up so he said, "Do what?" It sounded like the coach had just asked if they had made the thunderstorm.
Coach Hedge glared at them, his beady little eyes glinting under the brim of his cap. "Don't play games with me, kid. What are you two doing here, and why are you guys messing up my job?"
"You mean...you don't know us?" Jason said. "We're not one of your students?" Hermia stayed quite as she watched them.
Hedge snorted. "Never seen you two before today."
Jason was so relieved he almost wanted to cry. At least he wasn't going insane. He was in the wrong place. "Look, sir, we don't know how we got here. We just woke up on the school bus. All I know is I'm not supposed to be here." Jason was hoping Hermia would speak up about how she felt about this but she didn't.
"Got that right." Hedge's gruff voice dropped to a murmur, like he was sharing a secret. "Your girls got a powerful way with the Mist, kid, if she can make all these people think they know you two; but she can't fool me." Both teens blushed but Hedge just continued.
"I've been smelling monster for days now. I knew we had an infiltrator, but you two don't smell like a monster. You smell like a half-blood and the red head is a mixed between half-blood and witch." Jason noticed Hermia freeze in place when she heard that. "So-who are you guys, and where did you two come from?"
Most of what the coach said didn't make sense, but Jason decided to answer honestly. "I don't know who I am. I don't have any memories."
"What about you?" Hedge said as he turned to look at the red head. Jason turned his head to look at her as she sighed.
"I honestly know who I am, but I don't know how I got here." What both Jason and Hedge didn't know is that she lied about the last part. Of course she knew how she got here, but there was no way she was going to tell them that. Not when the risk was never seeing Lysander and Demetrius again.
Hedge stared at her for a moment and Hermia was suddenly scared that he didn't believe her. Jason grabbed Mia's hand in his and squeezed it. Her green eyes flickered to his electric blue ones before staring up at the grey clouds.
When she didn't pull her hand away Jason figured it was okay to hold it a little longer. A light blush was visible on his cheeks as he said, "You've got to help us."
Coach Hedge studied their faces like he was trying to read their thoughts. "Great," Hedge muttered. "You're being truthful and mushy. I hate mushy."
Jason let the last comment slide before saying, "Of course I am! And what was all that about a witch, monsters and half-bloods? Are those code words or something?"
Hermia moved awkwardly beside Jason as she finally removed her hand from his. The blonde frowned but didn't question anything. Remember, he thought, she's not your girlfriend...
Hedge narrowed his eyes as he watched the pair. Part of Jason wondered if the guy was just nuts. But the other part knew better.
"Look, kids," Hedge said, "I don't know who you two are. I just know what you are, and it means trouble. Now I got to protect four of you rather than two. Are you two the special package? Is that it?"
"What are you talking about?" Jason asked as he gazed at Hermia. She was too busy watching her shoes to gaze up at him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Jason knew something was bothering her. Hedge looked at the storm. The clouds were getting thicker and darker, hovering right over the skywalk.
"This morning," Hedge said, "I got a message from camp. They said an extraction team is on the way. They're coming to pick up a special package, but they wouldn't give me details. I thought to myself, Fine. The two I'm watching are pretty powerful, older than most. I know they're being stalked. I can smell a monster in the group. I figure that's why the camp is suddenly frantic to pick them up. But then you two pop up out of nowhere. So, is one of you the special package?"
The pain behind Jason's eyes got worse than ever. Half-bloods. Witch. Camp. Monsters. He still didn't know what Hedge was talking about, but the words gave him a massive brain freeze-like his mind was trying to access information that should've been there but wasn't.
He stumbled, and Hermia caught him. Her green eyes were watching him in concern. "Jason..." Her voice was so soft it made Jason relax a bit.
"You say you got no memories, huh? Fine. I'll just have to watch the both of you, too, until the team gets here. We'll let the director figure things out."
"What director?" Jason said as he grabbed Mia's hand. The same hand that was tightly wrapped around his stomach. "What camp?"
"Just sit tight. Reinforcements should be here soon. Hopefully nothing happens before-"
Lightning crackled overhead. The wind picked up with a vengeance. Worksheets flew into the Grand Canyon, and the entire bridge shuddered. Kids screamed, stumbling and grabbing the rails.
"I had to say something," Hedge grumbled. He bellowed into his megaphone: "Everyone inside! The cow says moo! Off the skywalk!"
"I thought you said this thing was stable!" Jason shouted over the wind as he held on to a frighten Hermia.
"Under normal circumstances," Hedge agreed, "which these aren't. Come on!"