Christal

It was already night time and I'd never imagined I'd be stuck on a train at this time of day—fumbling blindly in the dark. This is the definition of 'strange', and no god could convince me otherwise. 

 What do you even do in an earthquake? My last two brain cells fought together like cats and dogs, which was not good because this could literally be the death of me. 

 I waded through the crowd, squeezing into every nook and cranny I could find. I'm not sure what everyone else was thinking, but standing up certainly wasn't the answer since I am literally suffocating in this mixture of sweat and tears. Emilie's last order was to find the exit, but all I could focus on was keeping myself from falling flat on my face from the vibrations. 

 I felt my way throughout the entire carriage, tripping over my shoelaces occasionally which was really stupid because I swear, I secured them with a really, really tight knot. So tight my feet can't even breathe. Finally, I could feel the rough leather seat and let out a sigh of relief. 

 Woah, I kinda forgot how breathing felt for a second. Should I 'fasten my seatbelt and remain calm'? Of course not. There is definitely something wrong going on, so I'm just gonna call them 'invisible unnatural forces' for now until one of my teammates informs me of anything else to call them. I kept it pretty general, since I know of a few suspects. For one, it could be my 'dad', the 'Lord of the Ocean', and for another, it could be any kind of monster that would be overjoyed to see me dead. Both options are very much not my go to right now but I gotta admit, I would love to meet my dad.

 I snuck under one of the seats, unsure of what to do. I mean, the only thing I could remember from those drills was to do this and not that, or whatever 'that' is.

 "NEBBY?! NEBBY!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, feeling the air getting sucked out of my lungs. Out of the blue, I overheard Emilie's voice just somewhere, screaming frightfully the words 'let go of me', and, being a demigod with alarming ADHD, I immediately thought of the song 'Let it go' from Frozen. Then my easily-distracted mind went back to counting the number of bustling passengers.

 "EMILIE! I'M HERE!" I tried again, but then it hit me: if something was attacking Emilie, shouting "I'M HERE" would only make me a 2 in 1 deal for whatever's in the dark.

 I stood there, frozen in place as Emilie's terrified screams echoed throughout the train carriage. Suddenly, the floor dropped from beneath me, and a sharp pain shot through my arm as I hit the cold, metal surface hard, my right arm taking the brunt of the fall. A screeching sound of metal against metal echoes throughout the chamber, deafening to the ears.

 "Ouch." I grimaced, shaking off the pain. For a split second, it felt like I was flying, gravity completely out of whack. Then it hit me—I was sitting on a window. The train had flipped. Just another normal day, am I right? Is this normal enough for a demigod? I mean, I don't know, third day on the job, what did you expect?

 "You okay?" Jasper's voice came from above me. He reached down and pulled me to my feet.

 "Yeah, thanks," I replied, trying to avoid wincing as he pulled on my sore arm. "I could really use some ice right now. My right side is killing me."

 "Don't worry, I've got ambrosia," Jasper said, grinning as light radiated off him like a human flashlight. He was like a 'buy one, get one free deal—'get a friend and a built-in lamp!' kinda package. "Oh, and don't forget your girlfriend, Al!"

 "WHAT THE HELL, JASPER!" Alex yelled, struggling to drag a very reluctant Esmé by her wrists. "Also…"

 "Also, she's not my girlfriend. We're just not compatible, blah blah blah," Esmé added sulkily, her voice muffled as she tumbled past me, her hair flying everywhere. "That's what he wanted to say. I can't with him right now."

 "Right…" My jaw clenched. There was definitely something going on between those two. But for now, I needed to focus on the exit.

 I pushed through the angry mob with Mr. Flashlight here lighting the way ahead of me. Haha. 'Flashlight'. Still, pretty neat power, I guess, though I hope he didn't get it by slurping down glow sticks or something. I shook my head vigorously. Please, Christal—you have one job. Don't get distracted. 

 The mortals on the train were in a frenzy, dialing 911, screaming, and desperately trying to stay upright as the violent tremors shook the carriage. The entire train had jumped off the tracks and now teetered dangerously close to the edge of a sinkhole. The ground below us heaved and cracked, sending jolts through the floor that rattled teeth and bones alike.

 I mean, if I wasn't a half-blood, I'd be freaking out too. This wasn't just some routine turbulence; the windows showed the earth splitting open in jagged lines, the sky clouded with dust and debris. People clung to their seats, some crying out for loved ones, others just frozen in shock. One man was holding a toddler, his knuckles white from the grip, while a woman beside him frantically searched her bag for something—anything—that could help. Seriously, being a demigod just messes with your human privileges and wrecks your childhood. No one else here had to worry about whether a mythical monster or a vengeful god was causing the earthquake. They just wanted to survive. And honestly, I couldn't blame them.

 Even though the train had stopped moving ages ago, it still shook violently, its engines rattling nonstop as cracks crept ever closer. The relentless vibrations made the whole carriage groan as if it were about to crumble apart. At this rate, we'd be lucky to escape with our lives.

 The right exit's blocked since it's facing the ground, I thought, struggling to recall what I remembered from Physics class, even though it felt more like a desperate guess. So our only way out is…

 "Up. Our only way out is up and through the windows." I murmured, my breath coming in shaky, shallow bursts.

 "Great job! That took you long enough to figure out," Nebby said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I glanced up and saw her leg dangling from above. My eyes widened in surprise.

 "How'd you get up there so fast?"

 "I dunno. Ask Helen." She tilted her head towards Helen, who had somehow appeared right behind me. "Now shut up and lemme work, dummy."

 "Huh. Are you guys secretly in cahoots or something?" I asked, glancing sideways. Oh wait, lemme fix my hair…

 "I dunno, ask her. I'm not the manipulative one in this relationship," Nebby said, shrugging nonchalantly. But her casual demeanor faltered as her grip slipped from one of the metal bars. "Oh [censored], anyway, could you CATCH ME—"

 Her sentence was cut off by a loud yelp—more of a scream, really—as the train jolted violently again. Before I could even move, a massive fist shattered through the glass. The sound of knuckles cracking was unsettlingly clear, like bones being crushed underfoot. Then, a huge finger sliced through the metal walls of the carriage, and Nebby went tumbling to the floor with a crash.

 "I told you to catch—WHAT IS THAT?!" She shrieked, her eyes widening in horror as she finally saw the towering giants looming over us. Their skin looked like the cracked, scorched desert floor, all rough and parched. Jasper's glow might have made them seem yellowish, but honestly, I was too stunned to care. The shock of seeing them hit her like a ton of bricks. I glanced around, wondering how the mortals around us were interpreting this mess. Mr. D had said that the Mist messes with mortal perceptions, making them see things differently. It's a weird concept, but right now, I couldn't care less.

 Out of the corner of my eye, I saw saplings and vines sprouting from the wooden floorboards. They twisted and slithered across the surface, intertwining until they formed a humanoid shape. From the tangled stems and delicate shoots emerged a face, carved with striking features and beady black eyes that seemed to peer straight into your soul. Leafy green "hair"—if you could call it that—cascaded from its head, and its skin had a greenish hue, a mocking reminder of Mother Nature's power.

 I peered through the ceiling and witnessed the monstrous creation wrought by the wild beasts. The quakes had subsided, leaving behind the remains of distant buildings that now resembled heaps of mushy debris. Grass had grown to an enormous size, nearly rivaling the height of nearby oak trees. Hands of intertwined vines continued to form more 'humans', using the plant life to their advantage as they glided back towards the train. Somehow, she looked just like the ones in the books, only more... aggressive.

 I looked up at what felt like the wall, which was bizarre since it was clearly the ceiling... Wait, does that mean the wall on my left is actually the floor? Ugh. Anyway, I spotted the giants' heads looming into the small compartment, their massive eyes taking in every detail. 

 I didn't dare make a sound, inching sideways as the leafy plant-woman floated closer. When I turned, she was right beside me, and that proximity sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn't shake the growing fear of plants, especially since Mr. Thompson, who is my neighbor, by the way, is obsessed with growing all sorts of them. Great. Now I'm probably going to have nightmares about his tomato plants coming to life and devouring me in my sleep. 

 Jasper next to me was unsheathing his sword, and so did I (I copied him) but with a dagger instead since a sword was a bit too tacky for my taste. Fighting with a leg long stick of metal could almost literally slice off your head accidentally while you're in the middle of a fight, which is the opposite of good.

 "You ready? Also, don't kill any plants, they'll just trigger the dryads." He puffed up his chest and raised his blade high in the air. "1…2…"

 Before he could finish, three arrows whizzed past us. One grazed my cheek, and for a moment, I panicked, thinking it was an ambush. But then I realized it was just Esmé.

 "What the—Esmé…" I mumbled, my gaze fixed on the plant lady. She had stopped moving, but now she was larger, more human-like. I couldn't help wondering if she was capable of speaking.

 I ducked instinctively as a few more arrows shot past my head. When I looked up, I saw that two of them had been driven straight into one of the giant's eyes—or what I assumed was its eye. It was hard to tell. The creature roared in pain, sending a cascade of sand pouring to the ground like a bizarre snowfall.

 "What are they?" I asked, because I wasn't sure if calling them giants was accurate though it was the only thing I could think of. They didn't match the descriptions I'd read, and I didn't want to mislabel them because you know what happens when you misgender a person: "I'M OFFENDED!"

 And when a monster is offended, it's probably the end of you.

 Suddenly, a screech shattered the air, and I whirled around to see the dryad—or whatever leafy green creature she was—screaming with her mouth wide open. So, she could scream. And loudly, too. Plants sure have evolved a lot.

 "I… don't think they're dryads. Too aggressive," Jasper muttered. "Unless they've evolved. Or… maybe they were the ones who took our powers."

 "Then why do you still have yours?" I couldn't help but ask, okay? Don't blame me for being curious. "Your glow."

 "I have golden blood," he explained. "Rachel must have mentioned it. It lights up on its own sometimes, and half the time, I don't even notice if I'm glowing or not."

 "Oh, right."

 "STOP CHIT-CHATTING! TO YOUR LEFT, CHRISTAL!" Esmé's voice came from seemingly nowhere. "SKELETONS!"

 "Ha?" I spun around to see skeletons clawing their way out of the ground, some armed and some empty-handed. Honestly, they didn't look too tough.

 "NO, NO, NO! They won't hurt you, I promise!" Nebby shouted, reaching out to me. "I somehow summoned them, Christal. You have to trust me."

 "How the hell did you summon skeletons?!" I exclaimed, bewildered, as I continued to slash at the other enemies. "Well, I believe you, but FIGHT NOW, TALK LATER!"

 She staggered forward, taking out her iron sword and limply ran towards the other newly formed human plants in an attempt to distract them… wait, no, these ones were different. They looked more human and… green, elvish. Kinda. Inky eyes glowered at us and their bodies were armed with deadly thorns. 

 In the corner of the compartment, perched on top of a broken window, was another humanoid creature. She resembled the dryads I'd mentioned before, but with a more contemporary, young look. Unlike the dryads mentioned above that seemed so different from my expectations, this one—I'll just call her the plant-girl—had a timid air about her. She lacked the protective thorns I was used to seeing and, from a distance, she looked more like a vulnerable child.

 "But sisters, this isn't right!" She protested, tugging at one of their arms. It felt odd to use "sisters" since she was only talking to one dryad, but then again, maybe that dryad was actually a combination of many other dryads. "There are mortals amongst these demigods. Please, you have to listen! If they are a threat, why kill the innocent?"

 "You're the one who's mistaken, sister," the large, hybrid creature said in a voice that seemed to emanate from multiple sources at once, layered and echoing as if countless voices were speaking together. "He is the one we've pledged to follow, and we will be rewarded, purified. We are ones with nature and we fight for it, not the lives of those who destroy it."

 Then, the creature lunged at us, its plantlike tentacles whipping out from a tangle of vines. Its form was nearly complete now, with bark covering most of its lower half, providing protection against any potential threats–us. 

 A tentacle lashed out at me, and I spun around, startled, raising my arms to shield my face. I accidentally scratched one of its "limbs", and I really hope I didn't offend anyone (said before, if you offend monsters, that thing's gonna rip your head off). Esmé took the high ground, using her nimble build to climb swiftly. From her vantage point, she shot down a hook attached to a rope, which snagged the giant's nose. The beast roared in agony as the hook tightened.

 Stones tumbled from the sky and crumbled upon impact as one giant collapsed into a pile of sand. Now, only the remaining giant was left. I used a seat's leather headrest as a stepping stone to hoist myself onto the wall–or something, I don't know.

 The final showdown was with that enormous plant-lady creature—dryad, or whatever she was—who was somehow linked to the giant oak trees nearby. And you know how weed killer (if we even have any) is only effective on weeds and weaker plants, not on massive trees that somehow appeared (editor's note: The tree was there the whole time and was enhanced in power so stayed up against the earthquake)? Well, apparently, we had a serious problem on our hands, especially with that giant still looming around. Yep, that rocky giant that oddly reminded me of the sweet old Wittenberg, but much more yellow and sandy. 

 What started as a peaceful train ride quickly turned into an earthquake, followed by a fierce battle, and now here we were, facing off against aggressive tree women who are supposed to be nice—dryads. 

 Mom (my adoptive one, yes, that's right, I am adopted) used to say to protect nature and such, but at that moment, that was not a good time to do that. I thought about all the time she tried to teach me and felt bad for these little nature gremlins. So instead of attacking, I played defense.

 That was one of the times when I most wished my water powers would help me out of all the situations I've been through. I mean, I would have done literally anything just to drown—no, too violent, damn it, Christal, children are reading—to buy the team some time to escape this one hell of a nightmare.

 Both offense and defense were already challenging, but now I didn't even get a chance to attempt either. It felt like those horror movies when people can't really do anything but just stare and protect themselves from all the danger—the only difference was that I couldn't even protect myself from danger.

 Every time I take a swing at a dryad, it only takes a few seconds for me to realize I've made a huge mistake. They seemed to just be taking advantage of the protection the gods gave them. It's not fair at all, especially with one of my parents being a god. Why would the gods prioritize evil spirits over their blood children anyway? Their morals are seriously messed up. 

 I really wanted to jump down and join the fight, but that would probably get me killed, and that would be bad. So instead, I did what any 'normal' kid would do: I became the general and led the war. Pretty normal, right?

 "NEBBY, TO YOUR LEFT!" I shouted, pointing at the dryad awkwardly trying to whip her butt. That counts as an attack, right? As usual, she didn't hear me the first time, so I had to scream until my throat felt raw.

 Finally, Nebby heard my cries and turned, her expression a mix of confusion and urgency. As I looked back at the dryad, I saw it being overwhelmed by... SKELETONS?! Oh, wait, those are Nebby's skeletons. Haha, silly me… Ow? I glanced at my arm and felt a searing pain racing up my veins. It was just a small cut from one of the thorny dryads, so why did it hurt so much? 

 Ow, ow, ow, no, Christal, don't think about the pain, think about ice cream. Yes, ice cream… rocky road is the best flavor… but I also like–OW! STOP GETTING DISTRACTED!

 Just then, another wave of skeletons scrambled onto the roof and charged forward, shoving the nature spirits aside and drawing their attention away from me. Unfortunately, one of the skeletons brushed against my cut, making the pain flare up even more. I stumbled backward, the intensity of the battle crashing down on me all at once.

 That was my first real fight, huh? I could've died. That was… terrifying. I wiped away the remaining blood dribbling down my arm and rubbed my eyes vigorously to shake off the pain. This wasn't the time to think about what just happened—well, my ADHD wouldn't allow it either. 

 "Down here!" a voice called out from underneath. I peered down from the window and saw Jasper waving at me with his hands flailing around, expecting to be pulled up. I find him rather annoying at times, but I guess I couldn't ever get mad at someone who's that persistently optimistic. These days, it's rare to find a teacher who's more than 20% nice and cheery.

 I lifted him up, helping him climb with a firm grip on his arms, while Esmé did the same for Alex. Once Nebby finally reached the top of the train, Helen was there to lend her a hand at pulling her up and out. She was covered with black soot, but I definitely did not have the energy to question her and was too focused on helping Jasper up. Jeez, this guy was heavy.

 "So, what do we do now?" I asked drowsily. Battling—defending against those things had completely drained me, leaving me winded and exhausted. And boy, was my throat sore.

 Esmé was also equally sluggish. "I dunno, don't ask me. Maybe take a nap?"

 "No, we can't. My boys won't hold those back for long." Nebby scowled. "I told the bony scraps to keep them at bay, not kill, though it would be nice. We need to leave as far as possible and as soon as possible. Y'all still remember parts of the prophecy, right? Did anyone write it down?"

 "Did you just assume their genders?" I swear, that was supposed to be just a thought. But really, did she really assume their genders? 

 "Go where? Tartarus?" Alex said, totally ignoring my question, which, not gonna lie, stung a little. It wasn't like I even know him or anything, but I mean, at least acknowledge my existence, dude. Anyway, since I wasn't keen on getting my butt kicked again, I decided to just dip.

 We scanned our surroundings, well, not all of us, but still. The train offered a decent vantage, but ultimately, the trees blocked our view. Just a sea of leaves in every direction… until suddenly…

 "There," Alex worded it out breathlessly, pointing at a stream of smoke floating in large clumps into the sky. Smoke. A sign of a fire. A village? Or a town? In the woods? All these words strung together like a bunch of solids rolling around in a jar, but it didn't matter to me as much as my will to live. All I could think of was the throbbing pain in my arm, a warm bed, and a distant image of chocolate chip cookies. My eyelids felt heavy—maybe from my awful sleep schedule or the searing burn from my injury. Speaking of which, the pain was ten times worse now. OW.

 The next few moments were a blur: greeting locals, reassuring them we were normal, spinning some tall tales about our backstories, letting Esmé bribe our way in, her once again talking people into giving us their stuff, and snagging a few bikes—three, I think—from the nearest rental service. We left Esmé's 50 bucks behind as a guilt offering for the bikes (and everything else we stole), with Helen being the guiltiest, whether you like it or not, because she was the mastermind behind the idea. Then we left, driven by this nagging idea: hang around for too long = death. And we don't want that, people, we truly don't.

 I found myself collapsing onto the back of a bike, though it felt completely unintentional. My body seemed to have decided I was unreliable, slipping into autopilot mode. A few minutes later, the bike jolted into motion, bumping along the uneven road. The wind was crisp and fresh—perfect fishing weather. I didn't have the energy to check who was riding the bike, and honestly, I didn't care.

 I clutched the mystery rider's shirt tightly. The scent of freshly-mowed grass and a hint of flowers was soothing. It was a pleasant smell, and it was the last thing I thought about before I drifted off.