As I walked down the corridor, I thought about the things that had just happened. It had been a while since I had been to school, and back in middle school, no one was harsh. Everyone was polite to one another and got along very easily. But, in high school, things changed. I followed Larry and Brandon to the end of the hall, to a black door. Larry hit it twice, slapped it, and muttered something. Someone opened a crack of the door, then closed it and let us in.
Inside the room stood half a dozen boys, almost men. They were all dressed similarly, wearing biker gang clothing and aviator sunglasses. In the center of the group stood a tall, bulky man with facial hair, a bald spot, and a knife in his back pocket. He nodded to Larry, who sat down on the floor, and smiled at Brandon.
"So, our little boy is back. Come crying to us to take you back in?"
Brandon looked him dead in the eyes. "You know what we're here for. Larry has to have told you everything. That's just the way he is." Larry's face turned a shade of red.
The man stared at him for a minute, then threw his head back laughing. "Same old Brandon," he said, after he had calmed down.
I finally spoke up. "Um...who is this?"
The man turned to me. "Oh. I see we have a young lady in our presence. Let me introduce myself. I'm the Big Boss, and I'm the reason why Brandon's alive."
Brandon rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that. Anyways, we're here for our stuff, not to socialize."
Big Boss calmed down and pointed to three duffel bags. "Here's all the stuff you need to get to the West. You've done a lot for me, and I guess I gotta return the favor." His eyes twinkled. "But first, prove that you're the Brandon Lee I know."
He sighed, like he was expecting it. "Just not in front of her."
They walked to the corner of the room where nobody could see them. Brandon turned his head and a moment later, turned back around. Big Boss seemed satisfied.
"Looks like you're the one. Have fun going wherever you're going."
We picked up the bags and began to head out when Big Boss shouted. "Oh! By the way, Kronos's guys are here, at this school. They've probably already sensed you and might be right outside this door. Be careful."
Brandon nodded. "Don't worry. I have a plan."
He smiled. "You always do, don't you? And don't worry, we're not siding with those weird monster things. We're on the side of survival, and on your side. Take care, Speedy."
They smiled and turned. Brandon examined the door, apparently timing. "You know him from somewhere?"
I got the traditional answer for when I ask a question. "I don't want to talk about it." I sighed and leaned against the wall, back turned to him. I might have dozed off when he began a countdown.
"3...2...1!"
He sprang out the door and I followed right as the school bell rang. The doors of classrooms banged open and a thousand teenagers started to stampede towards the exit. There would be no way for anything to catch us in the heat of traffic. But, Brandon apparently didn't think so. And I'm pretty sure that's what resulted in an alarm and tons of sprinklers going off. I used my duffel bag as a water shield and ran toward the exit, which was much easier now that people were moving faster.
As we ran and ran, Brandon was laughing his head off. I looked at him; how could he laugh after that long serious discussion? He finally composed himself. "There was an Earthborn behind us who tripped and fell on his face." I smiled a little. "But it gets better. His friend tried to help him out and ended up falling flat on the other one. It was hilarious."
Finally, we stopped to catch our breaths. I decided to give asking questions another go. "What did you show Big Boss to prove it was you?"
He actually answered me this time, if with a sigh. "Many people have many powers, but none are more powerful than the Eye." He sat down. "There are three forms of the eye, all of which compliment and counter other powers. The Blue form of the Eye allows for an extreme boost in an already developed power. The gold eye allows for the targeting of weak points and what one's powers are. The dead eye allows for a perfect counter against all powers, making them useless and borrowing them yourself."
I thought about everything we had seen on this quest. I had seen Linus deflect Brandon's blade, even as he was going at top speeds. But more memorably, I found myself staring once again into the deep blue eye of the one who had driven for us at the very beginning.
"And which one are you?"
He smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid, the Sons of Hermes love to keep their secrets."
We set up camp and I slid into my sleeping bag. I could see Brandon sitting on the grass, thinking. As I slowly drifted into sleep, I couldn't stop the questions forming in my mind, and I knew that persistence would pay off, eventually.
