Josh

My eyes shoot open, and all I see is blue. The sound of waves washing up and off sand fills my ear. I sit up, and see the ocean.

For a second I just sit there, trying to remember anything. And then it all comes back to me like the beginning of a TV show episode Previously on Josh Kai's life.

"It's all real." l whisper. I look around some more to see that I am on a beach. Buildings stand in the background and cars drive around. People play off in the distance and surfers surf out on the water.

It would be a beautiful casual day if nothing happened. I notice two dudes are behind me talking.

one has short brown hair and a black tank top.He has camo pants and big boots.

The other has curly black hair with jeans and a black T-shirt and boots.

The one with brown hair looks over at me and says "He's awake!"

I get up and run. I don't feel like talking or trusting. I realize it was a stupid idea when they quickly catch up with me and stop me.

" Hey kid,"The man with brown hair stops me "Who are you?"

I choose not to speak, even if I wanted to I don't know if I could find my voice.

"What's your name?" He asks?

I remain silent. I look at his face closer and see a rectangular face with a pointy chin with hair stubs on it. His green eyes look at me.

He sighs. "I'm Mitch, and you are?" He holds out his hand. Hesitantly, I shake it, but say nothing.

"doesn't matter." He says "What does matter is that we need to know if you are the package."

I look at the man with the curly hair, who is casually folding his arms. He has no facial hair and a very chiseled face.

"That's Damian." Mitch motions to the curly hair man. "But can you answer the question?"

The truth is I don't know. I don't know what "The Package" is. I shrug.

Mitch looks at damian with frustration. He looks back at me.

"Please?"

He waits for an answer, but gets none. He lets go of ne and walks to Damian.

"What should we do he's not tellin' us anything?" He mutters

"Just bring hin with us, find a monster and see if he can see it, then either way he is a use to us," Damian mutters back.

Mitch nods and walks to me. "Come with us. He starts walking away while I decide what to do. If I stay or run they'll probably force me to come with them, and I don't know what else to do. I don't know where my...

My heart begins to ache as I realize my mom is most likely dead. My eyes get watery and I rub them.

And I follow Mitch.

》》》

I stay behind Damian and Mitch as they walk around, in my mind pointlessly. We walk around the city passing people, a lot of people.

I think about how I thought that there was a lot of people on the boat, and now I'm showed this?

Mom was right. Life changed a lot since I lived in the small town in Maui. And I know the changing isn't done yet.

Damian and Mitch then stop. I stop too and look around. Next to us is an old lady getting ready to cross the street.

I don't know why but I have a huge soft spot old people. I walk over to her and wrap my arm around hers. She looks at me an smiles.

"Oh thank you sweetie, young people like you are always so nice." she says.

"Always glad to help" I smile.

"Hey kid!" Mitch says behind me "That's not a good idea!"

"What?" I look back at him "you got something against old ladies?"

"Hey he finally said something," Damian laughs.

"She's not what you think she is!" Mitch continues "Get away from her!" I notice his hands are under his shirt and on a knife.

"what are you evil or something?" I say to her.

"Don't mind them," She says.

But then I wish I listened to Mitch when I see her face start to tint very green and notice her pupils become narrow and long, like slits in her eyes. I back away as wings sprout out of her back. She spreads her arms out as long talons grow from her fingernails.

This is one wierd old lady. I think. She grins and snarls, but before she can rake out my face a knife flies into her shoulder. She shrieks and a hand grabs my shoulders and pulls me.

"Come on!" Mitch yells. Damian has another knife out, this one like a butcher's knife. We run away from the crazy lizard lady as fast as we can.

"We have to get the others Now!" Mitch yells to Damian. "Where did Michael say they were going to be!"

"At the warehouse!" Damian answers.

"What was that!?" I yell.

"Harpy" Damian utters.

as if she heard her name called the harpy jumps up and flies toward us. Damian turns around and slashes his knife at her, but she dodges just in time. He slashes again but misses. The harpy hisses and swings at his arm, gashing it. Blood drips down his arm as he grabs the harpy and pulls her down.

Mitch clasps his hands on her throat. and pushed her against the nearest wall and punches the harpy. Her nose becomes gray and starts to fall off, as if it is dust.

It is dust. I think. Mitch pulls his knife out of her shoulder and tries to stab her, but she flails her clwas and rakes Mitch in the face. three blood trails crawl down his fave as he yells and jumps back. We all run away and Mitch puts his hand on his face.

I look back and notice everyone is doing nothing, as if they can't see the lifesize flying lizard girl jumping around.

"Why isn't anyone running?" I ask.

"The mist!" Mitch grunts.

"what's that?" I say

"Look who's talkative now!" He says "Explain later!"

I nod my head and keep running. Not a second later a searing pain spreads through my two shoulders and I yelp. I start to rise.

"Kid no!" Mitch yells. I realize the harpy has me, and is taking me away like an eagle and a rat. he throws his knife at her. it sticks right into her side. "Use it!"

Before realize what ge even meant the harpy pulls the knife out and chucks it on a nearby roof.

"Come on!" I yell. Mitch and Damian run after me and the harpy. I struggle and twist to escape but her grip becomes stronger, and I yell in agony as my shirt becomes damp with blood.

She flies far away from them and starts to descend. We land on the sidewalk withe on top of me. She lifts her claw to rip my throat out, but hesitates.

" I sure will be glad to do this," she says. "Any last words?"

She waits for an answer, and I realize what to do.

" yes! " I quickly say. " Why are you, a vicious killing machine wasting time being glad to kill such a young and helpless boy?"

Sne sneers "you are not helpless demigod! but you are are young," she pauses as uf to rethink things.

I could punch her off of me and run to Mitch and Damian, but woukd I reach them? They should be pretty close, if they decided to look for me. They might think I'm dead by now...

"But above all you are one of the Seven," She speaks again. "Killing any of you will get me at least some reputation, and hopefully maybe a prize from my patron!"

"Sounds good, but what is the reaward?" anxiety builds up in me, and I try to suppress it. hopefully Carl and Damian are close because if they aren't I might die from an anxiety attack or a claw attack. "Like, I wanna know what I'm dying for,"

"I do not know!" she points a claw up. " But I know it will be good, my patron can muster much," she smiles.

" Who is your patron?" I ask the question as slow as possible.

"Who is my patron, what do you mean? I fight for the rightful lord of All! I fight for lord-"

She stops on the last word and tilts her head. " You're stalling me?"

"What? No!" I say.

"He thought he could stall me!" She raises her claw and I brace myself.

"sorta worked dude!" i assert. Before she strikes down a knife flies into her head and she rolls off of me, shrieking. Mitch runs to her with Damian's knife and attacks her.

Damian runs to me and asks "What she do?"

" nothin'." I say, "I stalled her."

Mitch stands up from a big pile of gray dust. The dust blows away into the air and dissipates.

"he okay?" He asks.

"yeah," Damian states.

"Let's go" Mitch says. "More Harpies can come, or worse"

We get up and I keep following them.

》》》

"Here it is" Mitch says as we approach a big warehouse. Once we get to a door Mitch knocks. I hear an echo of the knock inside.

"officium secundum valens Fidens Venetor!" Mitch yells. The metal doors slides open.

a buff man opens the door. he looks around twenty and holds a bow with a quiver on his back with a kevlar vest with army pants and pads. His long black hair is curly and has dark skin seems to shine.

"Mitch, Damian," The man says and motions toward me. He has a pretty thick accent from somewhere from like Africa or the middle East."Is that the package?"

"We think so," Mitch says. and looks at me. "You never told us your name."

"Josh" I say.

"Danid," the man says, holding out a hand. I shake it and we go in.

The warehouse is filled with young people wearing dark clothes and talking. Some of them are swordfighting, carrying bags around, moving crates with forklifts or driving around mailcarts with supplies on them. swords, knives crossbows and bows are lied out on crates everywhere and sleeping bags are stuffed to two sides of the warehouse. people stand on the cat walks with crossbows and armor watching over everybody.

"Medics!" Danid yells. I almost forgot about my bleeding shoulders and the others' injuries. "they need attention!"

Four men in white shirts and black jackets rush over to us while Danid goes and climbs a makeshift PVC pipe tower and watches over everything. The four men quickly bandage us up and give us some medicine.

"Everything is gonna be alright," A man with a clipboard says. "nothing major and only stuff we could easily fix."

"Good," Mitch says. "Oh yeah and James, where is Michael?"

"In his office as usual," James shrugs

"He available?"

"Last time I checked,"

Mitch nods and so does James. It sounds like a code or something and I want to know what it is, but I don't ask.

"Follow me," Mitch grabs my arm and we walk away to a tent at the side of the warehouse.

"Michael! " Mitch yells "You there?"

A man unzips the tent. He nods. Mitch steps in and I try to but Mitch motions to stay outside.

A few minutes later The same man unzips the tent again and pulls me with in.

Mitch sits there on a fold-up chair with 2 other men. The man sits on a fourth chair to the left of one of them.

"Josh," Mitch motions toward the middle-aged man with wavy brown hair wearing all black and with a belt with a lot of stuff on it. "This is Michael, Head of the Venetor,"

He looks up at me, revealing a wrinkled and dry face and a deep scar horizontally across his eye.

"Josh," He nods "So you're the demigod Clotho told me would be coming,"

I stay silent as Mitch speaks "What should we do with him?"

"Put him with the other one," Michael says, his voice very deep and authoritarian. " At least until we can see if there is any more revelation,"

Mitch nods and so does Michael. I've seen many of these dudes nod to eachother a lot, and I've decided it must be a thing around here. He stands up and so do I.

"There is another like me?" I ask. I am not even sure what I am, so if there Is another one hopefully I can understand myself better.

》》》

A few minutes I end up behind bars. Near the back of the warehouse there is a little prison made of boxes and iron bars.

"Dude why did you put me in here?!" I yell. I shake the bars and try to break free but Mitch just yell

"Its just Michael's orders. We don't know what you are gonna do or how powerful you are." He walks over to me and whispers " I don't agree, so I'm gonna try and get you out, and her,"

He walks away and I doubt he said her.

I'm reassured when a girl's voice sounds behind me. "It's okay," A girl with long brown hair and a smooth round face. Green eyes faintly glow in the dark. She wears a black jacket and shirt with jeans. "They left me in here too."

She shades back into blackness, and I am left with myself, and her.