//If you're seeing this again, then just know I'm revamping it and continuing it from where it was before. The aim is to not drop it. If you HAVENT seen this before, hope you enjoy my mediocre writing.
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It just kept chasing him.
The scent of smoke was heavy in the afternoon air, a pungent aroma of burning embers that never seemed to fade. Heavy, metallic thuds echoed through the cemetery, bouncing off of tombstones and into the ears of a crouched Chion Pagos. An otherworldly presence stomped past the youths hiding spot, an abnormally large tombstone that managed to encompass his entire frame. Bovine-like snorts could be heard over the grinding of metal against metal, snorts that could almost be mistaken for signs of frustration and anger.
Chion didn't think mechanical bulls felt emotion though. That's what had been chasing him, a car sized male cow with horns the size of the white-haired youths body length, made out of metal and malice.
Ever since the young teen had awoken, regaining some semblance of consciousness, the young man had been evading the bronze bovine as best he could. Running through lanes of rushing cars, slipping through alleyways, entering crowded areas, and even stealing some clothes from a local Walmart to change his look. However, no matter what measures the confused individual took to rid himself of his unwanted companion, the raging rustbucket always managed to track him down, caring not about who saw it nor what direction it needed to take. It was relentless in its endeavors, seemingly with limitless energy and a deep-seated hatred for males with white hair.
And of course, just like pretty much everything else, Chion had no idea what the thing was.
In all fairness, though, he didn't even know who he himself was or where he had ended up. The moment he had opened his neon blue hues to the world, it had been a nonstop sprint for survival through the clustered streets of a place known as New York City. There hadn't been enough time for Chion to rest and sift through his own inner turmoil, to properly analyze his location and his situation.
All he could do was run. Run and survive.
Letting out a shallow breath, the teen reached into the pocket of the blue hoodie he had 'borrowed' from Wal-Mart, pulling out a small folded up piece of paper, yet another thing he had 'borrowed'. Making as little noise as possible, Chion unfolded it and scanned its contents, actually paying attention for the first time since he aquired it.
(("Flatbush. Bushwick. Bay Ridge.")) The youth rapidly glanced over the map, searching for signs of his whereabouts. (("Canarsie. But where's the cemetery?"))
SLAM!!!
The sounds of shattering concrete could be heard as the mechanical monstrosity let out a war cry, swiping its horns across a row of tombstones directly across from Chion. Without any further words of encouragement, the white-haired amnesiac broke into a dash, heading for the cemetery's entrance. Bobbing and weaving through the graves of the dearly departed, Chion did his best to remain as quiet as possible, ignoring the frustrated ramblings of the malfunctioning beast. Once he reached the gate leading out, the teen glanced back briefly, assuring his escape had gone unnoticed before disappearing around the corner.
A brief reprieve, that's all it was. An escape from the constant cycle of cat and mouse. Eventually, the game would begin again, and Chion would once again return to his struggles. This would continue to happen until the cycle was broken.
Either he met a grisly end by the bronze contraption, or Chion found a way to shut the machine down.
Permanently.
"Need to come up with something," the youth said, dashing past a crowd of onlookers, the same pedestrians that had watched a bull burst through the cemetery's entrance. "Quickly."
After putting a decent amount of distance between him and the bull, Chion flexed the map out fully once again, giving it a careful once over. At most, he had around an hour before the mechanical mammal managed to track down his whereabouts like some sort of freakish bloodhound. What Chion needed in that instance was a proper intake of food and a quick rest. After he managed that, he reckoned he'd be able to properly formulate a plan that could put the brakes on his bronze stalker. After running for a few hours, he felt as if his legs had morphed into sticks of room temperature butter.
"Let's see. Canarsie Cemetery is here. There's a Mini Mart over on East 87th." Chion mapped out the route in his head as he folded the piece of paper. "Don't have any money. Guess I'll have to-"
"Chionothýella Pagos. That's you, right? I don't believe I got the name wrong."
Chion immediately shot up upon hearing his full name, hues glancing up towards the speaker. He hadn't heard anyone approach him, having specifically chosen a spot that was comparatively isolated, away from the prying gaze of others. It was only when the man spoke up that he was even able to feel someone else's presence, an alarming thought when considering the metallic bull. If it had been his bronze friend, he would have been trampled underfoot before he even knew what had happened, too absorbed into the map to realize the danger.
Tucking the stolen paper back into his hoodie, Chion zeroed in on his guest.
A jogger. At least, that's what the white-haired individual thought upon first glance. A middle-aged man, maybe around late 30s with salt and pepper hair, slim and fit with a New York City Marathon t-shirt, nylon running shorts, and a pith helmet. Fastened to his back was a murky grey backpack filled to the absolute brim, its zipper bulging out in protest. In his hand was a cellphone, a singular antenna sticking out of it. Probably the oddest addition to an already questionable attire were the wings attached to his sneakers.
"Yeah....I'm Chion." The youth took a step back, eyes flicking about, assuring his potential escape routes.
"No worries, I'm not here to skin you alive." The man tapped a few buttons on his phone. "I'm just here to make a delivery. I can't stay too long or converse freely, unfortunately. Part of the agreement."
(("Agreement?")) Chion took another step back. He wasn't afraid of the man, but he also wasn't sure what was going on. The stranger knew his name so logically he couldn't just run away. He needed information.
"I'll just leave you with this," the man said as he shrugged off the backpack, dropping it by Chion's feet. "You'll find the contents useful on your journey. There are instructions regarding some of the objects within it, such as the ambrosia and the Greek fire. Careful not to get any of that stuff on you. There's some cash in there as well, plus some clothes that were thrown in there last minute-"
BOOM!!
Chion flinched, kneeling down slightly as if he was about to peel off, a rumble of noise cutting the man off. There were some clouds in the sky, but not enough to constitute the massive outburst of thunder.
"Right. I'm leaving, I'm leaving."
The jogger turned around and began to walk away, pressing some buttons on his phone. Before he fully departed, he tucked the device into his pocket and looked up into the sky.
"It's an awfully nice day to head to the pier. Maybe going for a swim wouldn't be that bad." The jogger glanced back ever so slightly, the edge of his hues meeting Chions. "Would be a shame if I missed out on it, don't you think?"
And, following the ongoing craziness of that day, the man disappeared in a cloud of smoke. For the longest time, Chion's brain stopped working.
Truth be told, if time wasn't of the essence and he wasn't being hunted by a four-legged herbivore made out of tempered earth and unnecessary bloodlust, the young man probably would have had a mental breakdown. Nothing was making sense, he didn't have his memories, and his life was in a constant state of danger. As much as the youth wanted to vent his emotions and break down, he couldn't afford to.
Stowing his own inner turmoil aside, Chion walked over to the bag and picked it up. Quickly unzipping it, the youth began rummaging through the innards, pulling and setting things to the side.
A wad of cash totaling around $10,000, an assortment of clothes that just happened to be his exact size, a bow and quiver of arrows, three jars filled with a green flame, and many other things. Even with how packed the backpack was, it was still surprising how much equipment and items were stuffed in its confines, some even exceeding the bags limit like the bow and arrows. At this point, however, Chion was very open-minded, accepting the irrationalities as they came. The bag could fit more than it appeared, and that was the end of the story.
"I don't need the bow and arrow right now. I doubt they'd let me in the store with it." Chion looked through the things he had pulled out, putting them back one at a time. "I'll figure it out once I got some food. Looks like I don't have to steal anymore."
There were a couple more things that caught Chion's eyes like a batch of weird colored pudding, a bronze necklace of a snowflake (of which he decided to put on), and a compass that didn't point in any particular direction, but the white-haired individual disregarded them. Shoving everything back into the backpack, the teenager zipped it up and shouldered it. It was deceptively heavy, considering its size, but not so much that the amnesiac was truly bothered by it.
(("Only thing to do now is figure things out as I go.")) Chion let out a breath, cold vapor mingling in the hot air. (("Just keep moving forward."))
The bag was able to fit much more than Chion had initially expected, which was a surprise since the youth had already deduced the object could hold multiple items well past its weight class. He just hadn't anticipated to what degree. After shoving in three shopping bags worth of various foods and drinks with little to no effort, however, the white-haired individual could only marvel at the backpack now in his possession. Additionally, the grey carry-on felt just as light as it had prior to the added groceries, Chion being able to lift it with almost no effort on his part. Out of all the items he had been given, the bag was easily the most useful, save for the cash which saved him from having to steal.
Now, sitting behind the same Mini Mart he had purchased his newly aquired merchandise, munching away on a bag of pretzels, Chion began sifting through not only the mysterious items but also his situation as a whole.
His arrival into the realm of New York City. The bronze bovine that had chased him around for hours on end. The jogger that disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
There wasn't any sort of information within the events of the last ten or so hours that could help the youth form any sort of concrete ideas, the only real clue being what the jogger had said to him when he arrived.
"I'm just here to make a delivery. I can't stay too long or converse freely, unfortunately. Part of the agreement."
Even that however lead to nothing but dead ends and far more questions than Chion could even count. What agreement? Who was he? How had the man appeared and vanished? Why leave the items? Were they a part of the agreement as well? The best the youth could do for the time being was to try and garner some more facts before he even ATTEMPTED to tackle the enormous web of mysteries surrounding himself and his own predicament. The more Chion focused on what he didn't know or wished he did know, the less time he would have to actually figure out the problems happening in the present.
The bull was still after him and could find him at any moment. If he wanted to stand a chance at the final stand, he needed to come up with a plan and execute.
"Strictly survival," Chion muttered as he spaced out all the contents of the bag, having pulled them out moments prior. "What do I have-"
ARRRG!!
The white-haired youth immediately glanced upwards, a distorted screech reminiscent of crows making its way from above. There, situated on a nearby brick wall, were three abnormally large pigeons coated in black, their beaks reflecting the light of the setting sun. Eyes as black as midnight and possessing an unmistakable intelligence, Chion admittedly watched them for longer than was needed. Though they were bigger than the ones that he was used to, the individual reasoned that they were just birds and nothing more, even if they happened to have metallic beaks.
ARRRG!!
If anything, he was at least confident about handling three measly critters should the need arise.
Looking back at his equipment, Chion attempted to get back on track, devising a way to rid himself of the only real problem at hand. His unwanted mechanical friend.
(("Let's start with a breakdown of our opponent. Either metal coated or mechanical all the way through. Maybe weighs around 6 to 10 tons depending on his makeup, the metal definitely making up 50 percent of the weight.")) Chion leaned forward, hands clasped together, brows furrowed in concentration. (("He's big, but he's fast. Strong as well. Able to plow through concrete with ease and bend steel beams. Has trouble making sharp turns to the point of almost needing to stop completely before doing so. Unreal sense of smell. Poor hearing quality. Sight is average."))
The time spent fleeing from the beast hadn't just been for show. Every second he could, Chion had attempted different methods of escaping the bulls clutches, and each method had gotten differing results. With any luck, the gathered data would be enough to put a stop to it once and for all.
"Now for the items. Maybe something in here that could help?" Chion touched the object closest to him, the three jars filled with a moving green liquid. Surprisingly, the youth didn't feel any sort of heat coming from it. "What did he call this again? Greek Fire?"
"There are instructions regarding some of the objects within it, such as the ambrosia and the Greek fire. Careful not to get any of that stuff on you."
"If it's like regular fire, I wouldn't want to get any on me regardless." Chion touched his chin. "Normal fire burns at a temperature ranging from 1100°F to 2100°F depending on the quality of the flame, oxygen exposure, fuel source, so on. Bronze has a melting point of 1600°F in a controlled situation, varying with the amount of other metals present within it. How I know this, heck should I know but it's there. Odds are, the fire won't be useful no matter how hot it burns unless it can magically stick to metal. Old bovine probably won't stop for me to test anything out. Can't pin him down either."
Grabbing the jars, Chion carefully slipped them back into the bag along with the groceries, street wear, cash, and other useless items that wouldn't prove of use in that current situation.
The only thing that he hesitated putting away was the bow and arrows and the few containers of off colored pudding. Due to the process of elimination, the individual assumed that this was the thing the jogger had called "ambrosia,". Written on the sides of the container were words scribbled in an unreadable language. Somehow, Chion was able to understand it though, reading it aloud without fail.
"Take two tablespoons when injured. Four in an emergency."
Frowning, the individual slipped the top off of the container, neon blue hues taking in the contents. It smelled divine, like all the best things life had to offer in one rigid plastic contraption. The youth could feel his mouth water and his half full stomach growl in anticipation. However, even with the curiosity of its taste and desire to satisfy his own pallete, Chion closed the lid and shoved the containers of pudding back into the backpack, zipping it up. It wasn't the time to fixate on desires, only on survival of the fittest.
Setting the bag back to the side, Chion glanced over the bow and arrows, plucking its string. The bow was intricately carved, with symbols and images wrapping around its arc and its metal string being made of something that wasn't quite bronze but not exactly steel. The tips of the arrows were made of the same thing as the drawstring, a sort of bronze that Chion couldn't identify. They had a singular feather adorned at the end as well as a fin shaped fletching on the back. While the youth doubted they could pierce through the male cows hide, he reckoned it would definitely be enough to stir the beast into a heated charge. As far as Chion was concerned, nothing but an exceptional amount of brute force was going to end the beasts life.
Ergo, he had to think along a different track.
"It's an awfully nice day to head to the pier. Maybe going for a swim wouldn't be that bad. Would be a shame if I missed out on it, don't you think?"
(("Wait a minute. What he said..."))
Acting quickly, Chion pulled out the map from his hoodie pocket and slapped it onto the ground, unfolding it. Retracing his steps, he located where he was at. Moving his finger just a tad lower, he came across it. Canarsie Pier, a spit of land overlooking Jamaica Bay.
(("He wasn't talking about swimming,")) Chion concluded, eyes slightly widening. (("He was giving me a hint!!"))
A plan was beginning to form within the youths mind as he quickly folded up the piece of paper and tucked it back into his pocket. With the help of his mysterious jogger, he had an idea on how to end the game of cat and mouse once and for all.
ARRRG!! ARRRG!! ARRRG!!
That's when, for the first time since he initially looked around, Chion looked up. Within seconds, the palms of the white-haired amnesiac began to sweat profusely, his heart beating faster, pumping adrenaline through his entire being. It was as if the cloud of black avians had spawned there, popping into the world without a single sound. It felt similar to when the jogger had appeared only hundreds of times more threatening and equally as life threatening. Hundreds of black birds had surrounded him, flying through the air, perching on the edge of nearby buildings, or just straight up resting on the wall across from Chion, just out of immediate view.
Danger!!
It was like a tingle in the youths palm, something he had only felt when avoiding the bull.
Making no sudden movements, Chion calmly rose onto his feet and picked up his backpack, dusting off the seat of his pants. It took every fiber of his being not to flee the scene, but he managed to quell his flight response. The enormous pidgeons hadn't reacted negatively just yet, but he felt quite positive that would change if he showed them any emotion indicating he was a bitçh who couldn't defend himself. Heck, they would probably attack him either way but he at least wanted to make it out of the alley beforehand, so he had room to run.
ARRRG!! ARRRG!! ARRRG!! ARRRG!! ARRRG!!
The sounds got louder as the birds from hell noticed his movement, their dark hues narrowed in on the walking teen. Chion did his best to ignore them though.
Ring! Ring!!
The sound of a bike bell approaching was like a saving grace. The moment the youth heard it, he broke into a run, unzipping the backpack as he bolted towards the exit of the alley. The birds took note of this and immediately took action, taking off from their posts and divebombing the fleeing male with murderous intent. A few of them managed to nick his skin but Chion shook it off as he yanked out a few hundred dollar bills from the backpack.
Ring! Ring! BAM!
The young girl around fourteen years old with blazing red hair was shoved to the ground as Chion ran into the scene. Without a single glance towards her, the white-haired individual chucked the cash in her direction and snagged the fallen bike.
"Sorry but I need to borrow this."
//Sorry this is so short. I just wanted to write some sort of Prologue to kick us off. The next few chapters will be much longer.
But yeah, I hope you enjoyed and I'll have the next chapter out in a bit.
For those of you interested, I have a Patre0n in the works for things such as advanced chapters, discord roles, story proposals and influences, future projects you want to see from me, and more. Obviously, don't feel pressure to do so if you can't, I'm just throwing it out there in case you can't wait for the next chapters. I don't have everything properly organized or tiered out yet but it'll be done before the end of the week so no worries. I'll leave the link below.
Update stability will be 1 a day and 2 on Patre0n. Timeline is set one year before Percy joins Camp HalfBlood.
Links to discord and Patre0n below.
Discord: https://discord.gg/AZnQSJQEGh
Patre0n: Pâtreøn.com/ShadowDrev
Goal:$8.91/$720