Everything is dark. I remembered gunfire.  I remembered pain. I remembered darkness…Am I dead?

Thud. Thud. Thud. That noise, it’s my heart. I AM NOT DEAD HELL YEAH! My still beating heart soared with happiness. I got away! I escaped!  I stood up shakily and took one step in the darkness. I wanted to figure out where I was, but  that changed fast when I had a mini heart attack as my leg sank into something. Kind of like I was in a lake and I suddenly hit that drop off. It was a lot like that sort of thing, except this wasn’t water and I was not swimming in a lake.  I took another step and I stumbled into something made of metal. Ah shit! Was I in some form of solitary containment? Had I not gotten away? Had they used some god with powers over people's heads to make me think I was safe?  That’s when my senses-probably all spiked with adrenaline-brought to my attention a noise.  A grumbling, shaky noise; I’m in a truck! I’m in…a garbage truck.Yuck, well better than that hellhole I was in.

 I stumbled my way to something to sit down on and it hit me finally. I was free. I got out. I did it. Ha! Take that Daddy dearest! I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped me. I’d done it. Now what?

That thought did make me stop and think. I couldn’t go back home-well I could-but not for long, maybe for less than a day to get some normal clothes, money and other supplies. I couldn’t stay, that’d be the first place they’d look for me. But if I kept moving from there they’d never get me. The Furiesare sure tough bitches, and so are those Eumpsa and dogs from hell, but they had tons of other kids like me to keep imprisoned they couldn’t be everywhere at once. I smiled again and suddenly the garbage truck lurched forward and I was then blinded by a white light.

“Hey kid! What are you doing in there?!” shouted an angry New Yorker voice that I had never heard. But I knew the tone, he was pissed for whatever reason and  I’d never been happier to hear anger in someone's voice. I stumbled out of the recycling truck-I now knew- and the middle aged  Mexican guy who’d been yelling at me, caught me as I stumbled. He took a quick look at me as I lifted my head up and said, “Holy shit kid, what happened to you?”

“Mugged,” I lied, “you guys have a phone I can use?”

***

Five minutes later Julio-the old guy-led me to his office and I dialed my home number for the first time in a year.

"Hello?” a weak, raspy and very familiar voice sounded and I felt myself starting to tear up.

“Hi Mom, it’s me. I’m at this recycling plant, it’s close to Central Park has a big green sign marking it, says Plastic, Cans and Paper Recycling."

“Xander?” I heard her voice break with either surprise or joy-maybe both. I felt tears form in my eyes, I was so glad to hear her voice again.

"Yeah Mom, it’s me. Like I said, I’m at this recycling plant, can you pick me up and bring some clothes, a backpack and some money.”

“Xander how’d you escape?” she asked, her voice more urgent than I'd ever heard.

“Long story,” I said eying Julio behind me who happened to be watching me wearily.  I didn't need this guy to really think I was an escaped prisoner. The orange jumpsuit hadn't done much and I didn't need the word 'escape' in there either. “Just please, come get me and bring what I asked.”

“I’ll be there in no time at all.” She promised, and as she hung up and told me that she loved me I heard her familiar, raspy cough.

***

Not less than ten minutes later I watched as my Mom’s beat up  black car pulled into the parking lot and she stepped out of the car, her portable oxygen tank on her back, tubes wrapping around her face, and up her nose. “Xander!” she took a step towards me but I’d already started running. Out of all the things I’d missed the most about the outside world Mom was at the top of the list. I hugged her tightly and I am not ashamed to admit I didn’t want to let her go. I felt tears again, because I was reminded that I wasn't going to stay with her.

“Hi Mom,” I choked out, “I don’t have much time. They’ll start looking for me soon. If they aren’t already,” I said dropping my voice as low as I could so Julio or anyone but Mom could hear me. I didn't know if any of the gods were eco-nuts, but I didn't want to run that risk.

“I know,” she said her voice breaking again. “I know sweetie, I brought what you asked.  Just promise to call me as often as you can, let me know you’re okay."

“I will, come on let’s get in the car.”  I turned her away from Julio and them so they couldn’t see the tears running down her face, but I did turn back and nod once to Julio as a way to say thanks. He handled finding me in his truck pretty well. I slipped into the backseat and quickly as I could threw on a t-shirt, a zip up sweatshirt, an old pair of jeans and my old tennis shoes. It was pretty hard since I was in a car, but as soon as that was over I slipped into the front of the already moving car and buckled up.

“Money’s in the left pocket, water-bottle is one of those plastic fill and expand things. It should be easier to travel with-!” she stopped her advice for a second racked by a dry fit of coughing that made my heart stop beating. I was always so scared that she'd stop breathing when these attacks happened and I couldn’t stop my scowl. Mom wasn’t even in her fifty’s yet, her hair-brown the same color as mine-barely had any grey showing, there were barely any wrinkles around her brown eyes-another feature we shared. She’d lived a healthy lifestyle, eating right, exercising, all that stuff.  She should be the picture of health and yet from sixteen years’ worth of bar-tending and waitressing in crappy restaurants and bars she’d inhaled enough cigarette smoke to get a case of emphysema. Another reason why I hate my Dad, he got Mom knocked up with me and left without a word. He didn’t even pay child support and let Mom spend her entire life working shitty jobs to support me.

As far as I'm concerned he's one of the reasons she got so sick like this. When the coughing stopped she looked back up at me, eyes shining with tears. The stop light turned red and the car halted. “Xander, there’s also a pocket knife in your right pocket. I wish I could have given you something better, but you’ll be traveling all around and carrying a pistol would attract attention.” Another tear fell from her eyes and I put my hand on hers.

“I know Chiron and his buddies probably have friends all over the place." I agreed, cracking a grin as I spoke. Despite everything I wanted to smile, I wanted to crack a joke or two. If this all killed me I wanted Mom to remember me smiling. "If I pack like I’m going hiking and carry like I’m out on the front-lines they’ll take notice of me and catch me faster than I could say ‘you’ve got the wrong guy’.” A silly image of me in military gear and packing tons of weapons while I walked through Central Park made me smile wider for her.

Mom smiled-sobbed at me, “Xander I love you, don’t ever forget that. And I’m so proud of you.” She patted my cheek just like she did when I was little and having a bad day. I reached up and squeezed her hand once, then twice our old signal for it was all going to be okay.

“I love you too, and I’m also really proud of you.”

And that’s where things went wrong, really wrong. I heard a dull thud and then the screech of metal being ripped apart. I caught sight of two copper-colored claws wrapping around my seat, I didn't even have a chance to scream. I was completely weightless and staring up and a green three-headed lizard with plated scales the size of average doors, the of a width of a semi and the height a five-story building.This lizard thing is probably one of Chiron’s “pals” I mentioned to Mom. So this cannot be good.  I unbuckled my seat-belt and looked down as I rose from the ground towards the one of the three massive mouths waiting to eat me for lunch. I’m about five to maybe eight feet up high and hanging over Central Park.I looked back up at the monster and its teeth that are about the size of my legs and boy do  they look sharp. So, the way I see it, I can either jump for it and hope I land in a tree, or I can be eaten.

No contest. I stood up and jumped.

***************************************

Hehe sorry/not sorry about the cliffhanger! Thoughts on his chapter? What'd you guys think of Xander's mom? Or the monster that came after him? I'd love to hear what you think! =)