orenda [leo valdez]

lxi. The Three-Legged Death Race

❝i'm afraid i'll miss you forever❞
⤷ 3:04 (via drunk4you)

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Kira consisted herself a very lucky girl for not having to do the three-legged death race.

She was originally going to do it, but she had accidentally had cried in front of Harley once, when the boy had told her that he had constructed a beacon trying to search for Leo, and the little boy had wanted her by his side instead of completing the dangerous race.

When Chiron reminded the campers that it was tomorrow, Sherman glanced at her, eyes full of dread, but Kira just shrugged, as if saying sucks to suck, bud.

Chiron called forward Harley after addressing the disappearance of Miranda Gardiner, and Sherman's gaze dropped to the floor.

"And they'll be like, ZOOM!" He bounced up and down with excitement. "And then BUZZ! And POW!" He pantomimed all sorts of chaos with his hands. "You have to be really quick or you'll die, and it's awesome!"

Kira pushed Sherman's shoulder. "Yeah, aren't you so excited to do that?" She asked jokingly, but Sherman just grumbled under his breath.

Chiron raised his hand for silence. "Now, I know there were problems last time," he said, "but fortunately our healers in the Apollo cabin were able to reattach Paolo's arms."

At a table in back, a muscular teen boy rose and began ranting in what I thought was Portuguese. He wore a white tank top over his dark chest, and Kira could see faint white scars around the tops of his biceps. Cursing rapidly, he pointed at Harley, the Apollo cabin, and pretty much everyone else.

Kira shivered, remembering last time. She had been paired with Connor, the first to stumble upon Armless Pablo. It hadn't been a pretty sight.

"Ah, thank you, Paolo," Chiron said, clearly baffled. "I'm glad you are feeling better."

Paolo finally sat down. Chiron went through a long list of other injuries they had experienced during the first three-legged death race, all of which he hoped to avoid this time: second-degree burns, burst eardrums, a pulled groin, and two cases of chronic Irish step dancing.

Malcolm raised his hand, the only child of Athena that had stayed through winter. "Chiron, just going to throw this out there....We've had three campers disappear. Is it really wise to be running a dangerous obstacle course?"

Chiron gave him a pained smile. "An excellent question, Malcolm, but this course will not take you into the woods, which we believe is the most hazardous area. The satyrs, dryads, and I will continue to investigate the disappearances. We will not rest until our missing campers are found. In the meantime, however, this three-legged race can foster important team-building skills. It also expands our understanding of the Labyrinth."