Burger and Fries (1eyedjuggalo)

While racing towards Burger King with Stephen, Taylor got almost hit by a car, got chased by a husky, bumped into a fair few passersby, and nearly collided with a baby stroller. She was sure that she was the subject of a few bad-mouthed people out there, but she couldn't care less. They were just regular mortals to her. Not that they weren't important enough, but they didn't really pose any significant danger. If Taylor was being chased by a Greek monster, then she'd have something to really care about.

Out of breath, Taylor reached their destination. Covered with sweat and still panting, Taylor pushed the door open and exclaimed, "Yes, I won!" A few people threw disdainful glances at her, but she ignored them all as she turned to Stephen, grinning. "So what's my prize, weirdo?"

This girl was fast. Stephen stayed close to her the whole way, but he couldn't quite catch her, and the dog made the trip interesting. He stopped right behind Taylor and laced his hands behind his head, trying to catch his breath, which came in short bursts. "Nice-run-speedy. I'll-buy the-food" He had eaten lunch before he went to the Burial Shroud, but the run sure had worked up his appetite. He made sure he had fully caught his breath before he walked up to the counter. There was no line, and the lady behind cash register had been staring at them bug-eyed since they burst through the door. He turned to Taylor, "Lady's first, place your order, speedy."

Taylor grinned as her stomach started rumbling. Free food, yay! was all that her mind could think as she scanned the menu. "Burger, fries and coke," Taylor said happily. "Thanks, weirdo. I'll find us a seat."

Completely ignoring the stares of the other diners, Taylor chose a table right by the glass window. It was a convenient location for them, since they would be able to see any undesired monsters coming this way. She leaned back on the chair, still trying to catch her breath. Gods, that was quite a run.

Stephen sat down at the table, with a tray of two whoppers, two large fries, and two Cokes. It felt good paying for his food. He didn't have to pay at camp of course and he hadn't been able to afford it after he ran away from home. He hoped Taylor didn't ask how a half-blood managed to come by mortal money. He unwrapped his burger, took a large bite, and leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. "I haven't had one of these in a really long time"

Taylor grinned as Stephen took his seat. She immediately took a huge bite from her burger. Closing her eyes, Taylor savored the meaty taste. She swallowed her food quickly, almost choking on it. "Same," she said, before taking another bite. She thought for a few moments, wondering what to say. "So, how long have you been in camp?" Taylor began, punctuating her question with another huge bite.

Forgetting that his mouth was full, Stephen tried to answer her question, but all that came out was "Ah ear". He swallowed his food, laughed and said "Sorry 'bout that. I've at camp for a year. What about you?"

With her mouth full of burger, Taylor held up three fingers in answer to Stephen's question. She swallowed and took a sip from her coke. "Haven't been in the outside world much," Taylor said, looking around. "Honestly, not many things have changed. So when was the last time you actually got to roam around New York?"

Stephen shook his head, swallowed his most recent bite and washed it down with a drink of Coke. He never though Coke could taste so good-he was a Pepsi guy-but after a year in camp, any real soft drink was awesome. "I've never been to New York until I came to camp, and the satyr who brought me rightfully didn't waste time for me to site-see." He then grabbed an handful of fries, smothered them in ketchup, and stuffed into his mouth. Man, who knew fast food could be so good? Sure, there was lots of good food at camp, but it just wasn't the same. He almost felt like a normal teenager for once.

Taylor tilted her head in confusion. She gobbled down the last bits of her burger and started on the fries. If this was Stephen's first excursion to the outside world after he went to camp, then how exactly did he get the money to pay for all these food? Taylor began wondering if Stephen had some Hermes blood in him. She chuckled at the thought.

"So after this, what do you propose we do next?" Taylor asked.

Stephen shrugged. "I don't know. What is something everyone who comes to New York should do? And please don't say visit the Statue of Liberty. She reminds me of the paintings of the goddess Columbia." He stuffed more ketchup laden fries into his mouth and thought for a while. "My dad had a sister who lived in New York. She owned some sort of arcade before she died. She'd come and visit us in Florida and talk about bringing me here, but pop never let me go. I wonder if that arcade is still open. It was called Lilly's Arcade, she said there were pool tables as well as the games."

With all her fries eaten and her coke drank to the last drop, Taylor settled on leaning back against the diner seat while she waited for Stephen to finish. "Arcade sounds good," Taylor said, nodding. "Let's pay it a good ol' visit. I haven't played video games for... around three to four years? This ought to be fun."

Stephen frowned. "I don't know where it is, or even if it's still open. My aunt died a long time ago, and someone else could have bought it." He finished his fries and Coke, and thought some more. "Maybe we could try to find it, even if we waste all day, at least we'll have some fun roaming the streets of New York.". He stood and carried his trash to the waste containers, then opened the door and held it, waiting for Taylor.

"Sure," Taylor said. Upon leaving the diner, she looked around the place. New York was still mostly the same. There were some new buildings here and there, but in essence, it was still similar to the world Taylor lived in around three years ago. "Now let's go find that arcade store."

As they walked, Stephen occasionally bumped into people, though not as many as when he had been running. In this way, he made sure they would have cab money or whatever else they needed. Well, you didn't have to be a child of Hermes to be a good pick-pocket. He stopped and asked random people if they have ever heard of the store, but with no success. Eventually he stopped, looked at Taylor, and shrugged "I have no clue where it is. So much for my bright idea." He laughed. "You got a back up plan?"

Taylor pursed her lips. Just as she was about to answer, a gruff male voice from behind her yelled, "Hey, kid! Come back here with my money!" The yell was heard by a nearby cop, and after some short conversation with the man, they both advanced towards Stephen and her. Confused, Taylor took a step back.

"Are they referring to us?" Taylor asked, bewildered, watching the two men walk closer to them. "We weren't doing anything... were we?"

Stephen grinned. He missed this, the thrill of adrenaline, of the chase. He used to do free running in his home town, and it came in handy when trying to escape from the authorities. He glanced at Taylor, shouted "Run!" and took off down the crowded city street, looking for an alley or other place to lose the cop. He hoped Taylor was with him, he didn't want to risk getting caught to go back for her, but since she had outrun him on the way to BK, he was sure she could keep up.

"By the gods, Stephen, what have you done?" Taylor yelled at Stephen, laughing. The cop was trying to keep up with them, but it was hard with the number of people roaming the streets. While she liked running, she wanted to slow down a bit. After all, she did have a full stomach.

"Plan on stopping soon?" she said, punctuating each word with a sharp intake of breath. Taylor narrowly missed hitting a baby stroller again. "As much as I'd love to race, I don't think we can keep this up much longer."

Stephen nodded at her. If they didn't lose the cop soon, he'd end up blowing chunks. Running on a full stomach wasn't a good idea. "Follow me!" He turned down a dead end alley and ran to the fence at the end of it. It wasn't very high, and he hopped over it easily, into an apartment complex. He searched briefly for any dogs, then turned and waited for Taylor. It wouldn't take long now, all they had to do was make their way through the apartments to another street. He was sure the cop would give up soon.

Taylor jumped over the fence with ease, landing on the freshly mowed lawn of an apartment complex. She glanced behind her and ducked behind the fence as soon as she saw the silhouette of someone moving towards the alley. Taylor grabbed Stephen's upper arm as she started running again. If the cop got them, they would probably be arrested for trespassing and the pickpocketing Stephen had done earlier.

"Y'know what would make this more interesting? A Minotaur popping up in the middle of the street," Taylor spoke without thinking as she sprinted across the lawn. Just after she said it, Taylor clapped a hand on her lips. Why had she said that? How had she forgotten that names were powerful things? Taylor gritted her teeth, letting out a stream of Greek curses under her breath. "O-kay, that was a bad move."

Stephen groaned. "By the gods Taylor, did you have to jinx us?" Just as he said it, they rounded a corner and Stephen stopped dead. Sure enough, just a few feet in front of them, mostly hidden by the shadow of an apartment building was a huge, man-like figure. "I'll give you three guesses what that is, and the first two don't count"

"Yeah well, it was an accident," Taylor mumbled. As soon as she noticed the figure shrouded in the shadows in front of them, Taylor immediately pulled out her ring, and within a split-second her familiar sword Snowflake appeared in her hand. She held out the gleaming celestial bronze blade in front of her defensively, anticipating an attack. "This is going to be one tough cookie," she said. "Tougher than the harpy."

Then to make matters worse, the cop that had been chasing them had finally caught up, stopping a few feet behind them. Taylor threw a glance at him only to see that he was unmoving, his eyes on her sword. She knew that the Mist would deter the cop from seeing what it really was, but nevertheless it looked like a weapon to the cop. Maybe a gun or something. The man pulled out his own gun and pointed it at them. "Drop your weapon and put your hands up in the air," he called. Apparently, he missed seeing the much bigger problem, that is, the half-man half-bull monster right in front of them.

"Yeah, we're screwed," Taylor told Stephen. "Any ideas?"

Stephen looked at the Minotaur, then back at the cop, marking their positions. If things went right, they might be able to escape. He froze and put his hands in the air, being sure not to move suddenly. He stared at the monster, waiting for it to charge. Sure enough, the bull-man began to run at them. At the last second, he threw himself in Taylor's direction, hoping to push her to safety as the beast ran past them and headed straight for the cop.

Taylor felt herself being tackled to the ground. She nearly impaled herself on her sword in the process. With her breathing uneven, Taylor glanced at where the cop was, who luckily jumped to the side as the Minotaur approached. Briefly she wondered what the cop had seen--a monster truck perhaps? But she knew that she didn't have time to ponder on that. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she pushed herself up, grabbed Stephen by the arm, and ran for their lives.

"Thanks," Taylor told Stephen as she ran. "I think we better get back to camp," she said in between breaths.

"I guess you're right. Any idea how to get back?" Stephen was tired of running, but in truth he had fun today, more fun than he had in a long time. Now, if they just make it back to camp...

Taylor smirked at Stephen. "We run," she said simply, before putting on a huge burst of speed. "Think of it as another race!" she yelled, startling a few passersby. Glancing behind them, she saw that the Minotaur was slowly gaining. At least it didn't seem to actually attack the other mortals. That was one less problem to deal with.