BRIDGET I
My name is Bridget Ashwinder, and I am in a lot of trouble. Let me tell you about it. I grew up in and out of different homes, but I started at 221b Baker Street with a young couple who were very strange. Then they had a child of their own and kicked me out. It went like this on and on, in and out of homes. Once, I was even in an abandoned place with 20 other children, until the men found us. But, of course, the most weird one is a week before my 15th birthday.
I was in what was my last “home,” and it was the middle of the night. I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned. I finally fell asleep, but then I felt heat all around me. There was a fire. I was covered in fire. I was surrounded. I looked down at my hands and they weren’t burned, I ran out naked. I grabbed clothes off a clothesline and threw them on. A pair of pants and a shirt, mens clothes. I saw a pair of riding boots, pulled them on and ran. It was dead of night and saw a stable. I was comfortable with animals. I saw my favorite one, a black stallion named Blackjack.
He is somewhat asleep. I walked up to his stall and scratch his head. He starts to whine, but I said a quiet “No!” and he was quiet. I slowly opened the door of his stall and lead him out. Without any proper riding equipment, I hopped on his back, and we rode into the distance. We rode to the forest, where no one could find us. We stayed there for a couple of days, until men finally found us. Blackjack bolted and left me to fend for myself. The brought me with them and put me in jail. At the end of my trial, they concluded to have me go to America instead of a poor woman. So I stayed in jail until my 15th birthday. That’s when the boat left for America. (By the way, I lived in England.) On the day of it leaving they had men flank me on both sides, as we walked to the ship.
I remember met Simon on this boat. We went to New York and met gods. We built a camp. We found demigods. We helped them survived. Simon was supposed to go back to Greece to tell Chiron and lead them here. I don’t think he ever did. The day before he was supposed to leave, we went to a secluded part of the beach. He encased us in water but left an air bubble for us. We had floated down to the bottom to the bottom of the ocean. The last thing I remember is Simon getting hit in the head and I blacking out right afterwards. One day I woke up. I was in a very comfortable bed. I saw a door with a handle. I tested the handle to see if it was open. It was. I was in a long hallway. I looked left, then right. I started to walk right down the hall. I came to a ladder. I climbed up. I came into a normal room. A bed on the left, a table with a icebox on the left. There also was a table with a set of clothes and two chairs. I went to the clothes and saw them. There was a note ` said:
Please put these on.. I don’t know what you remember. Please put these on, and eat the food in the refrigerator.
-Simon Moffat
I looked at the clothes, then back at the note. The clothes were like the ones I was wearing, but more my size. I wondered what a refrigerator was. I saw a white object that looked like a ice box. I saw a bucket of water, and decided to clean up. I washed, then put on the clean clothes. A tunic shirt, a pair of black pants, and a pair of black boots. No more dresses or corsets. Ah! Comfortable clothes for once. There was an undershirt that I didn’t see, and so I put it on. I finally walked to the refrigerator thing, and realized I was actually hungry. I opened it up, and I was welcomed by a wave of coldness. There was a cake, roast beef, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. There was also a jug of water on the table. I sat down and started to eat. The door opened, and my head turned around. It was a boy. Could it be Simon Moffat? The mystery person came and sat across from me.
“It’s me, Bridget. It’s me, Simon,” he said.
“Simon is that really you? You don’t look like Simon,” I replied.
“I am 17, and I am from Greece. From a haven for demigods.”
“I know what a demigod is, but I still don’t believe that you are Simon” I asked hastily. I really wondered who this person was, and why he rescued me. Why? Why? WHY? I want answers now. Not later. But now.
Without thinking, I blurted out;
“Are you really Simon, if so, why are you here? Why did you rescue me? Why? Why? WHY?” And with that last “why” I stood up and flipped the table over. Simon looked absolutely stunned. I looked back at him, and sprinted out of the room. Simon tried to call, but I ignored. I was in once again in a long hallway, but this time it was different color than white. I sprinted to the left, feeling that this way was the way to go. This time I came to a set of stairs. I sprinted up. Yet another hallway, but with more light, I have to be near the top I thought to myself. I heard Simon yell, yet still I ignored. I rushed to the next level and stopped. There was no wood, I should have realized the colors. No ship had this many levels or rooms or colors in my time. The 1800’s. I should have noticed the clothes. Simon was wearing blue pants and a shirt. No tunic. No riding boots. No pants.
Where the hell am I?
Simon came right behind me, and I was in a loss for words. We started a camp together, and what has happened now is unexplainable. I tried to ask him where we are, but no words came out. I stood there with my mouth gaped open. There was no one else on this strange ship as far as I could see. The boat looked white, but not white wood. Shiny white stuff. Simon understood that I was trying to figure out what this stuff is.
“It’s a metal boat, common for this time now,” I heard him say it. I didn’t understand what happened to us. The last thing I remember was Simon and I on the bottom of the ocean and him getting hit in the head. That was our first time together outside of leading camp. We had quite a few demigods. Some of the gods shared cabins because we did not have enough supplies, but Zeus, Poseidon, and Hera had their own. I was in the Hephaestus’ cabin. We had that cabin to ourselves because, a) I built it, and b) we made all the weapons in camp. I think Simon knew what I was thinking and lead me back down to my room. I looked at it better and saw that it had a large bed, with a door connecting to a washing room, and then another door connecting to another bedroom. It was possibly Simon’s. I didn’t dare ask any questions. I sat down on the bed, slid off my shoes and laid down. I laid there for some time. Simon mouth flowed. I payed attention to snippets of it. Something about us being frozen for about 200 years. Apparently someone did it, but he doesn’t know who. And from being frozen so long, our brains adapted and grew. We unlocked more potential from our brains. Telekinesis, telepathy, being able to change how we look. All of them from that freeze.
I thought if Simon has this power, maybe I do too. I thought about the telekinesis, and I tried moving the food from the table to me. The cake floated over the ground over to the bed. Simon wasn’t paying attention. When he turned around, he saw me eating the cake.
“How did you get out of bed so silently? I didn’t even hear you!” he questioned. I shrugged and lifted the water jug and poured a glass of water, then drifted it to him. He looked to me, then to the water, and was like that for about five minutes. Then I finally let the jug out of my glass, and right before it fell, I lifted it, and everything else in the room including Simon. He screamed like a little girl. Simon of all people! Screaming like a little girl! I laughed as I set the stuff down. Simon.
A woman walked in the room, and I was startled, but then I slowly recognized her.
“Ella? Is that you? What happened? How are you older than me?” hastily asked question after question. She gave me rushed answers, prepared almost, as if she knew I was going to ask these questions. I almost asked about Felix and Theo, but I didn’t. Felix was her adorable little brother, along with her in the Athena cabin. It was filled with books then. I wondered what it looks like now. Theo was her boyfriend. Were they both swept up, while they were looking for us?
Ella almost knew what I trying to ask and said, “Felix and Theo were both swept up with the rest of group,” she said with a choke in her voice. “The group was made up of Jack, Liam, Ezra, Felix, Theo, Kali, Ivy, Isis, Zoe, and me. So far, Liam, Ezra, Kali, Ivy, and Zoe haven’t woken. And Theo. Felix is awake, he been thrashing around and his vitals are off the charts, but he is not responsive. Theo. Theo is unresponsive and not moving.” Ella broke into tears and I pulled her to the bed with me and Simon, where we hugged each her.
“If you don’t mind. Can we see Jack and Isis? And Felix if that is okay?” I questioned. Ella started crying again and stood up. With a motion, she waved us towards the door. Ella walked down the hall, looking left and right for something. Finally we stopped at a door covered in colors. It has to be Isis’s. She knocked on it. When the door open strange loud music was blaring from the room. The person who opened the door had rainbow colored hair, a bright green shirt, a blue short skirt, black ankle shoes with strings, and a necklace with a rainbow on it. It was Isis! Her eyes widened and she squealed.
“Bridget! You’re awake!” She screeched and ran to hug me. The room was huge, with another door opening to what appears to be a stable. Isis motioned us to come in. I looked back at Ella, and her face was still red, but she stopped crying. We entered the room, and colors were screaming at me. On one wall there was a rainbow made out of neon colors, another with other colors, the ceiling was bright pink, and the rest was splatters of colors. We walked through the large room into the stables. There were numerous large horses. But these had wings. Large wings, and each stall opened in the back to a large balcony over the stern of the ship. In one of the stalls I saw a black horse. It was Blackjack! I ran up to his stall, opened it, and threw my arms around him.
“Blackjack! You are still alive! Why you are a naughty boy. I had no idea you were a Pegasus,” I laughed. Simon, Isis, and Ella all looked from Blackjack to me, and it went on for a couple times. Finally someone broke the silence, asking about us.
“How do you know each other? He came to camp after you guys left to your spot. When I woke on the ship, the Pegasus was connected to my new room. My favorite one is Dandelion. The white one with multi-colored hair,” Isis said with a smile. I laughed, but halfheartedly. I knew something was not being said. Something wasn’t right. This whole setup was, well, peculiar. While everybody was distracted, I slipped out of the room, and silently ran down the hall to the deck. There was a fire pit in the lounge, yet it was not lit. I tried summoning fire to light the fire, but it wouldn’t come. I tried and tried for hours, never getting more than a spark. After at least 3 hours, I gave up. I sat there and cried. And when I said cried, I cried my eyes out. I felt something was off, and now I found it. I was off. I’m not that girl on fire. Just another ordinary kid of Hephaestus. Just someone who makes weapons. Someone who fights, then dies. I’m not special anymore. I looked at the time, and the day. And the year. The year is 2020. 2020? More than 200 years had passed!
It was the dead of night, everybody must be asleep. But after I was asleep for 200 years, the last thing I wanted to do was sleep.
I walked out to the deck and looked up. I scanned the balconies for the one that connected to the stables. I scanned over and over until I found it. I was the largest one, connecting to brown stalls. I found a rope, tossed up up on the balcony, and made sure it could hold my weight. Once I was sure It was strong, I climbed up to rope, and hopped over the balcony. I had to search for Blackjack’s stall. It took almost 10 minutes. Eventually I found it. Like in London, I slowly and quietly opened the door. He started to whine, but I told him to be quiet. I led him out, hopped on him, and we flew into the sunrise.