The Unclaimed

"Mason...Mason!.....MASON!!!"

In the blink of an eye, Mason realized where he was. Nervously he replied, "Yes, Ms. Jade?"

"Can you answer this question or not?" she asked in a subtly aggressive tone.

"Sorry, but no Ms. Jade," Mason responded, feeling as if he had been torn from his world and dropped into a place he didn't know.

Most of the students started to laugh, but Ms. Jade stared straight through him.

After class, his best friend Lucas, whom he had known since childhood because they had lived and grown up in the same neighborhood, wanted to cheer him up.

"Don't be upset, Ms. Jade is… uh… kind of weird to all of us, right, Mason?"

Mason glanced at Ms. Jade in the cafeteria, as if he were seeing something others didn't.

"What? Oh yeah. You're right."

On the penultimate school day before summer vacation, Mason and Lucas walked home like they did every day.

"Do you want to go to that new arcade when vacation starts?" Mason asked.

"I would like to, but as I told you, I have to go to a summer camp for five weeks."

"Yeah right. I just don't get why. I mean, you're really good at school. You never struggle in any subject."

"I'm just preparing for next year. Besides, I'm not good at everything," Lucas said with a small smirk.

They both knew it was a lie. Lucas was one of the best students in their year, while Mason was average—mostly because he lacked interest. It often felt as if he wasn't really in class at all, as if only a corpse was sitting in front of the teacher.

"See you tomorrow then!" Lucas shouted.

"Yeah, see you," Mason replied.

Opening the door, Mason called, "I'm home," to see if his parents were there.

The only thing to greet him was his dog Powder—a white labrador he had had since he was ten. Powder always made him happy, even in moments when nothing else could.

"Are you hungry?"

The moment he said it, Powder jumped around as if he could understand him.

"Of course you are. Let me make you something to eat," Mason said with a smile.

While he poured the food into Powder's bowl, he received a call from his mom, Sarah Parker.

"Hello?" Mason answered.

"Mason, I'm sorry. Your dad and I are coming home late again. Something at work came up suddenly and I wanted to ask if you could make your own—"

"It's okay, Mom. I've got it."

"Thank you, Mason. See you later."

"Yeah… bye."

Mason's parents, Sarah and Michael Parker, had been busy with work for as long as he could remember. That's why he often stayed at Lucas's place or had a nanny. He was used to it by now. It didn't bother him anymore—not like it used to.

The last day of school arrived. Students got their report cards and left the building.

Just as expected, Lucas had a lot of A's, which impressed most of the students. He was popular too. Many didn't understand why Lucas, of all people, would hang out with Mason. Mason wasn't really popular. Lucas was the only reason others knew him—and the only reason he wasn't bullied. Lucas saw Mason differently. Sometimes he felt as if he should look up to him, even though he didn't know why.

"Should we go home?" Lucas asked.

"Sure," Mason replied.

On the way home, they talked. When Mason looked up, for a brief moment, he thought he saw something enormous flying above him—something far bigger than a human. Nevertheless, he thought he should get some sleep.

"So when are you going to the camp?" Mason asked.

"Today," Lucas replied.

"Today? I thought you’d stay a couple more days."

"Yeah, but something came up. I have to go today."

Lucas kept looking around during the whole walk, as if he were being followed.

"Mason," he whispered, "trust me. When I tell you to run, you run. Don’t look back."

"What do you mean? Is this some kind of joke I don’t get?" Mason asked, confused.

"No," Lucas said sharply. "Trust me, please. They only want me. I’ll explain later."

Mason hesitated. But Lucas was his best friend. He wouldn’t joke about something like this.

"Okay…" Mason said quietly.

"Thank you. I promise it’ll all make sense later. In three… two… one—RUN!"

Mason started running. For a brief moment, he thought he saw small streaks of lightning flicker around Lucas. He didn’t look back. He just ran.

"Mason! RUN!" Lucas shouted behind him. "They’re after you—even if you can’t see them! Hide! I’m coming!"

Without thinking, Mason turned around. Three creatures stood behind him—things he had never even dreamed of. They were taller than humans, with horns and twisted faces, like demons pulled straight out of hell. One of them had wings. For a split second, Mason wondered if it was the same thing he had seen in the sky earlier. Behind them, Lucas was running toward him—until another creature swooped down from above, cutting him off. Before Mason realized it, he had run into a dead end.

"To be honest," a voice said, "I don’t even know why Hades wants you dead."

Mason froze.

"I watched you for half a year. I told him you were just an ordinary human," the figure continued. "But you proved me wrong. Look at you. You can see me."

"Wait—Ms. Jade?" Mason gasped. "What is this? You’re not human! And what do you mean, I can see you?"

"None of that matters," she said coldly. "You die here."

She lunged toward him.

"No! WAIT!" Mason screamed, squeezing his eyes shut. In pure desperation, he wished—more than anything—that none of this was real, that it would all just stop.

Seconds passed.

"Mason!"

He opened his eyes. He was still alive. The creatures were gone. “Where did they go?” Mason asked.

“I don't know. Thats weird. They never did something like that. But you could see them?” Lucas replied, staring at him.

“Yeah. Why shouldn’t I? There were three creatures, looking like the devil himself.”

“Hurry. Pack your stuff and meet me at my place,” Lucas said.

“Why? Where are we going? I thought you were going to your camp?”

“I’m not really going to a summer camp, idiot. I’m going to a hideout called Zyclause, for people like us.”

“Like us? What do you mean by that? And why a hideout? Are we hunted?” Mason had so many questions that he didn’t even know where to start.

“Calm down. Just pack your stuff and meet me at my place. I’ll explain everything on the way to Zyclause,” Lucas said, still catching his breath.

“What should I tell my parents?”

“Tell them you’re going with me to the summer camp because you want to improve your grades.”

“Really? They’re never going to believe me. But fine. I’ll do as you say because I trust you.”

“Thanks. You won’t regret it. I’m saving your life.”

Mason stood in front of his house door and took a deep breath before going inside.

“I’m home,” he said.

“Welcome home, dear,” Mason’s mom replied while typing on her laptop.

“Mom, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it? You’re scaring me.”

“As you know, today I received my report card, and I thought it wouldn’t hurt if I went to the summer camp with Lucas.”

“You know, your dad and I don’t really value your report card as long as it’s at least average. But if you want to improve yourself, we’re not going to stop you. When do you leave?”

“Today.”

“Today? That’s quite sudden, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but I really want to go. Can I… please?”

“As long as you text me from time to time, there’s nothing stopping you.”

“Thanks, Mom. You’re the best,” Mason said, leaning in for a hug.

“I know. And now, don’t you need to pack your stuff?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Mason ran into his room and packed only the essential things, trying to be as fast as possible. He didn’t have a deadline, but Lucas had said: Be as fast as you can.

“I’m leaving now. Bye, Mom.”

“Bye, Mason. And take care of yourself. Don’t drink and don’t touch cigarettes!”

“It’s a summer camp… what do you think they’re doing there?”

“Trust me. I know summer camps. They’re much worse than you think.”

Mason stood in front of Lucas’s house and rang the doorbell. Lucas opened the door. “I already thought you wouldn’t come. Come in and close the door.”

Mason stepped inside and shut it behind him. Lucas’s room was messy and chaotic, nothing like his calm, put-together appearance.

“So…” Mason said, glancing around. “How are we getting to Zyclause?”

“With this.” Lucas held up two small spheres, not bigger than the tip of an index finger.

Mason stared at them. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot? I knew this was a dumb idea.”

“No. I have two for the way to Zyclause and back, but…” Lucas hesitated. “I didn’t include you in my calculation. We need to throw them onto the ground beneath us. Trust me. Just this one last time.”

“One last time,” Mason repeated with a sigh, as if he just wanted this to be over.

They threw the spheres to the ground.

“Can I go n—” Mason stopped mid-sentence as the world shifted beneath his feet.

“We are… on a train?”

“Not just any train,” Lucas said. “It’s the train. This train leads to Zyclause. It’s the only way to reach the hideout, and that’s why Hades and Kronos can’t find the others.”

“Hades?” Mason asked. “Ms. Jade mentioned him. She said Hades wanted me dead. Are we talking about the Hades? God of the Underworld?”

“Yes. Sixteen years ago, the year we were born, Hades betrayed his brothers and freed Kronos. Together they united their power and imprisoned all the gods you know in Tartarus.”

“But Zeus ruled Tartarus,” Mason said. “How could he be imprisoned there as well?”

Lucas nodded. “He did. But Hades tricked them. He found an ancient artifact—the Phylact of Ages. It doesn’t steal a god’s power. It separates it from what makes them a god. The power can’t be destroyed, so it was sealed away. No one knows where Hades hid it.”

Mason swallowed. “So the gods are alive… but powerless.”

“Exactly,” Lucas said. “The Phylact doesn’t silence gods. It silences what makes them gods.”

Mason ran a hand through his hair. “That’s a lot to take in. But one thing I still don’t understand—why are they searching for people like us?”

“Because we’re half-gods.”

“Half-gods?” Mason scoffed. “Sure.”

“I’m the son of Zeus,” Lucas said calmly.

Mason stared at him. “How do you even know that?”

“In Zyclause there’s a ritual,” Lucas replied. “A campfire called the Claiming. When you stand before it, your divine parent claims you with their symbol.”

It suddenly made sense to Mason. Being adopted. Never knowing his real parents.

“So we’re hunted because of what we are?”

“Yes,” Lucas said. “But something about you is… off. Why didn’t you receive a message?”

“A message?”

“All half-gods receive one,” Lucas explained. “It comes from the Elders—the first half-gods. They created Zyclause when the gods fell. The message tells you who you are and how to reach the hideout. I received mine a year ago. Since then, I’ve been going back and forth, using potions to stay hidden from Hades’s followers.”

Mason felt his chest tighten.

“So everyone was warned,” he said quietly.

“Everyone except me.”