Taxi Ride

We got in the back seat of the taxi cab. Our driver had wild, curly, black hair. He turned to us with an impatient look upon his face. I showed him the map, pointing to the word cave. He scoffed as if to suggest that it was beyond him why anyone would want to go there. He put the pedal to the metal and drove as fast as he humanly could. Olivia and I were shot back into our seats with force. Our eyes were watering and our cheeks wobbled. I feared for my life at every turn, worried that I would crash through the window.(There were no seat belts.) Eventually the horrifying real life roller coaster ended. He slammed on his backs violently and threw open our doors. We limped out of the back seat unable to walk. The driver took as soon as we were  out, leaving us at the foot of a boarded up cave.

The Beaten Path

We figured that the cave had to be somewhere at the end of the island. Never having been there before we did the only think we could think of. We started walking down a deserted street. Surely this would lead us to the end eventually. The only problem was how would we know if we were walking towards the right end? We trudged down the road without having a clue if we were right or wrong. The hot sun was beating down on us. "Can we stop?" I plead. "We can't. We have to keep going." Olivia replies in a barely audible tone. "Wait, I have an idea." I say. I stick out my thumb. "Are you kidding me? We can't hitchhike." "Why, because it's dangerous." I ask. "No, because we haven't seen a single car for miles." Just then a yellow taxi cab pulls up out of nowhere. I turn to Olivia. "This could be our lucky day."

Map

"Care to open it?" Olivia asks with a cringe. "Nope, it's all yours." "Oh, you're such a gentleman." Olivia carefully opens the moist, phlegm covered letter. "That's weird." She says out loud. "What is it?" "It's a map written in red crayon." "Does it show where we're supposed to go?" I ask. Olivia shows me the hand drawn map. There is just a red, squiggly line pointing to the word CAVE at the far edge of the paper. "My guess is they want us to go to the cave." She says. "Ok, well let's find the cave."

Landed

Penny is our favorite, but Lucky is the bird we needed. Lucky is much bigger then Penny.He has a long, strong back that is fully capable of carrying a Minotaur. Lucky has a look of serious concentration as he flies us through the air with ease. It didn't take us any time at all before we landed on top of a dilapidated building that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. "Are we here?" Olivia asks. Lucky squawks. "Can you get us closer?" Lucky shakes his head. He lifts his wings. "Wait." I shout. "Do you have any idea where we should go?" Lucky starts hacking. He coughs up a letter. It lands on the rooftop, covered in flem. Olivia winces while picking it up. "I would have appreciated you giving us this letter beforehand, but thanks anyways." Without another caw or squawk, Luck takes off into the sky. Leaving us alone on the rooftop with the letter.

Trip Ideas

Olivia was outside by herself. I told her of my desire to escape and go somewhere, anywhere. She was all on board with my suggestion. It didn't even matter I had no destination. I guess she was eager as me to break free and venture somewhere new. We were about to hop on Penny when Todd ran up to us. "Stop. You're going to need a bigger falcon for where you're going." "Where are we going?" I ask him. "How about the Grecian islands?" He suggests. I think for a moment. "That's not a bad idea." "Perfect. I'll grab Lucky. He's been to those islands many times. They're practically encoded in his DNA." "Thank you for the offer, but I'm sure Penny knows how to get there." Olivia says. "But does she know all the ins and outs?" Todd asks. "She knows enough. Why are you so adamant that we take Lucky?" I ask. "Because Lucky is the best." "Wait a minute. Why do you want us to go to the Grecian islands?" Olivia questions. Todd sighs. "You got me. I wanted to send you on a mission." "What kind of mission?" I ask. "Get the manator." "What?Why?" "If we are to rebuild the Wellness Center we need an intimidating bouncer." He replies. "No, we don't need a bouncer. Besides we already have an army and a remarkable archer." I say. "Yes, but do they have blood red eyes and horns?" "No. And we don't need that." "Hold on, a trip to the islands might be fun." Olivia says. I roll my eyes. "Ok, we'll go and pick him up."

Question Todd

I found Todd alone in the kitchen eating leftover pudding. His back was turned to me, so it was easy to sneak up on him. "Hey!" I shout. Todd, startled throws his pudding spoon in the air. He turns slowly to me clutching his heart. "Sorry about that. Can I have a word." I ask. "I'm not going to turn this into another Wellness Center." He snaps. "Relax. It wasn't about that.Well, actually it sorta is." "What is it?" "Where did you get the birds from?" "What?" "The falcons. Where did you get them from?" "They're from the Wellness Center." He says, perplexed. "No they're not. They're from here." "Really?" "Yes. Your ancestors purchased them, and from what I know it wasn't a fair purchase." Todd leans against the wall. "My ancestors purchased them a long time ago. I didn't know it was unfair, but I suppose it wouldn't be  unheard of. So what now?" He asks. "What do you mean?" "You dug deep enough to find out that my ancestors may have ripped off the natives. You want me to burn for their sins now." "What? No."  "Then what?" He demands. "I don't know. I was curious." "Curiosity killed the cat." "Your damn right." I rub my face. "I'm gonna need a vacation." "Because of this?" Todd questions. "No, I just think it would be a good idea to get out of here for a while" "Where are you going to go?" "Not sure. I'll find Olivia and we'll take off on a falcon some where. You can start the transition turning this into a Wellness Center while I'm away." "You mean that?" " Yes, but slowly. Nothing dramatic. Just start by telling the locals about it. Get them interested first."

Mosaic

I had to get something off my chest. I had to find out the story behind the falcons. I took Peter to the dungeon. The hole in the wall was sill there allowing ample light to sign in on the falcon mosaic. I showed Peter the picture. "Yes, I remember that." He says. "What is that about?" I ask. "This is their home." "So we took them?" I ask. "Yes and no." "What does that mean?" "Birds migrate." "I'm aware of that, but what does that have to do with us?" I ask. "This is where they were born, but the Wellness Center was where they migrated." "So did we get them legit or not?" I question. "I don't know. I'm not the one to ask about that." "What do you mean you don't know? You took care of them." "It's true I have been taking care of them, but they are centuries old." "They're older than you?" I ask. Peter sneers. "Yes, they are. If you want to know more I suggest you ask Todd. It was his family that purchased the falcons."