#asaeato

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the titan's curse

0.4 i'm walking on sunshine

warnings : mentions of a fear of flying, some allie/apollo banter, nothing much really

word count : 3.1k

0.4 Actually, It's More Like I Was... Driving Sunshine? Does That Even Make Sense?

Artemis assured us that dawn was coming, but she could've fooled me. It was colder and darker and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed that the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. I didn't want to be around when they did. With my luck, the only name Mrs. Gottschalk would remember was "Allie," and people would remember seeing me and I'd be in the middle of a scandal.

The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. I stood shivering in the snow pulling Luke’s jacket as tight against me as I could (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable), and Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. I could tell from his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt. I couldn't help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that. 

Thalia and Grover came up and huddled around me, anxious to hear what had happened in my audience with the goddess and knowing I was freezing my ass off. 

When I told them, Grover turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."

I grimaced. Luke had told me what he'd heard happened, so I wasn't particularly looking forward to their visit, either. 

"How'd they even show up here?" I wondered, changing the subject. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."

"And Bianca joined them," Thalia said, disgusted. "It's all Zoe's fault. That stuck-up, no good—"

"Who can blame her?" Grover interrupted. "Eternity with Artemis?" He heaved a big sigh, an awed expression on his lips. For a moment, it made me grin. Then I realized I was waiting to hear Luke make a sarcastic comment, and my expression fell again. Gods, I wished I knew if he was alright.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You satyrs," she scoffed. "You're all in love with Artemis. Don't you get that she'll never love you back?"

"But she's so... into nature," Grover swooned.

"You're nuts," Thalia declared flatly.

"Nuts and berries," Grover said dreamily. "Yeah."

Finally, the sky began to lighten. "About time," Artemis muttered. "He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

I grimaced again. It was no secret that many of the gods didn't know how to feel about me. Most would probably strike me dead if they knew they wouldn't offend my father. I was actually quite worried when Artemis first walked up to me as I was basking on the beach in East Hampton. I didn't know if she was sent there to kill me, but then she offered me a spot on the hunters. That told me she tolerated me, but I knew that would change if I were to offend her. 

Now Apollo, I didn't know about. I could be dying soon, who knew? Two gods at once. That was just fantastic. As if the day wasn't bad enough, we had to add yet another Olympian to the mix. I wondered briefly how she expected Apollo to transport us all. Surely we weren't going to ride in the sun chariot, right?

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

I averted my eyes, and saw that the others were all doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until my dress felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.

I looked. And I couldn't believe it. It was a red convertible Maserati Spyder. I had to force myself to keep from dropping my jaw. Fuck my fetish for cars. It was literally so awesome it glowed. Then, I realized that it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my heeled boots were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about eighteen or nineteen with sandy hair, blue eyes, and outdoorsy good looks. Tall enough, I guess, maybe six or seven inches more than me. His smile was bright and playful, and he wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," I replied, an eye roll to follow.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant," I replied, laughing.

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

I frowned at that. Wasn't Artemis born like, a week before Apollo, then helped with his delivery? Was the story wrong? Unlikely. Chiron always gave us the correct versions so we had accurate information.

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—" Ah, so Apollo was provoking his sister. Okay.

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?" He was either an arrogant idiot, or completely suicidal. Given the fact that he was a god, I'm gonna go with option A.

Artemis grit her teeth in annoyance. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure thing, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned. Apparently, they had met Apollo before.

He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

"Green grass breaks through snow.

Artemis pleads for my help.

I am so cool."

He grinned at us, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself. I said a silent prayer of thanks to the universe in general that the cabin 7 kids didn't favor their father in attitude. If we had to deal with this on a regular basis, we'd have no medics left. Hades, I'd be first in line to gut them for annoying me.

Zoe Nightshade turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan a decade ago. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, 'There once was a goddess from Sparta—'"

"I've got it!" Apollo announced. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself. "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see... Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed, and I made a mental note to have her checked for a concussion when we got home. Only explanation for her suddenly acting like an actual girl instead of, you know, Thalia. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus' girl, yes? Makes you my half-sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." Then he looked at me and gave another bright grin. "Allie Jackson?"

"Yeah?"

"Hmm... and here I thought Ares and Hermes were exaggerating about how pretty you were." 

"Uh... thanks?"

He studied me for a few seconds. "Well!" he said, as cheerful as ever. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way— west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

I looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.

"Cool car," Nico complimented.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo replied.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose..."

You and me both, apparently. 

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp.

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses mortals used for out of state school trips.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoe ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo reached out, saying, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoe recoiled from his touch. Her eyes flashed murderously and she rested a hand on the silver knife sheathed at her hip. I have to give her this, she's damn brave.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart."

Apollo spread his hands with an innocent look that wouldn't have fooled a three-year-old on his face. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis answered curtly. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"

"No, no! I never mess around."

Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at us. "I will see you by the winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoe straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of us non-hunter types. 

Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with us, which seemed cold to me, but thankfully Nico didn't seem to mind. I guess everything hadn't fully hit him yet.

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, having to get up so early all the time, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas in space!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? So boring.

You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun... er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Nico shook his head. "No."

"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."

"Can I drive?"

"No. Too young."

"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry." He looked at me and tilted his head. 

"You're eighteen, right?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes slightly.

"Yeah...?"

"Would it be a good idea to let you drive?" 

"Uh... I'm mean I can drive, especially if the practical dealership I have in my garage is any indicator, but the deal I have with Zeus only included airplanes. I don't know if he'd like me driving a huge bus through the sky and I don't know how you feel about risking the sun falling out of the sky."

"Mm, good point." He turned to Thalia and smiled. "Daughter of Zeus!" he clapped his hands happily. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo coaxed. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

It was depressing, but true. She'd been turned into a tree when she was twelve, but that had been seven years ago. So she should be eighteen or nineteen, closer to me and Luke, if you went by years. But she said that she still felt like she was twelve, and if you looked at her, she seemed somewhere in between. The best Chiron could figure, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.

Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."

"How do you know that?"

"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."

"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus' daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. No one else joined him.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backward (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different than reading forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural! Speed equals heat," he advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick. I bit my lip, thinking of the secret she had shared with me. This wasn't going to go well. I almost regretted not just saying I'd drive.

"Let's go!" Apollo cheered.

Thalia swallowed, then pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast I fell back and crashed against something soft.

"Ow," Grover groaned.

"Sorry."

"Slower!" Apollo called.

"Sorry!" Thalia cried. "I've got it under control!"

I managed to get to my feet. Looking out the window, I saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where we'd taken off.

"Thalia," I said tensely, "you need to lighten up on the accelerator."

"I've got it, Allie," she snapped, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.

"Loosen up," I told her urgently. I knew what the problem was, but I couldn't say anything about it here, where everyone would hear me and Thalia would be humiliated. Still, if she didn't calm down, we were screwed.

"I'm loose!" Thalia insisted. She was so stiff she looked like her spine was made out of a plank of plywood.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. He looked tense, and was gripping the back of a seat tightly to keep from falling. "Hang a left."

Thalia jerked the wheel and again threw me into Grover, who yelped.

"The other left," Apollo suggested.

I made the mistake of looking out the window again. We were at airplane height now— so high the sky was starting to look black. Not good.

"Ah..." Apollo muttered, and I got the feeling he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."

Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, her forehead beaded with sweat. I'd never seen her so afraid, and I was seriously tempted to curse Apollo to the depths of Tartarus for putting her in this position. Even if he didn't know the truth about Thalia's acrophobia, he shouldn't have pushed her into driving when she didn't want to. Damn the gods and their arrogance.

The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. Now we were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to our right. And it was getting hot in the bus.

Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the rows of seats.

"Allie… help," Thalia said with gritted teeth.

I managed to get to the driver's seat, and the second I had my hands on the wheel, Thalia bolted to the seat I was in.

Time to hope Zeus didn't feel the need to blast us out of the sky, I guess. 

Down below us was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow-covered. As I watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.

Thank the gods I did well under pressure, otherwise, we would've just torched a town. I pulled up on the wheel and we made it away from New England. 

"Long Island, dead ahead! How you know how to do this, I have no clue!" Apollo said enthusiastically from beside me. 

"I drive through New York. That's practice enough. Not to mention I've street raced there, and that was... an experience," I replied with a nonchalant laugh.  

"Well," Apollo said with a brave smile, "that sounds fun! You should take me sometime."

"Absolutely not."

"Aw, why not?"

I gave him a look. "Street racing has a lot to do with remaining discreet and not getting caught. I'm not sure anything about you is discreet." 

"You aren't very discreet either there, Miss Triple Threat. Not sure how you'd call being an A-List celebrity and well-known, academy-award-winning actress, singer, and model 'discreet,' but okay."

"I'll have you know, I disguise myself. I'm not that stupid." 

"Ooh, do you put on one of those hot wigs that you wear for some of your movies and model-y things?" he asked, looking entirely serious. 

I gave him a sharp look, then started back out to the sky. "Oh, look. We're here."

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the titan's curse

0.0 prologue

warnings : a lot of underage drinking, mentions of a club, mentions of a pretty toxic work environment, monster attack, allie kinda has a breakdown at the end

word count : 3.2k

early december, a club in new york city.

“Where are you?” Danny demanded over the phone the moment the call connected.

I looked around at the mass amount of people around me. “... Nowhere?” 

I could hear Danny scoff over the call, despite the blaring music from speakers around the club I was standing in. “Was that a question or an answer?” 

“... An answer?” 

Instead of a scoff, this time it was a sigh. “You’re out drinking again, aren’t you?” 

I paused. “I’m inclined to lie to you, just so you have plausible deniability if I ever get caught and kicked out and/or arrested for underage drinking.”

I wasn’t really sure when I’d decided going out drinking was the best course of action for the night. 

To be honest, I should’ve known better than to let my friends take me out. I should’ve known better than to let my guard down. I should’ve known better than to think everything would be okay.

I should’ve known better.

My night had been shitty well before the end of it. I had locked myself in my at-home studio about six days prior, refusing to be dragged out and only allowing Danny in to bring me water bottles and food. With album finalizations due by the end of the month and three songs still needing to be written and two needing to be produced, I’d decided the best way to finish things up as quickly as possible (mostly in order to have more time to fix any mistakes and make everything perfect) was to lock myself in my room and forbid myself from coming out until everything was finished.

To the surprise of many (read: Danny), it was actually working. The two songs that needed to be produced had been finished, and I was pretty satisfied with two of the songs I’d written, but things hit a bit of a roadblock whenever I’d gotten to the last song. Normally I was pretty good at being able to write lyrics to an already-produced song, but this one was… different.

No matter how much I ingrained each cord into my brain, no song lyrics could come to the forefront of my mind. There was no way only three albums into my music career I’d run out of things to say, right?

Well, that wasn’t exactly fair. I had a lot I felt like I needed to say, but most of it had to do with the Greek side of my life— the side I wasn’t really allowed to mention while out in public. Plus, how many times could I curse out the gods before they finally realized I wasn’t just singing in hypotheticals?

I wasn’t sure what exactly Danny had told my group of outside-world friends, but they’d managed to drag me from my self-imposed lockdown when they mentioned that our friend, Minnie, was in town. She was a K-Pop Idol and hardly had any time to be in the States with us, but she just so happened to be in between comebacks and had a little bit of time off to spend in her home state. Since I didn’t know when I’d get to see her next, I hadn’t put up much of a fight. Plus, I kinda needed the drink.

I had simply… forgotten to tell Danny where I was going. So when he arrived back at my at-home studio to check on me and bring me dinner, all he found was an empty desk chair and a pile of trashed pieces of paper containing failed lyrics. 

“Are you at least out with the girls?” Danny finally asked, in a small bit of silence between songs. 

I nodded, even though I knew he couldn’t see me. “They’ll keep me safe. Plus, I know my limits.” 

His silence told me everything I knew he wouldn’t say aloud to me. “Just be safe. If you aren’t back here by three, I’m coming to get you and the girls. Take care of them, too.” 

Aside from the fact that Danny had my location tracked through Find My Friends and Life360, I knew he would be able to find me because I always went to the same club— it was the only one I knew I’d be able to drink at without being 21 and knew I wouldn’t get caught by paparazzi. 

“I will. Talk to you later.” 

Danny sighed one final time. “You better.” 

Without another thought, I ended the call, taking no note of the extra beep at the end of it, which would’ve alerted me that the monster protection on the phone needed to be strengthened. 

“That Danny?” 

I nodded at Tori, grabbing the shot of whatever that she offered me. “Of course. He’s always assuming I’m getting myself into trouble.” 

She snorted. “Well, you are in a club underage drinking. I think that maybe might constitute ‘getting yourself into trouble’.” 

I took the shot and gave her a raised eyebrow. “Technically speaking, you, Rena, and Minnie brought me out here, so I don’t think that should apply to getting myself into trouble.” I paused, taking a sip of a margarita that Minnie, who’d joined us at the bar, slid me. “Besides, I can drink circles around you guys.” 

“Oh, you wanna bet?!” 

***

I think it was by the time they played my song all-american bitch for the third time that I finally realized I was hitting my limit. Or. Well. Maybe I had hit my limit two shots ago, when I was still insisting I could keep going despite all of my friends tapping out. 

Should’ve known better. 

Tori had long since joined the dance floor with a random guy (she’d ignored my obnoxious call of “make sure he signs an NDA!”), Rena had left a few minutes prior, her girlfriend waiting to pick her up outside the club once she’d realized her social battery was quickly running out, and Minnie was still stuck beside me at the bar, her company-mandated dating ban keeping her from finding company other than me. 

I pouted, my arms crossed over my chest. “I don’ wanna go on a blind date.”

Minnie huffed into her cup of plain Coke. “But you don’t date anyone, Alls. Like, I don’t get how you can write all these songs about boys breaking your heart and love when you haven’t had a kiss outside of your acting roles.” 

“Hey,” I complained, sitting up a little to grab the cup of water I’d finally decided on getting instead of another Moonshine Mule. “I’ll have you know I’ve kissed plenty of boys without it having to do with work.”

“How many of those were while you’d been drinking?” 

I sputtered out a sound of objection. “You make me sound like an alcoholic!”

“Alls, come oooooon! Tae’s really sweet. You’d really get along with him, and he thinks you’re really pretty and your music is incredible. Which, he’s not wrong, but still.” 

I rolled my eyes, but didn’t shoot back a response immediately. Truthfully, it had been a while since I’d gotten myself involved with someone. Of course, I knew why. There was a very large elephant in the room in the form of Luke. We were friends. But we also both knew that what we had went a hell of a lot further than friends. I wasn’t taken, but I was also, like, pretty much a step away from married. 

But that also had its own problem: I couldn’t exactly tell my real-world friends about Luke. Because telling them about Luke meant telling them about how I’d met him, and where. It’s not like I couldn’t just tell them a lie, but they were close friends of mine. I didn’t want to lie straight to their faces. Lying by omission was much easier. Especially when I knew the truth would never get out unless I wanted it to. 

“If you think Tae is sooo sweet, you should just date him,” I finally replied. 

Minnie frowned. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. You know that.” 

I grimaced. I probably shouldn’t have said it— Minnie always got really touchy over the subject of her dating ban. I was lucky with my career in that, I was so well established that I could date whoever I wanted with little to no repercussions coming as a result. Maybe a couple of angry fans here or there, but nothing Earth-shattering. Minnie not only had the dating ban, but there was also the looming threat that coming across as taken in her industry could possibly mean the end of her career. When she was still a trainee, only dreaming of being able to debut, she’d had a boyfriend— her high school sweetheart. When that contract holding the dating ban had been slapped in front of her, she thought she’d be able to hide it. They would sneak around, but ended up getting caught by cameras one night. Her company had paid the news site off to keep it hidden, but she’d been forced to break up with her boyfriend. She hadn’t been able to talk to him since. 

I sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. I know it makes you sad.” 

Minnie sniffled a little, but didn’t let any tears fall. Finally, she looked up and gave me a small smile. “It’s alright, Alls. You know I just want you to be happy, right?” 

“‘Course,” I replied. “I want the same for you, too.” 

We sat in silence for a few moments, letting the sounds of Usher’s Yeah! fill our ears. 

Finally, I chugged the rest of my water and sat up. “I think I need to head back to my studio.” 

Minnie’s face brightened. “Yeah? Are you ready to go? I think I’m gonna head out, too.” 

***

Minnie had wanted to wait for Danny to get there to pick me up, but I’d insisted she go ahead and get back to her hotel room. Her ride had gotten there much sooner than Danny due to how close her hotel was, but she told me she wasn’t above making him wait. I knew she wasn’t bluffing, but I also knew Minnie was getting to the end of her energy. We’d drank a lot, and I knew she’d be out like a light soon, in a bed or not. 

I made sure I was sharing my location with her and she’d begrudgingly crawled into the car, waving as the car started driving. 

When she was out of sight, I sighed and pulled my coat closer to myself. The December air was unforgiving and the wind caused by the tall New York skyscrapers didn’t help any. 

The drunken yelling of men from across the street set my fight or flight off. I wasn’t sure if they were directing their calls at me, or if they were just being loud in general, but I figured it would be best to not find out. I didn’t want to stray far, but finding a hiding spot nearby wouldn’t be too bad, right? 

My first step forward hit me like a truck. 

While talking to Minnie, I could push aside the feeling of the alcohol flowing through my system, but now that the only thing I could concentrate on was how cold it was, it seemed my competitive drinking from earlier was ready to hit me with a vengeance. 

I huffed out a breath, the air fogging as it left my lips. With a determined step forward, I stumbled over to the mouth of an alleyway, holding myself up against the wall as I willed away the feeling of sickness that was creeping up my throat. 

Just when I thought my stupidity had to have met its only consequences, the world decided it was going to show me real bad luck. 

A growl rumbled through the air. 

My head shot up, sending another wave of nausea through me. 

I was in no shape to fight. The world around me was spinning enough as it was. The cold was making my fingertips numb. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold a sword, much less swing it. 

I looked further down the alleyway. Two glimmering red eyes shone toward the back. A Hellhound. 

Even with the alcohol flowing through my veins, I knew I couldn’t let it leave the confines of the alley. I couldn’t let it get out in the open where the mortals could be put in danger. Of course, they wouldn’t see it for what it was, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be in harm’s way. 

I’d only come into contact with a Hellhound up close and personal once. When I was seventeen and still in my first few days at camp, one had been summoned into the borders of camp to attack me. I’d gotten my chest clawed open before I was carried into the water to be healed. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to meeting another. 

I took unsteady steps forward, bringing a trembling hand up to my neck where Riptide, my first sword, sat in necklace form. Pressing the diamond hanging from the chain would spring it into sword form, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that yet. Even though I’d taken a few steps forward, the Hellhound hadn’t moved an inch. Maybe it was hoping I wouldn’t do anything and would just walk toward my death with no fight. 

Finally, I stopped a few paces away from where it was still standing, not moving an inch. A low growl settled in its throat, making goosebumps rise on my arms for reasons other than the chill in the air. 

I should’ve known better. I shouldn’t have drank so much. Every limb on my body felt like it was treading water every time I needed to move them. How was I supposed to fight like this? 

My hand was still curled around the gem of Riptide. 

In an instant, the Hellhound settled back on its hind legs and jolted, as though it was going to jump at me. 

My shot nerves caused me to overreact and, with a stumble, I ended up on the ground. 

The pain didn’t hit me. My eyes couldn’t leave the beast in front of me, getting in position to lunge at me for real this time. Trying to scramble back in my drunkenness was difficult, and even though adrenaline was pulsing through my veins, it still felt like my reaction time was seconds behind. 

Finally, the Hellhound had enough of playing with its food and lunged. I rolled out of the way, summoning Riptide once I was on my knees. 

The Hellhound skidded on the ground, its claws making a grating noise against the asphalt as it did, and turned back toward me with a growl. It tensed at the sight of the celestial bronze of Riptide, but seemed to know that I was off my A-game and if it tried a little harder would get an easy snack. 

My chest heaved. For a moment, I actually doubted I’d be able to get myself out of this one. 

I finally got to my feet, trying not to fall back down when my knees shook with the exertion. 

The Hellhound swatted at me with one of its large paws, but I was able to keep it away from me with Riptide. 

It advanced toward me, slower this time. I backed up with it, until my back touched the wall. 

It was now or never. I was only going to be able to fight off the effects of the alcohol for so long and the longer I took to fight back, the more likely it was that I was going to lose this fight. 

When it got close enough, this time I braced myself against the wall. Steadying myself, all I could think about was making it through this fight. Once I won, I could break down. 

With a final growl, the Hellhound lunged. 

I used the wall to push off of as I went toward the ground once more, this time prepared to do so as I came face-to-face with the belly of the monster. Without another thought, and before it could come down on my legs and trap me, I thrust my sword up and into its stomach. 

It howled in pain, but wasn’t a strong enough monster to fight the deadly effects of celestial bronze. As the blood-curdling howl cut through the air, the Hellhound crumbled into golden dust. 

I panted as I sat there for a moment, the dust falling on my head like confetti. 

“Allie?” 

The sound of my name made my breath hitch. Because it wasn’t Danny’s voice I heard, it was—

“Luke?” I called back, my voice strained. 

He appeared at the mouth of the alleyway like a guardian angel brought to save me. My breath hitched. 

I struggled to my feet for what would hopefully be the last time that night. 

He walked toward me as I stumbled toward him. My heel caught on a rock and I almost tumbled back to the ground, but Luke caught me. Like always. 

His skin was warm despite him not wearing anything other than a hoodie I’d gotten him for his birthday and some jeans. He always ran warmer than I did. 

“Danny called me a few hours ago saying he was sending a car to come get me. Something about you being really stressed? Are you okay?” he said, bringing a hand up to shake the golden dust off of my hair.

I shook my head. “I drank too much,” I replied pitifully. “And the Hellhound— I didn’t think— it really scared me. And I can’t think of this stupid song. And I haven’t gotten any sleep for— for like a week. And— and I drank too much.” 

Once all of the dust was out of my hair, he kept his hand there, smoothing the loose strands as a way to soothe me. “Shh, hey, Angel, it’s alright. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” 

As he pulled me closer, letting me rest my head against his chest, I finally broke down, his words letting me know I was safe to do so. 

“It’s okay, baby. You’re alright,” he continued, slowly rocking me back and forth, still petting my head. 

“I wanna go home,” I whispered tearfully, clutching the material of his hoodie in my fists. 

He nodded, pressing a kiss on the top of my head and keeping his lips there as he said, “Okay, Angel. We can go home.”

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.1 kronos ate the kids

warnings : kronos... eating his kids

word count : 3.7k

0.1 kronos ate the kids... yummy ( ? )

-- sixteen years later

In the absence of the sun, the day could've been observed as night as dark storm clouds gathered overhead. I was glad I'd checked the weather before getting on my motorcycle— I would just barely miss getting caught in the storm.

Normally, in New York City, you only drove yourself places if you were one of two things: rich or stupid (although, to be honest, it's astounding how often those two things coincide). The traffic of Manhattan is unbearable, but if you're that much of a show off, and you really want people looking at your car, you drive. However, while I did fall under the "rich" category (thank you random casting agent in Central Park when I was 2... I guess?), I wasn't driving because I wanted people to see the Harley my mom had gotten me for my 16th birthday the August before. Being entirely honest, I just needed a break, and sometimes yelling at people about how awful their driving is can be very therapeutic. 

But the clouds unsettled me in a way that I couldn't explain. A way that had me shuffling on my Harley and shifting my weight much more than my ADHD would normally have made me do. The weather had been off since I'd come back from Philly in December, so I was almost used to it at that point, but it was like a sandbag had burst open in the pit of my stomach, letting all of the particles of sand spill out, every time I looked up at the sky. 

Still, there was no use complaining about the weather. If anything, I should've been complaining about the fact that I was still in the exact same spot I was ten minutes ago. Sometimes the City That Never Sleeps is really a pain in the ass. 

Danny was going to give me a real hard talking to if I was late for this field trip. It was supposed to be to some Greek and Roman history museum in Brooklyn, but most people weren't going to learn— they were going because it got them out of class. We only had a few weeks left of school, but Christ if we all didn't want the year to end sooner rather than later. And Danny only wanted me to go because of a role I'd recently gotten playing a Spartan queen, Aerlla, as though me knowing more about Greek mythology was going to win me another Oscar. 

I gave a sigh of relief as my next few turns weren't nearly as crowded. A bit of the traffic finally thinned out, so getting to school was much less difficult. Technically, with it being a boarding school and all, we weren't allowed to have our cars here. They figured we'd all try to leave and never come back if that were the case. It was only with a little extra money that I was allowed to be able to travel. No one else really got that privilege. 

Luck seemed to be on my side that day and I got back to the school just as they were loading the bus for us to go on our senior's (which was a whole story in and of itself, as I was supposed to be a sophomore. Thank God for online classes) end of the year field trip. While it might be the most boring thing you've ever heard of (yes, I thought that at first, too), Mr. Brunner, the coolest teacher I've ever had, was supposed to be chaperoning all of us. 

My luck ran out right after that, though, once I noticed our other chaperone was my insufferable AP calculus teacher from Georgia. She came to our school right after our first calc teacher had a nervous breakdown. She always wore a faux leather jacket and, although she was fifty, she looked like she'd drive my Harley into someone's locker whenever she wanted. 

"Allie, there you are! I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it on time," my friend, Grover, called as soon as I took my helmet off. I saw Mr. Brunner check my name off of the roll call list from beside Grover.

Grimacing as I realized I wouldn't have time to run by my room to put my helmet up and therefore would have to take it with me, I replied, "We wouldn't be in New York if I wasn't almost late."

We both boarded the bus, Mr. Brunner giving me a small smile as I passed, and luckily got a seat together. Much to my chagrin, however, it was right in front of the resident douche and pain in the ass himself: Nathan Bobofit. He gave me a gross smile and I could only just keep myself from getting up and bolting as the bus started moving. 

My teeth clenched together as Nathan reached around the back of my seat to grab my arm. "C'mon, Jackson, my lap's a whole lot more comfortable than sitting next to that weirdo."

I jerked my arm out of his hand as he tried pulling me up. "Don't fucking touch me," I snapped scathingly as I tried scooting as far away from him as I could. 

I'd had my share of rejecting him, but God if he wasn't persistent. And gross. Really, really gross. It was sad to say, but I was used to it. People on the internet don't exactly hold back either. And being an actress and model with a big following... yeah, not the best mix. People are creepy, I've learned that lesson many times. 

"I'm gonna fucking kill him this time. I swear to God, I'm not kidding," I grumbled as I felt Nathan's knee pressing into my seat, just enough for me to be able to feel. 

"Don't. Allie, these are the last few weeks you have to be in high school. If you get expelled now, you won't be able to go to Columbia next year and you'll be repeating your senior year at a different school. Just get through this, a few more weeks, and you're in the clear," Grover warned me. I huffed and leaned back, grumbling a 'whatever' to keep him satisfied. 

To be fair, he was right. Danny, my manager, would've been pissed at me if I managed to get expelled in my last semester of high school. He'd already done so much so I could graduate early and figure out a schedule for me to be able to go to some classes in person and finish the rest online. With how much time and effort he'd put into helping me get a good education, I'd hate to throw it all away because I couldn't keep my temper in check. 

And I'd hate for TMZ and all the other awful news outlets to get word of me having got expelled because I fought someone. God, I shudder to think of the fire that the media would light under my ass. Though, I thought, maybe if they figured out why, at least Twitter would be on my side. 

I was happy the trip was fairly short. I could only go so long ignoring the painfully obvious and gross comments about my body by the boys behind me. Grover and one of my cheerleader friends, Ivy, made sure they got directly behind me so Nathan couldn't. He'd been known to try things when left behind me and today I'd made a mistake by wearing a skirt. As we unloaded the bus, Mr. Brunner got us checked in and led the museum tour. 

Mr. Brunner was your average middle-aged guy, except for the wheelchair he had to be in wherever he went. It was a well-known joke for everyone around the school to try and guess why he had to use it. As far as we knew, no one was correct. Mainly because no one has enough courage to ask him. Popular theory was that he got stabbed during one of his sword demonstrations and accidentally got hurt. 

He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery. It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for over two thousand or three thousand years. 

He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top and us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, Mrs. Dodds would give me the evil eye.

Finally, I got fed up, my patience run too thin, and I snapped, "will you shut up?" at Nathan, the loudest of them all. And though I had turned towards Nathan, Mr. Brunner had stopped talking and I could tell he was looking directly at me. I could also hear a few stifled giggles coming for the rest of the senior class. 

"Miss Jackson, did you have a comment?" I turned back towards him and noticed his amused expression. 

"No, sir," I replied, trying to keep a blush from coming to my face. 

"Do you mind telling us what this picture represents?" He asked, gesturing towards a carving right beside him. I let out an internal breath of relief. Thank God it was something I recognized. 

"That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"

"Yes," he frowned, and I knew he was going to ask for a better explanation. "And he did this because..."

"Kronos was the King of the Titans and he didn't trust his kids, the gods, because there was a prophecy he heard that said they would overthrow him and lead the world themselves. So he ate them. Except, his wife, Rhea hid baby Zeus and gave Kronos and rock dressed in baby clothes to eat instead. Once Zeus grew up, Rhea gave Kronos a mixture of wine and mustard so he would throw up the rest of his children." There were a few disgusted outbursts at this. "Since they were immortal, they had been growing in Kronos' stomach the same way they would have. So then there was a long war between the gods and the titans and the gods ended up winning." 

I heard a scoff from beside me. "This is so stupid. It's not like our job applications are gonna have 'why did Kronos eat his children' as a question you have to answer correctly to get hired," Nathan stage whispered to his friends. They snickered in response. 

"And why, Miss Jackson," Mr. Brunner said, "to paraphrase Mr. Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?" 

I sighed and racked my brain for at least a semi-logical explanation, because truthfully, I couldn't think of one. "There's always something that you can learn from history and myths passed down by generations. By listening to the stories, you can ensure you won't make the same mistakes— in this case, you learn not to let your own paranoia control you?" 

He tilted his head as if debating whether or not my answer satisfied what he was looking for. He finally came to a conclusion. "Not quite the answer I was looking for, but full credit all the same. Your explanation was wonderfully done, Miss Jackson. After Kronos' children were released from his stomach, the gods teamed up together to overthrow their father. And they did so by cutting him into little pieces with his own scythe. Now on that happy note, Mrs. Dodds, could you escort us outside for lunch?"

I speed-walked out of there, Grover in tow, before Mr. Brunner could call me back in. If he needed to say something super important he could tell me outside, but I wasn't in the mood to get lectured right at that moment. 

We all gathered in various groups on the steps of the museum. We were positioned in a way that would allow us to watch the traffic on Fifth Avenue. The weather still worried me as the clouds had only gotten darker, but I forced myself to ignore it once I noticed no one else was paying attention to it. 

Most of the girls were gossiping in groups, most likely talking about how Gabby hooked up with a boy in our class, Tate Dare. I'd heard the story a million times— I didn't need the story again. 

Being famous did have one major perk: everyone wanted to be my friend, which in turn allowed me to know all of the school's gossip before almost everyone else. The boys were trying— and failing— to pickpocket a few tourists who'd stopped in front of the museum to take pictures. Of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing. 

I threw my head to the side, a gesture telling Grover to follow me to the fountain a little ways away, trying very hard to make it seem like we weren't part of the slightly-psycho group of teens. 

"Since you're my main source of news, what's going on school-wise?" Grover asked me once we'd gotten comfortable on the fountain. 

I shrugged. "Gabby, you know— the Gabriella who's on the cheer team with me— hooked up with Tate Dare. Lindsay Greene might be getting suspended for vaping in the bathrooms, but that's up in the air right now considering her daddy's a teacher. Uh... oh! Victor Ryles failed a drug test, so he can't try out for any sports next year. That's it, I think?" 

"Why do you know all of this? And can I have your apple?" 

I handed it to him and smirked. "Most people like me— well, they like my 'status' at the very least. If I want to know the gossip, they give me the gossip." 

Grover and I laughed and he was about to say something else but was cut off by Nathan 'tripping' over a crack in the sidewalk and tossing his food right on Gover's lap. 

"Oops. I got a little distracted by your beautiful eyes, Allie," he said in a faux British accent, his friends snickering behind him. 

The look on his face just made me angrier and he reached out to touch my face, but never got the chance. One moment he was in front of me, the next he was sitting on his ass in the fountain, spitting out water and a few coins. The weirdest part was the whispers. 

"Did you see—"

"— The water—"

"— Like it grabbed him!"

I clenched my teeth as I glared at him. I would've loved to say something super badass, and the words were on the tip of my tongue, but a strong grip on my arm kept me from saying it. I turned my glare to Mrs. Dodds, who was staring at me with the most triumphant expression. She looked as if she'd been waiting for this moment all semester. 

"Now, honey—" she said, using the nickname that never failed to enrage me. 

I rolled my eyes and interrupted her despite the situation I had put myself in. "Oh, whatever! What's my punishment going to be? See how long I can go without eating?" I snapped. 

That apparently wasn't the correct thing to say. The triumphant fire in her eyes only burned brighter. 

"Come with me."

"Wait!" Grover said, trying to force himself in between Mrs. Dodds and me, giving me a why-the-FUCK-would-you-say-something-like-that look. "It was me, I pushed him."

It wasn't the most believable lie in the world, especially considering I had much more muscle than him and it was very obvious he wouldn't have been able to push Nathan into the fountain. 

Because of the roles I'd done, I had to learn a whole bunch of shit I'd never use again, which include, but are not limited to, sword fighting, hitting many bullseyes with a bow and arrow, and lots of hand-to-hand fighting. From the weight training classes I take, I can bench press about 160 pounds, give or take, and cheerleading makes throw myself upside down while spinning. Grover looked like a twig compared to me (still love you, though, Grover). 

"I don't think so. Miss Jackson will come with me, and you can stay right here."

She didn't have to try hard to scare Grover, considering she already terrified him. He gave a small and stiff nod and looked at me petrified. 

"Thanks for trying, G," I whispered. 

He just stood paralyzed and kept glancing between Mr. Brunner and Mrs. Dodds, who was already at the front door. 

Wait, what? How did she get there so fast? I shook my head and walked after her. 

"Don't die in there, Jackson! Me and my friends still want to fuck you before we graduate! How about Thursday?" Nathan yelled at my turned back. 

I turned, gave him my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare and a middle finger, then continued walking. 

At first, I thought she was just going to make me buy Nathan a new t-shirt at the gift shop, but that didn't seem to be the case. Mrs. Dodds kept walking until we'd made it back to the Greek statues and paintings section. 

She crossed her arms with her back turned towards me until I'd gotten close enough. When she turned, I stopped walking. 

"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said after a few moments of silence. 

At first, I thought she was mentioning all the random times paparazzi would show up at the front steps of Yancy Acadamy and demand my picture, but something told me that wasn't it. I decided to go for the safest option and chose to be polite. 

"Yes... ma'am?" 

She started making a sound from the back of her throat, almost like growling. She tugged on the cuffs of her jacket. "Did you really think you were going to get away with it?" 

I furrowed my eyebrows. The only thing I could think was, what the hell? The fire grew brighter. She looked beyond mad; she looked evil. "I'll... it won't happen again... ma'am," I shot out, saying the first response that came to mind. 

Thunder shook the building. 

"We aren't fools, Astraea Jackson."

I flinched at the use of my real name. Virtually no one knew it, only my mother, the principal, and my manager. And usually it was because I was in trouble. I didn't like the way it rolled off her tongue. 

"It was only a matter of time before you were caught. Confess to what you've done and I might choose to be merciful."

"Okay, time for a pause. What am I even confessing to? What the hell did I do that was so—"

"Time's up!" 

And with that, she started changing. Her eyes turned red, her fingernails grew into talons, and her leather jacket started melting and turning into wings. 

"Holy shit!" I screamed, scrambling back a few steps as she shot into the air. Thunder rumbled again. 

"Allie!" 

My eyes didn't shift from the winged-bat-creature-thing my calculus teacher had just turned into, but my mind registered that it was Mr. Brunner's voice. I stepped back and turned and barely had a second to catch the sword flying towards me. Once I had it in my hands I turned back towards Mrs. Dodds, who was flying overhead like a vulture. 

Finally, she swooped down for the kill and I got into the stance my instructor made me do thousands of times over. Once she got close, I didn't feel any fear. It's just like a prop, do what you're supposed to and you won't get hit. 

My body did the only thing that came naturally; I swung the sword. 

She'd flown down in the perfect position, and the sword hit her left shoulder and passed through all the way to her right hip. She burst into a yellow powder and vaporized on the spot, leaving only the smell of sulfur and an uneasy vibe in the air. 

I didn't register the sword falling out of my hand, only the overwhelming desire to get back to my group. I felt like throwing up and like an awful migraine was about to hit. 

When the doors were in my sight, I sprinted the rest of the way and almost ripped the doors off their hinges to get out of there. Grover met me halfway down the steps and started to say something, but I just shook my head. I felt like I was about to pass out from the pain in my head, so there was no way I could've explained anything that had just happened to Grover. 

Just as I got off the last step, Nathan intercepted my path. "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your ass, bitch. Would've gotten you prepared for the main course," he said, still dripping from his swim in the fountain. 

I was about to punch his lights out, but a piercing whistle cut through the storm, re-irritating my migraine. I cried out in pain, clutching my head. I settled for shoulder-checking past him, leaving him to follow in Grover and my tracks. 

Mr. Brunner gave me a concerned look as I boarded the bus, but he didn't say anything to me. Once I got to my seat I pulled a Gucci hoodie out of my bag and threw the hood over my head. Grover sat down as I was searching for some ibuprofen. I relaxed as I found it and dry swallowed three pills. 

"You okay, Allie?" 

I shook my head. "Migraine," I muttered and our conversation ended there. The storm raged worse and the entire bus was silent as lightning cracked across the sky and thunder quickly followed.

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the titan's curse

0.1 a sense of foreboding

warnings : cussing, a mrs. claus outfit, an unending sense of dread... i don't think there was anything else this chapter

word count : 3.4k

0.1 Something Tells Me This Isn't Going to End Well

I hadn’t wanted to leave Camp Half-Blood once I went back after my almost-deadly night out. Luke didn’t want me out of his sight, either. Unfortunately, I’d made some prior commitments and needed to grace the cover of Vogue for the I-don’t-even-know-how-many-ith time. 

That's how I ended up wearing a stereotypical, close-to-slutty Mrs. Claus outfit and in a limo with Luke, Thalia, and Brylie going to a boarding school. It was an eight-hour drive from Manhattan to Bar Harbour and we all hadn't spoken together for about two weeks, considering I'd been very busy, but even still, we hardly talked on the way there. 

Part of that was because we didn't want to have our usual conversations in front of Bry, and the other part was because the task we were about to have to partake in kept us quiet. Plus, the blizzard was giving us another worry, considering if we ran off the road, it wouldn't be too good for us. 

I’d spent most of the drive trying to figure out the lyrics to the song that had driven me to drink two weeks prior, to no avail. Everytime I hit a wall in my mind I scowled at nothing in front of me. 

Finally, Garrett, my personal chauffeur, pulled up to Westover Hall, the boarding school we needed to be at. He stopped the car and while we waited for him to walk around and open the door, Thalia wiped off the fog from one of the windows and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This is gonna be fun."

"Why do I feel like this is where Bill Belichick lives?" I joked. I saw Luke give me a grin, but Thalia, who was still adjusting to being alive again, hadn't really heard of the Patriot's past football dynasty and the jokes that came with it.

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other. Essentially, where a non-patriots fan assumed Bill Belichick lived.

"Thanks for the ride, Gare," I said, as we climbed out. He grabbed our respective bags and handed them to us. 

"Of course, Miss Jackson. Are you sure you don't want me to stay? I'd be happy to wait while you all go in."

"No, thank you. We have another way back." Truthfully, we didn't, but I figured it wouldn't be too difficult to find one. I didn't notice until Luke pushed my hand down, but I'd been fiddling with Riptide in necklace form. 

"Alright. Do call if you need me."

"I will." And with that, he got back in the warm limo and carefully drove off. 

The Mrs. Claus outfit did little to save me from the elements. Despite the long boots covering most of my legs, the piercing wind settled into my veins due to not having long sleeves. 

Without a word, Luke shrugged off his coat and settled it over my shoulders. He hardly even spared me a second glance, making the move as though it was second nature. As though he hadn’t even thought it through before doing it. I opened my mouth to argue, claim he needed the warmth of his own jacket, but before I could, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, securing his jacket in place, and using the leverage to move the two of us quickly toward the large set of doors. 

"I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call," Brylie said timidly from behind Luke and I. 

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall, a sense of foreboding settling over my bones. 

"Nothing good," Luke guessed from beside me.

Thalia and I shot him exasperated looks as Brylie's face grew fearful. She was fourteen, almost fifteen, but she'd had a very rough childhood, so many things scared her. It was a wonder she asked to go with us, much less be given permission. 

The oak doors groaned open and we walked in with a dramatic flurry of snow following behind us. The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

My hands went immediately to my weapons; my left to Shaker in bracelet form on my right wrist and my right hand to Riptide in necklace form around my neck. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming. 

Luke started to say, "I wonder where—" The doors slammed shut behind us. 

"Okay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us. 

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines. 

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

I shot Luke a pointed look, silently demanding him to use his Hermes-acquired lying skills to get us out of this. Thankfully, he understood, if the wink he gave me was any indicator. 

"Ma'am," he began in a soothing way that allowed him to lie so easily, "we were just—"

"Ha!" The man snapped, which made the four of us jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"

He had an accent-most likely French. While I was learning French, my teachers had me saying most of the words with the letter 'j' in them like that, at least. His nostrils flared when he spoke and he had two different colored eyes: one brown and one blue— like an alley cat's. 

Finally, knowing we wouldn't be getting out of this without doing it, I stepped forward and snapped my fingers. The sound came out sharp and loud, signaling that I'd done it right, and a gust of wind rippled from my hand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thalia smirk and Luke giving me a confused look. 

"But, sir," I started, "we aren't visitors. We go to school here. Remember? I'm Allie and that's Thalia, Luke, and Brylie. We're in the eighth grade."

My lie wasn't remotely believable, but unless they were monsters, they'd believe it. 

The man narrowed his two-colored eyes, but he seemed to be hesitating. He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?" 

I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding. The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. 

"I... yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Allie. Thalia. Luke. Brylie. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?" 

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—"

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Dr. Thorn glared at us. He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Grover hustled us down the corridor, probably to where the gymnasium was. Thalia moved closer to me.

"I still don't know how you do it," she muttered. "Chiron started teaching me once I came back to life, but I haven't been able to get the hang of it."

"I don't really know. It took me like a year and a half to get it perfect, though. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. You've only been back for less than five months," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. 

"That's true," she said and threw her arm around me, the two of us leading, even though neither of us knew where we were going. 

I don't think Luke knew how to feel about the two of us being super close. I know he'd told me last summer that if the two of us met, we'd either be best friends or enemies. We didn't really know how to feel about each other at first, especially considering the campers still looked to me as the leader, which Thalia, I knew, wasn't used to. It irritated her, sometimes and it would only worsen whenever people would whisper about her being the backup plan, but after I'd stuck up for her and almost drowned a few guys who were saying that, we became two peas in a pod. 

We would spend a lot of nights in one of our cabins and just talk. We would gang up on Luke, which he acted like he didn't like, but I think he was glad we were getting along. And we'd laugh about his siblings calling him a suicidal idiot for befriending possibly the two most powerful demigods in many years. 

I snapped out of my wandering thoughts when we arrived at a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover exclaimed. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Thalia and I both hugged Grover and Luke gave him one of those bro-fist-bumps.

It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise, he looked like he always did when he passed for human— a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"So what's the emergency?" I asked, feeling very ready to get out of there and change as soon as possible.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there, and we couldn't exactly recruit three-year-olds to the cause.

"A brother and a sister," Grover told us, shifting nervously. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?" I asked.

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Grover shifted his gaze from Thalia to me multiple times, frantically. 

"Right," Thalia nodded, planting her hands on her hips. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," I shrugged.

"Okay, Miss Broadway Star, just because you're a dancer and cheerleader and what-the-hell-ever—" Thalia started. 

"Who's the monster?" Brylie asked, her voice coming out small.  

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice-principal, Dr. Thorn." 

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something. At the very least, I knew I wouldn't be super out of place in a bright red leather and latex Santa minidress. Only slightly.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and high heels. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. 

Some of the older guys looked more like Luke— uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in our case, it was true... 

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo." 

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong. 

"They don't... you haven't told them, right?" Luke asked.

"You know how it is; That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said. I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice-principal, Dr.Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. 

Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by my trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here. 

"Never mind, don't look at the kids," I ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent." 

"How?" 

"We're three powerful half-bloods and another less experienced, but still powerful half-blood. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids." 

"Dancing?" Luke asked, a hint of reproach in his tone. 

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?" 

Grover looked hurt. "I did." 

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something? Literally our best friend over here is a Pop Princess, Superstar and you choose Jesse McCartney?" 

"Green who?" 

"Never mind. Let's dance." 

"But I can't dance!" 

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. 

"Come on, goat boy." Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. 

Luke smiled and I raised an eyebrow at him. 

"What's got you so happy, Chief?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."

I could feel my expression soften, and Luke tried to think of a new topic. Brylie got caught in a group of girls who were heading in Bianca and Nico's direction, so she joined them and, once she got close enough, made her way to them. It only took a few seconds before Brylie was sitting beside them, chatting with Bianca. 

"How's being an A-lister going?" He finally said. 

For the first time in a while, talking about my career actually made me happy. Things had been going so well in my career recently, despite my struggling with the last track on my next album. Without giving any spoilers, I told him about some new Marvel movies I was going to be in, still playing Celeste Stark, I told him about playing Aeverlynne Targaryen on Game of Thrones, Meredith Spades on The Walking Dead, and I told him a movie I'd starred in a little before finding out I was a demigod, Wonder Woman, was getting a sequel. 

He listened as best he could, but I could tell he was getting lost with how many characters I played. 

"Hey!" Thalia called to us just as I was about to start up my complaining about my struggles with figuring out the last song. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. I didn't blame him. Thalia had a dangerous look in her eyes, one that usually preceded lightning bolts.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

"Do you know how to dance?" I asked him, genuinely curious. 

"Silena tried giving me lessons a year or two ago, but they didn't end up very well," he replied, smiling as if remembering Silena most likely losing her shit. 

"Then follow my lead. It's not as hard as it looks," I said gently, grabbing his hand and shoulder. At the very least, he knew the starting moves. 

After a little bit, I came to the conclusion that he was most likely lying, considering he was better than a few of the dance partners I've had in the past. 

"You're a bold faced liar, you know that?" I asked teasingly. 

He gave me a charming smirk. "Kinda part of my heritage there, babe."

I rolled my eyes as I started humming to the song, that one controversial Christmas song, Baby, It's Cold Outside. 

I looked up at Luke. His already unnaturally blue eyes were brighter than usual as he looked at me. He spun me around once and I ended up looking over his shoulder to check on Bianca, Nico, and Brylie. 

He was going to say something, but I completely stopped moving, which made Luke slip and almost faceplant.

"What—"

"They're gone," I said, transfixed on the bleachers where the siblings and Brylie had previously been. 

"And Dr. Thorn's nowhere to be seen," Luke said, following my line of sight and then looking around.

"Go follow them, I'll get the others," I said and I didn't give him time to argue. I pushed through the crowd of people, looking for Thalia and Grover. 

A group of boys walked past me, one of them stopping to take a double-take. His jaw dropped and I had to actually push him out of my way. Because of the heels and my natural above-average height, I was automatically taller than most of the kids there, so looking around should've been much easier than it actually was. I caught a glimpse of Luke running to a back exit of the gym and made a mental note about that being where he went. 

I spent five minutes frantically walking all over the gym before I finally caught sight of Thalia and Grover at the punch stand. 

"You know this punch actually is really goo—" Thalia was about to say, but I cut her off. 

"They're gone."

*    *    *

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[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the sea of monsters

1.9 red sky in morning

warnings : none ( lmk if that isn't actually true )

word count : 2.5k

1.9 The King of the Titans Installs His Back-Up Plan Just in Case He Can't Manipulate Me or I Die (Whichever Comes First)

That afternoon was one of the happiest I'd ever spent at camp, which probably goes to show, you never know when your world is about to be rocked to pieces.

Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with us before resuming his quest for Pan. His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn't gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes.

The only bad news: Grover insisted on playing those pipes all afternoon long, and his musical skills hadn't improved much. He played "YMCA," and the strawberry plants started going crazy, wrapping around our feet like they were trying to strangle us. I guess I couldn't blame them, seeing as I wanted to strangle his 'music' too. However illogically that was phrased. But, because I was a good friend, I managed to restrain myself and not break them. Though, I wasn't about to make any promises if he started on Hilary Duff again.

Grover told me he could dissolve the empathy link between us, now that we were face to face, but I had simply rolled my eyes and told him not to be an idiot. He put down his reed pipes and stared at me. "But, if I get in trouble again, you'll be in danger, Allie! You could die!"

"I'm a demigod, Grover," I scoffed back. "Dying's in the job description." I gave him a stern, unyielding look that said I wasn't going to back down on this. "If you get in trouble again, I want to know about it. And I'll come to help you again, Grover. I wouldn't have it any other way."

In the end, he agreed not to break the link. He went back to playing "YMCA" for the strawberry plants. I didn't need an empathy link with the plants to know how they felt about it. I suspect I did everyone a favor when I confiscated the reeds and rapped him around the head with them. 

As for Tyson, the campers treated him like a hero. I would've been happy to have him as my cabin mate forever, but that evening, as we were sitting on a sand dune overlooking the Long Island Sound, he made an announcement that completely took me by surprise.

"Dream came from Daddy last night," he said. "He wants me to visit."

I wondered if he was kidding, but Tyson really didn't know how to kid. "Poseidon sent you a dream message?"

Tyson nodded. "Wants me to go underwater for the rest of the summer. Learn to work at Cyclopes' forges. He called it an inter— an intern—"

"An internship?"

"Yes." I let that sink in. I'll admit, I felt a little bitter. Poseidon did seem to actually care about Tyson. But me? He said to my face that I was a mistake. Who wouldn't feel a bit resentful at hearing their parent say that, no matter how they felt about the parent themselves? Then I realized, Tyson was going? Just like that?

"When would you leave?" I asked.

"Now."

"Now. Like... right now?"

"Now."

"Oh." I stared out at the waves of Long Island Sound. The water was glistening red in the sunset. I could feel tears pricking my eyelids. "I'm happy for you, bub," I managed. "Seriously."

"Hard to leave my new sister," he said with a tremble in his voice. "But I want to make things. Weapons for the camp. You will need them."

Unfortunately, I knew he was right. The Fleece hadn't solved all the camp's problems. Annabeth and Cody were both still out there, gathering an army aboard the Princess Andromeda. Kronos was still re-forming in his golden coffin. Eventually, we would have to fight them. War was inevitable, and the Great Prophecy loomed over my head like a Sword of Damocles. I would turn nineteen in a little over three weeks, meaning I would be exactly two years away from my much-dreaded twenty-first birthday.

"You'll make the best weapons ever," I told Tyson. I held up my bracelet proudly. "The best. No contest."

Tyson sniffled. "Brothers and sisters help each other."

"You're my brother," I vowed. "No doubt about it."

He patted me on the back so hard he almost knocked me down the sand dune. Then he wiped a tear from his cheek and stood to go. "Use the shield well."

"I will, bub."

"Save your life someday."

The way he said it, so matter-of-fact, I wondered if that Cyclops eye of his could see into the future.

"Just like its creator," I answered softly as he headed down to the beach and whistled, the way I'd taught him. Rainbow, the hippocampus, burst out of the waves. I watched the two of them ride off together into the realm of Poseidon.

Once they were gone, I looked down at my new bracelet. I pressed the sapphire and the shield spiraled out to full size. Hammered into the bronze were pictures in Ancient Greek style, scenes from our adventures this summer. There was me slaying a Laistrygonian dodgeball player, Luke fighting the bronze bulls on Half-Blood Hill, Tyson riding Rainbow toward the Princess Andromeda, the CSS Birmingham blasting its cannons at Charybdis. I ran my hand across a picture of Tyson, battling the Hydra as he held aloft a box of Monster Donuts.

I couldn't help feeling sad. I knew Tyson would have a fantastic time under the ocean. He would love his internship, of that I had no doubt, not to mention seeing Poseidon, whom he idolized. But I would miss everything about him— his fascination with horses, the way he could fix chariots or crumple metal with his bare hands, or tie our enemies into knots. I'd even miss him snoring like an earthquake in the next bunk all night.

"Hey, Allie."

I turned.

Luke and Grover were standing at the top of the sand dune. I wiped a few stay tears from my eyes. 

"Tyson..." I told them. "He had to..."

"We know," Luke replied softly, his expression gentle as he reached out to smooth down my curls. "Chiron told us."

"Cyclops forges." Grover shuddered. "I hear the cafeteria food there is terrible! Like, no enchiladas at all."

I let out a watery laugh, and he gained a pleased expression. Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, Angel. Time for dinner."

We walked back toward the dining pavilion together, just the three of us together, almost like old times.

A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood as storms usually did (Thank Olympus for weather wards).

Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded the shore, but not a drop fell in our valley. We were protected again, thanks to the Fleece, safely sealed inside our magical borders.

Still, my dreams were restless. I heard Kronos taunting me from the depths of Tartarus. 

Polyphemus sits blindly in his cave, young heroine, believing he has won a great victory. Are you any less deluded? The Titan's cold laughter filled the darkness of the cavern.

Then my dream changed. I was following Tyson to the bottom of the sea, into the court of Poseidon. It was a radiant hall filled with blue light, the floor cobbled with pearls. And there, on a throne of coral, sat my father, dressed like a simple fisherman in khaki shorts and a sun-bleached T-shirt. I looked up into his tan weathered face and sea-green eyes, all older, but still looking just like me, and he spoke two words: Brace yourself.

I woke with a start.

There was a banging on the door. Grover flew inside without waiting for permission. "Allie!" he stammered. "Luke... on the hill... he..."

The look in his eyes told me something was terribly wrong. Luke had been on guard duty that night, protecting the Fleece. If something had happened— I ripped off the covers, my blood like ice water in my veins. I grabbed a piece of Ambrosia from my secret stash, then threw on a hoodie over my sports bra and pajama pants and shoved on the closest pair of slip-on shoes (which happened to be Gucci slides), while Grover tried to make a complete sentence, but he was too stunned, too out of breath. He wasn't making any sense.

"She's lying there... just lying there..."

Who was she? The only thing I could think was that a new camper must have arrived, deathly injured by the sounds of it.

I ran outside and raced across the central yard, Grover right behind me. Dawn was just breaking, but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill as fast as they could, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas. I spotted Will and his younger sister Kayla Knowles, gripping a box of medical supplies and a quiver of arrows between them as they struggled up the slope.

I heard the clop of horse hooves, and Chiron galloped up behind us, looking grim.

"Is it true?" he asked Grover.

Grover could only nod, his expression dazed.

I tried to ask what was going on, but Chiron grabbed me by the arm and effortlessly lifted me onto his back. Together we thundered up Half-Blood Hill, where a small crowd had started to gather.

I expected to see the Fleece missing from the pine tree, but it was still there, glittering in the first light of dawn. The storm had broken and the sky was bloodred from the rising sun. The color made me queasy, as I remembered an old phrase one of my directors had often spouted. Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning.

"Curse the titan lord," Chiron said. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy. He's given himself a backup plan."

"What do you mean?" I asked fearfully.

"The Fleece," he answered me in a grim tone of voice. "The Fleece did its work too well."

That was, as you may have guessed, completely unhelpful. We galloped forward, everyone moving out of our way. There at the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Luke was pale-faced and dressed in Greek armor as he knelt next to her. He didn't glance back as we cantered up to the group.

"My gods," he was muttering repeatedly. "My gods. My gods."

My instinctual fear caused blood to roar in my ears. I couldn't think straight. What had happened? Was Luke hurt? Was the Fleece still there? Still undamaged?

The tree itself looked perfectly fine, whole and healthy, suffused with the essence of the Golden Fleece.

"It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged."

Luke finally looked away from the girl at the sound of Chiron's voice. When he saw us, he ran to Chiron. "It... she... just suddenly there..."

His eyes were streaming with tears uncharacteristically, but I still didn't understand. I was too freaked out to make sense of it all. I leaped off Chiron's back and ran toward the unconscious girl. Chiron said: "Allie, wait!"

I knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth— a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of different bands.

She wasn't a camper. I didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. And yet I had the strangest feeling I'd seen her before...

"It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe..."

Nobody else came close to the girl.

I put my hand on her forehead, trying to use my rudimentary first-aid skills to assess her. Her skin was cold, but my fingertips tingled as if they were burning.

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," I said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. I could sense that just from one touch. I didn't understand why everyone was acting so scared. I shot a scathing look at the medics, who were as frozen as everyone else.

Breakdowns are for later people. Not when there's someone in desperate need of medical aid lying unconscious in front of you. Gods! Well, if none of them were going to help, I would.

I took her by the shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position, resting her head on my shoulder. Then I pulled out the small piece of ambrosia from my pocket. I pinched her nose to make her open her mouth, popped in the ambrosia, and massaged her throat to make her swallow. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes.

Her irises were startlingly blue— electric blue.

The girl stared at me in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who—"

"I'm Allie," I said, keeping my tone soothing like I was talking to Nessa's little half-brother, or one of the camp's younger kids (usually about five to seven, but there was a four-year-old son of Apollo who had come after his mother's death. I'll give Apollo this, he made certain that none of his children ended up in the foster system). "You're safe now."

"Strangest dream..."

"It's okay."

"Dying."

"No," I assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?" That's when I knew. Even before she said it. I had seen those eyes before, not just in a picture and I had heard that voice before too. "Wait."

The girl's blue eyes stared into mine, and I understood what the Golden Fleece quest had been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play— another chance to control the prophecy. If I died or he couldn't find a way to control me, he had a backup plan.

Even Chiron, Luke, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future, and the war. And I was holding someone who was supposed to have died seven years ago in my arms.

"I am Thalia," she said, unaware of the turmoil she was about to cause the world. "Daughter of Zeus."

*    *    *

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[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

2.1 the beginning of the end

warnings : betrayal, monster attack... more or less, allie gets a little angry, probs some cussing

word count : 4.8k

2.1 The Completed Prophecy Brings Forth a New Set of Challenges and Stress

We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke's own quest, so of course, everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.

Luke's shroud was metallic white and emerald green, with a pair of winged sneakers on the front. It gave off a weird reptilian scent while it burned.

Being the daughter of Poseidon, I didn't have any cabin mates, so my friends had all volunteered to work together to make my shroud. It was absolutely beautiful, made of long sea green silk and embroidered with a golden trident. Silena cried in dismay when we burned it, though for the rest of us it was fun to burn them, in a very morbid kind of way. Like I was sticking up my finger at everyone who thought I would fail in quest, including myself.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, I was surrounded by all of my friends and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."

Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brat didn't get herself killed and now she'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."

I moved all of my stuff from home into cabin three, but it didn't feel so lonely anymore. My car was parked right on the road near Camp Half-Blood. At first, Chiron didn't want it out there, just in case a monster or something got to it, but I convinced him I didn't care if it got damaged and if it was inside camp borders the Stoll Brothers would probably do much more damage than a monster. 

I had my friends to hang with during the day, and Luke regularly snuck into my room to sleep in my bed with me. Though, I would be shocked if Chiron didn't know he'd been doing it since we got back. At first, it wasn't every night, but every so often one of us would get a nightmare and he'd be knocking at my door. When he realized that he couldn't always just guess whenever I'd have a nightmare and also couldn't just sneak into the Hermes cabin, we'd silently decided to make it an every night thing. We'd gotten used to being together during our quest, so being apart was weird. I got up at five every morning, anyway, so it's not like anyone ever caught us.

I spoke with Chiron, and agreed to stay year-round, but I would have permission to go on little trips outside. Apparently, it was an allowance given to children of Poseidon, as otherwise, we tended to go stir-crazy and run away after destroying something. So, while I would live mostly at camp, I would be able to leave and go to Columbia on the days I had to and I'd get to visit my East Hampton beach house whenever I wanted since it was only half an hour away.

As much as I loved Camp, it was still a huge relief to have that safety net available. I don't think I could cope with being in one place constantly, even this place.

On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles.

According to Luke, who'd seen the show several times before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.

As Luke and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks, he'd started to look older, almost collage age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his Rasta cap all the time to pass as human.

"I'm off," he said, shifting slightly. "I just came to say... well, you know."

I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was one of my oldest real friends.

I gave him a tight hug and reminded him to keep his fake feet on, thinking of how they had fallen off on the train while Luke asked him where he was going to search first.

"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan..."

"We understand," I assured him. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"

"Yeah."

"And you remembered your reed pipes?" I pressed.

"Jeez, Allie," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."

But he didn't really sound annoyed.

He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway— nothing like the little runty boy I used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy.

"Well," he said with a small smile. "Wish me luck."

I gave him a tight hug. He and Luke clapped each other on the shoulders, then headed back through the dunes. I watched him go through misty eyes.

Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington crossing the Delaware.

"Hey, Grover," I called.

He turned at the edge of the woods.

"Wherever you're going, I hope they make good enchiladas."

Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.

"We'll see him again," Luke told me, pulling me into a side hug.

I tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years... Well, I decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.

The summer passed.

I spent my days in camp devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares' hands. Clarisse and I started a friendly, but vicious, rivalry over it. I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.

From time to time, I'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. I tried to convince myself that its prophecy had come to completion.

You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades.

You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades' dark head.

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend.

That line still bothered me. Ares had pretended to be our friend, then betrayed me. That must have been what the Oracle meant even though it didn't quite fit...

And the last one.

And it shall begin, in the end.

Surely, it meant my fight with Ares? I wasn't arrogant enough to claim it was anything close to a war or anything of the sort, but I couldn't think of another option. The quest was over, so the prophecy should be complete. And Chiron had said that the Oracle's words often didn't make sense, anyway.

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.

The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.

I got my own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer, I was glad the firelight covered my blushing. The design was a simple pitch black bead, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced, grinning at me cheekily. "This bead commemorates the first Daughter of the Sea God, and the quest that she undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"

The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year.

The next morning, I went to do some training and get myself out of the way while everyone was packing themselves into the camp shuttle. Of my friends, Luke, Silena, Beckendorf and the Stolls were all staying. Beckendorf's mother was dead, Silena only visited her father rarely for a reason she didn't share and I didn't push for, though she obviously adored him, and the Stolls' mother was a heavily devout Christian who kicked them out for 'converting to paganism.'

I had said goodbye to the others last night, and I didn't want to do so again and get upset at them leaving. Especially as my mind had continuously wandered to the fact that if Mom were still alive, I'd be leaving as well.

Instead, I lost myself in the rhythm of practice. Sword-fighting seemed as natural as breathing to me, and by the time a throat clearing interrupted me, I had decimated the training dummies completely. At least they'd be replaced in a few days anyway.

The person standing at the entrance to the arena shocked me.

"Annabeth," I stated in surprise, sweeping some loose hair out of my face and behind my ear again. "What— uh, did you want to do some training or something? I can go."

"No," she shook her head, stepping closer to me. "I actually wanted to talk to you. Bury the hatchet, you know? For Luke's sake."

That completely shocked me, but I was willing to go along with it if she was serious. I'd seen the unhappiness Luke felt at how Annabeth and I seemed to be constantly at odds with each other. Though, I had nothing to do with it, and everyone knew I just defended myself in whatever way was necessary.

"Sure," I agreed slowly. "Here, or—?"

She shook her head, gold curls bouncing. "No, here's not really the place for heart-to-hearts, you know? Follow me, I know a good place to talk."

I turned Riptide back into its necklace form and Shaker into bracelet form and trailed after her as we made our way to the creek and sat down near where I was almost mauled by that hellhound.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked with a look of innocence that was definitely fake on her face. Her eyes were too wide, and I suddenly wished that I could get my sword out more subtly. My instincts were screaming at me, and suddenly it just clicked.

The thief hadn't been found, only Ares and the Crooked Lord. And now I knew why the prophecy had been bothering me so much despite the quest being officially over. It wouldn't really be over until the thief was caught.

"You're the one who took the Bolt," I accused quietly. "Aren't you?"

She laughed, a cold, mocking sound. "Well, well, maybe you're not such a seaweed brain after all. Yes, I took the stupid Bolt." Her expression twisted bitterly as she spoke. She didn't look at all like a twelve-year-old girl, and from the look in her eyes, I had no doubt that she wanted to kill me. "I saw a lot out there in the world, Allie," she said. "I ran away from my idiotic father and his wife and kids when I was seven and I saw the reality of the world. Didn't you feel it, the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics, being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."

"You're psychotic," I scoffed back. "In case you haven't realized, without gods, there would be no demigods. It's in the damn word! We need each other!"

She glared, and I could tell that hadn't occurred to her before. Stupid, especially of a supposed child of the wisdom goddess, but I guess that wisdom and common sense don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.

She clicked her fingers instead of answering. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion.

I started to go for my necklace.

"I wouldn't," Annabeth warned me with a cruel smile. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."

"You're as crazy as Ares."

Her eyes flared violently. "Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. If I had time, Allie, I could explain. But I'm afraid you won't live that long."

The scorpion crawled onto my leg.

There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.

"Kronos," I stated. "That's who you serve."

The air got colder.

"You should be more careful with names," Annabeth warned me.

"Kronos," I put a lot of emphasis on his name, "got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."

Annabeth's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Allie. You should have listened to him. You might have survived."

"He's brainwashing you, Annabeth. You'd think a child of the wisdom goddess would be able to see that."

"You're wrong!" Annabeth shrieked. "He showed me that my talents are being wasted. I've been here for years, since I was seven! I'm better at fighting and thinking than anyone else in this worthless camp, and yet I've never been allowed to leave except to visit my useless mortal father! It's not fair! I should've been given a quest! I'm better than all of them!"

"You're a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum," I spat back, furious. "And you're going to break Luke's heart!"

"Don't talk to me about Luke!" she snarled. "Do you know how he got that scar on his face? Hermes sent him to steal apples from the Garden of Hesperides, a quest that's been done already! Where's the glory in repeating what others have done? All the gods know how to do is replay their past. His heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden nearly killed him, and I knew I had to get justice for him and Thalia. They deserved better than what the gods gave them, the only truly good people in this world. Even Chiron is so blinded by the gods that there's no hope for him. He'd let us all die if they ordered it. He doesn't really care, he just pretends that he does. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to strike– a worthwhile strike– against the gods, to take something that no hero had ever had the courage to take."

I shook my head and tried to interrupt, but she was on a roll, too in her own mind to listen to me. 

"When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I put on my cap and I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus' master bolt right from his chair. Hades' helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was, and I'm not even one of Hermes' children. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."

The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level, and to keep my worry hidden. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"

Annabeth's smile wavered. "I... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have out-witted him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos' voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence."

Then she got such a haunted look on her face that I would've felt bad for her if she hadn't put me in the tough spot I was in— it was the same way I looked after a particularly bad confrontation with Gabe. 

"Afterward, the Lord of the Titans... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way, from Ares down to Tartarus."

"You summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."

"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."

"The backpack was cursed," I said. "It was supposed to drag me and the bolt into Tartarus."

"And it would have, if you'd been wearing it. But you gave it to Luke, which screwed everything up. Luke was never supposed to get hurt." Annabeth looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, Allie. But don't worry, I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."

"Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"

"Don't talk about Thalia!" she shrieked. "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."

"You're being used, Annabeth. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."

"I've been used?" Annabeth's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest, the ones who serve him."

"Call off the bug," I demanded. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself."

Annabeth smiled, a light of insanity in her gray eyes. "Nice try, Allie. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."

"Annabeth—"

"Good-bye, Allie. There's a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."

She turned and strode away, and I saw the silhouette of someone join her. 

For one horrifying second, I thought it was Luke. My heart dropped. 

It wasn't Luke. It was Cody. 

You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend. 

The words echoed around my head like an alarm, bouncing around every part of my brain until I couldn't deny it anymore. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but he simply strode away after Annabeth. 

And there was nothing I could do to stop them, because the minute he turned, the scorpion lunged.

I swatted it away with my hand and summoned Riptide. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in mid-air.

I was about to go racing after the two traitors until I looked down at my hand. My palm had a huge red welt, oozing and smoking with yellow guck. The damn thing had gotten me after all. I always hated bugs.

My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. The water, I thought dizzily, hearing the noise of the creek nearby. It healed me before.

I stumbled to the creek and submerged my hand. It was working, but not fast enough. I'd be dead long before the water fully healed me. The poison was too strong. My vision was getting dark. I could barely stand up.

Sixty seconds, Annabeth had told me.

I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be dinner for a monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened, they wouldn't know about Annabeth and Cody's treachery. They would be completely vulnerable to the two.

My legs felt like lead. My years of athletics kept my stamina going, just enough to keep me alive. My forehead was burning. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

"Help," I croaked. "Please..."

Two of them took my arms, pulling me along. I dimly remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, Chiron blowing a conch horn urgently. Then everything went black.

I woke with a drinking straw in my mouth. I was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Nectar.

I opened my eyes and looked around weakly. I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Luke sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.

"Anyone else got deja vu?" I asked with a weak smile at him.

"That's not funny," Luke answered, looking shaky, the vein in his forehead popping. "You were bleeding from your eyes and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing..."

"Now, now," Chiron's voice chided. "Allie's constitution deserves some of the credit for her survival. She ran through most of the forest with no help, while dying of poison."

He was sitting near the foot of my bed in human form, which was why I hadn't noticed him yet. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half was dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved."

"Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."

Between sips of nectar, I told them the story.

The room was quiet for a long time.

"We have to hunt them down," Luke said tightly. "I knew something was up when everyone was accounted for except for the two of them."

He was pushing his pain aside to focus on the problem at hand, but I could see the anguish in his eyes at his surrogate little sister's betrayal. Annabeth had been a mix of sister, daughter, and friend to him. I couldn't imagine the pain he was feeling right then.

"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured in reply. "I will go at once."

"Zeus has declared the matter of Kronos closed," I pointed out tightly. "We need to do this ourselves, preferably before the Titans are walking the earth again!"

"Allie, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."

I didn't like it, but I knew that Chiron was right. One look at my hand, and I knew I wasn't going to be sword fighting with both swords for at least a few days.

"Chiron... the prophecy, the one about the child of one of the Big Three... is it, I mean—"

Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Allie, it isn't my place—"

My eyes narrowed. "You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?"

His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great heroine, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you..."

Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows.

"All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!" He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Allie. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing," I protested.

"We will not sit back," Chiron promised me. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come."

"Assuming I live that long, you mean?" I spat scornfully. 

"You will," Luke promised darkly. "You're staying, aren't you? I'll make sure of it, Angel, I swear on the River Styx that I'll—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," I said threateningly. 

His expression didn't change and even though he didn't say it out loud, he finished it in his head. It wasn't a complete binding, but he didn't need that. 

"That would have been foolish," Chiron sighed tiredly. "Don't go around making promises like that, Luke, you know better. Rest now, both of you. I must go and speak to the gods."

I wanted to protest. I wanted to ask him more questions. But his expression told me there would be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you."

I watched him leave, then turned to Luke. "Help me up. I want to go outside."

"Angel, that isn't a good idea."

I ignored him and slid my legs out of bed. Luke caught me before I could crumple to the floor. A wave of nausea rolled over me.

"I told you so," Luke grumbled, wrapping my arm around his shoulders and grasping my waist to support me.

"I'm fine," I insisted. I didn't want to lie in bed like an invalid while Annabeth and Cody were out there planning to destroy the Western world.

I managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Luke. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance.

By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat. My stomach had twisted into knots and I felt like I was going to faint. But I had managed to make it all the way to the railing.

It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the waters of Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.

"What are you going to do?" Luke asked me.

I shrugged helplessly at that. "I don't know." Without looking at him, I reached out to clasp his hand gently. "I'm sorry about Annabeth."

He swallowed loudly. "I am too," he muttered gruffly. 

We were quiet after that, and I pretended I didn't see the tears trickling down his face as he stared wistfully at Thalia's pine tree. I pulled him into a hug and though he was still very much so holding me up, in that moment, I was his lifeline.

We stayed like that until we went to bed at curfew. As we entered my cabin that night, I felt the pressure settle itself around my shoulders like I was suddenly carrying the weight of the world on them. A child of the Big Three would save or destroy the world. And I was the only open candidate for the position.

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

1.2 committing a felony (don't do this)

warnings : ANOTHER effing monster attack, some more cussing, mention of arson

word count : 5.8k

1.2 Blow Torching a National Monument So Badly, I Could Be Tried for Arson (Even Though It Literally Wasn't My Fault)

I could safely say we were all miserable that night. None of us liked the thought of spending the night in a place where we had just killed the only occupant, so instead, we spent the night camped out in the woods a few miles away.

The clearing we settled down in was obviously a frequent gathering point for the local kids to hang around. It was about a hundred yards from the main road and rather marshy. The ground was littered with flattened soda cans and fast-food wrappers. We spent a few minutes piling the garbage together so we could dump it in a trash can tomorrow on Luke's suggestion.

It was easily the worst place that I'd ever spent the night, but with the snug sleeping bags we'd taken from Camp, it wasn't too bad. We'd decided against a fire. The Furies and Medusa were enough for one day, and a fire would most definitely bring more unwanted visitors.

I kind of regretted it, cause frankly, I was freezing, but again, I'd had enough of fighting for today. Well, for the rest of my existence really, but I didn't exactly have a choice in that matter. My father had seen to that very firmly.

I volunteered for the first watch, and Luke gave only a moment's objection before he fell fast asleep. Grover, however, simply laid down, staring up at the sky with a brooding expression.

"Regretting ever meeting me?" I asked as lightly as I could. Really though, I wouldn't blame him for it if he was. Tyche definitely had some sort of grudge against me. On the other hand, I did manage to survive all the shit I went through, so maybe she actually liked me. Something to dwell on at another time, I guess. 

Grover startled out of his thoughts, turning to stare at me and shake his head wildly.

"Don't be ridiculous, Allie!" he objected. "You're my best friend, I love you. It just... it makes me so sad. And mad. I'm mad about it too."

I frowned at him. "What makes you sad?" I pressed. "Can I help?"

The side of his lip quirked up briefly before falling again, his frown returning. "This makes me sad," he gestured at the rubbish pile and up at the sky. "I mean just look at the sky. You can't even see the stars. They've polluted the sky. This is a terrible time to be a satyr."

I bit my lip. I knew already that Grover was an environmentalist, but he talked about this with so much emotion, feeling guilty seemed to be my only option. For what, I wasn't exactly sure.

"I'm sorry," I finally ventured. "I guess it must be really hard for a nature spirit to see this sort of stuff. We'll dump it tomorrow."

He sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "Do you know what a searcher's license is?"

I shook my head. "Not really," I admitted freely, not worrying about my lack of knowledge on the subject. "I just know that your family has a tradition of getting them, and you'll only get yours if we succeed in the quest."

I cocked my head to the side for a moment as a breeze wafted through the clearing. It was fresh and sweet and brought with it the smell of berries and clean air. Suddenly, I was nostalgic for something I didn't know.

"Tell me about it," I requested quietly. 

Grover gave me a studying look, like he was trying to decide if I was worthy of knowing about his dream or not. I must've been, because he nodded, straightening and beginning to explain. "The God of Wild Places disappeared two thousand years ago," he told me. "A sailor off the coast of Ephesos heard a mysterious voice crying out from the shore—"

"'Tell them that the great god Pan has died!' Yeah, I know that story," I said, recalling Chiron teaching it at the beginning of the year.

"RIght. When humans heard the news, they believed it. They've been pillaging Pan's kingdom ever since. But for the satyrs, Pan was our lord and master. He protected us and the wild places of the earth. We refuse to believe that he died. In every generation, the bravest satyrs pledge their lives to finding Pan. They search the earth, exploring all the wildest places, hoping to find where he is hidden, and wake him from his sleep."

"Wow," I said simply. "So you want to join them?"

Grover nodded. "My whole family has been searchers for generations," he explained. "My dad, and my Uncle Ferdinand. You saw his statue back at Aunty Em's."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Grover waved me off. "Dad and Uncle knew the risks. Every searcher does. But I'll succeed. I'll be the first one to come back alive."

My eyes widened in shock at that. "The first? What happened to them all?"

"Nobody knows," Grover shrugged gloomily. "But we have to keep trying. We have to believe that we'll be the one to find Pan and wake him up. It's the only thing that keeps us from giving in to despair when we look at what's happened to the world."

I stared at the orange haze of the sky and tried to understand how Grover could pursue a dream that seemed so hopeless. Then again, was I any better?

There was no way I'd ever be able to make Hades do what I wanted, after all. I was only a seventeen-year-old girl with a sharp tongue and a stupidly large amount of money. He was a god, and one of the most powerful gods at that. I was screwed and I knew it.

"How are we going to get into the Underworld?" I asked him. "I mean, what chance do we have against a god?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But we'll figure it out. We all have faith that you'll succeed in this, Allie."

"Why?" I demanded, angry that I could feel that my voice was shaking and trying to hide it. "Why is everyone so goddamn confident that I can do this? I've known about this stuff being real for a week!"

Grover chewed on his lip, genuinely considering my question, which I appreciated. "You've just got this aura around you," he finally told me. 

I paused in tugging agitatedly on my braids to stare at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just the way you talk and move and just... just act. It makes everyone feel that you'd lay down your life for ours without thinking about it."

"Of course I would," I replied instantly. 

Grover flashed me a sad smile. "And that's why we trust you," he insisted. "And you have real power. In multiple ways. Allie, you are quite literally a global celebrity. You could probably go to the White House and create any law you wanted and it would get passed. And as a demigod? You probably can't control it yet, but your father is the god of the seas. He holds an extensive amount of power and you are his first mortal daughter. It's reasonable to suggest you are going to be stronger than most of his other children." 

I didn't know what to say to that. Truthfully, I'd thought about it a lot the night before, but didn't want to go much further with my thoughts— they still scared me. Not wanting to do the same now, I changed the subject to something I did want to ponder.

"I think something is off about this whole thing," I admitted to him. "On the bus, the Kindly Ones, did you hear them? They were asking where it is. Not her, it. We're missing something big, I know it."

Grover bit his lip, worry flashing over his expression. "Well, we have to go to the Underworld anyway," he finally stated. "The prophecy said we'd go west and face the god who has turned. And it said you'd find the bolt and return it safely. Everything will work out, Allie, you'll see."

I said nothing, but the Oracle's warning about being betrayed and war beginning played ominously in my mind as I watched Grover fiddle silently with his reed pipes.

More than anything, I wished for my mom to be there, holding me and stroking my hair.

"How about I take first watch?" he suggested. "You could use a rest." 

Before I could protest, he lifted the pipes to his mouth and began to play. Unlike his earlier attempts, the tune, something by Mozart I think, actually sent me to sleep. 

Eventually, the nightmare started. I was standing in a dark cavern before a gaping pit. Grey mist creatures churned all around me, whispering rags of smoke that I somehow knew were the spirits of the dead.

They tugged at my clothes, trying to pull me back, but I felt compelled to walk forward to the very edge of the chasm. Looking down made me dizzy. The pit yawned so wide and was so completely black, I knew it must be bottomless. Yet I had a feeling that something was trying to rise from the abyss, something huge and evil.

"The little heroine," an amused voice echoed far down in the darkness. "Too weak, too young. But perhaps you will do."

The voice felt ancient— cold and heavy. It wrapped around me like sheets of lead and filled me with sheer terror. I wanted to run, but my feet were frozen in fear.

"They have misled you, girl," it said. "Barter with me. I will give you what you want."

An image appeared in front of me of my mother. She looked just like she did the day she died. Her long brown hair was down, flowing around her messily, her face was bare of make-up with her loving smile that always made me feel safe and happy, no matter what. She was dressed in her pajamas. And her arms were open, like she was waiting for me to run into her embrace like when I was a little girl being picked up from school.

I tried to cry out, but my voice wouldn't work.

Cold laughter echoed from the chasm. An invisible force pulled me forward. It would drag me into the pit unless I stood firm.

"Help me rise, Astraea." The voice became hungrier. "Bring me the bolt. Strike a blow against the treacherous gods!"

The spirits of the dead whispered around me, "No! Wake!" The image of my mother began to fade. The thing in the pit tightened its unseen grip around me. I realized it wasn't interested in pulling me in. It was using me to pull itself out.

"Good," it murmured. "Good."

"Wake!" the dead whispered urgently. "Wake!"

Someone was shaking me. My eyes opened, and it was daylight. I shot up, gasping for breath.

"Allie?" Luke asked, just barely avoiding our heads knocking together. "What happened, are you okay?"

I shuddered. "Just a nightmare," I managed to croak. "It was just a nightmare."

Luke looked tense. "Allie—"

"Come on," I interrupted. "We need to get to the train station, and quickly. I can get all of our tickets."

***

We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, and past amber waves of grain.

We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt like we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity. I tried to read the books my friends had packed for me and played some cards with the boys, but I just couldn't get into it. Our deadline and my prophecy loomed ominously over me and I always ended up getting up to pace the length of the train instead.

Once, I spotted a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they (I assumed) hunted lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I looked around the passenger car, but nobody else had noticed. The adult riders all had their faces buried in laptop computers or magazines.

Another time, toward the evening, I saw something huge moving through the woods. I could've sworn it was a lion, except that lions don't live wild in America, and this thing was the size of a Hummer. Its fur glinted gold in the evening light. Then it leaped through the trees and was gone. Frankly, I was relieved. I'd seen it before and I was in a bad enough mood without adding fighting the Nemean Lion to it.

The tickets I'd bought only went as far as Denver and, since I didn't want to waste any time, we decided not to wait four more days for a train to get us where we wanted. I had a bad feeling about wasting time, and I knew it'd be quicker and easier if we just got off in Denver. 

Luke and Grover had to almost physically fight me to keep me from buying us expensive seats that would actually give us beds. I was tired of sleeping uncomfortably, but Luke said if we got into a fight, being in a bigger space would help a lot more. 

At one point, Grover's shoe fell off and Luke and I had to hurry to replace it before any mortals noticed something was off.

"Angel," Luke said seriously as we sat back down again. "We need to talk about your dreams."

I tensed at that. I had no desire to talk about my nightmares of the pit despite having had a repeat of the dream only that night. It seemed as if by doing so I'd be turning them from bad dreams into the quest related visions that Luke had mentioned to me before.

"Allie," Luke pressed me when I didn't speak. "This is important. I can't help if I don't know the problem. And I know you had another dream last night. Tell me." He cupped my face to turn my gaze to him. I felt a strange feeling of warmth in my stomach and chest at the amount of concern in his bright blue eyes.

He has to have gotten those eyes from his father, I thought hazily. No way is that color natural. Way too vibrant.

"Fine," I huffed, breaking his stare and crossing my arms stubbornly.

His smug look at having broken my stubborn will vanished as I spoke, his demeanor becoming serious again.

"That doesn't sound like Hades," he said, chewing over my explanation. "He usually appears on a black throne, and I've never heard of him laughing."

"He offered to bring my mother back to life in trade though," I argued, a pang in my heart. "Who else has the power to do something that if not the god of the dead?"

"Thanatos is the god of the dead," Luke corrected me, tapping on his leg. "Hades is the god of the Underworld and everything under the earth. But Thanatos has even less to gain from this than Hades does. I guess it could be him. But why tell you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

I shook my head, wishing I knew the answer. I thought about what Grover and I had discussed, that the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something.

"Where is it? Where?"

Maybe Grover sensed my emotions. He snorted in his sleep, muttered something about vegetables, and turned his head.

I silently reached over and readjusted his cap so it covered his horns.

"Allie," Luke began carefully. "You know that you can't barter with Hades. He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time—"

"If that was them being unaggressive, I never want to actually piss them off," I cut him off sharply. My eyes fell to my lap as I started fiddling with the locket and the new necklace that hung around my neck.

The locket was an antique, belonging first to my great-great-grandmother and then being passed down through the generations until I received it from my mom. It was in the shape of a rose, made of real gold. On the outer edges of it were engravings of a rose and in the very center was a diamond and engravings to make it look like the north star. When I opened it, I saw a picture of my mother at twenty. She was standing on the beach in front of the ocean, with me heavily bundled up against the cold sea air cradled in her arms. On the other side was the most recent picture we'd taken together, right in front of our beach house. I'd thrown myself in her arms and Danny took the picture at the perfect time.

"I know that I can't try to bring her back," my voice was ragged as I spoke, and my lip shook slightly. I scowled to keep the tears that were stinging my eyes from falling. "But I just..." I fell silent. I didn't even know what I was going to say.

I started when Luke's arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a strong embrace. I stayed there for about a minute before pulling away and adjusting myself on the bench.

"While you were still out you mumbled a little about your mother and what happened to her. What was she like?" Luke treaded anxiously. The question hung unvoiced in the air between us, and for a moment I contemplated pretending I didn't pick up his hint. Instead, I sighed, my shoulders slumping as I kept on playing with my locket.

"My mom's name was Sally Jackson," I finally told him. I didn't look away from the necklace, determinedly studying the rose engraved on the shiny surface to avoid his gaze. "She was actually the nicest person ever, I'd bet my life on it. Her parents died when she was five, in a plane crash if you can believe it. Every time I got on a plane she about had a heart attack. When she was in college, she ended up having to drop out of school to nurse her uncle until he died and then she had me when she was nineteen. She loved English literature, so I grew up on Jane Austen and Shakespeare, stuff like that."

He gave me a small smile. "Is that why you can quote the whole Romeo and Juliet balcony scene from memory and not have to grab a source?" 

I giggled. "That and I recently played Juliet in a remake that comes out in a few months."

"Ah, my mistake." 

"Anyway, she got me into acting around the time I turned two. The director of the first movie I was in saw her walking around outside our apartment and needed a young child for a few scenes and she let them use me. After that... I'm not sure. I guess they liked how natural I was at it and continued putting me in things and now... my life is what it is. Getting followed whenever I go out to dinner. Flying around the world to perform songs that I've written. Walking red carpets. Having every inch of my body scrutinized whenever I appear on a runway. It's not all bad, but it certainly isn't entirely glamorous, either." I shrugged. "And then, when I was six, she married this asshole named Gabe. He liked taking my money to fund his gambling problem. Then he'd get drunk, his equally bitchass buddies would leave, and if my mom wasn't home, we'd argue. A lot."

Luke frowned at me, obviously putting a few of my hints together in his head. It wasn't hard to see that the scars that most definitely didn't come from a monster weren't caused by accident. He obviously felt like I wouldn't go into it, and he was right, and changed the subject. 

"I met Thalia just outside of a dragon's lair in Charleston," Luke said quietly. 

I started in surprise at the non sequitur and opened my mouth to tell him he didn't have to explain, but he held a hand up. 

"She was twelve, same as me. We had both run away from bad home situations, not really abusive, just bad, and we met Annabeth a few months later. She had just turned seven. We traveled together for a few months, before meeting up with Grover. And then we headed for Half-Blood Hill. We were being pursued by a legion of monsters sent by Hades to kill Thalia, and there was no way that we could have made it. We were about to be overwhelmed, only minutes from the border. Thalia made us go on ahead. She sacrificed herself. Zeus turned her into a tree, so now her lifeforce guards Camp."

I glanced at him. "Is there some kind of rule?" I murmured. "All half-bloods must have as screwed up childhood as possible. Ancient Law number whatever."

It wasn't remotely funny, but Luke cackled in laughter, anyway. We both pretended not to see the other wiping away tears.

Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13th, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Luke craned his neck to see the Gateway Arch, which was a little anticlimactic, considering I'd been there before.

"Annabeth loves that stuff," he informed me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"What stuff?"

"Architecture. It's her favorite thing in the world. She wants to build a monument that'll last a thousand years."

"Lofty goal," I observed. "Makes me feel embarrassed about my ambition of living into my twenties."

"Ah now, Angel," Luke teased. "There's having a dream and there's being fanciful. All the trouble you get into will have you being buried at nineteen, tops."

"Make sure that there are roses and sunflowers at my funeral," I snarked back at him, ignoring Grover's obvious horror at our morbid humor.

"Oh, but of course, Angel," he answered in a posh British accent. I patted his shoulder condescendingly. 

"Let's visit the Arch!" Grover said, obviously trying to move the topic away from my funeral. I glared at him with an incredulous look on my face. He cowered from my infuriated glare as I went to whack him over the head with my bag.

"Are you serious? This is a mission to stop the apocalypse, not a fucking sightseeing tour! What the hell is the matter with you, you goddamned, furry—"

Luke placed a hand over my mouth. I tried to bite him, but he was too quick, pulling it away and putting it back too fast for me to either hurt him or continue my rant. "Calm yourself, Angel," he drawled. "I agree with Grover. We have a while before our train leaves again, we might as well do some sightseeing to distract ourselves from the whole apocalypse thing."

"But I've already been—"

"Doesn't matter, you can go again."

So that was how we ended up standing in line at an elevator in the St. Louis' Arch while Grover passed me jolly ranchers, me trying to slip them into my mouth without taking off the mask and sunglasses I'd put on to keep from being recognized.

I kept looking around, though, at the other people in line. "You smell anything?" I murmured to Grover, voice slightly muffled from the mask.

He took his nose out of the candy bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.

"Guys," I said, shifting uneasily. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—"

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"Um, right," I said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Luke nodded. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" I asked.

He nodded again. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus— the shortest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than Annabeth's invisibility hat, if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.

Luke and Grover exchanged grim looks.

"We don't," Luke admitted. I noticed his hand slip to his disguised sheath, clutching his sword pommel as he scanned the area.

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Got any Snickers left?"

I'd almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I remembered the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch, and I knew I was in trouble. It felt very different from the last time I was here.

We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye chihuahua, because none of the guards said a word about it. Usually, I liked animals, but something about that dog made me feel uncomfortable.

We started going up, inside the Arch. 

"No parents?" the lady asked us. She definitely wasn't gonna be winning any beauty contests with her beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp. I scolded myself for the insulting thoughts, but couldn't help but feel as though I needed to be wary. 

"They're below," Luke lied smoothly. "Scared of heights."

"Oh, the poor darlings."

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.

"Sonny," I repeated. "Is that his name?"

"No," the lady told me. She smiled, as if that cleared everything up.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but it still felt weird and I wanted out of there.

Luckily for me, the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes. I actually thanked the gods, I was so relieved.

I steered Grover and Luke toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me. Fan-fucking-tastic. The gods were seriously out to get me.

The park ranger said, "Next car, miss."

"We'll get out," Luke offered. "We'll wait with you."

But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I waved him off as I spoke, "Nah, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."

Grover and Luke both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.

Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat lady with her Chihuahua.

I looked around uneasily and met the eyes of the fat lady. She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.

Forked tongue?

Fuck.

Before I even had time to sigh, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me.

"Now, now, sonny," the lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!" His parents pulled him back. The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

"Uh, did you just call that Chihuahua your son?"

"Chimera, dear," the fat lady corrected. "Not a Chihuahua. It's an easy mistake to make."

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were sideways slits, like a reptile's.

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar. The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

Terror rose up inside my throat, nearly choking me as I scrambled to turn my necklace into a sword. There were still mortals there, so I didn't want to pull out Shaker. I'd have to go with only one sword this time.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA— RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS— IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS— EXT. 954.

I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honored, Astraea Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

I stared at her. All I could think to say was: "Isn't that a kind of anteater?"

She howled, her reptilian face turning brown and green with rage. "I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me. For that, Astraea Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.

I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.

I couldn't let them get hurt. I ran to the other side of the deck, and yelled, "Hey, Chihuahua!" The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible.

Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.

I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows. For once I was grateful for being forced to do the lava climbing wall at camp. At least I was mostly desensitized to being viciously burned now. I was hardly able to feel the mask fall off of my face. 

Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

Great, I thought. I just blow torched a national monument. I was pretty sure that was a felony. Did Missouri have the death penalty? Oh, fuck, it did. Riptide was a shining bronze blade in my hands, and as the Chimera turned, I slashed at its neck.

That was my fatal mistake. The blade sparked harmlessly off the dog collar. I tried to regain my balance, losing my sunglasses in the process, but I was so worried about defending myself against the fiery lion's mouth, I completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.

The pain was agonizing. My whole leg was on fire. I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.

As a last resort, I tried to pull out Shaker, but the Chimera wouldn't let me.

I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. I remembered Chiron saying that my swords would always return to me, but Riptide hadn't come back yet. 

I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips. The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"

The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten. I summoned up enough strength to glare at it contemptuously like it was some sort of insect.

Then a noise made me glance at the park ranger and the family. The little boy was hiding behind his father's legs. I had to protect these people. I couldn't just... die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. 

There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered.

If I died, would the monsters go away? Would they leave the humans alone?

"If you are truly the daughter of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Astraea Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

I was genuinely torn. I knew that hitting water from very high up was the same as hitting concrete, but still. Chiron had said that children of gods had control over their immortal parents' domains. And I was dying anyway.

The Chimera's mouth glowed red, heating up for another blast.

"You have no faith," Echidna told me. "You do not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. Better you die now. The gods are faithless. The poison is in your heart."

She was right: I was dying. I could feel my breath slowing down. Nobody could save me, not even the gods.

I backed up and looked down at the water. I'd never been afraid of heights, but staring down, knowing I was dead save for a miracle, made me nauseous. I remembered the warm glow of what could've been my father. My mom had taught me never to give up until you were outright dead. I couldn't disrespect her memory by not trying to do something to survive. My eyes darted frantically around the area, searching for a solution to my situation.

My eyes again went to water swirling beneath us. I remembered the swirling green trident that had appeared above my head the night of that fateful game of capture the flag, when Poseidon had claimed me as his daughter.

But this wasn't the sea. This was the Mississippi River, dead center of the USA. There was no Sea God here.

"Die, faithless one," Echidna rasped, and the Chimera was about to send a column of fire towards my face, but I reacted quickly and with the last of my strength, pulled out Shaker and stuck it through the Chimera's mouth. I didn't wait to see if both had dusted or if I'd even fully killed the Chimera.

With a final thought of both of my parents, I turned and jumped out of the Arch.

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

1.1 the enemy of my father is... also my enemy (allegedly)

warnings : cussing, monster attack (hey, there's a lot of those), allie doing something that will probably anger the gods (shocking, ik)

word count : 4.8k

1.1 Garden Gnomes are FREAKY and Anyone Who Says Otherwise is a LIAR

In some ways, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there. 

Mostly because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. 

For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck. When you're a half-blood, you understand that it's just some divine force that is really trying to fuck up your day and at the very least if it doesn't make you happier, it'll give you peace of mind because you're given a reason. 

So there we were, Luke, Grover, and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

I was pretty much in shock, myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Luke kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"Do you think anyone was hurt?" I worried. "What if someone got hurt?"

"Allie, Sweetheart, I get why you're upset," Luke said tensely, continuing to tug me through the trees. "But we need to focus on getting away from there. We have to keep ourselves safe first."

I bit my lip but nodded. He flashed me that smile that I really hated, the tender one that made my ears heat up even more than the infuriating, but somehow still charming, playboy one did.

"It was really brave, coming back to help us," he told me, releasing my wrist to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "You're doing all you can, I know, but focus on your safety before the others. You come first."

I gave him a weak smile in reply. "Yeah, well, you come first, too. Imagine what'd happen if the Stolls were left in charge of Cabin 11," I tried to joke. "There'd be nothing left."

He snorted and nodded, giving me a squeeze. The thunderstorm finally began to let up, and I sighed in relief, adjusting my backpack.

"Good call, getting us to keep our bags with us," I said tiredly to him. "We'd've been in trouble otherwise."

"Yeah, well. Been there, done that," he grimaced. My eyes flickered to the scar on his face.

"When you went on your quest?"

He stiffened slightly and I immediately regretted asking.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't have to—" I began but he cut me off with a mild head shake.

"No, actually. When Thalia, Annabeth and I were on the run, we didn't have a lot. Thank the gods I'm a natural thief, or we'd have starved long before the monsters got to us."

I didn't reply, simply nodding. He looked glad that I hadn't said anything, so I made it my job to keep my mouth shut for a while.

"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"

He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.

Instead of finding a path, I came close to slamming into a tree and getting a nice-size knot on my head.

"Sorry!" Grover yelped as I turned my death glare on him.

"I think you're trying to get Luke killed. I think busting my head open on a tree would classify as 'me getting hurt while on this quest,' especially to Clarisse," I said, trying to lessen some of the tension that had settled over the three of us. Thankfully, it worked and we were able to laugh even with all of the awful shit going on. 

"When we stop for the night we need to talk about something the Kindly Ones said back there," Luke told me after a few seconds. I frowned, but nodded. I had been a bit too busy fighting to pay attention to their shrieking. I was kind of impressed he'd been able to figure out what they'd been saying, their voices were so shrill.

After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized suddenly that I was starving. I didn't know why, considering Katie, Silena, Nessa, and Clarisse had forced me to eat breakfast, so I knew I shouldn't be that hungry. The more I thought about it, the more the feeling went away.

Either way, we kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a '90s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.

It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I was thinking. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and random stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was almost impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English. I knew if I sat down and stared at it for a while I'd figure it out, but we didn't have that extra time.

To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.

"What the hell does that say?" I asked.

"Don't ask me," Luke shrugged. He cocked his head to the side and squinted, like that would somehow help him make out the cursive.

Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."

Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly, freaky, bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.

I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers. Even if the feeling of hunger had mostly gone away, we could still stock up for later.

"Hey..." Grover warned.

"The lights are on inside," Luke pointed out. "Maybe it's open."

"Snack bar. We can stock up on food for later," I said.

"Snack bar," he wistfully agreed.

"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."

We ignored him.

The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.

"Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

We stopped at the warehouse door.

"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."

"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Luke dismissed him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"

"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."

Luke ignored that. 

Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman— at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.

Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"

"They're... um..." I started to say.

"We got separated," Luke lied smoothly. "Our bus caught on fire a few miles back. We panicked and ran, but we got lost in the forest. We smelt your food and were hoping we'd found a Burger King or something."

"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."

We thanked her and went inside.

"Good cover," I whispered to Luke. 

He flashed me a smug grin. "I know," he muttered back. "I'm a genius. Oscar-worthy. You have a few don't you? But please, no autographs."

I scoffed and hit him on the arm. "You're such an ass... but yes, if you must know, I have four. And all of the others— by, like, over 20 years, I'm the youngest person to ever achieve EGOT status," I informed him as we entered the room.

"Wait, you're right, I should be the one asking you that. Then I could sell it on eBay and get a shitton of mon—" My glare cut him off. "Never mind."

The warehouse was filled with more statues— people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. 

Go ahead, call me an idiot for being impulsive. Sue me. But, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas or something— it made everything else go away. I did, however, notice Grover's nervous whimpers, and the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, but I didn't notice the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.

And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front. Luke groaned at the sight. Grover shifted anxiously behind us.

"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.

"Thank you for your hospitality," I said, taking the polite route, one that wasn't used very often.

"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "We don't have any money, ma'am."

Before I could interject and pull out my credit card, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice children who have been through such a terrifying day."

"Thank you, ma'am," Luke said with a charming grin on his face. 

She waved him off. "Quite alright, Luke," she replied, before she disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. My head shot up to look at her, but she wouldn't look back at me. Though, there was a weird... strain about it. Like she had to force herself to keep from looking at me.

Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and XXL servings of French fries. 

I only ate a few fries before packing up the rest. If Aunty M found this at all weird or concerning, she didn't say it. Luke was very passionate about his burger and I don't think he remembered to breathe until halfway through.

I sipped at the chocolate shake Aunty Em had given me.

Grover picked at the fries, like I had, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.

"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.

I listened, but didn't hear anything. Luke shook his head.

"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."

"I take vitamins. For my ears."

"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."

She'd said Grover's name, too, I realized. Had we said our names when we walked in? I couldn't remember for sure.

Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, but since I didn't eat much it didn't make me feel as weirded out as I would've been. 

"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested instead of uncomfortable. I was starting to get a weird vibe, or at least a vibe that started a while ago, but was only intensifying. If I could get some information out of her I might feel less... on edge.

"Oh, yes," Aunty Em nodded. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."

"You get a lot of business on this road?" I didn't mean for it to come out rude, but even to me, it sounded bratty. 

"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."

My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.

"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."

"You make these statues yourself?" I asked. 

I swear to the gods...

"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." 

The sadness in her voice was convincing, but not to the girl who'd been an actress all her life. It was real, but not 'oh my sisters are gone' sadness, more a 'feel sympathy for me you naive children' sadness. 

... If you are who I think you are...

Even Luke had stopped eating. I sat forward and asked, "Two sisters?"

"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Allie, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually, they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."

... You trick ass bitch. 

"Luke? Maybe we should go," I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. I had to shake him in order to get his attention. "Our parents are probably looking for us."

He looked at me confused, while Grover started to chew on the wax paper. I could hear my own heart beating. 

"You look so, so like my beloved," she whispered, reaching out to stroke my cheek. I flinched away before she could. She didn't seem offended, for some reason. "Cut some of that pretty hair, bulk up or just make yourself less petite and womanly and you'd look exactly like him..."

"We really should go!" I stood abruptly, trying to drag Luke along with me. 

"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "Our parents are waiting! Right!"

But Luke didn't want to get up. He even tried pulling me back to my seat, but I kept my feet planted. 

"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"

"A pose?" I asked warily.

"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."

I shifted my weight from foot to foot. I didn't want to go, but I felt like it was the only option. Luke wouldn't go with us, whatever she put in the food she gave us was obviously working. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Luke—"

"Of course we'll stay," Luke agreed. I don't think he even realized he'd spoken until the words were out of his mouth. He was snapping out of it. That was good. "It's just a photo, Allie. What's the harm? You're a model. Don't you take, like, hundreds every day?"

"Yes, Allie," the woman purred. "No harm."

I didn't like it, but I let myself get dragged to the back. Again, call me stupid all you want, I deserve it. But I thought there might be another exit back there or maybe we could find another way to escape before she turned us to stone.

Oh yeah, for those of you who haven't quite caught up with your Greek Mythology, this is Medusa. Get it? Aunty Em— Aunty 'M.'

She directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young lady in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."

"Not much light for a photo," Luke remarked. I was trying to telepathically speak to him, since now he was starting to see something about this was wrong. SOS! We need to get the hell out of dodge! Now!

"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.

Medusa stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"

Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."

"Grover," she chastised, "look this way, dear." She still had no camera in her hands.

"Luke—" I said.

"You know ma'am, Allie and Grover are right," Luke suddenly said. "We really should be going. Our parents must be frantic by now, after all."

"I will just be a moment," Medusa said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."

"Oh, I really think we should go." I began to stand up.

"Why?" She said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Don't leave yet, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"

"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.

"Look away from her!" I shouted. I managed to slip Annabeth's Yankees cap out of Luke's back pocket and onto his head and then I pushed them both to the sides. I heard one of Grover's hooves against the ground, so one of his shoes had to have fallen off, but I couldn't see Luke, so I'd succeeded in helping them.

Now I had the problem of getting myself out of trouble. Which was now very bad, considering she had no veil on and was right in front of me. I kept my eyes glued to my shoes. 

Her gnarled hands grabbed me, giving me no choice but to stay there and not look at her face. She started rocking me back and forth, like a mother trying to console their child, but her grip was strong and her nails were digging into my arms.

"I didn't tell the whole of my story, dear Astraea," she said 'dear' with so much loathing I almost recoiled in fear. "You see, after I was cursed by Athena, I expected my lover to stand by me. To help me and my sisters, who had done nothing wrong. After all, I was in her temple on his request, and I was pregnant with his children. But he didn't help us," her voice grew dark.

"That's not my fault," I cried, voice strained and tears pricking at my eyes, but she only continued. 

"Instead, he abandoned us to our fate, uncaring of our suffering. And we were attacked by heroes," she spat the word contemptuously. "Who sought to eliminate the monsters. My sisters were killed, as they did not share my power to turn people to stone and so could not defend themselves, and I was left alone with nothing but my statues until the accursed Perseus killed me. It's all your father's fault! He and Athena! But I cannot get revenge on him, so I will settle for—"

Think of the most impulsive thing you've ever seen someone do. Now take that and multiply it by like... I don't know... 50? They still wouldn't come close to the level of impulsiveness I had acted on. 

She'd let go of one of my arms to caress my face. I don't know who gave me the thought process I had in order for me to do it, but I did it. And it was pretty badass if I do say so myself. 

Just before she touched my face, I closed my eyes shut and kicked my leg out which just enough force to knock her to the ground. She let go of me and I ran. My first thought was to find Luke, get Grover, and book it out of there, but then Luke found me first. Medusa let out a cry of outrage at the same time I almost screamed a lung out of my body. 

Still invisible, Luke had grabbed me and pulled me behind a few stone statues, pressing me up against the wall and putting his hand over my mouth to keep the scream contained. As soon as we were out of her line of sight, Luke took the cap off and let me go. 

"You have to cut her head off."

"What? Why can't we just get the hell out of here?"

"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. We can't let her continue to live, turning innocent people into stone for her own amusement. I'd kill her myself, but you have the better weapon. Weapons."

I bit my lip but nodded in acceptance. Luke was right. If we didn't stop Medusa, she'd just keep killing people. My heart clenched as I glanced at a body (I couldn't think of them as statues anymore. It seemed too disrespectful to her victims). It was a young girl scout with her mother. The little girl was missing one of her front teeth.

"Okay," I agreed, voice barely a whimper. "But how will I see her? None of us have shields."

Luke grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "Use this," he ordered me. "It's not as good as a polished shield, but it'll do."

"You know!" Medusa screamed out in her rage as she finally got up. "I'd hate destroying a pretty face like your's, Allie, but what better way to get revenge? I turn you to stone and destroy your statue. Kill daddy's little princess twice over. A pretty face for a pretty face! How does that sound?"

Then Grover also took a slice of the impulsive cake. 

There was a wild battle cry and I glanced at another of the reflective sphere things. The sight shocked me. Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat, was racing for Medusa. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by his ears and nose alone.

"I'll get her!" He yelled. I let out a moan of horror, making to run and join the fight. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and knock himself out.

Thwack!

At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. Then Medusa roared with rage.

"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!"

"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back.

I scrambled away and hid behind another person to peek carefully at the scene while Grover ran in for another pass.

Ker-whack!

"Go, Grover," I muttered.

"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting.

"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere near us. "I think she's unconscious!"

"Roooaaarrr!"

"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.

I pressed the diamond of my necklace and turned it into Riptide. Thank the gods it didn't make a noise, otherwise, I'd have been pretty screwed. 

Then I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair. I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I could only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green-tinted glass, I saw her.

Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he swung a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and threw him roughly away from her with unnatural strength. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"

Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled a panicked, "Hey!"

I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself. But she let me approach— twenty feet, ten feet.

"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Allie," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't. What would Mommy think of such behavior?"

I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass— the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak. But then I got an idea. Let her think she has the upper hand.

From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Allie, don't listen to her!"

Medusa cackled. "Too late."

She lunged at me with her talons. I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening shlock! then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern— the sound of a monster disintegrating. Something fell to the ground next to my foot. I jumped away, just in time to keep my shoes from getting permanently destroyed. 

"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."

Luke came up next to me, his eyes fixed on the sky. He was holding Medusa's black veil. "Don't move," he instructed me.

"I know."

Very, very carefully, without looking down, he knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.

"I knew you could do it," he grinned at me. "I trained you after all." 

I scoffed. "Oh, please. That was pure, natural talent. You trained me for a few days. You don't get the credit." I glanced at the covered head with a grimace. I felt queasy looking at it. "Why didn't the head evaporate?"

"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," he explained. "Same as your Minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."

"Right," I breathed. Grover trotted up to us, a large red knot forming in the middle of his forehead. "Good work, G," I told him appreciatively. "You were definitely more useful than that one over there." I jerked my thumb at Luke, who gave me a look of mocking offense.

"That hurts Angel, it really does," he pouted jokingly. "Here I was trying to give you some real-life experience, and you mock me." He shook his head sadly and I chuckled.

"That really was not fun, though," Grover announced. "Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun."

"You didn't enjoy crashing into solid stone?" I deadpanned. "Shocking. What do we do with the head?"

"Let me check the office," Luke decided. "See if I find some inspiration." I sat down tiredly, letting him go and search. He came out a few minutes later, with two more paper bags, a box, some tape, extra drachmas and, best of all, a slip of paper with an address on it in Ancient Greek. DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. The Underworld's billing address.

"Awesome," I breathed, taking it from him. "Luke, I could literally kiss you right now."

He brightened, suddenly in my personal space. "I'll take you up on that," he declared.

My eyes narrowed before I grabbed his collar and pulled him down to my level. Then I briefly skimmed my lips across his cheek. Grover choked in the background as I pulled back before Luke managed to do anything.

"Never let it be said that I don't do what I say," I whispered in his ear before stepping away and starting to wrap the head up more securely. Luke gaped at me, looking bewildered as I taped the box shut, head double-wrapped inside.

Then I scribbled on the top of it. 

Now, remember earlier when I said I did the most impulsive thing anyone's ever done? Yeah, that situation's about to happen again.

But I was mad and furious at being called a thief and this experience did not make me feel much better. 

Lord Zeus,

Mount Olympus,

600th Floor,

Empire State Building,

New York, NY,

With best wishes,

Astraea Jackson

P.S. I was in Philly while your bolt was getting stolen. Lucky for you, I'm a nice person and am willing to find it and return it to you. 

If you could kindly hop off my ass, that'd be great. Have a nice day :)

"He's not going to like that," Grover warned. "He'll think you're impertinent."

I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!

"Yeah, well, I am impertinent," I told them both, crossing my arms over my chest. Luke was still gaping at me, but now it was because of two impulsive things I'd done. "Come on," I ordered. "We need a new plan."

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.9 answering your mystical call

warnings : cussing, allie has a bit of a mental breakdown, she's also pretty cynical this whole chapter

word count : 5.6k

0.9 Cliff Richard's Devil Woman is Usually My Song, but This Time Its Warning Probably Should've Been Heeded 

At that moment I could officially say I loved all of my friends. As soon as the trident faded they shook out of their collective stupors, circled around me, and led me away from the other campers. Each person had a hand on me, bringing my on-autopilot body through the woods. 

I came back to myself as I felt my gag reflex kicking in. I pushed myself away from them and leaned against the nearest tree, throwing up the contents in my stomach. Luke walked over and held my hair back for me. 

His earlier words about children of the Big Three gods being too powerful kept repeating themselves in my mind. I didn't know my own strength.

And that thought terrified me. 

They took me to the infirmary, where we'd be able to stay together for the whole night, just in case something happened. I'd need to go there anyway, considering I couldn't stop hyperventilating, but my friends were amazing and I knew they wouldn't leave me alone. 

I puked a few more times before midnight and finally felt like I couldn't anymore a few minutes before Chiron came to check on us. My heart hadn't stopped pounding, though, so I didn't really feel any better by the time he left.

I calmed down around one, thanks to the help of everyone. Once I had, everyone made sure to steer clear of the topic of my father. Instead, we talked about random things. I didn't want them staying up just for me, but they'd insisted. I was thankful for that, though, because there were a few moments where I wasn't thinking about my parentage and the danger my life created. 

We'd all ended up passing out a little before four. I woke up right at 5, made sure everyone was okay, then tried to go back to sleep. The last thing I remember was curling up to Luke's side and then the nightmare hit me. 

I was standing on the beach again, but this time it wasn't outside my beach house. There was a city behind me, but I couldn't decide which one it was. I thought Miami at first, but that didn't seem quite right. 

The wind picked up and I found myself running across the sand. Trying to do what? I don't know. All I knew was I had to get there. 

I didn't notice where I was running and when I looked up from my feet I saw two men fighting about a hundred yards away from me. When I say fighting, I don't mean like... a few punches and then done, like some of the fights that broke out during my time in high school. I mean all out wrestling; on the ground, punching, kicking. Whatever they could do, they did. 

They stopped for a second, stood, and stared at each other before going back at it. They looked like TV wrestlers, but with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one lined with blue, the other with green. They grappled furiously with each other, wrestling, kicking and headbutting each other. Every time that they connected with each other, lightning flashed, the sky grew even darker, and the wind rose. Not to mention the waves from the sea grew and would completely cover my feet before retreating back. 

I thought it was the large waves that made it much harder for me to run towards them, but then I realized it was because I was running in slow motion. Something was pulling me back every time I tried to run forward. I settled for yelling, instead.

"Stop! Stop fighting," I yelled as my feet dug helplessly in the sand. The force was getting stronger, I could feel myself getting pulled backward. I don't know how, but I knew I had to stop them. It was the only reason I was trying so hard to run. 

Laughter sounded from somewhere beneath the earth, and a voice, ancient, powerful and full of evil, spoke. It just made me struggle even more. 

"Come down, little heroine," the voice purred, making my blood turn cold from fear. "Come down!"

The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down into the center of the earth. I slipped and started to fall into the darkness.

I bolted upright and immediately surveyed my surroundings. I was still in the infirmary and everyone was still there. All asleep, so at least I didn't wake anyone up from my nightmare.

"You okay?" 

Spoke too soon.

"Yeah," I replied, clearing my throat. "Yeah, just a nightmare. Nothing to worry about."

"Well, I am worried. You kinda scared m— us last night," Luke said, a look of concern covering his face. His blue eyes only proving that point even further. Seriously, who gave him the right to have such blue eyes? It should be illegal. 

"The first day I was here, at least when I was fully conscious, you told me a child of Poseidon once killed over a hundred people with an earthquake. How do I know I won't do that?" I felt tears pool my eyes, but I refused to let them loose. I had to look away from Luke, though. 

"Hey," he said gently. "Hey, look at me. You won't."

"How are you so sure? If I can do it, how will I learn how to control it? I don't have anyone to teach me and I barely trust myself."

"Allie, it's going to be fine. I promise. Stop focusing on the negatives."

"There aren't that many positives for me to focus on instead, Luke."

"Then don't think about it at all." He put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled my head down to his chest, laying me down once more. 

A loud banging interrupted our moment and woke up most of the others. I guess it was pretty hard to be a light sleeper whenever you're a demigod. And whoever was knocking seemed really eager to talk to us. 

"Oh, joy. Maybe it's someone coming to tell me I'm about to be executed because I'm alive," I commented bluntly. 

Luke glared at me and got up to answer the door. Silena squinted her eyes at me, so to keep her from going all Aphrodite on me, I shook my head. What it was supposed to mean, I don't quite know, but apparently Silena did, because she relaxed.

"You're not gonna get executed, Angel," Luke said, speaking while still walking towards the door. Silena's eye squinting was back. "The gods love pretty faces too much to get rid of yours." 

My jaw dropped and the squinting intensified. 

Luke opened the door just in time for Grover's fist to smash into his face. I burst out laughing along with the others, my mood significantly improved by the scene.

"Ow! Grover, what in Tartarus?" Luke complained, holding his now bruising cheek. "Oh, thanks so much for your help, Allie," he added as I continued to chuckle, holding my sides. 

I waved him off, regaining my breath with effort. "Don't worry about it," I choked out. He made a face, as Grover waved both his arms, struggling to catch his own breath as he did so.

"Allie needs," he gasped out. "Go to Big House. Now."

That did the trick. My smirk disappeared and I felt as if I was going to get sick again. Everyone's laughing ceased. Luke also tensed, his jaw tightening as he glanced back at me, offering his hand. I held onto it like a lifeline as we headed to the Big House.

It felt like everyone was staring at me as we passed. Annabeth was surrounded by several of her siblings, sneering at me as I hurried past. I kept my eye on the big house, but kept my chin in the air.

"Sea spawn," one of them muttered. I arched an eyebrow slightly.

"Oh, don't tell me they all suddenly hate me because of the Athena-Poseidon feud," I muttered to Luke after leaving earshot. 

He answered as he frowned over his shoulder at them. I heard Malcolm telling them to cut it out and tried getting them to walk away. 

"Don't ask me to explain the sense," Luke instructed me. "I've never seen the point in fighting our parents' arguments, but most do, unfortunately."

I scowled. "Great, that's just what I need," I sulked. He gave me a quick hug as we darted up the porch steps of the Big House.

Thunder rumbled as we rounded the corner. We all stopped to stare at the cloud creeping over our home in shock and dismay.

"How's that possible?" I asked tensely. "Katie told me that Camp has magic controlling its weather."

Luke licked his lips nervously. "The gods must be angry," he replied in a strained voice.

"Huh," I muttered sarcastically. "I wonder why." He gave me a forced smile.

I swallowed and dusted off my Nike shorts. I could see various campers huddled together and whispering. No doubt all of them had figured out the cause of the gods' anger. Not that it was hard to figure out in the first place.

"Well hurry up," Mr. D demanded grumpily, attracting our attention. "We haven't got all day you know."

We headed over to the table, and while Luke leaned against the railing with his arms crossed, the same way he had almost a week ago when I first woke up, and Grover pulled out a pack of cards to eat anxiously, I crossed my arms and stared at them. I raised my chin and took on the stubborn expression that had pissed my step-father off to no end. It would, no doubt, make Mr. D. feel the same way.

"What don't we have all day for?" I was sure I sounded very petulant, but I was too stressed to care. 

Too fucking glam to give a damn, I thought, then actually listened to my predicament. 

Chiron gave me a sympathetic smile, gesturing to the chair opposite him. I actually respected Chiron, so I felt the need to listen to what he was saying. With my pissed off expression, and crossed arms, I'm sure that I looked more like how people would expect me to act— a prima donna. I normally would've hated it— I despised the stereotypes that came with my career— but sometimes it helped. Sometimes. 

Mr. D narrowed his purple eyes at me. "Don't expect me to go bowing to you just because old Barnacle Beard is your father," he warned me. The sky rumbled dangerously and he gave it a contemptuous look. "Blah, blah, blah," he grumbled. "If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in as I shifted vigilantly and Luke tensed.

"Nonsense," Dionysus scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. "The girl wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself and now I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead. Send you back to your father and still not have to worry about you."

"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," Dionysus yielded. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolish." Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the girl is still here when I get back, I'll turn her into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Astraea Jackson, if you're at all intelligent, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."

Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass. He snapped his fingers. He disappeared in the same way he had when he first talked to me, the smell of grapes lingered once again.

Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, boys, please." 

They did, tension radiating from all of us. I leaned forward and rested my head on my hands.

Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use. "Tell me, Allie," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"

I tilted my head, trying to remember how I felt. "I'm not sure. I know it scared me," I admitted frankly. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead. And I know I would've died if Will and Luke hadn't put me further in the water."

"You'll meet worse, Allie. Far worse, before you're done." 

Luke wrapped an arm protectively around my shoulders, and I was infinitely grateful for his support.

"... Done with what?"

"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"

I glanced to my sides at Grover, who was crossing his fingers, and Luke, who's expression had darkened exponentially. He looked like only his deep respect for Chiron was keeping him yelling at the top of his lungs. Luke had been the last person to go on a quest, according to Clarisse, Katie, Nessa, and Silena. Something had happened, earning him the scar that spun above his eyebrow to his cheekbone, but since they didn't know from what, I didn't, either.

"Uh." I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling sick again. "You haven't told me what it is yet."

Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."

Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.

"Poseidon and Zeus," I ventured warily. "They're fighting over something valuable... something's been stolen and they're fighting over it, aren't they?"

The others exchanged looks.

Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair, a grim look on his face, mixed with something I couldn't decipher. "How did you know that?"

My face turned red. I wished I hadn't opened my mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been... weird. Like the sea and the sky are... I don't know, fighting. Then I talked to Katie, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And..." I paused here, trying to figure out how best to say it. "I've also been having these dreams."

"I knew it!" Grover exclaimed. Luke cursed, shoving away from the table and starting to pace. I bit my lip in worry.

"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered. "Luke, calm down."

"But it is her quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"

"It's too dangerous!" Luke countered, throwing his hands in the air. "She hasn't even been training for a week! She could get killed, I can't believe you two are even suggesting this. It's crazy."

Chiron gave them both a scolding look. "She's been training for many years, you forget. She's a talented girl who's had a special life. Only the Oracle can determine whether it is Allie's quest or not." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Allie, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

I laughed nervously. "I dearly hope you don't mean Zeus' lightning bolt," I said, hoping— but knowing— I was wrong.

"I mean exactly that," Chiron informed. "The whole two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."

"Uh-huh." I felt weaker than I had in a while and more frightened than ever. I really didn't like where this talk of Zeus' missing lightning bolt and a quest was going. Nowhere good, at the very least.

"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, trying to get the point across. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."

"Right. And it's been stolen?"

"Yes," Chiron said.

"By who?"

"By whom," Chiron corrected. I gave him a look. "By you."

My temper flared. I wouldn't let my jaw drop, so I ended up clenching my teeth, making myself look more intimidating than I wanted. I'd seen myself in the mirror too many times while I was angry, so I didn't even have to see myself to know my face darkened. 

"At least"— Chiron held up a hand to stop the defense that was on the tip of my tongue— "that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best', 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' et cetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot steal another god's symbol of power directly— that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."

"And he assumes I'm the one he used?"

"Precisely, however—" Chiron raised a hand to keep me from interrupting— "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his daughter. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."

"First off," I said with an attitude, "I'm in New York 80% of the time. I was born there. I grew up there. That is where I live. That is, therefore, not proof. Second off, I actually wasn't even in New York at all during the Christmas Holidays." 

Chiron raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I've been filming scenes for a T.V. show I'm doing. We only finished filming a few weeks ago, and the director used my winter holiday as an excuse to keep me in front of the camera longer. Filming was in Philadelphia, a good two hours away from Manhattan, where I spent practically all of my holiday. I know for a fact I spent a majority of the day, and well into the night, of the winter solstice in front of a large camera and stage lights. Does Zeus know that? Furthermore, you should've known that, as I had to leave a day early to get to Philly and was a whole two days late coming back to school. My mom had to drive down to see me for Christmas." 

He studied me for a moment and ultimately ignored the sass I gave him. "I suppose you're right. Perhaps Zeus is just paranoid. Though, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before—"

"Not that that's my problem. But it was the golden net, right?" I guessed, thinking of the different stories I knew to figure out which was most likely. This seemed to be the best fit. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods trapped Zeus in one and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler."

"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along— the proverbial last straw."

"Oh, yes, because it's my fault I was born," I hissed bitterly. I glared darkly at the sky, cursing men in general but avoiding using Zeus' name so as not to be blasted into pieces. "Did he steal it?" I suddenly asked. "I mean, it doesn't seem likely. Why would he? And why now? But, I don't know, did he?"

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I had hopes that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has ignited Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Allie?" 

I took my best guess, not feeling the need to be dramatic. "The world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight. How close did I get?"

"Spot-on," Chiron said, not shocked in the slightest at my knowledge. He never was; he always assumed I knew the answer, so he had no reason to be. "And you, Astraea Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus' wrath."

It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky. Luke came over to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders in solidarity.

I had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me. I had never been so angry. "So I have to find the damn bolt," I huffed. "And return it to Zeus."

"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the daughter of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"

"One minor problem," I pointed out. "I don't know where the damn thing is."

"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago... well, some of the lines make sense to me now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."

"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"

"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."

I laughed, but it had no amusement behind it. "Fair enough."

"You agree then?"

I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly. Luke squeezed my shoulders in silent support. I squared my shoulders. I'd learned long ago that screaming about fairness did nothing.

"All right, fine," I said, flipping my braids back over my shoulders. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."

"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Allie, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."

Very encouraging. And cheerful, too. Gotta love millennia-old centaurs.

Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trapdoor.

I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place. The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else... a smell I remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.

I gave another of those dry, unamused laughs before climbing. 

The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS. One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things—severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969. All this stuff would've made the Camp millions if it was sold on eBay to those Internet Freaks™.

By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long time.

Looking at her sent chills up my back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

I grimaced at the ominous command, but I still obeyed.

The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely not human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.

After debating the right way to say it, I gave up and asked the bluntest question that would still give me what I needed, "How do I find Zeus' bolt?"

The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was my ex-stepfather Gabe at a poker party with his buddies.

My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of the mist.

Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.

His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.

The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend.

Finally, a guy I recognized dimly as Eddie, our old building super, delivered the worst line of all: And it shall begin, in the end.

The figures began to dissolve. At first, I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I came back to my senses. I wanted to ask more questions, but something told me I wouldn't get them answered. 

The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been opened in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.

;

"Well?" Chiron asked me as soon as he saw my face reappear in the door.

Luke didn't say anything, but he offered me a glass of water. I accepted it gratefully. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"

"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."

"You shall go west and face the god who has turned, and you will find what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover declared, looking gleeful. Easy for him, he wasn't responsible for saving the world before becoming an adult.

Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"

I didn't want to tell him. Who would betray me? I didn't know, and I didn't want to hurt any of my friends by claiming that someone they cared for would be a traitor.

And the last line— the first thing that came to my mind was war. I'd fail to stop the war in the end? What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh, by the way, you'll fail? How could I confess that? How could I tell them it was all hopeless? I used my acting face. I could hide my darkest secrets just by using that face, so I knew it'd be hard for Chiron to pull more information out of me, no matter how good he was. 

"No," I said, tilting my head to make it seem like I was thinking about the two lines. "That's all it said."

I knew he knew I was holding something back, but he didn't say anything. I'd managed to convince him, just enough. 

"Very well, Allie. But know this: The Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

"Okay," I agreed, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"

"Ah, think, Allie," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?" 

I thought for a moment and then chose the god he was most likely thinking of. "Hades?" I guessed. Personally, I didn't get it. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't feel like Hades was the type. 

Chiron nodded and spoke, regaining my drifting attention. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."

Fury and grief flashed over Luke's face and he clenched his fists tightly. Hades, I remembered, had been the one to send the horde of monsters that overwhelmed and killed Thalia on the hill six years ago. Luke probably despised the Lord of the Dead more than any other immortal.

A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh- what?"

"A Fury came after Allie," Chiron reminded him. "She watched her until she was sure of her identity, then tried to kill her. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but— but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Allie is a daughter of Poseidon—"

"That still doesn't tell us how he got the Bolt in the first place," Luke added, his jaw tense. "He still needed a hero to steal it."

"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Allie to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill her before she can take on the quest."

"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."

"But a quest to..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in someplace like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Allie must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

"What if it isn't him though?" I asked. 

Chiron looked patiently at me as I struggled to think. I had trouble putting my thoughts into words. I understood it, but I didn't think they would.

"He just doesn't... ugh." I hated words. "I can't just... you don't have any proof against Hades, do you? If you did, you'd have taken it to Zeus. What if your hunch is wrong, and Hades doesn't have it? There isn't time to search all of America, but guessing is just as bad! I'm not about to start World War III because of a guess!"

That rage from earlier was making its way back into my veins and it was all I could do to keep it from taking over. 

"Allie, I know that this is far more pressure than you should have ever had to bear," Chiron told me gently. He reached out, grasping my hand as he spoke. "But I am not just choosing you for this quest because of your parentage, I'm choosing you because I have faith that you can succeed in this. You're strong, and a survivor. You can do this."

Curse him for knowing some of my past traumas that I'd promised myself I'd never let bring me down again.

"Going to the Underworld isn't just a hunch, Allie," Luke added, turning our hug into a side-embrace so he was still holding me while we faced the others. "We know that you'll find the Bolt in the west, so we just need to go in that direction. And it is we," he insisted firmly before I even had the chance to speak. "Go without me, and I'll sneak out after you. I'm helping, whether you like it or not, got it?" That was good because he was the first person I would've asked to go with me.

"And me too!" Grover declared, looking utterly terrified. "And it's not about the license. It's 'cause you're my friend, and I'm not letting you go into danger without me to help."

I smirked confidently. I had a team and Chiron knew it, if the smile on his face was anything to go by. It was genuine. He had complete faith in us. I squared my shoulders and tilted my chin up. The ultimate red-carpet look. 

"When do we leave?"

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.8 smooth like butter

warnings : sword fighting, blood, monster attack, cussing

word count : 4.1k

0.8 My Armor for Capture the Flag is, as BTS Would Say, Smooth like Butter

In just a few days I was able to make a routine for myself. I thanked the gods (which was weird the first few times I said it) for all of the movie training stuff I had to do because it prepared me for all the training the kids at Camp Half-Blood did. 

I was super good at archery, but only because I'd had two years of practice, so when Luke mentioned I might be Apollo's child, I had to tell him I was awful when I first started. Like, my arrow would hit many feet away from the target awful. Since I was pretty good with a regular bow and crossbow, Will Solace took that time to teach me first aid after a few minutes of hitting bullseyes. 

Clarisse taught me hand-to-hand combat, which I loved. While I'd had many good teachers, she was the child of the god of war; she was one of the best. She corrected a few mistakes I made and showed me the best ways to take someone down. I could hold my own for a while, but soon had to face the facts; I might've been 5'10", but I only weighed 115 pounds. Clarisse had to go pretty easy when we fought because otherwise, she would snap me like a twig. I'd win a few, but I was always pretty sure she had let me win them. 

Malcolm taught me Ancient Greek for about two and a half hours a day. Normally Annabeth would be the one teaching new campers, but since she made her hatred for me obvious, Malcolm had volunteered. I was glad about that, though, because even if he did hate me, he kept it to himself. Plus, he was good at helping me understand a few of the phrases that didn't quite make sense. He was quite shocked that I was a quick learner, even if our brains were hardwired for Ancient Greek instead of English. 

However, the moment I really excelled in was sword fighting. I'd even excelled at it when I was first starting a few years ago. I was one of my favorite things to do, even before knowing I was a demigod. Luke, who was the instructor, made a joke about letting me use two swords, like I did in a few of my movies, but it actually became a reality when I'd agreed to it. 

The swords I'd been given weren't very balanced, but I'd learned to deal with it. To be honest, even when I was first learning, those swords hadn't been balanced, either, so fighting with them was pretty much just business as usual. 

Since I already knew the basics, Luke told me to go ahead and show him what I knew. Our fight had ended up lasting almost ten minutes (Travis and Connor timed it) and only ended when I managed to disarm him. He seemed less shocked and more impressed than anything and made me his assistant teacher on the spot. 

Other than that, whenever we all had the same break times, Silena, Katie, Nessa, Clarisse, and I would go out to the beach and gossip. Not that we were a group of the biggest gossip girls to ever grace the Earth, but damn we could talk some shit. 

Katie would braid my hair every morning, while Silena would either pain my nails or help her. Clarisse always had a morning workout, so she wasn't able to attend the early morning gossip sessions we had. Nessa, however, would just do her regular conditioning as we all talked. 

Because Danny was a control freak, he had started waking me up at five in the morning every single day in order to get ready for the day ahead. I learned to deal with it after a few months and now it was something I did without him needing to wake me up. There were very few days I woke up with it not being 5 on the dot. This, however, helped out a lot when it came to spending time with my new friends. Silena and Nessa always had to get up early so they could do their hair and makeup and everything and Katie always had to get up early in order to tend to the strawberries. Our schedules almost always aligned, so we got to know each other super quickly. 

Even though the four of us looked tiny, the people who knew us really well knew we could easily take down most of our opponents. Whenever I thought about it, I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone ever thought of Aphrodite or Demeter's children as weak.

I'd mentioned this one early morning as Katie finished up the second dutch braid for my hair and Silena was clipping off the acrylics she'd put on last week in order for her to put on new ones. Nessa was nearby, complaining about the push-ups her trainer made her do. They'd all rolled their eyes and scoffed simultaneously. 

"You know, I blame the Athena cabin," Katie finally grumbled. "Normally, a child of Athena's fatal flaw is hubris, so they think they're better than everyone. Not all of them; most are awesome. Like Malcolm and Whitney, for example, they're awesome and not total buzzkills. But then there's Annabeth." 

We all scoffed that time, then laughed at the sync. 

"Chiron and Luke spoil the crap out of her, always have," Silena chimed in. "And she's always whining about how awful her father and stepmother were to her. Apparently, they were so bad she had to run away at seven, and trust, plenty of us come from bad homes, way worse than hers, but the way Annabeth talks, you'd think her parents paying more attention to their newborn twins than to her was the same as beating her with a belt. And honestly, you can hardly blame them for being upset by monsters attacking their home, not that it happened often." 

"Remember when her father asked her to come back like... 2 years ago?" Nessa asked, finishing the last of her workout and coming to sit beside us. 

Silena nodded with another eye roll as she began applying new nails on top of my own. "Okay, so her father's a history professor and doesn't have a lot of time as it is, but he sent her a letter a while ago with his college ring in it asking her to come back."

"She was all dramatic about it," Katie continued, taking the talking stick. "Complained and whined and only gave in when Chiron and Luke pressed her to give him a chance. She stayed for maybe a month. Called twice saying she wanted to be picked up. The first time it was only because she wasn't getting enough attention and when Chiron told her she could only leave if she got attacked she called back a few days later saying she had, by a hellhound. She demanded she be picked up immediately and complained for days after the fact. By the way, I hope you like gold and white, because that's what I brought."

"I don't care. Have at it," I assured her. "She just didn't like me before I'd even said a word. And I'm not very patient, but I was with her and she still didn't like me. Said something about me being too obsessed with myself and then said we'd get along great because of it."

"Oh, yeah," Katie said, finishing my hair and moving to sit in front of me beside Silena. "I heard about that. Apparently, she went to Chiron and said some stuff about you, but he didn't believe it and it's like the only time he ever said no to her. She was all pressed about it and wouldn't leave her cabin for dinner."

"I was wondering why I couldn't feel her negativity while I was eating." I paused for a moment. "Not that I wanted it, but like... it was kind of weird." 

We laughed as Silena finished my right hand and moved to start my left. 

"Anyways, enough about the annoying child. Word around camp is you are a pretty good shot and incredible with a sword. Not to mention you keep Clarisse on her toes. What's your secret, Barbie?" Katie said, still calling me the name she had jokingly called me when we were talking about my awful choice of careers. 

"She's a fuckin' boss bitch, that's her secret," Nessa said, laughing to herself. "Trust me, I'd know."

"Oh, shut up, Ness. Most of the time I do really... I don't know, physical roles. So, I like playing superheroes and characters that generally have a lot of stunts. I don't know if you know, but I've never had a stunt double. Because of that, I have to get a lot of skills your average person doesn't really need. Archery and sword fighting, for example. I only know how to do those things because I had to learn how to for a role." 

Katie and Silena nodded. Nessa gave them a pointed look. "Oh, look. My point still stands."

I rolled my eyes, then finally realized Silena had just finished my nails. "Ooh, I love them. Thanks, Sil."

"No prob," she replied and we carried on with our conversation until we all had to leave to do our scheduled training. 

I actually didn't need to head to the arena for sword fighting for another half hour, so I went and sat by the fire and posted a few tweets so people wouldn't think I was dead. Twitter users are... dramatic, to say the least. And then I didn't have anything to do. My thoughts wandered back to my mother and where she was now. 

"You miss her dearly, don't you?" a voice said, coming from the other side of the fire. Or rather, the dead center of the fire. I tilted my head. I ran through the list of immortals in my head and went with the most likely candidate. 

"Lady Hestia," I gave a respectful and modest curtsy, the proper one I had to learn while on the set of Game of Thrones. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Astraea Jackson," she replied, giving me the same curtsy I'd given her. We smiled at each other and she stood and walked out of the flames to sit beside me. "You know, everyone is so busy now, they don't stop at the hearth to have a chat with me anymore. Most of the time they don't even see me." 

My smile turned to a frown. "I'll stop and speak to you. Every day, at this time, as long as you or I aren't busy," I told her. 

She clapped like she was the eight-year-old girl by which she looked. "Your personality is the perfect mix between your mother and your father, you know. Now your looks." She laughed a little as she studied my face. "They come straight from your father. But you act like the both of them." 

I ignored the part where she mentioned my father because I was more focused on my mother, but I'm like at least 50% sure I would've been able to figure out who he was if I just asked. 

"Did you... did you know her?" I asked instead, caring more about getting more memories that had to do with my mom. 

"A little. She came to me quite often for advice. It wasn't easy for her to raise a demigod child, I hope you know. Especially one as special as you." 

I nodded sadly. "I know I wasn't the easiest. I just wish I could—"

"Allie!" Luke interrupted, jogging towards me. "Our class is about to start. Do you mind helping me get everything ready?" 

I nodded and smiled apologetically towards Hestia. "I'll come back tomorrow," I promised. She smiled happily and stepped back into the flames.

***

The rest of the day went by fairly uneventfully. It was the night everyone was excited about. It was Friday, which meant it was Capture the Flag night. It was all anyone could talk about all day. 

After dinner (which by the way hadn't been very nice, considering Annabeth kept her glare on me as I ate. I suspected it was because Luke still insisted I sit on his lap, but it also could've been because she just hated me. Or both) everyone was bustling around, getting their armor on and arming themselves with their preferred weapon. 

I'd chosen to go with two swords only, not wanting the extra weight of a bow and arrow while I was fighting. Luke told me I looked badass when he first saw me, blue plumed helmet and all. 

Although we were on separate teams, Katie, Nessa, and Silena all made sure my hair and nails hadn't suffered throughout the day and made sure I would go to them once the game was over so they could check again. 

Chiron stomped a hoof against the ground and told us to get to our teams. 

"I promise not to make you look bad for your first game here," Silena joked, seeing how outnumbered my team was. While Hermes and Apollo were definitely the biggest cabins and they combined with Athena would be a pretty good team, the Ares cabin had gotten everyone else. I was honestly worried, considering there's no one at camp I'd call a bad fighter. A lazy one, yes. A bad one, no. 

Chiron stomped his hoof on the ground again to gain our attention. Katie gave me a quick wink and hurried off to join her team.

"Heroes!" Chiron began. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

Luke grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to the team. We were going over last-minute battle strategies and once we were done with that, Luke and I started our own conversation. We'd been talking about something random when Annabeth forced herself in between us, effectively cutting us off. 

"Blue team," she yelled, sticking her knife in the air, almost cutting my left braid off. "Forward!"

My job was to keep watch over the creek until Luke came and got me. Then, we'd tag-team our way to the flag and back. At least, that was Luke's plan. Annabeth's kept me at the creek while Luke went to get the flag, but he told me he'd rather have an extra person watch his back. 

We saluted each other before turning and making our way to our assigned areas. The creek was calm and still and it soothed me, preparing me for the game. As soon as the conch horn went off, my veins pumped with adrenaline. I kept one of my swords sheathed and used the other to lean against, at the ready, should I need it. 

A growling coming from the woods distracted me and I almost didn't catch someone running right towards me. Just as they were about to slice my arm off, I parried the attack. I noticed the blue plume on top of their helmet.

"Dude!" I managed to yell as they went into attack mode again. "We're on the same team!"

"I know," he yelled back, barely managing to keep my attacks contained. "Special orders, you'll understand later."

"What?" In my moment of confusion, he managed to cut my arm. At first, I didn't think it was very deep considering it wasn't very long, but then blood ran down my arm and I knew it was worse than it looked. I noticed he didn't draw first blood, though. I'd sliced his wrist, not as deep, but it made me feel better that he wasn't the first to get the jump on their opponent. 

He pushed me back and I hit the creek. Which was pretty good for me, considering as soon as my foot touched the water, the pain in my arm went away and I felt instantly rejuvenated, like I'd just chugged a few coffees. 

His eyes widened as I knocked his sword out of his hand and immediately after knocked him out with the flat end of my sword. 

Luke ran by seconds later and his eyes widened. "What the hell happened?" he whispered, looking at the dude and then to me. He didn't notice my arm. That was good. 

"I'll explain later," I whispered back. "C'mon, we need to get going." 

He nodded and we took off through the woods. I could've sworn I heard the growling again, but between the clashing of swords, occasional cussing, and footsteps, I couldn't be sure. 

We knocked out anyone who we came across, which, thankfully, was only two people. I couldn't see who they were, but I didn't really worry about it too much. 

Finally, we came into the clearing where the flag was. It was being guarded by two Ares kids. Luke and I nodded to each other and we made our way in separate directions to the side. We locked eyes and nodded again.

The two Ares dudes didn't even know what hit them. Literally. Luke and I worked well as a team, so they were down quickly and effectively. Another person from the red team saw us and ran over to try and stop us. As Luke went for the flag, I took down the dude.

He was a hard opponent, but I managed to gain the upper hand and disarm him, taking him down soon after. 

Luke was just standing there staring at me. "I'm both frightened and aroused," he said with a smirk when I looked over to him. 

"Don't take my movie's line!" I yelled, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back towards our side, rolling my eyes all the way. "It only came out, like, two months ago." 

"I know, some of us were allowed to go out and watch it," he replied nonchalantly. 

As soon as the flag was spotted, which didn't take long, all of the red's were after us, while our side kept them at bay. We ran out of the forest and passed Annabeth, who was looking angrily at the boy who'd attacked me earlier. I didn't look back to see how mad she was now, but I knew she would be even worse once everything calmed down. I left what she thought was my spot. I could feel her glare on my back as Luke and I finally got back to our side. Cheers and groans rang through the night as our side surrounded me and Luke. 

Luke and I cheered with the rest of them while the flag turned from red to silver with a caduceus. That is, until Annabeth broke through the crowd, seething. 

"Where were you, Jackson?!" she all but yelled. 

I shrugged happily and laughed a little. "Doesn't matter! We won!" I yelled back, still beaming as I did so. 

"Doesn't mat—" she sputtered angrily. "Doesn't matter?! What if we didn't win, huh?! It would've been because you weren't there!"

"Annabeth! That's enough," Luke commanded. "She wasn't there because I told her to go with me. Malcolm and I reworked the plan a little because there's no way I would've gotten the flag there and back without help. I know you, Annabeth. You wanted her to get pummeled by anyone who came across her. We knew you'd be around in case someone were to get that far. It's not a big deal! You never used to act like this, what happened?" 

"Not a big deal?!" she exploded. "Never used to—?! It's not exactly 'back then' is it?! T— She's gone and just when I think everything will be fine, she—" Annabeth pointed her dagger at me as she spit her words out venomously— "comes along and you start following her around like a lost puppy!"

"Your past is not my problem," I said, calmly. Danny always said I was more terrifying when I was mad and calm than when I was mad and yelling. "Stop trying to blame all of your problems on me. Just because—" I paused when I heard a growl coming from the woods. No one else seemed to hear it. 

"Because what, huh?!" She raged. I shushed her, but that only made her angrier. "No! Because what? Tell me!" 

"Shut up!" I finally snapped. 

She stepped back and shut her mouth, knowing I meant business. I drew both swords as I slowly walked towards the woods.

Luke stepped closer to me. "Allie? What are you—" 

Then they heard it. The campers were dead silent. The growl cut through the silence like butter.

"Stand ready," Chiron called out in Greek. "My bow!"

Luke seemed to catch sight of something because in the silence he yelled out, "Allie, run!" while making his way towards me.

Before anyone else could react, a giant, and I mean giant, black dog— a hellhound— jumped out of the forest and jumped over campers, its eyes set on me. I had both of my swords drawn, ready for attack, but it was smart. Just as I was about to swing, it lunged right for my upper arms, cutting off all chances I had at killing it. Once it knew I was down, it shifted and began clawing my chest open. It was like my armor was made of butter or something, because after one swipe it did nothing for me. With the last remaining strength I had, I swung my arms up and stuck my swords through its neck. At the same time, a dozen of Chiron's arrows impaled themselves into its back.

It disappeared into a cloud of smoke and Luke ran to my side, along with Silena, Katie, Clarisse, Malcolm, and Will. Danny and Nessa followed shortly after, having been towards the back of the group. Danny almost tackled Malcolm out of the way in order to get beside me. 

"Allie!" Luke got my attention. "Holy shit! Can you hear me?" 

Will had to push him back slightly so he could see the extent of my injuries. I knew they were bad, I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. I could feel the blood spreading to my back, just like my head wound had. 

"Di immortales, Chiron," I heard Nessa exclaim. "How did a hellhound get into Camp?"

"Someone obviously summoned it," Clarisse snapped with a stony voice. "Specifically to go after Allie, by the looks of it. It didn't even glance at the rest of us."

"Is she okay, Will?" Silena's tone was frantic as Chiron made his way over. I barely registered the fact that my head was in the water, but I felt perfectly dry. She along with Katie and Nessa all looked close to tears. 

I met Will's eyes and he looked at me grimly. Somehow, I knew what he was going to say. 

"Luke, get her other side. Help me get her into the water more." 

Luke looked confused at the order, but did it anyway. That was the moment Luke saw the cut on my arm and he understood. 

"Where did all of that blood on your arm come from? It looks fine?" he asked. 

"Got cut a while ago. When I stepped into the river it healed it, mostly, but you found me before it finished. I'm assuming it's not there anymore?" I replied, suddenly feeling my energy return. 

"It's not, you're right, but that doesn't make sense, unless... oh shit." 

Will and I nodded stiffly while everyone else looked on in confusion. 

In moments I was stepping out of the creek, perfectly fine, while everyone watched me. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what was about to happen. Unless luck was on my side and it wouldn't... nope. 

There were gasps from all around and I kept my expression calm and my eyes closed. When I forced them open, everyone was kneeling, even Annabeth, though she looked very peeved about it. I tilted my head up slightly to see it. I was claimed, that was for sure. The golden trident surrounded by a green-blue light, the same color as my eyes, was enough to tell me, and everyone else, that. 

My life was about to get a million times more complicated.

"It is determined," Chiron announced, while I looked into his eyes defiantly. He stared back at me sympathetically. "Poseidon; Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Astraea Jackson, Daughter of the Sea God."

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.7 some minor explanation

warnings : cussing

word count : 4.4k

0.7 Luke Gives Me Some Much Needed Context in a World Where I Need a Whole Encyclopedia to Understand Everything that is Going On

News of 'Allie Jackson' being in camp spread around quickly.

Luke led me all around camp and everywhere I went people would stop whatever they were doing and whisper among themselves. I wouldn't be able to hear most of what they said, but if I got lucky I'd catch a few bits and pieces. 

Most ranged from, "Holy SHIT, it's Allie Jackson," to, "I heard she fought the Minotaur. How badass is that?!" The only person in the whole camp who seemed to have a problem with my arrival was Annabeth, who I had yet to see again. 

Luke showed me a few places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough. He showed me the mess hall, which was an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

I was going to ask where we ate when it rained, but then I thought better of it. I'd just stepped into a world where the Greek gods were real; I doubted they needed to worry about the 'little' things like the weather. 

Then he took me to see the canoeing lake, the stables, the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, the archery range (which made me very excited and I'm sure Luke could tell), and the arena where Luke said they held sword and spear fights (this also made me excited, so much to the point where I didn't even wonder what kind of twisted summer camp had a sword and spear fighting arena). He took me to the armory, where he said all of the weapons and armor were held and that Chiron would get something that'd work for me later today.

Finally, he formally showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were, without a doubt, the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen. 

Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a common area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flowerbeds, and a couple of basketball hoops.

In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined fire pit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick. I smiled at her and made a mental note to talk to her by the end of the day, if she was still there.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

Cabin three wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough graystone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. It reminded me of home, for some reason. I could've sworn I felt connected to it, but Luke dragged me towards the canoeing lake before I could think about it further.

I jumped up and sat on the railing that overlooked the lake. I thought over everything in my head. I'd met a few people; I'd found Silena Beauregard again, who was still as likable as when I first met her. Turns out, she was the half-sister of one of my co-workers, Vanessa Frost. Nessa and I had met on the set of Inception together and, while we didn't see each other much anymore, we'd become fast friends and always tried to get on the same movies and T.V. shows. I hadn't seen her in almost a year, so our reunion was very nice. 

Then, I finally ran into Danny, who had almost tackled me to the ground and startled the hell out of Luke. Danny had stopped attending Camp Half-Blood almost a decade and a half ago, when he turned 20 and decided he'd try his hand at surviving out in the world and college. He'd become my manager right out of college because I'd just turned six and my mom had started getting overwhelmed with the amount of casting calls and acting offers I'd been getting. He took a lower rate since he was so new and mom didn't have much money, but overtime he'd sort of become a surrogate father to me. He told me he was glad I hadn't died and gave me my phone and credit cards back. Luke seemed very confused at the device, so I asked why.

"Normally demigods don't use phones. You managed to get to sixteen without many monsters attacking you and you were using a phone? That's crazy," Luke replied.

"Oh, it's something me and Beckendorf have been working on," Danny said. Beckendorf, for the record, was a son of Hephaestus and Danny's half brother, who I'd met just a little after Danny found me. "Her public image is of utmost importance, so she needed to have a phone, mostly in order to keep in touch with her fans and promote what projects she has coming up. Only problem was: we suspected she was a demigod, especially after she used her phone and almost got attacked by four hellhounds. We'd asked her mom and she confirmed it, but convinced us not to take her here and wouldn't tell us who her father was. So me and Beckendorf managed to make a phone that attracted fewer monsters. It's not foolproof, but it works fairly well."

I'd met a girl named Katie Gardner, a daughter of Demeter, when we were walking past the strawberry field. She was super nice, and told me she'd help me out if I ever needed it, which I was thankful for. We clicked just as easily as Silena and I, and it was great since they were good friends, too. 

Then there was Will Solace, a happy-go-lucky seeming son of Apollo (he was the one who'd healed the back of my head and pretty much everything else I messed up, so I made sure to thank him for it) and Malcolm Pace, a son of Athena, who, thankfully, wasn't insufferable like his half-sister. I'd practically run into another girl, Brylie Vegas, a younger one, around fourteen, who was a daughter of Hermes. She had recognized me as soon as we almost collided and had basically broken her back to keep from bumping into me. She was sweet and shy, so I made sure she didn't feel uncomfortable before Luke told her he had to continue showing me around. 

I did see Clarisse around once or twice, but we never were able to stop and talk for more than a few seconds. 

Luke let me think for a few seconds before speaking, which was something I liked about him; he had tact. 

"Is there a headache forming yet?" he joked, leaning up against the rail beside where I was sitting. 

"Oh, there was a headache as soon as I woke up," I replied, giving him a small smile. "As far as all of—" I titled my head looking for the right word and ended up waving my hand in the direction we'd come from— "this... it's not as bad as I think it should be. I feel like if Danny had dragged me here a few years ago I'd be flipping my shit and calling everyone out, saying they were kidding and stuff like that. I might've even thought Danny had just pulled a massive prank on me, killing the Minotaur or not. I'd have thought I was going insane."

"I get that. I was thinking about how you were taking this better than most. You're not the first person we've had to react like you are, but it doesn't happen very often."

"Like I said, too many things started adding up. I can't really deny things when they're standing right in front of my face, you know?"

"Yeah, I do," He replied. "So, do you have any dire questions that need to be answered?"

"What's the deal with the whole Minotaur thing? Didn't Theseus kill him like... centuries ago in the Labyrinth? How was he... I don't know, back?" 

"That's pretty simple, kind of. Chiron calls them archetypes. They get killed, but they don't ever die for good. They get sent to Tartarus and start reforming. There's never a set time that they're down there, either. If you're lucky, they could be stuck reforming for decades; if you're not, it could take a few days." 

I nodded. "Okay, I can wrap my head around that." I paused. "Why does Athena have children? I thought she was supposed to be a maiden goddess like Hera and Artemis."

"She is," Luke confirmed. "That one's also pretty simple. When she meets someone with a high intellect who she takes a liking to, she talks to them for a while and then imagines what their child would look like. So her children are basically born from her thoughts, like she was from Zeus'."

I gave him an odd look. "That's..."

"Weird? Kinda gross?" he suggested. 

"Well, I was gonna say 'traumatic' but, yeah those work, too, I guess." He laughed and nodded at me to continue. "Okay, kinda off-topic question, but are we allowed to leave? And like... what happens if you choose not to leave during the winter?"

"Leaving is more or less suicide, depending on how good you are and if your scent is powerful enough. Once you reach a certain age, Chiron and Mr. D let you leave more often than not, but the younger ones have to have specific instructions. Even you and I would have to get a quest or something to have a good enough reason to leave. As for our education, Chiron teaches us everything if you choose to stay. Which a lot of people do, considering most of us have awful home lives." He looked at me. "But again there are exceptions— like how Danny can go to the mortal world to be your manager. You'd probably have some of the same exemptions because of your job." 

"That's why I was asking," I told him, nodding. "Alright, this is my last question, I promise. I'm starting to feel annoyed for you," I joked. 

Luke smirked at me. "Don't worry, Angel, I could listen to you talk all day."

I shook my head, trying to fight a smile. "Why are some of the cabins empty?"

Luke took a deep breath and released it before he answered. "Cabin Two belongs to Hera," he started, obviously choosing his words carefully. "As the goddess of marriage, all her children are Zeus'." I nodded as Luke went on. "Cabin Eight is Artemis' cabin. She doesn't have kids but her Hunters stay there when they come to visit camp."

From his grimace, I guessed that he had bad memories of the Hunters, either at Camp or out.

"Then there's One and Three," he explained, looking apprehensive. "They're for Zeus and Poseidon. The Big Three aren't supposed to have children anymore."

"Why not?" I couldn't stop myself from pushing. "From what I can remember, a good majority of the Greek myths are based off of Zeus' children. And Poseidon had his fair share mentioned, as well."

He nodded to me like I'd answered my own question. "That's pretty much why, kind of. Officially, their children are too powerful. We inherit powers from our parents' domains and Big Three kids are the strongest demigods, like the Three themselves are the strongest gods. Zeus' kids could call down lightning strikes or cause tornadoes. A son of Poseidon caused the Long Beach earthquake in 1933, killed 120 people. And supposedly his descendant was accused of causing the 1906 one as well. And Adolf Hitler was a son of Hades, and that's enough said about that. Supposedly they're too powerful to control themselves."

"So, what, they all just collectively decided to not have children anymore? I wouldn't think that would hold up in the long run."

"Well, sort of. After World War II, which had Hitler for the Axis Powers, and Roosevelt, a son of Zeus, and Churchill, son of Poseidon, for the Allies, leading it, the Big Three took an oath on the Styx to never sire any other demigod children again."

Finally, his wording processed in my brain. "And the unofficial reason?" I asked.

Luke shot me a wry grin. "Caught that huh? Yeah, that's not the real reason. If it was, they probably would've tried centuries ago. The only heroes recorded to have fought gods or Titans and lived, sometimes even defeated them, were Big Three kids, after all. Really, what happened was the Oracle made a prophecy. A child of the Big Three would either save or destroy Olympus, and Western Civilization with it once they turned twenty. That's why they made the Oath. And because of that, they aren't supposed to have kids anymore."

"But they didn't keep it," I guessed carefully. "You said that they aren't supposed to have kids anymore, not that they don't at all."

"Clever girl. You could be a child of Athena if your hair wasn't so white and your eyes were grayer. All of her children seem to have those features," Luke told me. "I don't think that fits quite right, though."

He flashed a grin at me but it disappeared as soon as it arrived. Pain and grief were in his eyes as he continued, trying to keep as emotionless as possible. 

"About nineteen years ago, Zeus had an affair with a TV starlet named Beryl Grace— I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard of her."

I had, of course. Beryl Grace was a Hollywood tragedy. Danny used to tell me her story to scare me into making sure I stayed responsible, no matter who it was that offered me something. Still, I let him explain it to me. 

"They ended up having a daughter. Thalia. She ran away from home when she was nine. Camp sent a satyr to get her to safety, but she'd teamed up with two other demigods. Their combined scent was too strong, and Hades was enraged by Zeus breaking the Oath. They were attacked constantly and the satyr eventually made a wrong turn. They got to the hill but they wouldn't have made it over the border. Thalia made the others go ahead while she bought them time. As she was—" He faltered in his monotone telling of Thalia's fate before forcing himself to continue. "As she was dying, Zeus turned her into that pine tree. Her lifeforce strengthens the barriers. Keeps all of us safe."

I studied him for a minute in silence before speaking tentatively. "You and Annabeth were the demigods she teamed up with, weren't you?" 

It was a statement, not a question. Luke nodded, looking pained. I didn't say 'I'm sorry', knowing from experience how much it doesn't help. I just took his hand and sat in silence with him as he weathered the renewed storm of grief.

"Why tell me all of this?" I asked eventually. I thought it was a valid question. He didn't have to tell me the unofficial parts of the— well, it seemed wrong to call it a story when Thalia had died because of it. History, then.

He turned to look at me and I was startled at the intensity of his blue eyes. I could practically see the different shades in them.

"I'm not a son of Apollo," he told me. "I don't see the future. But I do have good instincts. And they're telling me that it's important that you know this, and as soon as possible, too."

I bit my lip, dread coursing through me at the thought of this information being relevant to my future. My mother's voice, echoing a long-forgotten conversation I'd eavesdropped on a year and a half ago, sounded in my head. 

"She's not here right now. She's probably on her way back from the airport. Even if she was here, I wouldn't give up my baby! How can you ask me to?" 

"I'm asking you to for her sake!" the man's voice snapped back, though it didn't have the bite in it that a statement like that usually would. "If you keep her with you, they'll find her eventually. It's only a matter of time."

"She is barely even with me. She's been in Georgia for the past month filming Marvel movies and in a few days she leaves for London for Fashion Week. Three months she goes on tour for her new album, with too many more things in between that I can't even say 'no' to— what more can you ask of me?" 

"Even so, every moment she's here, she's in danger. You told me years ago that you'd let her go when she was 10. What happened to that?" My mother hadn't replied so the man continued, "Zeus' daughter is dead, which means I have nothing to use against him to settle his anger when he finds out about Allie—"

"That's my daughter you're talking about!" Mom interrupted, sounding horrified. "How can you think of an innocent girl as leverage?"

"She's not leverage, but I am thinking of Allie. Sally—"

"No, I won't. I'm done. Leave, you only put her in more danger by coming here. If you stay any longer they'll be drawn here sooner rather than later."

I never figured out who she was talking to and never told her about it— so I pushed all memory of it to the back of my head and never thought about it again. Or, at least, I hadn't thought about it again. 

"I really hope you're wrong about that," I told Luke hoarsely after the sound of a conch shell being blown returned me to the present. How the hell I knew it was a conch shell is beyond me, but I decided I didn't really care. He straightened, offering me his hand to help me to my feet.

"Me too. Come on, that's the call for dinner."

As the pavilion came into view, I saw torches blazing from the columns and a central fire was burning inside a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each table had a white cloth with purple trim. I liked it, it had a friendly, comfortable air to it.

Everyone in Cabin 11 lined up behind Luke and followed him to our table where we were served our dinner by wood nymphs. I wasn't surprised that the food itself was Greek-style healthy food. I had BBQ, grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, and fresh bread. I was positive this was something my dietician would have approved of, so I wasn't too particularly worried about eating all of it. Actually, I'm sure he wished I'd eat this every day and nothing else. 

Luke leaned over to whisper into my ear. "We have to sacrifice a bit of our meals to the gods before eating," he explained softly to me. "I'll show you."

I took the few seconds I had to look around at everybody. In all, there were maybe a little over a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur. As I scanned the room I caught the eyes of a few people I'd met earlier today, and they all smiled at me, which made me feel a lot more comfortable. 

Luke led me up to the brazier with our plates. For a second, I was sure that I saw the same young-looking girl sitting in the flames but when I blinked, the image was gone again.

Luke pushed a small portion of his meal into the fire, saying "Hermes," in a clear tone. I stepped up beside him, hesitating for a moment before pushing in some of my own food.

"Hestia and Hermes," I muttered. The brazier had reminded me of Hestia, whom I'd always liked the most in the myths, or history books I suppose. And seeing as I was staying in Hermes' cabin, it seemed like basic politeness to give him some too.

"Most people just direct it to their parents," Luke commented lowly as we wandered back to the table.

I jutted out my chin stubbornly. "It takes more than conceiving a kid to be a parent, Luke," I replied. "If he acknowledges me, I'll sacrifice to him, too. Don't see the point of doing so before that."

He glanced down at me, a smile playing on his lips. "Angel, you are definitely gonna be a breath of fresh air around here."

I smiled and as soon as we sat down we were joking around and talking with everyone at the Hermes table. They wanted to know a lot about me, most of which didn't include the 'celebrity' part of my life, which I was thankful for. After being slightly overwhelmed all day, it was nice getting to talk with them. 

I had somehow ended up on Luke's lap after he insisted that it would be much more comfortable than getting my hips crushed on the seat, so after a few jokes, I moved. When I did, Brylie, the girl I'd almost ran into earlier, basically begged me to let her braid my hair. I didn't complain much, considering I really needed to do something with my hair. Once she finished her dinner, she was content as she waited for the rest of us. 

When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention. 

Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels." 

A bunch of excited cheering rose from the Ares table. Clarisse was the loudest, but didn't seem to mind at all. 

"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Angie Johnson." 

Chiron murmured something."Er, Allie Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that." Chiron murmured something again. "And he wishes me to tell you all not to harass her with questions and such." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on." 

Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home. 

People still came over to me and wanted to talk, but it didn't make me feel weird like it did when I was walking the streets of Manhattan. These people were now technically my family. I'd only been there for a day, but it definitely wasn't as bad as it could've been. 

Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. All of the Hermes cabin (save for a few of the younger ones, like a six-year-old girl, Julie Dixon who was very obviously a daughter of Athena), decided to stay up and get to know me. They asked a lot about my hobbies outside of acting and singing and modeling and stuff like that, which made me happy. I didn't feel singled out, or anything, which was one of the first times I could say that without lying. 

I asked all of them questions, too, and we all became super close in a single night. We laughed and it was only when someone thought they heard Chiron making his way towards us did we finally go to sleep. 

I hadn't realized how tired I was until I'd finally laid down and listened to the ocean. I felt my muscles relax and I knew I'd like it here. 

My last thoughts were of my mother and if I'd ever see her again. Considering the underworld was a real thing, I guessed I would. I hoped wherever she was, it was paradise. After everything she did for me and everything she sacrificed for me, she deserved it.

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.5 first impressions

warnings : none ( if there are any i need to add please lmk ! )

word count : 2.9k

0.5 I Wake Up Feeling Like Setting Fire to Rain and Watching it Pour as I Touch Your Face

I had many dreams, most of which were nightmares that I couldn't wake up from. A lot of laughing coming from a pit and then the feeling of a force trying to push me in, but during those dreams, I'd fight back and then wake up super disoriented. 

I knew I woke up many times, but it was never for long. The longest I'd stayed up was a few seconds, during which I'd only managed to check my head. Luckily, it didn't have any blood gushing out of it anymore, but it also didn't have stitches, so it confused me. A chuckle distracted me and as soon as I realized that it was the dude who'd caught me, I passed out again.

Most of the other times I woke up I'd hear things, but none of what I heard made sense. Mr. Brunner was there a few times and the blond guy was almost always there, too. 

Another time I woke up, the blond guy was feeding me something that tasted like chocolate-covered strawberries; specifically, ones that came from a bakery close to my apartment. I always got them whenever I passed by and had the time. The owner was an older Mexican lady who enjoyed my acting and tried to give me treats for free. I never let her.

"Hey there, Angel," he smirked beside me. "I love getting to see those pretty eyes of yours, but I'm not too sure you're ready to get up yet."

"I— what?" I managed to mumble. "Where's... ugh."

"Sh, pretty girl... you don't have to get up yet," he assured me, and then put the spoon in my mouth. I didn't try very hard to keep myself from falling asleep again. 

Another time I woke up the first thing I heard was arguing. 

"But Chiron! I know something's going on! I want to know. The gods are mad about something and I want to know why!" a girl cried. 

"Annabeth." I recognized that name. Mr. Brunner had said it last night. "I know you want to know what's going on. You mentioned it enough times, I just can't. You will find out when everyone in camp does. And that won't be until the time is right."

"Just drop it, Beth. He's not going to give in," the blond guy said. 

The girl, Annabeth, huffed and walked out the door, slamming it behind her. I didn't hear if Mr. Brunner and the blond guy said anything else because I fell asleep again. 

After what seemed like too many times of waking up and passing out right back after, I woke up for good. I wasn't in the soft bed like before. Now I was sitting in a chair outside on the deck that I'd collapsed on. A girl walked out of the door and I turned my attention to her. 

"Hey, uh—" I croaked and her gasp interrupted me. 

"Allie's awake," she called into the house. As a thumping sound came from inside, I took a few moments to familiarize myself with my surroundings. 

There was nothing weird about it, but it felt unnatural. I was used to big cities and skyscrapers. This was the exact opposite. There wasn't a single building in my line of sight that was bigger than three floors and most of the surrounding area was either forests or hilly meadows. I saw a strawberry field close by, which is probably why the breeze smelled of freshly grown strawberries.

A blanket covered my legs and in the summer heat I felt like I was suffocating, so I shook it off of me. My mouth felt super dry and just saying 'hey' had been a lot of work. 

Gover came shooting out of the house and only stopped once he saw me. 

"Allie!" he bleated. He was still the goat boy from the night before. I let my head fall into my head to rub away a quickly forming headache. "You're awake!"

"Unfortunately," I replied dryly. "Ugh, my head hurts."

"Here," the girl said and brought a glass of what looked like apple juice to me. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."

I took it from her and would've chugged the drink in one go, but the taste threw me off. It didn't taste bad, but it didn't taste like the apple juice I was expecting. It tasted exactly like my mom's blue chocolate chip cookies, right when they came out of the oven. It made me feel better almost instantly. I finally looked at Grover and noticed he had my suitcase in one hand and a shoebox in the other. 

"What in the box," I asked as I nodded towards it. His shoulders sagged.

"Do you remember anything from a few nights ago?" He asked.

"Woah, back up, back up," I said, shocked. "What do you mean a few nights ago? How long was I out?"

"Three days, give or take. Do you remember anything?" 

My hand involuntarily shot to the back of my skull. "Yeah, I remember everything. My mom's really... gone, isn't she?" 

If it was possible, his shoulders sagged even more. I felt like doing the same.

"I'm so sorry, Allie. I... you dropped this when you passed out. After you saved my life, I felt like I should be the one to give it to you." He handed me the box and curled in on himself as if he was ashamed. 

Inside the box was the minotaur's horn. I ran my finger along the jagged edge of it, almost wishing it were sharp enough to break skin, just so I knew I could still feel pain. I forced myself to divert my attention away from it. 

"It's not your fault. " I took in a deep breath, held it for a second, and then let it out. "Please, don't blame yourself."

My blood ran cold, even as I said it. I looked back at the meadow and decided nothing should look beautiful anymore; my mother was gone. The only light in my God-forsaken life. I wasn't going to go back to Gabe, I knew that. I had enough money to buy myself my own house, so I didn't have to worry about that. Then my blood ran cold for a different reason. 

"My phone. It has my ID and cards and some extra money in the case, plus practically my entire life. Where is it?" I demanded, shooting to my feet. It was a bad idea, considering I was still pretty weak, but I felt like I had bigger problems at that moment. 

"Allie, calm down! It's with Danny. He's making sure everything in it is fine. After Pasiphae's son attacked you, he's worried something's wrong with it."

I blinked at him. "Danny? Danny as in my manager Danny, or some rando dude named Danny?"

He gave me a confused look. "Your manager Danny, obviously. Why would I give—"

I cut him off, "He's here? I wanna talk to him. Where is he?"

"Woah, there," the girl finally butted in. "Chiron wants to talk to you first. You can talk to Danny after that." I rolled my eyes but caved anyway. "I'm Silena Beauregard, by the way."

"Allie Jackson." 

She smiled and nodded as if to tell me she already knew that, then led us away.

The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse. I'd unlocked my suitcase and shoved the shoebox into the last remaining space it had. I almost didn't want to let it go, but I had places to be and the quicker I could talk to Danny, the quicker I'd get all the answers I wanted. Danny knew better than to lie to me, we'd both learned that the hard way. 

From the directions, we had to be somewhere along the very edge of Long Island Sound. I knew we'd been heading away from Manhattan, but I wasn't completely sure where we ended up. It was somewhere along the coast— the ocean on the other side of the camp was enough to tell me that. 

The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture— an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena— except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-aged kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover and Silena's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail.

Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired guy I'd been seeing a lot of was leaning against the railings on the other side of the two men.

The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of cherubs. One who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I knew he would've been able to win every round that he played against Gabe and his buddies. 

The two looked up at the sound of our footsteps and the wheels of my suitcase. 

"That's Mr. D, by the way," Grover said, nodding towards the gambler looking dude. "He's the camp director. Be polite, no matter how hard you have to bite your tongue, which, knowing you, will be a lot."

I gave him a little bit of side-eye, but didn't otherwise argue. 

"That's Luke," Silena interrupted, nodding towards the blond dude. "He's like a month or two older than you. He's just a camper, but he's been here longer than most of the demigods here. And, of course, you already know Chiron."

At the mention of his name, the man himself turned around and I had to force myself not to say 'Mr. Brunner.' 

"Allie! Wonderful. I was wondering when you'd be healthy enough to finally join us. Come sit, we have a few things to discuss. Silena, my dear, you may take your leave. You have archery right about now, do you not?"

He pulled out the chair closest to him and I sat without saying a word, while Silena ran off deeper into the camp. Grover sat down in a chair across from me and he started shaking like he did when he got scared.

I studied the two of them before 'Mr. D' spoke up. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you." 

I tilted my head and turned my gaze towards him. My lips tilted to a half-smile. I remembered figuring a few things out the night before— or rather, a few nights before— but it wasn't until this very second that everything clicked. Greek Mythology wasn't exactly mythology. My mind was running at the speed of light, putting every piece of the puzzle where it needed to be. 

As shocked as I should've been, I wasn't surprised. Finally, every crazy thing that'd occurred in my life made sense. And if Greek Mythology was real... the man in front of me was...

"Thank you, Lord Dionysus," I said, raising my chin. 

He gave me a shocked look and I didn't have to look at any of the others to know they had the same look on their faces. 

"Not bad, brat. If you're anything like the mortal world makes you out to be, I might be able to tolerate you. At least you have respect. Keep it that way and I might not turn you into a dolphin."

Chiron cleared his throat. "Anything you wish to tell me, Allie?" 

I smiled, glad my thoughts had taken me in the correct direction. "I'm seventeen, not stupid. There are a few things I can figure out with a couple of context clues. And, I've had quite a few given to me. For starters, the minotaur is a real thing. I guess that'd be clue number one. Then Grover's a satyr, clue number two. Your name is Chiron, which means you are more than likely hiding a horse body in that wheelchair... somehow? That's kinda weird, I don't wanna think about that. Anyways, as I was going in and out of consciousness, I heard the word 'gods' thrown around quite a lot." I paused. "Let's see, what else... Ah, when we were getting here, Grover mentioned Hades, which means Greek mythology would have to be real. As for Mr. D... I guess he just... gives off the kind of vibe you'd get from the Lord of wine. He looks like he could out gamble anyone. Plus, Grover looks terrified of him and aren't satyrs servants of Dionysus in the myths? He isn't drinking wine, though, which is kind of weird. But... yeah. I'm assuming you weren't expecting me to know all that?"

"I wasn't, but that makes many things much easier. I guess I did my job well if you retained all of that information."

I shrugged. "I guess."

"And you know that you've defeated the Minotaur? Which, by the way, is no easy feat."

"Uh-huh."

"So you should also know, you are a child of one of the gods. Remember when I taught you the gods would run around having affairs with mortals while Ancient Greece was in power? They never stopped having affairs, no matter where the west moved. Sometimes it was in Rome, sometimes in Britain, and it has settled in America for now. The children around you are children of the gods and you yourself are one, too. I'm not sure exactly who your father is, but that would be why you only had your mother while you were growing up."

"I'm running late," Mr. D suddenly sighed heavily, as if the last thing he wanted to do was leave. "You'll do well to keep names to yourself, Angie Jameson. They have power. Wouldn't want to summon someone just by speaking their name, would you? I'm off." 

In a split second, he was there and then he wasn't, leaving behind a strong smell of grapes where he'd once been. 

"You know, I'm shocked," the blond dude, Luke, said, walking towards the table. "Mr. D actually congratulated you on surviving. And complimented you. I don't think he's ever done that before. You are one impressive gal, Angel."

"Oh, yeah? Just—" I started, but was cut off. 

"The orientation video will be insufficient, seeing as you already know most of the basics," Chiron butted in, probably knowing my personality and not wanting it fully out there just yet. "Luke, would you mind showing Allie around the camp? Grover, you have a meeting with the council to attend, don't you? Allie, you'll be settling in Cabin 11, for now. Luke, you'll make sure she gets moved in?" 

There were two sets of nods and I found myself getting taken around the camp while Chiron and Grover set off in their desired directions. 

"You know, the name I go by is already technically a nickname. You don't need to give me another one," I told Luke as we walked. 

He turned to me, giving me a smirk. "I don't know, I think Angel is pretty fitting, do you not, Angel?" 

I shook my head. "I think you're reaching."

"Well, I disagree. So, it seems we're at an impasse," he replied. "Looks like I'll just have to keep calling you that, then." 

"Wonderful," I muttered. 

He let out a genuine laugh and started walking, waving for me to follow as he did. "C'mon. You can put your stuff down and then I can give you an actual tour. Cabin 11, by the way, is Hermes' cabin. I'm the head counselor for it."

"I thought Chiron didn't know who my father was? Why assign me to the Hermes cabin if I'm not claimed." 

Luke flinched and I knew I asked a touchy question. "Hermes is the god of travelers, right?" He waited for my nod before continuing. "He isn't picky about who stays in his cabin, so all undetermined start off there."

"Okay... that makes sense... not really, but I understand, kind of." I felt like asking a few more questions, but Luke already seemed worn out as it was, so I didn't press on the matter. "Hey, so is there any chance I'll be able to see Danny any time on this tour? I kind of need to talk to him." 

Luke nodded and seemed thankful for the subject change. "Sure thing, Angel," he replied. "But first, let's get your stuff put down so you aren't dragging it around everywhere. Then we'll start getting you familiarized, though I don't think it'll take the others very long to recognize you."

He gave me a pointed look and I understood what he was implying. 

"So you do know who I am," I said, almost dejected. "I couldn't quite tell."

He gave me a charming smile. "Don't you worry your pretty head, Angel. You'll fit right in, I'm sure." He slung an arm around my shoulders and led me. "Come on, let's get this tour started."

*    *    *

previous | next

SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.4 run for your life

warnings : monster attack, probably some cussing, character death (?)

word count : 3.7k

0.4 I Fight for my Life Against a Cow that is Thousands of Years Older than I Am (REAL) (NOT CLICKBAIT)

My mother kept shouting directions whenever I needed them, but we were so coordinated that the speed of our car never went under 75. Most mothers would highly advise against that, but right now, my mother shouted every time I slowed down to take a sharp curve. 

Every time the lightning flashed, which was a lot, I'd catch a glimpse of Grover in the rearview mirror and remember why it felt like every strand of mental stability left in me had snapped. I was on the verge of a panic attack, I could feel it. I wondered if I was going insane, but then I wouldn't have time to think about it, as my mother would yell another direction for me to go in. Grover the Goat Boy sat in his seat but looked insanely on edge. My mother hadn't even buckled her seatbelt until I took a sharp turn and she almost got thrown into my lap. 

Finally, the silence got too much for me and I finally said the most logical thing I could think of, given the circumstances, "So... does anyone have anything they wish to tell me?" 

Grover and my mother looked out the back window, but nothing was following us. "Allie, please don't make this harder than it needs to be," my mother pleaded once she turned back. "Take a right up here."

"No. I want to know what's going on. Where am I taking us?" I demanded, taking the right turn and ignoring the slight hydroplane that almost took us off the road and the terrifying squeal of the tires as a result. 

"A summer camp your father wanted me to send you to. I was supposed to let you go a few years ago, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. If I let you go it might've been the last time I'd see you," my mother finally answered. 

"But it's just a summer camp? Why would you never be able to see me again?" 

"Allie, please. Keep going straight at the four-way up here. Don't stop at the stop sign." 

"Alright fine. How the hell did you get here?" I said, directing my attention to my best friend in the back seat. "What the hell is going on and why the hell do you keep looking out the window like something's following us?"

As I said it, he looked back again. "Your mother knew I was keeping tabs on you," Grover said. "I needed to watch you in case something happened. It doesn't matter how I got here. You shouldn't have left the bus terminal on your own."

"Okay, okay, cool, cool. Uh... why am I just now finding this out?"

"You would've been told a few hours ago, but you left on your own. And plus, the less you knew the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover answered and suddenly, something clicked. A flash of Greek and Roman mythology class flickered in my mind. Mr. Brunner had been talking about Satyrs that day. I didn't want to dwell on it, but my mind wouldn't shut up. Lots of things started clicking into place. 

"You acted like the Kindly One you encountered didn't happen and it threw us off. It didn't faze you. It's like it didn't even scare you," Grover continued. "We figured you'd start figuring out who you were, but you didn't act like it."

"You mean like how I can breathe underwater and that shit?"

"Wait, what?" My mother stopped me. "You mean you knew?!" 

"Knew what?! What the fuck are you both talking about? What am I supposed to be?" I asked. "Wait a fuckin' second." 

My mind started figuring things out like a stupid puzzle. 

A weird bellowing noise came from behind us, and I almost drove us off of the road. I had heard it before, but now it was louder, closer, and angrier.

"Allie, there's not enough time. I know you have questions, but we have to get you to safety before we can answer everything. Please, Allie, I will tell you everything you need to know, but I can't right now. Take a left up here, go straight, and take the third right."

"Safety from what?! What's after me?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover started, and his tone changed to an aggravated one, most likely caused by my stubbornness. "Just the Lord of the dead and a few of his bloodthirsty minions. Probably a few other gods, just 'cause."

"What?!" I screeched.

"Grover!" My mother screamed. 

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive just a little bit faster, Allie?" 

I was thankful Gabe's car was a Camaro because it could go slightly faster than most other cars. However, a problem arose because it was a '78 Camaro, meaning it was much, much older than any high-end cars I owned. For a moment I wondered why she threw me in Gabe's car instead of literally any 10-second car I owned, considering there were many, but then I guessed she thought of how high of a chance there was that I'd crash this car. With the heavy rain beating down on the windshield, it was extremely hard to see clearly. Most of the turns I'd made were done last second and had no doubt left tire marks on the road. 

I was honestly shocked I hadn't crashed long ago. 

I sped up, nonetheless.

I was suddenly sitting on the edge of the seat, anticipating our arrival. What was so important that I'd need to get there to be safe? I wanted to find out. My curiosity was piqued. 

Still, I tried to wrap my mind around everything but I found it was very hard. This wasn't a dream; my mother pulling my hair and getting thrown against the driver's side door at every left turn was enough pain to tell me I wasn't dreaming. I also doubted my imagination could've made all of this up. 

I made another hard left, per my mother's orders. I swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences. I spared a look at my mother and her eyes were locked on the back window and she looked like she was about to burst into tears. 

Another right. I looked into my side-view mirror and my blood ran cold. I caught a glimpse of what I was driving away from, and this time I didn't need Grover or my mother to tell me to speed up. 

"We're almost there," my mom murmured. "Another mile. Please, please, please. I should've listened and brought you earlier. I wished I knew how much they wanted to kill you. I'm so sorry, Allie. I love you so, so much." 

"I love you, too, mom," I managed to whisper back. My mom clutched my suitcase as hard as she could, almost like it was actually me she was holding. 

Now I knew for sure. Everything that'd happened had been meant to kill me. There was no doubt about that, now. It didn't shock me as much as I think it should've. 

In a split second the hairs on the back of my neck rose and my body moved involuntarily. I took the hand that wasn't on the steering wheel and held it in the air, clenching my fist. How I knew to do that, I don't know, but it saved us. I felt a pull in my gut and, suddenly, I was manipulating the rain.

There was a blinding flash, an ear-splitting and jaw rattling BOOM! 

The fist-clenching thing I'd done had kept the car from blowing up into millions of little pieces. The rain around us formed into a shield kind of thing, but it still jolted the car and sent us flying down the road. We might've flipped, but I don't really remember. I know my head hit the back of my seat and I remember feeling weightless. 

I peeled my head off of the seat as soon as we stopped moving. We were still on the road and our water shield started melting off, but I doubted the car would work very well. 

Lightning. That was the only reasonable explanation for whatever had hit us. 

"Ow," I groaned once my bearings came back. 

"Allie!" My mom yelled from beside me. 

"I'm fine!" I said back. I threw my seatbelt off and turned to look at Grover. 

He was down. But he groaned a quiet, "food," and I knew there was hope. 

No one was dead. At least there was that. Glass or something had to have broken, though, because I could feel a drop of blood trailing down my cheek. Judging from where the pain was, it wasn't very big, maybe an inch and a half across my cheekbone. 

"Allie, do you see that big tree right up that hill? I need you to get yourself and Grover up there," my mom said urgently. 

I shook my head. "There better be 'I'll be going with you' in that plan, or else I'm not going anywhere. Let's go. I won't be able to get very far with Grover, so I'll need your help." That was a lie, but I wasn't about to let her stay here.

"Allie, I can't—"

"You're coming. Let's go." Thank God the doors weren't sealed shut or something because, all though I wasn't dazed, I knew I wasn't at my full strength. There's no way I would've been able to kick open a door or break a window. 

My mom knew the extent of my stubbornness, so she actually got out of the car, my suitcase still in her hand and grabbed Grover's unconscious body. 

"Let's go," I shouted to my mother above the roaring of the rain, though I didn't think she needed to be told. 

There was another flash of lightning and I saw the figure from earlier. It was much larger than I had originally thought. It wasn't the fastest thing in the world, but it was making lots of progress with us finally being out of the car. With another flash of lightning, I finally knew what it was. 

"Holy shit! That's the Min—"

"Don't say his name!" My mother yelled quickly. "Names have power! It's Pasiphae's son. He wants you, not us. The property line is right at that big pine tree. I won't be able to cross, but you'll need to. You'll see a big farmhouse and I'll need you to run there and get help."

"You're coming with me. Stop saying I need to do this by myself," I pleaded, feeling quite overwhelmed. That panic attack seemed to be getting closer. My heart pounded relentlessly against my chest. 

"Allie..." She started slowing down, but finally snapped out of it and caught up with me. I saw her eyes. They looked as sad as they did whenever she looked at the ocean. She was holding Grover's complete dead weight. When she got to me, I grabbed Grover's other arm and helped her carry him.

I found it was better if I just didn't look back and tried to completely ignore the minimum seven-foot-tall Minotaur running behind us. I remembered he couldn't see well, so he relied on his sense of smell and hearing. Hearing was pretty out of the question because the rain was so loud I could barely hear myself think, so he'd be relying mostly on smelling us. 

The pine tree was still too far away, and the rest was completely up-hill. There was no way we'd make it. I finally got enough courage to look back again and saw it sniffing our car. Maybe he thought we were still there. 

That thought left pretty quickly because he suddenly bellowed, picked Gabe's Camaro up, and threw it down a nearby hill. It flipped more than ten times before skidding to a stop. 

I heard Gabe's voice in my head. There better not be a single scratch on that car once you bring it back or there'll be hell to pay. 

Oops. 

"Allie," my mom said, "When he sees us he's going to charge. You need to wait until the very last second and then jump out of the way— directly sideways. Once you've dodged him, run as far as you can. He can't change very well once he's charged. Do you understand?"

I nodded even though I didn't like the idea of leaving my mom, but I was going to comply. My mom had yet to let me down, I wasn't going to stop listening to her now. 

"How do you know about all of this?" I said as quietly as I could over the sounds of the rain. 

"I've been expecting an attack for a while now. I should've expected this. I was selfish for keeping you near me." 

I suddenly remembered a few times during last summer when I'd walked into the living room and seen her asleep, a Greek mythology book in her hand. I'd assumed it was for a book she was writing, so I didn't question it. But now...

"Selfish? Mom, what the fuck?"

Then there was another bellow of rage and the Minotaur came bounding towards us. 

I guess he finally smelled us. 

The pine tree was close, but not close enough. Plus, Grover wasn't getting any lighter. The hill got steeper and slicker, making it much harder than it should've been. 

He'd be on us in seconds. 

"Remember what I said," my mom yelled and we had to separate. 

She was right, he went raging right past us. I bolted after him, ignoring everything except getting back to my mother. Suddenly, he turned and charged, but it wasn't towards me, it was towards my mom, who had just set Grover down and threw my suitcase to the other side of the pine tree. 

We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side, I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.

The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.

"Run, Allie! I can't go any further! Run!" she yelled, but I couldn't process it. All I could manage was that she was drawing more attention to herself and was about to get killed by a fucking mythological creature. 

I made my way over to Grover just as the Minotaur bolted. 

She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air. 

"Mom!" I yelled, slipping as I tried to run towards her. 

She caught my eye and, through her struggles, still managed to yell one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply... gone.

"No!" 

Anger replaced my fear and shock. Some kind of newfound strength burned through my veins and I suddenly felt like I could rip this thing apart, limb by limb. 

He turned back towards us and I made it my job to get it away from Grover, who had started to groan and wake up. 

"Over here!" I yelled, taking off the rain jacket I'd put on before when we left. "Yeah, fucker. Come get me!" 

He shook his meaty fists at me and roared, though I doubted he understood much of what I said. He ran at me, still, following my command. 

I had an idea. An incredibly stupid one, but an idea nonetheless. All I could do was hope my full was higher than seven feet. 

I backed up against the pine tree and waited. Once he got close enough I ran at him, taking two steps and then throwing a tumbling pass that would meet him halfway. 

Time slowed down and just before I started spinning I saw the shocked look on the Minotaur's face. Somehow, and don't ask me because I have no clue how I managed to do it, I landed on the Minotaur's shoulders. 

A millisecond after, he crashed into the pine tree. The impact nearly knocked all of my teeth out, but I had an advantage. A small one, but an advantage. 

The Minotaur staggered around, trying everything he could to get me off of his shoulders, but I wouldn't budge. I wrapped my arms around one of his horns to keep myself balanced. The thunder and lightning were still going strong and the rain seemed to intensify. 

Good thing his only gear was forward because if he could go backward, he would've smashed me flat against the tree. 

I saw Grover trying to make himself sit up, but he still didn't have all of his energy yet. He saw me on top of the Minotaur

I wanted to yell something to him, but if I opened my mouth, I'd have bitten my own tongue off. 

The Minotaur got less interested in me and more interested in Grover. I thought about how he'd squeezed the life out of my mother and I wasn't about to let it happen to Grover. 

With my hands still on the horn, I summoned all of the strength I had and pulled. 

For a second, I didn't think it was going to do anything and I was still weak from the lightning, but then something good and bad happened. The horn snapped off and I flew off of the Minotaur's shoulders. 

I fell flat on my back in the grass and I heard and felt my head connect with a rock. I knew I'd split my head open, but I couldn't think about that right now. I forced myself up, Minotaur horn still in my hand. 

My vision was blurry and I could feel blood gushing out of my head and dying my hair red, but I ignored it and focused on killing this thing. The monster charged and without thinking I stepped slightly to the side and, as he barreled past me, I shoved his own horn into his side. 

He roared in agony and clawed at his chest, but that didn't stop him from turning into dust. The wind blew him away and it was silent. The rain was close to stopping, but there was still a bit of thunder and lightning off in the distance. 

My hands were trembling, and I felt like collapsing. My right hand went up to my head, but as soon as it connected I flinched away. Blood coated my fingertips. And I could feel more flowing down my hair and onto my back. 

I stumbled over to Grover, somehow picking him up and taking all of his weight. I held on to him like he was my lifeline. After that, I didn't feel like letting him go. 

"Allie... your head... ugh, what?" Grover mumbled. 

"Don't worry about it," I managed to reply, the cold from the rain settling into my bones and making my teeth chatter. 

The only thing that kept me going was the thought that Grover needed my help. I, even in my daze, still managed to pick up my suitcase as I passed by it, somehow seeing it through blurry vision. I was crying, I knew that, but I couldn't seem to stop. I didn't know if it was from grief for my mother, pain, or both. 

I stumbled down the hill and made it in front of the house I'd seen. My legs felt like lead, but I forced myself to keep going. Black was rimming my eyes and I knew I was about to lose consciousness. 

Just as I made it to the porch, my knees buckled and a blond guy caught me before I could hit the ground. Grover had gotten enough strength to keep from falling on his face, but not enough to get himself back up. The only thing keeping me going was adrenaline. 

"Oh, my gods!" the boy said, and I saw a familiar face appear over his shoulder. 

"Allie! Oh— don't close your eyes! Annabeth, go wake up Will Solace. Tell him we need him to tend to a camper!" I heard hurried footsteps retreating. 

"Help Grover," I managed to mumble.

"Chiron, her head," the boy said. 

"Oh, gods. Allie, keep your eyes open." 

"'M tired," I slurred. The boy who had caught me shifted and picked me up bridal style. I tried to concentrate on his eyes— they were unnaturally blue and caught me off guard (and that wasn't even mentioning his unnaturally handsome face— but the pain became overwhelming. I whimpered and as soon as the boy took me through the door of the house, the world of darkness had already welcomed me.

*    *    *

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SERIES M.LIST | MAIN M.LIST | TIPS

[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.3 hurricane season

warnings : abusive home life, cussing

word count : 5.8k

0.3 Hurricane Season Comes a Couple Months too Early 

If I were religious, this confessional probably would've hit a little bit harder, but— y'know. It's never too late to repent or whatever the Christians say. 

I completely ditched Grover the second the bus made a complete stop. His bladder acted up every time he got anxious or nervous and this time was no different. He bolted for the bathroom the second he got off the bus.

He made me promise to stay right where I was and he'd be back in a second. But whatever happened, I had to stay there. 

I felt so guilty starting my bike back up. I'd even hoped it would be loud enough to grab his attention and make him come running back out to stop me. But it was New York, and the roar of my engine just blended in with the other loud noises. He didn't come out. So I left. 

He was out of sight and he was just freaking me out too much. And I had just finished a school year, which meant I was less than an hour from seeing my mother. The feeling of needing to see her just became too overbearing. 

A few words about her, just before you meet her.

Her name is Sally Jackson and she is actually the greatest, most genuinely perfect person I've ever met. Which, by the way, just proves my theory that the best people have to worst luck. It was kinda sad really. Her parents both died in a plane crash when she was five, so she had to move in with her uncle. He didn't really care for her all that much, so she spent more than enough of her life feeling neglected and unwanted. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent highschool working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma. 

The best break she seemed to have ever gotten was meeting my dad. 

I have no memories of him, just this kind of... warm glow, maybe the barest trace of a smile. My mom doesn't like talking about him and she doesn't have any pictures. She said he was rich and important, so for all I know, I could've met him at an A-list party or something without knowing of any relation between us. 

The only problem with that was: no one in Hollywood looked like me, which for the record is funny— because I've met almost too many who would pay every dollar they have in order to do so. I've had many plastic surgeons tell me my face was the most requested one for women who came to them. 

RDJ, who played my father in the MCU as our Tony/Celeste Stark father-daughter duo, had once offered to be my fill-in father, once. I'd only laughed him off, but secretly wouldn't have minded. With how much advice I always asked of him, it was like he filled the roll in, anyway. 

But aside from that, it also isn't an odd thing to say because I look nothing like my mother. Everything to do with my facial structure and features came from my father because my mom's features don't match mine and our hair and eye color are both different. And there is also the even bigger point of: my mother said that he'd needed to go overseas to do whatever he did. So he set sail over the Atlantic and never came back. 

She'd always said he was lost at sea. Never dead, just lost at sea. 

Either way, she worked odd jobs to provide for us, even though I could've done it myself. She always hated it when I spent my money on her, so she didn't let me buy an apartment, at least not one she'd live in, and she didn't let me buy my Harley. She paid for food and everything else because she is a stubborn woman and "doesn't want anyone's charity— not even her daughter's." 

She took night classes to get her high school diploma because she'd gotten pregnant right after what would've been the start of the second semester of her freshman year of college (at least, if everything had gone her way). She couldn't go back to actual high school, so she did it during the night and online. She never complained or got mad, which was kinda crazy, all things considered. I was not an easy child, not by a long shot. 

That, combined with paparazzi always following me around, combined with how awfully I got along with my asshole stepfather, her life was a trainwreck. She'd married Gabe when I was around 5 or 6. He'd been nice the first few seconds we knew him, but quite soon after revealed his true world-class asshole, misogynistic colors. As I grew up, I'd started calling him a range of nicknames, most including curse words that my mother always gave me a dirty look for saying. 

I didn't know if it was just me being superstitious or paranoid or something, but I always felt gross around him. He stared at me like I was a piece of meat or a stack of 100 dollar bills or something. It always made me feel like I needed to take five showers and scrub a layer of skin off of my body. 

Just to add salt to the wound, he smelled awful. Like so bad to the point where I'd have to apply perfume outside of my apartment because it would wear off the second I walked into the same room as him. 

The two of us made my mom's life a living hell, with how much we hated each other and how awfully he treated her. When I get home is a really good example of how our 'step-father, step-daughter' "relationship" worked. 

Our apartment was pretty small, mostly because it was coming from mom's money and not mine. When I needed a fix of seeing my mom, this is where I'd hunker down, but that didn't mean I lived there full-time. I had my own apartment in my name in the Upper East Side, almost too luxurious for a seventeen-year-old, but there were certain pretenses I had to set as "Hollywood's  Shining Star". Plus, I needed a few bones to throw paps whenever they got too close to figuring out my mother's address. The absurdly large amount of rent I paid, in addition to giving me an escape whenever Gabe pissed me off too much, was another way I attempted to save my mother. I'd been used to the business for my whole life, she still didn't understand many of the ways my world worked. 

But even as small as it was, Gabe mostly took over the living room so he could play poker with his buddies, so that always made it seem even smaller. I never knew why he enjoyed playing so often, since the times he won were few and far between. The T.V. blared ESPN, talking about an NFL player who'd hurt his hamstring during practice. I'd hoped my mom would be home, but I doubted it. Stale chips and beer cans were strewn all over the place. Oh, if only the cameras could see me now. 

He hardly looked up from his cigar, but I knew he knew it was me. "Well, there's my darling step-daughter, home from school. I was wondering when you'd make it home. Got any cash stuffed up that bra of yours?"

"No. Is my mom home yet?" I asked, praying he wouldn't actually check. 

He raised a greasy eyebrow. "She's still working. And don't lie to me, I know you love carrying cash around. I'd say you have a few twenty's in there. Maybe even a hundred or two. C'mon sweetheart. Just a little something for your step-daddy. Wouldn't want me to check now would you?"

Fuck. I sighed mentally. He could sniff money out like a goddamn bloodhound, which was funny considering his smell should've masked everything else. He was right though, not that I'd tell him; I did have a few twenties and two hundred dollar bills. And I definitely did not want him checking, considering the only time that happened was when I'd been close to getting sexually assaulted by another dude who came over to play poker with the asshole in front of me. 

I gritted my teeth and pulled out some of the cash that's been there. I slowly counted it in front of him, $280 in total, and used a little sleight of hand to give him only $60. It was a little trick my instructor had taught me a few months prior when I was filming Now You See Me. 

Gabe managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I never knew why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. I may have enjoyed a drink or two here or there— a bit of wine at dinners, and a bit of tequila and others at certain parties— but I was never able to stomach beer. Even the smell made me sick. No doubt Games proclivities were to blame. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "little secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out. Again.

"Gabe, the girl just got home. And she makes the money herself. Shouldn't you give her a break?" Eddie, our on-the-older-side-and-mostly-better-than-the-rest-of-Gabe's-asshole-friends building manager said, doing his best to reel Gabe in, to no avail. 

Gabe twisted his face into a frown, making his quadruple chins ripple. "Now why would I do that? She's Hollywood's bitch. She's loaded and I'm her step-father. If anything, I deserve the money she gives me considering I agreed to raise her freakshow self." He threw the money I'd given him to the middle of the table. "Give me my chips. Let's start another round."

I left as soon as the money started getting counted and replaced with chips. I was not in the mood to get screamed at for not giving him the full amount. 

My suitcase had been thrown haphazardly into the hallway, kind of close to where my bedroom door was. I picked it up on my way and once I made it into my room, I tossed it onto my bed. Gabe wanted to use my room as his own personal 'man-cave' while I wasn't in school, but my mother always made sure my door was locked and he wasn't smart enough to break-in. 

Home sweet home, I grumbled in my mind, pulling out the nearest perfume and spraying it generously. Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn.

But as soon as I thought about that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic— how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone— something— was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons. Step by step, almost there—

Then, with one single word, my fears melted away. 

"Allie?" My mom's voice called. 

I felt my whole body immediately relax. My mother could make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkled and changed color in the light. Her smile, as warm as a quilt. She'd gotten a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never thought of her as old. When she looked at me, it was like she was seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.

"Oh, Allie!" She cried, almost tackling me onto my bed with a hug. "You look so grown up! I can't believe my princess graduated today!"

Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home. My dietician hated it, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. 

We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand over my double dutch braids and demanded to know everything I hadn't called or texted her about. She asked about all the new movies I'd starred in since the beginning of the year and talked a lot about college. She mentioned a few interviews I'd done, and my cover of Vogue that I'd told her about, but hadn't come out yet. All she wanted to talk about was me. Was her baby okay? Was she doing all right?

She'd been in the middle of saying something about Columbia when Gabe interrupted from the other room. "Hey, Sally! How 'bout you make us some bean dip?"

I saw her shoulders sag, just slightly, and I knew she saw my whole body tense. She knew I hated him and she knew how much I wanted to stab him in the eye with a spoon, but she always wanted us to get along. My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to one of the hot actors who'd played as my dad in some of my movies, not this ass.

For her sake, I'd tried to sound super happy about my last year of high school, but in all honesty, it sucked. I suffered from a bad case of senioritis (even though I wasn't really a senior) and I got sexualized and catcalled almost daily. I didn't tell my mom about that, though. I also didn't tell her about Mrs. Dodds or the old ladies. With the usual horrible stuff she read about me on the internet, she didn't need anything to add to her worry. 

"I have a surprise for you!" She said, and she snapped her fingers like she always did once she remembered something she'd forgotten. "We're going to the beach. I want to use the beach house you bought a lot now since, for this moment, you don't have shows or movies to worry about and you won't have to model again for a few more weeks."

I perked up immediately. Our summer beach house was virtually the only thing my mother let me buy with my own money. At least, the only thing that she'd use, too. Her parents used to rent it out until they died, which is where she'd hunkered down when her uncle died. She stayed there for a week to wallow in her misery before she had to rejoin society, lest she blow all her money to stay there. She'd met my dad there, on her last night. She never had the nerve to go back until I was around six, also around the time of her and Gabe's first year of being married. She tried to make it back every year, but it was a large and expensive beach house in the Hamptons, and cost a lot of money to rent out, even for a night. 

By the time I was 12, I had a pretty good understanding of life and why the number in my bank account could actually be a great thing, even if it was accompanied by a countdown for how long it would be until I turned 18. I'd asked Danny to look into buying it out, and low and behold, the woman who owned the property was looking to sell, as she was close to having blown all of the money she'd inherited from her dead Oil-Tycoon husband and didn't feel the need to care for it anymore. She was all too happy to sell it to me. 

But I'd done all of that behind my mother's back and she almost boycotted going that year entirely, before deciding this would be the only thing she'd relent on. She strong armed me into an agreement that I'd never spend so much money on something that had to do with her again, however, and not wanting to see the disappointed look on her face due to not being able to provide me the same luxuries I could provide myself, I relented. She knew how much it meant to me, being able to go to the house every year with her, and since I'd already bought it, there wasn't much else she could do. 

"Uh, when?!" I asked, almost jumping up and down. 

"Once I get packed, we will be ready to go. You already have your suitcase of clothes and things here, so all I need to do is get my stuff ready. I'll take your step-father's car and you can take your Harley."

Quick bit of information: I kinda have a car obsession. So I own many cars, however, they are all stationed at our beach house in East Hampton. I wasn't about to temp Asshole Gabe into wanting to drive my luxury cars. The only vehicle of my own that was always near, was my Harley, which I knew made my mom happy. I tended not to use any of the cars I bought around her, for the same disappointed look reasons. 

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?" 

I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for East Hampton. Then we would get out of here. 

"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip." 

Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?" 

"Pig," I muttered. "He won't let us go, will he?" 

"Of course he will. He doesn't have control over you anyways," my mother said evenly. I tried to ignore her emphasis on 'you.' "Your step-father is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."

"Money," I scoffed under my breath. "I bought the damn house. The only money we spend going is the gas money we use getting there and back." 

Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?" 

"Yes, honey," my mother said placatingly, settling her hand on my arm to keep me from pouncing. 

"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back?" 

"We'll be very careful." 

Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip... And maybe if the girl apologizes for interrupting my poker game." 

Maybe if I cut off your dick with a butter knife, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week. 

But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad. 

Why she put up with this guy was beyond me. I cleared my throat quietly, preparing for the intense acting energy I was about to exert. Red leather, yellow leather. Red leather, yellow leather.

"I'm so terribly sorry," I lied, "for interrupting your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."

Gabe's eyes narrowed and for a moment I doubted my acting and lying skills, but then he rolled his eyes. I guess his tiny brain couldn't detect the intense sarcasm in my voice. 

"Yeah, okay. Whatever," he settled on. He went back to his game. 

"Thank you, Allie. Let me go get ready. Get your helmet and keys and I'll be right back."

She left to go pack and make Gabe his seven-layer dip. 

We were ready to leave an hour later. Gabe watched me roll mine and my mom's suitcases down to his car and kept watching as I got my bike ready. 

He yelled down to me once I finished putting my mom's suitcase in the trunk. "There better not be a single scratch on that car once you bring it back or there'll be hell to pay. I'll have a beer bottle with your name on it waiting. I'm sure it'll love getting broken over your head and I'm sure you remember how that felt last time."

I wasn't going to be driving, but I doubt he cared. It'd be my fault because I was easy to push around and had a lot more money than my mother. He'd find something to blame on me and that beer bottle would connect with my skull at some point. As long as he could hold my mother over my head, he had the upper hand. 

Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on a few different occasions while we were in school. I thought it was a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. 

The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the ass and sent him flying up the stair-case as if he'd been shot from a cannon. Maybe it was just the wind or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.

Once I saw my mom walking towards me I got on my bike, put my helmet on, and was ready to drive as soon as she'd opened her door. 

Our beach house was very large and sat right on the beach. It was perched right at the end of the neighborhood and was easily the largest house in a couple-mile radius. There was a shitton of rooms, most of which weren't used often, so there would be a few cobwebs if it wasn't taken care of. The beach had white sand, the same shade as my hair and the seas were normally pretty cold. 

So, of course, I loved the place. 

It calmed me down in a way nothing else could. The water hitting my feet made me feel like I could do anything. Like the feeling you get when you walk out of a movie theater and you feel like you could conquer the world, except I don't feel like I'm in a daze. It's quite the opposite, actually. I feel wide awake. 

As we got closer, my mom always seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea. I didn't even have to be in the same car as her to know that. 

We got there at sunset, opened all the windows (well, not all the windows. Mostly the ones in the living room and on the main floor), and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.

Should I explain the blue food?

Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This— along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano— was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, which wasn't shown often, but did remind me that I did get a few things from her. My polite streak was proof of that. 

When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.

I told her I'd get her a laptop and an editor and a publisher right then and there, but she would hear nothing of it. If she wanted to be an author, it wouldn't be because of her famous daughter. She'd probably use a fake last name so it wouldn't seem like she was leeching off of me. I asked her why she wanted to go the hard route and she smiled and shook her head at me; the 'you'll understand when you're older' went without saying. 

Eventually, I finally got enough nerve to ask about my father, one of the few things that was always on my mind when we were here. My mom's eyes went misty and I almost took the comment back, but I stood my ground. She took two blue jelly beans from the bag. I figured she'd tell me the things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them. 

"He was kind, Allie," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But he was also gentle. You look exactly like him, it's almost uncanny. If you were to style your hair the same way he did his and had the same physique, you two would be impossible to tell apart. You have his white hair and those pretty green-blue eyes. And you definitely didn't get your height from me." 

That was true. I'd passed my mother in height a while ago. She was very short and petite, and while I did get the petite from her, I was also tall and curvy. 

"I... I wish he could see you now, Allie. He'd be so damn proud."

I was shocked. For one, I'd never heard my mother curse. Ever. And secondly, I couldn't quite decide what was so special about a 16-year-old girl who got sexualized on the internet, in public, and pretty much everywhere else. Sure I'd quickly become one of the highest paid actors and models in the world and just that previous September I released the most streamed album of the year, but what would that really mean in the long run? Hollywood is wishy-washy on the best of days, and fame is fickle. The countdown was nearing on a year and two months. It would only get worse the more I did. The more people who knew my name meant a lot more trouble for me. On dark days, I wondered if the trouble was worth it. 

"Did he... stick around? After I was born, I mean," I asked, trying very hard to keep my voice from cracking. It was close, but I think I did it. 

"He... he came to see you a few times. His work was very serious and he didn't have a lot of time. But he saw you." 

I nodded slowly, taking it in. I guessed that was why I'd remembered something about him. I wasn't about to tell my mother that, though. She was already on the verge of crying as it was. I felt like that would set her over the edge. 

"I was going to ask you... I got offered by Warner Brothers to do another movie. They wouldn't start filming for a while, but they wanted to go ahead and get the cast done. It's filming in Georgia, though. They said they might be able to pull a few strings and move it to New York, but Georgia would be ideal. Would you be okay with that?" 

"I don't know, Allie. There's a lot I need to think about right now. I'd feel better if you didn't leave. You know how worried I get every time you board a plane."

"I know. It's just, this one's... different. I think it would... I really want—"

"You know," my mom said, standing up slowly, "I'm getting a little tired. I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Please don't stay up too late. We can talk in the morning."

I just nodded and my mother left me to my thoughts. The wind picked up a little, and my hair flew from my shoulder to my back. My head fell to my right hand as I tried to rub away the headache that was starting to form. 

I only looked up when I felt someone watching me. I could've sworn it was coming from the ocean, but I didn't stay long enough to figure out if anything was there. I was not trying to be the stupid one in the horror movie. No thanks. I brushed my hair with my fingers as I walked into the house.

That night I had an awful dream, shocker shocker. 

It started with a whole bunch of memories I'd tried to suppress of all the bad things that had happened to me throughout my life. 

During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head. 

Before that— a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.

And there was one time when I was thirteen and I'd seen a huge lion prowling the edge of a forest we were filming near. I noticed every time the camera would move in its direction, it'd retreat back to the forest and then come back out once the camera moved. Finally, it just leaped away after hours of us filming and no one getting near it. 

Then, the dream changed. 

It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle's wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.

I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. Both animals lunged at each other and before I could see what happened I woke with a start. 

Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery. 

With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She ran into my room, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane." 

I knew that was crazy. Hurricanes were never seen around here this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end. 

Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice— someone yelling, pounding on our front door.

My mother grabbed both of our suitcases and ran to the front door, a floor down from us. I followed her down to the foyer. 

She threw my suitcase to me and slung open the door. 

Grover stood there, out of breath and looking like he needed a seat. However, he looked different. What the fuck...?

"Searching all night," Grover gasped. "What were you thinking?" 

My mother looked at me in terror— not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come

"Allie!" she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing. 

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. "It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?" 

I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here, by himself, in the middle of the night. 

My mom looked at me sternly and spoke in a tone she'd never used before: "Allie. Tell me now!" 

I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning.

She grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to Gabe's car, pushing past Grover on her way. She took my suitcase and threw me into the driver's seat. Grover got in the back, while my mom ran to the passenger's side and sat down with my suitcase in her lap. 

She didn't even let me ask a question. She just put the keys in the ignition and said, "drive. Now. I'll tell you where to go. Take a left up here."

Now that we were in the car and I had more things to worry about, I finally processed many things. Grover's muscular disease finally made sense to me. Because he didn't have legs. Well, he did, but they weren't human legs. They were more like farm animal legs, all thrown together with fucking hooves.

*    *    *

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[trinity-mia]

a story as endless as the ocean

the lightning thief

0.2 fruit ladies of death

warnings : mention of an abusive home life ( fuck gabe fr )

word count : 3.2k

0.2 Some Old Ladies Who Knit Socks Predict My Death

Throughout the last few weeks of school, I hardly even thought of Mrs. Dodds. I was way too busy stressing over a new photoshoot for the September cover of Vogue, completing the final few scenes needed for the upcoming season of The Walking Dead that would be released early the next year, and finishing off my final few assignments to make sure I maintained my 4.0 to keep my mind occupied with the thought of something that I very well could've convinced myself I dreamt up. 

She visited me in my sleep every night, though. I didn't have much time during my last days to think about her a lot, so I shoved it to the back of my mind, throwing myself into projects to keep myself distracted. But there she came, every night like clockwork— whether I was in bed in my dorm room or in another random hotel room— making my heart thunder in my chest and sending a chill up my spine. 

I might've been able to forget about it. I might've even been able to convince myself it had never happened, if I really tried— I'd done something similar before, at any rate. The only problem was Grover. He kept giving me worried looks and seemed to be on edge every time he was around me. Every time I'd ask him what was wrong, he'd tell me nothing and that he was fine. I would've believed him, too. The only problem with that is: Grover's an awful liar and couldn't fool me even if his life depended on it. 

Mrs. Kerr, who had supposedly been our calc teacher since Christmas, was a perky blonde woman and I had never seen her in my entire life, but she was a good teacher, so I went with it. 

The shitty weather continued; there were very few days it didn't rain. A thunderstorm ended up blowing out the windows of a few of my friends' dorms. Vivian, my senior roommate and one of the few non-fake people in this school, and I had gotten lucky. She was bubbly and on the cheer team with me, and I'd known her a few years before we would separate on graduation day. She had a boyfriend, Michah Newsome if I remembered correctly, who was already in college at LSU and she'd be joining him there, after the school year ended. 

A few days after the thunderstorm, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy. Once we'd finished all of the units needed, our social studies teacher made us study the irregular amount of small planes that'd taken a dive into the Atlantic in the past few months. 

My own issues weren't getting any better— I felt more irritable than I'd ever been and even the tiniest of inconveniences had me snapping at the nearest person. Danny had gotten particularly aggravated with me and after one of our worse arguments, had me storming off of the set of The Avengers and almost too pissed off to go to Columbia Cheer tryouts the next day. 

Despite that, I couldn't wait for the year to be over so I'd get to see my mother again. I hadn't seen her since Christmas and that in and of itself was starting to take a toll on me. She calmed me down most of the time and whenever I had a problem I knew I could go to her about it, but without her near I couldn't very well do that. At the very least, I knew when I went to college I'd get to stay with her and wouldn't have classes all day, every day. 

Then again, that did mean I was going to have to be the bartender and the never-ending money supplier for my dickhead of a stepfather and his poker games, but I was willing to sacrifice that. 

I would miss Vivian and Grover, who'd been the best friends I'd met away from work. And I'd miss Mr. Brunner and his crazy-but-awesome way of teaching. I'd miss the view my dorm had and the smell of pine that always seemed to be in the air. 

Still not gonna stay. I'd rather hold up the sky. 

My Vogue shoot went well and the night before my Greek and Roman final, Vivian and I were blasting the Mean Girls soundtrack as loud as we could without getting in trouble with the teachers. 

"Ya know, we should probably be studying right now, don't you think?" Vivian asked me after 'Someone Gets Hurt' finished. 

"I thought the reason we were listening to Mean Girls was because we didn't want to study," I replied, turning off my speaker. "But you're right. We should probably study, at least a little."

I flopped down on my bed and stretched out across the whole thing in order to grab my backpack. 

"Ugh, I think I left my book in Brunner's class. Fuck, I'll be right back," I groaned and forced myself up while Vivian nodded as a reply. I stifled a yawn and made sure I had my key fob before heading in the direction of Mr. Brunner's classroom. 

Now this next part, please don't attack me for. I dare you to walk away when you hear one of your best friends talking with an adult about you. I don't normally eavesdrop, but I couldn't help myself. 

"I'm worried about Allie, sir," I heard Grover's voice once I was three steps away from the door handle. I froze and debated staying or running. I stayed. "She acts like she saw nothing. It's like she never even killed that Kindly One! And a Kindly One! In the school, right under our noses! She seems too calm for something like this."

"We might make things worse if we rush her. She's sixteen, much older than those her age would make it, an incredible feat, but it makes it more difficult—especially with her. She's got a career of her own, one that is already going to be difficult to hide with everything. She's established in the world. She's going to college next year instead of continuing high school. She'll be graduating on Friday after her final tomorrow and that only means she'll be much less understanding of it all," Mr. Brunner replied. 

"But the summer solstice deadline! What if we don't have time?"

"She may not even be involved. Let her enjoy her ignorance while she can."

"But sir, you've seen—!" 

"Grover, you haven't failed. She'll be fine, especially since she's made it this far. I worry about her, too, but she will be fine for a few more days. All we must worry about is keeping her alive until next fall—" 

My key fob fell from my hand before I could stop it. It shouldn't have made that loud of a noise, but with it being dead silent, it sounded like a gun being fired. My blood pulsed in my ears and I picked the key up and sprinted around the corner of the hall and into a random dark classroom before I could get caught. At that moment, the only thing I could think was about how lucky it was that I forgot to slip some tennis shoes on. My socks had muffled my sprinting. 

The sound of horse hooves hitting the ground entered the dead silent hallway and I held my breath. The sound stopped near the door of the classroom was in and I was almost certain I'd gotten caught, but then the sound echoed again, this time moving back in the way it came. 

"Nothing," Mr. Brunner muttered somewhere along the hallway. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Neither have mine, but I could've sworn..." Grover said. 

"Get back to your dorm. You still have to take your final tomorrow, so you should get a good night's sleep."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

I was alone again. I waited a few extra minutes just to make sure I wasn't going to get caught before slowly leaving the classroom. I made sure not to make a noise as I closed the door and then booked it down the hallway back to my dorm. 

Once I got there I took a moment for myself before I walked in. Vivian looked up at me as I entered. 

"Hey, where's your book?" she asked.

"Not sure. It wasn't in Brunner's room, so I probably just left it somewhere," I lied. "Oh well. I think I'm gonna go ahead and go to bed, though. I'll be fine without studying. Plus, I graduate in two days, I want that to get here as quickly as possible," I finished, making sure to keep my voice even in order to make the lie believable. Vivi had always had a difficult time determining whether or not I was lying most of the time, anyway. 

"Okay," she replied, taking my words at face value. "'Night."

"'Night, Viv."

***

The next morning my Greek and Roman final went well enough and the next day, graduation went by even faster, though when our names were being called up for our diplomas it felt like I'd be there for another year. 

Yancy Academy's graduations didn't allow parents or family to come and watch the ceremony; maybe they knew most of the kids here had rich, busy parents and didn't want a large number of kids to have no one there. It was stupid, in my opinion, but whatever. Our audience was the rest of the school and they filmed the ceremony, just so the parents who cared could have something. 

Once the ceremony was over, I went to a few of the people I actually talked to, just to say goodbye to them. Most asked me what I was going to do over the summer and I gave a generic response. 

"Uh, probably fly a couple of places. I think I might be going to Bora Bora for a shoot. And I might have to go to California, too. Who knows, really?" Thankfully they'd taken that answer and left me alone. 

Grover and Vivian caught me as I was walking away from my Italian teacher, Mrs. R. 

"Allie! I'm shocked you made it through this whole year. You weren't technically even a senior, but you still had senioritis," Vivian joked. 

I gave her a sad smile. "I'm gonna miss you, Viv," I said and we both shared a hug before she left, "Want me to walk you to the bus stop, G? I have my Harley and my clothes are already at my mom's apartment, so I can't get on there with you. You're going into Manhattan, right?" 

"Yeah," Grover confirmed. "Uh... do you mind driving behind my bus? You can take me around Central Park since I've never been."

"I keep forgetting you told me you aren't from New York," I frowned. "I'll stay behind as long as I can."

He didn't like that answer (I knew from his frown) but nodded anyway. As he waited, I ran and grabbed my bike. I had taken my suitcase to my apartment yesterday, so I didn't have to deal with it on graduation day. I only had my Louis Vitton purse keeping an extra change of clothes with me. 

My bike rumbled loudly, but it was almost completely drowned out with all the noise coming from New York's traffic. The bus got there soon after I did, and I was relieved to finally get going. At the very least, I'd never have to step foot in another high school (barring any time I'd have to play a high school role, which I blatantly ignored).

I saw Grover sit in the very back of the bus and he smiled at me through the unusually large windows that the bus had. I smiled back and made sure my helmet was completely on before following the bus back to my home city. 

I kept noticing Grover would both look down the isles of the bus and then look back at me nervously. I tried not to think anything of it, but a bad feeling settled in my stomach and I was momentarily reminded of Mrs. Dodds. 

Suddenly, right before we got to the highway, a loud grinding noise and back smoke came from the Grayhound they were on and the driver immediately pulled over to the side. I stopped right behind it. 

Nothing happened for a few seconds and I had pulled my helmet off and walked over to the door. I saw the driver fiddle with something and then turned to announce something to the passengers. They all had gotten up, so I assumed it was something about them needing to get off. 

Grover was the last one off and he walked straight over to me. I led him away from the crowd and closer to where my bike was. After a few seconds of silence and a whole lot of nervous glances thrown towards the woods on our right, I got fed up. 

"Looking for kindly ones?" I asked him. He practically jumped out of his skin. 

"Wha- what do you mean?" Grover managed to stutter out. 

I rolled my eyes but confessed to overhearing him and Mr. Brunner talking about me the night before. 

"How much did you hear?" he said, and his eye twitched. 

I shrugged noncommittally. "Oh... not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"

Another eye twitch, this one accompanied by a wince. "It's uh... I was just worried about you... and—"

"Grover."

"I just thought you'd been super stressed lately—"

"Grover! You're a really, really bad liar," I said, finally getting him to listen to me. 

His ears turned pink. He searched his pockets for a moment before pulling out a card from the front pocket of his flannel. It was a card, written in a cursive script and it took a moment, but I figured out what it said. 

Grover Underwood Keeper Half-Blood Hill Long Island, New York (800) 009-0009

"What's Half—"

"Don't say it out loud!" he yelled, drawing some attention and causing people to whisper as if just now realizing I was there. 

I saw a little girl, probably around nine, tug on the sleeve of her mother's shirt and not-so-discreetly whisper, "that's Allie Jackson!"

I grimaced and turned my attention back to Grover. "It's my, uh... summer address," he said. 

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Uh... okay? Why would I need this?" 

He blushed. "Look Allie... I've kinda been protecting you this whole school year..." Grover said, and though I could tell he wasn't lying, it didn't make sense. No one wanted to cross me, so I'd stuck up for him this whole school year. How had he been protecting me?

"What exactly have you been protecting me from?" I chose the most logical question. At least I'd know why instead of how. I looked around and I felt like I found my answer before he could tell me. 

It was a normal fruit stand on the other side of the road, with three old ladies sitting on the other side of it. They were all knitting something, but whoever it was for had to be much larger than your average person. Grover followed my gaze and gasped. 

The fruit actually looked really good, and I was tempted to go over and buy some, but something stopped me from doing so. I was fixated and couldn't really bring myself to move. Grover latched his hand on my arm, his nails digging into my skin. 

The three ladies were knitting socks, but they were the size of sweaters, so either they messed up, or I was missing a very important puzzle piece in this 10,000 piece puzzle.

They stared right back at me. 

I shifted my gaze and went to make a joke to Grover, but he looked terrified. There was no color in his face, which was weird because Grover was naturally tan. 

His nose twitched. "Allie. Come on. Get on the bus now," he said and almost didn't leave me any time to argue. 

"Uh, I'll take a hard pass on that one, G."

"They aren't looking at you, are they?" Grover whispered. 

"Yeah, they are. Funny, huh? Think they know me?"

"Please don't joke about this, Allie. Come on."

"I'm not going in there!" I opposed. "It's like a thousand degrees. I'd rather not deal with my hair poofing into a tangled, poofy mess!" 

I noticed the old lady in the middle had picked up a pair of solid gold scissors. The yarn had shifted, and the light now showed me that the yarn was two different colors; a neutral gray— not too light and not too dark— and a scarlet red, one that was so red it was almost brown. They were twisted together, in a weird, complex way, kind of reminding me of a complicated path in a forest or something. 

Grover's breath hitched and he whispered out another 'come on,' and ran to the bus. I found myself fixated again. I was supposed to see this. I think.

They were still watching me. I kept my eyes on the middle one, so I didn't miss a second of her cutting the two pieces of string. I could've sworn I heard the snip across all of the loud traffic. The other two balled up the rest of the string and the middle one held the cut pieces in the air. They weren't connected on one end and the gray piece seemed to be much shorter than the red. 

What the hell? I only looked away once Grover pried one of the bus's back doors open. The bus roared back to life at the same time. Feeling shiverish, like I'd just gotten the flu, I pulled my helmet on my head and swung my leg back over the bike. 

"What are you not telling me," I demanded once Grover opened the back window and stuck his head out of it. 

"What did you see?" He asked. 

"The middle one took out her scissors and snipped both pieces of string. What are you not telling me?" 

But the bus was starting and would be leaving soon, so I asked a better question. 

"Does this mean someone's going to die?" I asked, but he couldn't answer as the bus started going again and I had no choice but to follow behind. 

"Stay at the bus stop. Don't leave once the bus stops. Please," Grover pleaded. He started whispering to himself and then closed the back window. 

The last look he gave me was one that looked like he was picking out the flowers I'd like best on my grave. They'd be roses and sunflowers.

*    *    *

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[trinity-mia]

navi.

hey ! i'm trinity, i started out as a writer on wattpad, but i decided to start branching out a little and cross-post my stories here on tumblr. this decision mostly comes from the fact that wattpad deleted my old account after i'd already garnered like 100k reads on one of my stories. which was, uh, devastating to say the least

anyways, it took a while, but i'm finally back to posting after a ( very long ) break ! i'm glad to be back, as i really do enjoy writing. i will say, however, that i am in college, so updates can be a little irregular. i work two jobs in addition to being a full-time student, so once all of my backups dry up... it's gonna get a little iffy

i have so many ideas for stories and so many thoughts in my head, so i'm going to try to find all of the time i can

that said, here's the main / most important links. i figure once more and more chapters are posted here, it's going to get a little crowded. i'm a little new to posting on tumblr, so there's going to have to be a little trial and error, but i'm sure it'll be fine

— main masterlist

— tip jar

— my wattpad account

if you have any questions or want to make any comments, feel free to send an ask ! i'll figure out how they work and all lmao

also ! once i start up in between the tides again, feel free to send in any plot requests you might have. in fact, it might be beneficial if there were any ideas you wanted to see, because it might give me inspiration to write more than a few paragraphs lol

i think that's all for now ! if i'm forgetting anything big, i'll come back and add it

anyways, i love you guys ! eat and sleep well, and drink lots of water !

~xoxo, trin <3