Life After Gaea Ch.I

PIPER

I made it! I strolled into the clearing Jason had told me to meet him in. " Come to the clearing by the river" he had whispered in my ear, outside the Aphrodite cabin. " Jason?" I called out, scanning the area. " Jason? " I called louder, and my voice sounded a little panicky, even to me. " I'm here Piper. " I heard his voice ring out as he stepped out of the woods into the clearing. I sighed with relief, glad he hadn't been attacked by the patrol harpies. But something was wrong. It was barely there, just a cold chill down my spine.

I knew the feeling, I was sure of it. It seemed so familiar yet... No, I told myself. You are just nervous. Even as I told myself not to worry, my instincts told me something was wrong. My muscles tensed, despite my efforts to relax. I gave myself a little shake and started to head towards Jason. I saw a shadow dart past me in the corner of my eye. I whirled around, but there was nothing.

"Something wrong Pipes?" Jason asked from the shadows. "Nothing," I muttered. It was nothing I tell myself, with more firmness than I really felt. "Nothing," calling out louder so he could hear me. I continue to stride towards him when I remembered with icy clarity where I had felt that cold chill. Worse than that, I remembered what caused that feeling. "Eildons." I cursed.

"What was that "Pipes?" called the Eildon that was currently residing in Jason's body. "Nothing!" I called back. I couldn't alert the Eildon that I knew it was here. But it didn't matter. The Eildon had heard me. It gave me a cruel smile, one that didn't belong on Jason's face. "Oh Piper. Poor little Piper." The Eildon sang as he stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

If I had any doubts up to that point, they dissipated when the moon shone down on Jason's face. For the first time I had stepped into the clearing I could clearly see Jason's face. And I had my worst doubts confirmed. Jason's normal clear, blue eyes had turned to a rich gold. Just like they had in Kansas, when the Earth Mother had put Eildons into the bodies of Jason and Percy and tried to make them fight for the death.

The Eildon continued to advance forward. I drew my knife, Katropis. " Silly Piper," the Eildon chuckled. "If you try to hurt me, you will hurt your beloved Jason." As much as I hated to admit it, the Eildon was right. But I wasn't an idiot. Last time we had faced the Eildons on the Argo II, I had forced them out with my charmspeak. "Leave Jason's body." I commanded, charmspeak laced in my voice.

" I-I w-w-will leave this b-b-body. " The Eildon repeated, stuttering over the words. I smiled; this was too easy. But then the Eildon did something I hadn't expected. He smirked. Jasons eyes stayed gold, his voice still arrogant. My confidence faded rapidly, leaving me afraid with an unbeatable Eildon. "But-But" I stuttered over my words, just like the Eildon had a few moments ago.

"I regret to inform you Piper McLean, that Eildons have adapted and are now immune to your Charmspeak powers." It finished with another smirk. I stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. But then a miracle happened.

Jason's eyes turned blue, and when he spoke, his voice was his own " Pipes." He said it with such fright I recoiled. " Get out of here Pipes!" He commanded. "Now!" He yelled. His eyes were slowly turning to gold again. "Go! They are going to put an Eildon in y-" His voice choked off, and he sank to his knees, hands pressed hard against his temples. He looked up at me, eyes blue and full of fear.

His head fell, and then he stood, his eyes once again gold, he voice again cruel and filled with arrogance. "I'm sorry about the distraction Piper." again, he smirked. I mean, seriously? What was with him and smirking?!

"Now where we, hmm?" The Eildon tapped his chin and gazed off into the distance, the very picture of thoughtfulness. " Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, as though he hadn't know the whole time. And then he did something that I would never had thought of. He turned around and darted off into the forest. I dashed after him. The Eildon obviously did not care about what happened to Jason's body, so I had to be careful.

I chased him through the forest, watching out for patrol harpies. At Camp Half-Blood, the harpies would eat you if they caught you out of your cabin after curfew. I ran for what felt like miles, batting branches out of the way, jumping over ditches. My clothes stuck to me like a second skin, and I had to keep blowing my hair out of my face. If I slowed down for a second, I would lose whatever hope I had of saving Jason forever. I wondered where we were now, because I knew that the forest wasn't this big.

The only way we could be going this far is if the Eildon has been zigzagging across the forest, trying to lose me. I started paying closer attention to the multiple twists and turns the Eildon kept making, and sure enough, we were zigzagging. I stumbled. I had thought that the zigzagging was to throw me off the path. I was so wrong though. The zigzagging had been to keep me from guessing where the Eildon was heading.

The Eildon was smart enough to know how much faster I would run, how much harder I would try to catch up once I knew where we were headed. And for once, the Eildon was right. I pushed my weary body to go faster. I had to catch up. Once we reached our destination, the Eildon would definitely be unbeatable.

The Eildon was headed to the cliffs, where all he had to do was step off. The Eildon could step off, and let Jason's body fall onto the jagged rocks below. We rounded the last corner, and the sheer drop came into sight. The Eildon bounded towards it and I screamed "Wait! Don't PLEASE!" I screamed, with unintentional charmspeak in my voice. For a second, the Eildon faltered. He looked at me uncertainly. Then the confusion rolled off his face, and he said "Another time, Piper McLean."

He gave me one last smirk, turned and stepped off the small little ledge. "NOOOO!" I screamed. But it was too late. The Eildon would stay in my precious Jason's body until it was too late for Jason to use his powers and save himself from the certain death he had been condemned to. "Jason, no Jason. No, please. NO!" Tears dug paths throughout my face. As Jason, son of Jupiter, fell to Earth.

TO BE CONTINUED!