Poke.
Travis rolled over and continued sleeping.
Poke.
Groaning, he reluctantly opened his eyes, only to find himself face-to-face with Sophie. She poked him again.
"Yes?" he asked wearily.
"It's time to get up."
He looked around. The cabin was still dark, and everyone else was sleeping. "No it's not, Soph. Go back to bed."
She squeezed her stuffed turtle, Flippers, to her chest and frowned at him. "It's morning, Travis." she insisted.
"Soph, it's still nighttime. Look." he pressed the light button on his watch and stared at the numbers. It read nine o'clock a.m. That couldn't be right. He leaned over the bunk and checked Connor's alarm clock. Sure enough, it read nine o'clock in the morning.
Suddenly, Travis was confused. He climbed down the ladder and quickly dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
He looked at Sophie. "You coming?" She nodded and took his hand. Then they quietly slipped out the cabin door, careful not to wake the others, and headed towards the Big House.
Travis wasn't surprised to find that he and Sophie weren't the first ones there. Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beaureguard, Clarisse La'Rue, Katie Gardner, Micheal Yew, Will Solace, Lee Fletcher, and two hunters were all seated around the ping pong table, showering a weary Chiron with frantic questions.
"Quiet!" Chiron pleaded. "QUIET!"
Silence filled the room. Chiron nodded to an empty chair next to one of the hunters. Travis recognized her. She was the one who had taken him down in capture the flag the night before.
"Sit, Travis." Chiron said firmly. Travis obeyed, pulling Sophie into his lap.
"Let us begin," Chiron started. "Obviously, the sun is absent-"
"It's Apollo." a voice interrupted. They all turned to look at the hunter called El. She tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear. "Something has happened to him."
"How do you know?" Lee argued.
She glared at him icily before explaining. "I'm his daughter."
Beckendorf frowned. "You're a halfblood?"
"Does that surprise thee?" El retorted.
Will Solace didn't look convinced. "That still doesn't explain how you know something has happened to Apollo," he glanced at Micheal and Lee. "We're also children of Apollo, and we didn't sense anything."
El hesitated. "I had a dream. Apollo was chained down. They were torturing him."
"Who is they?" Chiron asked calmly.
El sighed and shook her head sadly. "I wish I knew."
The campers began arguing again, until a loud crash thundered over the chaos.
Standing in the doorway was the shriveled form of the oracle, her empty eye sockets glowing eerily. She spoke in a voice like sandpaper.
Four shall embark to rescue the sun
But the journey will end in the death of one
In the city of wind will the sun god be found
His captor the one with the everpresent frown
A wisp of green smoke wafted from her mouth, and she went stiff, just as if she had never come to life.
The campers were shocked and absolutely speechless. Chiron recovered first, breaking the silence. "It looks like we have a quest on our hands."
El stood. "I must go."
The second hunter, Fiona, stood next to her. "And I shall accompany her."
Chiron sighed. "That's two."
Katie Gardner's mind raced. She had dreamed of going on a quest since she was six years old, and now was her chance.
"I want to go. On the quest, I mean." she stuttered.
Travis could never figure out why, but he had always cared about Katie. He told himself it was just because she was so small and petite, and reminded him a little of Sophie. He cursed his protective instincts before saying, "Me too."
Chiron nodded. "Well, we have our four. You should get going as soon as possible, so I suggest you go pack."