Sorry for the wait, but here it is, Chapter 2. I have been working on this story and I may be able to post a chapter next Saturday as well. It's short so I might be able to give you guys 2 chapters :3. As always, please review or pm me if you guys have any questions or comments. Looking forward to some feedback. Enjoy!
II
Abram
Most people had dreams, demigods had vivid dreams. Some of these dreams are so powerful and so clear that a demigod can't describe it with words. Dreams, are hardly ever just dreams. Demigods get messages, glimpses of things happening to their friends or enemies. Sometime even a glimpse of the past or future. This was one of those dreams, and Abram knew it.
His eyes shot open with the sound of an intercom blaring to life. He couldn't really make out what it said, but the voice said something with a tone that sounded like it was an emergency. Abram looked around to try to get a better picture of where he was. The white halls were lit by florescent lighting which didn't really feel welcoming or inviting. If it wasn't for the buzzing coming from the bulbs, that halls would be eerily silent. Well, even more so. Painted lines ran together across the floor under him. Farther down the hall some of them darted off around corners or behind doors. A legend was occasionally pinned to the wall explaining that the red lines lead to exits, blue lines led to the Doctors' Lounge, and the yellow lines led to a smokers' lounge. Doctors, guiding lines painted on the ground, and florescent lighting. He was in a hospital, but not just any hospital. No, the longer he stood there the more familiar it felt to him. This was the hospital where his mom worked.
Abram now knew why he was here. A cruel trick one of the gods must have been playing on him. It was the night that changed his life forever, and the gods were replying it over and over for him as a nightmare. He dreaded falling asleep now and days. It was always the same, nothing ever changed except how long it took for him to gather the courage and walk to his mother's lab. His mom spent so many hours at work to support them. Abram usually spent a lot of his time with her. She was a microbiologist. One of the three that worked here, so it wasn't a problem for Abram to be around while she worked. Though the years of being here she taught him how to take cultures on different kinds of viruses and how to use the equipment in the lab. He loved being able to help her around her work even though he wasn't supposed to. He learned a lot of other things from her as well, including what he wanted to be when he got older, but all that was just a memory now. He stood in the hallway, slapping his face muttering to himself "Wake up, this is just a dream. This isn't real. It isn't happening again!" He continued to do this for the next ten minutes. His face had finally gone numb and was red from being smacked. He finally took a step forward eyes still on the ground muttering to himself, "You can do this . . . no matter how much it hurts. You can do this."
He had walked this hall so many times that he didn't even need to look or think about where he was going, which made it worse. It gave him more time to think about what was to come from this night. He continued down the empty hall for the longest minute of his life. When he got to the door he took a deep breath and slowly grabbed the handle with his left hand. He punched in the code to unlock it on a keypad that was to the right of the door near the handle. A low click echoed throughout the hall behind him as the door unlocked. He pulled the door open and walked into the room. The lab looked like any ordinary lab you would see at a hospital. Beakers full of different colored liquids were lined up on the counters near the walls. The counters hugged the wall around most of the room with doors on the underside for more storage. To Abram it reminded him of their kitchen sink cabinets back home. Microscopes set up at different locations. One for each side of the room. A fume-hood in the center of the room, a chemical cabinet stood in the far corner of the room, and an incubator on the counter near the door he just entered.
"Is that you Mijo?" A woman's voice called out to him from a corner room.
"Si ma!" Abram replied his eyes starting to tear up at the sound of her voice.
"What took you so long? It's getting late. The sun is setting..."
"Just stopped to get something to eat. It's Friday, you know pizza day." Abram said his voice starting to crack. He realized that he was holding a box of pizza that appeared from nowhere. He quickly pushed aside some beakers and moved some more equipment out the way so they could have a place to eat. It was much easier for him to do this now, because even though it was a memory, he remained in his older body. When the event actually happened he was ten. Needless to say, just trying to reach the counter was hard for him, let alone trying to move medical equipment.
"Be right out, just putting some things away." She said
"No rush ma!" Abram really hoped that she would listen to him this time, even though the dream was destroying him by the second, he was loving the sound of his mom's voice. Metal clanking and various sounds of bottles hitting against each other echoed throughout the room. If it wasn't for his mom being just on the other side of a wall Abram was sure he would be the only person on this floor of the hospital.
"All done!" His mother happily chimed as she entered the room. Abram couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. She had dark brown hair that hung to her shoulders. Her glasses where sitting on the top of her head. She was wearing a white scrub top with random colored lines running vertically on it. It looked like she was hit by some rain, but each water droplet left a different color streak. She was wearing a pair of regular blue jeans, that were faded from the countless cycles of washing to prevent bringing an epidemic home with her. She wasn't that tall and she walked with a limp due to her polio. She explained to him on more than one occasion when she was little her, her brothers, and her sisters would hide from the doctor when he came to her house to give them the vaccine. Eventually she got it but some damage had already been done to her left leg.
"Half supreme half hamburger!" Abram happily chimed as he took the napkins out. They were stuffed between the edges of the box. He placed one in front of himself and in front of his mom. The longer the dream went on, the more Abram forget it was a dream. Everything seemed so real. From the sound of the machines running in the background to the smell of his mom's perfume. Heck, he could even hear the radio she left on when she was alone. The song "Paint in Black" by the Rolling stones was playing at the moment. She loved to listen to the Rolling Stones. It was one of her favorite bands.
"How was school Mijo?" She said as she took a bite of her pizza.
"It was great. The field trip was today, and we went to the zoo." He replied with a mouthful of pizza. "I've never seen so many animals, I don't even think we saw them all."
His mom chuckled a bit, "Well Mijo keep your grades up and I will take you at the end of the month. Just the two us."
"Really? You promise?"
"Of course, but you have to earn it."
"I will mama. I'll work really hard."
The buzzing of the door interrupted their conversation as one of his mother's co-workers entered the room.
"Hey Kris -oh hey Abram! How've you been little man?" The woman asked. She was wearing a long black cocktail dress. It wasn't anything too flashy, but it complemented her body well. She had dirty blonde hair which was shoulder length and very curly. Abram guessed if she would have straightened it, it would have easily gone down to the middle of her back. She was about the same age as Abram's mother, which meant she was somewhere in her late thirties.
"Hey Sonya." Both of them replied in unison.
"I've been good. I brought some pizza for dinner; do you want some Sonya?" He continued.
" Mmm sounds good. I would absolutely love a slice," She said as she put her purse down on the counter next to them. She walked over to the box of pizza and took a slice from the Supreme half. "Smells good too! Thanks, I'm starving." She said before taking a bite. "I'm going down to the Cafe, would you guys like anything to drink?"
"A Diet Coke please." Kris replied
"ummm a chocolate milk,?" Abram asked. Getting a displeased look from his mom.
"Please?" He quickly added. Making his mom smile again.
"Alright. Be back in a few." Sonya laughed, opening the door to head out.
"Oh wait, Sonya! Why are you dressed like that?" Abram's mom questioned.
"Oh, well I'm about to clock out and I have a date tonight." She replied giving them a smile and a wink as she walked out. Abram's mom just shook her head as she went back to eating her dinner with her son. Sonya came back after being gone for awhile but she didn't stay long. She left almost as quickly as she came. Abram and his mom were once again alone. They spent the next few minutes just eating in silence, enjoying each other's company, and occasionally bobbing their heads to the music. It was the perfect Friday night in Abram's book.
"Well it's getting late, you ready Mijo?" his mom asked him, cleaning up the mess they made.
"mhm" he replied wiping his face with napkin.
The familiar click of the door surprised both of them and made them jump. "Oh Grace it's you." His mom said with a sigh of relief. "What are you doing here? Didn't your shift end hours ago?"
"Hello Kristina." She said coldly and slowly almost like if someone had programmed her to say that. "Just forgot something here." She finished as she walked away from them. She had long straight black hair, and was wearing a scrub top with a floral pattern on it with pink scrub bottoms. She didn't really have a big body frame. To Abram she looked really frail, as if someone hugged her too hard they would break her in half. She looked older than his mom as well.
"Oh . . .well do you mind watching my son? I just need to use the bathroom really quick." Kristina asked. Grace's reaction seemed a little forced , but she nodded slowly. Abram had to do a double take because when his mom turned her back to Grace, he could have sworn Grace's eyes were a piercing gold. "I'll be back soon Mijo. I am just going down the hall. Wait for me here." Kristina said as she ruffled Abram's hair giving him a smile before going out the door. The last one he would ever get. He stood there waiting for his mom to come back. Usually he wouldn't mind, but something about Grace was giving him an uncomfortable feeling. He turned around and to his surprise she was standing right behind him with a blank look on her face.
She quickly pushed passed him and took off her ID badge. She swiped it on the locking device near the door and entered in another code. It was different than the code to get in. The sound of the lock was a lot louder than normal which made Abram even more distressed. She made her way to the chemical cabinet and started pulling different chemicals and placing them on the counter next to her. Abram knew something was wrong now. He quickly ran to the door and started pulling and kicking it, but it wouldn't open. He turned around to look at the deranged woman that was with him in the now locked room. She was quickly opening every bottle she had grabbed and was pouring the contents into a plastic storage tub that she had emptied on the floor next to her. Her mixture was started to release gas at an alarming rate. In seconds one fourth of the room was filled with it. Abram accidently inhaled some of the gas and started having a coughing fit.
He brought his left arm up to his face to cover his mouth with his sleeve. He knew if he didn't do something now he would suffocate. He looked around the room through teary eyes and spotted the fume-hood. He quickly ran to it and pressed the button to activate it to try and clear the air. He reached for the sliding door of the fume-hood but was knocked to the ground by a surprisingly fast Grace. He slid half-way across the room hitting his head on the underside of a counter.
"You cannot stop this Demigod." Grace spoke in a voice that sounded hoarse, like if she had spent the last two days yelling. She turned to the fume-hood and punched through it with incredible strength. She then proceeded to pull wires out along with the fans that made up the machine. She slowly walked back towards her mixture and started to laugh maniacally. Abram slowly picked himself off the floor as he grabbed his head. He heard a faint pounding but wasn't sure if he was really hearing it or if it was just his head throbbing from pain. It kept getting louder and more frantic. He was able to locate the door and see his mom pounding away trying to break it down from the outside. Abram ran to the door and started to copy what she was doing on his side.
"MIJO! ABRAM!" She tried to yell through the door. "What's going on in there?!" Abram could barely hear her. The thickness of the door muffled any sound trying to come in or go out. She quickly took out her cellphone and dialed away with fast fingers. Although her speech was muffled Abram could make out that she called the police and then the hospital security.
"She cannot help you now, it's too late" The raspy voice said grasping Abram's attention. He reluctantly turned to Grace not wanting to see what else she was planning. She gave him a very disturbing smile as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial of a swirling green liquid. The vial was no bigger than his pinky. She dropped it into her mixture still laughing. Abram had no idea what was in that vial. It wasn't like any chemical he had seen in his life. He felt alone, and defeated. He ran to the closest corner and curled up into a ball on the ground. He had no idea what was going to happen, but the way Grace was acting it was about to get much worse. He brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
He started to cry frantically as he realized there was nothing left that he could do. He wished his mom was in the room with him and not standing on the opposite side of a wall. He wished for a miracle, anything that could save him and let him see the light of day just once more. He managed to look up as the bottle finally hit the bottom of the tub with a quick shattering sound. The instant the sound reached his ears, his eyes saw red from the explosion it released. Time seemed to slow as he sat there watching the flames consume everything in their path, including Grace. She continued to laugh as her clothes started to burn away followed by her skin exposing her muscles and tissues that laid underneath. Before the flames reached Abram, she was reduced to a smoldering pile of ash. A faint breeze filled the room, which was visible due to the smoke. It circled the room creating a small and slow moving vortex before bursting through the window and retreating into the night sky. Time went back to normal as the flames started to shoot out from the tub due to the chemicals mixing with whatever Grace had thrown in there.
There was an ear piercing pop prior to a wave of flames dashing towards Abram. He shut his eyes tight and threw both hands in front of him as if pushing on a wall. He stayed that way and counted to seven. Why seven? To this day, he doesn't even know why. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see himself encased in an egg of glowing golden light. It was the only thing protecting him from the flames. He could clearly see through the walls of his egg-shaped barrier. The roaring fire tried to consume the egg but the flames died as soon as they touched the barrier.
Abram looked past the approaching unending flames. The room was in total shambles. The wall where the window once was, was completely missing. Bricks laid scattered on the floor of the lab. There wasn't many of them due to the explosion throwing most of them out away from the building and into the parking lot below. There were missing ceiling tiles, and the ones that weren't missing were on fire. He turned to face the entrance of the lab. The wall had been completely burned down. Where his mom was supposed to be standing, he spotted a piece of what was once white clothing in the rubble. It was covered in ash and dust but he could clearly make out four lines running from top to bottom on the fabric. One blue, one green, one red, and the last yellow.
"M . . . Mom?" Abram's heart pounded. "Mom!" He yelled. He finally lowered his hands making the egg disappear and tried to crawl to the rubble. He was able to move a foot away from his corner before losing consciousness.
"I made you forget about your powers young demigod, but I will NOT let you forget her death." A voice said through the darkness. Her laughter echoing in his head.
"MOM!" Abram shouted as he shot up but quickly laid back down grabbing his side in pain.
"Whoa dude. So not your mom." A voice replied rushing to Abram's side.
"L . . .Leo? Abram asked still dazed from his pain. "Why are you here? Don't get me wrong, I mean I'm happy to see you. I really am . . ." Abram said taking the time to look at his surroundings. He now realized he was in the infirmary back at camp. He was laying in a bed towards the corner. It was the only one hit directly by the sunlight. Being a child of Apollo, being in sunlight naturally sped up his healing process as well as gave him more energy. Now being awake, having biokinesis wasn't so bad either.
"Well, I . . . I -I don't really know. I guess I just wanted to make sure you were alright." He blushed as he spoke. "Dude and that awesome power you have. Tell me about that!"
"Awesome power? The light? That really happened? Abram asked getting a nod from Leo as a response. "I thought it was just a dream. No one in Apollo's cabin has that power. I mean it hasn't been around. It's pretty much the equivalent to your fi -fire powers." Abram said struggling to get the word fire out.
"Oh, well even then, that is so cool!" Leo exclaimed.
"Is it? Abram asked him "Why do I have it? It could be a blessing. . . or It could be a curse."
Leo's face suddenly dropped. Something told Abram Leo knew a thing or two about curses. Does he think his power is a curse? He thought to himself.
"Nah man, I had to learn that the hard way." Leo said with a smile back on his face. "Your power is a gift, and you will need to learn how to control it. We can do it together."
"Alright, but why would you help me though?" Abram asked.
"Because we're friends now. Just don't got blinding me or anything, kay?"
"You got yourself a deal Leo." Abram laughed as he sat up. He felt a lot better and was ready to get out of the infirmary. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and planted them on the ground. He stood up and started to stretch. He walked towards a table that had his quiver and bow, his choice of weapon. Dual swords being second choice, but he hardly carried them with him. "So what happened?" He finally asked, afraid of the answer.
"Oh . . . well," Leo started "As soon as you-"
"Oh good, you're up." someone said interrupting Leo. It startled Abram a bit and he jumped towards Leo and turned around to see who it was. "Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you." The voice laughed.
"Chiron, you can't scare me like that! The second time in the same day, geeze" Abram said trying to catch his breath. He noticed he was dangerously close to Leo, and he was pretty sure Leo was thinking the same thing. They both quickly took a few steps away from each other both of their faces now turning red. "Uhh yeah. All better. We were just about to head out."
"Good, I'll join you. Rumor around camp is that you two, along with Jason, decided to take a little walk in the woods this morning. Find anything interesting? " Chiron asked with his right eyebrow arched. Abram looked at Leo trying to decide whether or not he should say anything. Leo was looking down, trying to avert Abram's gaze. "No matter, I'll know more soon enough. The Senior Counsel is meeting before lunch. Abram, since you where there at the attack I would like for you to attend as well. If what Jason and Leo has told us is true, I am sure the head counselors would like to hear more about it for themselves." He patted Abram on the shoulder before looking at Leo. "Bring a very small amount of ambrosia. I feel we are going to need it." He turned to the door and left, leaving them alone.
"What does he mean, what you and Jason told him? Wasn't he talking about this morning's attack?" Abram asked looking at Leo.
"Well . . . We might have told one or two people about your powers, and about our little adventure." Leo grumbled not looking Abram in his eyes. He quickly found a ziploc bag and stuff some cubes of Ambrosia in it.
"So basically everyone already knows now? He asked.
"Yeah you could say that. But, so what! I don't really see what the problem is?".
"I don't know if you noticed, but I don't really have a lot of friends, and now I will probably have a lot of fake friends. If they are not real, they are not worth the time. I 'd rather not bother with them." Abram sulked pushing past Leo. "C'mon, we don't want to keep them waiting." He said stopping at the doorframe. He made it halfway through the hall but stopped, this time due to almost bumping in to someone. "Argus, I'm sorry I didn't see you!" He apologized a little shaky. He could never get used to seeing Argus. Argus looked like a typical blonde surfer, with the exception of his body completely covered in a hundred blue eyes. He never talked, but that be because he had an eye on the tip of his tongue. Each one of them locked on Abram. He let out a low grunt and walked past Abram to the infirmary.
"Whoa dude!" Abram Heard Leo scream from the room behind him. "Uhh sorry. Wasn't expecting to see you." He heard Leo's footsteps as he ran to catch up to Abram. "Can't seem to get used to the way that guy looks." Leo said.
"I know what you mean. I still get a little shocked when I see him." Abram replied. "Sorry Leo," Abram said getting a confused look from Leo. "About earlier? I was overreacting. I shouldn't take anything out on you. I mean you are the only one here to make sure I was okay. I'm grateful, Really I am. Means a lot to me dude."
"No problem bro," Leo began to say rubbing the back of his head. "Us cursed kids have to stay together." Abram was glad Leo was sticking by him. They didn't really talk, but Abram always wanted to. They knew of each other before today, but they never had a reason or the chance to talk. He always got so nervous being around Leo. Since the camp looked like it was in danger Abram jumped at the opportunity to try get some time with him. When their lives seem to be on the line, like early at the lake, he didn't have time to be nervous, which helped him a lot at being social.
They made their way up the stairs and around the corner to get to the Big House Rec Room. "Head Counselors first." Abram said as he moved out of the way and bowed with one hand gesturing to the door.
"If I'm going to get this kind of treatment every time you come to a meeting with me, I'm going to make sure you are always invited." Leo said as he turned the knob and pushed the door open.
"Yeah, that'll happen" Abram replied sarcastically as he followed Leo in. Most of the Head Counselors were already sitting down. They turned their heads and stared at them when they walked in, which made Abram much more uncomfortable. He knew most of these people outside of their role of Head Counselors, but being in a room with all of them while there were officially on the job made him feel a little inferior.
They were sitting around a ping-pong table which seemed a little silly to Abram, but so did the idea of having their meetings here. A satyr was walking around serving nachos and sodas to the group of kids. Seymour The leopard head was mounted on the wall and not in his usual spot in the living room. Every once in a while a counselor would throw him a snausage. With their backs facing the door, Abram spotted Connor Stoll, the co-leader of Hermes cabin, while he sprayed on some shaving cream in the palm belonging to Clovis who was asleep on the corner of the table. Clovis was the leader of the Hypnos cabin, which kind of meant he wasn't going wake up any time soon, making him the perfect target for Connor's prank. Jason and Piper were sitting in the middle on the opposite side looking directly at Leo and smiling. Jason patted the empty seat next to him as he was saving it for Leo.
"Gonna go sit down now, wait for me after the meeting?" Leo asked
"Uhh sure. No problem." Abram replied earning a smile from Leo before he turned and walked away.
Abram went back to looking around to see who was in the room. Clarisse, the leader of Ares cabin, had her feet on the table which didn't seem to bother anyone. Guess she normally does that, which is so like her. Abram Thought to himself. Miranda Gardiner, the head of Demeter Cabin, was talking away with Lou Ellen who was the head of Hecate cabin. Butch, who was the counselor for the Iris cabin, was just passing the time throwing the most snausages to Seymour out of the whole group. Annabeth was the most still out of everyone awake at the table. Her head was resting in her left palm and she seemed lost deep in thought. No doubt think about Percy, and how he was doing at the other camp. Her elbow must have been killing her though. Her eyes tightened every time Butch accidently hit the table with his leg, but Abram's guessed she was too deep in thought to notice she was in pain. Will Solace had gotten up from his chair next to Piper and made his way to Abram.
"Hey, don't look so nervous. This isn't a police interrogation or anything like that." Will said patting Abram on the arm. Even though they were half brothers, they didn't look anything alike. Will took after their dad Apollo. He has a surfer-body, sun kissed hair, and blue eyes. He was also very tall. He is 6'0 and has a very athletic body to go with his height. Abram on the other hand took more after his mortal mother. He had very dark brown hair. If he wasn't in the sun it looked almost pitch-black. His hair has also thinning a bit. He stood around 5'8 and didn't have an athletic body at all. He weighs around 195 pounds but people tell him he doesn't look it at all. He had brown eyes, almost like dark chocolate. Which in Abram's opinion was his second best feature, his first being his loyal personality. He wore a pair of blue glasses he has had since he came to camp. Having biokinesis let him keep his prescription the same even as he got older. He also had a bump on his right side of his forehead, his mother told him what it was, but he forgot. It didn't really bother him so they never got it removed. People always asked him why didn't he just change his face with his biokinesis so he didn't need glasses or have the bump on the right side of his forehead. His response was always: "I want to keep them, they are one of the last things I have that remind me of my life before Camp Half-Blood, and I don't want to lose it."
"No, that's not it. If it was, this is a pretty bad intimidation technique." Abram said nodding his head towards Clovis and Connor. Connor had pulled out a feather from his pocket and gentle rubbed it against Clovis's face trying to stop his own snickering so he wouldn't mess up. After three passes Clovis finally reacted swatting the area with his hand full of shaving cream with a loud *PLOP* it splashed all over his face and on the ping-pong table. Everyone started laughing, well everyone minus Annabeth and Clovis who didn't even wake up. He muttered something that sounded like It's okay, the cat's got it with the salad.
"Dude, that prank is always a classic!" Leo said in between his laughs.
The laughter died down as the door to the rec room opened. Chiron came though stoking his beard in his human disguise. It made Abram wonder how he gotten that wheelchair up here, but he probably just got into it on the other side of the door so he wouldn't take up too much room during the meeting. He wheeled himself in the room and closed the door behind him. He took his place at the head of the table. Will had turned away from Abram and retook his seat next to Piper still smiling at Abram.
"Ahh, seems like everyone is here besides Miss Dare, so We'll-" He started but was interrupted with the door bursting open almost hitting Abram in the elbow, hard.
"Sorry I'm late everyone" Rachel huffed while closing the door. Rachel was a mortal that hosts the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi. That's the reason she attended these meetings, or why she could even pass the barrier around camp. She also has the ability to clearly see through the mist. The mist is a supernatural veil that twits mortal's sight from seeing monsters, gods, Titans, and other mythical creatures. It also replaces supernatural occurrences with things the mortal mind knows about and can comprehend. It seems to work on magical weapons as well.
She was wearing worn out jeans that had holes in them and had doodles on random place some of which were being covered with an over-sized sky blue shirt that had paint stains all over it. She is tall and slim with frizzled red hair, a freckled face, and green eyes. She quickly walked past Abram and to the head of the table. Abram noticed she had a blue hairbrush sticking out of her back pocket. Kind of a weird thing to have but whatever he thought. She pulled out her chair, and sat down next to Chiron.
"Well, Let's call this meeting to order." Chiron started. " Connor please stop filling Clovis's hand with more shaving cream. Clovis . . .CLOVIS!" He yelled which made Clovis slightly pick his head up slowly still not noticing his face was covered in white foam. "Please, clean yourself up, and Connor clean up the table." Chiron said as a satyr walked up to both of them handing a towel to each one. "Now then, all of us are aware, there have been several attacks on the camp believed to be done by a monster." Everyone nodded and muttered to each other something about the pain it was too clean up after each attack. "We have heard the rumors around camp of what it could be, but I believe Jason, Leo, and Abram have a better idea of what it is." Everyone started to look at the three boys, but most of the eyes turned to Abram who was still standing by the door away from the ping-pong table.
"I was wondering why that loser was here." Clarisse said with a gruff voice. "You're not a head counselor Zamora, so don't get comfy being here with us!"
"I asked him to attend." Chiron said looking at Abram. "He has some special information that we should all know about." Leo did you bring what I asked?" Chiron asked looking at Leo now.
"Yeah, uhh right here." Leo said grabbing a zip lock bag out from his tool belt. You could clearly see a little chunks of what used to be a full square of ambrosia through the thin plastic. Apparently they had gotten busted up from just being in his tool belt. Leo got up and walked around the table and stood beside Abram.
"Before we talk any further I think you should put our minds to ease regarding the rumor about you floating around." The centaur said gesturing Abram to do something.
"Great, I'm putting on a magic show for the head counselors." Abram muttered under his breath so only Leo could hear him. He got a little laugh from Leo which made him feel a lot more comfortable.
"Better give them what they paid for." Leo said, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Catch me if I fall?".
"If I can carry you tubby.".
"You aren't that weak shrimp." Abram took a breath before speaking up so the counsel could hear him. "Ladies and gentlemen," He started trying to make his voice sound like he was setting up the introduction to some over-priced performance. "On our journey we encountered a horrible monster that we believe is attacking our camp. We walked for a little more than an hour following its tracks, and at the end of them we found what we were looking for. It attacked us and almost killed me if not for this power I discovered I have." By this time Leo was starting to walk around Abram slowly like some cheap magician's assistant. Too bad we don't have a dress for him. Abram told himself in his head which made him chuckle. "Caution, what you are about to see my blow your mind away! Or it won't work completely-" Abram said looking at everyone's face individually. Leo was holding on Arm up and the other was out in front of him as if presenting a prize on one of those T.V. shows. Abram held his hand in a fist near his heart before slowly lowering and holding it out in front of him gently bent at the elbow. He released his fist and concentrated on focusing his energy in his palm. Abram had no idea if he was doing this right or not, but he had to start somewhere. Both times it happened it was an accident and in self-defense. He didn't know he had the power before today. Someone had taken that memory from him. Abram guessed in order to try to make sure he never used his powers.
At first nothing happened, but then Abram felt a tingle dance across his palm. A small energy force flickered to life in the center causing everyone in the room to gasp. It was faint at first but Abram kept concentrating on it. It slowly started to grow by the second. It feels warm, and almost alive. He thought to himself. Its bright light started to fill the room, and everyone could feel its warmth. Even Seymour purred enjoying it. Abram looked down at the orb of light now the size of his hand, but it didn't stop. It continued to expand. Even though it was weightless, Abram now had to use his other had to get a better hold of it. It reached the size of a beach ball and was no longer in Abram's hand. It floated inches above it. It looked like a miniature sun. He quickly started to feel lightheaded. He had passed the time limit he held out his shield the last time he used his powers. He was using more energy this time around then he did when he made his shield earlier that day.
"Dude! Let it go! " Leo yelled. It was very easy to hear the panic in his voice,
"Wh-" Abram grunted in response.
"You look like you're in pain!"
Abram quickly dropped his arms and the orb disappeared. He immediately started to fall the ground. "Don't worry, I got ya!" Leo said as he caught Abram and dropped to his knees to gently slow Abram's decent. He took the ambrosia and placed it into Abram's mouth. Taste just like Hamburger pizza. Abram said to himself as he chewed and swallowed it, a tear formed in his right eye and fell down his cheek. "Bro, I know I am beautiful to look at, but you don't need to cry." Leo said with a smile
"Shut up Leo" Abram grunted as he sat up by himself before whipping away the tear. Thanks, by the way." Abram said once getting to his feet.
"Once again, no problem." Leo replied. Abram scanned everyone's face in the room. It was easy to tell they were impressed. All of their mouths were hanging open. Even Clovis, but that could be because he fell asleep again and was snoring rather loudly. It was eerie to Abram, this many ADHD demigods in one room and it was completely silent.
"You're photokinetic?!" Will shouted as he stood up from the table breaking the silence.
"Is that even possible?" Connor asked stumbling out of his chair. He was unfortunate enough to land on his bottle of shaving cream causing it to spray all over his pants.
"Hmm maybe you aren't such a loser after all Zamora. Just make sure you make our battles interesting in the future, alright?" Clarisse said with a smile across her face like she had just won the lottery.
"Why would this be revealed now? Annabeth spoke up startling everyone in the room. It was the first time she had said since everyone gathered here. "What's the purpose of this new information." Rachel stood up and walked over to where Abram and Leo were standing.
"Now it makes sense." Rachel said almost in a whisper
"What makes sense?"Abram and Leo in unison.
"Recently these words were burning through my mind. The Light and the Forge" She stated as she started walking around both of them. "All this time I didn't know what it meant, but now it's clear. It has to be you two." She pointed at both of them.
"Whoa, whoa whoa, THEM?" Clarisse yelled furiously while spitting out her soda. "What makes you think that? They're not important. Why should they get a prophecy."
"It's not a prophecy. It's just these words were burning in my head. Whenever I saw Leo, that seemed to trigger it. Besides, we already know that The forge is the symbol of Hephaestus, and we just learned that Abram has the power to control light? It can't be a coincidence!" Rachel insisted.
"Hmm, it seems a bit out of the ordinary, and Clarisse they are important. Every camp member is, even if they haven't been on a quest yet." Chiron said looking at Abram.
"Did he have to bring that up." Abram muttered under his breath.
"It's cool man, they aren't really that exciting." Leo told him.
Rachel continued to walk around them as if inspecting them. She stopped right behind them and shook her head. "To me, it - it just feels like-" Before she could continue, Rachel's body stiffened. Her eyes began to glow with a greenish light, and she grabbed Abram and Leo by the shoulders.
The Light and Forge will form a Link
One to make the gods over think
A dangerous task they must face
to prevent others from Death's embrace.
Her voice turned raspy and her grip was like a vice on Abram's shoulder, but still he tried to hold still until Rachel was done. As the last words left her mouth Rachel collapsed, but she didn't hit the floor. Abram and Leo reacted quickly enough to catch her and then proceeded take her back to her chair.
"I think, the two of you have just been giving a prophecy." Chiron said breaking the silence. "Now tell me. What exactly did you guys go out and find. What do you think is attacking the camp?"
Jason was staring at Abram and Leo but more so to Abram. He had this look of seriousness that Abram didn't find comfortable at all, but he could understand why Jason looked like that. Abram knew exactly what they were dealing with.
"A full grown Hydra." Jason finally said looking at Chiron.
