Trees and dirt. That was all Mary was faced with when she woke up the next morning. Her back was sore and her stomach growled. She sat up and looked around for her older brother. He was asleep across from her. Mary realised that Will had found a blanket for her. Mary smiled. The good future was playing out, If Will didn't get angry again all would be good. Mary had woken in the early hours so the sunlight that was casted onto the clouds was pinky/ purple. The young demigod gazed up at it it awe. Her father was truly a great god, he could create colours that no one else could. At times like that Mary loved the fact that she was a demigod. She held up her hand in the direction of the sun rays. The sun seeped into her skin and kissed the inside of her body making it warm and loved. Tears of pure joy sprang to her eyes. Mary thanked her dad, this was as close to a hug as she had gotten from him. Mary had been the first to work out what you could get hugged by Apollo that way. It surprised her that no one else had tried it.
Will woke up a few hours later. He rolled over and smiled sleepily at his younger sister. Will had collected dirt and twigs in his hair. Mary giggled and pulled the twigs away. Will sat up and stretched. Once he was fully awake he put Mary onto his back and they walked into the closest town. Mary was annoyed, if Will had walked a few meters more he would have found the town and they could have slept somewhere warm. She sighed. It didn't matter now.
They went into a petrol station and got a sandwich, a packet of crisps each and a bottle of water to share. They sat on a wall down the street from the petrol station. Mary kicked her feet against the wall as she ate.
"So," Will said, "How are we going to get a hold of dad?"
Mary rolled her eyes, "Do you have a golden drachma."
"Yeah. I forgot about Iris messaging."
Will took out his golden drachma and Mary poured some water into the sun rays.
"Oh Iris, great goddess of Rainbows, please show us Apollo and except this offering...please." Will said.
The Iris message connected and they saw the sun god strumming his ukulele in a hammock. He had a lei around his neck.
"Aloha my children! How are you?" The sun god said playfully.
"We're fine da-"
"Its time to do the sun thing!" Mary interrupted.
Will looked at her, "What are you-"
The iris message cut out. He quickly turned and shielded Marys eyes with his body.
Apollo arrived in his sun car. He patted his children on their backs and they opened their eyes. Mary forcefully hugged her dad. She squeezed his middle.
"Real hugs." She muttered.
Apollo whispered something to Mary, she nodded and unattached herself from her father. Apollo clapped his hands together.
"Who wants to play a game?" He said exactly.
They both nodded.
"Right, you two hold hands to make a circle around me."
They did as they were told and Apollo placed his hands on both of their heads. They were transported to a black hall. Will began to worry, the hall was really dark. Will found something familiar about it. Then images in bubbles began to float to them. They had different colours about them, some were red, some blue, some green.
"Will, play attention! We are in your mind." Apollo said.
Will's jaw dropped, "w-what?" He stammered.
"Mary came up with the idea. This game will help protect you when Aka Manah comes back."
"You said when it comes back?"
Apollo hit his head with his hand, "damn, I meant if Aka Manah comes back."
Will shook his head and giggled slightly. Despite his giggling the mention of Aka Manah scared Will. One of the bubbles floated over to them it had a black ring around it. Inside it played one of the countless times that Aka Manah abused Will. Will became more worried and scared, more bubbles surrounded him.
"Dad! What do I do!" Will yelled, his voice breaking.
Mary broke through the bubbles and grabbed Will's shaking hands. She pulled him out to where their father was.
"Cup your hands and think of things that make you happy." Apollo instructed.
"Like baby animals?" Mary exclaimed.
Apollo smiled, "if they make you happy. You can't think of people, that's for you, Will."
Will began to think of things that made him happy. Listening to Mary when she played an instrument. Even though most of the Apollo children could play, Mary was exceptionally good. Her music was always so relaxing and calm. He began to think of Mnemosyne but he then remembered he couldn't think of people.
Whenever the sun rose. It reminded him that there was still light, still a purpose and that he wasn't a puppet.
Will looked over at Apollo and Mary, they both had glowing balls of yellow in their hands. Mary noticed him staring at their hands.
"You have too much fear." She said.
Apollos face lit up, "Will! Think of everything that makes you scared."
"Why?"
"Don't question brilliance, Will!"
Will sighed and began to think of the dark. He let the fear wash over him. The bubbles of fear swarmed Will. He was shown darkness and Aka Manah. Puppet strings. The voices. One of the bubbles broke and the scene played out.
"Will," Aka Manahs voice cooed, "come here." It laughed, "like you have a choice."
Aka Manah controlled Will with the puppet in his hand. Will moved forward and was forced to bow by Aka Manahs feet. Will was bony and had a broken expression on his face.
"So, how did you like that little visit from Nico the other day?" Aka Manah sneered.
The scene froze. His fear melted away. Bursts of sunlight took away the fear and shame. Will blinked back tears. Apollo and Mary were spreading their sun light into the bubbles making them full of hope and joy. The memories were still the same, they no longer held fear.
"Now, Will we'll do the same thing for memories you associate with anger. Once we do that all should be good." Apollo smiled.
Will nodded and tried to think. What made him angry?
His parents. His mothers drinking. He hated it. He hated Apollo for leaving and making his mother drink.
He hated his school. The kids always teased him. One time he overheard the teachers talk about his mother illy. He got so mad he started burning up, he became a little sun. The teachers were never heard of again.
Nico sprang to his mind. The day before he had made him angry.
Will got side tracked and began to think about Nico. Soon every bubble was filled with Nico. Will turned bright red. Mary accidently popped one of the bubbles.
"Mary!" Will screamed.
He looked at the scene in horror. He ran over to his younger sister and covered her eyes and ears. Will's body was shaking with embarrassment and shame.
"Get out of my head!" Will yelled at his dad.
The scene stopped. Will let go of Mary. Strings flooded into the hall. They attached themselves into Will's arms, legs and his head. Aka Manah grew out of the floor and grinned evilly. He strutted around the hall as if he owned it. Aka Manah ran towards Mary. Will tackled him.
"Not my sister you bastard!" Will screamed, "you don't own me or her! I am not your puppet!"
The strings disappeared Will's hands were cupped. A big bright yellow ball formed in his hands. He shoved in in Aka Manahs face and it burst into dark flakes.
The hall began to fade around them. They were back in the real word. Apollo and Mary both looked at Will proudly.
"You did it!" Apollo gleamed.
"I embarrassed myself in the process." He looked to Mary, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"I had to otherwise-"
Apollo placed a finger to her lips silencing her.
"I must be going now children." Apollo said.
He hugged Will then Mary. He hugged her for longer.
Apollo stepped into his car and left in a flash.
Mary sat down on the ground and crossed her legs. She placed her hands palm up in her knees. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
"What are you doing?" Will asked.
Mary grumbled, "meditating. Let me concentrate."
Will nodded and walked away from her. He felt lighter. He thought about it for a while. He felt his back. Apollo had stolen their weapons. Will ran back to where Mary was and tapped her shoulder. Mary opened her eyes.
"Apollo took our weapons." He said.
"I know. Do you know where Camp Jupiter is?"
"Um...no, I've never gone there."
"Great." Mary said sarcastically, "do you know anyone there?"
"Hazel will know where it is, why don't we ask her?"
"But isn't Hazel Nico's sister, won't she be mad at us or you?"
"No, she likes me."
Mary reached into her bag and grabbed out a golden drachma. Will peered into the bad. She had at least twenty in the bag.
"Who did you mug to get all of those?" Will asked, "have you been hanging around the Hermes kids again?"
Mary punched his stomach, for an eight year old she had a strong punch.
"I didn't steal these. They are mine. There's a stream near by."
They walk to the stream in silence. Will was curious about his younger sister. What else was she hiding?
Mary was crouching by the strem. There was a tiny waterfall at the end of it. Mary threw the golden drachma into the spray that came off of the water.
"Great goddess Iris, please show us Hazel, sister of Nico, who is at camp half-blood. Please accept this offering."
They waited, the Iris message connected. Hazel jumped when she saw it, she was still getting used to seeing them.
"Hey Hazel, this wont take long. Where is Camp Jupiter?"
"California. Wait, why?"
"We need weapons and we can't return to Camp half-blood."
"Where are you two?"
"Indiana."
Will looked at his sister, "There's no way we traveled through three states on foot."
The Iris message cut out. Will glared at his sister.
"Mary I don't like you keeping secrets from me." Will said sternly.
"I don't like keeping them but I have to. It'll only harm you if you know." Mary began to cry, "Please don't look at me like that...I'm not doing this out of spite Will."
"I thought i could trust you. Everyone only tells me half of the truth of just flat out lies."
"Do you value trust more than your life?"
Mary stood up and began to walk. Will followed her. Mary ran a few feet ahead. She ran for a solid fifteen minutes, then stopped.
"Look Will, a diner!" She said.
"How aren't you tired?" Will puffed, he'd been trying to keep up with her.
Mary pat the side of her nose, "Come on, i'm hungry."
Will slowly walked up to his sister and they walked across the empty street to the diner. They went in and waited to be given a table. They sat down in a booth and ordered pancakes. They came and they ate. Mary loved them. The waitress asked them about their camp shirts. Mary told her that it was a summer camp for nerds, half-blood was a reference to Harry Potter. The waitress laughed.
"I wish i'd heard of it when i was a kid, it sounds fun."
"What's Harry Potter?" Will asked when the waitress left.
Mary looked like she'd been smacked in the face, "Only one of the best book series about a boy with magic powers ever! Of course Percy Jackson is a close second."
"What?!"
"What?" Mary got up quickly, "Oh look, this diner has a piano."
The piano was facing the back wall of the diner, so whoever played it had their back to the audience. Mary cantered over to the piano and sat down. She pressed a note. It sounded like an elephant was giving birth to an adult sized elephant. Everyone in the diner covered their ears. Mary stood up and opened the piano and waved her hand over the strings. She plucked them, then sat back down on the black worn out leather stool.
She slowly placed her hands on the keys and began to play. The song started with what sounded like chords.
The whole diner stopped, no one dared to make a sound. Mary continued despite the fact that she knew she had an audience. Soon Will recognised the tune, he had heard her play it once before. It was a sonata in b flat by Beethoven. Everyone stared in awe at Mary. Who was this girl who had managed to not only tune a piano that was ten times as old as her but also play so beautifully and without mistake?
Listening to his sister play made Will wish his hands could do something that beautifully. But his hands were made for stitching cuts. His sisters hands were made for playing every instrument she touched like she had been playing for years, when she only just picked it up.
The song went on for quite some time. People had to force themselves to get back to work. Once the song had finished Mary began to play something else. It was something more modern. She took in a deep breath and sung. Will didn't know that she could sing as well. Will didn't know the song. He concentrated, fighting the urge to cry at his sister's voice.
"She keeps me warm." Mary sung while blushing, "I can't change, even if i tried."
Will became limp, his hand fell down hard on the table. Who was this girl? What couldn't she change?
"I'm not crying on sundays."
Why would she be crying on sundays? Who was making her cry? Was it metaphorical, you can never be too sure with pop songs.
The song finished and most people in the diner clapped. Will quickly stumbled out of the booth and went over to his sister. Mary had tears rolling down her face. Will hugged her tightly.
"Is today a sunday?" Will asked.
"No," Mary laughed through her tears, "its a tuesday."
Someone walked over to them. Will turned to see a middle aged white man wearing a white shirt and a black tie. He wore glasses and was bald.
"May i help you?" Will asked him politely.
"That girl was just singing a song about liking a girl. If it were you lad, there wouldn't be a problem."
"I can't sing. Honestly, i sound like a...what's a thing that can't sing?" Will said.
"A sponge?" Mary offered.
The man grumbled, "NO, i dont want you to sing. I want you to get that girl some help."
The man pulled out a small book that had written 'holy bible' in gold on the front. He handed it to Will. Will looked to Mary, then the man, then to the book, then to Mary again. He then began to laugh. He laughed so hard that he fell onto the man.
"Oh, this is too funny." Will said clutching onto his side, "You sir are the one who needs help."
Will shoved the book back into the mans hand. He told mary to jump onto his back. They ran out of the diner and left the confused people behind. Mary told him which direction to go in and Will ran that way. Will quickly slowed down to a walk.
"Why did you sing that song Mary?" Will asked.
"I couldn't say it." She said.
"What, that you like a girl?" Will teased.
Mary started crying again. Will stopped walking and they sat down on the pavement.
"Hey, i was only kidding."
"I know." Mary sighed, "I...I'll tell you how i got the money."
"Wait, what?"
"I can see into possible futures. People...and minor gods pay a lot to have a child of Apollo tell them their future." Mary coughed, her chest was dry from the crying. "Hermes approached me when you threatened to chop up his children. I told him that the threat was empty, in return he gave me the gift of travel. That is how we are moving across the states so quickly."
"I don't understand, possible futures?"
"Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?"
"No."
"Okay." She sighed, "The butterfly effect is a theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small can change the course of the universe forever. Its like in films when some idiot goes back in time and steps on an ant and stops themselves being born. Keeping this in mind, what i can see is every possibility of the future. Its constantly changing due to what's currently happening." She paused as a left blew in her direction, then said, "For example, there are about a hundred different responses that you could make, i don't know which one it will be, but then your other actions, small ones will make what you say more clear."
"Woah. Okay, that was a lot to take in."
The sun was setting in front of them. Mary gasped and a small happy smile crept onto her face. She asked Will if they could walk, and they did. The air was dry and the amount of trees depleted.
"Will, lift your hand up to the sun rays." She said softly.
Will stopped thinking about the area around them and lifted his arm so it was touching a sun ray. He felt the sun light seep into his skin and fill his body warmth and joy.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Mary asked, "its a hug from dad. Dad loves you Will."
Will shook his head, "no, Apollo cannot love me after everything that I've done."
"How can you say that?" She yelled, "dad never stopped loving you!"
Will stopped walking. He lay down on the ground and closed his eyes.
"Will get up! We're in the middle of a field."
He swore they were in desert like conditions just a second a go. Then he remembered the travel gift thing that Hermes had given Mary.
"I don't care!" He yelled.
"Ugh, why do you have to be so touchy?"
Mary lay down next to her brother but she didn't close her eyes. Mary waited until the moon was bright and full in the sky. She got up and started walking.
