Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.

This takes place a few months after Thalia became a Hunter. Anyway, I don't really know if immortals can fall asleep or not… but they're not 'dead', so they can definitely do a lot of the things humans do, right? Correct me if I'm wrong… but enjoy!

I lay on the cold, frosty ground, facing the stars. Lady Artemis had told all of us, her Hunters, to get some rest because tomorrow we were going to be looking for the Teumessian fox. I don't know what the hell it is, but Lady Artemis talked about it as if it were bonding her to her life. I guess it's a really sacred creature.

Anyway, I wasn't thinking about the fox. I was too busy letting my nostalgia overwhelm me.

I rolled over onto my side and stared at the trees instead. The only sound I could hear was my companions' slow, deep breathing. I figured that they were in a form of unconsciousness, because I was pretty sure immortals couldn't sleep. I don't know, I never tried. Maybe I should now.

I closed my eyes and tried to erase my mind. But something -- someone -- kept popping up in my head. I had to wipe my mind clear of everything before Lady Artemis found out what I was thinking about.

After a few minutes of useless effort, I gave up and opened my eyes once more. I turned back around to stare at the stars.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't erase the thought of him out of my head.

I sighed and closed my eyes again, listening to the wilderness. It was a very peaceful night. Great for a nap. A really long nap…

I found myself back at Mt. Tam.

I could see myself though. It was like I was somebody else, watching Thalia Grace from somebody else's eyes.

The only thing I could see was lightning flashing around the cave, emitting from me, myself. Shouts in the background told me that Percy and Zoe were fighting too.

This couldn't be an exact replica of what really happened. I must be fighting somebody else. Probably the fox that Lady Artemis was dreaming about.

I then realized I could move. I walked over to get a better view of who I was fighting, and gasped, though I made no sound.

Luke Castellan.

I felt my eyes burn as I heard my own voice vibrating throughout the cave.

"Yield!" I was yelling.

I looked closer and saw that I had pressed Luke against the wall with Aegis. This was the memory that I had been dreading to remember -- the memory that stood out whenever I thought about Mt. Tam. I had been thinking about the time when I first met this guy, Luke.

Why, of all memories, does this particular one show up in my dream?

"You could never beat me, Luke."

I averted my eyes back to myself, then to Luke. I felt my heart twist painfully. His expression was so pitying. It was a mixture of grief and pain.

I wanted to tell myself to stop, to stop pressing him and electrifying him. But then he spoke the words I had forgotten about.

"We'll see, my old friend," he said, gritting his teeth and sending me a shock. He recovered quickly, and the last thing I saw before waking up was him pressing me against the opposite wall of the cave with Backbiter.

I opened my eyes for real, my heart pounding.

I knew I hadn't fallen asleep, but I did have a dream. No. It wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare.

I felt my eyes water in reality, and I wasn't afraid to let the tears roll down my cheeks.

I knew that even when I was immortal, I would never be able to escape the last memory I had of him.