Chapter 4- The Dream (that turned into a NIGHTMARE!)

The sun was almost setting when we arrived at Denver. My dad dropped as off downtown near an alley, where no one could see the chariot's landing. We got off the car and grabbed our duffle bags.

"Thanks dad." I said and gave him a hug.

"Don't mention it. Good luck kids!" He said.

We stand back and avert our gaze as he changed into his god-form and disappeared.

"Your dad is really cool." Annabeth said with a smile. Percy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he is." I said.

"Okay, where to?" Alex asked.

"Well, it's almost night time. I think we need to find a place to stay first. Before, we find a ride to California." Annabeth said.

We all nodded and started walking.

We asked the people there on where to find a motel. They all said that there is a one near the 16th street mall. We walked for almost 30 minutes till we reached the mall. There were a lot of people hurdled in a corner.

"What's that?" I asked.

Annabeth shrugged. I went closer and found out that the people were watching something. Loud music roaored from the speakers and everyone was smiling and clapping their hands.

"Street performers." Alex said coming up behind me with Percy and Annabeth.

"How did you know?" I asked.

He pointed his finger at the crowd. Then I saw what they were watching. There were about 5 people dancing and doing stunts. 3 were girls and 2 were boys. They were dancing to something that sounded like tango… with a bit of Pop. I didn't notice that we were almost in the front row. The 2 guys reached out to girls in the crowd and danced with them. The three girls came looking for guys to dance with too. One eyed Alex, and approached.

"Dance with me?" The pretty girl said and reached for his hand. He dropped his duffle bag beside mine and went off. The other one asked Percy too; that left Annabeth and me.

"Check them out."I said, looking at Alex and Percy dancing; trying hard not to laugh.

"Yeah…" she sighed; although I could sense her jealousy.

"Hey, it's just a—", just as I was about to say 'it's just a dance' I saw the girl step closer to Alex. Their faces only inches apart. I felt like I wanted to run and push her away… I was angry…wait, I think the right word is Jealous. Now I know how Annabeth feels. I examined the girl and suddenly felt a major chill down my spine. The feeling I usually have when I sense…Monsters. I looked at my necklace, which was glowing little by little.

"Something's not right." I told Annabeth. I gripped my necklace.

She turned to me, "What?"

"Alex!Percy!" I yelled. But they didn't even look up. I thought they didn't hear me over the music, but they looked more like they were hypnotized. I looked at the girl, who's dancing with Percy, suddenly are eyes met...And that's when I knew.

"We gotta go and get them…NOW!" I told Annabeth. "Did you see that?"

She nodded, wide-eyed. "Empousa." She whispered. Once she said it; the three girls turned their heads toward us and hissed. I'll admit, I never thought they would actually hear Annabeth. It was barely a whisper.

"Uh-oh" I said. My bow and arrows appeared. Annabeth grabbed her knife.

"Ah…demigods."the 1st girl said; letting go of her dance partner.

"Percy ! Alex! Snap out of it!" Annabeth yelled. I looked at the three girls who were changing forms. The color drained from their faces and bodies. They're eyes turned blood red, and fangs were coming out if their mouth. From super hot girls, they turned into super scary monsters! There were screams in the crowd and they all went off…running for their lives. I don't have any idea what they saw, but whatever it is, they were terrified!

"See what you did! Their goes are food!" the 1st girl said, her eyes glared at us.

"Let our friends go!" I said aiming my arrow at them.

"No way! I like your boyfriend!"The 2nd girl said, the one dancing with Alex.

"Yeah, this one's cute too… maybe I'll date him for a while… you know, before I eat him!" The 3rd girl laughed, running her fingers through Percy's hair.

"I don't think so!" Annabeth yelled and lunged at the 3rd girl. I aimed my arrow at the 2nd girl, as she lunged at me. She was fast but not fast enough. I was able to shoot, and she disappeared into gold dust. I saw Annabeth fighting with the 3rd girl. This one knows how to fight. She could resist every move Annabeth made; Like it was choreographed. I aimed my arrow at the second girl, but as I was about to shoot the 1st girl threw one of the speakers at me. Good thing my senses are fast or I would have been crushed by that speaker.

"Ha! You're a couple of weaklings!" she said.

I aimed my arrow, for a second there, the 1st girl thought I was going to shoot at her, but I shot at the one wrestling with Annabeth. It hit the Empousa's back and disappeared.

"NO!" The 1st empousa screamed. "Those were my best students!"

"Really? Guess you're not the BEST teacher!" I said.

She glared at me, "I'll be back…and when I do… WE will seek revenge!" she said and disappeared into flames.

I ran to Alex, who was lying on the ground. His eyes were closed but he was breathing.

"Alex?Alex? can you hear me?" I shook him.

A few seconds later, he gasped and opened his eyes. He looked at me and asked, "What happened? I feel dizzy; whoa!" he looked around and saw the crushed speaker on the road and the empty street.

"What just happened?" He asked.

"Annabeth!" I called. "How's Percy?"

"He's alright." She answered.

I looked at Alex, who was still dazed. "You okay? Can you stand?"

He nodded. I stood up and helped him up. He almost fell flat if I haven't caught him. "Thanks." He said.

Annabeth and Percy approached us. "What just happened?" Percy asked, looking dazed. Annabeth and I looked at each other. "We were attacked." She said.

"What?" the boys said in unison.

"Empousai were here. You were dancing with one." I said.

Alex's face turned pale. "The street performers." He murmured. I nodded.

"Oh Styx! How could I have not seen this?" Percy said.

"Hey, your guys. You were hypnotized. Their powers don't work on girls. They only feed on Men…remember?" Annabeth said.

"Yeah, but you guys could've gotten hurt!" Percy said.

"P-lease… weve got better moves than you!" Annabeth teased. "Right Kaye."

"Right." I said, and gave her a hi-5.

"Whatever… how many were there?" Percy asked.

"3." Annabeth answered.

"You took down 3?" Alex said, surprised.

"Well, two actually, the other one fled. And it was Kaye who did most of the work. She shot arrows at them. You should've seen it!"

Alex looked at me and smiled. "Impressive."

"Not as impressive as Annabeth. She actually lunged at the Empousa!"

Percy grinned, "You were worried about me…weren't you?" he teased.

"Whatever, Seaweed Brain! Let's go guys. The Motel's just around the corner." She nudged Percy and grabbed their dufflebags. I reached for mine and Alex did the same thing. We walked side by side, just behind Annabeth and Percy.

"I gotta stop doing that…" Alex said.

"Doing what?" I asked.

"Being the damsel in distress. I mean… it should be the other way aroud. I should be saving you."

I giggled. "Guess it's just like that." I bumped into him and he smiled.

We reached the motel. We decided to just rent one room, and order extra pillows and blankets. We still need the money for food and stuff. Our room has one king-sized bed, a small balcony, a TV, a complimentary fruit basket, a mini-refrigerator, and a bathroom. We agreed that the girls sleep on the bed, while the guys on the floor. Annabeth volunteered to take first watch, although she had to argue with Percy about that. She said she wasn't that tired; in the end Annabeth won, as usual. We had an early lights out, for we will have an early start tomorrow.

That night I had an interesting dream.

It was dark and cold, I was lying in the middle of a dark grassland. I sat up and looked around. No one was there. Just the gray sky and a field that looked like there was no end. I first thought I was in the Asphodel fields, but there weren't any souls here. I stood up, trying to find a way out. I searched for what it felt like an hour or so. It seems like I was going in circles, because all I see is the same gray sky, and the same dark field.

Just as I was going to give up, a bright light appeared a few feet from where I'm standing. I followed it; thinking it may be the only chance I have to get out. I followed it until it glowed so bright I had to avert my eyes. I stopped and closed my eyes as I felt the heat of the light through my skin. I noticed that the light disappeared when I could see only darkness through my eyelids. I opened them and found myself in a middle of a rainforest. I was standing between two huge cypress trees overlooking a small hill. I was a few feet from the edge of a cliff. There was a loud whoosh from behind… I turned but there was no one there. I looked at my necklace to check if it was glowing… but it wasn't. I looked over to the hill again and found something that wasn't there before; on the edge stood a golden deer! When I say gold, I don't mean just its color. It had metallic gold fur and looked like it weighed a gazillion pounds. It literally looks like a gold statue because of how the moon's light seem to shimmer over it. It's probably the most magnificent thing I'd ever seen.

I stepped closer towards the edge. The deer saw me and retreated. I wanted to run after it but I couldn't. I was already on the very edge of the cliff. One wrong move and I could fall. Suddenly, everything dimmed. The clouds covered the moon. I looked down the cliff and saw nothing but darkness. I grabbed a pebble on the ground and threw it; just to test how deep the cliff is. I waited, and waited, but there was no sign of the pebble reaching the ground. It was like an endless dark pit. Then I hear a faint boom. I was guessing it was the pebble but a small thing like that couldn't make a sound that loud. That sent a chill down my back. Something is up, I thought. My neclace glowed and my bow and arrow appeared. Leaves rustled behind me, I turned and aimed… But there was nothing there.

"Kaye…" a husky voice whispered. I aimed my arrow at the sound; which I'm not sure where.

"Kaye…" it said again. The voice sent me a major uh-oh chill.

"Who's there?" I said shakily still aiming my arrow around me. I switched from left to right, up and down; searching for where the voice is coming from.

The earth shook. I was completely off-guard about the earthquake that I fell flat on my butt. It shook even harder. Flames roared from the dark pit. The ground was becoming unstable. It was falling little by little. Before I could move there was a loud explosion from down under and made the ground I'm sitting on shake and fall. I screamed! Good thing I was able to hold on a root of a tree. I was panting… breathing hard as I hang there like fish bait. But I know I couldn't hold on much longer…I was already slipping.

"Come to us…Kaye" The voice was different now. It still sent the same chill in my body but this time the voice seem louder and it hurts to hear it.

The heat from the pit is agonizing. Sweat trickled down my cheeks.

"Come to us!" The voice roared. I felt tears run down my cheek as my arm hurt; and my hands slowly slipping.

"NO!" I screamed.

"YES! Kaye…..Kaye….Kaye…" It called.

Then, my hand slipped. I fell right off the cliff.

"Kaye? Kaye…? Can you hear me? Wake up!"

I woke with a start and found Alex kneeling beside my bed. My shirt was covered with sweat, like I just did a long jog in the park. I was breathing heavily and I could still feel the heat of the dark pit.

"Kaye?" He ran his fingers through my damp hair. I sat up abruptly.

"You scared me there for a second. Thought you weren't gonna wake up."

I looked at him dazed, "What happened?" I said shakily; my voice barely a whisper.

"I think you were having a nightmare. You were struggling and saying stuff. Stuff like… 'who's there?' and you screamed 'No!'"

It was just a dream! I thought. But how could it be? It seemed so real! I have never been so afraid in my life! I could still see the dark pit and the sound of the voice is still ringing in my head. I was still breathing heavily. I could feel blood pounding in my ears. Next thing I know, I was crying.

"Shh… it's okay… I'm here now. Shh…" Alex pulled me to the floor and put his arm around me. He cradled me in his arms like a baby. I buried my face into his chest. The sound of his heartbeat somehow calmed my nerves. My breathing returned to normal after a while. I lift my face from him and took a deep breath. He wiped my tears with his hands.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I nodded. He let go of me and stood up. "I'll get you some water."

I grabbed his leg before he could leave. "No need." I said "I just need some air. Help me up?" I reached out my hands and he pulled me up.

We walked to the balcony. Alex closed the sliding door to keep Annabeth and Percy from waking up.

"What time is it?" I asked. It was still dark outside.

"About 5 AM." He answered.

I leaned toward the railing and buried my face in my hands.

Alex stepped closer to me. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

I shook my head. He took my hands from my face and looked me in the eye. "I bet you'll feel better if you tell me."

I tried not to think about how Alex is making my whole body feel tingly. My hands were in his. And his gaze felt like it could see right through me.

"Okay." I sighed.

I told him about my dream. The golden deer, the grassland, the forest, the dark pit. But I didn't continue to the part of the voice or the earthquake.

"Hmm… why did you scream 'NO!'" he asked.

"Uh… I think that's when the deer ran away." I lied.

"Huh. But I know one thing for sure." He said with smile.

"What?"

"Your dream… it's a sign." He said.

I looked at him confused. "The golden deer… ring a bell?" he asked.

"Artemis…" I gasped.

"Exactly. The golden deer is sacred to her. Which means were on the right track. We'll meet the hunters soon enough."

I wanted to ask about the other half of my dream. But I just remebered, I didn't tell him that part. I don't know why I couldn't tell. There was just this part of me saying that I shouldn't. (Weird…I know)

"Uh…" I tried to think of a new conversation. I wanted to leave the whole dream subject behind. "What are you doing up?"

"Watching over you guys. I took 3rd watch."

I nodded and looked back at the room. "You should go sleep. I'll take the last watch. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway after that dream."

"Nah… I'll stay up with you."

"No… I insist. You'll need the rest. We have a long way ahead of us." I said

"I couldn't sleep anyway. I keep waking up. There are a lot of things going in my head."

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Don't want you to get involved in my personal problems." He gave me a half smile.

"So..what do we do now?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know, talk I guess."

"You start…" I said

"Hmm…. Is there anything to tell?" he said amused.

"How about life at Camp… what's the best part?"

"What's yours first?"he asked.

"Hey, I asked the question. You answer."

"Rock,paper,scissors."he said.

"Fine." I said.

"Okay, 1..2..3!"

And he beats me! He did rock and I did scissors. So unfair!

"No fair!"I protested.

"Fair enough for me." He laughed.

"Well, best part of Camp I guess is Capture the Flag… and being with friends of course… Okay, your turn."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Let me guess…girls?" I said.

He shrugged and laughed.

"I knew it! Ha! Its girls alright. I remember that one time the Stoll brothers pulled a prank on the Aphrodite girls. They sent flowers to their cabin…with your name signed on it, saying "To the most beautiful". After a few hours, the girls were fighting over it! I mean, Gucci bags were flying out the windows and stuff. It didn't look good, trust me."

He laughed at the story, "They are gonna be so dead once I get back… No wonder everytime I see girls from that cabin they keep on waving at me like I'm some sort of celebrity."

I laughed. "But they're NOT the best part about camp." He added.

I faced him and asked, "Then what is it?"

He turned and faced me too. He stepped closer… "Guess." He took my hand and stared at me.

Okay… I know exactly what he meant. Well…I'm not blind you know? I could see right through those eyes, those irresistable smiles that he has a thing for me; although I never really understood why he does. He's the son of the King of the gods! He was perfect and everything. I don't get why he'd choose me, when hundreds of other girls (yes, I mean the Aphrodite girls) are chasing after him.

Just as I though he was about to say "you are the best part about camp"—or something more cheesy; he did something that surprised me even more. He kissed me! I was completely off-guard…did not see that coming. My head felt like I just rode a roller-coaster over and over again (non-stop). My heart was doing jumping jacks; and I kinda felt the electryfying feeling I get when I make contact with him, only stronger, like I was hit by Lightning.

He pulled away and smiled. "Is it me?" I asked.

He poked my nose with his finger, "Hmm…lucky guess." I smiled at him.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to get the nerve to do that."he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." I said.

"But it was definitely worth it." He leaned again, but suddenly the light switched on from inside.

We both turned are heads. "They're awake." I said.

"Great… once again… just on cue." He sighed.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him lightly, "Come on Bolt."I said.

"Bolt? Really?" he said, amused.

"What? I think it's a pretty good nickname." I teased.

He laughed. "Bolt… like the dog in the movie. Ah… I get it. Bolt cause of my dad. Nice."

"Yeah… but there's something more." I smiled and winked at him before I went inside.