And the story continues! Chapter Six! I hope you enjoy it, my lovely readers. For those of you who actually take the precious time to read this story, I appreciate it ever so much. The gods send their appreciation as well. Trust me, they do.

R&R!

Chapter Six

I fingered my necklace as we trekked through the jungle. It was hot and sticky; we were sweating from the humidity. We were all jumpy, too; someone heard the smallest noise and all eight weapons were drawn. What made the jungle even eerier was the fact that we never found the source of the sounds; they came from thin air. For a bunch of high-strung demigods with built-in battle reflexes, that didn't fare well.

We trudged through the seemingly never ending jungle, praying to our respective parents that the trees would end. Watching them whiz by for minutes on end wasn't the most enjoyable pastime; we soon got restless and bored. Demigods are bred for battle, not leisurely strolling through deserted jungles.

"Maybe this is a trick." Piper's words stopped us dead in our tracks. We shared shifty glances, no doubt agreeing with the possibility of this all being a trap. "We've been walking forever, and we've found nothing; not even an animal. This jungle is EMPTY!" This time, instead of an awkward silence, the earth started to rumble. "Impossible," Piper grumbled. It was as if her words triggered the reaction.

The rumbling reminded me of my dream, so I instinctively rotated so I could see the volcano in the distance. As I watched, a small, faint beam of light shot out of the top, illuminating the gray mid-morning sky. "Look!" I gasped, pointing to the volcano. The others jumped at the sound of my voice, but, in turn, noticed what I was gaping at. We stood stock still, observing the phenomenon. My heart was racing in my chest, and my body had started to tremble.

Once the spectacle concluded, an uncomfortable silence settled over us. No one spoke; I'm sure that if I did, only stutters and squeaks would emerge from my lips. Subconsciously, we all moved forward and continued through the jungle. It was shifty glances and silent voices all around.

Eventually, we came to a wide river. It was the first thing we'd seen that wasn't a fricking tree, so it shattered through the uneasy hush that had fallen over us.

"Praise the gods!" Leo cried, falling to his knees dramatically and raising his hands to the sky. Piper whacked him on the back of the head.

"Do you want to get struck down?" she hissed, glancing warily at the sky. He just flashed her his signature troublemaker's grin.

Meanwhile, Percy had approached the river. He waded into the water and instantly fell over, yelping in pain. Annabeth screamed and ran to his aid. She managed to yank him out of the water, but she, too, fell to the bank shrieking. The rest of us rushed to their sides, exchanging panicked glances.

"Oh my gods, what's wrong with them?" Hazel screeched. They were rolling around, clutching their legs. I gently rolled up Annabeth's pant leg. A band of blistering blue welts was creeping up her shin. Percy's were worse; his covered his arms, legs, and possibly his torso.

"Jade, do something!" Piper cried, her eyes watery. My pulse tripled in speed; I was too panicked to do anything. My hands started shaking and I started hyperventilating. I couldn't do this! I wasn't ready for something this huge!

Come on! Make yourself useful for once and do something, you miserable, worthless girl! The hurtful words of my past that I'd shoved so deeply down inside resurfaced, fueling the flickering flame of hatred that lingered in my heart. (A/N: Don't worry, an explanation for this is on its way soon.) I scowled internally and screwed up my courage. I rechanneled my focus, drawn from my anger, and placed my hands on both of them. I sang louder and more powerfully this time; I hoped it would have a stronger effect. Soon their cries subsided and turned to quiet whimpers. The blue welts began to fade, leaving their skin looking raw and pink. I breathed out heavily, my panic disappearing with their wounds.

Once Percy and Annabeth were able to sit, Jason took some ambrosia out of his backpack and fed it to them. The color returned to their cheeks, and their grimaces faded to frowns.

"Well, obviously wading through the river is a bad idea." Percy's weak attempt at humor broke the tension; soon we were all laughing hysterically. The pressures of a quest, right?

"No problem," Jason said. "I can fly us over." He rose to his feet, with the rest of us following suit. He wrapped his arms around Piper's waist and summoned the winds. Within seconds, Piper was standing safely on the opposite side. One by one, Jason lifted us over the river. When only Frank was left, he refused Jason's hand. He started to shrink, and suddenly a tiny sparrow stood where his body was just standing. I did a double take; that did just happen.

"It's a gift of his," Hazel whispered to me. I nodded, still slightly in shock. Frank, or, rather, the sparrow, flew nimbly over the river, landing next to Hazel and returning to proper form. I was about to comment on his sweet transformation, but at that moment, Jason touched the ground on our side of the river.

An explosion rocked the earth; I was blasted off of the ground. I could feel myself falling through the air, but before I could decide how to react, I slammed into the grass. I groaned in pain and checked my limbs for a sign of injury. Thankfully, nothing seemed broken; I was just bruised up. I lifted my head gingerly and looked around. I was completely alone; surrounded by thick trees and underbrush.

"Hello?" I called out, foolishly hoping for an answer. It was like a scene from a horror flick; the soon-to-be victim calls out and gets killed by whatever was stalking them. I tugged on my necklace, and with my bow and arrow positioned, I stepped around trees and made my way through the jungle.

I heard rustling in the bushes and I whipped around, searching for the source of the noise. "Hello?" I tried again. The rustling got louder, and before I could fire my arrow, a person crashed out of the bushes.

"LEO!" I cried, dropping my weapon and running at him. I launched myself into his arms, not caring if he found it weird or not.

"Hello to you, too," he said, laughing. He looked pleasantly surprised, which was good. When he released me from his embrace, I peered around him.

"Don't bother," he said. "I'm alone, too."

"What happened back there?"

"Clearly we weren't supposed to fly over that river, either. Something, or someone, didn't like it," he added darkly, eyeing the trees behind me.

We sent an Iris message to Annabeth, who had found Percy (A/N: Because Percabeth). They were alone as well. We talked for a minute or two, discussing a plan. She promised to contact the others, then message us back when they'd figured out what to do. Leo swiped his hand through the mist and the connection dissipated.

We walked through the jungle, refraining from speaking. I wasn't sure that anything I had to say would help the situation; the only thought crossing my mind was how nervous I was.

I'd never fought a monster before. I'd never completed a death quest that made absolutely no sense before. Heck, I'd barely done anything before I'd been taken to Camp Half-Blood. Another child of Apollo should've come on this quest instead of me.

Yeah, I know that I'd been found specifically for this quest; it was a sign from the gods. But maybe they'd gotten it all wrong.

More and more anxious thoughts piled up in my brain as we hiked through the trees. My apprehension must've been external as well as internal, because Leo clutched my arm and stopped walking.

"You alright?" he asked. I could swear I saw concern in his eyes. I tried to push my worry down farther; guys typically hate emotional girls.

I failed.

"I'm fine," I said, totally unconvincingly. I tried to continue forward, but he was stronger than me and held my hand tightly.

"Come on, Clark. You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" I sighed, chuckling slightly.

"No. I'm just bad at talking about feelings. It's not really my thing."

"Join the club. My social skills could use some work. Especially around gi…" He cut himself off, looking embarrassed. I didn't press him.

I didn't realize until later that we'd been holding hands the whole time. And neither of us had pulled away.

We continued walking. The sun shined high in the sky, busting through the towering tree canopy. Even with the glorious light on my face, I still jumped at the slightest noise. As of then, I felt an… evil presence, or something like that. It made my spine prickle.

We came to a clearing; it was a hole in the trees, directly hit by the sunlight. The grass was short and lusciously green, and I caught a whiff of flowers in the air. But something wasn't right. Leo tensed up next to me, so I knew I wasn't going crazy.

I heard a scuffling noise on the other side of the clearing. I whipped my head around, narrowing my eyes and straining my vision, trying to see what it was. Then, out of the trees, came a person.

It was my mother.

Ooh. First CLIFFY. You didn't think this would be a happy, non-suspenseful story, did you? Well, if you did, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. MWAHAHA. I learned from the best, after all…

From now on, as a suggestion from multiple of my lovely readers, received by me through PMs, I will do a QotD (Question of the Day) at the end of each chapter; each will obviously concern PJO or HoO.

So, as the kickstart QotD: At what age did Annabeth develop a crush on Percy?

Comment your answer in the reviews and I'll recognize you for your correct answer in the next chapter. Please, try not to cheat. I'd love it if you DIDN'T read other people's answers before submitting yours. I know I can't stop you, but please honor my trust!

UNTIL NEXT TIME, MY APPRENTICES.

-TheLegendaryPotterhead **Peace, Love, and All That Jazz**