OH HEY THERE! Long time no see! And, to make up for not posting much, here's a long chapter! Yaaaay! Thanks for all the positive feedback, really feeling the love here:3 Remember, keep reviewing and recommending it to your friends! And also, sorry for my failed attempt at prophecies:/ Oh, and I don't own Maximum Ride or Percy Jackson, no offence intended, any resemblance with my made up characters to any other work of fiction is entirely conincidental etc.:) ~Luna x
The next few days were some of the best of my life. I finally had friends, friends my own age, friends that accepted me for who I was. Eleri taught me archery; she was extremely talented, hitting the bulls-eye every single time without fail. He bow and arrows were silver and shone like moonlight. She told me they were a gift from her mother for her eleventh birthday. Niamh showed me her magic (as is turned out, Hecate was the Goddess of sorcery) and I had to admit, I was über jealous. She could make things levitate, turn invisible and walk through walls. She told me that it was really difficult and tiring but totally worth it. Alfie attempted to teach me to surf, yet I was abysmal so we spent a couple of hours on the beach sunbathing, eating ice cream and telling each other childhood stories. He was fascinated by my life, and was extraordinarily like Percy. James and his sister Elsie taught me Pegasus riding, and it was extremely enjoyable, the Pegasus' were absolutely adorable, and James was such an amazing teacher. I was much too scared to even approach Chandler, and Sofia seemed to keep herself to herself. Talk about the strong and silent type.
Of course, I had to repay them somehow. And, I felt the only way to do that was by showing them my wings. Once I'd finally mustered up the courage to show them my freakishness, I called them out onto the beach, unfurled my tawny wings and took off. The air on my face felt absolutely amazing. I washed away all my worries, and for at least a while, I was free.
The thing I was most surprised about, however, was their reactions. They weren't scared, mocking or horrified, they were amazed and in awe. I couldn't believe how accepting they were.
However, lying in bed that night, all the awfulness and fear that I had been continuously pushing to the back of my mind began to rise to the surface. It began with the Flock. I missed them so much; it was so stupid and selfish of me to run away. If I'd just stayed put like a good little girl I wouldn't have been in that mess. But I'm not just a good little girl, I told myself. I'm a mutant. A freak. A weirdo. And the fact that I'm now half Greek God just enhances that. But that's no reason to give up. I may be all those afore mentioned things, but I'm also a fighter. And I'm very determined. I'm not going to take this lying down. This Hera woman can shove off, because if I've finally found one of my parents, I'm sure as hell not giving them up. Not by a long shot.
It was a while before I fell asleep, and once I did I was once again plagued by a nightmare, this time more vivid and terrifying than ever. It began with me sitting in a cell, my hair matted and my face shining with sweat. My clothes had been taken and replaced with what resembled a used tea towel. There were dragons and massive snakes and monstrous spiders like the one in Lord of the Rings and even more creatures I'd never seen before, much more horrifying than anything I'd ever encountered, including bloodthirsty, flying Erasers. My ears were flooded with the unmistakable, bone-chilling screams of children. I gripped my head tightly in my shaking hands. Where was I? When I risked a glance out of my cell, I witnessed a disgusting yet magnificent colossal grey dragon dragging a blood stained cart the size of your average football stadium. On closer inspection I realised a number of things. The first was the pained look on the dragon's face. I could tell by the milky film coating his eyes that he was blind, but even that did not manage to disguise the pain that resided deep inside them. He was dragging his mammoth claws and his whole body shook with every haunting breath. The whole scene was entirely disturbing, without the detail that inside the cart lay thousands of dead people. Dead people, and dead birds. And you know what the ultimate disturbance was? Right on the top lay a dead Max, Fang, Iggy, Angel and Gazzy.
A sob escaped my small, rattling chest. Pain struck my heart as I realised how much I really missed them. Trembling, I rose to my feet, and glanced around my cell. The wall I was witnessing the horrifying scenes through comprised of tough metal bars, yet the other three were solid concrete. My bird-kid claustrophobia kicked in, and I began hyperventilating. This confined cell was like torture, and although I was still in dream mode I had a flashback to my time in the lab. The cell was my stifling dog cage, trapping me, forcing me to watch every detail of this ultimately disgusting scene.
And just as I was about to flip out, I heard a voice. Well, to put it more accurately, a roar pierced my eardrums.
"Silly Demigods. Always think they're so tough, so mighty. But listen to me, Daughter of Zeus, you cannot defeat me. Your efforts are futile. You, your father and all your pesky little friends will be dead within seventy two hours. And that, my dear, is a promise."
I awoke so abruptly I almost gave myself whiplash. I was tangled in a web of sheets and my bed, face and pillow were soaked with sweat. My breathing shallow, I slowly untangled myself and stood. I'd just encountered one of those horrifying nightmares that leaves you feeling even more tired than you were the previous night, yet I forced myself to find some strength somewhere. Today, I told myself, I was going to leave camp.
I shoved on a pair of shoes and headed to the showers. I stood under the flow of water for what felt like an age, sobbing, then telling myself to man up, the sobbing, and then pulling half my hair out by attempting to drag a brush through it. I finally came to a conclusion. I either needed to accept my death graciously, or get out there and do something about the whole freaking situation. So, naturally, I chose the latter.
Once I'd got dressed I went searching for Chiron, and strangely, I found him sitting around the massive mahogany table in the Big House. He was joined by about twenty demigods, all of the ones I'd met earlier in their ranks. He had a serious look on his timeless face.
"Ah, Nudge. Sit. I'm trusting you had a rather troubling dream last night? Your eyes are wild with fear and desperation." Chiron gestured for me to take the empty seat next to him, and so I did.
"You could put it like that. Hera-" I started, but I was cut short by the tears welling in my saucer-like eyes. I cursed under my breath. Now was not the time to become a weakling. I needed to be strong, just like I was living back with the flock. Like I was at home.
"No need to re-live it now Nudge. I know the general gist of the dream; you see a few of the Demigods you see here experienced something similar last night. Hera told you that you have seventy two hours to live, yes?" I simply nodded, in fear that the stupid tears would escape when I opened my mouth.
Looking around the room, I noticed a lot of my friends I'd met at the campfire looked downright awful. Eleri was sitting with her delicate blonde head resting on Annabeth's shoulder, silent tears streaking down her pale red cheeks. Annabeth was affectionately stroking Eleri's silvery hair, a look of complete despair inhabiting her beautiful face. She had one hand clamped in Percy's, who was sending me reassuring glances which somehow told me he'd experienced something similar. His heavily scarred hand that wasn't holding Annabeth's small tanned one gripped Alfie's knee. Alfie had a pained expression on his face which I knew was holding back the flood that threatened. Niamh sat with Sofia and Chandler, and all three had contrasting expressions. Niamh looked desperate and startled, with tear-streaked cheeks and tangled hair. Sofia was almost expressionless, her green eyes showed no hint of emotion, yet her small dark fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles were bleached white. Chandler, meanwhile, sat with a small smirk on his face, his eyes hungry for something I couldn't quite recognise. I sent the best scowl I could muster in his general direction.
However, the first person I recognised when I'd walked in the room was James. He sat embracing his tiny sister, her whole body shaking with silent sobs. I felt a brand new surge of awfulness as I saw her, I almost began sobbing myself. James, however, remained strong. His angelic face smiled in my direction, yet his beautiful grey eyes gave the whole game away, once again. They were plagued with misery, sorrow and suffering, and I knew he felt exactly as I did.
We all jumped violently when Chiron spoke again.
"Annabeth?" He called. She looked up and nodded in his direction. "Go and fetch Rachel." She kissed Eleri's head and strode across the long, depression-flooded room.
"Who's Rachel?" I asked quietly.
"She's our Oracle," Chiron replied, rubbing his temples. "You need a prophecy from her before you can start on your quest."
When Annabeth reappeared, she was followed not by some freaky women in floaty gowns and scarves draped in beads but by a woman around the same age as Percy with bright red hair and jeans covered with multi-coloured paint. She regarded me with a pitiful look in her eyes, confidently strode across the room and pulled up a chair next to mine. She took my small, dark hand in her warm pale one and spoke directly to me.
"My dear, you do not know how long I have awaited your arrival. I think the time has come for you to know why. When I was just fourteen, I made a prophecy concerning the child of the sky. We assumed this meant a child of Zeus, but I had a feeling it meant more than that. I was obviously correct. Before I make a prophecy concerning your quest, I would like to show you this great prophecy." At once, her voice went harsh and mystical, nothing like her usual gentle tones.
"Lies will be told, and trust will be broken,
Between our Queen and King, harsh words will be spoken.
The child of the sky will make the final call,
Only then we will know if Olympus will fall.
"So you may have guessed; you are the child of the sky. I know you must leave soon, yet please, I must make you a prophecy for your quest."
My mind went totally blank at that point, and a wave of despair and hopelessness engulfed me. I would make the final call? How? What would happen if I made the wrong decision? Would it mean death, or worse? Yet, before I had time to let my ever clouded mind dwell on those questions, Rachel spoke once again in those disturbing tones.
"They shall travel through the night to convince our queen,
Though they will meet dangers in corners between.
Seven will leave us, yet five will return,
If the right decision is made, and his lesson is learned."
Everyone looked as if Olympus had already been blown to smithereens. I guessed that the expression on my face would have been equal to that, if not more distraught.
"We're leaving tonight." I declared, in what I hoped was a strong, leader-type voice. Something I'd learned from Max.
As I'd guessed, no one argued.
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