I am soooo sorry, guys! I really didn't meant to go over again, but this chapter was harder than I thought. Like I've said many times before I'm not good at action scenes so writing this was hard. The scenes actually might not be so good, but if you have any suggestions on making the next one better, that would be great.

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"What? He's dead?! But he-I saw-what?" There were too many things going on inside my head. He's dead? But I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same guy; I mean the name Ezra Nightingale isn't that common, is it? The chances of them also having black hair and blue-gray eyes are not very likely. But if she is right about him being dead, then the guy I saw at school was a . . . ghost? . . . Okay. I don't even want to think about it.

"Can we just drop this topic, please?" she begged.

Judging from her expression, she really didn't want to talk about it. However, I just couldn't get the idea of me talking to a ghost out of my head. "Can I just ask one more question?"

She nodded.

"How did he . . . die?"

She sighed. "I had a feeling you'd ask that. To be honest, I wasn't exactly there when he died. But I was with him a few moments before he drowned."

I gasped.

"We were on a school trip to the beach," She continued. "Because Ezra always wore black and looked emo, he scared everyone in the school away, except for me of course. They avoided me too, because I was with him. During the trip, some bullies ganged up on us, but I wasn't the type to let myself get bullied so I went ahead and punched one of the bullies' noses," she let out a small chuckle, but her face quickly turned grim. "Thinking back on it, I shouldn't have done that."

I looked at her a bit strangely, what's wrong with standing up for herself?

"After I did that, the bullies left us alone, but a bloody nose can't go unnoticed by the teachers so I got called up ten minutes later. I swear when I left he was still standing there, the water only up to his ankle. When I came back, he-he was gone," she paused for a moment, then continues, "At first I thought he was just playing with me, but after ten minutes of searching, I panicked. I started asking everyone where he was, but no one knew. Sooner or later, everyone started searching, but we never found him in the end. Three days later, some fishermen found his jacket on one of the rocks that was in the middle of the ocean. The police confirmed him to have drowned."
I see so that's why she said that. If she never left his side, he probably wouldn't have drowned. But confirming all this from just a jacket that could've just been blown away? "But couldn't the jacket have been blown away by the wind?"

"Aerie," I sat up straight, it was the first time she said my name, "the beach that we went to was cold. That day was windy and the water's freezing all year long, why would he not have his jacket on? Before I left, he buttoned that all the way up and besides, it's all in the past anyways."

"But-"

"Aerie, that was your last question, can we please stop talking about this?"

I reluctantly nodded, she looked like she was about to burst into tears. This guy must've been very close to her.

It was quiet. I just didn't know what to say, I've never lost anyone close to me before. It was uncomfortable; thankfully Percy and Annabeth came to the rescue.

"Aerie? Whitney? What are you guys doing here?" asked Annabeth. They were walking back from the beach.

"Oh, hey Annabeth, we couldn't sleep so we came out here."

Percy stared at both of us and said, "You guys should go back, if the harpies are on their schedule, then they should be here in about . . . ten minutes?"

I raised my eyebrows. "You know their schedule?"

Percy grinned mischievously. "Sneaking out after curfew a lot has its perks."

"Anyways," said Annabeth, "we're going back to our cabins, you guys should come."

I looked at Whitney. She shook her head. "I'll stay here for a bit longer; you can go if you want."

I yawned and nodded. "Okay then, see you!"

On our way back, I asked Annabeth about Whitney. Annabeth didn't know much about her either. According to what Thalia told her, Whitney always kept to herself. The Hunters found her all alone in Florida. She had no parents or a home so the Hunters took her in. And that was pretty much all Thalia could get out of her. I guess Whitney doesn't like to open up to anyone.

When I got back to the cabin, I realized that Whitney had just confirmed whether or not I had talked to a ghost. I shuddered. No, I thought, it's probably another guy with the same name. Not wanting to have a dream with a ghost in it, I forced myself to believe in that thought.

Somehow that worked. The next morning I woke up, not remembering what I dreamed at all.

Training was more intense that day. I had to fight both Percy and Annabeth using my sword, archery, and water skills. They were trying to get me ready for the Capture-the-Flag game after lunch. Apparently, the Hunters have won 58 times in a row in the past and this time Percy and Annabeth are determined to win with me on their team. I wasn't sure how much help I am to them, but I want along just to make them happy.

During lunch, Chiron announced the cabins that were going to be in the games.

"Okay, all of you should already know that there were only 12 spots for the game. They are; Apollo's cabin, Ares/Mars' cabin, Athena/Minera's cabin, Demeter/Ceres' cabin, Enyo/Bellona's cabin, Hecate/Trivia's cabin, Hephaestus/ Vulcan's cabin, Hermes/ Mercury's cabin, Khione's cabin, Nemesis/ Invidia's cabin, Nike/ Victoria's cabin, Poseidon/Neptune's cabin." The kids, whose godly parent's names were called, cheered. Then, some Hephaestus kids rolled the biggest flat screen TV. I've ever seen, next to Chiron. "Everyone not participating can watch the game on this, now all cabins that was called, put on your armor and head off to the woods."

The armor was heavier than I thought. And that really bothered me. The armor made me slow and I relied heavily on speed when it comes to sword fighting.

Anyways back to the game, I was given the position to guard the flag with Percy. Since our flag was near the creek, Annabeth decided that it'd be best for us, who can control water, to guard. Percy didn't seem to like this position, he wanted to be fighting alongside Annabeth, but since Thalia's probably the strongest of the Hunters, Annabeth's plan was for me to be in the creek when Thalia reaches us, then when she comes I'd try to catch her off guard and pull her in the creek. By then Percy should be in the water too, and that'll seal off her lightning powers. If the three of us were in the creek and she used her lightning powers, then she'd fry both of us and herself. Pretty good plan, if I do say so myself, but what if Thalia used her powers anyways? . . . Let's just say she won't.

Then we heard the conch horn. Let the game begin!

All of a sudden, everyone started shouting their battle cries. A blood curdling scream was the noise next. Fear suddenly bubbled up inside me. That was probably someone who got stabbed or shot, what if I'm next? I started shaking, so hard I almost dropped my sword.

"Are you okay?"

I turned to Percy. "What?"

"You're shaking a lot," he pointed out, "are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine, just a little nervous about the game."

Percy nodded and advised, "Take deep breaths, that's what works for me."

I did what he said and before I knew it, the fear turned into excitement. Now all I wanted was to have Thalia-or any Hunter to get here already.

Thankfully I didn't have to wait long; three Hunters appeared out of the bushes. They all looked in between 12-15 years old, but since they were immortal, there's no telling that they could be 200 years old or maybe even more.

"Aerie, take care of all of them for me," Percy whispered.

"What?" My first battle against the Hunters and he's not helping?! Very nice, Percy.

"I want to see some results of training, go," he ordered.

I grumbled yes and went up to the Hunters. They all had daggers in their hand, which meant I had the advantage with a sword. But they probably had more experience so not sure how much of an advantage I had.

The moment I got close, Hunter 1 lunged at straight at me. On instinct, I moved to the right, but doing that with armor on was much harder than without. I tripped backwards and landed right on my butt, somehow not hurt by the Hunter. The three Hunters burst out laughing and surprisingly, Percy had a guilty look on his face. I wonder why . . .

Then I remembered that everyone, who isn't playing, was watching. Ugh, way to humiliate myself. I muttered a curse and stood up. I shook my legs and arms, trying to get used to the extra weight and raised my sword.

The hunters saw this and gripped their daggers, hard.

This time, I attacked first. I was determined to not embarrass myself again. My plan was to get them as close as possible to the creek where I'll summon a wave to crash down on them. Hunter 2 immediately raised her dagger to stop my attack. The moment our blades touched, I pressed down against her dagger as hard as I could. The other Hunters sheathed their dagger and started going toward Percy. Oh no, you don't. Quickly, I did the disarming technique on Hunter 2 and before the dagger fell down, I snatched it and threw it on the edge of the creek. Hunter 2 looked at me with shock, probably not expecting that from someone who just fell, trying to dodge.

I left Hunter 2 and went after Hunter 1 and 3... I quickly switched my sword to a bow and shot an arrow between the two Hunters. Both of them froze and stared down at my arrow. Before they could turn around, I ran up to them, took their dagger out of its sheath, and threw them where I threw Hunter 2's dagger. The two Hunters' expressions went from shock to anger. They gave me a glare and ran off to get their weapon.

I turned to look at the creek. Once all three Hunters gathered up with their weapons, I summoned a huge wave. They didn't seem to notice a huge shadow that suddenly covered them; big mistake. The wave crashed down on them, soaking them from head to toe. I felt a pang of nausea from using that much water power, but I quickly buried that feeling and focused on the game.

Once again, I ran up to them, disarmed them, and threw their weapons in the middle of the creek. I switched back to a sword and held it against their throat. "Give up?" I asked.

All three of them stared at me with wide eyes. Suddenly, Hunter 1 started laughing. After a bit, she smiled at me. "You got me well, yes I give in,"

"Zira!" The other Hunters exclaimed, shocked.

"Oh, don't give me that look. Admit it, we lost. She threw our weapons in the creek, how are we going to fight without our weapons? We underestimated her too much, and because of that, we have sword at our throat. Give it up."

The two were quiet for a moment. Then they grumbled, "We give up."

Hearing that, I lowered my sword from their throat. Zira nodded at the two and turned back to me. "Forgive them, they just recently became Hunters. By the way, this is my first time seeing you here at camp, what's your name? I'm Zahira, but most people call me Zira."

"My name is Aerie, nice to meet you."

She smiled. "Likewise. I have a favor to ask, can you escort us to your jail, I forgot where it is."

Somehow I felt like she was trying to make me leave Percy alone so I said, "I'll go ask Percy."

I went up to Percy and asked, "They want me to escort them to jail, should I?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Percy didn't seem to have a look of suspicion at all. "Is it okay to leave you alone to guard?"

Percy chuckled. "You're talking to the best swordsman in 300 years; do you think I'll be okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "What if Thalia comes while I'm gone?"

"I fought her a few times before; I can probably hold her off until you come back." I nod and started going back to Zira until, "Wait, Aerie."

"What?"
"I'm sorry for that fall earlier; we should've had you practice fighting with the armor. . ."

"It's fine, I still won in the end."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, you did great; now go before a Hunter comes."

On our way to the jail, I saw lots of campers being beaten. The Hunters fought like beasts. Despair bubbled up inside me. I just couldn't see how we're going to win against them. The moment a camper got close to a Hunter, they'd get shot down by an arrow from another Hunter. I can see how they won 58 times before.

When I dropped the three off at jail, I remembered Whitney. Whose side is she on? I asked the same question to Zira.

"She's on our side, except she isn't a Hunter. She still hasn't made up her mind, whether or not to become a Hunter. I honestly don't get why she doesn't want to become a Hunter, I mean being immortal, and especially no boys! Sounds like a perfect life to me!" then she looked at me. "Hey, you're pretty strong, want to join?"

I shook my head which made her pout. "Sorry, I can't, I have someone I like."

Zira sighed dramatically. "Girls and their guy obsession, something I'll never get."

I laughed. "Sorry."

"Eek! Are you trying to kill me?!" I screamed at Thalia.

"Haha, sorry. I thought you were going to attack me."

I groaned.

Oh, right let me explain what happened. As I walk back to the creek, I saw Percy and Thalia having an all out fight. I quickened my pace to go assist Percy when all of a sudden, lightning struck, narrowly missing me by two feet. I just saw my life flash before my eyes. If I had taken a few more steps, I could've died.

Back to the present, Percy caught my eye and we exchanged glances. It was time to use Annabeth's plan.

Percy and Thalia went back to their aggressive battle as I inch slowly to the creek. When I got there, the next thing I had to do was wait. I had to wait until Thalia's guard was off, but when fighting Percy, your guard has to be on, or you'll lose.

Suddenly, Percy swung his sword and cut Thalia's leg. Her attention flew to her leg and I knew right away that this was the moment. I formed two gigantic hands out of the water, used them to grab Thalia, and threw her into the creek. Following the plan, Percy quickly jumped into the creek.

Thalia looked at me, stunned. "What the hell, Aerie? Is this your revenge or something?"

I laughed. "In a way, it can be."

Then, her shock became anger. She glared at me, her fingers tingled with electricity.

I couldn't help it, I stepped back. Her glare is scary.
"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," advised Percy.

"What?" Thalia sounded annoyed.

"Take a look around you, you're surrounded by water. You strike her, you're striking yourself too."

Realization dawned to her. She looked from left to right. Finally, she looked at us with wide eyes. "Annabeth planned this, didn't she?"

Percy grinned. "Yup!"

Thalia sighed. "Okay, you guys got me. I can't do anything in your domain. . ." she paused, then her sad expression tuned to determination. "Kidding! If I have to take you down, I'd be more than willing to sacrifice myself to do it." Dark gray clouds hovered above us, meaning Thalia was serious.

We stood our ground; there was no point in running away. The only thing we could do was hope she wouldn't really do it.

Then I heard Thalia mutter under her breath, "Now."

I braced myself for lightning, but it never came. Instead I saw a bright light from the corner of my eye. My eyelids immediately shut, but even with it shut, it was still bright. A few seconds later, it died down. I opened my eyes and saw black patches everywhere. In the middle of this, I saw Whitney running for our flag. I started running towards her, but with the armor's weight and the water; not easy.

I had to stop her somehow but how? Then an idea popped up. I didn't like the idea, but I need to stop her. I pointed my hand in a direction and shouted, "Ezra!"

I felt a pang of guilt the moment I did that, I really didn't want to use that against her. Despite that, it worked. Whitney froze the moment I said it and turned to look where I pointed. I took this chance and used the water to throw me to Whitney. I think it threw me a little too hard.

I collided against Whitney and we rolled a few feets back.

"Ow," Whitney complained under me.

Out of habit, I felt an urge to say sorry, but we were in a game. You shouldn't say sorry to your opponent unless it's over. Taking advantage of our position, I grabbed my sword and pinned her down.

Suddenly, Whitney shined. Literally. She was that bright light earlier and here she is again, all bright.

Unfortunately, I was a split second too late. Some of that light got in and it burned. I screamed in pain and covered my eyes, the pain was excruciating. I felt as if I stared at the sun directly for hours.

Then, I felt Whitney push me off of her. I took my hands off and opened my eyes. I saw nothing. Everywhere I looked was pitch black. Have I gone blind?

I didn't get to answer that question; my stomach was suddenly in pain. My hands fell down to my stomach, only to feel something warm and watery. What is this? I traced my hands along my stomach and cringed. There was a large cut on my stomach. Wait, then that watery thing was blood?

"Aerie! Whitney's headed for the flag, stop her!" yelled Percy from somewhere.

I'd love to, Percy, but how exactly can I stop her when I can't even see her.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

What's that sound? I shifted, straining my ears to hear what it was. It was footsteps, I realized. Wait a sec; I don't remember my hearing being this good. Could it be because I couldn't see? Whatever it was, I went back to straining my ears to hear.

I heard some metals clashing against each other with some splashing. That's probably Percy and Thalia. Then, that means the footsteps belong to Whitney! No one else is here except for the four of us. I found her! I crouched down and using my hands, I searched for my sword. Where is it . . .? Aha found it!

I immediately switched it to a bow and shot an arrow towards Whitney. After I shot the first arrow, the footsteps became faster. I began shooting faster as well. I shot an arrow every time I heard the footstep. I wasn't sure if I got her at all, but all I knew was that I need to keep shooting.

"Aerie, she's got the flag!" yelled Percy.

So . . . that means all those shots earlier missed? Great. Whitney started running even faster than before, making it harder for me. I've only got eight arrows left so I began choosing carefully at which footstep I should shoot at.

Suddenly, there was a shriek. Did I get her?

"Whitney!" screamed Thalia. Yup, I think I got her.

Then, there was a lot of splashing and there were more footsteps. "Whitney, give me the flag. I'll run for you," said Thalia.

Again, there was more splashing and footsteps. "I won't let you," said Percy.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. "Yes, you will. You forget I can use lightning now."

I wasn't sure what happened next, but the next sound I heard, was the sound of running. They were running away from here.

"Aerie, stay here and watch Whitney, I'm going after Thalia. She's got the flag," shouted Percy and then, there was the sound of running again.

Watch Whitney, eh? I can't see! How am I supposed to do that?!

Then Whitney groaned.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Since the flag's gone, why fight?

"What do you think?" she sounded annoyed.

"I don't know," I said bluntly. "I can't see. Where did I shoot you?"

"You shot me in the leg, wait, you can't see? Then how did you shoot me?"

"By sound. I heard your footsteps every time you ran."

"Wow," she had awe in her voice, "Wait I didn't blind you, did I?"

". . . I-I don't know. Did you?" Panic started brewing inside me. What if I can't see ever again?

"I'm not sure, myself. It just happened. I just learned about my powers today. Oh my gods, Aerie, I think I did blind you! I'm so sorry!"

"No," I muttered. "No. . . No, it can't be. It can't!

Exhaustion finally caught up with me. I started feeling light headed and felt my body swaying. The last thing I remember was Whitney calling my name and then I fainted.

When I woke up, I saw nothing but darkness. Have I really gone blind? Hold up, I didn't even open my eyes! . . . Huh? I can't open my eyes! I lifted my fingers to my eyes and instead of feeling skin, I felt . . . paper?

Then, I heard the sound of hooves and footsteps. "Who's there?" I started getting up.

"Don't sit up, you're too weak!" ordered a boy.

I froze. "Who're you and I know there's more than one person."

"Calm down, Aerie. It's me, Chiron. The boy who just spoke is Will Solace and he and Whitney here, I presume you two have already met, are the ones who healed your injuries."

I nod and layed back down. "So, what is this thing around my head?"

"Bandage," replied Will, "hm. . . I think its okay to take it off now, here, let me take it off for you."

Gently, he peeled off the bandage. Not knowing what to expect, I slowly opened my eyes. I gasped. "I can see!" I said happily.

"Why are you so happy?" asked Will, curiously.

I looked at him. Will is a tall, blue-eyed guy with sun-kissed blonde hair. "I thought I couldn't see anymore."

"Ah, about that, you have lost some of your eyesight."

"What?" I looked around; it did seem a bit blurrier than before.

"You saw the light a bit directly and close up; therefore it damaged your eyesight. I suggest you wear these from now on." He took out a pack of contacts and handed it over to me. "Try them on."

It took me a bit to get them on, but when I got it, wow! Everything looked so clear. "Wow! This is so cool! But wait, then how can I see when I'm underwater? I have to take them off when I go underwater, don't I?"

"Don't worry, those were sent from your mom. You don't have to take them off for anything; you can even wear it to sleep, but you have to put three eye drops in each eye after three hours. Also, you have to change the contacts after two weeks. Oh and before I go, here's a pair of glasses and a bottle of eye drops. I have to go check on the other patients now, don't sit up or you'll open your wound."

Wound? What wound? I looked down and lifted my shirt a little. My stomach was bandaged. Oh right, I think Whitney slashed me using my sword at that time.

Chiron clopped over to me. "How are you feeling?"

"My body hurts all over, but I'll be fine."

"About your quest," oh no, please don't tell me it'll be delayed because of this injury, "as soon as you're healed, which will probably be tomorrow, you may go on your quest." What? "I saw how you fought during the game and I think you're ready, but do you think you're ready? The choice is up to you."

I hesitated. I really want to go save Logan, but I need more training. I was just lucky that the Hunters that I fought were beginners. I'm not ready for this. "No. . . I don't think I'm ready yet."

Chiron nodded. "A wise decision, Aerie. Honestly, I lied about how I thought you were ready, but it seems like that test was not needed. You know your limits, well done." He nods again and left.

It was only Whitney and I left in the room. I noticed a bandage around one of her legs, that must be where I shot her. She limped over to me and bowed her head down to me a little. I looked at her strangely.

"I'm sorry, I ruined your eyesight."

"It's okay; I mean I used Ezra against you." Again, I felt a pang of guilt.

"But-"

"It's okay, I mean it. It's o-kay."
Whitney looked like she wanted to protest, but she nodded. "So, you're going on a quest?"

"Yeah, to go rescue my friend," then an idea popped up inside my head. "Hey, do you want to come? My friend just became a Hunter, she can't go."

"I-I'll think about it."

Suddenly, Thalia burst into the room. "Sorry, Aerie, I'm going to borrow Whitney for a bit." Before I could say anything, Thalia dragged Whitney away. I wonder what that was about.

Later, Percy and Annabeth came to visit. They told me how the game ended up. In the end, the Hunters won again. The Hunters ganged up on Percy while Thalia ran away. At the same time, Annabeth was also bringing the flag, but Thalia ran across just before Annabeth. We were so close to winning, oh well.

I had to wait until it was Saturday to start training again. Since I only had two days left for training, Percy and Annabeth trained me much harder than before. I almost wished to be back at the infirmary.

Before I knew it, it was Monday. Today was the day of the quest. It's time.

Whew! This chapter is long! 4,547 words not including the author notes.

Okay, I want to give you guys a heads up that the next chapter will probably NOT be on time. I know I've been late already twice, but the next chapter has the prophecy and let's just say I'm not very good at those. I'm not good with poetry and all that stuff related to it.

I'm sorry to make you guys wait again for a long time. I'll try my best to update soon.

As always, please review! :D