Reyna XI

Reyna's dream began with her facing a white marble house. It had heavy stone columns in the front and polished bronze doors. There was a bronze number 1 over the door. Someone walked out of the door; it was Jason. Reyna called out to him, but he didn't answer; it was like he couldn't hear her. She wanted to run to him, but she couldn't move. A girl ran up to Jason, and started talking to him. Reyna couldn't make out what they were saying. The girl had brown hair cut very uneven with a few braids down the sides. She wore faded blue jeans and a snowboarding jacket. She was a very pretty girl, even though she looked like she tried not to be. She squeezed his hand, and Reyna began to get angry at the sight. Who did this chick think she was?

Reyna had a crush on Jason. They had always been close friends, but it felt like they had been getting closer since the end of the summer, since the battle. Reyna never told Jason how she was starting to feel about him, and now she regretted not telling him.

They continued to talk, and Reyna could start to make out a few words: memory, Roman, Greek. Reyna couldn't understand what it meant, but she knew it was important. When the girl finished talking to Jason, she kissed him on the cheek and walked away. Reyna was furious now and called the girl a few hateful names under her breath. Jason walked back into the marble house, and a wolf appeared where he had been standing. It was Lupa.

"Hello, my pup," Lupa said.

"Madam Lupa," Reyna said and bowed her head.

"We don't have much time, so I'll make this quick. This mission you are on to rescue me is only the beginning. I feel something big is about to happen, the great prophecy may be beginning. I fear you have a long, hard road ahead of you and sacrifices will have to be made. Find me Reyna, and I will take you to what you seek. Good hunting, my pup," Lupa said, and Reyna woke up.

Her head was resting on Dakota's shoulder. She looked up and noticed he was asleep. She looked around the Hummer, and no one else was in it. They were stopped at a gas station. Bobby was pumping gas, and Percy and Hazel were in the convenience store. Bobby hung up the pump and got back into the Hummer.

"Burrrr, it's cold out there," Bobby said.

"Where are we?" Reyna asked.

"Oh, you're awake. We're about two hours from Pikes Peak," Bobby said.

Dakota yawned and stretched his arms, "Are we there yet?"

"Two hours," Reyna told him.

Percy and Hazel were laughing as they walked back to the Hummer, each carrying a sack. They got in and Hazel said, "Snacks and drinks."

Reyna looked through a bag, "Junk food."

Bobby started the engine and drove back out onto the highway.

"Any Twinkies in there?" Dakota asked.

Percy tossed a pack of Twinkies over his shoulder into the back seat, and Dakota caught it.

"Sweet," Dakota said.

"Where's my Red Bull?" Bobby asked.

"Right here," Hazel said handing it up to him.

Reyna grabbed a bottle of apple juice and a pack of powered doughnuts. They ate their snacks and listened to some rock and roll on the radio. They were driving along a winding four lane blacktop in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. A light snow had begun to fall and Bobby turned on the wiper blades. They passed a sign that read: COLORADO SPRINGS 40 MILES. The snow fall began to get heavier and heavier, and the wind began to howl. It wasn't long until they were in blizzard conditions. Bobby had to slow down considerably. The road was getting slick, so Bobby pressed a button on the dash to engage the four-wheel drive. Visibility was almost zero even with the high beams on and the wipers at full blast. There was a bright flash of blue light ahead of them, then another and another. Bobby slowed almost to a crawl.

"What's that light? Can anybody tell?" Bobby asked.

"I can't see anything through all this snow," Percy said, squinting his eyes, looking out the windshield.

Suddenly, the snow in front of the Hummer began to swirl violently like a tornado.

"What the heck?" Bobby said and pressed the brake stopping completely.

The snowy tornado traveled up the highway sucking up the blowing snow and increasing their visibility. The snow tornado reached the flashing blue light then disappeared revealing a horse-shaped, dark storm cloud in the middle of the road. The horse-shaped cloud looked toward the Hummer, stomping its hooves on the pavement.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Bobby said.

The horse cloud reared up and lightning crackled down its mane.

"It's Tempest!" Reyna yelled as it began to charge them.

Bobby threw the Hummer into reverse, and punched the accelerator. He put his right hand behind Percy's headrest, and had his left hand on the wheel. He looked behind him to see through the back window.

"Move your head, Reyna!" he yelled and she ducked.

Bobby flew down the highway in reverse. He glanced forward to see Tempest was bearing down on them. Steam blew from its nostrils, and lightning sparked down its back.

When Tempest was only inches from the hood of the Hummer, Bobby yelled, "Hang on!"

He jerked the wheel to the left, and the Hummer spun a 360. The girls screamed, and Tempest ran right past the Hummer just as it spun out of its path. Bobby threw it in drive and took off. Tempest turned in pursuit. Bobby had the accelerator on the floor. The speedometer ran up 60, 70, 80 miles per hour. Tempest was right on their bumper. The road made a curve to the right, and Bobby jerked the wheel sliding the Hummer into the curve using all four lanes.

"Wooo, hooo, hooo!" Bobby yelled while everyone else held on for dear life.

Tempest was now galloping along the right side the Hummer. It slammed its head into Percy's door sliding the Hummer across the highway. Bobby corrected then jerked the wheel toward Tempest slamming into it, slowing it down, but only for a second. The road made a curve to the left, and Bobby took it in a full sideways slide and coming out of the curve completely straight. Tempest had moved to the left side of the Hummer now. Its head was even with the driver's door. Bobby looked out the window to see Tempest about to slam its head into the door. Bobby hit the brake and Tempest flew to the right, in front of them, missing the Hummer by inches and flying off the right side of the highway. Bobby hit the gas again spinning the tires as he took off. Tempest emerged back on the highway behind them.

"Moon roof!" Bobby yelled.

Dakota looked at Reyna, "Get your bow."

Reyna unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her bow and quiver from the cargo area. Percy pressed the button to open the moon roof. Reyna stood on the center console and stuck her upper body out of the moon roof. She drew her bow and fired an arrow at Tempest. The arrow hit it, and it reared up in pain then kept right on coming after them. She fired several more arrows slowing Tempest down but not killing it. She ducked back into the Hummer.

"That didn't work," she said as she sat back down in her seat and buckled her seat belt.

Bobby was still driving about 80 miles per hour and sliding through curves. Tempest was still gaining on them. They could see the lights of a town a few miles ahead. If they could just make it there, maybe Tempest wouldn't follow them into a populated area. They were only about a mile from the town when Tempest caught up with them. Bobby looked in the rear view mirror to see its head was right at the back window, then it disappeared from view. Suddenly there was a loud THUD on the back bumper, and Hummer went spinning out of control. Bobby tried to correct the spin, but he was going too fast. The Hummer spun round and round and everyone screamed at the top of their lungs. The Hummer slid off the highway, down a ravine, and hit a huge pine tree head on causing the airbags to deploy. Everyone sat there dazed for a few seconds.

"Where'd it go?" Reyna yelled.

Everyone looked around, but Tempest was nowhere to be seen.

"I guess it thought it killed us," Dakota shrugged.

Suddenly, there was a voice inside the Hummer, "This is Onstar. We've received an alert you've been in a crash. Do you need medical assistance?"

"Um… no ma'am, we're fine, but could you send a wrecker to get the car?" Bobby said.

"A tow truck will be there in an hour," the voice said.

"Thank you."

Everyone climbed out of the Hummer. Everyone was sore, but no one was hurt.

Dakota looked at the beat up Hummer and said, "I'm sure glad I got the extra insurance."

Bobby started giggling then broke out into a laugh, "That was sooo awesome! Can we do it again?"

"No!" everyone yelled at the same time.

"Let's grab our gear and head toward that town we saw up ahead. Maybe we can find someplace to stay out of this blizzard," Reyna said.

They walked into the little town and quickly spotted a small resort that had a ski shop and cabins for rent. They walked into lobby and up to the front desk, shaking the snow off their jackets.

The man behind the desk said, "Cold out there, huh?"

"Yes, sir," everyone said.

"What can I do for you this evening?" the man asked.

"We'd like to rent a cabin, please," Reyna told him.

"Well you're in luck; I've only got one left. How many nights?" he asked.

"Just one."

"You kids here on vacation?" the man asked while typing on his computer.

"Family reunion," Hazel grinned.

"Ah, needed to get away from crazy adults for a while. I understand that," He nodded. "Okay, I'm going to need a driver's license and a visa or master card."

Dakota handed the man his license and a visa. The man did the paperwork and Dakota signed.

"Cabin one, out the door and down to your left," the man handed Dakota the key.

"Thanks," Dakota said.

They walked up to a large two story log cabin with a bronze number 1 above the door. It had large wooden columns on the front porch that held up the second story balcony. It looked surprisingly similar to the marble house Reyna saw in her dream.

"I've got first dibs on the shower," Hazel called as they walked in the front door.

Everyone threw their gear down and made themselves at home. There was a huge living area and kitchen. Gas logs were burning in the fireplace making it nice and cozy. There were two bedrooms downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs, so someone would have to sleep on the sofa. Reyna walked upstairs and opened a sliding glass door. She walked out onto the balcony closing the door behind her. She folded her arms laying them on the balcony rail and leaned against it looking out into the blizzard. A few minutes passed then she heard the door slide open then shut. Dakota leaned against the balcony next to her. He just stood there for a moment looking out into the storm.

"Penny for your thoughts," he said, finally.

"What do you think about Percy?" she asked.

"I like the guy. Don't you?"

"I do, but…" she trailed off.

"You don't think he's who he says he is?"

"I think he thinks he is," she replied.

"But you think he's a Greek," he guessed.

"How'd you know about that?" she asked.

"Come on, Reyna. You told Jess. You know she can't keep her mouth shut about anything."

"I'm going to sew it shut when we get back. Who else did she tell?" she asked in frustration.

"Just me, and she won't be telling anyone else," he assured her.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I told her if we kept it between us, I'd take her to dinner and a movie," he smirked.

Reyna shook her head, "You're such a dog."

"What?" he shrugged his shoulders. "I had to do something. Besides, she is kind of cute."

Reyna tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she's not really my type. You know, you should've been the one to tell me."

Reyna nodded.

"So what's your theory?" he asked.

"His skill with a sword and that shield… he's been trained," she replied.

"I agree, but he says otherwise."

"He told me he's been having visions, like deja vue. It's like he's remembering things that never actually happened. I think someone has messed with his mind," she explained.

"Someone wants him to think he leads a normal, mortal life?"

"Or they want us to think he does. Think about it. If he knew he was Greek when he came to our camp… could you imagine?" she shook her head.

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't have been pretty, but why make him think he's a mortal? Why not just erase all of his memory?"

"That would've been way too suspicious. I wouldn't have been convinced, would you? We most likely wouldn't have been so nice to him," she reasoned.

"Yeah, we probably would've thrown him in the brig and left him there," he agreed.

Reyna nodded.

"So you think his real memories were written over by memories of a mortal life so it would be easier for him to infiltrate our camp? That's a stretch, Reyna…and what about Jason?"

"If Percy is with us then…" she started

"You think Jason is with the Greeks," he said with a doubtful look.

"You got a better theory?" she asked.

"No, and my brain hurts just thinking about yours."

"I forget thinking is such a strenuous process for you," she grinned.

"Shut up."

They both smiled.

"There's something else, too, Kota."

"What?" he asked.

"Lupa came to me in a dream. She said this mission was just the beginning of something bigger."

"Janus said something like that to me, something about my important journey has begun. And he asked if I would answer the call."

Reyna nodded, "Lupa believes the great prophecy has started."

"I figured as much, but we've got to focus on the task at hand and that's finding Lupa."

She nodded, "You're right."

"Of course, I am. Now, let's go back inside. It's cold out here," he said and they walked back into the cabin.

"Well, I'm going to go take a long, hot shower. Get some rest, Kota. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."