Chapter 8:
The Jackson's van pulled off to the side of a small deserted road. All of us got out. The kids ran up the hill towards the giant single pine tree that sat at the top of the hill. On one of the branches, there was something glinting in the sun. At the base of the tree it seemed there was a giant… dragon?!
"Where's the camp?" Dylan asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Just over the hill. Percy and I will be there in a minute we just have to get everything out of the van and park it somewhere." Annabeth told us without even looking away from all of the bags in the trunk.
Liam, Dylan, and I all trudged up the hill not expecting to see anything other than a normal camp on the other side. When we reached the top shock reached all of our faces.
At the base of the tree, there was in fact some sort of giant winged reptile, and with everything that had happened today, I was pretty safe to assume that it was a dragon. Smoke poured out of its nostrils.
Below in the valley, we could see large strawberry fields, volleyball courts, and a giant house which I guessed was the head house or whatever. Those were the only relatively normal things at this camp. Even the cabins were weird and nothing like any other summer camp would have. There were dozen upon dozens of cabins each customized in their own way. One was solid gold, another solid silver, one seemed to be six giant pieces of metal barely held together, while another was painted red and had barb wire decorating the roof. Closer to what I guessed was Long Island Sound was a giant rock climbing wall that seemed normal at first until it spit out lava. Near the cabins, there was an arena, what looked to be an armory, and stables. This camp couldn't even make the stables normal from where we were on the hill there were winged horses that were getting groomed by campers.
"That's it!" I shouted, "I'm going home! You all are crazy and I am not doing this today!"
When I turned around to head back down the hill I saw Percy and Annabeth approaching us. They looked at me concerned but I didn't care! I had been through so much today and I could not deal with any more of this… craziness.
"Ummm Mya you might want to check this out," Dylan called out for me, and that's when I heard it. There was pounding and it appeared to be coming closer, like over the other side of the hill closer.
"There they are!" the three Jackson children called out in unison. When I looked over I saw them on top of a half-horse half-man creator, and I passed out.
"I told you I would see you again soon," Luke said smugly, "But you really didn't have to pass out because you missed seeing me."
I looked around us to see if we were anywhere near that pit like the last time we talked. We weren't, instead, we stood outside of a gardening shop called Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium. All different things were outside the shop, and they had camp set up. I could see a few humans in the crowd, but something about the whole group seemed off.
"You brought me here! Why here?" Luke shouted at me. He seemed angry for some unknown reason.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I told him honestly.
"Well, I guess you'll figure out the truth about me," he responded coldly.
I saw Luke, the actual alive Luke that I never met, stand up on a stage to talk to the group, "Believe me I know I've sunk pretty low, but whatever I've done you've deserved! I'm the bad guy that's fine! It's no fault of mine, and some justice, at last, will be served! Now it's time it's time to step up, or it's time to back down! And there's only one answer for me, and I'll stand up and fight! Cause I know that I'm right!" Luke shouted.
"And I'm ready!" shouted a monster.
"I'm ready!" shouted another in agreement.
"I'm ready!" a boy with an eyepatch said from beside Luke.
"Ready as I'll ever be!" Luke said, but it wasn't Luke it was this deep old powerful voice.
The scene shifted and we were in front of the army. Heading towards a bridge. I felt like I should've known where we were but with how damaged the city was a name didn't come to my mind.
Luke road into battle with a group on horses. I saw the boy with an eyepatch and he seemed perfectly fine, but Luke seemed nervous, and his eyes were golden.
"I'll make them hear me!" Luke shouted but it was lost in the sound of the hooves on the pavement. And the group charged and faded into mist.
Luke and I stood together in darkness.
"What was that?" I asked him.
"I thought they would hear me," he admitted, "I thought the gods would hear my prayers and pleads and they would come and stop me before it was too late. They didn't though! Look at where it got them! Into a promise, they can't even keep! Now my father has sent a gift to try and remind the gods of their promise. They won't listen! They don't even know that there is a son of Tartarus running around right under their noses!" he stopped and stared at me as if he had said too much.
"What do you mean? What are you even talking about?" I was so confused but I knew somehow this was important.
"Nothing, Mya. You must go. Get back to your friends. I'll see you again and hopefully, you'll know more." he told me, "Please remember what you saw in this dream, and don't give in to temptation. Mya, don't be weak like me." With his final words, everything faded away including him.
Fairyn- Thank you so much for the follow, favorite, and all of your reviews it means so much! I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying the story!
I hope everyone liked this chapter I once again used song lyrics inside of it (Ready As I'll Ever Be). Please review it would mean a lot! Also thank you so much for over 200 readers that is insane!
~Emily