Vengence is mighty fun.
Jason Grace may not be 21 but he needs a drink and deserves one right now.
|Chapter 11| Revenge and the Chapter in Which Jason Needs a Drink
Maybe if the mortals could have slightly changed their fates if they paid attention.
Maybe if they paid closer attention to the fact that lightning was flashing close to their home in the woods, they wouldn't have ended up with arrows in their throats.
Maybe if they noticed how bright the moon glowed on March 28, 2011, they could have hidden for a bit longer.
But maybe if they hadn't chosen to attack the hunters the day before, they wouldn't be rotting in the fields of punishment.
They were laughing and drinking, bathing in their victory. The alcohol was rotting their brains, dulling the sense of dread that should have been filling their brains.
The moon and the lieutenant stalked through the house. They found the staircase to the basement, which the lieutenant descended down, to rescue the hunters.
Artemis paused right next to the doorway, listening to the vile mortals in the other room. Silently, nocked an arrow, she drew her bow and turned so she was into the doorway.
The mortals continued their party for a moment but all slowly turned to the Goddess of the Moon. A cold wind blew through the room, making Artemis' hair fly around her face.
She raised her bow and aimed. She didn't release the arrow but instead spoke. "You took my hunters. You threatened to break their vows. And for that, I will crush you like the gnats you are." The mortals stared at her wide-eyed and silent.
Artemis released her arrow.
When Thalia and the hunters found Artemis, she was standing over the bodies of ten mortal men and women. Silver arrows were embedded in their throats.
"M'lady?" One of the hunters asked.
"Yes?" Artemis growled.
"What if other mortals find these pigs?"
"Do not fret. I have arranged a deal with Hermes, Hades, and Mnemosyne. Hermes will take the bodies after he has delivered their souls. Hades has saved their places in the Fields of Punishment. And as for Mnemosyne, she has agreed to wipe all memory of them. As far as anyone will be concerned, they never existed."
The hunters shared grins.
"Come, my hunters. We must hunt." Artemis said, leading them out of the quiet home. As soon as they stepped out, the kidnapped hunters' weapons were replaced, and they were decked out in fresh gear.
And with the blow of the hunting horn, the hunt set out.
Jason rubbed his temple, and let out a deep sigh. He looked up at Chiron and groaned.
"Let me get this straight," he said, "A mortal TV crew is coming in -," he checked his watch, "- an hour and you want me to give them a tour. And you couldn't have asked me earlier?"
'Yes. And I may have been able to ask you earlier, but you have been rather busy, no?" Chiron replied.
"Fine. I'll do it." Jason said, standing up. "I'll just take a shower, and get freshened up. Where should I meet them?"
"Meet me at your sister's tree. I will tell you what to go over, what to avoid. They will meet us there."
"Cool. Why not?" Jason said. He left the room and jogged to his cabin. He really needed a shower.
Forty-five minutes later, Jason and Chiron stood next to Thalia's tree, discussing what Jason should highlight. They decided that he would start with the cabins, move to the arena, then the forge, then the stables. Then they would loop back around and show off the lake.
If they had time, Jason may give a quick tour of bunker nine, but he would also have to find Leo for that.
They were going over the plan the final time when the van pulled up. Jason wiped his hands on his jeans, shook his head, and headed off.
CABIN TOUR:
They started with the cabins. Everything was going well until they got to Cabin 9: Hephestus.
Leo Valdez, the head counsellor and Jason's best friend, was standing on the roof screaming about something. His hands were on fire, and every few moments he would cackle loudly.
His girlfriend, Calypso, stood on the grass in front of the Cabin. She was yelling at him, telling him to get his sorry ass down here right now. Jason herded the news crew away.
The next cabin, the Aphrodite cabin, should have been fine, a perfectly normal cabin. But it wasn't.
Piper McLean, Jason's girlfriend, was engaged in an argument with her half-sister Drew Tanaka. This slightly surprised Jason, because in the past few months the two girls' relationship had strengthened, and they rarely argue like this anymore.
"JUST LET ME GET YOU A NEW PAIR OF JEANS!" Drew screamed.
"NO!" Piper yelled back.
"THEY LOOK LIKE A DEMENTED RAT ATE THEM, PIPER!"
"AND?"
"IT AIN'T CUTE."
Jason herded them along.
They passed by cabin eleven fairly quickly. The only interesting thing that happened was when the Stolls ran out and ran to the Dionysus cabin. The cabin that also happened to be their next stop.
Jason and the news crew, who seemed hopelessly confused, watched the Stolls run-up to the door. One of them, Travis, banged on the door.
The door opened, revealing an obviously tired Pollux. "What do you want, Stolls?" he hissed.
"Does your dad attend alcoholics anonymous meetings?" Connor asked.
Pollux slammed the door in their faces.
As they walked to the next set of cabins, Jason told them how there had originally been only twelve cabins, but more had been added.
They stopped in front of the Hades cabin, and Jason was just about to talk about the cabin when he noticed Nico, who was inside.
He was hanging upside down from one of the rafters. In one hand he had a blowtorch, and in the other, some sort of figurine. He had an Oreo in his mouth.
"Uh, Nico?" Jason asked, looking at his cousin in confusion.
"What?" Nico said, looking up.
"What are you doing?"
"Vibing."
"That can't be remotely safe."
"We have a rock climbing wall that spews lava, and you're calling this unsafe?"
"Wait, is that a Zeus statue?"
Nico didn't reply.
Jason sighed and moved the tour on.
ARENA TOUR:
They arrived at the arena easily.
The cameras started to roll again, and Jason started to talk about the arena and what they did inside it. Just as he was going into talking about chariot races, which had yet again, been reestablished, Percy's voice could be heard.
"EN GARDEN" He yelled.
"EN GARDE" Annabeth corrected.
"WHATEVER!" He said.
Jason grinned and turned to the cameras. "That's Percy and Annabeth. They're probably sparing, and that's always cool." He waved them forward.
The two of them were indeed sparring. After the session ended, and the cameras had gotten some pretty cool footage, the couple came over and did a quick interview.
Jason bid the two goodbyes, and the tour continued.
THE LAKE TOUR:
The forge and stable tours passed uneventfully. The only semi mentionable thing that happened was that Jason informed Will Solace, who they had ran into, of whatever his boyfriend was doing. Will had let out a great sigh, muttered something, and set off to the Cabins.
They were walking back towards the lake, and Jason was telling them some fun facts about Camp Half-Blood. They were passing through the Cabin area when they heard shouting coming from the Hades cabin.
And when they saw what was happening, Jason let out yet another sigh.
Will was dragging Nico out of his cabin, lecturing him on unhealthy coping mechanisms. Nico was glowering and letting his heels drag into the dirt.
Will stopped and grinned. He picked his boyfriend up, flung him over his shoulder, and walked off. Nico was crimson as he yelled at him to let him down, but Will seemed to be enjoying the moment a lot.
The lake tour itself was pretty uneventful, except for the part where Percy tried to push Jason into the lake.
Percy had snuck up behind his cousin, and shoved him to the side, off the boardwalk. Jason had saved himself by changing the winds. And to retaliate, he pushed Percy in and power-walked away.
Camp Half-Blood, everyone.
I'm really sorry for my absence. The past few months have been horrible and I officially hate 2020. My apologies come in the form of the fact I have a story in the works, which is hopefully going to be published this Christmas, and that updates of this story will happen every other day. So, so, so, sorry. :)