We hiked in silence for about 3 hours, stopping every once in a while to catch our breath. Thalia claimed that she was following some trail, and Brody agreed that he could smell the trail as well, and I really had no choice but to believe them. After a little while, Thalia found a little rock overhang, stopping and putting her stuff down.
"We're camping here tonight. Brody, you clean this place up a bit. Dak, you're with me. We're getting firewood." She commanded, Brody nodding and began picking up some fallen sticks and leaves off of the rock ground, Thalia and I hiking out into the woods, picking up the nice, medium sized sticks and branches as we went along. I tried to gauge what Thalia was thinking, but it was near impossible; she could keep a straight face that would make statues jealous. Before I could say something, she spoke up.
"You know, you really should have gone to Camp. You coming with me… it's stupid, reckless, and could seriously get you killed." She said. Her voice was level and calm; she had accepted the fact that I was here to stay. I tried to be upbeat and lighten the mood, smiling and shrugging to myself.
"I mean, who wants to go to some crummy summer camp, anyways?" I tried, and Thalia actually smiled a little bit, shaking her head.
"You know, you remind me of a friend of mine; he's pretty reckless too… always jumping right in to help a friend before giving it a second thought." She stated, picking up another log. She looked back at me, smiling as though she were seeing someone else.
"What ended up happening to him?" I asked, Thalia laughing.
"Oh, he's fine believe it or not; He's actually one of the instructors at Camp; Swordsmanship. When we get back to camp, I'll introduce you." She promised. We kept walking in silence for a little while, but I had a few questions.
"So, I noticed that there aren't any boy hunters… I'm guessing it's girl exclusive?" I asked, Thalia seeming to think the question was absurd.
"Of course. When you become a Hunter of Artemis, you swear off falling in love, and pledge yourself to Artemis. In return, you're granted a place among her hunters… and immortality." She finished, and I about fell over.
"Immortality?! Hang on… you're immortal? As in, never die or grow old immortal?! How old are you actually? Wait, that's rude to ask a lady how old she is…. Wait I don't care I need to know!" I rambled, Thalia sighing.
"Yes, I'm immortal. We don't age, but we can be killed in combat. I'm actually about 18 years old, if you don't count the time when I was turned into a tree. And for your information, it is considered rude to ask how old a lady is." She ended sourly. I blinked twice, the thought not seeping all the way in.
"Yeah, ok… like you really care that I know how old you are." I replied coyly, picking up some more smaller sticks. She looked like she was about to fire back at me, but just settled for rolling her eyes and sighing once again, mumbling something about 'little brother' under her breath. After we gathered together a few more branches, we headed back to the camp. Brody had actually cleaned it up really nicely, and already had our sleeping bags laid out and everything. Thalia set up the wood, then did one of the coolest things I've ever seen. She put her palms together, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was holding lightning… in her hands. She pushed her palms outward, the lightning striking the wood with a tiny pop and sparking it ablaze.
"Whoa! What?! That's freaking sweet! How did you do that?" I asked, Thalia obviously enjoying my surprise a little bit, though she tried to hide it.
"Well, when your dad is the Lord of the Sky, it kinda comes with a few perks." She explained. It took me a minute to piece it together.
"Wait… your dad is Zeus?" I asked. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I swear I heard some thunder booming far away. Thalia looked away, nodding.
"That's so cool! Can you summon big ones too?" I asked, Thalia nodding.
"On certain occasions; but it drains me pretty badly, so I try not to unless I have to." She explained, turning over some of the logs.
"So Brody, I've been meaning to ask you; that journal of yours wouldn't happen to say anything about guys in weird masks?" I asked. Thalia looked over at Brody, curiosity obvious in her eyes.
"Journal? What journal?" She asked, Brody looking scared and nervous all at once. He looked over at me cautiously; his eyes were practically screaming 'Can we trust her?'. After a second I nodded, Brody reaching into his bag and pulling out the faded book. He began leafing through the pages, closing it when he reached the end.
"Nope, sorry dude. Nothing here about crazy freaks in weirdo masks." He informed.
"None of this makes any sense; why in the world would anyone want to kidnap a goddess?" I asked, looking back and forth between the 2 of them curiously, but they both looked just as lost as I was.
"He said that they needed Artemis for something…" Thalia said. The look on her face made it clear that she was thinking this over as well, but after a moment she shook her head.
"Look, we don't have time to sit around thinking about this. We need to focus on the task at hand; freeing Lady Artemis." Thalia stated firmly, Brody and I both nodding. She was right; the hows and whys didn't really matter. What did matter was making sure that Lady Artemis made it out of there safely. We all sat by the fire, enjoying the heat and the sounds of crickets chirping in the background. For a while, no one said anything, until Thalia spoke up.
"So, Dakota… you sure your dad isn't going to be worried about you? Have you even told him you're all right?" She asked. I couldn't help but chuckle sadly at the thought of my dad actually realizing that I was missing. Back when I was still in Edgewater, we had a routine; I would call his "personal" number, his secretary Megan would answer the phone, I would tell her I'm still alive and doing fine, and she would "relay my message for me". I looked up at Thalia, shrugging.
"My dad doesn't even know I'm not at school. To be honest, I don't really think he even cares." I said bitterly, Thalia nodding in understanding. Brody pulled a library book from the school out of my bag, flipping through the pages before taking a huge bite. He continued reading, as though the giant bite out of the top of the book didn't bother his reading at all.
"I know what you mean; it was the same thing with my mom" Thalia explained
"She was a famous actress back in the 80s; caught Zeus' eye and I was born. But when Zeus left, she couldn't stand the thought of not being able to get his attention, so she turned to alcohol. I ended up running away because couldn't stand being around her any more." She explained. As weird as it seems, it actually made me feel a bit relieved to hear her story; it made me feel like I wasn't alone.
"My dad... he's pretty famous too. He never told me much about my mother, other than that they met after one of his Olympic competitions. He told me that she was stunning and powerful, but after she left it drove him into a deep depression; I was raised by my caretaker, Sarah… she ended up getting fired after I was transferred full-time to Edgewater Prep." I explained. Thalia looked at me with curiosity.
"Your dad was an Olympian? I mean, he was in the Olympics?" She asked. I nodded, Thalia looking even more confused. I sighed in defeat; I hated having to tell people my last name.
"Jack Lilienthal." I said barely above a whisper, but Thalia heard it, nodding slowly.
"The Olympic Sprinter for Team USA. Didn't he win, like.. 4 gold medals?" She asked.
"5. And he has all of them tucked neatly away in a box at the bottom of his closet." I said bitterly. Thalia shook her head; I could tell by the expression on her face that she actually understood my pain. I mean, all my life people have been telling me they "understand what I'm going through", but I felt like Thalia actually did. In a lot of ways, she and I were the same. I stood up, stretching my legs.
"But yeah; I don't expect that my dad will ever know I'm missing; even if the school tries to contact him, they'll just get his secretary, and to be honest, she and I never really got along so I doubt the message will ever even reach him." I said with a laugh, sitting back down after a moment and looking up at Thalia.
"You think we even have a chance? To actually pull this off, I mean." I whispered. We were all thinking it, so I figured I might as well ask. Brody swallowed his pages with a gulp; pretty much how we were all feeling. Thalia tried to put on a brave face, and it actually kind of worked; she looked like she had seen her fair share of battles before.
"I really don't know, Dak. But we have to try something; the longer we take, the longer Lady Artemis is in the grasp of that… thing." Thalia spat the last part with venomous hate. I could almost feel my knees knocking again just thinking about that beast, but I also felt a steely resolve form in the pit of my stomach when I imagined Artemis being chained up, bruised and beaten by that monster. I pulled out one of my blades, examining it as it seemed to glow a blue hue in the light of the full moon. Thalia looked at it curiously, and after a minute I noticed, holding it out to her.
"Artemis gave these to me as a gift… She told me that they were made of a special kind of silver." I explained, but Thalia seemed to be more interested in the handle for some reason.
"This is made of… palm wood?" She asked,emphasizing the word palm like it meant something. If it did, I didn't get it.
"I think so, why?" I asked. For a split second, Thalia looked like a deer in headlights, but instantly hardened her expression, shrugging.
"It's nothing. Leto, the mother of Artemis and Apollo, gave birth to them under a palm tree… that's probably why she made the handles out of palm wood." Thalia explained, but something about the tone in her voice made it clear that wasn't what she was originally thinking. I decided to let it go, taking the blade back from her carefully.
"You know, Lady Artemis must really like you, Dakota; I don't think that she's ever treated a boy with such kindness." Thalia mused. I raised an eyebrow curiously, Thalia actually laughing.
"Usually she turns them into animals… most of the time it's a Jackelope." She informed. I pictured myself as an antlered bunny, running around for my life in a panic, forced to eat glorified salad and grass for the rest of my life. I must have looked pretty funny, because Thalia burst out into tears she was laughing so hard. When she finally calmed down, she reached over and touched the leather jacket I was wearing, examining it like she had the blade.
"Really nice… I've never seen Artemis give any boy so many gifts." She commented. It almost sounded like she was trying to figure out why; like there was some specific reason Artemis had chosen to be kind to me. She shrugged it off, poking at the fire with a stick.
"So Thalia; about your friends at camp…" I began, Thalia smiling brightly.
"Yeah, I've got a few. We've been through a lot together… a whole lot." She explained. I sat on the edge of my log, wanting to hear more. Thalia noticed and smirked, rolling her eyes and sighing.
"We've been through everything together; fighting monsters, stopping titans, saving the world on more than one occasion." She listed off, and I was completely shocked.
"Hang on… the world almost ended? TWICE?!" I asked; I hoped 'multiple times only meant twice… I don't think I could have handled it if she was like "Nah, like..12". But she nodded, looking over at me curiously.
"Remember that giant storm that moved through New York a few years ago?" She asked. I tried to remember, but a few years ago I was like… 7 years old, so I probably wasn't even paying that much attention. Thalia could tell I didn't remember, shrugging.
"Well, that was actually Typhon; a giant titan monster who almost wiped out all of the western hemisphere." She explained, and I could feel my heart racing a thousand miles per hour. This kind of stuff happened on a regular basis? I was going to have to fight monsters and titans and whatever the frack else for the rest of my life?! As if on cue, I heard a stick snap somewhere in the woods behind us, Thalia freezing up. She slowly reached over for a can of mace that was lying right next to her, and I couldn't help but picture her spraying some unsuspecting monster in the eyes, screaming heroically. Her hand wrapped around the can, and to my surprise, it began to stretch out and extend until she was holding a full-sized spear; the same one I had seen her using when the hunt was attacked. She motioned for me to stay quiet, sneaking off into the woods without a sound. For a few moments, it was just me and Brody, who had fallen asleep with a page or 2 hanging out of his mouth, slumped over against a rock in a very uncomfortable looking position. The silence was violently broken as I heard a loud roar followed by the sound of Thalia screaming in furry. I unsheathed my blades, charging into the forest. I spotted Thalia, who was slashing and stabbing at what appeared to be 3 giant snake… that spit fire. She saw me out of the corner of her eye, keeping her attention on the snakes.
"Basilisks! Don't let them touch you; their skin is poisonous!" She yelled. I sped over to her, standing right next to her, weapons drawn. The snakes didn't seem to like my arrival, hissing at me.
"Dak, move!" Thalia screamed. Time slowed down, and I saw a pillar of fire erupt from one of their mouths. Even though I was moving extremely fast, the fire came at me at a remarkable speed; It was much harder to dodge; I was just thankful for the fire-resistant silver coat as I sidestepped just in time, my eyebrows feeling a bit singed. I didn't even have time to fully turn around before I saw one of the snakes lunge at me at lightning speed. I heard Thalia scream my name, sticking my hands out defensively. What happened next was completely crazy and lucky and unbelievable all at once. I felt my body almost heating up; like how it feels to scoot your socks across the carpet, but all over. When I finally had the courage to open my eyes, I felt… fine. I turned around and saw the snake smash into the tree behind me, taking a huge bite into the bark. I looked over at Thalia, whose eyes were the size of golf balls.
"Dak… look at your hands." She whispered. I looked down, and about fell over myself. My hand was vibrating back and forth at an incredible speed, as was the rest of my body; I looked like a poorly taken picture. Just as soon as the heatwave came, it left. My body stopped vibrating and I dropped down to one knee, feeling that familiar fatigue taking over. Thalia didn't waste any time, stabbing through the one Basilisk that had chomped into the tree, the creature exploding into dust. The other 2 lunged at her, and despite feeling woozy I dug deep and sped over, yanking her out of the way of their blast. I staggered on my feet, seeing doubles for a second. Moving at mach speeds confused the snakes long enough that Thalia was able to get another good stab in, skewering the second snake on her spear, blasting the creature open like a pinata and raining down golden flakes. My eyes grew when I noticed that Thalia had her back turned to the final snake for a split second; but the creature saw its opening, leaping up at Thalia's back. She managed to whip around and flinch, preparing for the worst, but thankfully I still had enough energy to speed up one last time. Time slowed down, and I threw one of my blades at the creature; the Pugio flew end over end before stabbing into the creature, knocking it off course and narrowly missing Thalia. The snake wriggled in pain before eroding away to dust. Thalia stood there for a second, heaving a little bit before quickly running over to me. She pulled out one of those graham cracker squares, sticking it in my mouth and telling me to chew it. As I did, I felt my strength return; not as much as the miracle juice, but enough that I was aware of my surroundings and could shakily stand on my own 2 feet. I felt like a nervous wreck; so many things were happening to me all at once; the gods being real, being able to outrun a bullet, Artemis getting kidnapped by a giant Titan, and now my abilities seemed to be expanding. I wasn't sure how much more of this crazy, life-threatening existence I could take; a huge part of me just wanted to run back to Edgewater and pretend none of this ever happened. I tried to calm myself down, taking in a deep breath. Thalia looked over at me with genuine concern, and I felt bad so I forced myself to smile.
"Well…that was really fun. I need some food now. And sleep." I sighed. Thalia nodded, both of us making our way out of the woods. Thalia quickly packed up our tents and put out the fire, much to my confusion.
"Monsters are onto our scent; we need to keep moving." She said sadly; I already felt like I couldn't take another step, but clenched my jaw and nodding, picking up my bag and kicking Brody's hoof. He woke up with a bleat, wiping the soggy paper from the corner of his mouth before looking around.
"Dude… is it morning already?" He asked groggily. I actually chuckled a little bit despite the situation.
"No, dude; monster attack. We need to get moving." I informed. Brody nodded and staggered to his feet, only half awake as he grabbed his uke and bag. We trudged along into the night, travelling for another half an hour, until we finally spotted a road. And what happened to be on the other side of the street but a motel; a glorious, heavenly, ratty looking motel. It looked… exactly how you would picture a motel looking; about 3 and a half stars, tops. And that's only because we ended up finding out it had a hot tub. At first, I was seriously wondering how we were going to pay… that is until Thalia reached into her bag and pulled out a wad of cash thicker than my arms. Ok, so my arms aren't the biggest ever, but still; it was a lot of money. She paid for a room with 2 beds, and we got our key, making our way there. Thalia opened the door, and to be honest I was quite surprised that it was much nicer on the inside than the outside. We threw our 3 bags into the closet, taking a moment to catch out breath. Thalia used the bathroom first. I heard the shower turn on, and my brain started screaming "YES! SHOWER!" After about a half an hour, she came back out, wearing a pair of fuzzy silver pajama pants with a matching top. She flopped onto her bed, sighing deeply.
"I left you some pajamas in there, Dak; the water's still hot." She mumbled against her pillow, clearly much more wiped out than she let on. I made my way into the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror for the first time since I had left Edgewater. I looked different; like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. I tried my best to clean off my clothes in the sink before hanging them to dry on the towel rack and hopping into the shower. The hot water felt more amazing than anything I had ever felt before; especially when I saw the flecks of golden dust washing down the drain. I washed my hair and cleaned myself up before finally shutting off the water and drying myself off. I glanced at the clock on the wall; 12:30 am. I groaned and pulled on the pajamas; they were the softest pair I had ever worn, and felt like being hugged by a silvery cloud. I flopped onto my bed; Brody already passed out in the recliner. I don't know if it was the fatigue or the use of new abilities, but it wasn't long before my eyelids closed and I drifted off to sleep.