Chapter II

They all looked at me. I smiled at them, and nodded.

"You.know how to." April began.

"Get us.home?" David finished. I nodded again.

"Yes, David. I know how to get you all home. In fact, I've seen it."

"Seen what, exactly?" Jalil asked, scooting closer.

"The gateway home."

"Oh. You mean Senna, right?" I gave Christopher a look that showed I was clueless.

"Senna Wales? My witch of a stepsister?" April asked. I thought.

"Oh. Her. No, I have not seen her since.hm. I don't know when I last saw her. But, the gateway is not human, at least not the one I've seen." They looked at each other.

"What do you mean by that?" David asked.

"See, the gateway I have seen is a door. A door made of a see-through material that allows you to see the world we came from. From what I gather from the hieroglyphics on that door, all you do is close your eyes, clear your mind, and wish for it to open, and as it opens, go through, and you'll find yourself in your bodies. No one in the other world will see it unless they know where to look."

"And where do they look?" Christopher asked. I looked over at him, and smiled.

"From where the skid marks start on the road where I lost control of my car."

The fire was burned out, and I had made blankets and pillows appear for them to sleep on. David sat first watch, his sword rested over his lap, as he sat against a tree. He had a mug of coffee, so he'd be fine. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( "What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about?! The money was in the drawer, and only you and I had access to it! Now, why would I take it, Priscilla?!"

"Well, I didn't take it, Henry! You think I'd rob you? Why would I do that when I have enough money to support the whole family, plus some??? Hm? Can you answer me that?!" I laid in bed, trying to drown out the sound of my parents fighting. An arm slid around my waist, and I smiled.

"Hi."

"Hey, Af. You alright?"

"As alright as I can get, I guess. What're you doing here?"

"I could hear them screaming from down the street, and my mom wanted me to come and see if you wanted to stay with us for a while." I rolled over.

"You sure?" He nodded.

"Come on, let's get some stuff together." I smiled. In the moonlight, I could barely make out what he looked like, but I'd seen him so many times, I could close my eyes and see him. The brown hair, the eyes that could penetrate a wall just to get a glimpse of you. ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

My eyes opened, and I wiped the tears from my cheeks. David seemed to be wearing down, and I'd no idea how long I had slept.

"David?" I asked. He looked over at me.

"Yea?"

"Want me to take over watch? So you can sleep?" He shrugged.

"I'm alri.*yawn!!!!!**" I smiled.

"Yea, right. You lay down, I'll take watch." He nodded, and slid over to where I had laid, then fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. I smiled at him, and leaned against the tree.

"And I.will always love you. I will always love you.My darling you.Bittersweet memories. That is all I'm taking with me. So goodbye. Please don't cry. We both know I'm not what you need," I sang.

"Who's that about?" I turned my head.

"Go back to sleep, Jalil. It's no one, I'm just trying to fill the silence." He nodded, and closed his eyes. I sighed, knowing they'd probably never understand.

Morning came, and I was just laying down. Christopher sighed, and rolled over, away from me, and Jalil blinked.

"Jalil? You want to wake them up, or take a watch for a while?" I asked. He looked around.

"Watch. You go to sleep." I smiled.

"Alright, Jalil. When you think you've watched long enough, wake me. Here's my sword." I closed my eyes, and drifted away. As my mind left my body, I could hear Jalil telling me thank you.

I stretched, arching my back, and opened my eyes. As I sat up, I saw Christopher waking up, too, and David. April, after a moment, rolled onto her stomach, and pushed herself up. I slowly stood up, and walked over to wear Jalil had taken watch. He now sat, asleep, against the tree, with the sword crossing his lap. I leaned down, picked it up, and shook him gently.

"Jalil. Wake up." He started, and rubbed his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked. I smiled.

"You fell asleep, Jalil. Come on, we have to get going. Morning has come and gone, and it's quite a journey to the gateway." The others eyed Jalil, and then turned towards me. I stood on a path, waiting for them all to walk over. The wind started up, so it pushed my skirt into the right side of my legs, and flared the left side. Even though it was ankle length, with slits halfway up my thighs, it was the most modest thing I had right then. (I had changed it as I headed to the path.) My shirt was like an armor: it had no sleeves, and looked as though it was layered plates, but actually, it was a smooth, soft-against-the-skin fabric. I held my sword at my side, and April gave a look that made me ask her something.

"What are you looking at me that for?"

"You sort of remind me of Athena.Goddess of Wisdom and War." I nodded.

"I know who she is. She is the only person who defended me when I first met the gods of Olympus."

"Why did you need defending?" Jalil asked.

"I'll explain on the way. Follow me, and you will not fail." I turned, and began down the path of dirt and rocks. "You see, I got there, and I was dirty, I was tired, and I was with.Ganymede. I had just fallen, injured myself so badly that I couldn't move. He brought me there, but left soon after I was placed in a nice room to recover. Shortly after, I was summoned to the palace, to speak with the gods. They berated me for being there, and with no reason that I could find. Athena backed me up, protected me, because she knew that I hurt beyond belief." I stopped, looked around, and continued down a breakaway path. "Now, when I first met them, I could not walk, so they gave me a wheel-chair, one that was made by Hephaistos, because he knew what it was like not being able to walk like everyone else. But that didn't mean he backed me.right away, anyways. She helped me get accepted by the gods, so they quit fighting me. I ended up being pretty helpful to them."

"How?" David asked. I cocked my head, and smiled.

"You'll see. Olympus is on the way to this gateway, so I'll show how I helped them."

I stepped over a fallen branch, and stopped. The others stopped, too.

"Why'd ya stop?" Christopher asked. I looked around.

"It's been a little while, you have to give me a break." I continued down to the path on our left, and we continued to walk.

"So, uh, which way is Olympus from here?" Jalil questioned. I looked up at the sun, then pointed to my right.

"That way."

"Then why don't we go that way?" he asked. I looked back at him.

"Because, if we do, we'll hit a sheer drop down into one of those many giant potholes they have around here. And if you hit the bottom, you won't be coming back up alive. So just follow me: I'll get you there in one piece." We continued to walk, their speech slurred in my ears. All I could think about was the best way to get to Olympus.alive.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( "Come on, Af! You gotta catch me before we go to dinner!" she cried, laughing. I ran after her, smiling.

"Ciniya! Hey, mom wanted you in for dinner ten minutes ago! Let's go!"

"Ha!! Not until you catch me, big sis!!!" I raced after her, in between the trees, and dove, catching her feet. She spun around.

"Gotcha!" ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

I laughed a little, and shook my head. David looked up at me, and I could feel his eyes on my neck, but I didn't turn around. Up ahead, a tree split the path, but only one trail led towards Olympus. I stopped before the tree, and thought for a second.

"Why."

"Don't ask. I'm trying to remember which path leads towards Olympus, and which one takes us straight to Hel." They stopped. I closed my eyes, trying to remember. Take the path that follows sun, you'll burn like you've touched its core. Take the path that runs from the sun, you'll live to tomorrow. My eyes opened, and I smiled.

"This way." We headed down the left path, and I could begin to feel the trees spreading out already.

We walked for hours, occasionally stopping for me to remember which way to go. Finally, the path's we'd followed stopped. They just ended, no more to the left, no more to the right.no more anywhere except behind us. But I kept on, and slid down a hill, the others right behind me. The hill was lined with trees, but I moved my feet, and my body, to miss hitting them. When we hit the bottom, I smiled, and we continued on the way, so close to Olympus, I could practically taste the wine. Which started me thinking. I stopped, and turned to face the others.

"Would you like to rest, and have a drink? It's a pretty good walk from here to there." They looked at each other, and dropped into the dust. I smiled, and sat with them.

As I passed out the wine, and handed David his glass, I saw the scar on the back of his hand.and thought.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( "Mom? Afni's here. She agreed to stay here for a while." A woman, tall, with long brown hair, stepped into the room, and smiled.

"Alright. Great. Well, listen, I'm going out, but I left you money for pizza on the counter, and then some extra just incase." He smiled. So did I.

"Well, I'm glad your staying here, Afni." I smiled, and nodded. She hugged me: I hugged her back.

"Me too." She left, and we headed into the kitchen. He sighed.

"Alright, before we order pizza, let's put these dishes away," he said, and picked up a handful of them. I reached down, and picked up a lot of the silverwear, and held one knife in my left hand. As I turned, it connected with the back of his left hand, and tore the skin. I threw everything back into the sink, and took his hand.

"Oh, God, I am so sorry, David!" ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

He looked up at me.

"Afni? You alright?" he asked. I shook my head, and looked at him.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Come on, let's drink, and get going."

They finished their drinks, and we stood and started back out. I drew my sword, just incase, and held it out in front of me as we walked. After about two hours, we arrived at a design in the ground. It was a picture of a wall, designs drawn into it with great care. I stopped, and stepped over the picture. My sword raised, and pointed, through the fog, to the left.

"There lies Olympus, the city of the gods, that now stands protected by a wall of invisibility." They lifted their heads, and realized that there was nothing there. No mountain, no city.nothing. But yet, their hands touched something, where I pointed. It suddenly hit them.

Mount Olympus was invisible.