Hey guys sorry for the wait on this second chapter. I'm still playing around with this idea of a story. I also don't know exactly where I want it to go, obviously, we still have a few more kiddos to pick up. I didn't want to rush the chapter so I have been procrastinating on it. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions/suggestions that would be fantastic. Please in enjoy!
Chapter 2
POV Thalia
As we pulled away from the gas station, I got more and more anxious to get to Montana. It's just us, Leo, and I, that is are getting closer and closer to becoming "parents" at 19 and 20. I mean sure I always thought that if given the chance I and Leo would settle down and start a family. Have a boy and a girl and be done. Build a nice house somewhere with a big yard where Leo could have a shop. Where the kiddos could have a pool and I would have a happy family. Not that I would have told anyone any of this. That's way too mushy-feely for me.
Back to the point. The timeline of my inner thoughts has been moved up, we have to share a giant house with our closest friends, and that means extra chores and work for all of us. Again, I don't want to sound whiney this is something I fought for. Kids should never have to live on the streets. I've been there and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
"T? You good?" I look over a Leo who's driving. Piper and Travis were both asleep in the back.
"Yea." I said, "Just remembering." I smiled slightly it didn't meet my eyes. He squeezed my thigh.
"Just think. Soon we will all be happy and together."
"I know it's just didn't you read the files? There's not a lot but there is enough to show that Clarisse is going to try and escape. She seems like a runaway…which would be just like you."
He chuckled. Drove for a while not saying anything.
"Maybe this will be different. I only thought about running once or twice when I got to camp and met everyone. But even then, it was at the back of my mind. I didn't think anything was going to happen that I wasn't prepared for. Granted I was 13 when I got there and yea, I went from a normal kid who thought he might be a danger to his entire cabin to a war hero in like four minutes but still it was fun and I liked…"
"Lo, you're rambling." He blushed.
"Sorry. My point is if we sit down like adults, don't laugh I can be serious if I need to be. Talk through things with her and discuss that we aren't here to hurt or restrict her completely everything will be better. Hopefully."
We were still about 30 minutes out. Leo tinkered with the vans and made them like that death trap of a taxi that Perc and Beth took back when they were 12. Of course, it's not as fast and more controllable but it still made Quests go much faster at least the traveling part. For the next half hour, I just watched to mountains go by. At least it was a pretty drive.
We finally made it to the historic town that was put into the file by the Scouters. We parked at a communal parking lot and made our way into the town. We looked to everyone else like a bunch of college kids on a summer trip. When really, we were looking for lost kids.
"You guys got any ideas?" Travis asked. He looked nervous himself. He also was supposed to have a kid nearby.
"I'm thinking from the files we might try the out-skirt places first. I'm thinking this pair is sneaky. Especially if one is our actual brother and not just a Hermes kid." He nodded.
"I would probably stick close to trees. Get vantage points from the sky. Plus, if the Scouters are right about this little girl, then she probably thinks strategy like her Pops and is close to a water source."
"That would be good I could get some info from the water Naiads." Piped in Percy.
"Well think and maybe I could get some air if you know what I mean and check out the treetops."
"I'll go ask some shopkeepers if there are any natural water sources nearby." Said Annabeth. She took Piper with her and they were off.
Percy still had Frank in his arms who looked like he was just waking up from a second nap.
"Friends?" he asked Percy.
"Them?" Percy asked pointing at Leo, Travis, and me. The little boy nodded. "Yea those are our friends. That's Leo, he gets warm sometimes when he's excited. That's Travis and he likes to play tricks and pranks on people but don't worry I'll make sure he doesn't bother you. And this is Thalia or Thals and if your Leo T she's very special you see." He started whispering like he was sharing and secret and Frank was eating it up. "She can control lighting." Frank's eyes go wide.
He started to wiggle so Percy put him down. He came over and held up his hands in the pick-me-up sign. So, I did.
"Do?" he asked.
"Do what?"
"Light'n"
"I can't here bud these pee brain mortals will see." He giggled into his hands.
"Pee brain," he said.
"No, let's not start that. Also, these pee brain mortals just got us info on the water source. Come here Frankie Auntie T is being a bad influence." He went willingly to Beth.
"I'll have you know that just because they help does not mean, they aren't pee-brained." Frank just continued to giggle.
"Okay, okay we get it." Said Piper, "But they still helped."
"Well then, where too?" asked Travis with his hands in his pockets he really did look like he could use Katie now.
"It's actually pretty close, not far from where we parked." Said Annabeth.
We headed back to the parked vans and then down a little path. As we were walking, I just watched Percy and Annabeth interact with Frank. They were letting him walk and stretch his legs. At least that's what Percy told him when Frank whined about being put down. He had a hand in each of theirs just having a grand time, every few minutes they would swing him between them and he would just start laughing.
I was thinking that hopefully, I could be that good with a kid. I felt a hand brush mine and looked over to Leo.
"It will be fine." He said while intertwining our fingers.
"How do you know?" I whispered.
"I just do." He spoke.
We walked for another 10 minutes. Frank finally got tired and put into Percy's arms again. It was about halfway to the stream that we heard any sign of others being out there. It wasn't too noticeable, just little whispers.
"Shhhh." Was heard from above mine and Leo's head. I stopped. Looked up just in time to catch an apple that was very well-aimed for my head.
"Look at that Leo," he looked back at me. "I just caught myself a snack, it dropped from this tree the same time I was walking under it isn't that cool?!" I winked at him.
"Well, isn't that neat? Do you think there could be anymore? Travis, you need an apple?" he asked.
There was a gasp from the tree.
"Travis?" a small voice asked.
"Oh my gosh that tree can talk!" said Percy. "Frank did you hear that the tree can talk!"
"More friends?" asked Frank.
"No, Connor don't go they'll eat you." replied the tree.
"No, that's Travis, Momma said he was my brother." A little boy came swinging out of the tree. Landing lightly on his feet in a crouch. "Travis?" he asked the group more scared not that he could see all of us.
"Connor?" asked Travis. He got down on his knees and held out his hand.
The little boy smiled big and went running into his arms.
"Travis, I have your picture look!" he pulled out a worn picture from his pocket. "Momma gave it to me when the mean monsters came and took her way, but I was fast I was quick I got out of there and found Rissa, she helped me hide. I'm not too quiet most the time but I can work on it promise!"
"That's alright buddy, you don't have to be quiet anymore we are here to take you home with us," Travis said.
"Home?" Connor looked confused "Home burned, nothing left Momma gone."
"Yea, I know. I went home and it was like that. Dad said it was an accident that the house burnt in a freak way. He never mentioned you though."
"Momma said I have to be good for you to come back, I was so good but the monster came anyway." Travis hugged Connor real big.
"I'm so sorry bubby, I wish I would have known about you sooner."
I turned away from the moment I felt I was intruding. I looked back at the tree to see tiny eyes watching all of us. The eyes never left Connor for too long.
"Hello up there," I said. Her eyes immediately snapped to me.
"Go way. We don't need you."
"Oh, well I was the one that needed you. You see there's this itch on my back that I can't reach but you are just the right height to get it. Think you can help?"
"I'm not stupid you're trying to get me out of the tree. Not going to happen. Higher ground is better for seeing your opponent."
"Wow, you are smart. Hey Leo?" he came closer to me. I knew he had been listening. "Do you think we could use a new instructor at camp to help some of our friends learn how to hide from an opponent?"
"You know Thalia I think we could use one. But where could we find someone with the right skills."
"I have skills." Said the girl in the tree "I been hiding for 1 whole year."
My heart broke a little hearing that this little girl has been fighting for her life on her own for a whole year. This girl was four.
"You know if you come out of the tree and so we can talk I think I could get you a spot on the team to help with training."
The little girls' eyebrows scrunched up together.
"You promise not to hurt me or Connor? He's my very best friend and I saved him from the water, he can't swim. You promise?"
"I promise with all my heart not to hurt you or Connor." I held out my hands to her. She hesitated but eventually let me pick her up out of the tree.
"There we go." I waited for her to move out of my arms but she just slowly melted into the embrace. "There we go," I whispered again.
"Can you tell me your name?" asked Leo who was standing next to us.
"Clarisse, but my friends call me Rissa." She had one hand running through the bottom of my short hair.
"Can we call you Claire?" asked Leo.
"Yea that's okay, but only you two K?" she said.
"K," said Leo "But only if you call us Lo and T, okay? We only call each other that but you're pretty cool so I think we'll let you call us that too K?" he asked.
"K, Lo." She paused and looked at me "T." I smiled at her.
"Yea that's right Lo and T. Now I think it's time to get us back to our van, what do you think?"
"Can we go potty first?" she asked with her head down, almost like she would be reprimanded for asking.
"Of course, we can go potty, I think Connor and Frank could use a break too." Said Leo.
I just kept holding her. Her hand was running through the soft hair at the base of my neck. It was so surreal that she was letting us hold her. She was supposed to be the most trouble or at least that was what we were told.
"Hey Perce, Trav you think those to need a break?" I asked.
"You know what I think we need to go potty, at least I do." Said Percy. "Also, we can get those two into some clean clothes."
Claire gasped.
"Clean?" she asked in my ear.
"Yea baby we can get you clean. We even have some snacks in the van. How's that sound?"
"Sounds good." She smiled behind her hand.
We made it back to the van, stopped to get the bags, and then we found a place with a bathroom. The boys went one way and the girls another. Everyone met back at the van when they were finished. Claire and Connor were both look like they were about to slip into sleep.
"Hey, guys I think we need to take these three back. That way Will can take a look and we can stock up on some things." Said Travis. "I'm just a little nervous about their weight and we need to get some real food into them."
"Yea, I think your right. We can all head back and regroup, then we can decide who's staying with these cuties." Said Percy.
"Home?" asked Frank
"Yea bud we get to go home. You get to see where we live and guess what?" Annabeth asked.
"What?" he asked.
"We can go see all sorts of animals that maybe we can work on changing too, yea?"
"Really? Like a bear?" Percy chuckled.
"Maybe a bear cub. We don't need our little Frankie to turn into a full-grown bear." He was tickling his sides while he headed to their van.
"I think Connor's out for the count, I'll just hold him so this little princess can sit in the middle."
"I'm not a princess. I am a warrior." She said with her arms crossed.
"Oh, yea she's already just like you," commented Leo to me.
At this point, I would agree. I nodded and headed towards the car. I put us in our seats as everyone else was getting situated. Leo checked on us through the mirror I smiled at him and he started pulling out of the parking lot.
"T?" was whispered next to me.
"Yea Claire?"
"Can I please have that snack?"
"Of course, you can." I got her the snack and let her eat away.
"Thank you," she said.
After a while I noticed her nodding off, it was just little whispers of breath, and her head moving up and down slowly. Finally, her head hit my shoulder and she was out. I just watched her for a little while just thinking about all the things that could happen with this situation. I just hoped that we could do this and wouldn't mess anything up. Especially not this sweet little girl.
…
This is what I had. Please let me know what you would want to see for the next chapter. Also thank you to the people that have followed or favorited this story! Please review and let me know what you think!
-IAmHazel
