Author's Note:
Some swearing and endless frustration in this chapter. But also, I got it out on time, and not later like I thought I would!
Cheers!
justapercyjacksonfan
Chapter 2:
It was a surprisingly quiet night. There hadn't been any monster attacks. They'd been able to eat and break camp at their own pace and without interruption. Everyone was carrying their belongings, and they were about ready to leave when the child of Zeus addressed them.
"Right, there's something you'll need to know." Bri said, turning to the group. "Especially you too." She pointed to Jo and Jess.
Caleb was surprised. Was she actually going to tell them?
"When we find the Hunters, they're going to try and recruit you. No matter what they say, no matter how tempting, you need to say no."
"What?"
"If you agree to join them, our quest will be ruined, and our prophecy will fail. You can't join them."
"Aw, Bri, I'm starting to think you actually enjoy our company." Jess teased.
Bri blanched. "As if. But you need to understand how serious I'm being. It's going to be hard to say no, but you have to refuse them."
"Hades, Bri, we get it." Jo interrupted. "Joining the Hunters equals bad."
"Why don't you guys take me seriously?!"
"What are you - Bri we take you very seriously." Ian put in, trying to placate the suddenly furious child of Zeus.
"You're worse than the rest of them, Ian Malark! You walk around useless as a rock, not even having magic anymore, and they still treat you like some powerful person, and you're not."
"Bri, calm down, what's-" Caleb stepped in between them.
"Oh, and Caleb Lynk. The least contributing member of the group! If you don't want to get electrocuted, maybe you should, I don't know, freeze or something. What's it your place to stick your ugly face into my business?"
"Bri, we can talk about this." Jo pleaded.
"Actually, I take it back, Caleb. It looks like I found someone who does less than you. You can't work any Apollo magic when we need you too, you can't make a shot if the pressure is up, and your healing is a joke. I'm lucky I still have a leg."
"You don't get to talk to us like this. We respect Ian because he actually leads us, and that doesn't mean ordering us around. Caleb is just as useful as you in a fight, and if it weren't for Jo, you wouldn't be standing. As for your injury, that's your own fault, when you ran into a fight all on your own."
"And Jess. The hero of the day. The biggest head the world had ever known. You can go straight to Hades for all I care!"
"Bri. I don't know what this is about, but you need to-"
"There's nothing I need to do."
"Bri. Calm down. We can talk about whatever is bothering you."
"Right, Jess. Because I want to dissect why I'm broken or whatever to the girl whose whole job is to come up with weaknesses and strategies to use against people. That sounds like a stellar idea."
"It doesn't have to be with me!"
"You're right, it doesn't. It doesn't have to be with any of you. And for that matter, I don't have to be around any of you."
"What in the name of Zeus's divine down-unders are you talking about?" Ian asked. "Didn't you just lecture us and get mad about the idea of Jess or Jo leaving?"
"You didn't seem to care about that! Bye guys! Thanks for absolutely nothing!" she turned and stomped away.
"Bri wait!" Caleb yelled. She stopped, and turned to look at them. Even she seemed confused at her own action. "Just stay here, we can talk this out."
"I-" The look of confusion faded. "Fuck you, Caleb Lynk. You may not be as strong as a child of Aphrodite, but there's still ice in your voice. I don't care what you think, but I'm not letting you mess up my mind." she directed her next words to the rest of the group, leaving Caleb in confusion. "If any of the rest of you don't want to be manipulated, you can leave with me!"
There was no response. She only shook her head. "Of course, not. I don't care about you anyway." She disappeared into the woods at a run.
"What are you all doing?" Jess snapped them all out of their shock. "We can't let her just leave, what about the quest? Come on?"
She started running after her. Caleb was genuinely surprised, given how much the two girls fought. The sudden loss of two members of their party caused Ian and the Lynks to chase after them.
After several maddening minutes, they finally found Jess standing by herself in the middle of the woods.
"Jess! Jess, where's Bri?" Jo yelled
"If I knew would I be standing here? She's gone! I can't find her!"
"Jess, come on. Let her go, we'll find her eventually." Ian said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off, and pushed him away.
"Fuck you, Ian! You're supposed to the leader. She left because of you!"
"Whoah, Jess, calm down." Jo put in, trying to wrap her in a hug. "Of course, we'll find her. It's not Ian's fault, it's not anyone's fault. We can't control her actions. Bri's a good fighter, she'll be fine until we can get her back."
Jess pushed her away too. "Not anyone's fault? It's all our faults. She hates us all, especially me!"
Caleb put a hand on her shoulder. Normally, he'd be nervous to get too close to the headstrong girl, but now wasn't normal. His heart still beat like crazy at the contact, especially when she didn't push him away. "Jess, it's not your fault. You had nothing to do with that. Right now, the best thing we can do is to keep trying to find Growth."
"But Bri is-"
"I know. But she wants to be a hero, right? She'll be trying to find out where the next pillar is. If we can do the same, we'll be able to find her again." Caleb added.
"We just need to find the Hunters." Jo put in.
"So we head for the Appalacians. We have a plan." Ian added
"That won't be necessary." someone said.
There was a piercing whistle, and a group of girls dressed in silver appeared from the fringes of the trees, accompanied by white wolves and falcons. None of them were any older than fifteen, the youngest of them perhaps ten.
A twelve year old with a pony-tail of auburn hair, and yellowish, silver eyes stepped before all of them. They reminded Caleb distinctly of the full moon. He knew exactly who this was.
"Normally, direct interference is strictly against ancient laws, but being daddy's favorite daughter gets me some special privileges every once in a while. Don't make this trip a disappointment, I only get one every few centuries or so."
Caleb wasn't expecting to hear his own voice, but he spoke. "You're the one we're looking for. Artemis….the goddess of the Hunt."
Author's Note:
Bri: Hey mom, I'm going to run away from my friends and cause the readers undo frustration and not show back up for another 5 to 10 chapters, okay?
Me: That's nice sweetie, could you pick up some character development while you're out?
Oh my gosh guys, over 3000 views? That's a lot of people!
Hoping to hear what y'all think is going to happen with the group split up, and also, any theories on where the next pillar is? Remember, both Reyna and Thalia have been to this location in the books, on separate occasions! (for an even bigger hint, Thalia was there during the first series, and timeline wise, Reyna did too, even if we didn't even know she existed then.)
Happy guessing, and have a lovely day!
justapercyjacksonfan
