Welcome back everyone. If ya'll have read Bred for war, this chapter ties into that story just a little bit, see if you can spot it.
Chapter 5: Change of plans
Raven:
My mother was less than pleased about Amber and I going off to see her father, but I talked her into it, promising I would go with her as backup just in case anything wrong.
It's not like we expected anything to wrong, but, c'mon, we're Demigods. Every single time we go anywhere to do anything something happens. Percy can't go to school without getting attacked by monsters, I can't go to Taco Bell without running into a Gorgon, Leo can't go anywhere without catching something on fire...Well, that last one might be unrelated, but you get the point.
We left fairly early in the morning, catching a cab wasn't too difficult once we'd made the walk to the road. Eli and Antonio were heading to ask Circe more questions as we left, deciding it would just be best if Reyna didn't take part anymore, this whole thing was getting way too personal for her.
"How long has it been since you've seen him?" I asked "Your Dad, I mean."
"Give or take," She sighed "Seven or eight years, I used to make a trip to see him whenever the Hunters came through New York, but, last time, we kinda had a fight?"
"Mind me asking what about?" I asked her
"My stepmother and I got into a little bit," She sighed "We normally get along pretty well, but between my Dad's deteriorating health, nobody being around to help, and stress from her job, she just had enough."
"So what's wrong with him?" I asked
"Some form of cancer," She said quietly "My dad was in Vietnam, I was just a baby when he left. What do you know about the war?"
"A little bit," I shrugged "My dad was a huge history buff, especially World War two and Vietnam era stuff."
"Napalm and Agent Orange," She said "They used an abundance of it during the war. Recently, within the last ten years or so, a lot of Vietnam veterans have been coming up with illnesses and whatnot because of inhaling a lot of the chemicals."
"Your dad is one of them?" I guessed
"Yeah," She nodded "My Dad served in a place called Khe Sanh, there was a lot of fighting there, even for as violent as the war was. Having the ability to call in air support gave the Americans a huge advantage against their enemy, and one of their greatest weapons was Napalm. The worse the fighting got, the more often the strikes came in."
"Your Dad showed up at the peak of it," I guessed "Inhaled more of it than most."
She gave no response, which was all the answer I needed. I didn't push any further, didn't ask anymore questions, I figured I'd pushed her as far as I'd be able to today.
The hospital was pretty packed, given that it was a weekend, most of the people were there visiting relatives on whatever time they had off of work. I stuck close to Amber, trying to make sure nothing snuck up behind her. Crowds made me especially nervous, I'd been stabbed before at an underground party. It was supposed to be neutral ground, nobody was allowed to wear flags and any markings or tattoos had to be covered up, but, ya know, rules are meant to be broken.
She approached the front desk, her demeanor not faltering. A normal person would've never taken a second glance at her, never known anything was wrong, but I knew.
It's not just because she told me, it was the way she was carrying herself. She was dragging her feet just a little bit, like she was dreading this meeting, her breathing got a little shakier the closer we got, her jaw began to clench, as if she was trying to keep her lip from trembling.
When we got to the front desk, we were greeted by an older lady, who, by the looks of her, wasn't having a great day. Her gray hair was a mess, she looked tired, as most older folks do. Her nails were gnarled and she looked as if she would take a swing on the next person to approach her.
Thank the gods she didn't, I wasn't looking forward to adding old ladies to my list of muggings.
"Can I help you?" She asked, her voice cold and raspy, like one of those anti smoking commercials
"I'm here to see Oscar Adela." She told her
"Room number?" She asked dismissively, typing on her computer
"I..I'm not sure," She said shakily "I was...out of town when I found out."
"Only people allowed inside to visit are family." She told her
"I'm his daughter," She said "And this is...his...nephew."
She stared at us, as if trying to see some sort of resemblance. I didn't figure she was going to see one, but I knew that wasn't necessarily a reason to tell me I couldn't go back with Amber. Eventually, she stopped staring and went back to her computer, typing for a moment before looking back up at us.
"Room seventeen, fourth floor." She said shortly
The two of us thanked her and headed to the elevator, neither one of us speaking the whole ride up. After a moment, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a long, narrow hallway.
There was a small bustle of activity as nurses walked back and forth, phones ringing, the sound of typing filled the hall. Amber and I continued down the hall until we reached the room we were looking for. Her father's name was written on one of the plaques outside next to the door: Oscar Adella. Amber stopped, trying her best to steady her breathing before she entered the room. I placed my hand on her shoulder, trying my best for a supporting smile, but I knew I wasn't helping much, as much as I tried.
Without even looking at me, she took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
There were two people inside already, one was an elderly woman. Her long, gray hair reached down past her shoulder blades, and her wrinkled hands clutched someone else's as she spoke softly. The man in the bed looked like he had seen better days. His hair was gone, even though I knew he was old, he looked so worn, as if he was simply holding on for one more thing, one final person before he let Death take him.
And I had a feeling that person had just stepped into the room.
When we entered, he looked up and smiled, his pale face gaining back just a little bit of color.
"Amber?" He asked quietly "Is that you?"
"It's me," She said, her voice shaking through her smile as she went to stand beside him "I'm here."
"My eyes," He laughed, coughing just a bit "They aren't what they used to be."
For a few moments, they were silent, simply staring at eachother in amazement. I almost felt as if I should step out of the room before her father suddenly looked over at me and stared me up and down, giving me a slight smile.
"Aren't Hunters supposed to abstain from dating?" He asked, looking at Amber slyly
"Oh he's not-" She stammered, turning red "Lady Artemis sent him with me, it's dangerous for Demigods to be traveling alone these days."
"Raven Alistair," I said, stepping forward and extending my hand "Son of Artemis."
"Well, I'll be," He smiled in amazement "Alistair, eh? Any relation to a Thomas Alistair? Marine?"
"My grandfather," I nodded to him "You knew him?"
"Knew him?" Oscar laughed, coughing again "Course I did. Kid, your grandfather saved my life more than once. We were pretty good friends after the war, kept in touch for a few years, haven't heard from him since eighty three."
"Dad," Amber said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder "Don't sit up so fast."
"Ahhh I'm fine," He said, clearing his throat "Raven, this is Grace, my wife."
She smiled, shaking my hand before quickly turning back to take care of her husband. Oscar seemed happier since Amber had arrived, and his smile hadn't wavered since she'd entered the room. We stayed all night, and I hadn't even realized how late it was until the nurse entered for her final check of the night before she went on break.
I'll give the man credit, he knew his time was limited, and he didn't waste any of it. All night, he smiled, joked, laughed, even through his coughing fits he never stopped smiling. He seemed really happy to be able to see his daughter one last time, and I could see Amber trying to keep herself together, knowing she was witnessing her father's final hours.
As the night went on, I could slowly see him getting worse and worse, but he held on, determined to spend every second he possibly could with his daughter.
He finally passed just before sunrise, with a content smile on his face, holding his wife and daughter's hands.
Eli:
When the next morning came, Reyna was shaking me awake inside the Artemis cabin. As I came to, disoriented and unsure of what was happening, the first thing I noticed was the purple cloak right in front of my face, and the stern looking girl wearing it.
"You're late," She snapped "I've been waiting an hour, we were supposed to go interrogate Circe again."
"Sorry," I groaned, rubbing my temples "I had a bit too much to drink last night."
"Let's go, get dressed," She ordered "Chiron is waiting for us."
"I've been meaning to talk to you, about Circe," I began cautiously "I think, maybe, it's best if you sit this whole interrogation thing out."
"What?" She asked angrily, turning to face me
It wasn't a question, she heard me, she knew exactly what I had said, it was a challenge, she was daring me to say it again, she was giving me one opportunity to take back what I had said, something that, unfortunately for one of us, I wasn't going to do.
"You heard me," I said calmly "You're way too emotionally evolved with her."
"I HATE HER!" She screamed, losing her composure for a moment "You don't realize what that woman has taken from me, you have no idea."
"And if I did, I would feel the same way," I nodded, trying to calm her down "But, you need to understand something I learned a very long time ago. Rage and clear thinking never go together, every time you see her, the only thing you see clearly is her hanging from the gallows."
"She deserves a slow and painful death." She spat at me
"She will answer for her crimes," I assured her "You will see her executed, you will see her hang, I promise. But you're in no shape to get information from her, when it's time for her to die, then I'll call you."
Reyna was silent, I could feel her anger from across the room, she was absolutely seething, but she knew I was only saying the truth. She knew she couldn't think clearly when she saw Circe, she knew she'd snap if she spent another second anywhere near her, I just hoped she could remain calm enough to listen to reason.
Finally, she sighed, turning to face me and nodded, angry defeat written all over her face.
"Fine," She agreed "I want a full detailed report when you're done, immediately following, I don't care who I'm with, or what I'm doing, I want to know everything she says, do I make myself clear?"
"Aye, Praetor." I nodded
With that, she turned away from me and left the cabin, an entire ass chewing about Legion rank structure left unspoken in the air. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I hadn't heard the last of this from her, but she was, for the moment at least, allowing clearer heads to prevail.
For a long time, she'd burdened more weight on her shoulders than anyone else her age, mortal or Demigod. Eventually, any sane human being would snap, and I was amazed she'd managed to maintain her sanity for so long, but even now, I could see the pressure of everything starting to get to her.
Reyna was strong, stronger than anyone I'd ever met, and fiercely loyal too. But strength, like everything else, had it's limits, and I was beginning to fear that Reyna was reaching her's.
I got dressed and left the cabin, heading towards the Big House. The sun was just barely risen, and I was really starting to miss my bed. Jello trotted behind me, panting happily, just excited to be breathing. She often slept in Raven's bed, but whenever he wasn't there she would sleep in mine. Not that I minded, I loved dogs, animals in general really but I held a soft spot for dogs, couldn't exactly lay in bed and watch TV with a dragon.
As I neared the front porch of the Big House, I saw Chiron and Percy standing outside waiting for me. Percy looked as if he had also just woken up, and continued to yawn periodically as I approached them.
"Ready?" I asked, stepping up onto the porch
"Unfortunately, I think we may have to wait on furthering our interrogation of Circe," Chiron told me "Percy?"
"Frank just contacted me," Percy told me, finishing a yawn "We seem to have a slight issue regarding our security."
"What?" I asked "How?"
"Somehow, a group of monsters got past the defenses at Camp Jupiter," He told me "They were eventually killed, but they were in the process of searching the camp, I'm assuming they were searching for Circe."
"With no clear indication of how much they had searched or what they had found out," Chiron added "Frank thought it best to alert us and have us double check our own borders as well."
"I'm on it," I nodded, getting ready to head out "I'll notify Reyna, Percy you get in touch with the cabin leaders, only the cabin leaders. If they have anybody hanging about that they don't recognize, come find me or you immediately."
"I'm on it." Percy nodded
Before we could move, however, the Big House door opened and a man stepped out. He was chubby, with a puffy red face and a leopard pattern Hawaiian shirt, wearing purple running shoes and looking exhausted of being alive.
"Who's this guy?" I asked, raising my eyebrows to Chiron
"Honestly, boy," He rolled his eyes "You've been to Olympus twice now."
"This is Mr. D, our camp directer," Percy told me "Dionysus."
"The god?" I asked, confused
"No, the clerk at seven eleven," He rolled his eyes again "Yes, the god, you idiot."
"And where in the hell have you been?" I asked him
"Dealing with other matters," He said dismissively, opening a diet coke "Listen, Ethan is it? Quit wasting your time with me, you have defenses to secure."
"What will you be doing to help, exactly?" I asked "Or is this matter too trivial for you?"
"Far too trivial," He agreed "Run along."
Before I could smack him in his godly face, Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me off the porch, heading off into the main area of the camp. There were only a few people out, so I didn't know if any of the cabin leaders would be awake. If our experience with the spy last winter had taught me anything, it's that pulling the cabin leader aside in front of everyone raised some red flags, and very fast.
"Don't mind him," Percy told me "He likes to be an ass because he can. He grows on you."
"Grows on you?" I laughed "Really, that guy grows on you?"
"Sure," He replied "In a crazy, only see him on major holidays, drunk uncle sort of way. Guy still thinks my name is Peter Johnson, and I've been here for close to seven years."
"Seriously?" I asked in shock "Dude, you're famous! How does he not know your name?"
"He's immortal," Percy shrugged "When you've seen as many famous heroes as he has, I'm sure the names all start to blend together."
Percy and I arrived on the edge of the camp, agreeing to split up and cover more ground. I moved to the right, catching most of the cabin leaders as they were just waking up, there were a few of them still asleep, and I had to break my own rule about only cabin leaders, but only twice, with instructions to inform the cabin leader as soon as they were awake and nobody else. (Don't look at me like that, I recognized them.)
"Is that everyone?" He asked
"Yeah, on this side." I nodded
"Good," He said "Annabeth is organizing a detail, only people we are absolutely sure have been here. They're going to secure the borders and post sentries."
"I'm going to go find Reyna," I told him "She'll want to know about this."
Unfortunately for me, Kayla chose that moment to stumble out the Apollo cabin, supported by Will Solace and another camper from her cabin, clutching her stomach and crying out in pain.
"Eli!" Will called, spotting me "Her water broke!"
Shit! I though to myself, panicking This is happening, it's really happening! I'm gonna be a dad! Oh fuck! I'm gonna be a dad..."
I apologize to everyone for the long wait, work and writer's block haven't been very nice to me as of late. But I'm ready to write, so I'll see you next time.
