Chapter thirteen: A Meeting in the Woods

The moment I touched the trail-marks, my whole body started to grow...blurry. It's a weird expression, but that's what it felt like.

The world around me started to contort and squirm, shifting in every direction, growing dark and light and dark again.

What's happening? I thought, but even my own thoughts were unfocused. It was pretty uncomfortable, like being squished through a tight tunnel. My breath felt constricted and I gasped for air, trying to find my way out of this turbulent mess.

Suddenly, there was a pull on my chest and I stumbled forward, falling onto soft ground.
A painful searing went through my lungs as I sucked in deep breaths of air, trying to stop my head from spinning.

Slowly, very slowly, the world righted itself again.

Breathing heavily, I lifted my head to look around. The forest was still around me, looking as dark and gloomy as before.

Huh. Looks like I'm still at Camp.

All of a sudden there was a groan from somewhere next to me and I turned my head so fast my neck stung painfully. Rubbing it, I inched closer to the shape lying a few feet away on the ground.

"Ryan?" I asked hesitantly, and my voice sounded hoarse.

The shape didn't move, it just groaned again.

I stopped, suddenly afraid. What if it wasn't Ryan but something more sinister?

I groped around for something to defend myself with, and my hand closed around a thick stone. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

Holding the rock tightly in my hand, I crawled over to the figure, carefully reached out to grab one shoulder and then turned it with a jerk.

The raised weapon fell out of my hand and I breathed a sigh of relief. The face of the person lying there was a familiar blonde-haired one.

But something was wrong. Normally, this face had a sarcastic or guarded expression on it, now it was slack and pale.

"Ryan?!" I shook his shoulders gently, but his head only lolled.

I have to get help! I thought wildly, unable to process what was happening. Had we gotten some kind of electric shock from the trail?

My eyes had gotten used to the darkness now and I stood up, ready to start shouting for help, when I noticed something.

We were no longer on the path in front of Rachel's cave. In fact, we were completely surrounded by tall trees, their thick branches obscuring everything beyond them.

Did we walk into the forest? I wondered, straining my eyes to see something.

I decided that shouting for help was no longer an option.

The chance that some camper would hear us was too slim. If I called for help, it would only give away our position to the things creeping around the forest, the monsters that were let loose here for training.

So what could I do now? I had no idea where exactly we were, or which was East. If I'd known that, I might have been able to drag Ryan in that general direction. But no. We were entirely lost.

Another option was trying to find a way out on my own, and then coming back with reinforcements to get Ryan.

However I couldn't leave him here like this. If a monster found him, he'd be dead.

Starting to feel hopeless, I decided to try again to wake Ryan up. My backpack was gone, but his was lying nearby. I opened it and groped for the water bottle, pulling it out hurriedly.

Then I did my best to prop him up. The nearest tree looked rough and pretty damn uncomfortable so I got his head resting against my shoulder instead.

He stirred a little as I settled his body against mine.

"Hey there," I whispered, and carefully set the bottle to his lips. I had no idea what was wrong with him, so water seemed the best option for the moment.

To my relief, Ryan actually drank, and soon after his eyes fluttered.

"Ryan?" I whispered again, turning his head so he could see me.

"Urgh!" was all I got for an answer, but it was better than nothing.

"Come on, drink some more water," I persuaded him, feeling a little like I was talking to a toddler.

"No..." Ryan mumbled. I stared at him.

Can you believe this guy?! Even when he was obviously in need of help, he thought that he needed to tell me what to-

"Get...ambrosia..."

Oh.

Fine, so he was right. But still!

Stretching as far as I could without letting Ryan fall to the ground, I reached for the backpack and dug out some small squares wrapped in paper.

I unwrapped one and held it up to Ryan's mouth. He opened up obediently and ate the godly food, shivering slightly at the taste of it.

I grimaced as I remembered what it had tasted like to me.

As soon as he had swallowed the ambrosia, I felt strength come back into Ryan's body. He sat up on his own, and looked around with a confused expression on his face.

Then he noticed me sitting behind him, and even though it was too dark to say for sure, I thought I could see him turn slightly red.

"What happened?" he asked, gesturing around.

"No idea." I confessed, brushing some leaves of my knees. "We must have walked into the forest or something."

"I remember you touching that thing in the air…" Ryan muttered, rubbing his forehead. Then suddenly he shot me a glare. "Which, by the way, was not a very clever thing to do."

"It was the only thing to do!" I snapped back, but my voice came out louder than I intended it to. The sound seemed to echo through the trees, and I quickly held my hand to my mouth.

But the damage was done.

From somewhere deep within the forest, there came a rumbling sound. Branches started to snap and I could have sworn I heard a raven cry.

"Get behind me!" Ryan hissed, jumping up. I followed his lead and swung the backpack over my shoulder. We couldn't afford to lose our only supplies.

"What about your flash light?" I asked Ryan in a whisper, but he shook his head.

"It might not know exactly where we are yet. If we use a light, that's like sending a sign saying 'Hey, here we are, come and get your tasty snack!'"

I could understand his reasoning, but I hated not being able to see anything properly. The moonlight was held back by the trees, so the only thing I could distinguish was Ryan's shape in front of mine, his arm raised with his sword at the ready.

We listened closely, holding our breath. Nothing moved. The night was completely silent.

And then suddenly, a growl sounded in the air.

A pair of orange eyes lit up a little ahead of us, peering out from behind a thick tree trunk.

My heart beat painfully fast against my ribs. I wished I could tell it to stop being so loud.

The creature, whatever it was, didn't attack us straight away. It seemed to be waiting for us to make a move, but we were both frozen.

Or so I thought.

As it turned out, Ryan was more in control of the situation than I was.

He didn't turn his head, but I could hear his voice through his clenched teeth, so quiet that I could barely make out the words.

"You run. On three. When I say now."

I didn't reply, scared of upsetting the creature. But was I supposed to run away without him? I couldn't let him face that thing all on his own!

"One," Ryan muttered.

My muscles clenched, I didn't know what to do.

"Two."

Should I stay or should I run like he'd told me to? I might be more of a hindrance than a help in a proper fight.

"NOW-" Ryan yelled, but before I could even move an inch, something extraordinary happened.

A strong wind swept through the trees and the glowing red dots faded away. The wind made the trees sway, and it looked like they were actually moving.

We both stood there, my hair whipping around my face, Ryan's sword still raised, as a clearing appeared around us. The bright moonlight shone in through the now open forest roof.

"What the..." Ryan whispered, and I could only agree. What the, indeed.

The wind suddenly slowed down and I brushed my hair away from my face so that I could see properly.

It was amazing, the trees really had moved, forming a perfect circle around us.

"What did that?" I breathed, looking at Ryan for an explanation, but he just shook his head.

"I have absolutely no idea."

We waited, and I could almost feel our anticipation emanating from us. Whatever had caused this, we had no idea if it was friend or foe.

Suddenly something shifted on the opposite side of the clearing. I squinted, trying to see better.

It looked like...It looked like something was coming out of the tree.

A figure, slim and feminine, detached herself from the trunk of a huge oak and started to lightly step across the clearing.

I saw Ryan raising his sword, but something in my gut told me this spirit was not a threat.

"It's okay," I told him, gently pushing his arm down, so the weapon was no longer pointed at the girl in front of us.

I couldn't tell what age she was, she looked young but also old, something that I'd heard happened a lot in this world.

"Hello" I said timidly. What were tree spirits called again? Oh yes – Dryads.

The Dryad didn't say anything, just looked at us. Then she motioned around us, indicating the whole clearing.

When she spoke, her voice was as timeless as her face, and sounded like the wind whispering through the branches of the old oak.

"You have been favoured by the goddess Cybele, foreigners. You may rest here in peace tonight."

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Rights for PJO/HoO go to Rick Riordan