A Visit From Apollo
"Really, Megan, stop day-dreaming and pay attention." Alec's voice sounded icy and annoyed.
"What?" Megan snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry, I was just—"
"Checking out that Ares camper. Yes, I know," Alec retorted dryly.
"Oh, lighten up," Megan replied. "It's not like we're all going to die or anything."
"Lighten up? My dear sister, we very well could die at any moment. At any moment the magical barrier protecting Camp Half-Blood could fall and a swarm of monsters could charge in and kill us all while we're cleaning out the stables. I wonder, do you think you will see your own blood pouring out of your body before you die?"
"Maybe . . ." Megan began. "No, stop it! Ugh, your pessimism's getting really irritating!"
"I'm being realistic," Alec replied.
"No, you're being . . ." Megan's voice trailed off as she tried to find a real killer comeback that would prove to Alec that she was right, but she couldn't think of one and got flustered. "Well, never mind! Look, I'm paying attention, so can we just continue cleaning, or what?"
"I didn't ask for this job," Alec pointed out. "It's all the lesser cabins' fault, and now we're stuck cleaning with the Demeter and Ares cabins. If they would just admit that we're better than them . . ."
"Seriously, Alec, I think you're taking this a bit out of hand," Megan cut in. "The other cabins have their good points too."
"Yeah, they're good distractions. We can use them to feed the Zombies so we can escape."
Megan rolled her brown eyes. "Are you seriously going to start on the whole Zombie thing again? There's no such thing as Zombies."
"Well, sorry for being prepared," Alec's voice was like steel. "When the Zombies do happen to attack, I have a plan to deal with them."
Megan was about to make a comment when a Demeter camper walked up to them and dropped a bucket of water by their feet.
"Good, you're not doing any work," she said coldly. "So you can wash the stalls."
"What's the point of washing the stalls?" Megan complained. "They're just going to get dirty again. Besides, the floor's made of dirt, so we can't even wash it."
"Better get started." The Demeter camper totally ignored her words and threw a sponge in both the Hades campers' faces. "You better get it done Mr. D comes, too," she added.
"Well if you're going to get all high and mighty about it, you can do it!" Megan snapped.
"Get it done before Dionysus comes or you're in big trouble." As the Demeter camper turned to leave she kicked the bucket of water over onto Megan. "Oh, and you might want to get some more water." She snickered and walked away to another part of the stable.
"Jerk," Megan muttered under her breath. "Why'd Chiron make us work with that cabin? Why couldn't we work with the Poseidon or Zeus cabin?"
"Because Chiron wants the cabins to learn how to work as a team, or something like that. That's why each of the three cleaning groups has one of the Big Three cabins and a few of the lesser cabins, so we can exercise our . . . teamwork," Alec scoffed. "As if that will ever happen. I am above the other cabins."
Megan bit her lip and with a sigh said, "Come on, let's go get some more water from the creek." As the Hades campers walked towards the creek, the sun beat down on them.
"The sun is too bright," Alec complained. "It's hurting my eyes."
"Well, maybe if you didn't spend all your time locked in our room it wouldn't hurt your eyes," Megan replied. "Although it is getting rather bright. Why does it feel like the sun is coming towards us?"
"Because maybe, just maybe, the sun is coming towards us," Alec said. "Look!" He pointed to an object in the sky that was rocketing towards the camp with incredible speed.
"That looks like . . ." Megan squinted to get a better look, then her eyes went wide. "Styx! Duck!" She and Alec hit the dirt just in time as the object whizzed over their heads, barely missing them, and landed on the ground. The Hades campers stared in amazement at the car in front of them.
Alec gave a low whistle. "Alright, I have to admit, that is a sweet car."
Suddenly the door on the car swung open and out stepped a handsome and athletic looking man with blonde hair like the sun. His eyes surveyed the camp and landed on the Hades campers.
"You." He took a step towards them. "Tell me, where is Chiron?"
"That way," Megan stammered, then added, "Lord Apollo." For there was no mistaking it, this was the sun god.
"Thanks." He turned and sprinted down the field.
"Wow . . . the stories are right, Apollo is hot."
"Seriously Megan," Alec rolled his dull greenish-blue eyes. "There's more to guys than their looks."
"There is?" Megan joked.
Alec gave an annoyed sigh. "Although, there's something that bothers me. Apollo seemed . . . rattled. Nervous even. And did you notice how he seemed like he was in a hurry?"
"Well, yeah, what of it?"
"Think about it. If a god is upset, something is seriously wrong. Probably some terrible monster is loose that will kill us all."
"I highly doubt that," Megan said, then she got an idea. "Hey, want to go spy on them?"
Alec grinned. "Most definitely."
"Then let's go!" Megan exclaimed as she threw the empty bucket she was carrying over her shoulder.
The entire Apollo cabin was squished outside of Chiron's door, each trying to get a glimpse of their father through the keyhole. No matter how hard she tried, Crystal couldn't get to it, so she just hung at the back of the group.
"Styx, girl, it must be pretty exciting to have your father visit camp, huh?" Micaela asked as she walked towards the swarm of Apollo campers and sat down on a crate beside Crystal.
"Oh you'd think it would be," Crystal retorted, "but he's not here for us, he's here for some other reason. All of us just want to hear him say something to us, tell us we're not worthless or that he loves us, but he's too busy for that." She sighed. "It's really hard being this close to him, with only a door in the way, but not actually getting to see him, or hang out with him like any normal person would with their dad."
"Be glad you've seen him at all, even if it is from a distance," Micaela said. "Most campers never see their godly father or mother. I've never met Athena."
"Sorry," Crystal apologized. "I'm being selfish. It's just that . . . I'm a little rattled right now."
"Is it the prophecy?"
"Yeah," Crystal ran her fingers through her light brown hair. "I mean, Apollo's here right? 'The Sun God's pleas will not go unheard'. Remember that part?"
"I have a really, really good memory. How could I forget?" Micaela fiddled with the owl necklace that she always wore.
"Well he's here, and he obviously needs help with something! That means the prophecy is coming true. And if it's true . . ."
"Something is going to be sacrificed," Micaela finished her friend's sentence. "You're afraid that you're going to have to sacrifice something important to you, aren't you?"
Crystal gave her the evil eye, but then her face softened and she looked like she might break into tears at any moment. "Yes. Yes, I am. I'm afraid of the prophecy because I know that if I'm faced with the choice, I'll make the wrong one. I'm not brave enough to sacrifice something or someone I care about. I . . . I want to be a hero, but I don't have what it takes to be one."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Micaela said.
"It's alright." Crystal rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't crying. She mustered a weak smile. "I mean, we all have our weaknesses and fears, right?"
"Indubitably," the daughter of Athena agreed. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll rise to the occasion when you need to."
"'When'? You said when, not if," Crystal stated nervously.
"That's because if the prophecy is indeed coming true, your time will be coming faster than you think."
"And what about you?" Crystal asked. "The prophecy talked about a daughter of Athena. I wouldn't be surprised if it was referring to you."
"Me? N-no," Micaela stuttered. "It can't be talking about me . . ." She put on a fake smile. "I mean really, me?"
"Are . . . are you afraid of something?" Crystal inquired.
"Afraid?" Micaela gave a nervous laugh. "No . . ." Then seeing that her friend didn't believe her she added, "Maybe just a little. I haven't left camp more than twice since I first came here because I've had some bad experiences outside the protective boundaries. I've been playing with fire a little bit. I mean, I use the internet all the time, which is a very dangerous thing, because I'm practically calling monsters up and saying, 'hi, I'm right here!'. Plus, my fatal flaw is forgetfulness. I like to tell everyone that I'm always prepared, that anything they need, I probably have it. But I always seem to forget the one thing I absolutely need the most, and it usually has pretty bad consequences. And if I don't forget it, I usually lose it along the way. I want to go on a quest, but I'm afraid I'll be unprepared and lead everyone to their doom."
"Oh, okay," Crystal didn't pry any further, though she was extremely curious. "So? Have you figured out who the prophecy is referring to yet?"
"No." Micaela rubbed her forehead. "I've been to Rach—uh I mean, the Oracle, but she never remembers what she told people when she's in her prophecy-telling state. So she wasn't exactly much help."
"Hmm . . . too bad," Crystal leaned back and closed her eyes. Her mind drifted away from Micaela and focused on the prophecy. Slowly she could feel herself falling asleep.
"Crystal? Crystal! Get up!"
Crystal snapped out of her thoughts and bolted upright. She looked around to see a ring of people around her, including Chiron and Apollo.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked.
Micaela felt her friend's forehead, then grabbed her wrist. "Your pulse is slow and your body temperature is still cold. How do you feel?"
"Tired, drained, light-headed," Crystal replied. "What's going on?"
"I . . . I don't know," Micaela replied, looking away.
"What's going on?" Crystal grabbed her friend's shoulders and gave them a slight shake.
"You've been out for almost a half-hour now," Chiron informed her as he stepped forward.
"What? But I . . . I was just . . . I only had my eyes closed for a few seconds . . . What happened?"
"It's never happened with a camper before," Chiron said to Apollo.
"Then how could it happen now?" Apollo asked.
"I'm not sure. You are the god of prophecy as well as other things, but as I've said before, I've never seen it happen to a demigod before."
"Would someone tell me what the Hades is going on?" Crystal almost screamed.
"You were just sitting there," Micaela explained, "and then you seemed to black out. Next thing I know you start saying all these names. I don't understand why. Then you went into convulsions and your body went numb. I thought you were . . . well, dead. I tried to wake you up but you were out cold. My screaming drew this crowd. It even caused Chiron and your dad to quit their conversation to see what was going on. Then you woke up and . . . well, you know the rest."
"Chiron . . . what . . . what happened to me?" Crystal asked the Centaur.
"My dear. . ." Chiron began slowly, "you have had a vision."
Crystal blinked about five times before she finally said something. "But . . . how can that be? I'm not the Oracle . . . This doesn't make sense."
"What did you see?" Apollo pushed his way through the crowd anxiously until he was right in front of his daughter.
"I. . . I don't know. . . I. . ." Crystal stammered.
"What did you see?" Apollo repeated, this time more firmly, he seemed, well, frantic.
"I . . ." Crystal closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, trying to bring back her dream. "There . . . there was this . . . tree . . ."
"Go on," Apollo prodded.
"I think it was a laurel tree."
"Yes, what else?"
"Um . . . I . . . I don't remember."
"What else?" Apollo was practically shaking his daughter. It was obvious that something was really worrying him.
"I . . . I don't know!" Crystal cried, on the verge of tears.
"Alright, calm down, both of you," Chiron stepped forward and pushed the two figures apart. He took one of Crystal's hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Take a deep breath. Now tell me, what do you remember?"
Crystal took a few breaths and then closed her eyes again. "There was someone in front of the tree. I couldn't tell who it was, but the person stabbed the tree with something . . . and the tree just . . . died."
It seemed like all the breath in the room just drained away. Everyone stood there blinking. Apollo took a step back.
"This settles it," he said to Chiron. "My fears have been confirmed."
Chiron gave a grim nod, "I will organize a group to take care of it. Don't worry."
"Thank you," Apollo said, and then without another word he walked away.
Crystal followed outside and watched as her father flew away in his sun car. She gave a sigh.
"Hey, you okay?" Katie asked, as she came walking towards her friend. "I heard about the whole thing."
"I don't know what's going on with me . . ." Crystal began. "I mean, I've had dreams before that sometimes come true but I never thought . . . I mean, a vision? Only the Oracle can have those."
Katie shrugged. "One; you're a daughter of Apollo, and he's the god of prophecies, so it's not that weird. Two; your visions are different from the Oracle's. You have to be asleep, they drain you of all your energy and you just get random pictures, not a poem or anything. Plus, you don't even know whether you're having a vision or not. Oh, and you can remember them after you've had them, too . . . But that's not really what's bothering you, is it? It's your dad."
"Yes!" Crystal cried, exasperated. "He was obviously worried about something. I mean, he drove the sun here just so he could talk to Chiron, for crying out loud!"
"That's not what I meant." Katie folded her arms.
"Alright, I admit, I'm a bit disappointed and upset," Crystal confessed. "He didn't even say 'hi' to any of his kids or anything! He just left, without a good-bye, nothing! What kind of father would come all the way over here and not even talk to his kids, even for a little bit?"
"We'll never fully understand gods," Katie said. "It's just the way things are."
"I guess so," Crystal sighed.
"You should probably get some rest," Katie suggested, "you look a little woozy."
"'Kay," Crystal gave a weak smile and then left for her cabin.