4: Rachel goes all green on me

"EW!" the goddess screamed as she jumped away from me and my puddle of barf. She moaned at the sight of her shiny pink shoes sullied with bits of undigested hamburger. "Gross!"

I rubbed my stomach and knew more was coming. The whole camp seemed to groan in unison as I threw up a second time.

"Are you alright?"

It was Annabeth, sitting beside me out of loyalty. She gave me a look of concern and touched my arm. I expected my heart to start fluttering madly again and my face to redden like a ripe tomato.

But nothing happened.

She saw my confused expression and asked, "Is something the matter, Percy?"

"I-I…" I tried to explain but I didn't quite understand myself. Something was definitely different. I knew something had completely changed, like a very important item was missing.

I whirled around and found Clarisse. She was no longer glaring at me but looking at her expression, she was still clearly shocked. I waited for my heart to explode.

Seconds ticked by but I still felt nothing.

I now realized that the enchanting aroma had evaporated. My head spun and my insides felt empty and cold.

What was happening to me?

Annabeth stiffened beside me and the camp grew loud with multiple whispered conversations. At first, I thought they were talking about me and my puking but then I saw a familiar redhead making her way to me.

"Hey, Rachel," I said. She smiled at me. There had always been something between us, some strange bond I could not put my finger on.

"Hi, Percy." Her voice sounded rather tired and I realized how late it had become. The sky was a calm midnight blue and thousands of stars shone brightly like scattered specks of diamonds. "I…I felt like I had to come see you."

I swallowed and nodded slowly. I knew what that meant. Everyone did. Even the goddess and her son seemed to tense, waiting silently for what was coming.

Then Rachel started to shake.

It was always unnerving to watch. Her small frame trembled as if she was possessed and her eyes opened wide with a mysterious green glow. A dense mist filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

Then the prophecy came.

"A hero's sword shall betray a friend," Rachel began in her creepy, echoing voice. Wow, the first line already foretold a depressing fate. That had to be a record.

Her eyes seemed to become a darker shade of green as she continued, "To save what is most precious in the end."

Most precious? What was so precious that I had to betray a friend for it?

"Through bloody hills, shall journey five, but only three shall return alive."

Okay, I should have just stopped listening then. This was obviously going to be a suicide mission. Usually one death was enough for a quest but the last time I checked, five minus three was two.

However, there was still more to come. The whole camp held its breath as Rachel finished.

"A heart must choose the one before he can love nevermore."

It was completely silent. Although I felt like I was going to collapse myself, I managed to catch Rachel before she crumpled to the ground. She seemed to lose consciousness but then her eyelids fluttered open.

"Is it bad, Percy?" she said in a weak voice, not remembering a word of what she'd just spoken. Knowing it was impossible to speak, I gave her a grave nod. She sighed and fainted.

I quietly carried her limp body into the main building, passing those staring at me with their mouths open. Nobody chased after me, not even Annabeth. Not knowing if I was in shock or scared out of my wits, I entered, closing the door behind me, and placed Rachel gently down on a sofa.

Hundreds of thoughts crossed my mind but I knew I didn't have time to sort them all out before setting out on my first quest in two years.

'Kay and that's it for the fourth chapter! Sorry this one was so short but I wanted to give you guys something 'cause it's been a while :) So what d'you think about the prophecy? I know it's not very well thought out but I'll clarify in future chapters and hopefully a nice quest will be built on top of it :) Please review, review, review, they help lots! (and many thanks to those who did in the past! ^^) So next chapter begins the epic quest of Percy Jackson! Will Percy be able to love ever again?