a.n. Okay, so I didn't quite get 22 reviews. Shame on you people! Oh well, thanks to everyone who did review. I really appreciate it. They are so motivating *hint hint*. Let's see, how about 27 this time. Yay! REVIEW!!!
p.s. Do I need a disclaimer even if I'm not using the characters from the book?
"What do you mean she's gone?" asked Oliver, rather forcefully too.
"Well, I mean that's she's gone, of course. Missing might be a better word, perhaps lost, mislaid, or absent. What do you think I mean by 'gone' Oliver?" snapped Josh, which really wasn't like him. "It's not like she went to go get milk from the grocery store."
"Who is this Oliver person!" wailed Kylie a bit too loud.
"Kylie?" Oliver kicked the bushes, which was really rude, knowing there was a seven year old hidden in them. Of course, he must have guessed who else was there, because his kick landed on my face. I yelped. "Tori..."
"Sorry, sorry," I muttered, dusting myself off. I fingered my nose. "It's not nice to kick people in the face, you know. Impolite, really. Whose Ashlee?" I inquired, determined to change the subject.
Oliver tensed, and his jaw clenched. I wasn't going to get any information out of him. "Oliver..." I warned.
"Who is Oliver? Tell me Tori, tell me cousin Olsen! Tell me!" shouted Kylie, jumping around. "And Ashlee, and the big man with all those arms who told me I could be big! And I'm stealing your ice cream." Just like that she snatched Oliver's ice cream cone and started attacking it. At least it would give us a little time.
"Josh? Do you care to spill?"
"Sure," he said with a shrug. I hadn't expected it to be that easy. Maybe he was starting to like back. "I don't see why Oliver won't." My heart deflated. "She's a daughter of Aether, the god of the Upper Air. The only one I've ever met. Her and Oliver had this thing..." he smiled wickedly at Oliver.
"Oliver Peter Williams," I said, mildly impressed. "So that's why you wouldn't tell."
"We didn't have a thing," insisted Oliver.
"Yeah. You liked her and she liked you and you were both denying it."
"Shut up, Josh."
Kylie had finished her ice cream. "You're Oliver!" she shouted, pointing at my brother. Then she did a happy dance, like this was the biggest accomplishment of her seven-year-old life. "And you like sister! Bad Oliver!"
"That's right," I admitted. "My brother is a player."
"And he's your brother?" asked Kylie her mouth opened into a very large "O". "You're a liar."
Oliver glared at me. "Let's just change the subject back to the real problem, shall we? Ashlee is gone."
"Well, what can we do?" I asked. "I'm just a nobody with good eyesight. You two are the heroes. Just, go and do some hero stuff. I'll wait for you here."
"I want to go!" said Kylie excitedly.
"What about the Oracle?" I jumped. I hadn't realized that Avery had walked back over to our little huddle. "In the myths that I've read there was an Oracle of Delphi that gave out prophecies. She's still around, isn't she?"
Josh whistled. "You know your stuff, huh?"
Avery smiled a little. "You don't learn that Greek Myths are real and then just go around your normal business. After that talk with Daedalus I looked up as much of that stuff as possible."
"What's a myth?" asked Kylie, confused, her head cocked to the side.
"I'll tell you later," remarked Avery. Kylie seemed content to wait.
"Well, technically you're right..." started Oliver.
"But Mr. Williams over here is banned from going on any quests," interrupted Josh with a shake of his head.
"You're what?" I asked, gaping.
"Thanks Josh, thanks a lot," sighed Oliver. "You are too."
"We covered the Ares cabin with hearts and pink streamers at Valentine's day, filled their bunks with stuffing on Thanksgiving, put up tons of mistletoe at Christmas (which we don't even celebrate, we just couldn't miss out on the opportunity), and when they tried to do a prank back, we covered everything in the nacho cheese," said Josh with a smile on his face. "Those were the days."
"The person in charge must just absolutely love you two," I said sarcastically.
"Actually, he hates us," said Josh.
"Which is understandable," admitted Oliver.
"But to be perfectly honest he hates all of us, the campers, that is."
"How did two people cover an entire cabin with nacho cheese?" I asked.
"Well, it wasn't just the two of us," admitted Josh. "We had the whole Hermes cabin to help, because they love that sort of thing, and Hermes is pretty diligent about claiming his kids, for certain reasons that need not concern you."
"I don't believe it," I said, shaking my head.
"Believe what you want. We made the t-shirts to prove it."
"That's all nice and lovely, but what does this have to do with you not being able to talk to the Oracle?" asked Avery, her usually sunny demeanor slightly dampened for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the fact that someone had been kidnapped and we had no idea what to do. Yep, that might have been it.
"Well, Mr. D. caught us after the cheese incident, and figured out it was us who had gone on the Ares pranking spree, and then we weren't even aloud out of the camp."
"Then how did you get out to, you know, make me forgive Oliver?" I asked, my voice a little shaky. I could joke around and be happy around him, but I had a feeling it would be a while until I forgave him, at least completely.
"Oh, we snuck out—"
"You what?"
"Let me finish! We snuck out with the help of Chiron."
"And Chiron is...?"
"A centaur."
That was not the answer I had been expecting.
"Okay. So one your friends is kidnapped, gone, lost, misplaced, or absent," I recited. "We have no idea what to do, nor anyway to find out what we're supposed to do..." I shook my head. "Eureka! I have the obvious solution."
"What?"
"You two go back to this camp of yours and get other people to go get her for you. There, everyone is happy."
"I'm not," said Kylie raising her hand. "I have no clue what's going on, and all of my ice cream is gone." Well, to be fair, she still had quite a bit left on her face. "What do you think, cousin Oliver?"
"Brother," Avery corrected.
"Brother?" Avery nodded. "Whoa..." she said with a look of awe. "I don't know how that happened, but I like cousin Oliver better."
"Well, cousin Oliver doesn't like that solution either," he muttered.
"Why in the world not?" Avery asked, a little loudly. I noticed Avril watching us out of the reflection in her compact mirror. Of course, the school loser, her hot cousin, the local brainiac bad boy, her twin, and her hyperactive younger sister. What a group.
Of course, she could have just been spying on Oliver. She seemed like that type of girl.
"You can't just ignore a summons from a god!" insisted Josh.
"When did you get a summons?" I inquired.
"Just now," said Oliver. "There was a wind that passed, I doubt you felt it—"
"No, I felt it," I said. "It was wind, how could I not feel it? It's not like it's selective."
"It isn't, right?" asked Avery, a little worried.
Josh sighed and rubbed his head. "Normal wind isn't. Wind sent by the god of the Upper Air, well, that only hits who he wants it to hit. I don't know why on earth he wants a mortal—"
"Two actually, if you were talking about that really large breeze that just went past here," injected Avery. "My hair started blowing every which way and Avril started freaking out 'cause she thought I was possessed. It was funny, but I had a feeling that it wasn't just wind."
"Two then...I don't think I like the prospect of having you and Tori along on the way," mumbled Josh.
"Wait, you're going?" I asked. "I thought you were going to go get a bunch of these other half-god kids and get them to go."
"We would," started Oliver. "But Ashlee's dad, Aether, sent that wind by here to warn us, and ask us to find his daughter, and if that happens, you'd be wise to do as he says."
"Oh please," said Josh. "Like you would back down and let strangers rescue Ashlee?" He looked at Avery and me nervously. "And I don't think we should take Avery and Tori, seeing as they're mortal."
"I can fight perfectly fine, thank you very much," sniffed Avery. "And I can teach Tori in no time. Besides," she said harmlessly. She looked up at Oliver with a look of pure innocence. "If you're as good as you say you are, then I doubt any monsters will even make it us."
Oliver looked a little uncomfortable with Avery standing so close.
Kylie spun around. "Big wind come by and blow us all away on adventure and danger! Big wind almost knock me down," she said with a huff. She was a rather dramatic seven year old.
"Did you...feel...the big wind?" asked her older sister, who was turning green.
"Yep! It was angry..."
"Oh dear..." then she saw the look on Josh's face. "No. No. No, no, no. She is not coming with us. On any circumstances."
"Aether wants her for a reason, and last time I checked, gods have a nice view of the future," tried Oliver.
"Well, then he can see another future!"
"Avery?" asked Josh. "Are you really going to leave Kylie all alone with Avril for however long we're gone? You're parents are out of town, right?"
"Yeah, maybe going with us in the safest thing," I suggested.
She glared at all three of us, and then she looked at her sister, who waved at us all in her compact. Avery closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I'll go if you go!" said Kylie.
"If that's the case, I'd rather not," muttered Avery.
Kylie looked confused. "Oh, well can I go anyway?"
Avery laughed. "Okay...she can come."
"Wait, when are we leaving?" I asked.
"As soon as possible," Josh answered. "Go and back a small backpack, tell your parents, and meet back here tomorrow after clean up for the picnic is over. We can leave then."
"What do you pack to go on a rescue attempt?" I asked.
"I'll help, don't worry," Oliver said, ruffling my hair. I hate it when he does that. I slapped his hand away.
"See you tomorrow, I have to go and talk to Avril," said Avery, and I could hear the eye roll in her voice.
Luckily, they weren't that far away, and I had excellent hearing, so I didn't have to hide behind a bush this time. That's a plus!
I know, bad ending. But that's okay for now, because it will all be in the next chapter! The mre you review he sooner it comes. Review! On your mark, get set, go!
~Banana Smoothie