I'm BAAAACK! Wow… it's been almost a whole year since I've updated this fanfic. I realized that I didn't want to be a hypocrite because I really really hate when other people don't update their fanfics and I thought about it and realized that I was one of those people too. So I want to continue this story and make it awesome! I hope all of you enjoy this new chapter and I'll try to get another chapter in by the end of this weekend because I have 3 days off from school! Well it's time for me to stop talking, and for you guys to start reading! Happy chapter 3!
*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS/HEROES OF OLYMPUS (Though I wish I really did)
Dakota, Jason and I had been walking for quite some time. Nearly half a day, but since no one had a watch (why didn't they think of bringing one?), I wasn't a hundred percent on my information. After getting to know one another a bit, Jason decided that it would be better if we started our journey to this Camp Jupiter and not take a rest. I, on the other hand, really wanted to get some more sleep since the incident last night wiped me out. Nearly dying can make a girl very tired. Not wanting to be the wet blanket, I went on board with the idea and we started our two day trek to the camp.
After a few more hours of walking, I began to think that it had been about a day since we first set out because it was early evening and the sun was about to set. The long walk had actually been nice, but tiring on my feet. Dakota was especially talkative during the journey and wanted to tell me some really embarrassing stories about Jason. He never did tell me because Jason would have killed him. One interesting fact that I learned from them both was that Jason was the praetor at Camp Jupiter.
Praetor. When I asked Jason to elaborate, he scratched the back of his head and blushed. I knew he didn't want the attention, but I was really curious. "Well, there are actually two praetors at Camp Jupiter, and we're just the leaders. Nothing special."
"Nothing special? Nothing special? Come one man! You've got to be kidding me!" Dakota's incredulous face was staring at Jason. "Being a praetor is so cool," Dakota turned towards me. "They get to go on all of the quests, and lead them! Just last summer, we stormed this palace and Jason totally beat the snot out of this Tita-"
"That's enough, Dakota," Jason interrupted. "I'm sure Piper doesn't want to hear about that."
Oddly enough, I did want to hear about what happened, but decided to let him tell me later. "Well, actually, I do want to hear it. But seeing that this isn't the best time for that, you can tell me another time, Jason." Jason turned towards me, looking as though he would not be looking forward to when that time came. I stared into his eyes. They were such a clear, sparkling blue, I almost expected clouds to start floating through.
Realizing I was thinking way too much about Jason, I decided to ask a more practical question. "So when do you think we can stop to eat?"
As if on cue, all three of our stomachs rumbling with hunger. The embarrassed Jason said, "Good point, Piper. We can buy something to eat, then get some rest since we've been walking for a long time. Dakota, you still have some money right?"
Dakota rustled through his bag. "I've got a few denarii, and about fifty bucks in cash."
Curious by this new term, I walked over to Dakota. "Denarii? What's a denarii?
"It's the Roman currency. Everyone at Camp Jupiter uses it. The singular form in denarius. These," Dakota held a bunch of coins, "are denarii. And this," Dakota only held one coin in his palm, "is a denarius."
Dakota handed me a denarius and I inspected the coin. It looked very old, and I was pretty sure it was a silver coin. On one side, the coin showed a picture of a town, with a lot of ancient buildings. On the other side, there was a picture of a woman, and she definitely looked like royalty. She wore a toga and had gold rings on her arms, and she looked extremely beautiful.
"I'm guessing we can't hand this over and expect to get something in return, can we?" I didn't think that denarii was accepted at stores these day- if not any at all.
"No. You can only use these at Camp Jupiter," Jason took the denarius from my palm and handed it back to Dakota, who put the money back in exchange for money that could actually be used in California. "You can purchase anything you want with denarii at Camp Jupiter, so there really isn't any point in having U.S. currency, but since we're on a mission, we needed the cash."
I nodded at his response. I didn't really understand why they used denarii if they could have just used the currency everyone in the United States was using- there would be a lot less confusion as a result.
Deciding that this problem was obviously too difficult for me to understand at the moment, I opted for a safer option: talking about this new camp I would be able to attend.
"So what can you guys tell me about Camp Jupiter? Is it a year-long camp? Or a summer camp?"After asking the questions, I knew something was off with the two of my travelers. Jason and Dakota gave each other a look that said, Uh oh. I immediately started wondering what this camp was all about. Maybe everyone were secret ninjas or spies sent all around the world on undercover missions?
"How about we talk about Camp Jupiter when we get there?" Jason answered curtly. I knew Jason didn't mean to sound abrupt, but he sounded really harsh when he answered. I looked away and slowed down, lagging behind the others, not really sure how to deal with the comment and the awkward silence that was slowly creeping into the group.
Unbeknownst to myself, Dakota elbowed Jason in the ribs this time, and looked back at me and then to Jason as if to say, Look what you did you idiot! You just had to make her feel bad. You better fix this. Jason, getting the message, lessened his pace to fall in line with me and nudged my shoulder. Looking up, I saw the apologetic eyes of Jason. "I'm sorry if that sounded a bit harsh, but I think it's best that we get back to Camp before we start talking about it. All of your questions will be answered when we get there, I promise." I nodded, reassured that this guy whom I'd just met didn't hate my guts for asking a seemingly harmless question.
I could see ahead of me that we were heading towards a more populated area, where I could see more cars than the normal amount, and my stomach grumbled with pleasure, knowing that it would be filled with food in a few minutes. As we got closer to the busier areas, away from the highway, I noticed that there weren't a lot of places to eat, which was strange. Usually there are many eating places when traveling on the highway, but from where we were, I could only see one lone diner.
"Well, I guess we're eating at Mrs. Wetherwort's Diner," stated Dakota, fishing out his money while Jason got out a map to look at where we were at the moment. I fixed my hair, patting down the unruly edges and trying to make myself look presentable and not like I'd been a fifteen year old girl walking around on the highway with two strange boys for a day.
"Ok. We seem to be in Elk Grove so we've made good time but we're going to have to pick up the pace if we want to stay on schedule. We should only stop to eat and rest for thirty minutes. Then we can be on our way." Jason looked at the small dinner and nodded, and I couldn't help but feel a little worried about what was going to happen. Would anyone question three kids walking around in the evening looking like they hadn't showered?
Jason seemed to know what I was thinking because he turned to me and gave me a small, reassuring smile. "Just be cool, and everything will go smoothly." Easy for Jason to say. He radiated cool. He was the definition of cool. I was the odd one out, not even knowing how to act "cool". Deciding the best thing to do was to stop thinking and go inside, I squared my shoulders and crossed the street, making sure to look both ways.
Dakota held the door open for me and I walked into a cute little shop. There was the stereotypical counter with red cushioned seats and an awesome jukebox in the box, blasting music from the eighties. I could hear the sizzling of burgers and smell the delicious food grilling and couldn't help but let my mouth salivate. Jason, Dakota and I sat down in the chairs at the counter and waited for the hostess to show up. Maybe I should have been alert and realized that there was no one else in the diner, but my better judgement was blinded by my hunger.
The hostess came up to us and handed us a few menus. I smiled up and the nice old lady and asked her for a cup of water with ice. Dakota and Jason ordered the same thing and we all decided to get burgers and fries. This way, we'd be able to eat quickly and leave faster. As the food was being cooked, Jason and Dakota we quietly conversing, and I thought it was high time to check out the diner even more. I noticed that in most of the booths and on the walls there were pictures of a lot of different people, and the old hostess was in all of the pictures with them. I was sitting by a wall, so I was able to inspect the pictures a bit more. Before I could get a good look, the food came, and my entire being was focused on shoveling as much food down my throat as possible.
As the three of us chowed down, the little old hostess lady was behind us, cleaning up dishes and and wiping the tables. To me, it was really strange that no one was else was working to help the old lady, but maybe Thursday nights were slow days. Aside from being able to hear the boys vigorously eating, there was an absence of the sizzling on the grill. Looking up from my plate, I couldn't see anyone else working at the grill, so the old lady must have been doing everything.
Realizing that these things were too strange to be a coincidence, I turned my attention to Jason and quietly whispered, "Hey, Jason? Shouldn't there be other people worki-" I wasn't able to finish my sentence because the old lady came up to me from behind and laid a hand on my back. I jumped about five feet in the air, not only because the lady surprised me, but because her hands were freezing. I saw Jason and Dakota tense up, and from the corner of my eye I could Jason reaching into his pocket- for what, I have no idea.
"Is the food alright, Sweetie? Do you want some more water?" The old lady asked me in a nice tone, but I couldn't help but notice that her nails were beginning to dig into my skin. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I was able to say quietly, "No. Thank you." and the lady went back to her cleaning. I slowly leaned forward to glance at Dakota, and he mouthed at me, it's ok, just go back eating.
Nodding in response, I took a few more bites of my food and surveyed the room once more. Looking back at a picture, I remembered that they had been very intriguing. I leaned in closer to the photo that was right beside me and I looked at the two people. One of them was the old lady, and she looked as happy as could be as she took the photo. Her arm was extended so I guessed she was the one who took the photo, like a selfie. While the old lady looked really happy, the other person, on the other hand, didn't look quite hot. They looked terrified, in fact. They other person, an older man, had his shoulders hunched in a protective manner, and his eyes were widened in fear. I had been staring at the photo for so long, almost in a trance, so the voice of the old lady right in front of me on the other side of the counter startled me, and I nearly fell out of my seat.
The sweet voice of the old lady did not match the words coming out of her mouth when she said, "Do you like my pictures? I just love capturing the expressions on my customers faces.
Wheeeeew! That took me some time! This chappie is finally over 2,000 words, so I hope you enjoy. I tried to include some more stuff about the history of Camp Jupiter with the denarii stuff, so I hoped that was a bit interesting for all of you. I'm really trying to improve my writing so I hope this chapter is better than the other chapters. I am going to have another update this weekend, and there will be a fighting scene, so I hope I do a good job with all the fighting stuff! Thanks so reading and please leave a comment with your likes, dislikes, and constructive criticism. Have a great rest of the week guys! Stay tuned for more Black Skies!