Chapter 17:
The Truth or A Dream
He was standing in the middle of the stage in the amphitheatre of Camp Half-Blood. The sky above was heavy with dark clouds and occasionally he heard the faint whisper as the campers noticed them. The Apollo campers, however, remained unaware of the looming danger and continued with their songs.
That's when it happened. As if she had been Tasered the Oracle stood up from her place at the front of the gathering and began to swoon on the spot. A trio of campers rushed to her aid but before they could get there, green smoke had already started to form around her feet. She opened her eyes just as her helpers managed to ease her down onto the stool that they had brought with them. Not long afterwards, she opened her mouth and allowed emerald coloured smoke to escape before a raspy, snake-like voice echoed through the amphitheatre:
" He will kneel to fate lest a discovery shall not take place,
For his life to be spared one must make haste,
The white emperor grows wary of those he hath bore,
And only his brother can calm the mighty roar,
But to quell the wrath that doth burn,
The exiled one must return."
One of the Oracle's helpers finished writing the prophecy a few minutes after the smoke disappeared from the Oracle and she had collapsed. The rest of the demigods, however, remained in stunned silence. Even Chiron looked stunned. Apparently, no one had expected a random prophecy that night.
But it was in that silence that a massive thunder clap echoed through the amphitheatre and Jaden's head.
Jaden woke with a start as rain began to pour down on his face. Shortly after, he forced himself up as the rain forced its way into his mouth and made him choke. A few coughs later, he was finally able to take in his surroundings.
He was soaked. Buddy, who was lying beside him, was soaked. Their bags were soaked. They were in a forest and there was a small and rocky hill to their right. In the distance, Jaden could just make out the dark shape of something that definitely did not look like a tree. A sudden flash of lightning made up his mind and he jumped up, grabbed the soaked bags and slid down the hill with Buddy jumping down beside him.
Unfortunately, he didn't realise just how steep the hill was until he had slipped on a particularly wet stone. The force of his step and the wet ground combined to send Jaden flying through the air only to land, face first, into the cabin across from where he had been.
" Ow." He muttered as he peeled himself from the cabin and Buddy ran up to him. " I think I broke my nose. Anyway, let's get inside."
A quick inspection of the cabin found that the majority of the cabin was underground with only the front door visible. Next to that, a wooden latch was the only thing that kept the door firmly closed. In a quick decision to get out of the rain, Jaden called on Erinus and easily bashed open the firmly stuck latch. Using the sword's glow, the two entered.
Inside the cabin was as dark as it was outside the cabin. And, of course, Buddy had to shake off the water on his fur all over Jaden as soon as the two of them were inside. Taking out his flashlight and checking to see if it still worked, Jaden looked around the one room cabin.
On the far side of the wall was a small square window, providing some form of air source. An old kerosene lamp on a small rectangular table in the middle of the room was the only source of light for the cabin. Unfortunately it had run out of oil long ago. Over in the far left corner of the room was a small bench with a bucket and a row of pots underneath it. In the middle of the left wall stood a small metal stove with a pipe that led to the chimney top. On the wall on either side of the stove were a number of knives and daggers as well as a pair of axes. There was a chest at the end of the bench and another under the table. Rotten wood occupied the near left corner, spreading to the stove, while the near right corner was home to an old wash tub. A bed occupied most of the right wall save for a rocking chair. And in that rocking chair, somehow still in perfect form, was a human skeleton.
" Okay... I don't think he minds us coming in out of the rain." Jaden whispered. " Just don't bother him, okay Buddy?"
Buddy was already sniffing at the skeleton's legs.
" Buddy, heel."
With a slight whimper, the pit bull followed Jaden's order and sat at his heel, disappointed at missing a nice bone to chew. Jaden sent one more glance to the skeleton – somehow praying that it didn't suddenly get up and start to attack him – before deciding to search through the chest underneath the table. What he found was a candle stick holder and five whole and long candle sticks. He even found a box of still intact matches.
Striking a match and lighting one of the candles, he went over to the pile of wood and searched through his bags to make sure that there wasn't much damage done to everything. It was going to be a long night and who knew when the rain was going to stop?