"And that's what happened," Jessie says, as she finishes recounting her nightmare. Apparently, this wasn't the first time she had this dream either.
We sat on a bench by the station we got off of. Jessie explained she dreamt of her friend who wouldn't wake up. No matter how many times she shook him, he wouldn't budge.
"Are you sure you saw him in a field?" Helen asked, casting a glance at the grass that covered much of Iowa.
Jessie nodded and surprisingly, none of her makeup came off. She had at least three layers on.
"Then we might just encounter him here," I say.
"But what I don't understand is," Helen began, "why or how Anton was separated from the rest of the group. It just doesn't make sense. The prophecy said we had to rescue our kin from a land most sublime. Wouldn't they be together?"
I curled my lip. I didn't consider that. Did that mean we didn't have to rescue this Anton guy?
My thoughts are interrupted as Jessie blurts out, "We have to rescue him. Or try."
Helen still looked conflicted. Jessie looked to me for support. Before I could avert my gaze, she asked, "Please, Jeremiah."
"We should try," I say.
"Ok," Helen agrees.
We were wandering through a field when I began to question myself. Why did I agree? What if the dream meant something else?
Something didn't feel right.
For about an hour, we mill around aimlessly, finding nothing but pissed off farmers and manure.
We take a break at Helen's request and I kick some pebble down the path.
I hear a shocked sqeal and start.
A girl comes out of the field but the thing is, she dressed differently from the people here. She wore a white sleeveless tunic, possibly Greek style, and a headband.
She gave me a quizzical look and I apologize. "Sorry about that, I didn't know you were there."
She waves it away in dismissal and sets out to walk back but Jessie drops something and we all turn.
"Arghh. My mirror!" she complains.
Jessie reaches down to pick up her fallen mirror but her open purse allows for the rest of her makeup as well as her dagger to fall down.
Jessie looks up bashfully as she scoops up her cestelial bronze dagger and her makeup.
The girl I almost hit with a pebble says, "There," as she points to a farmhouse in the distance.
I exchange glances with Jessie and Helen.
The girl only repeats, "There," and beckons for us to come.
"What's over there? Do you need something?" Helen asks.
"Need something," the girl repeats.
Something begins nagging my head. Why was I so skeptical? She was just a pasty faced girl. She must have a speech impediment or disorder or something.
Helen swallowed. "Actually, we really have to do something."
I arch a brow. It's not like we have any money to travel with. Maybe if we help her, we can figure out a way out of here from the locals.
I shrug my shoulders. "Let's give her a go."
Helen only fidgets, shifting weight from one leg to another. She looks at Jessie for help and I begin to feel my throat tighten. Why was Helen being so reluctant? Why can't we help this girl? Helen has never been unwilling to help someone in need so why stop now?
Jessie looks at me dreamily and says, "I agree with Jeremiah."
The girl smiles in gratitude and leads us to the back of the barn. Apart from a tractor and grass, there was nothing of interest. The girl pointed to something I had missed earlier: a wheelbarrow that was partially turned, jammed inside a disturbance in the Earth.
Before we could ask the silent girl, she approached the wheelbarrow and tugged with all her might. The thing hardly moved and the girl heaved as she turned back to us.
Our group exchanged glances and I rolled up my sleeves. "Why not?"
Pretty soon, the four of us gather around the wheelbarrow and pull. We grunt and we struggle but to no avail.
We try a few more times but our efforts yield the same result: the wheelbarrow rises only to sink back down again. Almost as if someone were pulling it down.
"This is ruining my nails!" Jessie shrieks.
She wasn't wrong. The rust from the wheelbarrow was getting into my nails as well.
"There must be another approach," Helen says, circling the wheelbarrow.
I kneel and examine the bottom of the wheelbarrow, which sinks into the Earth, beyond view.
Leaves sprout from beneath the surface of the Earth, jutting from a branch. I trace the branch and find it's entrance at another point in the dirt. That's no good. However, I spot a root below it and notice it clings to one of the handles of the wheelbarrow.
"I've got it," I declare.
The group looks at me, expecting an explanation.
"Just a moment. Jessie, could I see your dagger?" I ask.
She hesitantly hands it to me and I begin to work on the obstructive root. It is thick and taut but I finally slice through it.
"Let's try now," I say, wiping my forehead.
The four of us try again and this time, there is less resistance. We overestimate it and the wheelbarrow gets tossed onto the dirt.
We all fall back and I let out a triumphant laugh.
We brush ourselves off and Helen smiles at me. "That was great!"
I smile back, my cheeks growing warm.
Without warning, Jessie wraps her arms around me and pulls me in for a hug.
"I knew we could count on you!" she exclaims.
Before I can recover from initial shock, someone clears their throat.
We turn to see the laconic girl. She beams at us and claps her hands once. Then she beckons for us to follow her.
She leads us further into the weeds and Jessie's complaints grow as the distance does. The sun starts on its arc towards sunset and I wonder where this girl is taking us.
Finally, she slows down, and we make a descent. Then, she stops in front of what looks like a quagmire.
I peek my head over Jessie's shoulders and see that within the hole, there is a boy with a tattered orange shirt. Not just any orange shirt. A Camp Half-Blood shirt.
I didn't recognize the guy but Jessie sqealed with excitement and Helen gasped.
"Anton!" Jessie cried and slid down the sinkhole.
"Jessie! Wait!" Helen yells.
But Jessie had already reached the boy and began shaking him.
I looked to Helen and to the girl who led us here but only Helen remained.
Where did the other girl go?
Helen gestured for me to come follow Jessie and we both slid down.
The boy had dark brown hair which stopped in short waves on his forehead. He had a square jaw and he seemed to have a stocky build. I immediately felt a twinge of jealousy.
"Anton!" Jessie yelled again, and shook the boy, only to receive no response.
Helen checked his pulse and stated the boy was still breathing.
"It doesn't make sense," Helen says.
"I don't understand. Who is this guy? Is he the guy from Jessie's dream?" I ask, mystified.
"He is but that's what doesn't make sense. Anton was part of the quest from three months ago. Why is he all the way in Iowa when we have to search for the group in California?" Helen asks, addressing no one in particular.
"It doesn't matter!" Jessie adds hastily. "Why won't he wake up if he's alive?!"
Nothing seemed to make sense.
"Maybe we should give him some Ambrosia," Helen suggests.
Jessie didn't respond. She slipped her hand into my jacket, removed our zip locked bag of Ambrosia and brought a spoonful to the boy's mouth.
She moved his jaws and Helen raised the boy's head.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, when I had lost hope, the boy coughed and burped and panted, his eyes darting around.
"Karen!" he yelled.
"Anton, calm down," Helen cooed, and Jessie hugged him.
The boy continued to glance around and then when he was calm, he looked at us and asked, "Jessie, Helen, what are you guys doing here?"
"We're on a qu--" Jessie began.
Helen put a hand out to warn Jessie not to continue. "We're here for you. We'll explain. Right now, you just focus on relaxing."
I stood there on a side, not being of any help, feeling like a tulip in a sunflower garden.
The boy's stomach rumbled out loud and I couldn't help but laugh.
Anton shot me a look. "Who's he?"
"He's with us," Jessie piped.
Anton watched me from afar and said, "Man I could go for a cheeseburger."
Helen looked down and began to explain but the boy sat up.
Anton fished for something in his jacket pocket and removed a stack of cash.
We stared as if it were the holy grail.
He caught our stares. "What's the deal? You act like you haven't seen money before."
"We're broke," Jessie explains ruefully.
Anton grinned. "Chiron entrusted me with the group's money. I still have it."
Then as if remembering something, he whipped his head around. "Where is everyone?"
"We thought you would know," I say. "We don't know any more about your group than you do."
The boy scowled and tried to stand up but like an unsteady foal, he buckled and fell back down.
"Don't be so hasty!" Helen warns.
"Dude, just rest and we'll try to figure this out," I add.
He agrees reluctantly and Jessie begins filling him in.
I walk around the quagmire pretending to be interested in the ground when Helen taps me on the shoulder.
I look up and see her worried expression. "How are you holding up?" She asks.
I stare at her blankly.
"I mean, you were sent to the camp and without warning, you were thrust into a quest. You clashed with Jim. You were forced into helping people you barely knew," she clarifies.
Now that I think about it, I have been a little bummed out ever since we got out of the train. Had she been paying attention to me?
I looked at her. "I'm alright. Now that you've asked me." I smile.
She waves it off but beams at me.
"Well, how are you holding up? I mean, you've been sent out on this quest with nothing to earn or gain," I say modelling my question the way she did hers.
She smirks, probably at my mimicry of her question format and then composes herself.
"I've been okay. I don't mind being on a quest, as long as you guys are here with me," she says.
"Glad we're on the same page," I say. "We may not have weapons but Jessie's eyebrows are probably sharp enough to cut through our enemies."
Helen giggles and then before we continue, I stop her.
"Helen, there's something I didn't mention earlier," I say. She only looks at me with eyes of wonder. I look over to see that Jessie still has ways to go in terms of filling Anton in.
I explain what happened to me on my tour and what happened during and after the football game.
Her expression only grew more agitated as I proceeded. "Why didn't you tell me?!" she exclaims.
"We--I didn't know I could trust you then," I explain. "And to tell you the truth--" I rub the back of my head and make sure the others are out of earshot. "I really only joined so I could get even with Lucas. And I mean to help but, I--there were ulterior motives." I leave out the part about confronting my parents.
Helen takes a long look at me and then says, "I joined because of something too--er someone. Well, not as the only reason of course but he played a role in my willingness to accept the offer." She looks down bashfully.
I try to think. Did Jim convince her? Then, I have a horrific thought. "Did you have a crush on Lucas?!"
She almost falls backwards. "Lucas?!" Then she apologizes. "I can assure you, I have no romantic feelings for him. He's too...flamboyant."
Relieved, I laugh. "Thank goodness."
Helen smiles.
Just then, some loud footsteps approach us. Come to think of it, they were there earlier but I was too preoccupied with Helen.
"Trouble," I call out.
The boy tries to stand and Jessie grabs her dagger.
"You stay with Anton, me and Helen will take care of this," I call out.
The boy gives me a quizzical look, has a short conversation with Jessie and then yells, "Catch!"
He lobs something in my direction and to my dismay, it's only a ballpoint pen.
Helen and I climb out of the quagmire to see the tallest man I have ever seen.
He was built like a truck, bulky and muscular, his height was probably about ten feet. He wore a tank top that reached his ankles.
"Oh no," Helen whispers.
And then I realize why. This guy wasn't just a giant. He was a Giant.
The Giant cracks his neck and grins maliciously.
"Hey there, big guy," I laugh nervously. "We don't want any trouble."
He snorts and says, "Well, I do." He then crouches and pulls his tank top up a bit. "Who's first?"
"Uncap the pen," Helen whispers.
Before I could protest, the Giant wags his finger. "No weapons. Not unless you want me to snap you two in half right now. If one of you can beat me in a wrestling match, I'll let you all go."
A wrestling match? What a weird proposal. What if he doesn't let us go even if we win? Well, we can't really bargain at this stage.
I look at Helen and think, I can never forgive myself if I just stood here while she wrestled a ten foot truck like him. "I'll go."
Helen scowls as if she remembers something unpleasant. "Jeremiah, please be careful."
I nod as I step up to get demolished. The Giant was even taller and more gruesome close up. What was I thinking?
Without warning, he reaches for my waist and I slink past him, landing a few punches into his stomach.
The Giant only brings back his arm and cocks his head. He slaps my chest and I fall back onto my butt, my chest burning.
I rush to my feet and jab at his ribs only to be pushed back. He slaps my arm and I fall to the side, my arm redenning where he had hit me. I leap up and kick his calves as hard as I can until he finally buckles, nearly falling over. I take this opportunity to pounce on him.
He anticipates this and merely shoves me to the side as he falls back himself.
I land awkwardly on the ground and roll a few times before I stop myself with my arms. When my head settles down I register footsteps and a voice.
I hop to my feet, but not in time to avoid getting my arm ensnared in an iron grip. The Giant brings my arm behind my back and locks it there. I let out a scream as my arm feels like it's going to tear out of its socket.
Helen yells something but I don't hear it. My mind hurdles into a panic. He's going to break my arm. He's going to break my arm.
I turn and catch a glimpse of him, confident that he has me captured. I resist and don't make any progress. Then, I turn and spit into the Giant's face.
"Gaghh!" he screams, wiping his face.
I fall to my knees clutching my arm. My shoulder blade aches and my arm doesn't seem to move at my command.
The Giant is still wiping his face when Helen yells, "He's a Giant, he must have a weakness!"
"Antaeus has no weakness!" he declares.
Antaeus. He fought Hercules. He lost. Why? How? Thoughts race in my head.
"Jeremiah, get him off the ground and then attack! His strength comes from the e--" Helen is cut off when the Giant's arm strikes her across the face.
To my horror, her head whips to the side and she veers into the ground.
For a moment, I feel nothing, I am devoid of all experience. Then, rage surges through my chest and explodes.
"HELEN!"
Two figures emerge from the quagmire, one clutching the other. Jessie and Anton survey the scene.
"Get her some Ambrosia!" I yell.
The Giant runs toward me and I run toward him, a calm befalling me.
The Giant reaches for me but I step on his arm and jerk my knee into his jaw, sending him staggering back.
My eyes dart to the land behind him. Only a dirt path and miles of field. But to the right, there was a granary. An idea goes off before the Giant whips his arms again.
I duck and break into a sprint, heading for the grains in the storage.
The Giant's feet stomp on the ground as he pursues me, furious. I am ten feet from the granary when I run faster.
I stop quickly and the Giant grins as his outstretched arms close in on me.
I leap out of the way and the Giant tries to slow down but ends up running onto the ramp.
I pull the ballpoint pen out of my pocket, remembering Helen's instructions. I uncap it and the entire pen grows into a full length sword, gleaming orange. I had no qualms about what I planned to do. If he's some kind of a monster, chances are, he'll be revived anyway.
At this point, the Giant has slammed into the mouth of the granary and chunks of wood have sprayed everywhere. I bound up the now rickety ramp and raise up my sword. The Giant shakes his head and turns to me, eyes wide with alarm. He swings for my jaw but I swing my sword quicker, cutting right through his arm. I lunge and bring my sword into his stomach. I remove the blade and the Giant falls forward. He won't be wrestling for a while.
Helen. I race off the ramp, throwing the sword into the dirt.
My chest throbs and my shoulder blade begins screaming again. How was I able to wield the sword? I don't know. No time.
I see the group. Anton and Jessie sit over a body lying motionless between them.
No, I think. Not like this. Not Helen.
Anton frowns and Jessie isn't texting. "Is she going to be all right?" I ask.
My heart sinks as I spot a massive bruise along Helen's face.
"It looks like she may have a minor concussion," Anton says slowly. I breathe out a sigh of relief. I feared the Giant had snapped her neck with the ferocity of his blow.
I kneel by the ground clutching my arm, and accept a cube of Ambrosia from Jessie. Helen's eyes are closed and her head rests on Jessie's lap.
I fold my jacket and place it under Helen's head as Jessie removes her legs from beneath her.
"Wait," the boy says, and he begins looking around. "What happened to the Giant?!"
"I took care of him," I explain.
He gives me a look of disbelief. Jessie claps her hands. "That's my Jeremiah!"
"Did you really defeat him?" he asks.
I nod, surprising myself at what I had done.
"Incredible. That's got to be record time in slaying a Giant. You must be a son of Ares or something," he marvels.
"No, actually, it's Hermes."
He arches a brow. I feel the same guilt I felt before when Lucas confronted me. "You guys aren't worth anything to anyone," he had said about my cabin.
"Well, what about you?" I ask.
"Athena," he answers.
Interesting, I think to myself.
Dusk had fallen and the night creatures had begun to emerge.
Anton looked to us and said, "We'll camp here for the night. I'll take the first shift."
I begin to protest but my body shuts me up.
"Alright," I agree, taking one last look at Helen.
I wasn't able to protect her, I think to myself. What if the Giant had killed her? I had just stood there as he attacked.
I was only able to defeat him because of that sword. The sword!
I shot up and my body ached.
I grunted.
"What's wrong?" Anton asks.
"Your sword. I left it where I fought the Giant," I admit.
He smiles as if he knew something I didn't.
"The sword always returns as a pen in your pocket," he explains.
I check my pocket and sure enough, he was right. "Well, here's your sword."
Before I could hand it to him, he stops me.
"Keep it with you. I won't be able to use it again for a while," he says.
I nod and rest my head on the ground. Darkness overcomes me quickly as I fall into a slumber.
"Jeremiah," a familiar voice calls.