*Important*I am changing the date of chapter updates to Fridays Now!

Well, here is the next chapter! Enjoy! Please send in any feedback or comments. They are greatly appreciated as they will help me with my writing!

VI

Jason

Jason hated feeling useless, but Abram was probably right. If he had given away their position, the mrymekes would have probably killed Leo on the spot. This way, they still had a chance to save him, and it was a good thing Abram was a son of Apollo. Zeus knows they are going to need his healing skills. They followed the mrymekes for about thirty minutes without stopping. Under normal circumstances Jason would have been winded, but his best friend's life was in danger. His adrenaline was rushing through his body and he would have kept running into the clearing if Abram didn't stop him. He pointed towards a hill to the left just overlooking the clearing. Jason understood what he meant. They made their way to the top of the hill and settled at its peak.

"We need to choose a plan of attack." Abram huffed falling to his knees.

"You okay?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. It's Leo we need to worry about."

"Understatement." Jason muttered

"We can either go in full assault and hope we make it out alive, or we can try to come up with a foolproof plan."

"I don't think we have time for that, look." He told Abram. Down in the clearing about one hundred yards away was a three-story pile of dirt. Its sides were covered with tunnels. Crawling in and out were hundreds of mrymekes. "That must be the new anthill."

"It looks just how Annabeth described the last one, well not as tall and not as many mrymekes, but the tunnels coming out of the sides." Abram said in awe. "Shit, We can't let them take Leo any closer, if they do . . . we might not ever get him back." His voice started to crack at the end of his sentence.

"You've only hung out with him for a day, imagine how I feel right now." Jason said rubbing the sweat off his brow. "How are we going to do this?"

"Well, I can try to pick some off while you flank them. When they focus on you I can keep giving you cover fire."

"Better than anything I can come up with." Jason replied. "What about Leo?"

"I'll start with the ones carrying him, but I would have to hit all of them at the same time to prevent him from any, well any more danger."

"You got this, I don't know a better archer at this camp."

"Almighty Apollo." Abram muttered. "Seven targets, seven arrows at one time from this distance. That's pushing it, even with my abilities." He replied, his voice was riddled with self-doubt.

"Hey, I believe in you, and I am more than sure Leo believes in you too," Jason told him with a reassuring nod. "And he needs us right now. You can do this."

Abram let out a sigh. "Let's do it then."

Jason didn't waste any time. He carefully, but quickly made his way down the hill trying to avoid drawing any attention. He decided to flank the ants from their right side. He hid behind a tree, his Gladius ready in his hand, and looked up to where Abram was standing. All right Abram, you got this. Jason thought to himself. He turned his attention back to the group of moving mrymekes. Screeching came from the group of ants before a cloud of dust sent them in a confused frenzy. Jason was able to hear the loud thud of Leo hitting the ground over the confused beasts, his cue to attack.

He rushed in and leaped into the group of mrymekes. He swung his Gladius and lobbed off one of their heads on the first strike. Nine. Nine left. Jason thought to himself. He struck another one but his sword clanged of off its armor-like body. A mrymeke charged towards Jason snapping its pincers. He quickly deflected the attack with the flat of his sword, but it kept coming back, trying to bite him. He managed to lock its pincers with his Gladius, but now he was defenseless against the other eight ants charging him. He had to concentrate on keeping his grip on his sword. The mrymeke jerked back trying to disarm him. Jason hoped it wasn't smart enough to know a strategy like that. It shuddered to a stop before turning to a cloud of dust. Jason looked to see Abram running down the hill firing arrows like a mad man. The next three ants closest to Jason evaporated when an arrow pierced their bodies.

"Jason Watch it, they can spit acid too!" Abram yelled. The remain mrymekes looked at each other as if saying: did you forget about that too? Three of the ants shot a spray of a green liquid towards Jason, but he was able to dodge roll out of the way. The liquid splattered onto a tree behind where he was standing. The tree started to steam, then sizzle as the bark melted away. "Lighting, Jason! Annabeth said the dragon released a static shock that killed them!.

"Now you tell me!" Jason yelled back. Jason tried to concentrate. He thought about how he needed to save his friends and how angry he had been when the mrymekes attacked Leo. He pointed his sword to the nearest of the remaining five ants. The familiar smell of ozone filled the air. A blue light arched out of the tip of his Gladius striking the ant. The electricity was driven to its feelers like miniature lighting rods. The ant glowed blue for a split second before the energy shot out of its body heading for the next one. The same thing happened to it like the first but it moved faster as if using the second one as a stepping stone to get to the others. Soon the remaining ants were connect by the chain lighting. Their bodies shook violently and flickered blue. It looked as if someone had put a strobe light on them on the fast setting. Soon, there was nothing left but five piles of ash. Jason collapsed to his knees and struggled to catch his breath. C'mon! We're not done yet. He told himself as he struggled onto his feet. He slowly stumbled towards Abram, who was by Leo's side singing a hymn to his father in Ancient Greek. The healing seem to take effect as Leo's open shot open.

"R-Remind me to bu-build a giant magnifying glass later." Leo whispered before losing consciousness.

"Is he going to be alright?" Jason asked him. His voice was full of panic and he was now using his Gladius as a cane to keep him from falling over.

"It's too soon to tell." Abram replied. "From just one bite I would say yes, but he was bit multiple times." Abram motioned Jason closer to see the damage. As he got closer, Jason could see right away that Leo had two welts on each of his arms that didn't look pretty. They were starting to get darker in color, well Jason thought they were. It was hard to see through the blood. Abram pulled Leo's right jean leg up to show Jason the damage done to his leg. Jason wished he didn't. On Leo's calf and ankle where four more welts.

"He was bit twice on both legs?"

"Pretty much," Abram muttered. "those are only from two bite wounds, but he has some exactly like them on his other leg. In total, his body was bit six times. Good thing we attacked when we did, any longer and Leo would be in worse shape. I mean it's still really bad and I don't think he will be conscious again until we can treat him properly." His voice started to crack, and Jason could see tears forming in his eyes. "I have to try something, it might help a little." Abram position his hand above Leo's torso and closed his eyes. Beads of sweat formed on Abram's face as his hands started to glow a faint gold. The light spread downward and covered Leo's wounds. He started to sing again. The light seemed to fill the wounds up like if it was some sort of medical jelly. Slowly the wounds closed and his skin began to return to their original color.

"Whoa, your healing abilities are amazing." Jason said in awe.

"It's just a little field patchwork." He replied chocking back a sob. "I'll need m-more time to get him fully healed without ambrosia or nectar." Abram replied struggling to get the words out.

Jason heard a faint scuffling sound. He looked up and realized Abram's light didn't go unnoticed. The mrymekes had seen it and were on their way to investigate it. At least thirty more. "Yeah, we don't have time right now." Jason said. "More are on their way, we need to leave now!"

"Here, take my stuff. I can carry Leo back to camp." Abram said.

"Are you sure? It looks like that healing took a lot out of you, and the sun has already set."

"I'll be fine. I can handle it." Jason grabbed Abram's backpack and swung it over his shoulder. He then took his quiver and bow in his left hand. "Leo, you are going to be fine." Abram whispered to him as picked up Leo stood up to his feet. He was holding Leo bridal style. "Quick, before they get any closer!" They started running away from the clearing, but had trouble making their way through the forest. With the sun being fully set now, they had almost no light to give them vision. On more than one occasion, Abram had tripped over a log, or a rock and almost dropped Leo. He would fall to his knees then just get right back up and keep running. The moon was now fully in the sky, and the forest noise died down. Every so often they would hear howls of a wolf pack somewhere around them. Jason really hoped they wouldn't come face to face with one. Their team was nowhere near fighting condition. Leo was incapacitated, and both Abram and himself were exhausted from the running and using their powers earlier. Up ahead he saw a flickering light in the distance.

"There! Let's head over there." Jason ordered. They keep running and dodging trees that seemed to be popping up from the darkness. As they got closer to the light, Jason noticed it wasn't just one light, but multiple lights set up in a circle around something. The forest was coming to a familiar clearing. They finally made it back to their campsite. He discovered that the lights were actually several torches that bordered the lake. Something Leo must have set up before the ants attacked him. Abram rushed towards one of the torches and placed Leo on the floor.

"Jason, get some ambrosia for me and Leo." Abram said as sat on his knees next to Leo. Jason quickly put down everything he was carrying and searched for their emergency medical supplies. He pulled a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia from a red pack and rushed to Abram's side.

"Break off two pieces, one for me and one for him." Abram told him. "When I start healing him again wait for the right time to put one in my mouth." Jason nodded and broke off a piece of the healing food. Abram had positioned his hand to where they were hovering over Leo's torso like he did the last time. His hands started to glow gold as he sung a hymn to his father. The healing process went exactly as he preformed it earlier. He stopped singing and held his mouth open. Jason took this as the right time and quickly placed the piece of ambrosia in it. Abram chewed and swallowed it before he started healing Leo again. He held his stance for almost three times as long as he did before. The glow faded and Abram fell onto his back from exhaustion.

"Whoa, c'mon you can't seriously leave me the only one conscious tonight." Jason said now worried about Abram.

"I'll. . .be. . .fine." Abram huffed out.

Jason heard a faint noise coming from the forest. "They couldn't have followed us all the way here could they?" He asked in disbelief.

"Well . . . we did just take their food," Abram replied looking towards Leo.

Leo started to stir which grabbed Jason's attention. "C'mon buddy, wake up." Jason said as he slapped Leo's face lightly. Leo's eyes fluttered open and he slowly sat up with groan.

"Ugh, and I thought my Antics were bad, now give me a hand" Leo croaked as he struggled to get to his feet. The worry in Jason's face vanished before he slapped Leo harder across his face. "Ow bitch! I didn't mean it like that!"

"You'll live, here." Jason replied giving him the piece of ambrosia.

"Thanks." Leo muttered rubbing his face where Jason smacked him before popping the food in his mouth. For a brief second everything was back to being peaceful. They were all back together safe and sound, more or less.

"If things keep up like this, we're going to run out of ambrosia before we find the hydra." Abram said weakly still laying on his back on the floor.

"You're the one using most of it." Leo said getting up to his feet.

"Well everyone is depending on my healing abilities."

"You have been hurt more than the rest of us so far."

"Pfft, whatever." Abram said sitting up. "I think I want to sleep now."

"Dude, you look worse than I do." Leo said.

"There's no sun. Downside to being a child of Apollo, we're weaker at night."

"Well good thing we are here to pick up your slack. Right Jas?" Leo asked looking at him.

Jason didn't say anything, instead his eyes widened. The noise he heard definitely was growing louder. The mrymekes had followed them to their camp. "Guys, they're back." Jason warned.

"Quick, someone help me with this." Leo said running to the sheet of metal the ants wanted to take but dropped before taking Leo instead.

"I'll help him, Jason cover us if they get close!" Abram yelled with new found energy. Jason ran to where he thought the noise was coming from. He stopped just outside the range of the torchlight. He wanted to keep some breathing room between him and the incoming threat. From the forest emerged three mrymekes, which must have made up the scouting party. There were small compared to the others that Jason had killed, but when Jason's sword arm twitched they moved with such speed that whatever safe space Jason wanted to have between them was nowhere near enough. In seconds Jason has clashing with the first attacking ant. It snapped at his leg with its razor-sharp pincers, but hit nothing but air. "Way to close." Jason muttered trying to regain his balance. He jumped back as fast as he could and tried to deflect the flurry of oncoming attacks from the ant. "Guys, whatever you are doing hurry up!" He yelled to the others as he rolled to the side to dodge the second mrymeke lunging at him. Behind him, he could hear grunts from Abram and Jason struggling with something.

"Almost done bro!" He heard Leo yell at him. "Just keep them busy, you're doing a great jo- No Abram, that doesn't go there!"

Jason readied his weapon as the ant that first attacked him, came closer to him at an alarming speed. Jason swung his sword letting his ADHD take control over his body as it usually did in battle. He felt something resist against his blade, but only for a moment. He heard a thud of something hitting the floor before he realized he had gotten in a lucky shot that lobbed off the ant's head. He didn't have any time to miss a beat, the remaining two mrymekes charged after seeing what must have been their party leader killed. Jason planted his feet down, ready to slash one and jump over the other, but before he could even get the chance, the ant on his right-side got hit by a flying ball of flame. The ant screeched in pain before disintegrating into a pile of ash (who knew ants were flammable.). At the same time, a pillar of light shot from under the ant on his left. The light was blinding to say the least. Jason had put his left arm in front of his face to stop himself from going blind. He didn't see what happened to the ant, but he lowered his arm after the light was over and it was no longer standing where it used to be.

"Great now let me just finish . . .installing this door." Leo said slowly as he concentrated on his work.

"A door? You had me face those things alone for a door?" Jason questioned in disbelief as he walked back to the nearly complete cabin.

"A door?" Leo scoffed. "Not just any door, THE door. The door that is going to save and protect all our asses! Not only that, but it's going to be fully automatic. With sensors that will open it when you get near, and it will give that blast of cool air like all the stores do on a hot summer day. Oh and-"

"The point is," Abram interpreted him. "Leo said that the sheets of the celestial bronze are actually enchanted. When they form an enclosure of any kind, they set up a magical barrier to protect it."

"The cabin is finally going to be complete. Well, until we add all the other rooms." Leo added.

"I could've died fighting those three super fast bugs." Jason muttered

"You gave it your best shot." Leo shrugged as his hand burst into flames. He held the right sliding door open and welded its connection base in place with his white-hot flames. "And . . . done." He stepped back away from the house as the left side of the door shot closed and met with its right side. A force shot out from the walls of the cabin. It felt like built up air pressure rushing to be released. The flames on the torches started to sway as if someone had ran by them. The surface of the lake rippled away from the shore. The smell of the air, had a different scent. The newly formed barrier enhanced the smell of the water from the lake, it made the air feel lighter and less depressing, and it didn't feel as if someone was watching you from behind the trees anymore.

"Wow," Jason muttered. "It feels safer than before."

"That's because it is." Leo replied with a grin. "Just look over there." Leo pointed to where the three scout mrymekes had emerged from the forest. Now standing at the edge of the clearing were their reinforcements. A group of ten confused giant ants.

"Why are they just standing there?" Abram asked with his bow drawn with an arrow notched.

"The barrier bro," Leo said. "It prevents hostiles from seeing inside of it. It masks our presence as well."

"So, they don't know that our camp is here?" Jason asked.

"Nope, I'm pretty sure they're confused because our trail of scent ends right there." Leo answered and pointed to where the barrier line was. The giant ants were using their feelers, touching the ground , each other, and the barrier. Each time a feeler would hit the barrier it became visible. It looked like if someone was pushing down on shrink-wrap.

"Well, then." Abram said as he lowered his bow and put the arrow back into his quiver. "Now what do we do?"

"I guess just get ready for bed. Tomorrow we can go looking for any clues on the Hydra's whereabouts." Jason said. He was still staring at the mrymekes. Something made him uneasy about the barrier. He shrugged it off for now, but something told him it was too easy. It was only a matter of time until that barrier would break.

"Don't worry man," Leo said patting him on the shoulder. "It'll hold. It's a lot stronger then you think."

"How do you do that?" Jason asked turning towards Leo.

"Do what?" Leo replied with a really confused look.

"How do you know what I'm think most of the time."

"Oh, well because I know you bro. Now come check out what I built when you guys were gone." Leo lead them back towards the house. Jason was amazed Leo could build this in a day. Looking at it from the outside, it was only big enough for one room, but since it's the first night Jason thought it was more than enough. The whole cabin had a rustic look(like there was any other way he could have designed it.). The steps leading to the front door where cobblestone with wooden rails on both side. two torches were mounted on both sides of the door to light up the front porch with the help of the reflective surface of the celestial bronze. Leo must have used his powers and heated up the sand from the far side of the lake to make the windows. A cobble stone smokestack was located on the backside of the cabin. The outside looked finished, but Jason knew Leo had a lot more planned. They approached the front doors which slid open when they got near. The inside was a little bare compared to the outside, but Jason didn't really expect furniture to be made just yet. In the middle of the room, Leo had setup the extra blankets and pillows they brought on the floor. The blankets were thick enough that Jason didn't need to think twice about getting hurt before jumping on the makeshift bed. The pillows were set up so that their heads would be against the cobblestone fireplace ,which was already lit courtesy of Leo, when they slept. They placed their backpacks on the opposite side of the fireplace.

"Abram what are you doing?" Leo asked after doing a wolf whistle which made Jason turn around in time to see Abram standing in only a pair of green boxers.

"I don't know how you guys sleep, but I like my onesie." Abram replied. Jason could see his face was a deep shade of red as he walked by the bed to grab his pack.

"Nothing wrong with that." Jason said to try to put a lid on his embarrassment.

"Is it that comfortable?" Leo asked.

"It is." Abram snapped as he slipped his feet in the leg holes, pulled the top over his shoulders, and pulled up the zipper. The loud zipping echoed throughout one roomed cabin.

"Maybe . . . I should try them on." Leo said with a sly smile as he started creeping towards Abram.

"Over my dead body!" Abram barked. Jason couldn't help but laugh. Leo had almost died just moments ago, and Abram has passed out of exhaustion almost every hour since they first entered the forest as a group, but here they were acting like they were having a sleep over at one of their parents cabin in the mountains. "Besides, we've only been hanging out for one day and you already want to get me out of my clothes?"

"Uhh, no. Of course not." Leo muttered. He was good at hiding his embarrassment, that is until his hair caught fire. Leo started swatting his hair muttering curses under his breath. Abram and Jason couldn't help but to burst out laughing.

"And there is another reason why I wouldn't let you wear it." Abram managed t get out between laughs.

"Because I might burn it? Why are you so protective of it?" Leo questioned. His hair was smoldering and spots around his collar on his T-shirt were singed.

"Well, if you must know. My mom bought it for me before she. . . before I came here." Abram said. Jason could see his eyes becoming glossy.

"Shouldn't it be smaller then?" Leo asked him.

"Yeah it should be. It used to be three times as small as this, but you know, Aphrodite Cabin is full of people that know fashion and things like that. I asked some to enlarge it as I grew older."

"And why does it have cat hair on it?" Jason asked.

"Oh, it's from Gabriel."

"Who?" Leo asked.

"Gabriel the cat? The one that roams around camp?" Jason and Leo shared a look of confusion before turning back to Abram and shaking their heads. "Well, he has been here for as long as I can remember, and some say longer than one hundred years."

"Wait a minute!" Leo yelled. "How can a cat be that old?"

"They can't, but ever since I got to camp, I don't really question things anymore. In the life of a demigod, you see some things that would shake up a normal mortal."

"I guess you're right." Leo agreed.

"Alright guys, let's head off to sleep." Jason said as he laid back down. "We got some big days ahead of us. We need to save an entire camp in two months max."

"I say we do it in less time." Abram added as he took the spot in the middle of the bed. "That way Leo can have more time to work on The Argo II."

"Agreed." Leo said as he flopped down next to Abram.

"The time limit doesn't matter," Jason said. "but we need to be rested. We barely survived our first day. Not looking forward to what lies ahead."