Chapter 10: Abandoned
None of us could grasp what happened. One moment we were celebrating the other we were defending our lives. Worst of all four of us had given their lives to protect others. They would be allowed into Elysium for that, or at least I hoped so. Some days I was happy that it wasn't Hades who decided that. I didn't think he'd give everyone a fair trial. Of course the ones that did judge a person might not be fair either, but given they were some of the greatest leaders in history I trusted them more than Hades. The god of the Underworld helped me out a year ago but that didn't make me think differently. For a second I wondered if these Dracanae were sent by Hades but I doubted it. I mean what did he have to gain? I didn't think he had any reason to attack camp unless he was planning something bigger. But why? It had too many loops and too many questions, if that was the case it was better to forget about the line of thought and focus. There were a few wounded people but most were all right. The younger demigods in the big house were all safe and that was probably the most important thing, definitely for Luke. He always felt responsible for them.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him. He was not far from the big house having himself a moment of peace. He deserved it, ever since Jaeden and Nox killed the last Dracanae he hadn't stood still for a second. He had been helping the wounded and comforting the demigods mourning their friends. Luke and I had seen friends die and watched death in front of our eyes but even among demigods that was unique. Many of us died before reaching 18, and most of us died alone. Those that had seen a friend die, they were forever changed. Truth was the fact that we had gotten used to it was horrible but we had seen too much death to cry about it. All we could do now was avenge the fallen.
"Tired." Luke said. He didn't look at me for one second. He just stared straight ahead. With Luke that never meant much good. I figured it was because there was no way he was going to get married tomorrow. I knew Luke and I knew that he wasn't going to marry the day after something like this happened. And given Luke and Maria saw pretty eye to eye on these things I doubted she wanted to. Which meant they would have to change the date for the second time. The last time they were supposed to get married (which was about two months ago now) a group of demigods got slaughtered by a manticore not far out of camp. Luke killed the manticore himself but couldn't bare to marry that day. Instead the four young demigods were given their final rites. Now it seemed to be the same case.
"Why didn't you tell me what was happening around here Luke?" It was a question that I had to ask. It wasn't the first time this had happened and I wanted to know why I hadn't been told that camp was being attacked. If someone had told me I would have helped, I would have fought with them. But instead it was kept from me as if I was an outsider. Maybe in their eyes I was. I didn't stay at camp any more, not even in the summer. There were many demigods who didn't stay at camp the entire year but most came back for summer but I was never planning on doing that.
"You don't need to know everything Angel. It was never a big deal until now." Luke said. He tried to act as if these attacks weren't a danger before today but I knew he was lying. If these attacks were easy to defend against there wouldn't be such a organised defence plan and Luke wouldn't have taken the lead. I knew he didn't like doing that unless he needed to and in case of danger he had to. He was one of the most experienced demigods here and he was a pretty good strategist for a demigod who wasn't a child of Athena. I knew he outmanoeuvred the Athenians in capture the flag once or twice so he was pretty good.
"I could have helped! If I had known this might have been different." I said. I didn't know if that was true but I would have been more watchful. I would have looked out for trouble but now I figured we were perfectly safe inside our borders. The magical defence of camp hadn't failed us before so I didn't think for a second that it would have now but maybe if I had known...maybe I would have considered it. I didn't know what I would have done but I knew I wouldn't have let this happen. We would have found some way to prevent this. But instead he hid it from me even when I was right here.
"Do you really think you're such a difference maker? You did well last year Angel but you're not the only one capable of defending us!" Luke was so angry. I wondered where this was coming from. Whether he was just pissed and was taking it out on me or if he was actually angry at me. I didn't understand why he was angry at all. Usually in situations like this he stayed cool and helped everyone out but instead here he was yelling at me. I wasn't going to take that, not while he had no reason to do so.
"Well at least I could have tried! Where is this coming from anyway?" I yelled back at Luke without even thinking about what his problem was. We had our differences at times but I saw him as my brother but I wasn't going to let him use me as a punching bag for no reason. If he had a problem with me I wanted to know what it was. Maybe he had a valid reason for being pissed at me but I didn't see it.
"You think you're all that don't you? You think just cause you got lucky last time you're camp's best! That's bullshit Angel, you got lucky! I can't believe you lasted a year out there." Now he was just insulting me for no reason. He knew that we both went through hell to defeat Phthonos. The things we faced on the way were hard and nearly killed us but we got through it together. Now he was calling that luck? Yeah, we had some luck, a lot of it. But we survived because we were strong enough to. We pushed ourselves beyond our limits and got out of it alive. That's not all luck.
"How can you say that? We worked so hard to defeat Phthonos and now you're shoving it off as nothing but a stroke of luck? Fuck you Luke!" I was done with Luke. If he was going there just to piss me off, he had done what he wanted to do. I was very close to punching him in his face and I didn't want to do that. I turned around and walked away. Truth was I couldn't take any more. I didn't understand why Luke was treating me like this. We were friends, brothers by bond. Why was he acting like this?
"You know what Angel!" Luke yelled while I was half way to the omega of cabins. "I didn't tell you because we don't need you! We're better off without you here!" For a second I wanted to turn around and still give him that punch but I controlled myself. It was better if I just let him cool off and talk to him about this later. I still wanted to know why he was acting like this. I knew Luke could get very angry but he always had a reason to be. He wasn't someone that would randomly burst out in anger like he did now. Mostly I just wanted to know what I had done to piss him off so badly. I figured I'd have to wait for my answer.
I made my way towards the dark Erebus cabin. I wanted to be alone for a while. The fight with Luke had hit where it hurts. I couldn't believe some of the things he had said. Of course I had said some nasty things to him in the past but that was usually the murderous madman in my head, this was him and no other. My eyes went past the cabins slowly. I didn't know what I was looking for, maybe I was just looking around because it was more interesting than just staring ahead of me. I saw the same girl I saw during the fight, the wounded red head. I followed her with my eyes and saw her enter cabin one. Was she a child of Zeus? I knew there was a daughter of Zeus at camp but I didn't think it was her. I couldn't remember her name, something with an A. Grace told me her name a year ago but I didn't remember. For a second I wanted to see how she was but I was in a pretty bad mood and I figured she wouldn't want some son of Erebus checking up on her. Instead I continued walking towards my own cabin hoping for a good night sleep. Entering the dark cabin made my eyes hurt for a second. I could see in the dark just fine but my eyes always needed a minute to adjust. I had light in the cabin but I didn't need it. I was fine in the darkness. I threw myself on my bed and closed my eyes. I wanted to sleep, have a normal night for one time in my life. Of course, I wasn't allowed such a thing.
"Michael, this is no time to sleep." I recognized the voice even though I hadn't heard it in a while. Erebus, my father, had come for a quick visit. I hadn't talked to him since I defeated Phthonos. He appeared to me in the same cabin and congratulated me, albeit in his own emotionless way. I knew he had loved my mother, I saw it in his eyes when we saw her in the underworld. But when I saw him the way he was now he seemed incapable of showing any emotion, least of all love. I was pretty sure he didn't care about me. He had made it quite clear that I was just a weapon to him. I was happy enough that he wanted me to stop Phthonos instead of join him, although I doubt it would have made much of a difference to him.
"It's night isn't it? That's when most people sleep isn't it?" I said to Erebus. I knew I shouldn't be sarcastic around a god but I couldn't help it. I wasn't one to show a lot of respect even when it was smarter to do so. When dealing with gods showing them respect is highly recommended but I ignored that. I wanted Erebus to leave me alone and let me sleep. I doubted that wish would be granted though.
"Not for you." Erebus scolded. "There's events about to unfold that will change your life Michael, are you about to sleep through them?" I wondered what Erebus meant. No one ever spoke to me clearly. It was always riddles and mysteries. If something was up why didn't he just tell me? No, I had to discover everything myself. I truly thought that those riddles were going to kill me someday.
"Is that an option?" I asked. Again I showed no respect but hell, he set me up perfectly for that one. I figured Erebus wasn't going to appreciate my joke too much. He didn't seem like a comedy loving guy making it pretty clear to me that my sense of humour came from my mother's side.
"No!" He yelled out. He spoke louder but there was little anger in his voice again proving how emotionless he was. I was woken by the loudness of his voice though. I was fully awake which meant that I wasn't getting sleep any time soon. "You should learn to respect the gods Michael, you'll need them if you are to succeed."
"Succeed at what exactly?" I asked. I didn't think Erebus would answer, not with an actual answer anyway. I wondered if he had ever given a straight answer, I doubted it. Erebus could have been god of riddles as well as the god of darkness and shadows. I wondered if there was a god of riddles. I didn't want to meet him if there was. My dad was riddly enough I didn't need to make conversation with a god who couldn't do anything but talk in riddles.
"You're fate Michael. Phthonos was only the beginning as you know. There's more coming and the gods will need you as their champion but you will need them if you are to have the strength to face the challenges to come." What Erebus said made little to no sense. Hell, it made so little sense that by now eve Shakespeare would say that that's gibberish.
"You're really helping me here. I completely understand what you're saying." Again with the sarcasm. I wondered why I was acting like that. I used to have some respect for my father, even if he didn't deserve it in my book. But maybe now that I find out about the remainder of the Colt family I felt resentment towards him. After all if he hadn't hooked up with my mom her life would have been less tragic. I would have never been born but maybe that would have been for the better. After all most of what I had done in my life was better off not happening. If I hadn't been born my mom wouldn't have been shunned from the family and she would have been happier, at least I thought so. I would never know.
"It seems my words are wasted on you. I thought you were smarter than this, it seems I was mistaken and that last year was a fluke after all." When I heard him say that anger burst out of me. First Luke now my father. How could they all say it was a fluke or a stroke of luck? I fought so hard, how could they just write it off as a lucky break.
"It wasn't luck! I fought for that victory and I earned it! I don't care whether I'm a disappointment to you or the other gods, but don't you dare say that I fought with nothing but luck!" I had no respect for him that was true but what had he done worth respecting? I had given it all and came back alive. I didn't care whether people respected me for it, but I wasn't going to let them deny that I gave it all.
"If that's what you want to believe." On that Erebus disappeared. He wasn't going to let me yell at him some more. I thought it was weak. Of course there was little I could have done if he had stayed. He was a god after all. All I could have done was yelled at him and that would have only made me feel better.
"Screw you!" I hoped he heard, in some way. I was sick of it all. I dropped myself back on the bed and closed my eyes. For a second I considered leaving again. I obviously wasn't wanted here, not by the current big shot Luke anyway. But I wasn't going to run away again. That's probably what he expected me to do and I wasn't going to let him predict me. If he thought I was leaving without a trace again, he was wrong.
We should have had a wedding that day. A celebration for everyone, a reason to forget those we had lost and move on. Instead we had another funeral. I didn't know any of the demigods that had died but at camp that didn't matter. We were like a family (when you think about it we were family but we tried not to think about that) and when one of us died we all mourned. I knew that Luke must have had a horrible day. His wedding day was ruined, he blamed himself for the deaths of the demigods and that girl Nox being at camp seemed to bother him a lot. I wondered what their history was. I wasn't going to ask him. I was still pissed at him and I figured he was still pissed at me. I myself didn't go to the amphitheatre to say goodbye to the fallen. I didn't know them and I figured the place would be stacked so I figured I'd stay in my cabin and let someone else have a seat. Of course that logic made no sense. After all the amphitheatre at camp was never out of seats. I didn't know if it actually grew or if I only noticed how many seats there were when the entire camp was sitting there and there were still seats left. Neither would surprise me.
"I thought you'd be at the amphitheatre." Max said. I hadn't heard him come in, he was pretty quiet even when he didn't want to be. His footsteps were light and made no noise making it hard to hear him coming. I wondered what he was doing here. We were friends but Max wasn't the kind of guy for a simple 'hey what's up?' visit. If he walked into my cabin he was there for a reason.
"What's up?" I asked him simply. I didn't really feel like talking. Max heard that in my voice. I sounded spiteful but it wasn't him that I was angry with. But he was there so the anger was directed at him whether he deserved it or not. Max didn't seem to care though. He was here for a reason and nothing else, which was also why he didn't answer my question.
"You don't understand why he's angry do you?" I didn't have to answer. It was a rhetorical question to me. Luke just randomly turned against me of course I didn't understand why he did that. I didn't shake my hand nor did I say anything, it wasn't needed. "He feels like you abandoned us after you left last year."
"How does that make sense? He knew why I left and he said he understood." I didn't understand why Luke saw me leaving as abandoning them. I was one Iris message away. It wasn't a weird thing that I left was it? But for some reason it was to Luke.
"Do you really not understand or don't you want to understand?" Max seemed to be pissed too. I wondered why everyone expected so much of me all of the sudden. "You became a hero after last year, to all of us. I know we did it together officially but you were the one that pushed us forward. Even after I left you still kept going. Even when you had to go on alone you kept going. You freed me, you took an arrow for Luke." I wondered where this was coming from. Maximus was usually more down brining than praising but not this time. "You're everyone's hero and people count on you, us included. But you left us behind. That's why he's angry." I still didn't get it completely but it was easier to understand now. What Max said made sense but I didn't get why Luke would count on me at all. Given my split personality and severe other mental problems I wasn't a very reliable person.
"Then you're all wrong. I'm not a hero, I just did what had to be done to stop Phthonos." I said. I was constantly contradicting myself. When someone said I got lucky against Phthonos I'd say I fought hard to defeat him and when someone called me a hero I'd say it was luck. I had to make up my mind. Was I a hero or had last year been a fluke? For me both were hard to admit so I tried to find some kind of road in between but that wasn't working out too well. "Luke should start relying on himself instead of me. I've done what I had to do." I said to Maximus. He seemed disappointed at my answer. As if he expected more from me.
"That's settled then." Maximus said. He turned around and made his way towards the door of the cabin. He had finished what he came for and now he was leaving. But I couldn't let him walk out yet, I had one more thing to ask.
"Max, when I got here when Grace died. You weren't at camp were you?" He shook his head. I thought he hadn't been. If he had he would have greeted me when I arrived but he wasn't there at all. "So where were you?" It was the obviously follow up question. But it was the more important question as this would (hopefully) provide some insight on what Maximus had been doing this past year. I had little contact with Luke but I had almost no contact with Max. I had no idea what he was doing these days. And he wasn't going to tell me.
"I've been looking into something from my past, I found a lead and went to investigate." On that he left. Obviously he didn't want to tell me about this lead of his, nor what he was looking into. I wondered what it was. I knew Max had lost big parts of his life thanks to Phthonos. He erased whole days and weeks of his memory if not more. I remembered what it was like to have amnesia. It was a horrible thing. Unlike me Max still had most of his memories but had huge gaps. Phthonos had destroyed his memories and Max was determined to rediscover his past. I just wondered what he was currently rediscovering and if it was dangerous. If he was facing any danger I wanted to help him out. I wanted to help any way I could. If we could recover only a bit of his past it would be worth it.
Luke was alone in the woods just outside of the magical borders of camp. Part of him wondered if he should be with Maria right now. After all they were supposed to get married today. On the other hand he figured she'd understand that he needed to be alone for a while. It had been a tough night and day for the both of them. Luke didn't sleep a wink after the fight and on what was supposed to be his wedding day he buried five demigods. He was still trying to figure out how it happened. How could so many Dracanae have entered the borders? There were a few explanations but some were more unthinkable than others. The most logical one was that someone let them in meaning there was a traitor among them. Luke's mind went to Colt but that wasn't as Luke had been keeping an eye out for any weird behaviour but there was no sign of Colt. Then there was Nox. She was crazy enough to do it, he knew that from experience, but she saved them together with Jaeden. Luke didn't trust either of them. Their timing was too perfect. Of course he couldn't prove anything. He just wanted to make sure that he wouldn't need them any more. He didn't want to be near Nox and the sooner she left camp again the better and he wouldn't mind Jaeden leaving with her. That's why he had to do this, no matter what the cost. No one knew he was here and it was better that way. They would only try to stop him.
"So you showed up." A man said with a heavy voice. Luke turned around and saw a man standing right in front of him. He was buffed up and strong looking. He wore a black leather jacket with three steel spikes on his right shoulder, black leather pants and thick gloves with spikes on the knuckles. His eyes were covered by black sun glasses and his hair was cut like a soldier's. Luke knew who this man was, he had requested an audience with him after all. Luke looked at his sun glasses seeing the red glow come off them. Luke couldn't see the flames that burned in the man's eye sockets but he knew they were there. He had done his homework on this god. "So son of Hephaestus, you ready to make a deal?"