I sat huddled in a corner. I couldn't tell where I was. It was pitch dark, with no light, but somehow I could still see myself. I pulled my knees up to my chest, my teeth clattering. It was so cold, I wondered if I would ever be warm again. I breathed a forced gasp, and I could see my breath. The suppressing darkness felt as if it were pressing on my chest with the weight of an elephant. It made it hard to breathe, and I struggled to keep my lungs working.
Suddenly I heard a harsh woman's voice breach the darkness. "Soon," said the voice.
"What?" I croaked.
"Soon," it chanted again. "Soon we will have you in our clutches. Soon we will have our revenge".
"Revenge?" I rasped. "What did I do to you?"
The voice chuckled. "Poor little hero. Your mother would be so proud of your efforts. Too bad you won't live to see her again".
"What are you talking about?"
The voice laughed. "Stupid little hero. So ignorant. We'll be happy when you're finally gone".
"I don't understand. What did I do?"
"Well it's not so much what you did as who you are".
"What?"
"Hmmm….well, I've had my fun. It's time for you to wake up now". Suddenly I heard a horrible banshee-like scream. I covered my ears, but that did nothing to help. The darkness intensified, as if it couldn't get worse. I gasped, but couldn't breathe. My lungs burned.
My eyes shot open, I gasped harshly, and I sat bolt upright. I sat gasping a little while, my eyes darting around. Then my breathing slowed. Just a dream.
It was night on the train car, the full moon flooding a beam of silvery light down through the train. All was calm and quiet, quite contrary to my dream.
"You ok Chica?" said a voice. I turned and saw Leo awake, sitting with his arms crossed in the seat behind me.
"You're awake," I said.
"I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "I volunteered to take first watch".
"But we're the only ones on this train," I said. "At least I'm pretty sure we are".
Leo shrugged. "Can't be too careful".
I was silent for a few moments. Then I asked something that had been nagging at the back of my mind. "Leo? What did you do?"
"What?"
"At the train station," I said. "You were fighting the Amphisbaena, and then you…you…"
"Oh," Leo looked down at his lap. His fingers fiddled with a screw and a washer, as if even they wanted to do anything but indulge in this conversation now. "Look Jo, I was going to tell you—"
"You summoned fire with your hand," I said. "How did you do that? And why didn't you tell me before?"
Leo bit his lip, but didn't look me in the eye. "When I was born, I was given a gift from Hephaestus. A gift that hadn't been given in three hundred and fifty years".
"Hephaestus is the god of blacksmiths," I said, "but he's also the god of fire. Is that the gift he gave you?"
Leo nodded. "I didn't tell you before because…well…I thought you might think I was a freak or something".
I looked at the guy in disbelief. I looked in his eyes and saw, behind the guise of smiles and humor, years of twisted rage, unfathomable heartbreak, unforgettable death. And what was scary was I looked at him, and I saw myself. I blinked back the thoughts though and said, "Leo, what you did was…crazy, and I was a little shocked".
Leo finally looked me in the eye.
I managed a dry half-smile. "I was born with the ability to change someone's fortune for the worse with just my presence. Bad Luck has shadowed over me and affected my life in ways that I didn't even understand until a few days ago. Heck, I was born on Friday the thirteenth. Several people agree that I'm too dangerous to merely be at camp for fear of total destruction. If anyone's the freak, it's me".
Leo smiled that impish grin that made me jealous, and laughed.
"Besides," I said, grinning "I'm your friend. Just because you're not like everybody else, doesn't mean I won't still be your friend".
Leo stopped laughing and sighed. He looked out the window, as if wondering what lie ahead of us on our quest. I looked up at the big silvery moon, and if I had been able to look at my face at that moment, I would have noticed that my eyes looked very much like it. Big, silver, full of wonder and hope.
I heard Leo stifle a vengeful yawn, and I offered to take second watch. He lay down on the seat and nodded off without much complaint. I continued to look at the moon. There was only one difference between my eyes and the moon. The moon was full of mystery and innocence. Since my coming to Camp Half-Blood, I had seen so much, and I knew the dangers.