Maggie awoke to the sound of birds chirping. Opening her eyes, she stared up at a blue sky with small fluffy clouds here and there. Four birds fluttered above and disappeared behind tall pine trees.
She gingerly sat up and rubbed her temple, a deer skin sliding off as she rose. Where was she, and where was Kateo and Jet. Then she spotted Jet asleep at Kateo's side as he sewed something that looked a lot like a jacket with shiny black rocks for buttons. He looked up from his work and a friendly smile appeared on his handsome face. "You're finally awake. How do you feel", He asked, finishing his last stitch and cutting it off with his teeth. "I feel exhausted", Maggie said hoarsely. For any other person she would say, "Oh I'm fine. Just great", but she found it hard to lie to Kateo. Maybe it was his smile, his loyalty, or his aura, but it worked.
Kateo reached over and handed maggie a carved bowl with water in it. "Drink this. Don't worry, it's fresh". Maggie took the bowl and drank it all thirstily. It tasted even better than the purified water you would buy at stores. It was cool and lively and clean with a hint of vegetation. "Whe-where are we"? She asked, slowly getting her strength back. "I have no idea at the second, people keep telling me different names and places, but this is the one I see most". Kateo handed Maggie a brochure to a state park with tall, snowy mountains and a wide range of pine trees. Opening it up she saw people hiking, a bird on a branch, a fast stream, and a little waterfall coming out of the side of a cliff and down into a rocky pool with a little kid poking around with a stick. The history of the park was printed on the left and the right introduced what activities were available and rules. On the bottom, Maggie spotted an address. She tried to read the entire thing, but her dyslexia was mixing the words up. The only word she could make out was Washington. Did they just shadow travel from Alaska, over Canada, and land right in Washington state?
"Kateo? How long was I asleep", Maggie asked. Kateo looked at the sky and squinted at the sun. "Lets see. You slept through four moons and three and a half suns". Maggie made a mental note. Kateo time, not very accurate. She tried to think it over which gave her a headache, but she got three days and twelve hours. "You guys stayed in the same place for three days"? Maggie asked in shock. "No. Hunters began finding us so we had to move around a lot. We were running all night from this guy with six dogs. Not only that, but I ran into a few monsters. They are dust now".
"I'm sorry I have to put you through all of this. I know you come from some place that seemes peaceful and nonthreatening and I am dragging you through a world that is so different than the one that you came from". Kateo gave her a smile, "Sorry? Why are you apologizing? If you weren't here, I wouldn't know of the monsters and I would go crazy trying to figure it all out myself. Either that or Jet would become someone's prize and I will have to survive on my own or end up wherever humans put lone demigods". Maggie unfortunately knew the answer to that. She didn't want to imagine Kateo in a foster home, working his hands to the bone, sitting in sadness with other children, being bullied at school for his past and who he was raised by.
Kateo looked sad for some reason, staring off in the distance and furrowing his eyebrows that reminded Maggie of Annabeth, her teacher's wife. Maggie was shy around her, but she was able to speak to her once or twice. Kateo had her exact expression whenever she was remembering a sad memory. "Is there something wrong"?
"Hm", Kateo snapped out of his daydream and looked at her blankly. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't listening". "I just asked if you were alright. You sometimes drift off and make this sad face as you do. I just wanted to know if you are alright". His face became sad, but his mind didn't wander off. "There is something I haven't been telling you. The truth is, I am supposed to be dead… or not supposed to be… I don't know. The forest spirit is confusing in the way he works". Maggie tried not to look shocked, she seemed to be doing a good job because he looked at her in surprise. "You aren't freaked out"? "No. I know a lot of people who have come back from the dead. There was Hazel Levesque, a son of Ares, and some evil people from a long time ago when Gaea tried to awaken and destroy everyone. So what happened? If you don't want to tell me I am cool with that, but I'm a little curious".
Kateo turned his head toward the sky and closed his eyes as if to call in his deepest thoughts. "According to Moro, the wolf who raised me and Jet, I was brought in the forest as a baby, a test for a woman named Velen. She passed and was able to live in the village with the other passing humans. The forest spirit brought me back, but Moro said that I wasn't dead long. There was still fresh blood from the knife that killed me".
Maggie went over the last part. A knife that killed him? How could that be? The curse from the titan had been so devastating to babies and pregnant women everywhere, any baby that survived birth was a miracle. After the curse was taken away, there was never any murders of small children in any parts of the world. That went for three years until a man went crazy and destroyed an entire family, but that was with a gun. Also, Kateo seemed the same age as Maggie so he couldn't have been killed after the curse was lifted, but before… A crazy idea struck Maggie's brain. Her ears turned off
"Maggie, MAGGIE", Kateo said in front of her and violently shook her back to the present. She blinked and looked up at Kateo in shock. Maggie began remembering Percy's stories and she vaguely remembered a name. Then she remembered what Artemis said, "Something with a K". Suddenly she began noting his features. Black hair, green eyes, power over water, smart mind, athletic looking… she wouldn't be surprised if he began reciting types of support beams that will be good for earthquakes.
"Do you remember anything about before coming back"? Maggie squeaked, still trying to recover her shock. Kateo looked to the sky, but the silence was longer this time. "Only fuzzy memories. They are never very clear", he said at last, opening his eyes and fixing them on a chunk of rock dappled with pink. "Do you remember a tall man with a shadow of a beard, green eyes, black hair, and an orange T-shirt"? Kateo's attention turned to Maggie, his sea green eyes wide in fear and surprise, the look you get when someone thinks you can read minds. Answer, yes. Survey, question one, complete. "Don't worry, I just guessed. When is your birthday"?
Kateo first told her that he didn't care when he was born, but gave her a date that someone once gave him. Survey, question two, complete.
"You passed", Maggie said, getting a confused look from Kateo, "Welcome back, Kateo Jackson".
FINALLY! It will be getting real interesting, but I will add a few things that might show up in the future like a Google Library (actual building), some new locks, and a few other things that might be better for us. Anyway, I hope you all are having a wonderful summer and your nights full of wonderful dreams.