THE ANALYST
A man stood by the window of his office. He was in his late forties or early fifties. He stood tall and confident dressed smartly to impress. The office was like any other, with everything made of brown wood, a painting of Van Gogh in the wall. At the desk, an old hourglass with some papers and a pen were at the ready, at the disposal of the man. The patient waited patiently, the analyst barely aware of his presence.
"Before we begin there are a few things I need to make sure you understand. You see no one can change what happened last year" The analyst approached the patient and sat down in his seat, coffee in hand "The past is beyond our control. You have to accept this in order to move forward" He smiled without any taste or emotion.
"What I firmly believe you focus on is the present, and the decisions you make that affect others. You see, the decisions you make affects not only you but others. Your family, your close friends. I'm here to make sure that when these things get a bit scary... maybe even terrifying, that you will always find a way to work through it, no matter how upsetting thing may get" He smiled again with no taste, scanning the patient and trying to read his emotions "And of course that you won't let the pain of your past affect your present decisions, therefore affecting your future" He inspected the patient with interest and a hint of distrust, as if he wasn't fully sure that after the session, his patient was not going to make the correct decisions. He nervously moved in his chair to find a comfortable position. When he did so, he resumed speaking.
"We will begin with a simple exercise" The analyst pointed to a piece of paper and grabbed it to give to the patient, meanwhile readying his notebook to write something "I want you to pick up this card and look at the picture on the other side and tell me what you feel about it. It is essential that you answer honestly to get the most out of this exercise" The analyst gave the card to the patient and pointed at it. He let his unearthly analyzing smile show up once again, and made gestures to encourage the patient to flip the card. The patient did so. On the other side was a picture of a farm with a big wheat field, the barn visible on the background. What stood out the most was a scarecrow dressed in dark clothing with a hat that made its head look down. The crow made the place look hostile and unwelcoming. The analyst picked up on the patient's discomfort. He grabbed his pen and uncapped it.
"So... how did that picture make you feel? May I remind you to please be honest with your answer" The analyst looked expectantly at the patient. The patient chose that it made them feel uneasy.
"Okay... honesty is good, but could you please identify for me what exactly made you feel uneasy" The analyst raised an eyebrow, as if he already knew the answer. The patient chose the scarecrow.
"I see..." The analyst wrote down notes on his notebook "Let's say the scarecrow were not there. Would you be comfortable staying there on your own for let's say, a fortnight?" The analyst took interest on this question, as if wanting a specific answer. The patient said no.
"And why would that be?" Asked the analyst, even more intrigued. The patient chose they'd be lonely.
"Ahhh... the root of the problem." The analyst stopped writing. He looked at the patient smiling with one eyebrow raised "There is a fine line between the peace and quite of being alone and the solitude of isolation. I'm afraid we're out of time. We will explore these feelings further in our next session. Until then" The analyst stood up and went back to admiring the view of his window.
"one year ago on this very same night, Thalia Grace disappeared into the woods and was never seen again. Police are still searching for her but there is little hope that they find her. We have the sheriff here to answer some doubts and questions we have. So is it true that you're close to declaring Thalia dead?"
"Well that's tough. Everyone wants to keep on looking for her but we don't have the resources to carry on with this searching. Investigations haven't completely shut down yet but yes, we are close to declaring her dead. My men have searched the mountains top to bottom and they haven't found anything, not even a sign of life unfortunately"
"There is the old Sanatorium. Could miss Grace be hiding there?"
"My officers did search the grounds, but the girls themselves couldn't have made it that far"
"Something about that mountain just breeds tragic events"
"More than you know Marty, more than you know"
"Now moving on we have Thalia's boyfriend at the time and one of Thalia's close friends to send a message to their friends"
"Hey. My name's Luke. And this is Piper"
"Hey guys. Sending a message to our friends whom I invited to the mountain, the same one where Thalia disappeared. I know it will be a bit strange, but I think this is key for us to move on."
"Piper and I would like to say a few words regarding Thalia. The truth is... the past is in the past. Nothing you do now will change it. And you can't let the past define your future. I know it would mean so much to Thalia if we all gathered together in her name and remembered her together. So let's party like we're fucking rock stars!"
ACADEMIC ANNABETH INTUITIVE
DETERMINED
HAS A CRUSH ON PERCY
Character traits
Honest 5/10
Charitable 4/10
Funny 3/10
Brave 7/10
Romantic 1/10
Curious 6/10
Character relationships
Percy 7/10
Jason 3/10
Piper 6/10
Leo 3/10
Frank 3/10
Hazel 2/10
Luke 6/10
10 hours until dawn
No feeling like home, they say. But I'm pretty sure neither Piper or any of my friends feel like home in this damn mountain. We just couldn't leave the matter alone. Nooo, we had to come back to this cursed mountain to celebrate Thalia's death... disappearance I mean. And yet I find myself arriving late to the mountain. I was usually a very early person, but I wasn't too encouraged or motivated to arrive early to this mountain. Probably even Percy could have arrived before me. And that guy is very late to everything. I got off the bus and looked up to the huge trees. I wasn't quite there yet. I still needed to use the ski lift to reach the mountain. The 'McLean' mountain as it should be called. But Piper just gets embarrassed when we call it that, since Tristan McLean is her father. Piper isn't the type to boast about her famous dad. I followed the trail up to the ski lift and heard a noise, like a twig snapping. I turned around and raised an eyebrow.
"Hello?" No response "Is anyone there?" I guess you could say I was a bit paranoid of stupid pranks since... Thalia. Leo put a hold on all of his pranks as well. Hope he's doing okay. He became a bit moody at first but lately he regained his sense of humor. He still doesn't do pranks though. I'm glad he got his humor back. Believe it or not, Leo could really cheer us up with those stupid jokes of his. While I was distracted, something flashed to my left. I turned around to face... a squirrel. I wasn't normally a very animal person but this squirrel was pretty cute, searching for nuts. I crouched down to feed her some from my bag. I had all kinds of snacks on my bag for some reason, and I knew no one would miss a few nuts. The squirrel took my nuts and ran as if it stole them from me. I stood up again and continued my path. I felt uneasy and paranoid. It was so easy for anyone to just stalk me behind those trees... okay maybe I was very paranoid. We weren't being followed by anyone. I stopped at a sign about some tribes. I read it aloud to make it easier for myself and my dyslexia.
"Indigenous people and butterfly prophecies. Tribes who once lived in these mountains believed that butterflies carried dreams and prophecies of possible futures. The color of the butterfly indicated the nature of the prophecies" Huh. That was pretty cool. It was, black for death, red for danger, brown for loss, yellow for guidance and white for fortune. I noticed the absence of green in there. Green was kinda my favorite color. Green like the grass, like Percy's eyes, like the trees and just nature in general. The Percy thing was just an example. Green was a pretty positive color, it represented life and nature. I guess that's why it wasn't there. I had a feeling you didn't want to encounter black, red or brown butterflies. I noticed something on the ground.
Totem found
*Shows Percy hurriedly going inside an old lodge and hiding inside*
Guidance Totem
This totem thing was pretty cool. The trail got wider with the trees more far apart from me. The gate was visible now. I approached it. Piper said that I should just press a button and that it should open. I pushed the button tons of times, with the buzzing sound appearing every time I clicked it. I noticed a paper in the gates. It read: Door is broken, climb over - Jason. So climbing over it was. At both sides of the black metal gates were walls made of stones. I noticed the structural fails it had. Some rocks were a bit loosened and looked like they could easily fall if you put your hand on it. I positioned my hands and feet and started climbing. I touched the top of the wall and with a jump my right foot reached the top. I pulled with all my might and crossed the line. I jumped and landed softly in the snow. I continued down the path. The trail opened up to reveal the station the ski lift was on. On the bench outside, I noticed a familiar bag. Jason's bag. Apparently he thought it was a good idea to use the same bag he used for school. His phone, visible from the outside pocket kept buzzing.
"Hey there Annabeth"
COMPASSIONATE JASON CONSIDERATE
CALM
Character traits
Honest 6/10
Charitable 6/10
Funny 3/10
Brave 4/10
Romantic 5/10
Curious 1/10
Character relationships
Piper 7/10
Leo 6/10
Frank 4/10
Percy 3/10
Hazel 3/10
Annabeth 3/10
Luke 2/10
I was glad to see a familiar face for once.
"Hey Jason" I said. Jason sat down in the bench for some reason so I did too.
"So how've you been" Said Jason a bit awkwardly.
"Good, good" I responded because well, would you say you were doing bad. The only answer to that question is good. I wanted to know his opinion on coming back to this mountain. I was about to ask when Jason beat me to it.
"So... how did you do in the biology test?" He asked with a smile. I looked stunned at him.
"Really? We're back in the mountain Thalia disappeared and probably died in to party and you want to know about my biology test?" I asked. I guess I was a bit too much because Jason looked embarrassed.
"I dunno, just thought I would try to make conversation" He said. He was not good at small talk at all. Another thing that had become clear to me was that we didn't usually interact alone. I don't know, it's easier to talk to some people when you're with their mutual friend. I'm not saying Jason's not my friend, but still.
"You know what? I prefer to have this conversation inside the ski lift. Can we go inside now?" I asked, but the way Jason stared at me told me that he couldn't open the door or something.
"Well-"
"Do you not have the key or something?" I asked. I was being impatient, but I honestly wanted this weird conversation with Jason over.
"No. It's frozen shut" He said. And well, I knew it was freezing but not that freezing.
"Really? I'll go check" I said while standing up. Jason followed me. I went round the station and stopped a brief moment to look at a missing person sign.
Clue found
It said, Chiron Brunner, have you seen this man? The picture was completely torn apart. Someone really didn't want anyone to see this. I continued until I got to the door. As soon as I touched it, even with my gloves, I knew it was freezing cold. I tried to force the handle. No luck. I quickly Gad an idea, born by the sight of the window. I grabbed a pretty heavy rock. Jason realized what I was doing.
"Hey. I don't think we should be doing that. Piper's dad might get angry" He said in a goody-two-shoes tone. I stared at him.
"You have any other better idea? I'm all ears. Besides, It's Piper's dad's fault that the door freezes. No matter how cold it is, it shouldn't get stuck. And also this building is in terrible shape" I finished. I could have probably changed my mind but I decided that there was no other choice.
Butterflies
With a crash, the windows gave out to the rock. I was ready to go inside when my support hand got cut by the glass remaining on the window. I was bleeding quite a bit now. I cursed myself. I should have cleared out all glasses before putting my hand in there. Jason noticed it.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked.
"It's fine, just be careful with the glass"
"That's one thing they don't teach you in movies" And well, he was completely right. I stepped inside, closely followed by Jason. It wasn't much better inside than outside in terms of temperature but at the same time, I was glad to be inside. The walls were pretty weak and insecure. This place was a safety hazard. This walls could give out pretty easily, and let's not talk about the window I just broke. I looked at Jason, and realized I had a question I wanted to ask him. Now that we were alone, I'm pretty sure it's the best time to ask him.
"So Jason. I see you have a ton of messages from that phone of yours" I said. I had a question but I knew it could be too personal to Jason. Maybe if I pressed on...
"Yep" Jason said awkwardly. He didn't look me in the eyes when he said this.
"Does it have something to do with Piper?" I asked. Jason turned red.
"No. I mean maybe. I don't know I didn't check" Jason said nervously. I was touching a sensitive matter here. I decided not to press on.
Butterflies
"Okay just saying. Doesn't matter" Jason looked relieved. The ski lift finally reached us.
"Okay ma'am, you may enter the ski lift" Jason said in a very weird French accent.
"Sure monsieur" I sat down, Jason sitting down in the opposite side.
"You know, I studied this thing called the butterfly effect in school. It's really cool" Jason said, inviting me to ask about it.
"Okay. I'll bite. What's it about?" I asked. Jason's eyes lit up.
"So it's this thing where every decision you make has consequences for the future. A small butterfly batting its wings can result in a hurricane in another region or something like that. Sometimes small decisions or events even can cause huge consequences" Jason explained.
"Go on" I was intrigued by it now. Jason continued.
"It applies to all of us. For example, you know how Leo and I met? Well it was in the first grade. So Nico I think lent a pencil to this kid, I don't even remember who but he sat down behind me and he started flicking my ear and stuff" Jason explained.
"And?" I asked. Jason looked glad I was following the story.
"Back then I had quite the temper, I was just a little kid so I kinda slapped the kid behind me. Not in the face, just in his hand you know? He dropped the pencil and started crying, so the teacher put me in detention" Jason finished. I waited for more.
"So?" I asked.
"Leo had a detention the same day! And that's how we met! Think about it, if Nico had never given that kid the pencil then the kid would never have bugged me with it, resulting in me and Leo probably not being friends to this day"
"So you're saying you owe it to Nico that you two are friends" It wasn't like Nico was the type to create friendships, nor the type of guy to have them.
"What I'm saying is that it's amazing how one decision can change your future. I find it interesting" Jason finished. Honestly I found it interesting too but not something I was particularly interested in.
CARING LUKE STUBBORN
IMPULSIVE
Character traits
Honest 2/10
Charitable 4/10
Funny 3/10
Brave 2/10
Romantic 4/10
Curious 5/10
Character relationships
Annabeth 6/10
Jason 2/10
Percy 2/10
Leo 3/10
Piper 3/10
Hazel 3/10
Frank 3/10
"Come on Leo. You need some help with that tough man?" I said in a teasing tone.
FUNNY LEO WITTY
CREATIVE
Character traits
Honest 2/10
Charitable 3/10
Funny 7/10
Brave 3/10
Romantic 2/10
Curious 3/10
Character relationships
Jason 6/10
Annabeth 3/10
Luke 3/10
Percy 2/10
Piper 5/10
Hazel 4/10
Frank 2/10
"No I'm fine really" He said as he tried to carry his probably heavy bag.
"Suit yourself" I said. I didn't know why his bag was so heavy. We were just staying for a few nights. I looked at the snow, the trees, everything. Piper had let me stay a few days before everyone arrived. I had prepared this night, and everything pointed to the night going according to plan, just like I wanted to. I crouched down to grab something in the ground.
Totem found
*Shows Jason pointing a gun at someone, and then frustratingly deciding not to shoot*
Fortune Totem
I continued down the path, Leo following me.
"Please tell me we're close to the cabin" Leo said sweetly I looked back at him.
"Yeah it should be near here, unless I read the ma-" I was interrupted when I bumped into someone. This someone was Frank.
SUPPORTIVE FRANK FRIENDLY
RELIABLE
HAS A CRUSH ON HAZEL
Character traits
Honest 3/10
Charitable 4/10
Funny 3/10
Brave 5/10
Romantic 2/10
Curious 3/10
Character relationships
Hazel 7/10
Leo 2/10
Luke 3/10
Jason 4/10
Annabeth 3/10
Percy 5/10
Piper 2/10
Leo
21:21
"Hey big guy" I said. He didn't take it so well. He never really liked me anyway.
"Hey Leo" He said sourly "Hey Luke. Quick question have you seen the others?" He asked.
"You mean Hazel" I raised an eyebrow. Frank's face became red.
"No. Just in general. The others, you know. Our friends" He said still maintaining that red color on his face.
"Sure buddy" I admit I loved teasing Frank. It was just so easy sometimes "Hazel and Percy should have arrived already with Percy being the first! Can you believe it? Anyway the two of us just arrived while Luke and Piper were already here. Jason and Annabeth are coming. Yep that's about it" I finished. Frank looked at me with skepticism.
"How do you know all that?"
"It's called having a phone Frank. Where we text each other and call each other and stuff" I explained "Don't you have one?"
"Yeah but I'm not in the group. No one added me" He said in that fluffy bear tone of his.
"Luke who's the admin?" I asked. Luke pulled out his phone.
"Me but I'm afraid I didn't get your number Frank. Besides I have no connection right now, so I can't add you" Said Luke with his phone out, waving it around as if Frank was blind or something and couldn't see it.
"You know what? Doesn't matter. Let's just like, go to the cabin. Please tell me there's at least a phone charger there" Frank continued down the path without waiting for us. Luke grabbed my shoulder.
"I'll leave you two alone, I need to go find Piper and help Annabeth and Jason. I'll trust you won't kill each other?" Luke asked with a hidden smile and an eyebrow raised.
"Pfff. Sure. Piece of cake. But please come back soon" I didn't like my chances with Frank because he was big and strong and way taller than me and... well basically he can knock me out in one punch.
"Okay I'll get going. See you in the cabin" Luke said. He turned around to leave. I waved my hand to him.
"See ya" I turned around to catch up with Frank. One thing I didn't want was to be stuck alone in this mountain. I continued down the trail but I still didn't find Frank. The trail was getting narrower. A fallen tree was in the way. Guess I'd have to go over that. The bark of the tree was wide and pretty big but could be easily climbed. I grabbed onto the branches and pushed myself up to the top. I felt like a figure was watching me. And still no sign of Frank. I jumped down. In the way, I must have rested my hand on the bark because I got a splintered.
"Ouch" I said. I faced the tree bark and examined the wound. Nothing serious. I pulled out the splinter and blood spilled onto the snow. In a moment of distraction, I got grabbed from behind and shaken. And I kind of screamed. I turned around to see Frank laughing at my face.
"Oh man. Wow, I really scared you didn't I. I thought, what if this doesn't go well but it did!" Frank was absolutely hysterical, wheezing for air.
"Fine. Hahaha. You win. Very funny" I said sarcastically. Frank looked up to me.
"Come on. Even you gotta admit I got you pretty good. That was pretty funny" Frank said in a more normal tone. He was more calm now, but in his eyes there was still a feeling of amusement. I was kinda annoyed, but on the other hand, I had to admit, he got me pretty good.
"Yup. It was pretty funny" I said with a grin on my face. Frank looked skeptical.
"Really?" He asked.
"We may make a prankmaster out of you yet" I said.
"Nice! Anyway we should really get to the cabin. Where did Luke go? I was hoping to scare him too"
"He uh, went with Piper to, you know. Greet Jason and Annabeth. He said to meet them at the cabin"
"Okay then. Let's go"
EMOTIONAL PIPER HEADSTRONG
INSTINCTIVE
Character traits
Honest 2/10
Charitable 4/10
Funny 3/10
Brave 3/10
Romantic 6/10
Curious 4/10
Character relationships
Jason 7/10
Leo 5/10
Frank 2/10
Luke 3/10
Annabeth 6/10
Hazel 2/10
Percy 3/10
It was freezing cold outside. Whoa would have thought out of all people Jason and Annabeth would be last? I sat on the bench outside of the ski lift. I decided to read the romcom I brought to this trip called Book lovers by Emily Henry. Annabeth bought it for me sometime ago. I guess with the title she was trying to make a point that I should read more. I think she's just flexing that she's a bookworm despite having dyslexia. If I can read more than you with dyslexia I think you got a problem. She could be like that sometimes. It's probably why I love her so much. Before I read one sentence, there was a loud knock on the door. I stood up and looked at the glass on the door. Jason and Annabeth were standing the there.
"Hey Pipes, can you open the door" Jason said. I guess it must be locked from the inside. This ski lift was already built when my dad bought the mountain, so it was not in the best of conditions. I opened the door with the keys. Annabeth and Jason came out looking flustered. They looked even more flustered when I gave them a bare hug.
"Oh I missed you guys" I said.
"Don't be silly, it's just been a week since Christmas break" Annabeth pointed out. She was right, of course.
"Well still" I said. Both Annabeth and Jason responded with a smile on their face.
"Well, thank god. Thought we were stuck there. Why is it locked from the inside anyway?" Annabeth asked. I wanted to give her a straight answer, but unfortunately I had none.
"I don't know, it's been here way before my dad bought the place so, yeah. It's a bit old" I explained. It wasn't the best station, but hey, it at least worked.
"Well no kidding. I noticed the walls were pretty weak, the rocks decaying a bit. No reinforcements can be made, I say just tear it down, the whole thing and rebuild it with-"
"Not again with the architecture stuff" Jason sighed. He then realized he might have said that little too loud.
"You got something to say to me Grace?" Annabeth asked defiantly, but with a hint of humor on it.
"Nope" Jason said.
"Good"
"I see you guys are getting along" I interrupted. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me.
"Sure. Anyway you know where the others are? Like-"
"Like Percy" I said, grinning. A running joke within our friend group. Annabeth looked a bit red and flustered.
"No. No, like... Luke. Yeah where's Luke?" She asked.
"Well he should have come but I guess he's late. Just follow the trail, you should find him" I pointed to the trail, clearly visible that run up the mountain.
"Okay, see ya" Said Annabeth and awkwardly jogged to the trail.
"Been listening to her talk about architecture for like an hour"
"You were in the ski lift like 15 minutes"
"Still felt like an hour" Jason said, and I burst out laughing. Jason laughed with me, encouraged by my laugh. I took his hand and squeezed it with affection.
"Are we gonna tell them about us?" I asked sweetly. Jason straightened up.
"Only if you're comfortable" He said returning the sweetness.
"I feel like we've waited too much. When we're in the cabin, let's tell them" I said, being direct.
"Let's just wait before everyone is reunited at the lodge, and we can explain it to them" He took my other hand and held up both. I just smiled, and leaned in to kiss him.
INTELLIGENT HAZEL THOUGHTFUL
WISE
Character traits
Honest 2/10
Charitable 3/10
Funny 2/10
Brave 5/10
Romantic 2/10
Curious 5/10
Character relationships
Frank 7/10
Piper 2/10
Luke 3/10
Leo 4/10
Annabeth 2/10
Jason 3/10
Percy 4/10
Who knew there could be a telescope around here. I guess skiers really like to stop and just gaze at the trees. It wasn't like there was anything interesting, but apparently I was too early and there wasn't nobody except Piper and Luke (That were already there nice and early like they told us) when I arrived. Makes sense, giving that they basically manufactured the brilliant idea to return to this mountain. I looked around nothing to see. More trees and trees. The occasional deer. I looked around. I found a red liquid splattered on the snow. I was curious as what it was. I looked for the source. A deer, devoid of life, was on the snow. His stomach had been cut open, showing all its organs sparkling with a strong red from its blood and its head moved a bit, the only sign that I knew it was alive, and it groaned with pain, and...
"Ugh" I said out loud. I didn't want to describe it further. But curiosity got me again and I decided I wanted to find out more. I looked for the deer. Nothing. It was gone. Just gone. I looked everywhere for it, it wasn't there anymore. Only a trail of blood. I would have probably gone looking for it if it wasn't for something else that caught my eye. It was Annabeth and Luke. They were hugging and generally getting too close.
"Someone's getting a little friendly" I said out loud. Annabeth and Luke stepped away from the hug and started talking. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I got startled and stepped away. Percy Jackson was standing right behind me.
BRAVE PERCY LOYAL
HEROIC
Character traits
Honest 2/10
Charitable 5/10
Funny 4/10
Brave 6/10
Romantic 3/10
Curious 2/10
Character relationships
Hazel 4/10
Piper 3/10
Frank 5/10
Luke 2/10
Leo 2/10
Annabeth 7/10
Jason 3/10
"Jesus!"
"Shit. I'm so sorry, I really didn't want to scare you" He said, looking a bit sheepish.
"No it's okay, it's okay" I said quickly.
"Yeah are you alright"
"I'm fine you just started me, okay?"I said feeling a bit flustered now. Percy put his hands up.
"Ok. By the way, what were you looking at so intently in that telescope. Can I have a go?" Percy asked sweetly. I realized this was a problem. I was 100% sure that he liked Annabeth, and I knew he wouldn't like the scene over there. Though they have been friends for very long, I think Percy is still a bit jealous because Annabeth a while back revealed to everyone that he used to have a crush on Luke and well, that was a long time ago and Annabeth clearly liked Percy back, but he just didn't see it. And he'd get mad jealous. I decided the cons outweighed the pros.
"Uh no actually it's kind of broken"
Butterflies
"Really? But weren't you looking in it?" His question slapped me in the face as I scrambled to find an answer.
"I was trying to make it work but uh, you see I think it needs coins. So unless you have some and are willing to spend it on this stupid telescope then be my guest" I vented and seriously hoped Percy wouldn't actually waste a coin on this thing. Percy considered the answer.
"Huh. That's a shame. Come on, everyone's waiting at the cabin" He made a hand gesture to follow me and started walking the opposite direction. I sighed in relief and jogged to catch up with him, and meet up with everyone else at the cabin.
The word butterflies mean that a character has made a key decision that influences the story. For example, Annabeth chose to throw a rock to the window and break it to enter. If she had decided to listen to Jason, she would have found another safe way in. However she decided to break the window, leading to her bleeding. It will also be mentioned in later conversations but that's it for now. However, other butterfly effects could have consequences later on...