Chapter 6: I try to organize my quest.
"Seriously? Nope no way!" Was all Sabrina could say to me as we walked back to our cabins ahead of us. I looked forward toward the Apollo cabin. I first got here late at night, it seemed like a dull silver cabin. During the day it shines like gold and right now during sunset it has a pinkish orange color.
"It's seriously that big of a deal?" I asked her. I had just finished choosing the two other campers, Sabrina was my first pick. She was the first person I met at camp and we had become friends pretty quickly. She explained everything at the camp to me. She would tell me about the Gods and their relationships with each other. Sabrina told me about the history of the camp and its traditions. She helped me get used to all the weird things that came with being a half-blood. She made me feel welcomed when I first arrived.
"Think about it." I said. " Adversaries come together to play their parts. Boom just like that!"
"Yea but Glen?" She turned around and looked at me. "You don't know what he's like! Also we have a little saying here about prophecies. The more you try to understand them, the harder it will be on you. You'll drive yourself crazy or worse."
"That's not really a saying, more like a warning." I replied. She rolled her eyes.
"Point is you won't know when the prophecy comes true until afterward. Please listen to me, my dads the god of prophecies for Zeus sake!" She sounded distressed. I trusted her, and what she's said about prophecies
"Hey, I don't want to go on this quest, I just got used to being here. Everyone at camp agreed that im this "baby bird" in the prophecy. What say do I have about it?" I was starting to get mad. It was hard enough to choose Glen at the campfire ceremony. I didn't think it would be this hard for Sabrina to accept Glen as our third.
About 30 minutes ago I stood before every camper. I was tasked to choose 2 other campers to accompany me on my quest. Apparently 'three' is a sacred number. I chose Sabrina first without hesitation. She's good with a bow and a medic. Then there was my second pick. At first I thought about choosing Mitchell or someone else from my cabin. Or maybe I would choose Connor Stoll or I even thought about Timber before I remembered he left.
I've only been here for a little over a month, I still don't know everyone. Then I looked at the Ares campers. I've heard they're not as violent and scary as they present themselves. I heard about how they have a sweet spot for loved ones and how they're not all about killing. Except for Glen, he's been my number one hater ever since I've arrived at camp. I try to avoid Glen whenever I can. We had a few more skirmishes since the first time. During capture of the flag he would specifically target me. When I was on the climbing wall he tried to knock me off into the lava below.
When I called out Glen's name he looked shocked at first. Then all of the Ares cabin started cheering and patting him on the back. He gained a grin which said I knew you would choose me, there's no way you'll survive without me. If I get the chance during this quest i'm going to wipe the smirk off his face.
We finally made it to the Apollo cabin. "Look if you don't want to go on this quest…"
"I never said that." Sabrina calmed down a little. " All I'm saying is that you don't know Glen. Also, remember what Chiron said. Some of the gods think that there might be a revolution. Us and Rachel are the only people Chiron told". I thought about that, a war with the gods all because Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase went missing.
Sabrina was now standing in front of the cabin which was now a silver color. After getting to know her, Sabrina reminded me of Sydney. She's cheerful, kind and will crack a joke once in a while. However just like the sun she has a harsh side too and can leave you burned. "How about we keep the possibility of a war with our parents a secret." I asked Sabrina.
She nodded. "Yea, that seems like the best idea." She crossed her arms and looked at the ground like something else was bothering her. "I'm going to ask my brother for help. He knows Percy a little bit, maybe he can give us a little insight on where he is." She gave me a faint smile.
"So does that mean you're still going on the quest"?
She scoffed. "Of course! I'm not going to let Glen get all the glory. I can't promise we'll 'come together to play our parts', that's going to be on Glen." She smiled at me again and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "Make sure you get some rest, we won't have the luxury of sleep on our quest".
She went inside and I started heading to my cabin before I heard someone else call out my name. "Hey Peterson!" It was Glen. He was yards away at the Ares cabin. Despite what I said earlier about the Ares kids having a soft spot, the cabin just yelled war. It had barbed wire wrapped around with a boar's head at the top of the door.
I stood where I was while I let Glen come toward me. Glen was a bully, I'm used to bullies. Usually I just try to ignore them like Cameron Harrington on how he would just point out insecurities like he knew the person. I would just let Cameron have his small wins and pick on me. Glen was the same, with the occasional getting into fights and trying to kill me. He was just like a bully you would see in the movies who almost took it a step too far.
He walked up to me with a rigid look on his face. I stood my ground and looked him in the eye. After a couple seconds he spoke. "So why did you choose me?" He sounded like he was trying to be tough, although he spoke with caution. I didn't know what game he was playing. I was taken a little aback by his change in tone.
"You heard the prophecy. From my first day at camp we became adversaries, rivals, enemies. Whatever you want to call it, you can't deny we don't like each other." His face started to redden. For a moment I thought he was going to attack me. SCREEEECH I heard a noise which made me jump. Glen seemed unfazed and laughed.
"Yea you're going to need me if you get startled by the curfew harpies!" He laughed and started to walk away. I looked up and saw the harpies circling overhead. "You're right!" I yelled at him trying to get his attention. "You're the camp's best fighter right now. I need someone to protect and train me." I tried to butter him up and maybe get on his good side too. He put a finger in the air and turned around. His brown fluffy hair bounced as he looked back at me. "Don't try to sweeten me up, I'm not an idiot. Oh yea and watch out for the bird, its past curfew".
Thump, something from above landed in front of me and I jumped back. A blue winged harpy about half my height landed then looked at me. It screeched an awful sound, its face looked like a mixture of a human and a chicken. I sprinted back to my cabin as I heard the bird yelling from behind me. "Curfew, curfew, curfew, eat, curfew,". I made it to my cabin and slammed my door, the harpy crashed against the door but I heard it fly away.
Everyone in the cabin was still running around trying to organize gathering clothes or equipment. I made it to my bed and as I sat down everyone came to talk to me in a group. "Congratulations on being assigned a quest!" someone said. My half-siblings were standing in front blocking something. "We gathered together an outfit and supplies for your quest!" Jess, a younger camper said. She stepped to the side and revealed the fit.
The outfit was a plain white t-shirt with a necklace that didn't have anything on it except a big knot in the front. Over the shirt was a button up brown t-shirt with a chest pocket. The material seemed to be thick and tough. There were blue jeans with a big buckle belt and plain white tennis shoes. To the side someone was holding a celestial bronze sword and a backpack. I looked at everyone. "Thanks guys it means a lot." I tried to sound grateful but could honestly care less about the outfit. Hopefully the sword would come in handy.
Everyone went to bed but I couldn't sleep. "Hey Mitchell." I tried to get my half brother's attention and all I got was a 'huh'.
"I talked to Sabrina about it, but how do we know i'm supposed to lead this quest? I mean does a fledgling dove really mean me?" He slowly got up.
"Yea, I think so, everyone else seems to agree too." He said almost monotone. He sat up in his bed and turned to me, he looked sleepy. "The last time an Aphrodite kid went on a quest it was Piper. It only referred to her as a dove so we had to kinda decide who should go. Jason Grace-". He paused, he still sounded monotone but faltered at the mention of Jason. "He chose Piper to go and it turns out Piper was the right choice". I looked at him and shrugged.
"So a fledgling dove refers to a new Aphrodite camper?" I asked. He nodded "I know it might seem scary dude, don't worry your prophecy didn't mention death". He laid back down and was snoring within seconds. Just because the prophecy didn't mention death doesn't mean it's going to be safe. I thought to myself before going to sleep.
I slept through the night with peace and no dreams. I quickly changed into the outfit my cabin mates got together for me. I strapped my belt on and hooked the sword and holster to it and headed out.
Breakfast was chaotic, Mr. D wasn't around to supervise the campers. Not like he actually watched over us when he was here but his presence made everyone somewhat behave. Chiron wasn't around either, I guess he had his hands full with the gods having talks of war. I looked around and everyone seemed to be in a general good mood. Glen got up to make a sacrifice to his father. He wore his stupid leather jacket, other than that he looked ready to go after breakfast. Sabrina got up keeping an eye on Glen and made her way to my table.
"Before we leave, I talked to my brother and he might be able to get us some help. Come with me "
I slurped down the rest of my chocolate milk and got up. Her brother Will, who was watching us from his table, also got up. We left the dining pavilion and I made sure that Glen wasn't going to follow us. I know he's part of this quest too but it's best to keep him and Sabrina away from each other for as long as possible.
We ended up out back of the Apollo cabin. Will stood in front of a bush and started to explain. "So I don't actually know Percy THAT well." I frowned. "So what can you help us with?" I asked, annoyed. Sabrina hit me on the arm and Will laughed.
"My boyfriend Nico knows Percy really well. Percy escorted him to Camp half-blood before Nico knew he was a demigod. They fought together in both the titan and giant war. Percy even helped rescue Nico when he was trapped in a bronze jar in Rome, long story". He went on about his boyfriend and their adventures together. He talked about how they survived Tartarus together. How one time Nico tried to introduce Will to his father and how nervous Nico was. His father was Hades, lord of the Underworld.
' "So where do we find the guy?" I asked.
Will smirked. "I sent an Iris message last night, he should be here any second".
I turned to Sabrina and she just smirked, although it looked more like a full smile. After a minute of us standing around a shadow behind Will started to move. It shaped back and forth like it was trying to make a whirlpool of shadows. Then a head came out followed by a body. Out of the shadow stood Nico di Angelo, a boy who looked to be either my age or a couple older. He had black hair with pale skin. He wore a black skeleton shirt with chains around his black jeans. Attached to his waist was an iron sword and around his back was a small backpack.
"NICO!" Will shouted. He lunged at his boyfriend and gave him a hug. Nico and Will shared a kiss as well. "I missed you too." He turned to look at Sabrina and I. Looking at him made me feel like I was looking at a dug up corpse. "Hey I'm Nico, nice to meet you." He reached out to shake my hand and I hesitated to reach out but did. His grip was firm yet cold like he was sucking my body heat. "Adin, nice to meet you too."
"So Will tells me you're going on a quest to look for Percy and Annabeth right?"
"Yea do you know what might've happened to them?" I replied back.
Nico shook his head. "No sorry, Chiron only told me they were missing a few days ago." He shifted uncomfortably.
"What else did Chiron tell you?" Sabrina chimed in.
Nico looked at his boyfriend."He told me about the gods too." Will grabbed Nicos hand and started playing with his fingers. "I talked to my dad but he hasn't heard what the other gods think."
"I talked to our dad too." Will said, looking up at Sabrina. "He said that he's heard rumors. He's going to try his best to protect the camp and prevent a war." I looked at Sabrina and she looked at me nervously.
"Sorry Adin, I know we said to keep it a secret but Will needed to know."
"It's alright," I told her.
"I would have told him anyway," Nico added.
"Anyways where do you think the two might have gone?" I asked Nico.
He thought about it, he kept on starting to say something before he corrected himself. "Well theres- no, how about- no not Tartarus again, Mhhhh." He kept on thinking.
"Honestly it could be anywhere in the world". Great, I thought to myself.
"What did your prophecy say exactly?" Nico asked and I recited the prophecy to him.
"The road to Athens?" He asked.
"Yea, you don't think we actually have to go to Athens, do we?" Sabrina asked.
Nico shook his head. "No, the road to Athens isn't actually a road. It just refers to the system of roads travelers would take during ancient times to get to Athens. Have you ever heard the saying that all roads lead to Rome? Well it originally was 'all roads lead to Athens."
"Great so we just have to walk on the street to complete our quest?" I asked sarcastically.
Nico laughed and shook his head again. "No, it's both easier than that and more complicated. Nowadays the road to Athens refers to the American highway system. Athens in ancient times was a growing city and a famous civilization. Now the highway system connects almost all cities in America. It is continuously being built and repaired by children of Athena as a gift. It represents how knowledge is always growing. Also that's why you see so many roadside attractions and museums."
"So we take the highway until we find Percy, got it," I said.
"I'll keep looking for Percy too, not the first time I would have stumbled upon him by accident. Actually there might be something else I can help with." He took off his backpack and started rummaging around in it. He pulled out a pen and paper then started to write something. "Here's Percy's home address, I know he pops in to see his mom from time to time. That might be a good place to start." Nico handed me the paper while going back to hold Will's hand.
"Thanks for helping you two," Sabrina told the couple. "Come on Adin, let's get ready."
Sabrina and I walked to the Big House, Sabrina had grabbed a bow and a quiver. The quiver was empty but I didn't bring that up. Will had also given her some medical equipment in a small first aid kit which she placed in the quiver. Using it like a makeshift backpack. In my backpack my half-siblings gave me a bottle of nectar, some packets of ambrosia, and makeup which I wasn't going to wear.
"Took you guys long enough," Glen said. He was waiting leaning against the side of the Big House. He had his leather jacket and his golden spear strapped around back. Sabrina scoffed and rolled her eyes not saying a word to him. He walked with us inside the house. We looked for Chiron for a few minutes before we found him upstairs in his room. Rachel was also there and the two were running around collecting papers that were flying everywhere.
"Stupid wind spirits," Rachel mumbled before realizing the three of us were staring. "Oh Chiron," she got the centaurs' attention who was in his wheelchair. "Ah Adin and co, let's go downstairs where it's less chaotic". The gods have Chiron busy. If it wasn't for Rachel around I think he would have lost his mind and ended up cleaning the pegasus stables too.
We made our way back down stairs with the three of us sitting on the couch before Chiron. "So," he started to say, collecting himself. "Do you three know where you must go"?
I nodded "The road to Athens, the American highway system." Chiron nodded as well.
"Good, Also i'm sorry to tell you this but theres a deadline now too. Lord Zeus sent me a message and requested that this quest be completed by May 30th," Chiron said.
"That's in ten days!" I yelled out loud.
Glen gave out a chuckle. "What? Scarred? Do you want to chicken out like a harpy?" He said. I sat back down in my chair and looked at Chiron stressed.
"I'm sorry Adin but that's when camp starts so it makes sense," He gave me a wink. That's when the deadline made sense, if the gods thought that the demigods were going to start a war. Then it's best to start camp out normally to show that everythings natural and peaceful.
"Here we have some money and food rations." In front of him he placed down two plastic bags. One of the bags had drachma while the other had U.S. dollar bills. He also placed down a backpack that was full of snacks like granola bars and chips. Glen quickly snatched all of it up. "I'll keep an eye on these, ya know for safe keeping," He said.
Chiron and Rachel escorted us outside. Argus was in a black SUV waiting for us. "All right, you three know your quest. Remember the prophecy as it will guide you. Most importantly make sure you three look out for each other." He gave Glen a look but Glen seemed unfazed. "May 30th, you have ten days to find Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase and complete the prophecy. Argus will take you to any place nearby to start your quest. Good luck and may the gods bless you." The last part seemed a little forced.
We got into the SUV, Glen got in the front next to Argus with Sabrina and I in the back. That was probably best since Sabrina got mad whenever the guy spoke. "Hey Argus can you take us to this address"? I showed him the address Nico gave us. I didn't know the area but it said it was at least in New York. Argus smiled and nodded as we buckled our seats. We were ready to start our quest.