Waking up without having any nightmares was great. Until I realized Percy wasn't besides me anymore and I felt just as shitty.
The sun was out but I also heard little taps of rain hitting my tent. I peeked outside. It was still nice out. Clouds sometimes shielding the sky while the rain was cooling me off.
"Sunny! Hey! You're awake!" Malcolm yelled. He was smiling and came towards me. "Hey Malcolm, what makes you so happy this morning?" I asked without expecting any answer. Malcolm is mostly always happy and excited about things. I liked that about him. Even without any hope, he was still optimistic. Always keen to learn more. A true child of Athena. "Well, this weather, it's perfect for sending Iris messages! Look, the little droplets hitting the sun's reflection! It's creating mini rainbows!" Malcolm said while using his entire body language to explain that to me. I couldn't help but laugh. He looked funny. "What?" Malcolm laughed. "Nothing, just never change." I said to him. He smiled. "So should we send one of those messages to camp? I know it has only been a week or so since we left. But I'm guessing we're about halfway there. We should at least update them." I said to him. He nodded. "Yeah, let's just wait for Percy. I still have golden drachma!" He said excitedly. "About that, where is he? I haven't seen him since-" I got interrupted by Malcolm. "You haven't seen him since he slept in your tent last night?" Malcolm asked me. It was almost a condescending tone. His face also shifted. I felt embarrassed. "How do you know that?" I asked him back. "I saw you guys yesterday, getting into your tent and setting it up. Together." Malcolm said, now looking away.
Shit.
I feel like such an asshole, he must felt left out. "It's truly nothing, Malcolm. Percy was tired from fighting yesterday and asked to sleep in my tent, since it's easier to set up. We fell asleep and I woke up with him, gone. So nothing special." I mean it was sort of special, but I wouldn't want to say that out loud cause A Malcolm probably doesn't want to hear that and B if I say it out loud it becomes real. And when it becomes real Percy might feel different, or it gets awkward. I wouldn't want that.
"Oh. Well yeah that makes sense I guess. Sorry for being so weird about it." Malcolm said. "Hey that's okay! Let's just move on." I said smiling to him. He smiled back.
After what felt like hours (it was actually only 43 minutes) Percy came back. His hair was wet. He looked better. Cleaner. And nicer. It was probably the healing effect the water has on him. But it's like the water gave him a sort of extra aura. I couldn't stop looking at him. He looked so good. He noticed and smiled. I looked away.
"There you are, Gods that took you long enough!" Malcolm said.
"I was just swimming in a small lake nearby. Needed to clear my head. Anyway, what did I miss?" Percy asked.
Clear his head? Fuck. He probably meant last night. Shit. Yeah fucking shit. I messed this up. He feels different and now he regrets last night. Great thing!
"The weather is good for Iris messages! We wanted to send one to camp but we're waiting for you to come back. It's easier that way!" Malcolm explained.
Percy suddenly looked excited. "Great! We should've updated the camp about our situation a while ago already. It's good to keep them informed. Gods may know what is happening there." Percy said.
And Percy was right. Cause camp was in shambles.
We first updated Chiron and some head counselors about our journey so far. "Well that sounds pretty good so far! The monsters could have been much worse with half bloods like yourselves." Isadora from the Athena cabin said. Most of the campers agreed. Including myself. It could have been way worse.
"But how are your powers doing!" Will finally asked. I was happy to see him again. I missed him. "They're okay. I mean at least I don't faint anymore." I told them. "Don't say that! You healed us, you're practicing more and getting them under control at a fast pace!" Malcolm said. I smiled. "He's right. She's getting more powerful everyday. She truly is getting the hang of it." Percy told the rest. Chiron looked at me. "Well that is great news! Wish we could have told some good news ourselves. But sadly these past days have been bad." Chiron finally said. All the campers looked at each other. And I could feel the tension shift. Apparently lots of monsters have been getting into camp. And the monsters were different, more powerful somehow, harder to kill. Everyone was trying to do something about it. But nothing seems to be working. This made me feel worse because the camp's future is depending on us. On this quest. Even Though we haven't got a clue about what we are facing.
No idea what is waiting for us.
We told the campers and Chiron our plan and told them to stay strong. Eventually the message ended and we silently looked at each other. "Look, I think we should get going, now that it's still early." I told them. Everyone agreed and felt like it was time to pack up and drive.
Percy was driving today and I let Malcolm sit in front. After Percy had his thoughts straightened out I felt like that also meant me and him. I don't want it to mean me and him. But he always does this. He does something sweet and then he keeps me wanting more but he pulls away. It made me tired to even think about it. I hate it.
Percy was quietly humming to a song that was faintly playing on the radio. He was tapping on the steering wheel to the beat. Malcolm was looking at some maps. I'm not going to lie, it was getting a bit boring. I mean everyday was sort of the same. Which was fine, we're still alive, so that's good. But I wish we could see some more. "Malcolm, could have that map of yours?" I asked him. "Yeah sure, there you go." He said while handing me the map. We were heading towards Eau Claire. It was a state map of Wisconsin. A drive of around 4 hours. Well that checks out. I was now aimlessly looking at it until my eyes wandered over towards Wausau, a city east of Eau Claire. There was also a little ferris wheel symbol. I looked at the bottom of the map at the symbols. It said "fun fair".
Yes. This is what we need.
"Okay so isn't this boring guys?" I asked them.
"Uhm not necessarily. Why?" Percy said.
"Well the drive isn't very long and we still got the entire day. Don't you wanna explore?" I asked him.
"You mean like we explored Chicago? No thanks." He said back. Malcolm laughed.
"Malcolm, what are you laughing at? It was your idea." I said to him. He quickly let his smile fade off his face.
"And no not like Chicago. More like a funfair! It's only 1 hour further away. We first drive north to Wausau, go to the fair, get some dinner, drive close to Eau Claire and set camp." I said to them. I could tell they were thinking about it. "Just please. We could stay there just for a few hours. And if it isn't any fun we can just leave." I said. Malcolm was looking over at Percy. Hoping he'd say something first. Percy rolled his eyes at me and looked at me through the rear view mirror. He started smiling. "Okay. Yes. We'll go to your funfair. But just for 2 hours tops. Same rules apply." He finally said. "Yes!! Thank you so much. I'm not going to let you guys down!" I told them. I was smiling so much.
After exactly 3 hours and 50 minutes of driving we arrived at a big fun fair. It was absolutely huge. I mean I've been to fairs before, but this was insane. It was also crowded. Mostly families who were celebrating the summer. The sun was still out, it was only 7 pm. "Oh my Gods. This fair is insane!" I said. "Yeah, I didn't know it was going to be this big. This could help us fit in more. Or not ofcourse." Percy said. "That ferris wheel looks fun though! I need to ride that!" Malcolm finally said. "Well come on then! We've only got 2 hours!" Malcolm said while running towards the entrance. It was even better than we'd expected. Colorful lights, the smell of greasy food and lots of fun rides. This is truly what we needed. We went on the ferris wheel which was beautiful. The view from the top was the best thing ever, we could see beautiful hills and forest up north. Percy didn't like it. Him being a son of Poseidon meant he just didn't like to be close to the sky. As we got out I could tell his legs were shaking even though he was playing it off. Next we went on this high carousel which was the best. They were playing don't stop me now while we soared through the sky. I felt so happy and could tell the guys felt the same way.
We even went to one of those stupid fair stalls where you could win a stuffed animal. I saw one I really wanted, a brown bear, it wasnt super big but looked so cute. Percy could tell I was looking at it. "You want me to win it for you?" He asked. I smiled at him and nodded. "Hey! Okay before you spent all our money on a stupid bear lets discuss a strategy first." Malcolm said. "You don't need a strategy it's just one of those shoot and aim right games, no strategy needed." Percy said. "Hey hey hey, not so fast. Look, you can try without one and I'll try with a strategy. But only one round." Malcolm said. "Deal. I guess whoever wins is just simply better." Percy said while giving his money to the stall owner. "Deal." Malcolm said while grabbing one of the guns. This was the best, now I have double the chance of winning a teddy bear. The two shot like crazy at the targets. Percy was doing good but Malcolm was better. He kept shooting perfectly. Maybe having a plan for this was better after all. Alas he was the son of Athena so it only makes sense for him to outsmart the system. "You young man have a score of 50, but the man next to you has 160! Great job! You get to pick one of the teddies off the shelves!" The stall owner said. Malcolm looked pleased at himself and picked the bear I wanted. "The Bear is not so stupid now, is it?" I said to Malcolm and he laughed. "What are you naming him?" Malcolm asked me. "I think I'll name him Mike." I said. Percy looked pissed. "Notice how he called me a man and you a young man?" Malcolm said to Percy. "Yeah whatever, I'm still older." Me and Malcolm started laughing.
The sun started setting and it was time to head out. I could see the lights of the fair fading as we slowly drove away. Percy had put on some jazz radio channel and it was nice. I just stared at the trees outside as the sky was filled with colors until the sun set. Malcolm was reading this book he was quite mysterious about. I still think it was a romantic novel because I've caught him before with one. He didn't like that.
It was now pitch black outside as we finally arrived near Eau Claire. We set up camp and both Malcolm and Percy went into their tents. I wasn't tired yet so I searched for some wood and made a fire. Again with my powers. This time I immediately thought about my breath and started to center myself, after that I thought about heat, fire, energy. And before I knew it, I had one of those energy balls in my hand which I targeted at the wood. A fire erupted. I felt a tiny bit light headed but not much. This felt good.
After just sitting by the fire for a while I decided to head to my tent and get some sleep.
And yet again, I failed at that!
The second I fell asleep my nightmare started. This time with glimpses of different places and different disasters. Entire forests burning, animals fleeing, explosions, cities collapsing, people screaming, trying to run away. But it was useless. Any glimpse I got there was total mayhem and chaos, pain and suffering. It stopped and brought me back to the cave. This time without the old man in it. It was dark and I couldn't see any entrance or exit. Just something shimmering ahead of me. I walked towards it, and to my surprise there was a necklace. It was quite small and golden. It had an old Greek symbol of the sun on it.
This must be the infamous necklace.
I reached out to it until another hand grabbed my wrist. I immediately looked up but only saw a pair of dark purple eyes looking back at me. It scared the shit out of me and jumped back only for there to be no ground anymore. I fell backwards into a void. Vaguely the roof of the cave was starting to fade as I was falling deeper. I hit the ground. Tiles. New York tiles. I stood up and everyone was standing still. I have already seen this before. In one of my other nightmares. Like they are under this curse. I was trying to wake them up. I shook them, yelled at them, but nothing seemed to work. Something changed and the sunlight disappeared. I looked up and an eclipse was happening. People came out of their trance and started to break things, hurt each other and themselves. It was complete chaos. I looked at one of the news channels that was playing in a tv shop window. It showed me natural disasters to a scale that I had never seen before. I started to run. The only thing left for me to do.
Whatever I did, I couldn't escape.
The sky was now dark and a dark purple color filled it up. The same color as the eyes I saw before. A huge shadow filled the sky, it was the shape of a woman.
"Give in or give up." The woman said. It was the same voice that had filled my other nightmares up before. It sent shivers down my spine. Her arms and hands spread over New York. I wanted to say so much, but I couldn't. "You will meet me child, your fate is already set. What a shame, a poor soul you are indeed." She spoke to me. She almost sounded compassionate. "WHO ARE YOU?" I tried yelling at her.
The woman laughed. "Don't you see, it's all pointless. Give in or give up." She said again. I felt myself getting weaker. Trying to fall into a deep sleep that I wouldn't wake up from. "Such a shame. A child with such a doomed fate. All alone." She said. I felt myself losing all hope. As if being sucked into a black hole. "That's it, don't you worry, give in or give up." She finally said. And as I was closing my eyes I could still hear millions of screams ringing through my head. Seeing millions dying.
I woke up screaming and crying. I tried calming myself. But it just wouldn't work. Instead I decided to keep on crying in hopes of falling asleep again. Which also didn't help so I just sat outside. Crying. Still hearing the screams and seeing people's dead bodies. Not getting it out of my head.
The sun was finally rising.
