Sharp stones buried into his bare feet, the wind sent the dripping water swirling against his skin, creating a mist against his back. The explosion had finished its ringing echo through the air, but he could still feel it in his chest. It threatened to shatter his ribcage as it ripped toward his heart. The fear, the twisting knot in his stomach was back. He was not alone, this was just as the prophecy had predicted. This was it for him. And still he ran toward his fate.
“Wait? Why the hell are we running toward the scary noise?” Gavin shouted behind him.
The trees cleared away to reveal a slowly forming crowd of campers. Ray shoved a few smaller Apollo kids out of the way toward the front to find a scorched patch of Earth. However, there was a distinct lack of lighting, distinct lack of persons that it could belong to. Instead, sitting a little stunned on the ground, was a Hephaestus camper, Jack. His hair was singed black at the tips, clutching the Ares’s flag between his fingers.
A sigh, heavier than a boulder, lifted from Ray’s chest. Panic flooded out from his feet in a wave. He had a tad longer, the words given to him when he turned thirteen, were still only the worst birthday gift ever. Fingers closed around his shoulder, and Ray turned to face a winded and pale-faced Gavin. “Bloody hell, you run fast.” He panted, wiping some sweat from his forehead.
The ear-splitting call of the conch echoed through the air. With the red flag still in Jack’s hands, that had to mean that the blue flag had been claimed. Normally, Ray would have pitched a fit. Losing to Ares was an embarrassment, but the son of Poseidon was too relieved for that. He slung an arm across Gavin’s shoulders, turning him back toward the camp. “You’ll get there. In Camp Half-Blood, there’s a lot to run away from.”
Gavin groaned, his shoulders slumping. “That is excellent encouragement.”
Dinner was a mess of shouting and taunts passed around the tables, a growing cloud of animosity after the game hovered above the eating campers. Ray watched from his empty table as the tension wrapped itself tighter and tighter, threatening to snap in a food fight. Ray had specifically gotten mashed potatoes for the occasion, waiting for someone to shoot first. That was the best part about Capture the Flag, a food fight almost always followed it.
“Umm, Ray Narvaez?” A tiny voice asked from his left. Ray let his hand stray from his ready plate with a glance. It was a young satyr; his horns were invisible underneath dense dark curls. “You’re wanted in the Big House.” The young satyr gulped nervously before dashing off. For the second time that day, Ray felt his heart drop into his stomach.
The food fight promptly erupted behind him as soon as Ray stood outside the mess hall’s doors. A baked potato sailed past his ear as Ray closed the door behind him.
A few satyrs sprinted past him and into the chaos to calm down the campers, as Ray kicked his way down the path to the Big House. He knew exactly what this meeting was going to be about. Mr. D wouldn’t be there. He didn’t have a soft spot for children of Poseidon. It would probably be Gus, maybe Burnie. They tolerated him at best, and knew the whole story. They were one of the few.
His fifteenth birthday was only a few days away. That’s when everything would change, Ray wasn’t oblivious to it. He could only wish that puberty could be his biggest problem. A huge hint to those that are confused, it wasn’t his biggest problem.
Sure enough, before Ray could even knock on the door, it swung open to reveal the grumpiest satyr on the planet. “Thank gods I have you to deal with. Otherwise I would have pudding in my hair and you have NO IDEA how hard it is to get pudding out of your legs.”
“That was more information than I needed to know Gus.” Ray muttered under his breath and received a death stare. “What did you call me for?” He asked, as if he didn’t already know. Specific orders probably kept Gus from hitting him at that exact moment.
Gus crossed his arms and huffed. “Stop fucking around, you can’t avoid this with stupidity. We both know you are too smart for that.” The front room of the Big House was cleared of the Ping-Pong table that was typically used for Counselor meetings. Ray had been attending them for as long as he could remember, being the only Poseidon kid made that happen. However, he had paced these floors many times in its absence under the watchful eyes of Gus and Burnie. They knew everything.
“You turn fifteen in three days, there’s kind of a prophecy hanging over your head. Are you going to do something about that?”
And there was the reason Ray hadn’t slept at all the last week. The prophecy was almost a decade old now, given to him when he first stepped in Camp Half Blood. Six demigods, fronted by the son of Poseidon on his fifteenth birthday, must complete the trials of the Golden Pillar to recover the six rings of Alecto. “If he idles too long, a son of the Sky King will send death to his heart.” The last sentence barely escaped Ray’s mouth as he recounted it for Gus.
When Ray was six and heard these words from a mummified hippy, he hadn’t thought twice about them. Six year olds didn’t have time for that when there were sharp swords to play with, and he wasn’t going to be fifteen for a whole nine years. Well, those nine years went by too quickly for Ray.
It wasn’t the quest that scared him. He was no stranger to those; he was a totally popular guy to be chosen for them. It was the ‘death to his heart’ part that scared the ever-living shit out of him as he lay in bed at night. There was a reason that thunderstorms were absolutely terrifying.
“I don’t even know where to start with that stupid quest.”
Gus’s frown deepened. “And stalling might kill you. Make a choice.” When Ray chose to remain silent, the satyr sighed dramatically. “Don’t mistake this as actually caring about you, but I would suggest pulling a party together for starters, and I have something to help you.”
The sound of his hooves against the wood echoed through the house as Ray stared down at his shoes. He would much rather be thigh-deep in the food fight than sweating about this stupid prophecy.
The edge of a map crossed into Ray’s field of vision. Gus held out the yellowed and slightly torn paper, trying to maintain an apathetic face. “I’ve been pulling in quite a few favors just for you Kid. Don’t waste them.”
Ray opened up the map slowly, flinching as the paper crinkled in his hands. Five thick, black X’s marked the map, each of them landing on a city with a name Ray recognized. “Well, thank goodness there’s not time limit on this Quest.” Ray tried to laugh, but it failed in his throat.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Gus warned. “Shit always goes down around a prophecy. This won’t just be about you.”
“Sometimes it feels like it.”
Gus gripped his shoulder with a thump. “You’ll be fine Kid, you won’t be alone on this. My suggestion would just be to choose wisely. I would suggest having a party ready to go by Monday.”
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