Six demigods, that is what the prophecy had called for, and gods damned, Ray had found five others to join him. Be certain of your choices, Gus had warned. That is a high risk, taking newbies with you. He knew that, more than anything; Gus wanted to knock some sense into him. Scream and cuss until Ray gave in and picked a slightly more experienced team. However, much to Ray’s surprise, he only deeply frowned and sighed, giving him the clearance to leave camp the next morning.
That left him pacing the floor of his cabin, the reality of the situation weighing in heavily on his shoulders. Brown eyes flickered toward the window every couple seconds, expecting the screech of a harpy as they spotted Geoff making his way over from Hermes cabin. Despite his warnings the first night, Geoff still had not learned the harpies’ routine. He always wandered out when they were stalking the area between the cabins, the idiot.
However, nothing stirred outside as the night pressed on. Ray still couldn’t get into bed, his feet too restless to even entertain such an idea. For the past nine years, this prophecy had hung over his head and now was the time to pursue it. The thought terrified him.
Still no sign of Geoff.
Sometimes Ray liked to pretend that the Hermes camper’s presence annoyed him. Hell, it was his cabin and Geoff was acting like he owned the place. He would come in at some ungodly hour while Ray was attempting to sleep (playing on his technically illegal DS) and climb into a bunk that h e had claimed as his. It was an act though, the huff and puff that Ray produced as Geoff moved about noisily. He loved having the older camper around; it was a pleasant break in the loneliness.
Bumps in the night no longer were as terrifying, the nightmares had disappeared almost entirely, and it was nice to listen to something beside his breathing and the wind. Geoff was a fitful sleeper, constantly twisting and turning, and that was a comfort to Ray. At least someone was there when that inevitable something happened.
When his feet finally ached and a new blistered formed on his palm from the weight of the trident, Ray sat down on his bunk with a sigh. Geoff had failed to make an appearance and at this point, he probably wouldn’t. The door would remain unlocked for him, just in case.
Morning came too quickly. Ray woke up in a sweat, his covers thrown aside onto the floor. Geoff’s bunk was empty and Ray couldn’t remember his nightmare except for the thunder.
The ground outside was dry and hard under his hiking boots. Ray typically preferred his sandals; he could get his feet wet whenever he wanted without having damp shoes. A quest, however, isn’t the environment for sandals. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, only a blinding light blue of morning. When he emerged from the cabin, Ray could already see two shapes sprawled out on the ground near the center of the cabins.
As campers around them fanned out toward the pavilion, sparing curious glances their way, Geoff and Ryan seemed completely oblivious to them. Geoff was fidgeting with the straps of his backpack, unzipping and rezipping the main compartment, checking (probably for the thousandth time) if he had everything. Ryan was wiping down his sword in swift motions.
“How is everyone this morning?” Ray tried to sound chipper, shouldering his bag and letting his trident hang loose down at his side.
“You should probably collapse that before you poke someone in the eye, or freak out some poor mundane.” Ryan muttered, barely glancing up from his sword. Ray frowned before turning the trident over, the prongs facing him, and pulled them off one by one.
Geoff’s eyes flickered toward him. “That’s pretty cool,” He said, the briefest of smiles passing over his face.
Ray shrugged, stuffing the sharp prongs in his bag and collapsing the staff portion like a telescope, shoving that into his pocket. “It’s a pain when a fight starts, but then again, the mist doesn’t work too well on it, so Ryan’s right.”
“The mist?” Geoff glanced over at Ryan.
“Hides the stuff of myth from mundanes, Otherwise there would be a lot of Cyclops spottings that we don’t want to deal with. Also, Ray, Michael went to go get Gavin, so they’ll be back soon.” Ryan finally shoved his sword back into its hilt before stretching back in the sun.
“No sign of Jack?” Ray asked, glancing around for the redhead.
Geoff shook his head. “Not yet.”
Ray plopped down beside Geoff, debating for a second asking where he was last night, but then thought better of it. “Nervous?” He whispered, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Geoff shrugged, fiddling with the straps of his backpack again.
“Dunno man, it was just kind of sudden. I don’t think I have time to be nervous honestly.”
Ray felt a pit of guilt form in his stomach. He kind of was just dragging Geoff along for the ride. Him and Gavin had hardly been in the camp more than a week and they were being taken away from that. Based on the little that Geoff had told him, Ray was dragging him away from the first sense of stability he had had in a long time.
“Hey, whatever you’re thinking about, stop it.” Geoff sliced through his thoughts. “This is supposed to be exciting and shit for you right? Leading a quest? Look like it.”
Ray nodded, a real smile creeping across his face as Michael and Gavin finally made their way over. Michael was talking excitedly, probably about his last quests, to Gavin who listened attentively. With a hint of satisfaction, Ray noticed that Michael was not carrying any obvious weapons. Instead, a familiar silver ring clung to the pointer finger on his left hand.
At the same time, Jack approached from the other direction. When he spotted them through cracked glasses, he raised a hand. “Geoff come over here, I got something for you.” He called, waving.
“I should go see,” Geoff said, patting Ray on the shoulder and using it as support as he stood. He crossed the clearing to the meet the redhead, who produced a small leather case from his backpack.
“Are we getting geared to go?” Michael disrupted Ray’s line of sight, stepping in front of him.
“Yeah, now that everyone’s here, I guess this is as good of a time as ever.” Ray glanced around Michael just in time to see Geoff return the end of a silver dagger back into the case, talking quietly with Jack, a stern look across his face. Ray couldn’t make out a single word of what was being said and he frowned.
A sharp kick slammed into his thigh and he realized that Michael was still talking. “Hey, I asked you where we were starting out. “
Ray moved his gaze to his backpack and dug around in the front pocket for the map Gus had given him. On it, the first X was marked in Pennsylvania. “Apparently this is where the first ring is.”
“And how are we getting there?”
Ryan cleared his throat. “Why do you think I’m on this quest?” He said, with slight accusation. “We’re taking one of the camp vans and I’m one of the few with a viable driver’s license.”
Ray nodded with a shrug. “You have other uses too Ryan.”
“Oh, that makes me feel better.” He said, but half-smiled to show that his feelings weren’t too hurt. “We’re finding six of these rings right? That seems like one for each of us.” Ryan smirked. “A trophy for each of us.”
Jack and Geoff finally rejoined them, the leather case had been stored away somewhere. “Is it time to go?” Jack tried to sound enthusiastic. He rubbed at his chi with a smile. The parts of his beard that had been burned away were starting to regrow in stubbly patches.
“Yeah, time to get this party started.” Ray said, the nervous knot retying itself in his stomach. It was time for the adventure to begin.
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