TAMING APOLLO | completed

43. the lost land of nowhere

43 | the lost land of nowhere

G A Y L E

"UP! UP!" Ariel groans when her body remains firmly planted to the ground, dragging her fingers over her face after her fifth attempt at flying.

So far? Nothing.

The scowl on Ariel's face only widens as she turns her head down in shame, shaking it as fear flashes through her hazel eyes. "This place... I've never heard of it before." she mutters, glaring down at her palms as if looking hard enough will grant her her powers back.

We've been trapped here for hours, the sun is very close to setting and we've gotten nowhere. We don't know what this place is, why Ariel doesn't have her powers anymore and how to leave.

In essence, we're stranded.

"Sun's setting," I bounce up, patting the imaginery dust particles off of my clothes. "I think we're gonna have to find shelter."

"No." Ariel counters, fixing a deadly glare in my direction. She then proceeds in doing the same thing she's been doing for hours.

"Up!"

I watch her exasperatedly as the sun sets, painting a dauntingly beautiful backdrop for a horrific situation.

I glance at the long grass around the two of us, the abundance of nothingness that flows on for miles. Goosebumps creep upon my skin, giving me the shivers. This setting looks all too familiar to me. It feels like I'm back trapped in my own head, every blink is in fear that I'll open my eyes to yet another labyrinth, that this all might just be another trial to escape my own mind.

What if I'm stuck here for days? What if the days stretch into weeks? Just like in my head.

Time is a bullshit concept, anyway.

My thoughts are interrupted when Ariel collapses defeatedly, crashing onto the ground. "Damn!" she cries, slamming her fists against the grass. "Damn! Damn! Damn!" she shakes her head slowly as tears stream down her rosy face.

My eyes widen when I realise that I've been caught smack in the middle of yet another mental breakdown.

Why do I always find myself in situations where I have to comfort people? I am obviously terrible at it!

I put all my own fears aside and saunter closer to Ariel, who is still bawling her eyes out.

I plop myself down besides her, simply avoiding eye contact by focusing solely on the sunset before us.

We soak up the silence for a few moments as she collects herself, brushing her tears away. "It's a moving target," she mutters dejectedly with a sigh, fists tightening against the grass.

I open my mouth to say something but I find myself speechless.

Ariel and I are supposed to be best friends... so why is finding the right words so difficult right now? Why do I look at her and see a complete and utter stranger? A stranger I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with on my best day?

"I've been fighting this damn war for two years now and every freaking time I get close enough to score..." her voice trails off into the wind as more tears stream down her face. She turns to face me, traces of hopelessness and frustration have replaced what once was enthusiasm and curiosity in her eyes. "I just-- I thought I could score, just this once but in all honesty... I'm tired, Gayle."

"I'm tired of fighting, of betrayal, of losing the people I care about. I don't know what Hermes is planning but if he gets to Apollo, it's game over. He's gonna die again. I've failed him again!"

"No. That's not gonna happen! We can--"

"We can what, Gayle?" Ariel snaps, nostrils flaring in anger. "You don't get it, do you? We're stranded here. We can't do anything! Apollo and everybody else I care about is going to-- they're all gonna die and I can't stop it! I mean, even if we did find an escape, we're in way over our heads here. Trying to kill a god is ridiculous enough, but titans?" a sardonic chuckle escapes her lips as she shakes her head. "Damn near impossible."

The overwhelming urge to slap Ariel overcomes me as I force myself up indignantly, furrowing my brows at the shell of a person before me. "So what? You're just gonna give up? The Ariel I knew would never--"

"The Ariel you knew is dead!" she counters, matching my anger levels farely well for someone currently experiencing a break down. "A two year long war'll do that to a person! I'm not like you, I didn't get to just forget everything and go back to my normal life, okay! I had to bury people, friends! Wanna know what I was doing while you were waiting tables and dropping out of college? I had to rebuild Olympus from piles of rubble and flesh! I had to rule as queen of a nation that hates my guts! I had to keep fighting and now I'm on the verge of losing everything I sacrificed my life for! So sorry I can't be some happy-go-lucky optimist anymore!" she yells.

"That's not fair. I didn't ask to be a part of any of this!"

"So what are you still doing here, Gayle? I've told you to go home multiple times and yet here you still are!"

I open my mouth to retort, but close it immediately.

What am I still doing here? Cyrene is dead, along with a piece of me I will never recover.

I don't belong in a world of gods and titans.

I should be in college playing beerpong with people I pretend to like but don't really.

An image of golden blond locks and piercing silver eyes clouds my vision. My heart swells as Apollo crosses my mind, this time grinning at me, this time holding me.

An emotion I've never felt before crushes my bones at the thought of losing him. Imagining myself without him physically hurts me. This time Cyrene is long gone so I can't pin any of the blame on her.

With every passing second it becomes painfully clear to me why I can't leave, why I'll never lead a normal life again. It's because, "I love him." I whisper, tears welling in my eyes due to the overwhelming emotions.

Ariel's lips part as her eyes widen, realisation flashing in her hazel eyes.

"I can't leave because I love him, Ariel." I repeat, this time as hot tears stream down my equally hot cheeks. "I know I'm just a mortal but I can't let him die. Look, I never studied mythology, okay? I don't know everything there is to know about this world but what I do know is that if there's even a smidgen of a chance we can score a win, we have to try."

Ariel's eyes soften.

A new sense of understanding and determination washes over the two of us but before she can say anything, the ground beneath us begins to shake. Violently.

I reach for Ariel's hand in order to maintain balance, she grabs it without hesitation but collapses onto the ground soon after, taking me down with her.

"What's going on?" I ask, just as the earth beneath us cracks open, revealing an underground pool of crystal clear waters. My heart hammers against my chest as a tall muscular figure emerges from beneath the waves, showcasing some ceystal blue eyes and curly brown locks to go with tanned skin.

The earth seals itself shut beneath him as he makes his way over to us, irritation evident in his face as he rubs his eyelids.

"Would you two keep it down? Gods, I mean, what does a guy have to do to get some sleep around here?" his eyes widen as they scan over our figures, thick brows furrowing confusedly.

"What do we have here? Is that you, Ariel?" a large grin etches itself onto his sinfully beautiful face and although one might think he's delighted to have us here in his domain, the tick in his jaw betrays a sense of irritation.

Ariel frowns, narrowing her eyes timidly. "Poseidon. How nice of you to finally show up. We've been searching for you."