Perseus the Hunter

Chapter 15

Will burst into the Big House, followed closely by two goddesses who were both confused as to why they were brought there and also worried about their guardian. Chiron startled at the sudden entrance of the three. His vase hitting the floor where his horse back end smacked into it from turning towards the door quickly.

"Oh, sorry Chiron.." Will mumbled, he ran forward and started to try picking up the shattered shards of china. It looked valuable from afar but Will could see that it was shoddy workmanship so he rested the few pieces he picked up on the side it was knocked off of and turned back to the rather tall Centaur. 

"What is the meaning of this?" He turned to Will, not yet realising who exactly had followed him into the House. "My Ladies, Aphrodite, Hestia. I apologise, what can I do for you?" 

They smiled slightly at the manners but it didn't quite reach their eyes. It was hardly noticeable but Will knew. He knew what they were feeling, he felt it every time Nico decided to use his shadow travel, or disappear off to gods know where at a moments notice. He felt for them. 

"Chiron, we need to enforce a curfew."

"We have a Curfew, son. Just because there are some campers..," he looked at Will pointedly "that decide to not abide by it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"I know sir..," Will looked towards his feet, it was mostly the campers that were involved in the war with Gaia that were no longer afraid of the Harpy's that scouted the camp after curfew, they seemed to have taken pity on them as well as they didn't exactly try to enforce it so much anymore. "..but we need a new one. We need to not let any campers out after dark or before light, no one must leave the camp greens or venture off into the woods, we also need to create a buddy system, no one goes anywhere on their own."

"Why would I ask this of the entire camp?"

"We need to sir!" 

"Will, I'm sorry but activities are held in the forest, capture the flag is in three days, after what we all just went through we can't implement a curfew like this. Besides there is no reason to." 

"Sir.."

"Why? There must be a reason." 

"Well sir, because of everything that's just happened, that's exactly why we should."

"That isn't a good enough reason to make everyone.."

"Kynigos asked me to tell you."

This caught the attention of the two goddesses, who until the mention of his name had been trying to sense where on earth he had disappeared to. 

"What" Hestia was the first to speak.

"Kynigos, he sent me to tell you Chiron, he wants you to administer a curfew, buddy system and not to let anyone enter the woods."

"He must have had a reason."

"He wouldn't have asked to do this without a valid reason."

"Well.. what was his reason?" Chiron looked at him expectedly. Will glanced at the goddesses who were both looking exactly the same. He couldn't think, he wasn't allowed to tell them about the tunnels, or what was under there. Hades he didn't even know himself what was under there, but it was enough to scare Kynigos, to travel him out of the tunnels very suddenly and vanish off to do Zeus knows what. And that smell, he almost crinkled his nose just thinking about it, it was putrid. The snoring was so loud and powerful it almost burst his eardrums and he wasn't even that close to it. He swallowed heavily, he was about to lie to his mentor and two goddesses. Gods, he hoped Kynigos could figure it out. 

"He didn't tell me. But he seemed worried. It was urgent that this was put into effect. Please, sir." 

Chiron contemplated what Will said. He could tell that he was holding something back, there was something bothering him that he wouldn't say. He looked to the goddesses, they were both worried, scared and waiting. He knew as soon as Will said Kynigos' name that these two would stop at nothing to make sure it happened. He wasn't wholly against the idea. In light of the sudden attack on the whole camp. The devastation, the horror and the unresolved events that brought this to happen. 

"Okay, I will get the word out at dinner in half an hour. Come on, people should be heading there about now." Chiron watched Will walk out of the house, he seemed bothered but the fact that he had agreed to these terms seemed to help him slightly. Will didn't even know Kynigos, especially not well, the fact that he was able to get this particular camper to follow his orders after only a few days it was a reminder of an old camper. One he considered a son, a friend, one that went missing a few years back. He would have said that this Kynigos could be him, but the fact that Poseidon was no where near him, was no better than the day he left, it showed that Perseus was still missing. He prayed to Hades and Poseidon that he was okay. 

When they arrived at the pavilion it was already rather packed. People were talking amongst themselves, but it still wasn't quite as it was before the attack. They were sullen, depressed. Quieter than normal. 

Chiron stood up by the front demanding every single person's attention without even saying a word. The place went silent, there was a heaviness to it, almost the same as a few years back after the war. Everyone could sense it, they looked between each other, asking silent questions, hoping for answers. 

"There is nothing I can say." Chiron's voice was even, but portrayed a sadness. He thought of these children as his own, he felt the loss the same as everyone else and he needed to show that in his words. "What happened should not have happened, and I'm sorry to say that we still don't know why. We need to remember everyone that we lost in a good light, we will be holding a vigil at the campfire after dinner. However, because of what just happened I have been advised to enforce a stricter curfew. Until we find out what happened and stop this from happening again, there will be no one out after dark. No one will venture into the woods surrounding the camp and no one will go anywhere alone. If you need to go anywhere you will have to take someone with you, whether it is to breakfast, the toilets or even your own cabin. You will be responsible for your buddy's whereabouts and you have to make sure you both stay safe."

There was a silence, no one protested Chiron's word. 

"I think we should eat." Chiron turned and went to sit in his wheelchair so he could join the campers at dinner.

Will sat with his old friends, no one really sat at their parent's tables anymore, they just sat where they wanted. Except for one. The Poseidon table. It was never touched, held in place like a shrine to the past. It had a thin layer of dust that sat over the top. They all looked at it sadly, said their condolences to Poseidon then turned back to continue their dinners. 

He sat thinking about Nico, how he was hoping for him to pull through, to wake up soon. He could barely touch his plate, he was scared. He tried his hardest not to let it show to the others and played with his food. 

"HAYDEN!!" The voice travelled across the pavilion. It was shrill, pained and scared. It shocked everyone and they all turned toward it. Will shot upward his cutlery hitting the floor. 

"HAYDEN!! WHERE ARE YOU!!" He knew that voice, it was his half brother James. 

"James! James what happened?!" Will ran, halting in front of his panicking brother, placing his hands either side of his shoulders. Trying to shake him, to concentrate. 

"Hayden! He.. He was playing with the others. I turned around to talk to Lucy for two seconds. I turned back but everyone was heading here. I.. I figured he'd gone with the others. But, but Will. He's not here. He's not here! Where is he? Hayden!! HAYDEN!" He started hyperventilating. Tears streamed down his face, thinking the worst. "He's only three! He can't, Will! Will, please!"

"James. JAMES! Look at me." He looked Will dead in the eye. Will could see the pain. The pain of a lost child. James' girlfriend died giving birth to Hayden, he was all he had left. "We'll find him. Okay? We will find him. He can't have gone far." 

Will turned to the hunters and gave them a look. They understood. They nodded and turned, running off to the direction of the play area. They were followed closely by most of the campers.  The only ones who stayed had their own kids and needed to stay behind. 

Will tried to comfort James as much as he could, leading him slowly after the hoard of campers that went to look. He dreaded the worst, he hoped beyond hope that it didn't have anything to do with what was sleeping underneath the camp. But there was this sinking feeling in his gut that it could be connected.