Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 12: A Bumpy Journey

As we start gathering all the supplies and breaking up our small camp, we soon find our way on the road towards Camp Half-Blood. This may be the place where I'll discover my parent. I hope we can find it without too much trouble. If Annabeth is right about someone being after us, this may be a very dangerous journey. I don't think for me, as the attacks weren't meant for me for some reason, but definitely for the others. As I pull my backpack on my back, I see Annabeth approaching me.

"Hey Aileen," she says rather shyly. "Hey Wise Girl, what's up?" Annabeth fiddles with her fingers a bit, cheeks a bit redder. "Uhm... I think I... ehm... never mind. Ready to go?"

"Yup. Do you want to ask me something? It seems like you do," I ask as I readjust my backpack a bit. "Ehm, n-not at the moment. T-the others are waiting for us. Come, we should get going."

I nod a bit as I see her walking away from me rather quickly. "Anna-" I was about to say something to her, but Thalia came to walk next to me, giving me a playful hit on the shoulder. "Come on, creepy girl. The road awaits," she says as she walks past me. I sigh deeply. "Coming..."

With a slight jog, I quickly join the group. Grover starts to lead us towards Camp Half-Blood, with Luke next to him. As we walk, I glance at Annabeth. She seems completely lost in her own world. Thalia, who walks in between us, seems oblivious to it. I know she wanted to tell me something important. It seems I will have to wait a bit longer to find out.

"Say, Grover, what kind of Demigods will we see in the camp?" I ask him. He turns briefly towards me before looking ahead again. "All kinds, Aileen. Children of all kinds of different Gods are there. Apollo, Athena, Hermes, and several others. Each Gods has their own cabin, aside for some minor Gods. And The Hospitable One."

Annabeth looks up at as she hears the last name. "Hades is one of the most powerful among the Gods. Why isn't there a cabin for Demigod children of Hades?" she asks. Glover seems rather uncomfortable when he hears the name. "It's not up to me to question the reasons of Gods, Annabeth. I am just saying how things are."

"The Hospitable One has had no Demigod children since the Pact. The Big Three swore to not have any more Demigod children. Zeus apparently broke it, but she is not one to break a promise easily, so the cabin would be empty anyway," he explains. "She?" I ask in surprise, in unison with Annabeth. "Yes, Goddess of the Dead and Riches, Lady of the Underworld. It's a common misconception that Hades is a male. People didn't think it could be possible that one of the Big Three could be female."

"But all the stories... they say otherwise. Were the Greeks that blind?" Annabeth ponders. "Most stories were made a long time ago, and most stories have been lost to time. Now, mostly those that speak about the Lady of the Dead speak about a male God," Grover explains.

"I suppose that's a plausible reason, but still... makes you kind of sad. Such an important Goddess that seems to be... ostracized by the others," I say softly. Grover didn't say anything further about it. I suppose he can't do anything about it or know the full reasons of the Gods.

We continued the journey for a few more hours, before Thalia looks around in suspicion. "We're not alone," she says in a soft tone. Grover nods a bit. A little scared and shocked. "Monsters are close. I don't know how..."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, as multiple ferocious monsters came from the tree line. It's made of half dead bodies, hellhounds and skeletons. I have never seen such monsters before, only in horror movies... It makes you frightened and fearful. The visible bones between rotting flesh, muscles without skin, or moving skeleton with white bleached bones. There's so many of them... they prepare to engage us like an organized army.

"Annabeth, Thalia, I need you to carry me for a while," I inform them. "What's your plan?" Thalia asks, frowning a bit. "I'll make them scared to the point they will run away. I fear it will make me too weak to run or even walk."

Annabeth quickly joins me at my side. "Make it quick, Aileen. But please, be careful," she says. I smile a little. "Sure, Wise Girl," I say before turning to the huge mob of monsters. I close my eyes to concentrate, and my hands extending towards them; reaching out to their cores, prodding them to reveal their fears to me.

The first core of a monster comes to my senses. Then five more... ten... thirty... in the end I feel close to eighty monsters in front of us. Gods... I begin to shake slightly as I try to simultaneously understand so many kinds of fears. It's hard, it's becoming too taxing for my body.

"Aileen, be careful, please... you're bleeding from your nose," Annabeth says with clear worry from my left. Her voice comes over as slightly muffled. "I... almost... got it," I say as I feel myself swaying a bit. The monster barely are visible to me anymore, but they seem stunned. Some are trembling already. I take one deep breath and stare towards them with darkness gathering around me.

"Begone or die," I say in the darkest voice I have ever heard leaving me. Some skeletons shatter from the sheer trembling, others run away as if the devil is chasing them. I feel myself collapsing to the ground. I would if it weren't for two pairs of arms lifting me up. The last thing I saw is Annabeth saying something, but I couldn't hear it as the world turns black.

Soft, muffled voices fill my ears. Crackling of wood that is on fire. A voice that sounds slightly worried, another voice that is trying to reassure the worried voice. They sound familiar to me. I push myself to open my eyes to see what's happening.

A darkened sky filled with stars is what I see first. Stars twinkle and form patterns of beauty as I stare at them. The voices came from my right, so I turn to my right to see what's happening there.

I see a worried Annabeth next to a fire. She is receiving comfort from Thalia and Grover. Luke is staring in the fire as he tries to distract himself from his thoughts.

"It will be fine, Annabeth. Aileen will wake up," I hear Thalia say. "It has been days, Thalia! We can't keep carrying her with all these attacks! I'm scared something will happen to her," Annabeth retorts. Days... Gods.

"I-I don't understand why. We should be close..." Grover says confused. "We'll make it, Annabeth. I promise you. We will all survive this," Luke says.

"Wise... Girl?" I say weakly. Annabeth snaps her head to me, shock and relief swimming in her expression. "Aileen!" she says, rushing to my side. "I..." I try to say something to her, comfort her to say I will be okay, but the world turns black once again...