Ocean Magic (PJO x KC x HOO)

13. Holly's Headless Hunt

Welcome back to the land of the living, Ariel, Ama whispered in my head as Holly led me, Cal, and a very quiet Pepe through the forest. It had been a few hours since those strange teenagers left us broken and confused. I still held onto the little piece of paper in my hands, not letting the others get a chance to read it. 

I wasn't dead, Ama. 

But you weren't exactly alive, either. If Cal hadn't given you that garlic, you would have --

Don't you dare say that I would have died. I can't even think about that right now, not with the news about Jackie.

Ah. You are worried about her, no?

Of course I am! She's my best friend! Ama, she's been kidnapped by this group that wants to attack Camp Half-Blood, and they're using her to get there!

There are some things that are beyond your understanding.

What is that supposed to mean?

You're new to this world. Not everything is as it seems.

I didn't have time to really think about what Ama was saying to me because we finally broke through the edge of the forest. Glancing around, I realized that we were near a quiet road. It wasn't that big at all, just big enough to fit two cars on it, but at least we had to be near civilization again. And maybe a good McDonald's because I was starving.

"Which way should we go?" Cal asked Holly as if they were two comrades who had known each other for years instead of meeting each other a few days ago. 

"If we need to get to San Francisco, then we need to start heading that way. I'm pretty sure there's a bus station nearby that will take us across the country."

"Shouldn't we head straight back to Camp Half-Blood?" I asked with a frown on my face. I had no idea why we would be going to California if the Romans were planning on attacking Camp Half-Blood. "Shouldn't we go back and help them? We could sound the alarm and get them ready for the attack."

"No, we shouldn't," Pepe said, speaking up for the first time. He squinted at us as the sun rays hit him in the face. 

"I agree," Holly continued, nodding. She glanced at Cal, and I swore that they had talked more about this without me and Pepe than they were letting on. When did they get all buddy-buddy? "We need to get to Camp Jupiter before the attack happens to see if we can talk to them and possibly call for a ceasefire."

"I think I can help with that," Cal said, stepping forward. "I used to go to Camp Jupiter when I was younger, before I moved back home to the UK. They will know me and trust me."

"Whoa, you're British?" Pepe asked.

"Dude, where have you been? Don't you hear my accent when I talk?"

"I just thought you had a lisp or something."

Cal scoffed, and for the first time since I had met him, he actually looked angry. He reached for his war hammer as if he were going to club Pepe's head in even more than it already was but thought better when he saw the glares on my face and Holly's face. "You have an accent, too, you know?" he said instead.

"Of course." Pepe looked at Cal like he had officially lost his mind. "I'm from Mexico. What did you expect?"

Holly stepped in between the two boys before they could start fighting together. "Anyway," she said, "we need to get to Camp Jupiter fast."

"Um, the bus definitely won't get us to California fast," I told her, shaking my head. "We have five days to get there, and we're in New York. I think we should fly. That'll get us there in a few hours."