The Hunters of Artemis: The Return of the Hunters

Chapter 12: The Travelling Band of Demigods

Dear readers,

First off, I would just like to apologize for not updating in so long. It's been super hectic at home and I've been to lazy to make time to write this (don't hate me!). So, I'm just apologizing now... Yeah. Sorry.

-flygirl1

__________________________________________________________________

"Rhea?"

An hour into our walk to our destination, Lyra sidled up to me. "Yes?" I said stiffly.

"I'm... Well, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry that we've been a little secretive, it's just that it's a really touchy topic for all of us, and it's difficult to talk about. That's all."

Taking a deep breath, I gave her a small smile. I couldn't hold it against her. It must have been hard to go through what she must have... I couldn't imagine...

The rest of the time we talked about the Hunters and what they did. It was really fascinating. I learned that the Hunters accompanying us were all at least a hundred years old. I mean, that's OLD!

Soon, we stopped in a clearing for lunch. When we broke through the tree line, Hannah froze.

"Hannah?" Robyn asked. "Are you okay?"

Blinking hard, Hannah looked around. "This place... It seems... familiar." She turned to stare directly at me. "Do you guys get the same feeling?"

The Hunters exchanged glances.

"Could it be possible that we're taking the same route to Gray Birch that we did twenty-three years ago?" Lyra commented.

I raised my hands in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"

Lyra put a hand on my shoulder. "It's just that we've been here before. This is where we set up camp the first night. Some monsters attacked us, stuff like that."

"Like what?" Anna asked. It was the first time I had heard her talk in a while. Jack hadn't spoken a word at all this whole time. He looked like he was in deep thought.

Lyra glanced over at Anna. "Do you know who Lycaon is?"

Anna nodded. "The werewolf. What about him?"

"We fought him and his wolves here once," Robyn said. She chuckled. "He destroyed all of our tents and belongings.

Solemnly, Lyra nodded. "Yup. That was no fun at all..."

There was silence.

"I just hope no one gets caught in a metal net again," Hannah burst out. The Hunters all laughed, leaving me, Anna and Jack all in the dark once more.

__________________________________________________________________

That night, we spend the night in the woods, making camp a few feet away from the campfire we had made. I curled up in a silver sleeping bag that the Hunters had brought.

Speaking of the Hunters, they had somehow managed to keep a giant tent in one of the backpacks. It was incredible. When we were setting up, I turned my back for one second, and it was up!

Jack was sitting by the fire still, huddled up in his sleeping bag. I sighed, and sat up.

"Hey..."

He didn't respond. "Jack?" He turned then, a look of question on his face.

"Yeah?"

I got out of the bag and went to sit next to him, hugging my knees to my chest. "Are you okay? I mean... It's a lot to take in already. There's already a ton of pressure on me. I'm the leader, and I'm supposed to keep us all safe. Plus, I thought that this Gray Birch was a lot closer than it is. What if my mom is farther away than I thought? I mean, if I lose her, then my dad will... I don't even know what my dad will do. He loves mom more than almost anything. If I don't find her... And she dies... It will all be my fault. And, if I somehow lead all of us to our deaths, then what happens after? I... I don't want to die."

"Yet."

I looked up, startled. "Huh?"

He looked straight at me, his brown eyes flickering reds, oranges and yellows in the dying flames of our fire. "You mean that you don't want to die yet. I mean, we all die at some point."

That's true for most people. "Not for everyone." I looked over at the Hunters' tent. "They get to live forever..."

"Unless they die in battle, remember?" Jack reminded me.

I sighed. "Yeah. I guess so. But still. It's so cool. Can you imagine hunting with the goddess of hunting? How amazing would that be?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't like the whole 'boys are evil' thing... But from a girls' perspective, yeah, I guess so."

We sat together in silence, watching as the firewood burned away to ash. When the last stick burned to a crisp, I sighed again and glanced over at Jack, only to see that he had fallen asleep.

The sleeping boy had slumped over beside the fire, his body curled into itself.

I chuckled and tossed some dirt onto the fire, making sure it was completely out before climbing back into my own sleeping bag and closing my eyes, welcoming sleep completely.