Sign of the Times

A bunch of teenagers decide the fate of the world around a ping pong table

This council thing was the weirdest thing ever. It was held around a ping-pong table with bad snacks and a bunch of teenagers. What could possibly go right in this room?

We sat there for a while, waiting for Percy and Thalia to show up again. In the meantime I sat the furthest I could from Zoe, not having made a decision yet, and as far away from the last two empty seats in the room.

When Percy and Thalia both showed up looking angry as ever, the evening commenced. Chiron wrote down the prophecy on a white board.

"This is pointless," Zoe announced, starting the meeting off strong. "There is no time for this, our goddess is in need of help! The hunters and I should go as soon as possible."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca chipped in. "I mean, you heard the prophecy, six shall go west. Six hunters should go immediately." She seemed so confident, powerful. Is this what being a hunter does to you?

"Yes! Artemis must be freed!" Zoe says.

"Are you crazy?" Thalia asks. "The prophecy says a combination of hunters and campers. It would just be plain stupid to only take hunters." I look at Thalia who looks so very red in the face. Next to Thalia is Percy who is just staring at the table.

"No! The hunters don't need thy help!"

"It's your, not thy. Not one normal person says thy."

"Fine, the hunters don't need yerrrr help! Yerrrrr." Gods, being Zoe must be a headache. The English language changing and evolving every .5 seconds and having to live through all of it.

Thalia sighed, frustrated, while the Stoll brothers laughed their asses off, earning them a glare from both Zoe and Bianca.

"Thalia's right," I say. "We wouldn't want to go against a prophecy because that would just be silly, right?"

"Fine," Zoe agrees. "We shall take you plus five hunters. Done."

Of course that caused immediate outburst from all of the campers present. I decided to stay quiet, deciding I caused enough craziness for the night.

"Well, what happens if we do go against it?" Dionysus inquires. "I mean, lost in the land without rain, death by a parents hand? Neither of those sound too good to me. If we go against it maybe that wouldn't happen."

"But our fate would only be worse if we go against it," Thalia retorts. "If we want to win, we have to not fight the unnecessary fights, like against prophecies." That seemed to shut Zoe up because she just nodded.

"We must not delay," Chiron decides. "Today is Sunday, and Friday is the winter solstice."

"Oh, goody," Dionysus mutters. "Another dull annual meeting."

"One that Artemis must be present at," Zoe adds. "She has been the most vocal about planning action against Kronos and his minions. If she is not back in time for the meeting then we have already lost this war before it has even really gained traction."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must also agree," Chiron says. "Artemis is a critical component in the war right now and we are down to merely a week to find her."

"And what about this monster that she was hunting?" I ask. "I mean, if it was dangerous enough to capture her that what are we to do against it?" The room fell silent. Always a good sign. "That's nice. Let's move on and pretend I didn't say anything."