Reaching For The Stars

Chapter 17

Artume

She stood in the middle of all the cabins.

Something felt wrong.

Artume watched with furrowed brows as campers walked by to their lessons. None seemed to feel the shift ever since the excursion to Olympus. Banter of all kinds came from all sides; girly and fashion talk from the Aphrodite children, matters of war and fighting techniques from the Ares cabin, tunes of great quality and spirit from the Apollo cabin.

It felt all so normal. The same as it always had been over the years. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. But why did she feel something familiar? It was something oppressive, subtly weaving through the cabins, through the forest, through the air. As if hiding from all that could possibly sense it.

Artume wouldn't have picked up on it if it weren't for the fact she had sensed it once before. It was incredibly old. As old as her father was. She doesn't know what to make of it. There must be a meaning as to why she felt this presence again. When she felt a hand touch her shoulder, she almost jumped in the air as her head snapped to Annabeth.

"What's wrong? You have been standing still for almost an hour."

"I don't know. Something old is creeping over the land."

"Old?" Annabeth asked, gazing around as if she could spot whatever Artume meant. But it was not visible. Only specks of a presence are present; here and there slithering in the shadows. It would go unnoticed by anyone; even Artume has trouble sensing it.

"Yes, older than me. As old as my father was. More than fifteen thousand years old, before mankind was made, before the Gods were born. Before anything that would resemble this world was made. I can hardly sense it, but it is out there."

"That's... worrisome," Annabeth said as brows furrowed together as she gazed around the camp. "Can you tell if it is bad or good?"

"I cannot. I sense too little to feel much else."

Artume turns to face Annabeth, arms gliding around her waist to hold her close. She didn't know why, but it was on instinct as she felt the need for comfort. To feel happy again like the shadows sucked it out of the air. Annabeth was puzzled at what is happening yet held Artume when she noticed the gloomy features on her face.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I don't know."

Artume squeezed Annabeth, who hummed in response, letting her hand stroke the back in comfort. It is nice to feel the warmth of the girl, a sense of security Artume hadn't felt in a long time. She wished to have come to realize it sooner. If she knew this would come for her again, she would have willingly sacrificed herself.

"Come," Annabeth said warmly. "We can't do anything about what you can't make out. Let's make-"

The two turned to watch the sky grow darker and darker, thunder zapped between the darkening clouds like angry snakes. Both could feel the hairs standing up. A storm, fiercer than both had ever seen, was coming alive all around the camp.

"What's happening...?" Annabeth asked as the two watched perplexed while holding hands.

The rumbling thunder becomes louder and louder the more it went on. Their gazes then went to the ocean. What they saw made goosebumps appear on their skin as they witness the sea turn violent. The sea becoming wilder as it roared with white foam and powerful waves.

"This is bad..." Artume muttered as more and more campers look at the changes in nature. "Zeus and Poseidon. Something happened between them."

"The prophecy..." Annabeth mumbled, her gaze going to the border of camp, her brows furrowed like she thinks something will appear on the hill.