THE HEALER| Heroes of Olympus

one

It had been six months since I'd broken off my relationship with Jason.

 It had been one kiss so it wasn't a big deal as I thought it would be. It wasn't like we were dating or anything. We just had small crushes on each other. Besides I was happy that he had started to pursue Piper instead. 

I knew I was being selfish. I had only broken the relationship because I knew his fate. I tried to justify my choice by telling myself it was for the best. He was happier with Piper and this way I wouldn't suffer as much grief. 

Over the six months Leo had worked night and day to build the Argo II. I helped where I could but it was mostly me fixing cuts or burns. It was the middle of summer and the camp was lively once again. We only received one new camper for the Apollo cabin. A little girl who was twelve years old. She was very sweet and was the definition of a sunshine girl. 

Today was June 25th. Would be heading to Camp Jupiter today. We would find Percy and the other six demigods and they would start the quest to defeat Gaea.  Jason had asked me to come along and I had agreed. Mostly because I was very curious about what the Roman camp looked like. He said that it was more military based and only the strongest survived, he described it as very different than Camp Half-Blood. 

"I'll see you in a few days." I said hugging Will, Austin, and Kayla goodbye. My cabin was my family and I would miss them but I would be back in a few days so I wasn't too worried. 

"Don't do anything dangerous." Will instructed me. I nodded but we both knew I wasn't going to listen. "Don't forget when you return it's your turn to lead the campfire sing along so don't over use your voice singing lullaby's to those Romans." 

I playfully rolled my eyes and smiled. "I'll miss you too Will," I ruffled his hair. I looked at Austin and Kayla.

"Try not to go to war with the Ares cabin without me." Austin saluted me. 

"Don't worry boss, we've found all the latest land mines and have a truce that should last at least a few days." He said. 

"Don't let Clarisse push you around either." I reminded him. "Oh, and watch out for our new little camper. She's too precious for Ares's cabin to blow up." 

"On it!" We saluted each other and I grabbed my stuff and left the cabin. I boarded the Argo II with Jason, Piper, Leo and Annabeth. We then started our journey to California. 

***

The warship descended through the clouds, but I couldn't stop second-guessing ourselves. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked them on sight?

The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete...well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet-and- greet with the neighbors.

Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. She'd asked Leo to send one of his special inventions—a holographic scroll—to alert their friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo had wantedto paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull—WASSUP? with a smiley face—but Annabeth vetoed the idea. She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor and neither did I. 

Too late to turn back now.

The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them.

I gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail.My four crewmates took their places.

On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like a madman, checking his gauges and wrestling levers. Most helmsmen would've been satisfied with a pilot's wheel or a tiller. Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii. He could turn the ship by pulling on the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or raise sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast.