The Five Demigods Who Saved Olympus | Book 1, 2, & 3

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The ride was long. They drove from Paris, France to Altamura, Italy. They didn't stop once to stretch their legs out. They didn't stop for any bathroom breaks. They didn't stop to get food. Zander had been driving them for 17 hours. He was growing tired, but, he didn't want to bother any of the others. Noelle had passed out an hour or two after getting into the car from exhaustion. She hadn't had a proper sleep in days. She kept her head on Heath's shoulder since the moment she healed Heath. For the first time since the beginning of the trip, she was scared. Scared that she'd lose Heath. Scared that the rest of the group would get hurt because she didn't go to check and see for herself how far away Cronus was. She hated that she was so quick to trust Poseidon. Though he is the King of the Sea and would know where Cronus' location was more so than her, she still felt that her judgment was better than his. Heath too had passed out, not because of exhaustion, but because Noelle's soft touch on his shoulder was enough to warm his cold skin. It was unusual for him considering his skin has always been cold, but he knew that it was only Noelle who had been keeping him warm. Donovan had been resting, getting his strength back after bringing roots up from the soil. It was the most he had ever had to bring up, causing him to be weak. Amara hadn't been doing anything. But putting Amara in front of a wheel, who had never driven before in her life despite being of age, wouldn't have been a great idea. Zander felt the sleepiness washing over his body. He kept drifting off, but the headlights of other cars were enough to get him to open his eyes. After fighting sleep, Zander finally let it take over his body. Donovan took notice of Zander driving on the opposite side of the road. He shook Zander in an attempt to try and wake him. Zander didn't rise from his seat like Donovan had hoped. So, he opted for yelling.

"Zander? Zan, hey. Wake up!" Donovan shouted, shaking Zanders' entire body with his hand. Zander opened his eyes to see that he was indeed on the opposite side of the road. He quickly crossed back over and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Do you need me to take over, man?" Donovan asked.

"No, I'm good." Zander said. Donovan left him alone after that. But, Zander drifted off once more and crossed the other side of the road. So, when a car came their way, he of course didn't see it. The car honked its loud horn, causing Zander to wake and see that the car was just feet away. He quickly turned the wheel to the left and into the forest to dodge the car and hit a tree. The impact caused Heath and Noelle to awake from their slumber. Donovan had one hand gripped on his seat and the other on his armrest. He turned to Zander with an annoyed look on his face.

"See that, Noelle. We did crash." Heath said. Noelle groaned and opened the door and stepped out. She walked to the front of the vehicle to assess the damage. She sighed when she saw just how badly the tree had damaged the front of the car. She motioned for the others to step out, and when they didn't, she walked over to Zanders' passenger side and opened the door.

"Come on. We'll have to take the rest of our journey on foot." Noelle said, causing the others to groan. They stepped out of the car and abandoned it, starting the rest of their journey on foot. After the 12th hour of walking, Amara began to whine and complain as she did in Nova Scotia. She had done so well not to say anything, but she eventually couldn't contain her emotions anymore. It didn't annoy Noelle as much this time around, but she still didn't enjoy having to hear her complaints. Around the 15th hour, Amara decided she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Guys, I think we need to take a break." Amara said, putting her hands above her head to try and catch her breath.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted." Donovan confessed.

"Do you think it'll be alright, Noelle?" Zander asked, waiting for her answer. Noelle sighed and stopped in her place before turning around to face the rest of the group.

"Yeah, okay. I think we all need to recharge. Not a very long one though, alright?" Noelle said. The others nodded their head in agreement and Donovan started to look around for a place to rest at. He walked to what seemed to be a secluded area and dropped to his knees.

"This'll work." Donovan said. He put his hands into the soil and slowly branches came out of the ground. He then created a bed of flowers atop for them to lay comfortably.

"Amara, go find some branches." Donovan said, pointing towards the trees. She complied and went into the forest for branches that had fallen or broken off of trees. She came back and placed them a few feet away from the bed Donovan had created.

"Your turn, Zander." Donovan said.

"What do you want me to do?" Zander asked.

"Make the fire." Donovan said, walking away to continue adding flowers to their bed. Zander rubbed his hands together, and after a few seconds, lightning sprung from his fingers and zapped the branches, making a fire that would keep them warm during the night. Once Zander finished, he joined the others atop the bed of flowers and fell into a much-needed sleep. Amara had taken Donovan's book from him and started reading it. And Heath laid closest to the fire trying to keep warmth, though it was pointless for him to try. Donovan made his way over to Noelle who sat silently on her side of the bed. He sat down beside her. She grew confused, wondering why he had gone up to her and not anyone else. He sat in silence for a minute before slightly turning to her.

"I'm sorry about what I said the other day." Donovan said. Noelle instantly knew what he meant. Donovan had made her feel worthless and like a huge disappointment, but she'd never admit that. Not to him at least.

"It's okay." Noelle said in a quiet voice.

"No, really it isn't, Noelle. I'm ashamed of myself for treating you so terribly. Isn't who I am and it was wrong of me. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me." Donovan said. He was about to walk away and return to his side of the bed, but Noelle placed her hand down on his forearm, causing him to turn back.

"I forgive you." Noelle said, giving him a small smile. Donovan grinned from ear to ear and immediately wrapped his arms around Noelle. Noelle almost flinched at the sudden contact but didn't. She slowly wrapped her arms around him. Before she could get used to the odd feeling, Donovan had pulled away from her. He patted her on the shoulder once before walking away, returning to his spot. Heath turned back in his place to look at Noelle. Noelle looked over to him, and the smile on her face grew.

You look good when you smile.

Heath thought in his mind, knowing she'd hear it. She turned away, shaking her head.

Shut it.

Noelle thought, causing Heath to chuckle. Noelle laid her head down on an orchid, trying to get some rest. After 30 minutes of tossing and turning, Noelle sat up and jumped off of the flower bed.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk." Noelle said, straightening out her shirt. She was about to walk off when Heath's voice stopped her.

"Stay safe." Heath said, feeling a little worried that she was going off by herself. Though they didn't know where Cronus was, Heath had a feeling that her going out was a bad idea. Noelle blushed when she thought about Heath and how he cared for her. She turned back with a smile spread on her face and said,

"Always."