Not a Hero

chapter eight

HERA'S CABIN WAS GENERALLY FORBIDDEN FOR CAMPERS TO ENTER.

Despite that, Hale had still walked into the cabin without a hint of hesitation. Annabeth had warned her not to but Hale had ignored her. 

It was really cold inside, Hale noticed. The entire cabin seemed very empty. There were no beds, no bathroom, no windows. Just a statue of the goddess, ten feet tall and seated on a throne with flowing robes of gold. The statue was at the center of a circle of white pillars. 

By the foot of the statue, there was a bronze brazier in which there was a small fire burning. A stone hawk, one of Hera's sacred creatures, was perched on the statue's shoulder and the staff which was in the clenched fist of the statue was topped with a lotus flower. Her hair was in black plaits and although she was smiling, there was still something cold about her eyes. 

Hale looked away, she wasn't particularly fond of the Queen of Olympus, and directed her gaze to the girl that stood behind the statue, at the small altar in the back. Her black shawl hid most of her face so Hale could only see her hands which were held palms up. 

Annabeth seemed to recognize the girl though. "Rachel!" she called, smiling for the first time Hale saw her. 

The girl turned to look at Annabeth, dropped her shawl as she did. She had curly red hair, a freckled face and looked about the same age as Hale. There was something off about her though. It made Hale feel wary. She had to be careful around this girl. 

"Hey," she said, running over to give Annabeth a hug. "I'm so sorry!" She pulled away from Annabeth. "I came as fast as I could." 

Then for the next few minutes, they talked. Talked about Annabeth's boyfriend and the lack of news. Hale didn't really listen, she wasn't too interested in the topic, and instead just stood there, trying not show her discomfort too outwardly. 

"I'm being rude," said Annabeth, looking back at Hale whom she had just remembered. "Rachel, this is..." Her voice trailed off as she realized that Hale had never mentioned her name. 

"Hale," she offered, holding out her hand to the redheaded girl. "Daughter of Hermes." She tilted her head slightly to the side. "You're mortal?" 

"Yep," she said. She reached out her hand to take Hale's. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. The Oracle." It was after their hands touched that Hale realized what a mistake she made. 

Hale's eyes suddenly turned black and rolled to back of her head. Her entire body convulsed and then she started trembling, shaking violently like she was having a seizure. A shrill, bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat, raw and animalistic. Blood started to trickle from her nose, flow out of her ears and her mouth. 

The last thing Hale remembered was the bitter taste of blood on her lips when she went into the vision. 

There was fire everywhere. Hale wasn't a Christian, she didn't believe in Hell or anything, but this was definitely what Hell would look like if it existed. A place where she could burn for the rest of her life, be punished for all of the terrible things she did. 

It didn't make sense why she was seeing this though. Her visions only ever showed the future. Unless, this was her future. Her death. Was this how she would die? Burned to death? 

She shook her head. That wasn't it. She had already seen her future and this wasn't it. She wouldn't die in a fire but in a much worse way. Something more horrific. 

It was actually oddly beautiful, the flames dancing around her. The fire enveloped her, consuming her entirely. It was so hot, the flames. It burned her, made her want to scream until the pain went away. Scream until everything went away. Should she scream?