Not a Hero

chapter ten

𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄.

"Fuck!" She hadn't meant to swear so loudly, she hadn't meant for the curse to come out of her mouth at all, but it was much too late to take it back. Everyone, like everyone, was staring at her. Hale normally wouldn't mind, she was quite used to being stares at, but now it felt oddly... suffocating. They all looked away when Rachel started talking. 

 She wasn't looking at Hale but Jason instead. "You just," she stammered, "you just... finished the prophecy." She looked so shocked. "- An oath to be kept until final breath/And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death." She looked at Jason. "How did you -" 

"I know those lines." Hale really wanted to leave for some reason. "I don't know how but I know that prophecy." 

"In Latin, no less." The girl from before, Drew, called out. "Handsome and smart." Hale frowned slightly. Most people would be pleased to receive a compliment from such a pretty girl but Jason seemed... uncomfortable. It made her feel bad for him. Just a little bit. 

"Well," said Rachel, straightening her shoulders. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy." She still seemed a bit awkward. "We hoped that it might not for years but I fear it's starting now." She smiled sadly. "I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some of are here tonight. Some are not." 

For some really weird reason, she looked at Hale. Did she think that Hale was one of the seven half-bloods? Hale really hoped not. She didn't understand much of the prophecy, her Latin skills were subpar, but she did know that she didn't want to be involved with it. 

The other campers have began to whisper and mumble amongst themselves, all looking equally nervous, when a drowsy voice suddenly through them. "I'm here! Oh... were you calling roll?" 

"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone shouted and a lot of people. The tension suddenly didn't seem so heavy. Hale still felt wary.  

"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad." 

"Or worse," added Chiron. He shouldn't have - it just made everyone else freak out. 

"What we do know," said Rachel, shooting a quick glare at Chiron, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen and we need a quest to solve it." She took a deep breath. "Hera, the queen of gods, has been taken." 

A dozen different people starting talking at the same time. Chiron pounded his hoof to silence them but his attempt failed as no one shut up. It took at least fifteen minutes, maybe longer, for all of them to finally shut up. 

Rachel then started talking again. She told them all about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk - how Coach Hedge had apparently sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked though Hale would have to see it to believe it - and of how the spirits had warned them of it only being the beginning. 

Then Rachel finally told them about Jason's vision in the living room at the Big House. About the message that Hera had delivered. 

"Jason," said Rachel, once she had finished. "Um... do you remember your last name?" Jason's cheeks flushed red and he looked embarrassed as he shook his head. "We'll just call you Jason, then," said Rachel. "It's clear that Hera herself has issued you a quest."