a story as endless as the ocean . pjo / allie jackson

0.6 dead men tell no tales

0.6 Dead Men (Or... Female Oracles? I Guess?) Tell No Tales

After laying in the darkness for an hour, I finally managed to go back to sleep. My shoulders felt like they were breaking, but when I woke up at five, I ate some ambrosia and that seemed to help.

When the horn blew for breakfast, I ate and then told Grover about my dream and how I could still feel the weight of the sky on my shoulders.

We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually, the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor, gullible satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.

"It's so weird," Grover said, twisting a clump of his fur anxiously, "you can still feel the weight of the sky and after what Zoe dreamed—"

"Woah, woah, back up. Zoe had a dream, too?"

"I... I don't know, exactly," Grover stammered. "About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron," Grover explained. "She looked really panicked."

"Pause... how do you know this?"

Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."

"Uh, why?"

"Just to be, you know, near them."

"You're a stalker with hooves."

"I am not!" he defended.

I gave him an admonishing look. "You definitely are, but go on."

"Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene."

I tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp— a big blonde dude with eyes all over his body with legendary skills. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. I wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoe Nightshade.

"What did she say?" I asked, returning to the important stuff.

Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout... I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"

"What kind of trouble could Artemis be in? Do you think the monster she was hunting found her before she found it."

"I... well, I think that's kinda the point. Finally, Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horsetail in curlers and—"

"He wears curlers... in his tail?"

Grover covered his mouth.

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head. "Go on."

"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said..." Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"

"'Lost'? How the hell do you kidnap the goddess of the hunt? How the hell do you kidnap a goddess, in general?"

"It happened to Persephone," Grove pointed out.

"And she sealed her fate by eating the pomegranate. You tellin' me Artemis ate a fucking pomegranate or something of the sort and is now lost?"

"Well, when you put it like that."