{𝟒) 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 | 𝙻𝚞𝚔𝚎 𝙲𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚗

35.

⚔︎Ψ 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐬 𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐞 Ψ⚔︎

𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, all the way down with the wings.

The Garden of the Gods was clear in sight, and we suspected to land closer to the area then we thought we could. Once landing and taking the wings off us I stepped towards Nico making sure he was okay, and nothing hurt him.

"I'm okay, I'm not a doll." He whined and I sighed and set my hands hesitantly to my sides.

"I just naturally worry, okay?" We both smiled at one another and let it be.

We trashed the melted wings somewhere around the terrace of the visitor center we had landed upon. Percy, Annabeth and the new girl Rachel walked together and Percy looked up towards Daedalus' old shop, but nothing seemed to appear.

"It moved once again, who knows where it could be now." Annabeth sighed out.

Percy turned to her and questioned, "what do we do now? How do we get back into the maze?"

The Daughter of Athena, the wisdom struck her like gold as she looked over the mountains in the distance, her shoulders slumped in slight defeat as she spoke, "perhaps we can't. If Daedalus died, he said his life force was tied into the Labyrinth. All of it could be destroyed and maybe that just may stop Lukes's invasion."

She tried to see the good but in the back of her eyes, she didn't want to have to fight the one she once called a brother. And it's true, I remember my first days at Camp and all Luke could do was mention Annabeth even if he saw the smallest of things to recant a past memory of the two.

He had a little sister to take care of, to protect, he just went about it the wrong way and yet I can still sense that whenever he thinks of Annabeth all he can see is the young girl he watched grow up and he was filled with regret and pain.

Thinking about how many have possibly passed on, Kronos won't be able to enact his idiotic plan. Maybe Luke can come back, or maybe I'm just a little too hopeful....

But even then...we wouldn't be able to go back to normal. Our lives can't be normal, not after everything that he has done or has been influenced to do. He's just another monster for the history books waiting to be drawn up as this horrible person.

Luke was just broken, just as broken as I, we wanted things that we could never get, we received things we never wanted. We didn't deserve any of it. And yet we become the villains in one's stories but we didn't care to be heroes either.

We were victims...of the so-called "heroes."

"No, he's not dead..." Nico snapped me out of my thoughts with his very words as he turned to look at me.

"Are you sure Nico?" I asked him and he nodded, "I can sense when people die, it's like this buzzing in my ears almost like thousands of bees."

Percy quickly asked, "what about Grover? Or Tyson?" But Nico shrugged, unsure of what answer would suit Percy's questions, "I can't tell, they're not half-bloods so they don't have mortal souls."

I tried to reason, "I'm sure they are fine, Grover and Tyson are both resourceful, even if they haven't gotten out of the Labyrinth safely, I'm sure they're doing fine."

He sighed at me, and I just turned away not wanting to argue with him as Annabeth told us, "We have to get into town. Our chances will be better of finding an entrance to the Labyrinth. We must make it back to camp before Luke and his army."

Rachel shrugged, "or we could just take a plane?"

Percy shook his head instantly, "I don't fly."

The back-and-forth banter began with the two, as if chemistry was building between them. Which seemed odd because I remember this being the way Percy and Annabeth were but now the air has shifted...

"But you just did." Rachel argued back but Percy pointed out, "nope, that's just low flying. The sky is Zeus territory and well I can't do it. Anyways the Labyrinth would be the quickest way then by plane."

Annabeth then brought up, "what about a car? We can take it into the city. Hayley can drive it."

I gulped and laughed rubbing the back of my neck, "well... umm I don't know if I can, haven't really tried to drive with just the one eye y'know?" I pointed out as my hand waved over half my face.

Rachel looked at me more closely and widened her eyes, "oh, how did that happen, was it a genetic thing from your parent or something?"

The whole group went silent, and I faced her and said, "You haven't been here long enough so I will not judge you, but I will say my uncle did this to me."

I turned around and spotted the parking lot and began to walk forth to the cars. As I turned back, I saw Rachel and Percy following me as Nico went with Annabeth in another direction.

Rachel stayed by my side and smiled, "your uncle did this? Who's your dad? Apollo? Ares? Never mind I shouldn't pry..."

Taking a deep breath to calm myself down I explained to her, "well it happened late last year a day before my birthday where I was in an argument and well, got what I deserved."

She didn't seem to agree with my choice of words and shook her head, "no one deserves to go permanently blind in one eye just because of an argument."

I sighed and told her, "Seems like my entire life is like that then."

Flashes of that night continue to haunt me, knowing that Zeus used his daughter to hurt me, to make it seem she did it all on her own.

Thalia continually regrets what had happened blaming herself for all that transpired, I used to blame her till I realized the truth and that the Gods are truly just that selfish and self absorbed.

It is said Thalia continues to apologize, begging her father to fix that one thing on me so I can move onto the next life or when I at least pass I won't have this looming over me.

But nothing and Thalia would never look at me in the eyes again knowing she was somehow apart of this happening...

Sometimes perhaps at night I'll rub at my eye to make it go away, scratch at it to give it blood and life.

Even the white streak in my hair, it was not simply from holding the world in my hands.

And yet while Percys, Annabeths and even Luke's white streaks fade over time.

Mines will never do that.

And even with all the hair dye in the world...nothing can get rid of it...

Rachel didn't say anything after that but as we continued to walk she stopped both Percy and I.

"Wait. I can get us a car." I looked at her and crossed my arms, "you know how to hotwire a car?"

She swallowed a bit by my question and shook her head and began making her way to a chauffeured Lexus, Percy and I looked at one another confused as ever.

There was a man wearing a nice suit and reading a newspaper while occasionally sipping his drink. He seemed to be caught off guard by her quite a bit and she simply spoke a few words and he folded up his newspaper hastily and reached for the cellphone in his pocket.

After speaking on the phone, he opened the backdoor for her and she turned her head and signaled for Percy and me to come along and looked up at the driver as if it weren't an issue, he seemed intimidated by just her innocent look so he didn't say anything but drove over to us and soon enough we were in the car.

The driver seemed startled by Rachel, but it didn't matter cause now we have a ride and a chance to get back to camp quickly, who knows what's going to happen...

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Were not nearing the end but bound to see Luke again, but were slowly steeping the way, I'm so scared to write book 5.

It may be the longest...