You Can't Choose Your Family (On Hold)

Chapter 8: The Oracle of Delphi

A hooded girl came out of the cave. I couldn’t see her face yet, but when she saw me, she gasped. She still hadn’t removed her hood when she spoke. She would not look directly at me. She reminded me of someone I had once met. “Hey, Annabeth. How are you? What brings you here?”

“I’m… okay. But Chiron has asked for a quest.” The girl finally removed her hood. And this time, it was me who gasped.

“I-I remember you!” I gushed out. “You used to go to the same school as me. But I cant remember which one.”

The girl had long, wild, red hair. “Really? What is your name?” She asked me politely. Her name was just on the tip of my tongue.

“Zoe.” I answered.

The girl thought for a minute. Then her face filled with recognition. “Oh my gods!” she screeched. “You were that girl who went crazy and had to go to that mental institute!”

“Were did you hear that?” I asked, shocked. I had a name in mind. Of one girl in particular.

“You know that girl Rebecca?” She asked. Her eyes lit up a little when she started to gossip.

“Yeah.” I answered, wanting her to go on. I didn’t think it was Rebecca. She seemed like too much of a nice person to do something like that.

“Well, she heard it from Jake, who heard it from Renee, who heard it from Sarah.”

That was the name I was waiting to hear. “I always hated Sarah.” I grumbled.

The girl grunted, “Yeah, me too.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Annabeth interrupted our little reunion. “You and Rachel,” that was her name! “know each other?”

“Well, yeah. Didn’t we just say so?” I asked, not meaning to be rude, but that’s how I think it came across.

Annabeth’s eyes widened for a minutes. Then she turned to Rachel. “So… Rachel. About that quest?”

“Oh, right. Give me a minute. I don’t know if this will work. But I’ve been trying to call on her by my own now.”

Rachel closed her eyes. When she opened them, they glowed green. Green mist poured out of her mouth and all around her. Zoe jumped back, “What’s happening to her!”

“Sh! She’s about to say a prophecy!” Annabeth chastised me. Just then Rachel opened her mouth and began to speak in a weird voice. It sounded like three Rachel’s put together, talking all at once.

“Child of the one the gods despise,

Shall go to Olympus, or monsters will come of the greatest size.

Seven half-bloods will accompany her on the way,

Or Camp Half Blood will rue the day.

One could chose for Olympus to fall,

But all of this depends on who answers the call.”

The green mist went back into her mouth. Her eyes dimmed back to their normal color. She grabbed her head. “Good or bad?” Rachel asked.

“When is it ever good?” Annabeth asked her.

“Good point. I’ll let you take her to the Big House to gather up the people to go on the quest with her.” Rachel told Annabeth.

“Actually, we should wait for Nico to get here. He could be useful on her quest.” Annabeth offered.

“Good idea. You’re going to want to rest up. Believe me. See you later, Annabeth.”

Annabeth then walked back to her cabin to do who knows what. She was probably going to go and try to figure out what my prophecy meant. I instead sat on the beach for a while. Watching the sunset.

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The night passed surprisingly fast. I ate dinner. Went to the campfire, I even sang along on the songs that I knew. Then I went to bed. It felt like minutes to me. People seemed to be finally forgetting about me. Which was all that I had wanted from the beginning. My dreams, though, weren’t as peaceful as the night before.

I stood in the same place that I was last time. The place where I had seen the boy and girl. I saw the girl talking to something that I couldn’t see. When the girl walked to the center of the room, I could see that she was talking into something that looked like a mirror.

There was something veryfamiliar about her. The golden eyes threw me off though. Something about the color of her hair and her face. It… it almost looked like… me.

The boy walked into the room and stopped when he saw the girl, only this time she looked much older. Not old, but she looked to be in her twenties. “I though I told you to leave and never come back.” he said in an icy voice.

“You know you can’t say no to me. You know what he will do if you say no.” The girl-women said.

“I don’t care anymore! I’m going back to Camp. I don’t care what they will do to me when they see me. But it is the only place I can be that’s away from you!” he spat at her.

“They could easily kill you.” She said with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

“I don’t care!” he said as he walked out of the room. It looked like he said more, but I didn’t catch what he said.

The girl turned back to the thing that she was talking to before. “I’m sorry, honey. I’ll find someone for you. You have nothing to worry about. Soon you will be ready to awaken. Then we will destroy them. Once and for all. Or better yet, make them wok for you now. Make them slaves to Tartarus for the rest of eternity.” there was a low rumble that I couldn’t make out, because at just that instant the dream shifted.

This time I was in a new place. A dark place. But I could see that it was a chasm. It had a slight reddish glow to it. When I peered down, I saw black, but I had a feeling that it stretched on and on and on. The voice was like rocks scraping against each other. Just like last time. That’s when I noticed that it was the same place as last time, only this time, I could see. “Hello, Zoe.”

I turned, trying to find where the voice had come from. I realized after a moment that it had come from the chasm. “Like I said before, do not fear me, unless you refuse to help me.”

I clenched my fist. “Why would I help you?” I asked between clenched teeth.

“You do want to live, don’t you?”

I hesitated. “That depends on the cost.” I said.

Even though I couldn’t see him, I had the feeling that he was smiling. “Well, you would need to make me a sacrifice. Swear your alliance to me, and stay aboard my war ship.”

“What type of sacrifice?” I asked skeptically.

“That will be decided at a later date.”

I hesitated. “And if I don’t?”

“The consequences will be great, on you and your precious camp.”

“Do-do I have to decide now?” I asked. If I could stall for a while, maybe I could think of a plan.

“I will give you a year. That is a long time. A lot of time to think. I will check in every now and then, I will be stronger then, not nearly strong enough to reform, but strong enough.”

“I’ll decide later.” I said quietly. A year. If I couldn’t think a plan in a year, then… Well, I didn’t want to think about what would happen then. I didn’t want to swear my alliance to him, I didn’t want anything to do with him. Everyone, everyone, I knew hated him. No, not hate. Hate is not a strong enough word to describe their feelings. But… I couldn’t let him hurt them. I decided it would be best and wait for the time to come. Then, then I would make my choice.

(A.N. sorry for all of the short chapters! and sorry i havent posted in a while! been SUPER busy! please vote? more votes, the faster the next chapter will come up!)