Stupid Cupid

~Stupid Cupid - Chapter 25

"Sky? Sky! Hey, are you okay? What did you see?" Percy's standing next to me. All I could do was shake my head. I knew it was a bad idea but I ran out the door in search of Nico - I had to worn him. How could I do that to him? Why would I do that to him? None of it made sense. 

I searched the Mess, training arenas, I even checked in B9 with Leo but all I got was a very confused Leo working on Festus the dragon beaded with sweat. Hazel and Frank had headed back to Camp Jupiter last night and there was no way he'd leave with them without saying something. My heart was racing in my chest, the image of his lifeless body still fresh in my mind. Even with the campers rushing by me (or was I rushing by them?) and the green of the trees spinning around my head, it didn't block the terrifying image.

There was only one place left for me to check. His cabin. Something in me told me not to go there - not to risk the vision coming true - but my legs carried me away. I passed all the other cabins, Percy and Jason noticed me and tried to get my attention both with worried looks etched in their features. I kept walking. His door came into view and I swung the door open to find Nico lying shirtless on his bed with a book in hand.

"Oh." Nico looked up almost startled and set the book down. He walked over to me looking very confused.

"Sky? What's going on? Why do you look like you've just seen a - wait, I was about to say ghost but that's not too weird. Anyway, why do you look so spooked?" I didn't speak I just launched my frame into my boyfriend and clung to him with everything in me. He was okay and I wasn't killing him.

"What the Hades is going on in here?" Percy's rather angry voice pierces through my ears. Shoot. 

"Nothing. Nothing at all, Perc. Just making sure Neeks here is A-okay."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"It's fine. I just -"

"Had a vision." Percy finished my sentence for me and I knew what was coming next. The dreaded  'vision about what?' was to come any second. As if they heard my thoughts, Nico and Percy chorused the question together. 

Jason showed up directly behind Percy and looked rather confused. I couldn't answer all three of them right now because all three of them would be very worried and very upset so I took a deep breath, froze their feet to the floor, and ran. Not exactly my bravest move but it worked. 

I ran by dozens of campers and towards the forest. It hadn't occurred to me that there was nothing really in the forest until the sun was beginning to set and I had no idea where I was. Somewhere in the distance I could have sworn I heard the conch sound but it was so faint I couldn't tell if it was real or not. The bushes around me would rustle eerily and strange shadows were coming from behind trees. I'm not one to be afraid of the dark but when you're in the middle of a forest alone with minimal protection in the dark and you're a demigod - in my case, a demigod with enough godly powers to set every monster from Rome and back on my trail - you tend to be a bit uneasy. 

Another crunch of leaves and my hand had snagged the sword from my necklace. With the sun gradually setting there was no one I'd be able to see clearly if whatever was out there attacked. I was a goner and I knew it. Life really is stranger than the Cheshire cat. Suddenly, there was the sound of a branch snapping and a girl with black hair and electric blue eyes that matched the strands in her short locks. She had a silver hair band and coat with black jeans.

"Woah there. Just another demigod. Could you put the sword down?" I snapped back from my daze and put my sword away.

"I'm Sky Rey Coast. Percy Jackson's half sister."

"I see Fish Boy is still around. Hasn't gotten killed yet. I'm-"

The spontaneous feeling of possession hit me before I could even think of stopping it. My true thoughts went blank and all that was left was the unending knowledge the blessing of Apollo gave me in these moments. The facts poured from my mouth without hesitation or stutter.

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus and Beryl Grace. Jason Grace's full older sister but your physical age is younger due to you becoming a Hunter of Artemis. You became immortal a day before your sixteenth birthday. You're scared of heights and your mother died when you were younger. You and Jason were separated because he was sent to the Roman camp. Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo accompanied you on a quest for Hades and Persephone in the Underworld. You helped Annabeth Chase and Luke Castellan get to Camp Half-Blood and died protecting them but were reborn into a tree by Zeus later being revived due to the Golden Fleece. You are the best friend of Annabeth Chase and lieutenant of the Hunters." My head throbbed and my feet felt light but I'd become used to the random facts suddenly coming to me.

Thalia became uneasy and reached behind her. Soon enough a silver blade was grasped in her hand. "How do you know all that?" Her voice was shaky and uneven.

"Listen, if you come with me, I'll explain everything. I'm sure Annabeth would be happy to see you and Percy and Jason as well."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you are. How do you know that!" 

"Okay, straight forward is the way this will go. I was blessed by Apollo as a child and sometimes get visions of the future or randomly know people's life stories without ever meeting them. No, I am not like an Oracle - I don't tell weird riddles I just know stuff. Could you please put the knife down?"

"I'm getting Percy." Thalia turned on her heal and walked away from me. It occurred to me that she'd probably know more about these woods than I do so I followed behind her. Her steps were long and fast making it hard to keep up with her. I could already tell it would be a difficult walk.

It surprised me how well she knew the forest and when to stop or when to speed up. Though she was a Hunter I never expected that they'd be so knowledgeable. It seems my naivety got the better of me. I wanted to strike up conversation but nothing came to mind. I feel I might have limited my conversation topics a lot by suddenly spouting this girl's whole story. Way to go, Apollo blessing.

As time went on, it occurred to me that when I got back I'd have to explain what I saw. I didn't think that would be the best thing to do but at this point I had no choice. Though I was in the open woods my chest seemed to become heavy and breathing uneven as though I had been stuffed in a cramped closet. I didn't want to have to tell them about what I saw. About how I saw myself possibly killing two innocents. The worst part was, I didn't know if it would happen tomorrow or six months from now. I didn't remember enough of the vision to try and get a grasp of the situation. In fact, the more I moved and tried to focus on the vision the harder it got to remember. 

All I knew for sure was that it was nothing good and that it showed me as a murderer and my boyfriend as dead. Both caused my stomach do uneasy back flips and my mind to jumble. I didn't want to think about it but maybe it was something I couldn't stop. Maybe there was something more to the story. Yet, what could make sense of me possibly killing two people?