Hunter

Chapter Twenty - Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

I opened my eyes. I was surrounded by darkness. My heart was steady, my eyes seeing nothing. I stood, unable to move. Before me, a streak of light appeared in a single column. From thin air, a majestic woman appeared. Her hair constantly changed in style, the color swirling from bloody reds to blinding yellows to blacks to the color of death's eyes. The length of her hair kept shrinking and expanding, from thick curls to gentle waves to smooth, straight pixie cuts. Her skin changed from deep cocoa to an effervescent pale, her eyes flashing between browns and greens. Each time, she kept getting even more beautiful until she finally stopped. She stopped when she resembled my perception of beauty.

In her hands, she shielded something. She stepped closer and closer towards me, her appearance and presence intimidating. I shrank to my knees, my head bowed deeply.

"Rise." I was on my feet before I could even think about it. "Choose." She spread her hands and before me appeared a drawing of a heart. The same heart that was inked on Deirdre's stomach. Something expanded in my throat and my heart swelled. At that moment, I knew for a fact that something had truly broken inside of me. I knelt before her once again, shifting my hair to the side.

Almost immediately, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck, and a chill so cold it burned my skin. I tried to move away, but I was frozen to my position. My voice caught in my throat and a sweat broke out on my forehead as I braced myself. I could feel my skin breaking as the tattoo was bound to my neck, all the way down to each cell. Suddenly it stopped.

I threw my blankets off of my bed and ran into the bathroom. I grabbed my hand mirror with shaky hands and pointed it at the back of my head. I stood in front of the mirror and stared at the heart on the back of my neck. Blood streamed steadily down my neck, the tattoo outlined in red. 

I had completed my first Labour.

* Ω *

I got ready in silence. Not a word was spoken to me. My mind wandered as I tried to ignore the pain of my new tattoo. I completed my tasks robotically. That was the day that I would find Apollo. I didn't know how I was going to get to Arizona and back in one day, but there were a lot of things that I didn't know. As I was getting ready, I was given a suit to wear. It was dark and skin-tight, the material attaching itself to my body as I pulled it on bit by bit. It was a struggle, and after it suffocated me for a moment, it readjusted to fit me, allowing me to breathe easy.

Once I had successfully wrestled with the suit, I put on my hunter's kit over it. I was ready to go. Before I left my room, with my traveling bag slung carelessly over my shoulder, I looked at myself one last time in the mirror. I tried to remind myself who I was, and what I was fighting for. I wanted to do this without my thoughts getting in the way of the task at hand. I caught a glimpse of the tattoo, and I untied my hair, letting it flow over my shoulders and hide my neck.

Turning off my light, I stepped out of my room and walked down the hallway. It reminded me of the night that started it all: Andrea's party. My mom stood there, Jas and Dee by her side, waiting for me to arrive.

"Are you ready?" I nodded once. "Good." With my mother's hand on my back, she led me outside and into our car. She explained to me that since I didn't have my necklace, we would have to go to a nearby lake to give me an extra 'boost' of power.

"Here." She handed me a necklace with a large white stone on it that glowed.

"What's this?"

"Hayley, remember when you were at Andrea's party and you had asked me how I had gotten there so quickly?"

"Yeah. The whole thing with speed and Nike," I responded

"Well, that's how you're getting to Arizona." My jaw tensed.

"I'm going to run... to Arizona?"

"That's the thing. We call it speed, but it's not really running. It's all a matter of how quickly you can move your mass through space." The dumbfounded look on my face prompted her to keep on going. "That necklace I gave you is a Moonstone. Since you're not a descendant of Artemis, you can't fully equip the gift of speed, so that Moonstone is going to help you get there and stay there. Once you arrive in Arizona, the power of the stone is going to start fading. Once it has completely stopped glowing, you'll be pushed back to where you left from.

"As for how you're going to get there, you're going to run into the water. As you run, you will accelerate, and the more activated the Moonstone will become. Once it's fully activated, you'll have to have a clear picture in mind of where you're going. Keep that in your mind until you feel yourself regenerate."

I threw my hands in the air in frustration.

"Like I said, it's not a matter of how fast you can run, but it's a matter of how quickly you can push mass through time. Because of this intense travel, you can feel dizzy or nauseous, which is why you're wearing the suit. It helps to maintain homeostasis in your body so that you don't pass out. It's also going to help you keep warm on the peak of the mountain. You need... are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I wasn't fine. I could feel impending nausea rising in my throat already. It didn't taste that great. She parked the car and all four of us climbed out, walking to the water's edge.

"Listen, Hayley, you'll be fine. Just trust your gut instinct. You've been doing that for a while now, and it's been working fine for you." She urged me to keep on walking. "Remember, once you get on the mountain, you're going to have to place a marker exactly where you land, then climb up all the way to the crater. Once you get to the rim, you will find an animal sacrifice." I clenched my jaw, and she noticed but didn't comment.

"A Demigod will appear before you. Now listen very closely, as this part is important. He's going to ask you who your god is. Only tell him that you're a descendant of one. Only one! And, if need be, only use the power of the one that you mentioned. Do not, under any circumstance, do anything that could give away the fact that you are a Hybrid. Understand?"

"Yeah. I got it."

"Once you do that, the City of the Sun will be revealed to you. Climb down into the crater and look for Apollo. Ask what you need and be out of the city by the time the stone's power has run out. Again, keep a clear mental image of this lake and you'll know when you're back. Got it?"

"Yes, mom." I turned and faced her. "I got it." She took a deep breath before proceeding.

"Make sure that you're exactly where you arrived when you leave, and just be careful, okay? You've got everything? Your dagger, the Syrup?"

"Stop worrying about me: I'll be fine." She pulled me into her chest and squeezed the life out of me. I pulled away. "Okay, stop. I'll be fine!"

I turned around and looked at the water. Rolling my shoulders and stretching my neck, I sprinted off into the lake. The closer I got to the edge, the faster I seemed to move. Once my feet touched the water, I didn't even sink, my feet skimming across the surface of the lake. I kept running, and as I sped on, I felt myself gain even more power. Once I felt that the stone was fully charged, I closed my eyes, pictured the mountain, and I was gone.

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Hello my fellow Hunters,

I'd like to take a moment to dedicate this chapter to Valerie1e for being so amazing even though I've barely even talked to her. :) Thank you for being so awesome, and thank you for being here!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think! With love <3

-ABD