The Unclaimed

Chapter 11: Starting my Quest (after Breakfast of course)

   The weird dreams were back. I couldn't make out much, everything was dark. But there were people screaming. And I was scared. I could hear the sound of swords clashing together. Monsters were snarling in the background. I could faintly make out the sound of some shouting my name. But before I could find them, my eyes shot open. Thalia was looking down at me with concern.
   "Bad dream," she asked sympathetically. All demigods understood the scares that came from nightmares. I nodded in response, my heart was still pounding as a result. "You want to talk about it?" I shook my head.
   "Maybe later," I said quietly. She shrugged.
   "Suit yourself." She handed me a pair of jeans and a black shirt. "Here I managed to track these down for you. Get changed, we have breakfast in five and then are heading West." I nodded and shot her a smile. Very few people had ever cared enough about me to do something as simple as providing me with clothes. When we were on the run I always stole clothes for me and Michael (I refused to let my little brother become a thief which I now see as ironic since his dad is Hermes). When I first got to camp the Hermes campers would steal things for me every now and then but even that was typically because of Michael urging them to. So while finding me a new outfit may seem like a small thing to Thalia, it meant a lot to me.
   "Alright I'm ready," I said to her once I finished getting changed.
   "Good," Thalia responded. "Time to officially go meet the other hunters." I smiled. Getting to know their names would probably be useful since I would be spending the rest of eternity with them. We exited the tent and headed to the center of the camp site where all the hunters and Artemis were sitting. When Artemis saw me she stood up.
   "Jessica, how are you?" She asked kindly. "Did you sleep well?" I nodded.
   "I slept very well, thank you." I responded. Artemis turned so she was facing the group of hunters.
   "I believe some introductions are called for," she said.
   "I'm Hannah, welcome to the hunt." The girl standing closest to Artemis said.
   "Jenna," the girl beside Hannah said.
   "Chloe," she appeared to be around my age. (Of course that meant nothing to do with how old she actually was considering she was a part of the hunt)
   "Nicole," if I had to bet, I would say she was a year or so older then me. But again that was just appearance since she could have been in the hunt for a very long time.
   "Maddison," I recognized her as the one who had asked all the questions about Michael last night.
   "Sophia," she had been the first of the girls to compliment Michael last night.
    "Aubrey," if I was remembering everything, she had appeared the most angry about what James did to Michael.
   "McKenna," while I didn't know her actual name, physical appearance wise it was clear that she had joined the hunt at a young age.
   "And you already know my name," Thalia said. I smiled at everyone.
   "I'm sort of bad with names so I apologize in advance if I forget any of your names," I told them truthfully. "I promise it's nothing personal." All of the girls started to laugh.
   "Thanks for the warning,"Aubrey said. Artemis cleared her throat.
   "As it is rather clear, Jessica has joined the hunt." She began. "Today we leave to travel West and the next seven days will be dedicated to helping assist Jessica on a quest that she has been issued." All the hunters immediately looked back at me.
   "A quest," McKenna said. I nodded. "Well, what is it?" All the hunters looked at me curiously. Thalia nodded at me to tell them. I started to speak.
"To receive the answers she so desperately seeks, the unclaimed shall no longer remain,
Tonight she must leave the camp that has caused her so much pain,
She has seven days to travel west,
Each day a new monster shall put her to the test,
No one from the present will go with the child,
But she will receive help from those who have saved her in the past and always journey the wild."
   Everyone fell silent as they listened to me speak. None of them seemed to know what to make of the quest.
   "So basically we're gonna travel West and be attacked by random monsters for the next seven days." When Sophia worded it as bluntly as she did, I couldn't help but flinch. What if they thought that the only reason I joined the hunt was because of the prophecy? What if they didn't want to travel with me and have to deal with my burden? My never ending list of paranoias was interrupted by Artemis.
   "Something like that," Artemis said. I stared at her in disbelief. Why would she have let me join the hunt if she thought so little of my quest? "Which is lucky for us because we as hunters have always enjoyed taking on monsters. Also this quest has brought us our newest hunter; someone who we have all known for years to be worthy of be a member of my Hunt." All the hunters nodded in agreement. Thalia wrapped an arm around me and gave me a hug.
   "Welcome to the hunt kid," she said. "Now who's hungry?" Everyone raised their hand at that question. Chuckling, Artemis waved her hand and food appeared. I gave Thalia a look that hopefully read do I even want to know; she shook her head. As we ate I couldn't help but compare how different being with the Hunt felt than being at camp felt. At camp I was always separated from the others. They shied away from me. They never opened up to me. Here the hunters were the exact opposite. As we ate they talked to me, laughed with me, and just stayed by my side. Once we finished eating the other hunters showed me how to break down the tents, pack everything in all the beds, and carry everything so we could run with ease. After everything was packed up, we all huddled around Artemis.
   "Alright ladies," she began. "The time has come for us to journey West. We will travel as far as we can before breaking. If a monster crosses our path than we shall send it back to Hades realm." With that, she broke into a sprint and we followed after her. Even though I did not look back at camp once, I couldn't help but wander what was going on there.