The Prophecies of Typhon: The Forbidden Quest (IN EDITING) (DISCONTINUED)

I Bond With a Latino Christmas Elf

Shayla

After watching Courtney and Jenny argue for a good 10 minutes, Sydney and I decided it was about time to step in.

I walked up and was about to speak, but before I could, Sydney was tugging on my sleeve. Courtney had shut up, too, and she looked like she might faint. I looked in the direction they were focused on, and noticed some people walking towards us. Seven people, to be exact, and two satyrs.

There were three people standing in the front of the group. One of the three, a boy, was standing on the right. He had blond hair, blue eyes, glasses, and a scar above his lip. Another, a girl, had wavy, beautiful blonde hair and striking grey eyes. She was holding hands with the other boy, who was standing in the middle of the three. He had messy black hair and sea-green eyes. Jason, Annabeth, and Percy. I felt a bit light-headed.

"Oh, hey guys. Back from your vacation already?" Jenny said. I was incredulous that she could speak to them so casually.

One of the satyrs, the younger of the two, responded. "Yeah. We figured we should probably get back here before we died."

Jenny nodded. "I see. Well, it was nice talking to you all. See you later?" She said. Without waiting for a response, she walked over into the shade of the nearby cabin and was gone. Shadow travel. Cool.

Sydney, Courtney and I looked back at the small group of people standing in front of us. Percy, looking excited, said, "Have you guys seen a girl named Shayla?" I swallowed the scream that nearly escaped and raised my hand shyly. "That would be me," I said. "Hi."

Percy grinned widely and dropped Annabeth's hand, running straight at me. He tackled me in a giant hug, and I hugged back, laughing a little bit. It was a nice hug, and it was full of brotherly affection.

He released me, and I looked over to see that Jason and Courtney were talking excitedly, while Annabeth and Sydney were having an animated conversation about a book that I didn't catch the name of.

"I actually have a sister!" Percy exclaimed, nearly bouncing with excitement. I laughed again. "Well, I feel pretty lucky too. My only sibling is that idiot over there," I said, using my thumb to point at Courtney.

I heard a laugh come from the group, and another boy walked to the front. He had curly, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and tanned skin. He was also wearing a tool belt and suspenders. Leo Valdez.

"Harry Potter shirt? Nice. I'm Leo Valdez. Nice to meet you," he said, shaking my hand. Percy rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, guys. It's getting late. Let's head to the cabins," Annabeth said.

We all went to our cabins, after saying our farewells. Percy kissed Annabeth goodnight outside of the Athena cabin. I could tell that Sydney and Courtney were trying not to fangirl.

Percy and I walked in to our cabin sleepily. Percy flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, he gripped his pillow and sat up, looking excited.

"What?" I said curiously as he crawled towards me.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Percy yelled, tackling me and hitting me with a pillow. I spat feathers out of my mouth, laughing, and hit him with my pillow. We were screaming, laughing, and covered in feathers when there was a knock at the door. After a quick silent battle, I got up to answer it.

Connor was at the door. "Hey Shay-" he stopped when he noticed that I was covered in feathers. "What happened to you?" he said.

I laughed. "Pillow fight," I said. He chuckled and nodded. "I brought you some sweatpants from the camp store that I- er- borrowed. I also grabbed an old sweatshirt of mine and another t-shirt for tomorrow...you know, since you don't have anything yet." He handed the bundle of clothes to me.

"Thanks," I said, trying to keep myself composed.

"Who's at the door, Shayla?" Percy called from inside the cabin. Connor and I laughed.

"Er, it's Courtney! I'll be right in," I called back. When he didn't answer, I turned back to Connor. "Sorry, I better go," I said. He grinned and nodded. "Goodnight, Shayla." He took my hand, kissing it softly before he turned away. I stood at the door blushing madly.

I walked back inside holding the clothes, closing the door behind me. I set them down on my bed and turned around to find Percy standing behind me with a teasing smile.

"That wasn't Courtney," he said, poking my blushing cheeks.

"Yes, it was!" I protested unconvincingly.

"Yeah, sure," he said, still grinning. "We should head to bed, sis." I nodded, and we put on our pajamas and went to bed. "Goodnight, Percy," I said sleepily from my bunk. "Goodnight, Shayla," he said, and I fell asleep with a smile.

********************

The next morning, after breakfast, Leo invited me to help him work on Festus in Bunker 9. I accepted, and as soon as we were dressed, he led me to the Bunker. Along the way, we had a conversation about Doctor Who.

"Catch!" Leo yelled, and I caught his wrench quickly. "Nice reflexes. You might have to help me out more often," he said, grinning. I returned the smile as we walked over to what he called the "docks" where the Argo II was.

"I'm just tuning her up, adding some cool features," Leo said causally. "Hand me the wrench, will you?" he said, and I gave it to him as we continued to converse.

We just talked for awhile about things. Everything, really. It was nice. We talked about our problems, our interests, our hobbies. In four hours, we had become best friends.

We decided to head up to the dining pavilion for lunch. Laughing, we walked over and sat down.

When Leo wasn't looking, I snuck a glance at Connor, and he looked jealous.

********************

Later that night, everyone was laughing around the campfire. Campers were teasing each other, singing loud songs, and roasting marshmallows. I sat next to Courtney and Sydney. The three of us slapped each other rapidly every time another character came over.

A hush went over the camp as Chiron approached the fire. Expecting him to give an announcement, we all turned to look at him.

"Carry on, children, there is no news that I wish to give you," he said, smiling. The chatter slowly came back , but Chiron remained, talking quietly with some of the younger campers near the back of the group.

I was in a deep conversation with Courtney when the camp suddenly got darker. I shivered and turned to look at the fire. It was small. Pulling on Connor's jumper, I looked around, noting that the rest of the campers were also doing the same.

"It's Rachel Dare! Something's happened to her!" Somebody shouted. Everyone collectively gasped, and we all gathered around her.

Rachel sat bolt upright. Murmuring, the campers backed up. She looked a bit different.

"Rachel? You okay?" Another camper said. She didn't respond for a moment, and we all looked at each other nervously.

Suddenly, she spoke. Her voice was slightly raspy, and her eyes were closed again.

"Four demigods and a satyr
Shall go on a quest
To protect the goddess
From the one who hates her
These five mighty heroes
Must be at their best
Although many will
Try to lure
They must ultimately
Destroy the nest."

Rachel collapsed again onto the ground. The entire camp was silent, until someone in the middle of the crowd spoke up, saying what was on all of our minds.

"Oh, crap."