You Can't Choose Your Family (On Hold)

Chapter 17: Busted

Chapter Seventeen: Busted

　

My head was fuzzy, and it hurt. I wasn’t awake, but I wasn’t asleep. I was in that little in between state. I could feel someone trying to lure me into a deep sleep, but I wouldn’t allow myself. I knew who was trying to contact me. But I didn’t want to wake up. Not yet.

None of this made sense. How could I have two godly parent, well, one wasn’t really all that godly, but that is besides the point. This was so messed up! Who was that woman who raised me then? I had to speak to Chiron. I had to go to Olympus. I had to get this straightened out. Now.

I was starting to come to. I decided to let myself wake up. It took me a minute to open my eyes. When they did open, everyone was sitting around me. The two right in my face were, obviously, Connor and Nico.

“Zoe!” They both said in unison, then glared at each other. “How do you feel?” Connor asked, helping me up.

I held my head. “Like a weakling. I can’t believe this is the second time that I’ve fainted!” I yelled frustrated, which made me a little dizzy.

Nico laughed a little. “You are such a… Never mind.” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“No. I don’t think you’ll like it.” He said.

“Come on. What else could possibly upset me worse right now?” I asked him.

He faked a smile. “Well, I was going to say that you were such a Roman, but I didn’t think that you would like that too much.”

I smiled. I had heard a lot about the Romans, and surprisingly, I was a lot like them. But I was also a lot like the Greeks. And to be honest, I like the Greeks a lot better. The whole changing the gods and stuff, it really annoyed me. They just seemed to annoy me more. And I don’t think I could deal with gods like that. That thought gave me an awful mental picture: Annoying Apollo, to the extreme.

“Haha. I guess I am a little like them.” I looked at Nico; he still looked like he was going to puke. “What’s wrong Nico.” I asked skeptically. Something was up. “What are you hiding from us?” I asked. I saw all the other shift uncomfortably. Jason looked a little sick. He was looking at the SPQR on his wrist, the shirt, and my wrist. He must know what they mean too.

“Well, Zoe. I don’t know if Chiron really wants this information to get out, so we need to go somewhere where he wont be able to hear us. The gods have been trying to keep this a secret for a long time.” He said. Everyone was on edge now.

“This is serious, isn’t it?” Travis said, with a frown on his face. Nico nodded. “Okay. I wont say what I was gonna say then.” he said looking down. I couldn’t help but smirk. I saw Connor and Maria do the same thing.

Julie stood. “Okay. I am not good at keeping secrets. You should have seen me when I was at school! Someone would tell me something and then before you knew it, the whole school would know!”

“Wait… so it was you who told everyone those things I told you? You said it was Maddy!” I said.

She blushed. “Well… I’m sorry! I don’t get allowed to go to school to recruit people all that often! But ever since Grover” She kind of sighed his name, “left, I was allowed to go! And you were my first recruit. And… and… I’ve never gotten to experience school before, and-”

“-Julie!” I slightly yelled. “It’s okay. That school doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s fine.” I smiled at her.

“Okay, but I’m going to go now. Because well, you’ve probably already told me too much.” With that she got up and trotted away.

I slumped down in a chair. “Nico, Jason. Tell us. Chiron isn’t here right now. He’s down by the archery field, and then he has to go to some other place. So talk.” I demanded of them.

“Well… there’s so much to explain. But… I’m not sure I can explain it right. Okay, well… There are the Greek gods and the Roman gods, who are pretty much the same, only different.” Nico started.

“But the Roman’s ‘perfected’ them.” Jason said

“So now the gods had two forms; their Roman and Greek form. And every now and then they change which one they are, so they have Roman kids and Greek kids. The Romans have a camp of their own, like we do. Only their’s is more of like how Rome was set up. With a city for Roman demi-gods or second or third or fourth or whatever generation to live in safety, go to school, go to work. It’s good for them.” As Nico was saying this, everyone’s face was a mask of confusion. Demi-gods, living old enough to have kids? Was that even possible? Wouldn’t surviving one day be hard enough?

“Anyways,” Jason continued. “They Greeks and Romans have never really gotten along. There have been many wars. One of the more recent ones was during the Civil War. Now the gods have tried extremely hard to keep us separated.”

“So we don’t kill each other off?” Travis asked.

Nico and Jason nodded. “Most likely. The gods need us. Without us, imagine what the world would be like.” Jason said.

“A living Hell.” Maria said, with the trademark Hermes grin, “No offence Nico.” He rolled his eyes at her.

“Basically.” he said though.

I thought for a moment. “Okay, so there are two camps. And you, I presume Jason, are from the other camp?” He nodded. “So why are you here?” I asked him.

He smiled. “Good question. I think it’s because Juno - I mean Hera - wants us to join forces to stop Gaea and her forces.”

“Wait, Gaea, like the earth mother? Why would we want to stop Mother Earth?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“She’s not at all motherly.” Nico assured me. “ Now, if you would all excuse me, I have to speak to Chiron.”

“No need to Nico. I’m Right here.” Chiron said from the other side of the pavillion

“Busted.” Travis said from the end of the table. Leave it to a Hermes kid to try to lighten the mood.