The Third Camp

Chapter fifty five: Carrie

The sky turned dark as I was flying over Yosemite National Park. Three and a half hours later of dodging lightning bolts and wondering why the heck trees kept growing up everywhere to block me from the lightning bolts, I sped up and shot out to the beach on the edge of California.

I spotted an angel lying, half-hidden on the beach, and drove my pegasus into a dive. When I realized the pegasus would hit her if I didn't pull up, I shot out of the dive and turned. I saw a lightning bolt shoot in her direction and gasped. My heartbeat skyrocketed in panic and my hands clenched around the mane of Emma. But, just in time, a massive ten-foot wave rose and blocked the bolt. When the wave eventually fell, I looked for Neptuna in it's wake, but all I could see was a trail of her footprints leading away from the beach.

When I saw her, sprinting quickly away from the beach and obviously going as fast as she could, she had almost gotten halfway down the long path off the beach. I drove my pegasus into another dive and got it to land on the path, then forced it to sprint after Neptuna.

"Neptuna!" I shouted over the storm. "Neptuna, wait!"

She looked over her shoulder. There was fear evident in her teal-blue eyes, and she kept running.

"Neptuna, please, wait!" I leaned forward on the pegasus and it went even faster. I caught up to Neptuna enough that I could reach my arm out and lift her onto the pegasus's back.

"Go!" I ordered. The pegasus took off and flew over the small Californian city. Neptuna had her arms around my waist from behind and was holding on for dear life, even though there was no threat of her falling. I wanted to turn around and kiss her, tell her I loved her, tell her I missed her, but I was too focused on keeping us both alive and in the sky.

"They're going to kill you!" Neptuna yelled over the wind. "The gods, they want you to die!"

"I know that!" I responded. "They hate me!"

"No, they—" She started, but yelped as another lightning bolt streaked in our direction, her arms tightening around my waist.

"Don't worry baby, we'll be okay!" I told her.

"I might be, but you're going to get hurt!" She said in my ear.

"I'll be fine!" I called back to her. "We just need to get out of here, and out of the sky!"

"No where is safe, the only one of the gods who voted for killing me instead was Hera!" Neptuna shook her head.

"What about the sea?"

"No, my dad voted for you to die!" Neptuna sounded angry all of a sudden. "I'm pretty sure it was just because he's an overprotective father!"

I laughed, despite the fear and panic that was surrounding us with our situation. "Your humor is just one of the many things I love about you, Neptuna!"

"Thanks, Blondie, but can we pay attention to where the heck we're going? Pull up! We're about to hit a tree!" Neptuna said.

An hour later of us constantly avoiding lightning and not speaking to each other, we finally reached Nevada.

We landed roughly on the grounds and literally toppled over the side of the pegasus, both breathing heavily.

"I m-missed you." I panted, sitting up on my elbows and looking over at Neptuna.

"No you didn't. You only came after me because I'm part of this stupid quest." Neptuna lifted one of her arms and put it over her eyes.

"That reminds me," I pulled myself up and stood, "I'm gonna go try to drive the gods away from my house."

Just as I spoke the sky started to get dark again. I quickly turned to Neptuna to give her what might be my last goodbye.

"Watch me if you want, in your dog tag."

"Carrie, if you don't come back, just know that I love you. I know you don't love me back, but I just love you so much and I'm sorry." Neptuna stood and took a tiny step closer to me, asking for a hug. Instead, I brought her in for a long kiss.

"You're wrong. I love you back, more than you could ever know." I looked into her eyes. "I love you." I whispered.

"No you don't.

"Yes—"

"No you don't, Venus is just messing with you, it's part of the god's plan."

"Well, if it's part of their plan, I hope their plan is to make me truly love you, because it's worked."

"Carrie, please, stop lying to me..."

"I'm not lying, Neptuna. I was being an idiot in the past, and I'm still an idiot. But now I'm going to do whatever it takes to show you I love you. I'm willing to break the rules, I'm willing to disobey council, I'm willing to risk my praetorship and even my life, because I love you so, so much."

Without waiting for a response, I quickly kissed her and climbed on a new pegasus. I got my bow ready and shot off into the sky, dodging lightning as I flew.

Why did they want me dead? It couldn't be because of the prophecy, right?

I heard the crack of the bolt and I shot an arrow into the sky. It stopped the lightning bolt right before it hit me. I urged my pegasus to fly as fast as it could away. Another crack. Another arrow.

Luckily there was a child of Jupiter that came to Camp Ops a few years ago and they had really, really bad anger issues.

Crack. I shot two arrows.

If I knew Zeus then he had two more lightning bolts till he got angry enough to shoot the Master Bolt. But if it was Jupiter then he had at least five more.

I took the chance, I needed to know which god it was.

"Zeus! Why are you shooting at me?" I screamed into the sky.

Only thunder answered me, it was Zeus. Jupiter always answered me, he liked me in that way.

Crack. Another arrow. One more lightning bolt.

Crack. Another arrow. This was it.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"Go as fast as you can, get toward the ground." I whispered to the pegasus.

Can I just say I'm so lucky that every pegasus and horse at my houses are all trained? The pegasus did exactly as I asked and soon my house was just a dot. A dot! That's how fast this thing went!

The Master Bolt came down and I jumped off of the pegasus. If I were to die I wouldn't take the poor creature with me. Midair I whipped around and shot four arrows toward the ginormous bolt of lightning coming toward me. All I could hear was the crack of my arrows being ripped apart piece by piece by Zeus. Silence.

I felt a jolt as the Master Bolt hit me. Then nothing. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't hear anything. All I could feel was pain as I plummeted toward the ground.

Neptuna, I love you. I won't forget you when I'm dead. Don't forget me. I love you...

===========================================================================

Hey guys, that's all for this book, next week I'll publish a new book, be on the lookout!

Bye!