After the End of the World: A Reyna Story

Chapter 1: We Have a Monster to Destroy

No demigod shall heal your heart.

I let the cold water beat down on my back. It stung, but it felt good after the war games last night. I had fallen asleep without showering or even washing my face.

Now, I stared as the blood and dirt ran with the water in little rivulets into a mini whirlpool and then down into the pipes beneath New Rome. My long, dark hair was plastered to my forehead and back.

I should probably cut it.

I bit my lip, but I must have bit too hard because soon the iron taste of blood filled my mouth.

When I was younger, my lips were chapped a lot. I used to pick and bite at the dried skin until I would rip it away and it would bleed. It would sting and I could almost smell the metals in the blood. I remember telling Jason one time that the blood smelled like pennies. I remember that he laughed, but he also agreed.

Jason.

I rested my head against the shower wall. The tile was wet and cold.

The mere memory of Jason stung worse than biting my lip. It made me ache from the inside out. I felt hollow. I couldn't breathe. I should have done more to find him before he fell in love with someone else. I should have marched to Venus and demanded her to give him back to me once he had started dating Piper.

But there were too many should haves and I couldn't bear it.

I slid down to the floor and just sat. The water pounded against my head. I pulled my legs up to my chest and I let that hollow feeling overtake me.

The huge sobs came next. They racked my body, and I was gasping for air, gasping for anything, gasping for anyone. But I had to let myself do this. It felt good or cry. My tears poured out like the water from the pipes, and every ounce of them out of me felt like a hundred pounds left my shoulders.

Scipio's death. Cry that away.

Jason's kidnapping. Cry that away.

Almost getting kicked out of the legion. Cry that away.

Almost losing Hylla. Cry that away.

Getting all those Hunters and Amazons killed by Orion. Cry that away.

The ghosts that had haunted me all my life. Cry that away, too.

Soon, my sobs turned to dry heaves. I had run out of tears to cry. But soon, those, too, disappeared.

"Reyna?" There was a knock at the door.

"Un momento, por favor!" I shouted as I stood. Frank knew at least that much Spanish. I yanked the shower off and threw the curtain open, almost ripping the bar that was holding it up out of its sockets in the wall. I was dripping wet and in only my birthday suit. The mirror above the sink was just barely clouded with condensation, the water had been too cold, but I could clearly see myself- red-rimmed eyes and all. I ran to the heated towel rack Frank had gotten me for my last birthday and dried off as quickly as I possibly could. I threw on a pair of worn jeans and a purple camp t-shirt.

I threw open the locked bathroom door and faced Frank Zhang.

"Oh- oh gosh, Reyna, I'm really s-sorry." He stammered out. He maybe be huge and tall, but his face was pink and full of embarrassment. "I didn't mean to interrupt your shower."

"Frank, it's really fine." I waved him off. "What's the problem?"

We walked through my room and out into the camp. Private showers were just one perk of being a praetor.

The sun was bright and felt almost blinding. I had kept it dark in my room, but I couldn't wear sunglasses outside to keep with the dark theme. That would be way too intimidating.

"There's a monster. In San Francisco. It's all over the mortal news."

I frowned, and stopped walking.

"Do you have any more information on it? Like is it a water monster? Is it in the air? On the ground? Under the ground?"

"Uh- well, it's been ripping up the streets like mad, so I think we'd better send Hazel. And you. I think we should send you."

"Me?"

"Yes," Frank said calmly. "You. You've been working tirelessly at the camp ever since the war with Gaea ended. You need some hero time. Just you on a mission."

I sighed. I was conflicted because part of me knew he was right, and the other part of me wanted to prove him wrong.

"Fine." I spat out. "But who's going to be the third demigod? Three is the best number, you know."

"Yeah, we're sending Andy, you know, the knew son of Apollo."

Of course I knew Andy. Curly golden hair, eyes greener than the gardens, and a smile that could light up the room. Of course Frank would send him.

For the last few months, Frank and Hazel had been trying to subtly set me up with nearly every guy at camp. Their problem was that they really weren't very subtle, and half the guys at camp were terrified of me.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing, Frank Zhang."

Frank blushed.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about, Reyna." he started stammering again.

"You think that just because he's new, he won't be as scared of me."

"Reyna-" I started walking away from him.

"What did I tell you about demigods and me?" I turned around and whisper-shouted at him.

"Reyna, I-"

Soon after they had constantly paired me with other demigods, I had confided in them about what Venus said to me. For a couple of weeks, they had stopped- only to start back up again.

"You don't have to interfere with what Venus is doing to me! I know you have my best interests at heart, and I love you and Hazel for that! But, please, it's easier for me if you just let me live."

"Well, Andy is still going on the quest. So deal with him." Frank looked flustered, but he stood his ground. It was one of the things that made him a good praetor.

"Alright, Frank. But this is the last guy you throw in my path."

I marched toward the center of the camp where I saw Hazel waiting for me.

"You and Frank are really in for it." I said, crossing my arms.

"I hope you're having a good morning, too." She took my hand and pulled me back to my cabin. "You cannot fight a monster with only jeans and a tee, Reyna."

"You can, you'd just be killed." I pointed out.

"Thank you, Captain Optimistic. Although, I have the feeling you would actually kill the monster instead, but whatever." Hazel was getting better at using more modern terms like "whatever" and "internet", just to name a few.

Finally, I pulled on my purple Athena-powered cloak and grabbed my sword. Hazel had made me braid my hair so that I could actually see where I was going.

"Where is Andy? His tardiness is definitely a strike against him." I said, craning my neck around the crowds of campers to try and spot him once we were outside again.

"A strike against dating him, or him generally as a soldier- ouch!" I had smacked Hazel with the flat of my sword. "You pack a lot of power in your punch!"

"Then don't ask idiotic questions."

"Hazel! Sorry I'm late!" Andy came running through the crowds with plenty of "'scuse me"s and "oops"s. "Woah."

He stared at me like he had when he first met me, his green eyes scanning every inch of my face.

"Hi Reyna." Andy gave a little wave.

"Hello, Andy." I said flatly. "Now, if you don't mind me, I think we have a monster to kill."