Camp Half Blood: One "Salty" Adventure

Chapter Nineteen

Myra's POV:

I was exhausted after training, but there was no way I was going to let anyone know. Ben, Percy, and Leo had rushed Rose to the infirmary as soon as she fainted and left me behind to stagger out of the Arena alone. I walked to the dining pavilion and kept my eyes focused on the ground. Luckily, no one was there. I practically ran over to a stack of sandwiches and grabbed three of them. I knew everyone was gonna be in the infirmary so I just walked down to the lake. I sat down under a big tree and took out my map. I ate and looked it over carefully. There were two routes that I was trying to decide between. One was fast, but extremely dangerous and the other was slow, but a lot safer. Was there a time limit on this quest? I wasn't sure, but I figured we'd somehow be forced to take the more dangerous route. As I finished eating, I rolled up the map and put it back in my sword sheath. A warm breeze blew over the water and I was exhausted. Chances are nobody would dare come near me anyways, right? I closed my eyes and attempted to get some rest.

Once again I faced my nightmares. The same ones over and over. Cass's body flashed before my eyes one more time before I woke with a start. I was alone still, but I had obviously been asleep for awhile. It looked to be around dinner time. I stood up and stretched just as a group of people walked by me towards the dining pavilion. I was starting to think I could just live off sleeping and show up for food occasionally. It seemed like a good career for me. I followed after and grabbed a plate of food. The kid next to me threw a chicken leg and hit his friend right off the back of his head. I suppressed a smile and walked over to where Ben and Rose were. We needed to discuss which route we should take. I sat next to Percy and did my best to ignore everyone. Not like that was hard since only Percy made a weak attempt to start a conversation with me. I laughed to myself as I replayed my memory of that kid getting hit with the chicken leg in slow motion. Gods I miss the internet. I must've dazed out and stared at Rose because now she was giving me a weird look. Maybe she saw that kid too. I smirked again at the thought and nodded at her to acknowledge how weird I was being and then turned back to my food. I wasn't as hungry as I was earlier so I got up and left the dining pavilion.

The night sky was clear and bright as I walked back to the infirmary. I rubbed at the wrapping around my arm. I was gonna have to ask Cole when I could take it off. Wait since when do I care whether I need his permission or not? I tore at the gauze and messily took it off. I didn't really think this through because now I was stuck carrying three pieces of bloody gauze back with me. I heard footsteps behind me and cringed hoping whomever it was would go away.

"Myra! Hey, wait up!" I knew that voice. Cole. I wasn't sure whether to be happy or horrified, but I was quickly leaning towards horrified. I picked up the pace and pretended I didn't hear him. I definitely looked like an idiot. Cole caught up to me much faster than I anticipated and almost knocked me over. He apologized profusely and I waved him off. "Myra, I need to talk to you about something important."

"I doubt that, but okay. You can talk while I walk." He grabbed my good arm and I started to pull away.

"Myra, please stop. This is important!" I let out a defeated sigh and turned around to face him. "I-I need to tell you something..." He was hesitant.

"First you chase me down and now you're shy? Comon' Cole, make up your mind." I teased trying to lighten the mood. Every time someone said they had to tell me something it was usually bad news. Cole's panicked expression did nothing to ease my fears.

"I-I'm just gonna say it, Myra... I have really strong feelings for you. I can't imagine my life without you and I need you to come back after this quest. If you didn't come back to stay at camp, I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably go crazy! Please, Myra, if you care about me at all, at least consider it. Please, Myra..."

"Cole if you had any idea about my past you wouldn't want me within fifty feet of you let alone to be with you. I'd be doing everyone a favor if I never came back." I pulled my arm out of his grasp and took a step back. "Cole. If you have any idea of what's good for you, stay as far away from me as possible."

"You're what's good for me, Myra! I don't care about your past because that's what's behind you. We'll make new memories, remember?" Our conversation had escalated into a full blown screaming match. Cole's voice cracked loudly as he yelled.

"Cole you can't remember anything! You have a future where all you can do is make new memories! I can't just leave behind my past! You wanna know why, Cole! I killed a little girl and her family! They're all dead because of me! I'm a monster, Cole!" I wasn't sure when I had started crying, but at some point something that I thought couldn't be broken again completely shattered.

"If you think that what you just said would affect me, then you're wrong. I already know about what happened, Myra. From the story I heard, it's not your fault. You couldn't control yourself, and that's not your doing. I'm not the kind of person to just give up on someone, and a mistake isn't what defines the kind of person you are. And... I know you can't just forget about your past, but you can try to move forward as best you can, and I think you're doing that pretty well so far. It doesn't matter what you say to me now, because it won't change the way I feel, Myra... please just consider your feelings for me. Consider the idea of coming back. Please..."

I didn't reply. Not that I could've in between sobs. I just nodded my head at him. I wasn't sure if he was able to understand what I meant or not. Cole had been there for me throughout all of this and I wasn't sure why he still hadn't left yet. It seemed like that's what everyone did. My mother left me, my father left me, and even Ben had abandoned me for Rose. Yet Cole was still here and that was more than anyone else would've done. I reached out and grabbed for his hand, hoping that it would convey what I was thinking.

Cole's smile could've lit up the entire Camp. I guess he's a son of Apollo for a reason. Before I could say anything he pulled me into a bear hug and I buried my face into the crook of his neck. He did the same. "Come back to me, Myra." His voice was hoarse and I wondered if he had started crying too. I was going to hate myself later for this. In fact, my earlier promise to the woman was tainting the moment already.

"I'll come back, Cole. I promise." It was true, but I never said I would come back alive. My thoughts grew darker by the second and I realized something. She knew. The woman had known about Ben and Rose from the beginning too. She set me against them. There was no way she would let me return after this quest unless I came back in a casket.