Amaurosis

II: Stargazing With Satan

"Oh, great," Percy expressed sarcastically, leaning an elbow on my shoulder. "Do we get to almost die together yet again? Because we haven't had enough already, right?"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth shushed him, whacking him upside the head. "You don't know that it'll be us."

"What's up, fam!" the fire boy, Leo, whooped, his ears elvish and uvula vibrating as he cheered. Ew. "The clan is back together again! Let's go! I'll tell Festus we're expecting company!"

"Oh, my gods," the dark, kind of disturbing boy from beside me irked and complained. "I can't deal with him on an enclosed ship for another month. Not again. I'd rather fade."

"I don't understand," erupted from the crowd. "Who are the other two demigods?"

Whispers exploded from each corner, the half-bloods each fantasizing about their 'heroic' selves returning victoriously from a perilous quest. Cliques formed as the demigods circled into individual groups of about five to ten, arguing about who the unnamed were.

My eyes wandered around, almost overwhelmed by the mass amounts of low chatter among the islands of teenage half-godly beings. My heart rate quickened. I hadn't had this much social interaction in who knows how long, and I was awful at it. I barely knew how to say something as simple as 'hello' without feeling extremely uncomfortable. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel mushed for days, maybe weeks, with eight others.

It can't be any different than the Hermes cabin, the voices assured me, shuddering.

They were probably right. I'd spent my time at Camp Half-Blood stuck in the most populated cabin in the entire camp with dozens of other snoring, lazy, unhygienic slobs. Eight somewhat determined so-called 'heroes' have to be better than that. Either way, it's not like I'll be picked for a quest. There are dozens of other campers to choose from. Fat chance.

Before I knew it, the five of the seven were huddled in a circle of their own, and I was stuck underneath Percy's armpit in a half-headlock.

Hmm, I thought. At least he smells like the ocean. A strange, psychological flavor burnt my taste buds. Salty.

"So, that's just great. I mean, I can't wait to die again. I've only done that like three times, you know? And I just can't get enough of it." Percy crossed his arms and huffed like a child, some loose strands finding a new place above his forehead. Somewhere between a frown and a pout replaced his usual cheeky smile, and I could feel the excitement in the atmosphere drop dramatically.

"You don't know that, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth piped up. She wrapped her arms around his side and rested her head on his shoulder, and he reciprocated the action almost instinctively.

Freedom! screamed my neck as I stretched it out.

"She's right," Piper agreed, her dark, chestnut hair whipped in the fresh breeze.

"Maybe this quest will be easier," Annabeth said hopefully. "No monsters or evil gods trying to kill us..." She knew it was stupid the moment it left her mouth, and I felt the giggles creep up my throat.

I tried my best to keep them at bay, but the more I muffled them, the more powerful they became. Soon, they crawled to the edge of my tongue, nearly gaining complete control. I could feel my face reddening, but I forced myself to hold my breath just a little longer. There was only one teensy tiny problem. I didn't have a little longer.

My lips curled into a Cheshire grin, the corners touching the bottoms of my eyelids. My mouth opened just wide enough to say those two words repeating over and over in my mind. The deep, soundless laughs began in my stomach and raised dreadfully until they hit my throat, finally getting my voice to work, and I bellowed in laughter, "Yeah, right!" Only they weren't my words, they were his.