Mars Attacks!: One-Shots and Rants

the quest - PJO au story

Lupe woke in the morning when the night was fading back down Half Blood hill, she hadn't slept very well after she was called to the big house the night before, as one of the oldest members of the camp, this wasn't really a rare thing, but she knew this was different when she walked up to the house. 

-

Three black cars were parked outside of the big house, Lupe watched them carefully as she passed, they had tinted windows and she could see someone sitting in the back of one, it looked like a man, but she could be wrong. The door of the big house was being held open by a tall man in sunglasses, he didn't have a face that you would remember, he just looked like every other body guard, or what ever he was. 

She stepped into the main room of the house, noticing another man like the one in the doorway, this one was standing in the corner of the room, behind the couch. Men in black suits with sunglasses on inside was never a good sign, or at least that was she learned from books. 

"Lupe," she heard a soft voice call to her, a voice that she knew. Chiron was standing behind her, a kind smile on his face. "please follow me, Lupe, someone would like to speak with you." 

She nodded slowly and headed past him into the hall. None of the lights were on and she could only see one door open at the end of the hall. Lupe stepped forwards slowly, she had heard many stories about people being given quests, but she never thought it would happen to her. She stepped around the corner of the door and saw a woman sitting at a table, but she wasn't what Lupe thought she would see, many people who entered the big house were sent to the attic and given a quest, via the Delphi who resided above her. 

This women seemed no older then 40 and sat very still, her blonde bob made her look sorta like Marilyn Monroe, but her face was much to serious. She looked up at Lupe and just stared at her, like she expected her to do something. 

"Hello," Lupe said, frowning as she glanced around the room. She took a few steps forwards and stopped behind a chair and watched the woman who was watching her. 

The lady moved her gaze to the chair and said in a slow and commanding voice, an accent of some sort was mixed in there as well. "Please sit," her eyes stayed in the chair till Lupe sat in it and she went back to watching her face. "I know you must be curious as to why you have been called in here, I regret that I can't give you a simple answer," Lupe had noticed that the women's eyes were grey and the longer she looked into them the less colour they seemed to have. 

"Any answer would be good right now," she said, feeling like her accent now sounded very flat. 

"Quite," the women said simple and then started into her story like she was delivering a speech. "four years ago, one of my men were given a quest, you knew his twin brother, Erik Briggs," Lupe glanced to the floor when the women said his name, she had gone on a quest with Erik when she was 13, they were the only two to come home, he died later after a fight he had with her. 

There was some noise in the hall but no one came in and the women continued. "Liam left with three other people for his quest, after a week they all came back, without Liam, it was the same night that Erik disappeared, but years later," the look that the women was giving Lupe made her feel like a bug under a microscope. "we know that Erik had a fight with you the night that he vanished, a bit of a mystery to us all." 

Lupe felt like she was going to say more but a long silence came over the room for several minutes. 

"Do you know a boy named John Hornton? He lives here," the women asked, she glanced at the door behind Lupe, who shook her head. 

"His uncle works for my organization and should you accept we would like them to go with you on your... quest," the women almost spat the word out. "This is the offer, we have recently heard some rumors that Liam is still alive, someone said they thought he contacted them, if this is so, I would very much like him back here and we want you to go, your the best suited for the job and worked with his brother," Lupe thought that was a lame excuse, she could have just told her that they think it's her fault his disappeared. "So, no one else quite fits the bill like you do." 

Lupe was drumming her fingers along the front of the table, it was something she did when she was thinking, that and she twirled her hair. "So let me get this straight, you want me to go with two men I've never met, to possibly save a guy who might not be alive, all cause I went on a quest with his brother about seven years ago? that makes me fit the bill?" she was trying to give the women her best 'challaging' face but it was kinda hard when the women had the most blank face she could. 

"Yes, that sounds about right, but please remember, we can get who ever we want, we don't have to use you, we just thought you might want to consider this," the women stood now, fixing the front of her dress and glaceing at the door. "If you want to come, tell Mr. Hornton in the Athena cabin before sundown tonight, good day." 

Lupe opened her mouth to say more when the women left the room, she hated it when people finalized a conversation like that. 

- 

Lupe watched the sky above her, she knew it was minutes till sundown and she didn't have much time to get to this John kid if she desided to go, it was a bit of a strange idea, going on a quest to find someone who got lost on a quest, it was a bit of an honor really, but she didn't trust those people or even the kid from Athena's cabin. 

The thing that held her back the most was the fear, fear that it might happen again, the thing that happened with Erik and everyone else on his quest, they had all been normal children and now they were nothing more then tales and memories. What if what happened to them happened to John and his uncle?  She sighed and forced herself to stand, following a couples of kids as they walked down the hill. 

She looked around at all of them, one kid stuck out, he was alone and still on top of the hill, he could almost always be seen, alone, the other children avoided him, he was that one kid who didn't go on a quest when his friend asked and everyone on his quest died, everyone wishpered that story around him, not many people talked to him and everyone thought he was a coward. Would she got the same title? The coward? The killer? The lonely girl who makes people vanish? 

- 

John was sitting on the floor of his cabin, a large paper sat in the middle of the floor, he and six of the boys had made a maze on it, one of the hardest mazes they could make, all day they had allowed people to come in and try to solve it, but all of them had failed so far. 

He smiled to himself at the brillance of the idea and stood to turn off the light, but a sudden knock came at the door, several of his cabin buddies moaned and whined at the noise.

The girl who's bed was closest to the door got out and opened it, sticking her head out and talking to the person out there for a moment or two then she pulled her head back in and turned to John. "Hey, get over here, someone wants to talk to you."

He moved over and stepped around the girl, he opened the door and saw a women standing outside, she was about twenty and he thought he might have seen her before. "what is it?" he frowned at her. 

"Are you John Hornton, doesn't matter, tell your Uncle and the crazy lady who he works for that I'll do it, I'll go." she huffed and turned away, striding over to the Hermes cabin. John found himself smiling again, his first quest was a go!