Changing the Future

Chapter 8

The next morning, I woke up at the break of dawn to ensure that I would reach Olympus by eight in the morning. I had no doubt in my mind that if I was late Athena would turn this week into a complete nightmare for me, so after shoving my sleeping bag into my bag, I left my cabin and went towards the Big House to tell Chiron I was leaving.

As for the cleaning harpies, I wasn't too concerned about them at the moment. They were much harsher at night, but they typically didn't attack campers once the sun was up, especially since there were a couple of the older campers that preferred to train in the morning by themselves without the distraction of little kids.

Chiron wasn't surprised about my early morning visit, but he was still half asleep as his tail curlers were still in and he hadn't made any move to remove them. I said nothing, fighting the urge to smile the whole time as he added some cream into his coffee. He cleared me to leave, and I headed for the borders, the scent of strawberries weakening as I got closer to the outskirts of camp.

I hadn't even crossed the borders yet when I found other demigods, all of whom I recognized as the trio of questers. Cleo was standing off to the side, watching in silence as Luke and Thalia argued, both of them using their hands as they spoke, causing for the daughter of Apollo to flinch whenever they got too close to her.

I waved at Cleo, getting her attention and a weak smile from her. Her gaze shifted to the fighting duo before returning my gaze, making a gag-me motion with her hand as the two began to argue louder.

In a silent conversation, I asked her what was wrong, to which she replied by rubbing her fingers together in a sign that could only mean one thing: money, or lack thereof. I guess Hermes forgot to provide anything that could be of use to his son on this quest, including money or transportation.

"Oh, great," I heard Thalia sneer as I began walking down the hill, not wanting to get involved unless I absolutely had to. "You're here."

"Good morning to you too, Thalia," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the venom in her voice. "I was just leaving. Don't mind me."

I made it a couple feet away before hearing Luke say, "Wait, Andy!" Turning around, I watched as Luke ran down to meet me, careful not to trip over the long tree roots that covered the ground. "You said you'd always have our backs, right?"

"I did."

"And that you'd always help us?"

"Yup."

"Great," Luke sighed in relief. "Hermes didn't give us resources for this quest, and Chiron could only give us a hundred dollars in mortal money. Do you have anything that could help us?"

I blanched, more out of anger than fear. How did the gods expect their children to survive off a hundred dollars when quests could last weeks and usually had three people on them? Hades, in food alone, that hundred dollars could be spent within three days.

"Give me a sec," I told him, rummaging through my bag for the rest of my allowance. Salina gave me a monthly allowance of five thousand dollars a month, much more than I ever wanted or asked for, but I had used the majority of that money while on the run with Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth and helping Sally Jackson escape from Smelly Gabe.

Apartments in New York were extremely expensive, so I had given Sally four thousand dollars to help her with rent and food, but she'd have to deal with mortgages herself. And while on our way to camp, I had used five hundred dollars to provide us with food and supplies when we needed it.

I pulled out my remaining wad of twenties and kept two bills before handing the remaining four hundred and sixty dollars to Luke, who stared at the cash incredulously. Honestly, Luke could've probably made do with the hundred dollars, what with being a child of Hermes after all. I'd seen firsthand how amazing Luke was with sweet talking people and picking locks, but having a little back up cash couldn't hurt.