The Harvest Trials

Chapter X

Travis

I've been here for two days. I'm not even sure really where 'here' is. All I know is that I'm alone. The last thing I remember from the Harvest compound was getting torn away from Connor. We were in a cell together, along with Katie and a few other demigods. Katie was out on the field when they came and took me. 

Connor was screaming and it still hurts to think about it. His screams are all I can hear when I go to sleep. When I sleep. I've always had trouble sleeping in a new place. And this was a new, extremely creep place that I was almost sure I would die in. As a kid, I was never one to cry. It was my job to be the brave older brother, and if I was ever upset I would laugh it off and get over it. And I always had Connor.

But now I'm alone and scared. Tears cut rivets through the dirt and grime on my cheeks as I curled myself in a ball in the corner of some random building that looked like it could topple at any second.

All the buildings look like that here. They were seemingly built into the sky, packed so close together you get claustrophobic. And they were all so old the slightest breeze could topple them all. I was stuck and alone in the middle of it all. 

I was scared to leave the area where I'd woken up, just in case. I knew I needed to go and take inventory on what I had to work with, just like they taught me at camp, but I didn't want to move. I'd gone two days without food or water, just moping in my corner, when I figured I should get off my ass and do something. It was day three after all. And three is a lucky number. 

Before I left, I thought about leaving a trail to get back. I looked all around for something to mark the way when I heard an unusual sound. Thwap thwap thwap. I looked to the sky and found a helicopter. 

I hid in the closest building and watched a few agents pile out, holding something in between them. Rather than set it down, they tossed it, laughing. Then they piled back into the helicopter and it was off before I even thought to wave it down. 

I wanted to cry in frustration, but I had exhausted all my tears. Instead I ran forward to see what it was that they dropped off. Reaching the lump, I pulled back the blanket and shrieked, jumping back. It was a person. I steadied my breathing and crept closer. Upon closer inspection, I saw who it was. And by the gods, it was someone I knew!

"Clovis!" I yelled, trying to shake him awake. He groaned, "Coming, mother." "Hey, Clovis, wake up! Clovis!"

I shook him some more, before sitting back. I bet they didn't even need a tranquilizer to transport him. He's probably just regular sleeping. I decided to try something else. "Clovis, you're on fire!"

I waited. And waited. 

Nothing.

"Good gods, Clovis! Wake up!" I tried knocking on his head a few times. He snorted once in his sleep, but alas, did not wake up. I considered my options. It was getting colder and the sun was setting. I didn't really want to be out in the open at night, too creepy. Plus Clovis had a blanket. i sighed and grabbed him under the armpits and lifted.

"Oh my lord  you are heavy," I groaned, trying to at least drag him inside. After twenty minutes of stopping and starting, we finally made it. Clovis was still mumbling delirious nothings in his sleep. I realized then that I would probably have to share the blanket. "I hate my life!" I screamed as loud as I possibly could. With hope, I would wake up Clovis. Or maybe some people would hear my cries and come to rescue me.

But of course the luck of a demigod is almost always bad. So, regretfully, I snuggled up next to Clovis and pulled the blanket over myself. I fell asleep soon after that.

^*^*^*^

I woke up cold. It was the kind of cold you get when you're really tired and you find all your blankets on the floor. Except it was Clovis that was hogging the blanket. "Dude," I groaned, trying to wrestle it back over so I could experience some warmth. I underestimated the strength of a sleeping child of Hypnos.

I literally fought for that blanket for about ten minutes before Clovis actually started to stir. "What--Travis? Where...."

"Give me the blanket, asshole!" Okay, so not my proudest moment. 

He gave me a weird look, a mix between still asleep and mildly concerned. "I'm cold!" I complained. "Okay, okay," he grumbled, handing over the blanket.

"Where are we?" He asked, a hint of fear in his voice, for once sounding fully awake. "I don't know," I answered miserably.

"We should look around," Clovis said, standing. "But this is the drop! What if others are coming? What if we get lost!" I argued from the blanket.

"I happen to have a very good memory," he said, walking away. I scrambled to follow him. "Wait!" I was definitely not used to seeing Clovis so determined. 

"How long have you been here?" He asked, shuddering as he took in his surroundings, mentally tracking their path. "This is my fourth day," I answered meekly. Everything was muted gray. The buildings seemed to suck the color out of everything. Even the green from the trees seemed muted. 

"I recognize this place," he said quietly. "You do?" I asked. "Yeah. I had a dream last night." He didn't elaborate, so I didn't press. I was more occupied with finding something to eat.

We weren't walking for very long before we came to the edge and I realized we were on an island, perhaps in the middle of nowhere. All I saw in every direction was an endless, glittering blue.