The Demigod Games

Chapter Forty-one

Aelia found Leo crouched beneath a tree, holding his head in his hands. His once orderly hair was now a mangy, mangled mess of curls sagging onto his forehead, most likely covering his eyes. His tanned body was shaking in the cold, frigid air, and only then did the numbness go away and the pure, icy air penetrated her clothes, frosting her skin. Her breath was clearly visible in the cold morning air.
"The tree's gone," Leo murmured, pointing toward the mountain in the distance. "No finding Jason and Piper now."
He lifted his head from out of his hands, and Aelia realized he had been crying. She decided not to bring it up.

His shaky voice echoed through the trees once again.
"Who appeared in the sky, Aelia? You were awake. You know."

The entirety of her instincts told her to not tell him, but her facial expression of pity betrayed her.
"It was Piper, wasn't it?" Him bringing up a different girl at a time like this sent a ridiculous wave of jealousy rushing over Aelia. Then, a pang of guilt.
"No," She said coldly, and his face relaxed. "It was Jason."
At this, he buried his face in his hands again and moaned. This was not Leo, the exuberant quintessential funny boy that she once knew. This was a grieving Leo, his facade gone, his years of pain and agony and loss portrayed on his latino face.
Leo sat up abruptly, and rubbing his eyes, he got to his feet.
"What do you call a cat?" He asked, his smile shining through once more.
"I don't know," Aelia replied. She was nervous about how he was acting.
"Well you should know, because a cat's called a cat."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and glanced up at the mountain.
"Am I the only one who's still freaked out by that thing?" Aelia asked, and
Leo shook his head.
"I'm afraid not. That thing's giving me the major heeby-jeebies," he muttered, staring at the summit. "I know I'm immune to fire, but that still wasn't exactly a pleasant experience."
She nodded. She knew that it couldn't have been fun; she had watched him become swallowed by the flaming wave, and feared that the gods had somehow altered Leo's power, and that he was dead. Only the silence from the cannons made her continue running from the inferno.
"I thought you were dead, you know," said Aelia, and Leo grimaced.
"Likewise."
All of a sudden, all her doubts were gone, and she knew that she wanted to be with him. There was nothing she wanted more than to escape with him, to flee the Games together, and to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, happy ever after was a lie invented by people who wanted to escape reality.
"Aelia," he whispered, staring directly at nothing.
She didn't answer.
"Aelia," he said again.

"What, Valdez?" she asked, sighing.
"I like you," he said, and my heart fluttered in my chest, "but as you can see," he said, gesturing to the snow coated Arena, "we're in snowy hell. So like, anti-hell, but still hellish. You get my point. And so, if we do not find our way out of this aforementioned anti-hell, feel free to pursue your relentless affections for me."
"What makes you think I have affections for you?" Aelia asked, bothered.
"Don't be naïve, Aelia," he said. "All the ladies love Leo."
Aelia laughed, and looked into Leo's sparkling eyes. When arrogant, cocky, funny Leo emerged from the pyromaniac lunatic she'd grown to love, she literally could not resist.
--
Edward watched while Lara climbed up a tall pine in the middle of the forest. He had been assigned the job of watchman, like always. He was too clumsy and large to do the important things, and that was why Lara always got all the credit. He scowled up at her. He'd rather get electrocuted again than have to stay another minute with that stuck-up brat.
But, it was in his best interest for the Games, if he wanted any chance at winning, at least. It was really sad, that his potential had gone to waste, and his axe-swinging glory-getting spree was brought to an end by Lara. She insisted she was the brains of the operation, whereas Edward was only there to protect her.
If I only have to protect her, Edward thought, why can't I protect myself?
And Edward made up his mind. As soon as he got the chance, he would kill Lara and continue on to victory. There was no other option, besides inevitable death.
The sudden thought of death made Edward uneasy. He had once encountered the manifestation of death, Thanatos, and it had only served to freak him out more. Death was one of Edward's only fears, besides humiliation and losing.
They were all connected, death, humiliation, and losing. Death was the ultimate loss, the ultimate humiliation. One that would haunt you for the rest of eternity.
He heard a branch rustle and Edward tightened his grip on his axe.
"Calm down, you oaf, it's me," Lara said, dropping down the last few feet to the ground.
She turned around to retrieve her backpack, and Edward raised his axe, preparing to bring it down on her back.
His body went rigid, his arms stiff and unmoving. He was completely paralyzed.
"70 percent water, Edward. Fairly easy to control when you control 70 percent of them."
She leaned in close and whispered in his ear.
"Don't try it again, or I swear I will kill you before you could raise that axe."
Edward's body went slack and he fell to the ground. Lara kicked him in the gut, and he groaned.
In a singsong voice, she added, "Now stay there and think about what you've done."
--

Percy lifted the snow and let it fall once again over Annabeth.
"Water," Percy said, smiling, forming a snowball without touching it and willing it to crash onto Annabeth's arm.
"Seaweed Brain, you're an idiot."
"Hey! If all else fails, I can pelt our enemies with hardcore snowballs!"
Percy smiled, and grabbing his trident, he stood up, brushing the snow off his pants.
"Where are you going?" Annabeth asked, and Percy grinned.
"We gotta eat something. Hope you're not vegan, Wise Girl..." he muttered as he ran into the forest with his trident in hand.
He swung his weapon in an arc, splitting a three pronged line on a tree. He slashed it along the bottom, connecting all three prongs, and then stabbed it in the middle of the bottom slash. The symbol of Poseidon was now imbedded in the tree. Percy wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or not, but he thought he saw a faint green glow.
He now knew where his camp was, and hopefully potential attackers wouldn't notice. Annabeth was alone, defenseless save for Riptide, which had appeared in Percy's pocket shortly after he woke up from his concussion. He had become accustomed to the trident, and unbelievably he favored it over his trusty sword. He felt a little sad about it, almost pity for betraying it, but he'd gotten over it.
Percy swept aside a branch and stepped into a clearing. He decided to go straight, and sprinted off through the forest.