For the Better

Chapter 11 ~ The First Call

Leo's Pov
It's now day 3 of our little quest and let me tell you, it is not easy to wake up a Hades kid. Once he is asleep it's like he has become a dormant volcano. Nico almost punched me in the face this morning. He does not like to wake up.

Brooke has barely talked to me since the first night. What's her problem with me? Does she know something? Has she heard something? I hope not.

All day yesterday was just traveling and following our faint path of dust. We didn't even stop for any food. I had an idea of where to go. Practically where fire "originated." It's close to Mt. Saint Helens. The place is pretty much where my dad was thrown off Olympus by Hera. Where he really started. There are some caves over there too. Maybe one of the shards is hidden there.

We have been driving for three hours. We had driven into Washington two hours ago. Our goal was to get to Olympia, Washington, by tonight at the latest. We left at 6am so we should get there in time. I know there has to be some kind of fight. Also, we have to answer riddles. I'm not good with riddles, or smart stuff.

"Are we there yet?" I asked, like a little kid. "Leo, you're so annoying," Brooke would say to me every time I asked. "When will we be there?" I would ask next. "When we get there," Nico would answer. I would reply with, "Oh thanks. That helps a lot." I can be such a pain in the butt sometimes.

After another two and a half hours of driving, we arrived at Olympia, Washington. "THANK THE GODS! IT'S ABOUT TIME!" I yelled. Nico groaned at me as he stepped out of the car. We came across some mountains and caves and looked around. We had to find the right entrance.

I put my hand on the side of a mountain and closed my eyes. I tried to concentrate. If fire was the first call, I'm the one to most likely find it. I kept my hand on the mountain and I started to walk. I kept my ears close to the mountain trying to listen, trying to feel for something. I kept walking.

"Here," I said. I looked over to the others. "Uh hi. The entrance is right here." I pointed to the cave at my right. I looked inside. So did Brooke and Nico. There were voices coming from deep within. "I don't like the sound of that," Nico winced. "Well, this is the right entrance," I told him. "Yeah, yeah. I know it is."

We started walking, with me in the front. "Look!" Brooke pointed to the walls. "These are shards. Not crystals, but shards." I glared at her. "Yes, Brooke. Shards. Deathly shards. They can kill us. Have you thought of that?" She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, but you better let me lead. It's starting to get dark in here." She made a ball of light in her hands. "When did you-" I started, but she cut me off. "Doesn't matter, just let's go."

The voices got louder and louder. "Oh well isn't that great," I mumbled. We got to what looked like a door but there was nothing there. "Halt!" something yelled. We stopped almost immediately. Just then, the rim around the door caught fire. It wasn't me. The fire spread across the cave walls. Brooke extinguished her little ball of light.

Two figures appeared beside the door. "We are guards of the Forbidden Cave of Hephaestus," the guard on the left said. I nudged Brooke. "See? Told you," I whispered. She rolled her eyes.

"You wish to pass?" the guard on the right asked. "Yes we do," I answered. "You have to answer the riddles. Only then, can you pass," the guards said to us. "Yeah, yeah. We know. We are on a quest. It even tells us we have to answer riddles!" I complained.

"You get three guesses. If you get all three wrong, you will die here and your bones will lie in this cave forever," the guard on the left told us. "Well isn't that just wonderful," I mumbled.

"Is at least one of you a child of Hephaestus?" the guard on the right asked. Brooke and Nico both pointed to me. "Yes, that would be me," I answered. "Then only you can answer the riddle." the guards chanted simultaneously. "But I'm not good with smart stuff," I frowned. "Don't worry Leo, you can do this," Brooke whispered in my ear.

"Can they help me? Like give me clues? Can we talk it over? Can you give me a hint?" I asked very eagerly. "Possibly. We will think about it," they told me. I rolled my eyes.

"What exactly is behind this door?" I asked. Both guards glared at me as if I murdered their mother. "That is information we cannot reveal." I groaned. "What can you tell me?" I yelled. "The riddle." I shook my hands an jumped up and down. "Okay I'm ready," I told the guards.

"There are four brothers in this world that were all born together. The first runs but never wearies. The second eats but is never full. The third drinks and is always thirsty. The fourth sings a song that is never good. Who are they?" My eyes widened. I have no idea. That's too much for my little brain to handle. I looked towards Nico and Brooke who, also, looked clueless.

"I get three guesses?" I asked. "Yes," the guards answered. I thought to myself; four brothers, all born together. So like quadruplets? Ugh, I don't know. They must be famous quadruplets. Still, this is really hard. Well, at least for me.

"Can we try to help Leo? Or give him ideas? Or try to help him figure it out?" Nico asked. "You have two minutes," the guard on the left said. We huddled up.

"Well since this is all stuff to do with Hephaestus, I'm guessing it partially has to do with fire," Brooke said quickly. "Drinks but is always thirsty... Hmm..," I said. "Sings a song that is never good," Nico repeated. "Being a daughter of Apollo, I should know," Brooke said. She rolled her eyes. Jeez, that girl rolls her eyes a lot.

"The only song I can think of that is never good would be like songs that have to do with evil. Unless it's a metaphor," Brooke said to us. "One minute," the guards chanted. "Brooke, I think they are all metaphors," Nico groaned.

"Wind whistles. Right?" I asked. "That never sounds good." Nico's eyes widened. Then he frowned. "Wind!" Brooke smiled. "That's it! 'Eats but is never full,' that's fire." She closer her eyes and kept thinking. "'Drinks but is always thirsty.' Water?" I asked.

"Yes, and the song that's never good is wind. So the last must be earth, 'runs but never wearies,'" Nico said. He still didn't even smile. That kid is so hard to please. "The four elements," I said. "Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind."

"Your time is up," the guard on the right said. "Valdez, what is your answer?" The guard on the left asked. "The four elements; water, earth, fire, and wind," I answered.

"Correct," the guards chanted. They disappeared and the door opened. "We did it!" Brooke smiled. "Yeah we did," I said.

I walked into the room, first. Things sparkled all around the room. "Do you think the shard is in here?" I asked. "It's hidden, remember?" Nico said. "Oh, yeah. Right," I laughed a sad laugh. "This will be fun," I mumbled.

We started searching through everything. "Be careful what you touch. This cave can crumble. I'm going to bet that right when we find the crystal shard, this cave will break apart," I told them. "Or, we will lose oxygen and die. So either way, we have to hurry," I finished. Neither one of them answered, but I know they heard me.

I set my hand ablaze. Almost immediately, the flames shot to my left and out of my hand. I ran over to the wall. "Uh, guys? I think I found something." The crystal shard is hidden inside the cave wall. I can feel it.

I reached into my tool belt and grabbed a hammer. I started to pound the cave wall. Bit by bit, the wall was breaking down. "Leo, please hurry I'm starting to not be able to breathe in here," Brooke said with a shaky voice. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm working as fast as I can."

Finally, the cave cracked. I set my hand ablaze, again. The crystal shard caught fire, on its own, and flew into my hand. Just then, the cave started shuddering. "Run!" I yelled. We sprinted towards the exit of the cave. The rubble was falling fast behind us. "We aren't going to make it!" I said.

"YES WE ARE JUST KEEP GOING!" Brooke yelled at me. We kept running. 250ft. 100ft. 50ft. The walls were falling faster. It was honestly right behind me. I thought it was going to hit me or fall on my head. 10ft. Brooke and Nico made it out faster than me because they left before me. "Leo come on!" Nico yelled, from the outside.

I jumped, hoping I wouldn't be crushed by rubble.