The Wild's Heart

Missing

Question: When is Annabeth's birthday?

Luke's POV:

Mama and Dadda were freaking out when Sage and Michael never came back from school.

They paced for hours in the living room, trying to contact old connections and friends to look out for the twins.

I was also freaking out. The whole day I was clutching onto Topaz, my stuffed panda that Sage gave to me when I was born. She named him Topaz because it was the zodiac sign Sagittarius's lucky gem. And Sagittarius is Sage's name. And she gave him to me because I was her lucky gem. Holding on to Topaz made me feel like I was helping her in some way, keeping her next to me even when she was gone. But mama and dadda were doing all the real work.

I was also mostly worried for Mikey (Michael needed a nickname). I knew how protective he was of Sagey, and if anyone was going to get hurt, Michael would make sure that he was the one to get hurt and not Sage.

It scared me, a lot. I decided to join mamma and dad in pacing so I could help. And let me tell ya, pacing is a job for big boys! It's exhausting. We did it for hours until finally someone answered our call for help and an Iris Message apeared infront of us.

It was uncle Amos! Amos was a long time friend of dadda, to the point where they were almost like siblings. So we all called him uncle, well all of us except Sage. Sage just called him Amos. Just like how Sage called dadda Parker, instead of dad or step-dad. I think Parker is flustered (yes, I know a big word! I'm a big boy!) and sad that Sage still hasn't excepted Parker as one of their own, same with Amos. Sage's fatal flaw is denial, so she's really good at not accepting things. Mamma says it's not healthy.

Uncle Amos apeared infront of us, looking anxious.

"Parker! Leya! I got your message. Did you find Sage and Michael??" He asked.

Parker shook his head in frustration. "No, we've looked all over! They just disappeared! They've been gone for two days!" (Let's pretend that it was actually Tuesday when they left, and both Sage and Michael were really forgetful, so they only contacted their parents on Friday. They were at camp half blood the whole time, and yes, they were homesick, they just forgot to call their parents till friday. So right now it's Wednesday, mm-kay?)

Mamma had tears in her eyes, and the urgency of uncle Amos and Dadda's voice scared me.

"Are they gone forever?" I whispered, my own tears spilling down my face.

Uncle Amos only then realized that I was in the room, and mamma and dadda seemed to remember that they weren't supposed to freak me out.

Before they could say anything, Tyler poked his head into the room, "Forever?" He asked, his hazel eyes sparkling with fright.

"Don't worry you two, we'll find your siblings, they've got to be here somewhere." Amos said, trying to cheer up the mood.

"Unless they're dead." Muttered dadda sadly, I don't think he wanted us to hear that, but we did.

"No!" Tyler yelled. "They can't be! They can't be!" His voice got quieter, "Right?"

Uncle Amos looked at the ground. "The world is full of monsters, hunting for demigods. All Sage and Michael have are small daggers." He seemed to realize what he just said, as mine and Tyler's eyes widen. He quickly added, "But they can still use their daggers! Sage is very resourceful and Michael is clever. They still have a good fighting chance."

That wasn't enough to comfort me, was there really a chance they were dead? It's only been two days including today, so they could be fine, right?

I felt myself hyperventilate, (Michael taught me that word), as I thought of possibilities. What if they were were kidnapped, hurt, scared, lost, or dead!? My breathing sped up and I was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I clutched Topaz and squeezed my eyes shut. What was happening to me? I felt so, scared. So hopeless. Sage and Michael had to be safe, they had to be safe. They are safe. They are safe. They're safe. I repeated that in my head over and over again.

I felt mom wrap her arms around me, and heard Amos's voice, "I'm sorry that I can't help much from Brooklyn, but keep me posted, I might be able to send people over to help."

"Thankyou Amos," mom said gratefully, "please call if you find something on your end."

I knew the iris message was over when dad picked me up and carried me to my room. "Goodnight bud, we'll find the twins, I promise." He said, then tucked me into bed.

Didn't sleep much that night, I was to busy thinking about my brother and sister.

Tyler's POV

Mom still made us go to school
the next day, which I thought was stupid. I wanted to help find Sage and Michael!

At school, my best friend Dylan, was wearing all black, including one of those awesome leather jackets. He had a cool black belt and was wearing some eyeliner. I snickered at that, eyeliner was for girls.

"'Sup captain guyliner." I said, trying to sound happier then I felt. And I was feeling pretty depressed, especially after the conversation we had with uncle Amos last night. I wished he and his real neice and nephew could come to California to help us look, but they had important business in Brooklyn. Though Amos wouldn't tell us what is was. 

Dylan laughed, "This is the new normal." He gestured to his clothes, "All the teenagers are dressing like this."

"Yeah, we're not teenagers. We're 9 almost 10, and Sage and Michael don't dress like that." I faltered a little.

He frowned, "You good? Here, I've got another jacket for you. After all your birthdays next week."

I took the jacket from him. It was leather like his, and it made me feel better. I smiled gratefully at him. "This is awesome! Thanks!" I said slipping it on. It made me feel stronger and more confident. Like Michael and Sage. They were always confident. Just having this jacket mad me feel like I had the strength to push through while they were gone. Dylan had no clue how much I needed this.

The school day seemed to pass quicker, which I was grateful for. When I got home, everyone was surprised that I kept my shirt on. Usually it was more comfortable to have my shirt off, but I needed the comfort from the leather jacket.

××××××××××time skip dedicated to Beckendorf×××××××××××××

It was a whole day later that Michael and Sage messaged us. They seemed happy. And everyone at home was relieved but super angry at them. They told us about the camp and I immediately wanted to go. But mom and dad said that they should stay with them. Sage and Michael would be coming back the next day.

That night Luke drew a heart on a Michael Jordan basketball card, saying that it was meant for our Michael, not the famous one. He also found the Sagittarius constellation and wished on that for Sage's sake.

I muttered my own prayer to the gods, hoping nothing bad would happen.

But of course, something terrible happened.

Answer: July 12