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Chapter 19: Alpha

I woke up to a soft chirping of birds and the sound of a stream off in the distance. It was all very fairytale-esc but then it occurred to me, I hadn’t taken a watch last night.

I sat up and found Max still pacing around the edge of the clearing the way I’d left him hours ago when I went to sleep. I stood, walking over to meet him.

“Hey,” Hey said, looking over at me with bloodshot eyes, “How’s it going?”

“Did you ever switch off with either of the girls?” I asked.

“No,” Max answered, “That’s why I took the watch; you guys needed sleep more than me.”

“You’re the only one of us who has been wounded since we set out,” I had to resist the urge to call him and idiot, amongst other names, “If anyone needed rest it was you!”

“We’re going into battle,” Max countered, “By sheer merit of my lineage, I’m best suited for that. I’m also more experienced than you or Sarah. I know Terra has been doing this longer than all of us combined, but the East wind isn’t exactly the biggest advantage in a fight.”

“Look,” I said, calming a little, “I know that it’s your dad and all, but that doesn’t mean you need to take this on alone. Your father is not your responsibility.”

“Not yours either,” my friend parried, “Yet here we both are.”

I could tell he wasn’t going to budge on this. I could think of about five ways to make him realize what a fool he was just off the top of my head, but that wouldn’t do us any good now.

“Fine,” I said, “What’s done is done. We need to get moving.”

After we’d roused the girls (which had almost seen me stabbed with a bronze hunting knife for my trouble) we left the clearing and continued in what I believed to be the right direction for my old campsite.

“So let me get this straight,” Terra said, “You stayed up all night and never had any of us trade places with you?”

“Yes,” Max said, “Was I not clear enough before?”

“Turn around.” Terra said.

Max turned back to face her, and was met with the back of Terra’s hand.

“Ow!” He yelped, probably more out of surprise than pain.

“Could you be more idiotic!?” Terra was basically saying what I’d wanted to say, but there was something else behind it, something I’d not expected out of a huntress of Artemis.

“Guys,” Sarah stepped in, “Calm down. Terra, slapping him won’t turn back the clock. And Max, being a jerk about this won’t do you any good.”

I smiled a bit. Sarah always did have a way with words.

Turning back to face the all I said, “She’s right. While I do agree that max was being foolish, we can’t change the past now so save it for the fight.”

None of us had discussed it, but we knew there was going to be a fight with practically suicidal odds to finish our little outing; the only question now was when it would be upon us.

As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait very long for the answer.

We emerged into the clearing that had been like a second home to me for so many summers and were met with a grim sight. The hunters were all tied tight to the trees surrounding the clearing, the tree at the center also held a captive, but she seemed somehow different from the others. For one, she was awake; the others were out cold for some reason. She also had a gag in her mouth and a silver tiara nestled in her black hair.

“Thalia!” Terra burst out before we shushed her.

The girl in the middle, I supposed she was Thalia, looked over at us, and her electric blue eyes widened. She shook her head and tried to motion with her chin to get out of here, but before I realized what was happening I heard growling just over my shoulder.

We spun around and found the wolves had snuck up behind us and formed a semicircle, cutting off our escape route.

We all backed into the clearing slowly, and once we stood in a loose circle facing out, the laughter echoed through the woods, the laughter of a madman, the laughter of a murderer; the laughter of the god of war in a foul mood.

Description
Chapter 19: Alpha

I woke up to a soft chirping of birds and the sound of a stream off in the distance. It was all very fairytale-esc but then it occurred to me, I hadn’t taken a watch last night.

I sat up and found Max still pacing around the edge of the clearing the way I’d left him hours ago when I went to sleep. I stood, walking over to meet him.

“Hey,” Hey said, looking over at me with bloodshot eyes, “How’s it going?”

“Did you ever switch off with either of the girls?” I asked.

“No,” Max answered, “That’s why I took the watch; you guys needed sleep more than me.”

“You’re the only one of us who has been wounded since we set out,” I had to resist the urge to call him and idiot, amongst other names, “If anyone needed rest it was you!”

“We’re going into battle,” Max countered, “By sheer merit of my lineage, I’m best suited for that. I’m also more experienced than you or Sarah. I know Terra has been doing this longer than all of us combined, but the East wind isn’t exactly the biggest advantage in a fight.”

“Look,” I said, calming a little, “I know that it’s your dad and all, but that doesn’t mean you need to take this on alone. Your father is not your responsibility.”

“Not yours either,” my friend parried, “Yet here we both are.”

I could tell he wasn’t going to budge on this. I could think of about five ways to make him realize what a fool he was just off the top of my head, but that wouldn’t do us any good now.

“Fine,” I said, “What’s done is done. We need to get moving.”

After we’d roused the girls (which had almost seen me stabbed with a bronze hunting knife for my trouble) we left the clearing and continued in what I believed to be the right direction for my old campsite.

“So let me get this straight,” Terra said, “You stayed up all night and never had any of us trade places with you?”

“Yes,” Max said, “Was I not clear enough before?”

“Turn around.” Terra said.

Max turned back to face her, and was met with the back of Terra’s hand.

“Ow!” He yelped, probably more out of surprise than pain.

“Could you be more idiotic!?” Terra was basically saying what I’d wanted to say, but there was something else behind it, something I’d not expected out of a huntress of Artemis.

“Guys,” Sarah stepped in, “Calm down. Terra, slapping him won’t turn back the clock. And Max, being a jerk about this won’t do you any good.”

I smiled a bit. Sarah always did have a way with words.

Turning back to face the all I said, “She’s right. While I do agree that max was being foolish, we can’t change the past now so save it for the fight.”

None of us had discussed it, but we knew there was going to be a fight with practically suicidal odds to finish our little outing; the only question now was when it would be upon us.

As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait very long for the answer.

We emerged into the clearing that had been like a second home to me for so many summers and were met with a grim sight. The hunters were all tied tight to the trees surrounding the clearing, the tree at the center also held a captive, but she seemed somehow different from the others. For one, she was awake; the others were out cold for some reason. She also had a gag in her mouth and a silver tiara nestled in her black hair.

“Thalia!” Terra burst out before we shushed her.

The girl in the middle, I supposed she was Thalia, looked over at us, and her electric blue eyes widened. She shook her head and tried to motion with her chin to get out of here, but before I realized what was happening I heard growling just over my shoulder.

We spun around and found the wolves had snuck up behind us and formed a semicircle, cutting off our escape route.

We all backed into the clearing slowly, and once we stood in a loose circle facing out, the laughter echoed through the woods, the laughter of a madman, the laughter of a murderer; the laughter of the god of war in a foul mood.