When Hunter finally managed to fall asleep that night it wasn’t for long. Every time he closed his eyes, the fear of dreams kept him awake. Finally pure fatigue allowed him fall asleep. Hunter found himself in the woods near Camp Half-Blood. He knew exactly where he was in the woods, but it was much darker than he had seen it before. The sun was just starting to rise and he seemed to be sitting in a tree looking down to the ground. He seemed to be there for hours. The sun was just reaching over the line of trees when finally he heard a crack. He looked behind him and saw a woman. She had long blonde hair and was very thin, but had an attractiveness to her. Like she was commanding Hunter’s perspective. She was naked and Hunter went to shield his eyes, but found himself unable considering his lack of physical form. She stretched a little and shook her limbs as if waking up. The woman turned and he got a look of her face. She had black eyes and a slender face. It was very familiar in a way, but unfamiliar at the same time. She ran her fingers through her hair and Hunter saw something fall out of her hair. She sighed and did it again. On closer inspection, he saw that they were spiders.
“Come on. Mama needs some clothes.” She said with a giggle, her voice quiet, but clear. More spiders crawled from her hair and started circling her body. “Something fashionable, huh?” Hunter watched as hundreds of spiders circled her and slowly spun a dress patterned as snakeskin. Once they were finished, the spiders crawled back into her hair. She smoothed out her dress and let out a moan of liking. “Well done.” She said with a grin. She looked around finally and sighed. The woman crossed her arms and tapped her chin pensively. “What shall I do?” She said, narrowing her eyes. She snapped her fingers and her form seemed to flash for a second before clearing again. Instead of a woman, there was a familiar figure. A centaur. He had a bow slung over his shoulder and her turned.
Chiron. Hunter thought to himself. Chiron looked down at himself and then shook his head.
“No. Not this.” Chiron said. He said, snapping his fingers. The image flashed and appeared again, taking the form of Dana.
She must be a god, but…Which one? Hunter thought to himself as he watched The woman, now in the form of Dana, walk around a bit, seemingly getting used to a new body. She sighed and grumbled something before leaning against a tree and fidgeting with the t-shirt and the typical yellow jeans of Dana. She sighed and snapped her fingers again. Another flash and Hunter saw as a satyr stood in her place, leaning on the tree. She looked at her new form and sighed.
“This is nice, I suppose.” The satyr cooed, running his hands down the fur on his legs. “This might have to do.” There was a faint noise and Hunter listened carefully. It became louder and louder until Hunter woke up.
“Hunter! Wake up!” Will’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Chiron needs to talk to us.” He pounded on the door again and Hunter groaned, rolling onto his stomach and putting his head over his pillow. There was a silence and Hunter looked up at the door, a little surprised. There was a quiet rustling and then the door swung open. Will walked in, spinning water around his fingers.
“Since when can you pick locks?” Hunter asked, his voice muffled by his pillow. Will scoffed and snatched Hunter’s pillow and tossed it across the room.
“Ever since I was in Hermes for 5 years and found out that I had unlimited control of water. Now get up.” Will said, jabbing Hunter in the side with his foot. Hunter sighed and sat up in bed. Will walked back over to the door and leaned against the threshold. Hunter rolled out of bed and grabbed some clothes, slipping on a shirt.
“How’s Penny?” Hunter asked grabbing his jeans. “Turn around.” Will nodded and turned around with a sigh.
“She’s awake.” Will said with a nod. Hunter slipped off his pajama pants and pulled on some jeans. He looked over at Will and finally noticed how his shoulder slumped slightly.
“Did you sleep by her bed?” Hunter asked packing up a backpack with his typical quest kit. Will nodded. “You can turn around now.”
“She has a broken leg and a couple of broken ribs.” Will said, turning around again. “Not to mention all the scratches and bruises.” Hunter nodded. Hunter zipped his backpack and left it on his bed before looking up at Will. He looked so tired. Hunter walked over to him and patted him on the back.
“She should feel lucky that she had you to take her back to camp.” Hunter said with a comforting smile. Will sighed.
“Come on. Let’s go talk to Chiron.” They walked out of the cabin and Hunter closed the door behind them. They walked to the Big house and stepped inside.
“Hey, Hunter.” Penny said with a wave. He noticed the cast on her leg and cut along her arm. She had a cut lip and bruises along her arms and legs. Will moved quickly across the room to her and put an arm around her.
“Hey, Penny. Looking good.” He said with a soft smile. Penny giggled a little, holding her ribs. “Sorry.” He said, feeling a little bad for making her laugh.
“Ah. Hunter. Good…Morning.” Chiron said, checking his watch. “How’d you sleep?” Hunter scoffed a little.
“Actively.” Hunter said with a nod and a tired chuckle. His dream flashed into his mind. The woman. The spiders. The satyr. He took a deep breath and looked at Chiron, pushing his dream to the back of his mind. “Very actively.” He said under his breath.
“Something wrong?” Chiron asked, looking at Hunter oddly. Hunter waved it off.
“No.” He said quickly. “Umm…No. I’m—I’m okay.” He said with a nod. “So what is it? What’s going on?” He asked, trying to change the subject off of him. Chiron’s face turned grim and he looked at Dionysus’ chair. “Chiron, where is Mr. D?” He asked, tilting his head a little. Chiron nodded solemnly.
“It seems that we have a prophecy coming.” Chiron said with a sigh. “This is no small matter, either.” He wheeled to the table. He opened the book of monsters and opened to the back page. There was a huge heading on the page that read ‘biggest threats’. He slid the book over to Hunter. A large picture of Typhon loomed over the page. “He was called away by the gods.”
“To Olympus?” Will asked, taking a step forward his arm firmly around Penny. “That’s not odd.”
“No. To the underworld.” Chiron said with a nod. “There seems to be a problem with Tartarus. Somehow—“ Chiron was interrupted by the Big house door opening. Hunter turned around to see a girl with ratty jeans and bright red hair. “Ah..Ms. Dare. Please.” He said, gesturing to a chair. Rachel walked in and sat down.
“Hunter. It’s been…Not long enough actually.” She said with a nod. “You always seem to be in here and getting a quest.” Hunter scoffed.
“Tell me about it.” Hunter said with a sigh. “What were you saying earlier, sir?” Hunter said, looking back at Chiron. “About Typhon?” He said quietly. Hunter was in the second titan war. He had fought along with his friends and many of them had died. He remembered all of the destruction Typhon had caused. Chiron looked at him, his expression turning somber again.
“It seems that when the titans and Typhon were forced back to Tartarus, it seemed to weaken.” He said quietly. “The gate to Tartarus seemed to become weaker, because of so much being sent back all at once. It would be simple for a being of high power to open it again. Setting—“ Rachel stood up suddenly and stiffened.
The bringer of fire and the mother of all
Will for once work together to open the pit and see Olympus fall
The son of the hunt and the son of the sea
Will lead two separate squads numbering three
One will travel far west and enter the great cleanse in the netherrealm
The other will go to the hearty southern fort to seek wings and a foe they will overwhelm
Both tasks are needed to protect camp and the home of the gods
With an all-seeing eye you will see success against the all of the odds.
She slumped back into her chair and sighed, running her hand through her hair. “That is no fun.” She said with a chuckle. Chiron looked back at Hunter and took a deep breath.
“Prometheus.” He said with a nod. “Prometheus was the thing who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to mortals. Prometheus would be able to open Tartarus. That’s how the cetus got out. Who knows what else he let out…”
“So we stop him.” Will said firmly. “We need to stop him before this goes too far. The gods can—“ Chiron shook his head.
“Typhon. The gate is weak and he is trying to escape.” Chiron said, shaking his head. “Not to mention Echidna…”
“Echidna.” Penny said, sort of blurted out. “She was that monster. She and Typhon created all of the monsters.” Chiron nodded.
“Not all of them, but many of them. Enough of them that she may very well have control of them all.” Chiron said sadly. “If Prometheus and Echidna are working together for once, then we are dealing with Titans and Monsters.” He looked at Hunter and Will. “The gods can’t help us. They’re busy making sure Typhon is kept in Tartarus.” Hunter looked at Chiron. He looked around the room and shook his head.
“No. There can’t be another war.” Hunter sighed and shook his head. “It just…It’s too soon.” Hunter ran a hand through his hair and could feel his heart clench. “This can’t happen.” He said quietly. Will stepped forward.
“Hunter, come on.” He said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We have a quest. There isn’t another son of the hunt around. We need you.” Will said, shoving him a little. “As much as you might not like it, you’re one of the strongest in camp. We can’t do this without you.” Hunter sighed. Will was right. Hunter needed to be strong. Hunter took a deep breath, calming his nerves.
“2 squads. You’ve got one. I’ve got one. We leave tomorrow.” Hunter said with a nod. He looked up at Will who glanced at Penny.
“I wish you could come with me.” He said, taking her hands. Hunter sighed. Will needed someone strong to come with him and it couldn’t be Hunter.
“Will, take Kyle and Marina.” Hunter said with a nod. “If you get one, you get the other. I’ll take Philippa and…And umm…”
“I’ll go.” Hunter turned to see Dana stepping out of the infirmary. Hunter suddenly saw the woman in his dream, transforming into Dana. Hunter rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat.
“You’re sure?” Hunter said, looking from Dana to Chiron and then back to Dana. She nodded and Hunter sighed. “And Dana.” Chiron nodded.
“Go.” He said quietly. “I shall prepare for the oncoming battle. You children need your rest.” Hunter looked around the room, mouthing a silent thank you to Dana who nodded in response.
“Penny? Come on back in. I might be able to do something for those ribs.” She said, taking Penny’s arm with Will and leading her back into the infirmary. Hunter took a deep breath and looked at Chiron. Something seemed off about him. Hunter needed to tell Philippa about the quest, but the way Chiron sat worried Hunter. It felt very defeatist.
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, are you okay? Is there something wrong?” Hunter said, stepping toward the only father he ever knew. Chiron looked up, a little surprised and put his calm smile back on.
“Hunter…This feels wrong. There is something amiss and this whole thing seems to be leading up to something much bigger.” Hunter opened his mouth to speak, but Chiron stopped him. “We’ll talk later. I need to think.” Hunter nodded and stepped away.
“Thank you, sir.” He said with a slight bow before stepping outside. He immediately made a beeline for Aphrodite cabin. He didn’t notice, but he had started to run toward it. He finally reached the door and knocked, feeling almost nauseous from the smell of beauty product and perfume wafting out from inside. Daniel answered the door.
“Hey, Hunty.” He said with a wink. He stepped out, closing the door behind him slightly and put a hand on Hunter’s chest. “Philippa is lucky to have a man like you, you know.” Hunter looked in slight distaste as Daniel drew an infinite sign on Hunter’s chest. “If you ever feel like…Breaking an oath,” He leaned up and get in Hunter’s face. “I could rock your world.” He said with a wink. Hunter grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing Daniel to let out a little yelp.
“I don’t have the time or the patience for this.” Hunter said, shoving him into the cabin. He let go and looked at Philippa who was in the corner of the cabin, braiding her sister’s hair. “Philippa? You got a few minutes?” He said with a nervous smile. Philippa looked up and around the room before nodding.
“Amy? Can you take over for me?” She said, holding the girl’s hair in place. Amy took over and Philippa walked out with Hunter. “What’s up, Hunter?” She asked, plainly. She looked back at her cabin once before taking his hand and leading him between two cabins. She put her hands on his chest and kissed his chin. Hunter sighed and pulled away from her a little.
“Listen. Philippa. We have a quest.” He said with a nod. “Well, I have a quest, but you’re coming with me.” He said, putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked happy and worried and angry and sad all at the same time.
“A quest, but I’m…I…” He could feel her stiffen a little. Hunter pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. “That’s dangerous.”
“I’ll keep you safe.” Hunter said quietly. When did she become so worried about danger? This was the same girl who tackled a harpy and killed it with her bare hands. “You’ll be okay. We’ll all be okay.” He kissed her forehead and wondered how true his words would actually be.