The Council: Child of Madness

Rated PG

Child of Madness is the first book in the series, Children of the Immortals.

I would be really grateful to hear feedback by leaving a comment.

Prologue
''"Its happening again." I thought as I saw the flames spread through the already blackened forest. Sophie was collapsed on the floor, surrounded by the dark orange flames that have caused her so much pain. The flames that had cost her everything. Everything. ''

''"I n-need to get her out of here," I said to myself in a quiet voice, the smoke beginning to constrict my throat. I hear something. A scream. Sophie's scream of terror pierced the smoke as swiftly as one of her arrows would. I was now coughing, the smoke having completely filled my lungs. I could feel my life fading away. As I knelt on the ground, a shape materialized in front of me. I vaguely heard a woman's voice whispering something. Before I drifted into unconsciousness, I had time to think one last thought. "Its happened again."''

Chapter 1
I woke up at the crack of dawn in a warm bed, which was a nice surprise. Unfortunately, I've been in this bed before; Cabin 42, Mania's cabin at camp. "Great," I muttered to myself. "Back to the place we were trying to get away from." As soon as I was dressed, I left the cabin, hoping I could find Sophie before people started waking up. The moment I walked through the door, I was swarmed by dozens of campers asking me how I escaped camp unnoticed. For the third time.

"I was just lucky, I guess." I tell them while I slowly make my way to the Big House. As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard a loud laugh behind me. I turn around and see that Mark Conider is facing me, the crowd of demigods surrounding us. I'm about to walk away, when he decides to speak.

"You? Allen Deliro, lucky? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"Shut up Mark," I say in a quiet voice.

He sniggers, and I try to sidestep him to get back to my cabin.

"I don't think so Al. You're not going anywhere."

He stands in front of me with his half-brothers from the Ares cabin at his side.

"So....Al. If your so lucky, then tell me. What happened to your dad?"

I clenched my jaw. My family is.... a sensitive topic.

"I heard something about him while you were gone," continued Mark. "Apparently-- and I'm just repeating what I heard. Apparently, your mother drove him mad so that he didn't have to be burdened with raising an idiotic, deranged son. Is that true?"

Something inside me clicked. I can usually handle anything anyone has to say about me, but if it involves my family, I get really angry. I could feel all the rage building up inside of me. I knew what I had to do, even though I've never done it before. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my hatred of Mark. On what I wanted to happen to him. I delved deep into his mind, searching for something - anything - I could use against him. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was in reality probably seconds, I found it. His greatest fear. I laughed out loud, wondering who could be scared of such a thing. That's when I created the hallucination. The crowd dispersed as Mark's scream pierced the what was quiet morning. By the time Chiron arrived, the hallucination had ended, but Mark was sitting on the ground, rocking. I would have laughed at the sight, but felt it wouldn't help my situation.

"Allen..." Chiron said gravely. "What have you done?"

Chapter 2
The brave act I had pulled when I made the hallucination had crumbled under Chiron's hard stare.

"Chiron I..... I didn't do anything damaging I s-swear," I stammered as we walked up to the Big House. "At least, I didn't mean to do anything damaging..... I just wanted to s-scare him. To make him stop bullying me."

"That is no excuse Allen and you know it." Chiron said sternly. "You know how damaging a demigods powers can be, especially a demigod with powers like yours. I do believe that you didn't mean to do anything damaging, but that doesn't mean that you didn't damage him in ways that could be irreversible."

Guilt washed over me. Irreversible? It hadn't been that bad, had it? All I did was scare him....Then again, Mark doesn't scare easily. If I could scare him like that, then maybe something broke inside him. Something that will never fix. All because of me.

"Look Allen." Chiron said, his voice slightly less stern. "I'm not trying to put you down. All I'm saying is be careful. Until you learn to control your powers, you should refrain from using them. Your friend, Sophie, understands that better than anyone. I mean, look at what happened to her brother."

He began walking away, but then stopped and turned around. "Oh, and no more running away from camp please. One more time and I'll be forced to send the harpies."

Chiron trotted off to his Archery class, leaving me deep in thought about Sophie. I already knew about her brother; she told me about a year ago. His name was Connor, and he was killed in a fire. A fire that was started by Sophie. I knew how guilty she felt, which is why I never asked her to explain. Not even Jack knew. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on the back of my head.

"Ow! What in the name of the gods?" I said. I rubbed the back of my head. Whatever it was had brought me out of my train of thought. I glanced behind me and wasn't surprised to see a familar black haired figure.

"So, decided to leave camp without me, huh?" Jack said loud enough for the campers passing by to hear. "And so close to my birthday as well! I mean, come on, you were really going to leave me here alone 2 days before my birthday?"

I smiled. "Sorry Darkie, but we couldn't exactly take you with us considering you had a sprained ankle."

Maybe I should explain the name Darkie. You see, Jack is a son of Nyx, Goddess of the Night. When we first met, he was a little kid - around 7 - and didn't like speaking to people. Since Chiron wouldn't tell us his name as it was "his information to divulge," I called him Dark. Sophie called him Darkie. The latter caught on.

"You still could have told me that you were running off!" Jack said, annoyance clearly audible in his voice.

I sighed. "You're right. We should have told you. I'm sorry. Ok?"

Jack still looked annoyed. I couldn't tell why this was irritating him so much; I mean, he knows that we always get caught, and I knew that when we got caught we'd be brought back. If I had thought we wouldn't be coming back, then I'd have obviously brought him with us, sprained ankle or not. Ever since that day that I met him and called him Dark, he's been like my younger brother. I stick up for him when he's being harassed by Mark, I help him when he's scared, I'm even the one that taught him how to sword-fight. Jack isn't very close to his half-siblings - as far as I know, he only ever speaks to them at the dining pavilion - and he spends most of his time with me and Sophie. For some reason, he seems wary around Sophie. As if he's scared. Ever since he found out about her "special ability." I decided to ask him about that.

"Listen, Jack." I started. "I've noticed something latel--"

"Sophie's here," interrupted Jack. "and she looks.....grim."

I turned around and saw Sophie walking towards us. Jack was right; she definitely looked grim.

"So..." Jack said, his nervous side showing with Sophie here. "Who died?"

Sophie's eyes flicker between me and Jack.

"No one. Yet." She said quietly.

"What do you mean?" I said, a hint of terror creeping into my voice.

She sighed deeply. "I mean that I've just spoken to Mr. D, and he's holding a head counselor meeting to decide whether you should live......or die."

"Wait." I said. "Is it because of what I did to Mark? Didn't Mr. D fix him?"

"Yes, he fixed him," Sophie said, as calm as she could. "But according to Mr. D you committed a crime. Delving into someone's mind like that. And.....some of the other gods agree with him."

Chapter 3
I couldn't believe it. How could I have a death sentence? I mean, I knew that Mr. D hated all of the campers, and I had heard that he had threatened people in the past, but I had never thought he would actually kill one of us. I felt scared, but I wasn't scared of dying. I was scared for Jack. Who would look after him if I was killed? I know Sophie would try, but that wouldn't work because of how nervous he gets around her. All of this went through my head as Sophie and I walked to the Big House; Jack had to go back to his cabin because he wasn't a counselor. The only reason Sophie could come is because Mr. D sent her to collect me, but I was grateful that she'd be there.

"Look, Allen." she said as we walked through the front door. "Just stay calm. I'm sure Chiron won't let anything happen to you."

I looked at her skeptically. "Even Chiron can't stop Mr. D." I said. "If he wants to kill me he will, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I mean, he is a god. I'm as good as dead."

"STOP IT!" she screamed at me as we opened the door to the rec room. "Just stop it! Stop talking like that!"

"Ok Sophie," I started, confusion washing over me. "Calm dow---"

"No Allen don't tell me to calm down!" she interrupted. "Stop talking about your life as if its meaningless!"

"It is meaningless!" I snapped. "No one needs me!  Mr. D would be doing everyone a favor if he killed me!"

"No!" she shouted. "You know that's not true! Think about how Jack would feel if you died! Think about how I'd feel!"

I had nothing to say to that. Without saying another word, she stormed out of the Big House. I glimpsed through the door and saw that everybody's eyes were on me. Chiron clears his throat.

"Come and sit down Allen." he said. "We have a lot to discuss."

I walked to a chair and sat down, trying not to look at the empty seat beside me.

"Right." Began Mr.D. "Albert Dinero."

Chiron trotted over to Mr.D and whispered something in his ear.

"I mean Allen Deliro." corrected Mr.D. "You are standing here on trial for your crime. Chiron, Hestia, and I will decide your fate."

"Hestia?" I asked, my voice hoarse. There was a bright flash of light and a girl,  that couldn't be older than ten, appeared in the chair next to Chiron.

"Yes Allen," she said with a smile. "I am Hestia, goddess of the hearth."

I nodded in acknowledgement, fearing that if I opened my mouth I would shout out Sophie's name. I needed to find her. I hated arguing with her, especially about something so pointless.

"Let us begin." Mr. D said calmly. "As you all know, Allen has used his powers to attack another camper. While this is generally allowed, Allen's powers make the situation unique. Poor young Mark has almost had his mind broken, which is why I believe Allen must be punished."

Hestia rose from her chair with a smile on her face.

"What Allen has done is not a crime." she stated loudly. "In my eyes, he did not cause damage. This Mark child is back to health, is he not?"

"Well, yes," said Mr. D. "but h-"

"And he has no permanent injuries?" Continued Hestia.

"No I don't think s--" replied Mr D.

"Then there is nothing to discuss." Hestia interrupted. "Since Allen's powers have yet to mature, Mark was perfectly safe during the "attack".  Allen was merely testing out his newly found powers."

During this whole conversation, Chiron was looking at me intensely, as if he was trying to tell me something. Every few minutes he would lift up his hand and rub his temple, as if he had a headache. I wondered what he could be trying to tell me, when it hit me. He wanted me to read his mind. I subtly shook my head. I wasn't going to do go into someone's mind. Not after all the trouble it caused me. Chiron gave me a stern look, and I sighed quietly. I would have to read his mind. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate. I could vaguely hear Mr. D  and Hestia talking. Suddenly, I had the bizarre urge to practice archery. That's when I knew I was in Chiron's mind; and I could hear his thoughts.

''"Listen Allen. We don't have much time." ''he thought.

"Chiron, what is it?" I thought back.

''This trial is pointless Allen. Zeus has already given orders for your execution.''

What?!?! I replied.

"I'm sorry Allen. I just thought you should have time to prepare yourself." Chiron thought grimly.

Chiron was going to say more, but I broke the connection. I'd had enough. I watched as Chiron's words turned into reality, and Mr. D told the counselors that he finds me guilty. I was preparing myself for the moment when I would have to speak when everybody froze. No-one was moving. Not even Dionysus and Hestia. I didn't want to know what was powerful enough to freeze two gods. I was contemplating whether or not I should leave, when a woman's ghostly figure appeared.

"Hello Allen," she said, her voice loud and sharp. I knew this woman. I recognized her facial features. I saw them whenever I looked in a mirror.

"Mania." I said, a touch of anger in my voice. I had only met her once when I was younger, and I never saw her again.

"Boy, this is no time to hold grudges." she replied. "I have come to help you. I have been watching you Allen, for your whole life. You never saw me, but I was there."

I believed her. I had always had the strangest feeling when I was scared. As if someone was beside me......

"Allen, listen to me. When I leave, you will have exactly thirty minutes to gather your things, find your friends, and go to your cabin before everyone unfreezes. Once you get to your cabin, there will be someone there waiting to take you to safety. She will take you to a cave where you will have time to prepare yourself."

"Prepare myself for what?" I asked.

She smiled. "Something great Allen. You will learn more in time. I must leave now. Be safe, my son."

At those words her figure disappeared, and left me wondering what could be in store for me.

Chapter 4
As I passed the Nyx Cabin on the way to mine, Jack jumped out at me. He seemed panicked, which I found strange as he usually acted very calm and brave.

"Allen! W-what's going on?" he said, his voice quivering. "I was g-getting a lecture from my head counselor about how "I should p-participate more in activities" when he f-froze. In mid-sentence!"

"Yeah I know." I said, as calmly as I could. "Sorry about that."

"Wait...." he whispered. "You did that!?"

I laughed loudly. "No of course not! You can thank Mania for that. I'll explain on the way," I added, seeing the look of confusion on his face. "We have to go now. Have you seen Sophie?"

"Yeah, she ran past my cabin a few minutes before "the freeze" happened." he replied. "I think she went to Zeus' Fist."

"Okay." I started. "Go tell her that we have to leave, and that she should hurry up and go pack her things. Meet me at my cabin."

Jack clearly wasn't happy with what I asked him to do, but I couldn't face Sophie after the argument. He unsheathed his Stygian Iron sword, and disappeared into the woods. I walked to my cabin and opened the door. The three other Mania campers were all frozen in their respective positions. Charlie, our head counselor, was laying down on his bed. I estimated that I had spent about ten minutes of the thirty that I had. I reached under my bed and pulled out my emergency bag that had inside a bag with twenty golden drachmas, one hundred dollars, an airtight bag of Ambrosia, a canteen full of Nectar, a bottle of water, and my watch, which I strapped onto my wrist. I strapped my sword to my side, and stood at the door, waiting. In less than ten minutes, Jack ran up to the door, with Sophie right behind him.

"So what now?" said Jack, breathless from sprinting. I glanced at Sophie and saw that she was staring determinedly at the ground.

"I guess we wait." I said quietly. In a matter of minutes, a woman had appeared.

"W-who are you?" Jack said hesitantly. The woman replied with a surprisingly harsh voice.

"My name is Hecate," she said. "And I am your savior."

"Hecate?" said Sophie quietly. "Why are you helping us?"

"His mother," Hecate started, gesturing at me, "Has asked me to help him and any of his friends. I am to take you to a safehouse in  The North Star State  where you will be trained and taught about your futures."

"Our futures?" Jack asked. "What about our futures?"

"All three of you are destined for greatness." Hecate said with a smile. "Now we better get going. We have five minutes before camp returns to normal, and I can't take you to  The North Star State  within the camp boundaries."

Hecate led the way through camp. I glanced at my watch and saw that we had about five minutes before camp unfroze. Jack walked alongside Hecate, bombarding her with questions about our "future". That left me to walk with Sophie. She glanced awkwardly at me, and I decided to break the silence.

"So...." I began. "About what happened earlier..........."

She turned and faced me.

"Allen," she whispered as Jack and Hecate walked towards the edge of camp. "Nothing happened. We can't talk about this. Especially not now. Maybe we'll talk.....later."

She blushed and ran to catch up to the others before I could reply. I just stood there, wondering what had happened. I felt hurt. What did she mean? She can't just specify that she wouldn't be the same if I died, and then tell me that "nothing happened." I decided to hide my emotions and sprinted to reach the top of Half-Blood Hill. We past the boundaries and Hecate told us to brace ourselves. I felt a strange sensation in my stomach, and found that we were in a hotel room with three beds.

"Where exactly are we?" I asked to no-one in particular.

"The North Star State." Hecate said. She saw the blank expressions on our faces and sighed. "I will never understand how some mortals are so dim-witted. We are in Minnesota young demigods. This will be your home for the next few weeks. I must leave now. Stay here."

There was a bright flash of light and she was gone.

"I think we should sleep," I started. "It's been a very eventful day and I'm sure we'll have a lot more days like this in the next few weeks."

Chapter 5
Jack's bed was on my left and he fell asleep the moment his head touched his pillow. Sophie, whose bed was to my right, stayed awake like me. After a while, she walked over to Jack's bed to make sure that he was asleep, and then whispered for me to follow her to the balcony.

"Listen Allen," she began as the door shut behind us. "I think we should talk."

"I agree." I said quietly.

"I think we should just forget about it Allen. I mean nothing happened. I just said....something."

I suddenly felt really angry.

"You didn't just say something." I almost shouted. "You said "think about how I'd feel" referring to my death!"

"Well....maybe I meant that I would have to look after Jack even though he hates me!" she said loudly.

"Don't involve Jack in this!" I said, lowering my voice. "You and I both know what you meant!"

Sophie blushed, her face filled with embarrassment. She turned away from me.

"Well so what if I meant that Allen? Its not like its ever going to happen! And its not like you've ever wanted us to be anything more! You and I are just friends! That's all we've ever been and that's all we'll eve---"

I interrupted her by swinging her around so that we were face to face, and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Just because I've never shown you that I don't want to be anything more than friends, doesn't mean I don't want to be anything more." I whispered in her ear.

Afterwards, we both went back into the hotel room and went to our beds. I couldn't be sure in the darkness, but I think she was smiling. I didn't sleep that night. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't. When Jack woke up at dawn, I was almost relieved. Spending the night staring around the room was not something I planned on doing again.

"Hey Allen," he said, a yawn escaping from his mouth. "How long have you been awake?"

"I woke up a few minutes before you did," I lied, not wanting him to worry. I knew that the rest of our day was going to be tough.

"Oh ok." Jack said. "Should we wake Sophie?" he asked.

I blushed while saying, "Oh....no. Let her sleep."

Jack gave me a suspicious look.

"What happened?" he asked slyly.

"Nothing," I said, a little to quickly. Jack continued to look at me suspiciously.

"Uh-huh," he said, obviously unconvinced. I changed the subject by suggesting we change clothes, in case we had to leave suddenly. When we were both changed, I started to scavenge the room for food.

All I found were a few granola bars and a couple of water bottles. I looked inside the closet and found two old backpacks. As I crossed the room back to my bed, Sophie woke up.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully.

"Morning," I replied. Jack acknowledged her with a slight nod.

"Guys come here." I said. They gathered round my bed as I showed them the packs.

"Right," I began. "I found these two bags that you guys can use. Speaking of which, how come you two didn't bring bags? Jack I told you to get your things and tell Sophie to do the same."

"Oh I know," Jack said. "But by the time I found Sophie it was too late to pack anything. We just managed to pass the armory and pick up our swords. You know, because someone melted them and they had to get mended."

He gave Sophie an accusatory glare.

"Sorry," she said guiltily. "I'll find you a better sword Jack."

"Soph don't worry! It was a joke!" Jack said while laughing. I was stunned. For the first time, Jack seemed like his normal self around Sophie. And he called her Soph. I thought too soon.

"Um......" Jack said, his nervousness returning. "So... you were saying Allen?"

I cleared my throat.

"Um yeah." I started again. "I went on a search for food and found about six granola bars and a couple of water bottles. I was thinking that we split them and what I had in my bag between the three of us, in case we're separated."

"That's a good idea," Sophie said.

"Ok," I began. I gave Sophie two granola bars and a bottle of water. I then handed Jack the same. "Right, now for the money."

" I think," Sophie started, "that Jack should get six drachmas and myself and Allen should get seven. Its way more likely that you and I will have magical transactions."

"I agree." Jack stated.

"Ok," I said, while handing them the drachmas. "It should be the opposite with the dollars. Sophie and I will get $33 each and Jack will get $34. I know its only one more dollar but still."

I gave them the money and put my own in my pocket. I glanced out of the window while they were packing and saw what looked like a recently abandoned supermarket.

"So what now?" Jack asked, as we all slung our backpacks over our shoulders.

"Well," I started slyly. "How would you guys feel if we did a little borrowing?"

Chapter 6
We walked over to the abandoned supermarket and saw that it was boarded up.

"How are we going to break in?" I asked.

"We could use our swords," Sophie suggested.

"No. Let me," Jack said confidently.

"Uh Darkie," I began skeptically. "What exactly are you gonna do?"

"Well," he said. "A few months ago, Mark tried to attack me during capture the flag. I ran through the woods and I was thinking about how much I really wanted to be in my cabin. The next thing I knew, I was running through this dark looking tunnel for a few seconds, and then I was there. My cabin."

Sophie and I were in awe.

"Darkie, do you know what this means?" Sophie asked. "You shad---"

"---ow traveled," Jack interrupted. "Yeah I know. I looked through a few of Chiron's books."

"You think you can do it here?" I asked.

"Positive." he replied. "I've practiced. I'll shadow travel in and open the door from the inside, which should push down the boards."

"Good plan." I said."Go ahead."

Sophie and I moved out of the way to give jack some space. He closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating. A thought crawled into my mind. Jack has never seen inside the supermarket. I was about to voice my thoughts when he ran straight through the boarded up door.

I was stunned.

"I'm pretty sure that's not shadow traveling." Sophie said, her voice steady.

"Darkie?" I called. Suddenly, his head appeared through the door.

"Guys come on!" he said excitedly. "You've gotta see this!"

I glanced at Sophie and she shrugged. We both walked through the door and saw Jack standing next to a strange looking man.

"Hello, hello young demigods!" the man said cheerfully. "I am Notus, the South Wind. You two must be Allen and Sophie. Am I correct Jack?"

"Yep," Jack replied.

"Welcome to my market!" Notus said as I unsheathed my sword. He acted like he didn't notice. "Here you can buy all of the things teenage demigods need!"

"I think we'll just be leaving," I said while dragging Sophie towards the door. "C'mon Darkie," I called to Jack.

Notus clicked his fingers and we were blown away from the door.

"I don't think you're going anywhere." he said, his voice suddenly grim. "I have orders to kill you. Lord Zeus has put a bounty on your name. Anyone who finds you has to either kill you, or hand you over to Zeus; as a reward they'll receive one thousand golden drachmas. I would prefer to do the former. Killing you three will be so much fun."

"Wait," I said loudly, holding my sword out in front of me. "You're a god, so why don't you just find drachmas? I thought gods had like an unlimited supply."

"We did," Notus replied casually. "We used to be able to just click our fingers, but then Pon- someone caused us a lot of trouble and our powers are now limited."

"Someone like who?" Sophie asked suspiciously.

"Don't you mind, daughter of Hephaestus." he said harshly. "It is on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know."

"Well you're gonna kill us," I countered. "So what harm would it do?"

"Hm," Notus said. "Good point. Very well, I'll tell you his name, although it will mean nothing to you. His name is Pontos."

Jack gasped sharply. He seemed to know who Pontos was. I gave him a questioning look and he shook his head as if to say not now. Notus cleared his throat.

"Well, now you know." he said calmly. "Time to move on to other matters. Who to kill first? I think I'll go for the youngest."

Notus began walking towards Jack, who had a terrified look in his eyes.

"Goodbye, Jack Naroni."

Chapter 7
I rushed towards Jack with my sword in my hand. Sophie was at my side, her dagger unsheathed. We weren't gonna make it to him in time. A two metre sword and a shield had appeared in Notus' hands. He was closing in on Jack, who was trying desperately to hide. His sword was at his side but he seemed too scared to use it.

"Notus!" I shouted. "Come after us! We're right here!"

"Don't you worry Mr. Deliro," he hissed. "I'll be coming for you next."

I was about to lunge at Notus when Sophie suddenly yelled "Duck!" She grabbed me and pulled me to the ground as an arrow moved swiftly through the air towards Notus.

"Agh!" he screamed as the arrow pierced his skin right below his knee. Golden Ichor poured out of his wound. Jack  crawled away from Notus towards us.

"We gotta get out of here," he sighed as he stood up. I nodded in agreement and we made our way towards the door.

"Not so fast godlings," Notus spat. "My powers may be limited but I can still heal fine. I don't know how you managed to shoot me without a bow but bravo. I might make your deaths quick."

Notus jumped at me and hit his shield on my head. I could feel myself drifting off, and the last thing I heard was Sophie's scream.

''"Allen." ''A voice said. It was my mother's.

"Mom?" I asked. "Where am I?"

"This is a dream Allen," Mania replied. "I am here to give you something. A gift."

I was surprised. I'd barely spoken to my mother, and here she was, bearing gifts.

"Here." she said as she handed me a midnight blue colored bracelet that had five small discs around it.

"What is this?" I asked as I placed it around my wrist.

"These are Manic-discs;" Mania began. "Small metal discs that attach themselves to someone's skin, and breaks their mind at the command word, Pazzo. You must be careful with these; the break is permanent on mortals, disintegrates monsters, and knocks out immortals. Once used, the discs return to the bracelet and require an hour to recharge. Only one disc is needed per being. I must leave now." she added. "Awaken, my son."

I gasped sharply as my eyes suddenly opened and I found myself on a train.

Chapter 8
"Allen!" Sophie said beside me. "You're finally awake. You've been out for hours."

"W-where are we?" I yawned.

"We're on a train." Jack stated obviously. "On our way to South Dakota."

"Why?" I asked.

"Right after Notus knocked you out," Sophie began. "We fought him. He seemed to give up and told us that we'll find what we need in California. Jack managed to shadow travel us out of his market. I used my money and some of yours to buy us train tickets, but we could only get tickets as far as South Dakota. So....here we are."

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Its seven in the afternoon." Sophie said. "I told you that you were out for hours," she added, noticing my expression.

"We'll get to South Dakota in around an hour." Jack said.

"I've got something to show you guys," I said as I pulled the bracelet off. "This is from my mom. It.....breaks minds. I'm not gonna use it. Not after what happened to Mark."

"Okay Allen," Sophie said. "I think that's a good idea."

"What? No!" Jack said. "This is awesome! You have to use it! Maybe not on mortals, but on monsters and gods!"

I smiled. "We'll see Darkie."

We sat in silence for a while and listened to the chatter on the train. A sudden screech from above us interrupted the chatter.

"What is that?" Jack asked nervously.

"I don't know," Sophie replied, her voice steady.

Whatever it was landed with a thud on top of the train.

"Okay," I said. "Time to panic."

I stood up and speed walked to the end of the train, Sophie and Jack right behind me. We opened the door and I began to climb the ladder.

"You guys stay here," I said, not waiting for a reply. "Time to see if these discs really work."

I continued climbing until I was on top of the train. The wind was calm and there was no sign of what was up here before. Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind by talons.

"A g-gryphon!" I stuttered to myself. The talons were digging into my shoulders. I reached for my bracelet when the gryphon suddenly lashed towards the train. My bracelet fell off and landed near the edge.

"No!" I screamed. I couldn't reach my sword. There was nothing I could do. Suddenly, an arrow like the one at the market shot through the air and hit the gryphon right in the heart. It released me and I rolled onto the train as it disintergrated. I reached for my bracelet and attached it to my wrist before standing up. A blonde haired girl of around fourteen was standing in front of me.

"W-who are you?" I asked.

"People call me Archer," the girl replied.

"Archer?" I asked quietly. "I can see why. Let me guess. Daughter of Apollo?"

She nodded slightly.

"I don't recognize you from camp, and I know everyone there, so I take it you weren't sent to kill us?"

"Archer" looked confused. "Of course not!" she said. "If I was sent to kill you then A) you'd already be dead and B) you wouldn't see me. My stealth is what's kept me alive."

"Then why did you let me see you?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well..." she started nervously. "Because I wanted you to see me."

"Oh..." I said, before clearing my throat. "You've been following us haven't you? You're the one that saved Jack."

"I wasn't following you," she said. "But yeah. I saved him."

"I don't think I introduced myself," I said calmly while extending my hand forward. "My name's Allen Deliro."

She kept her arms by her side and said, after a long pause, "Danielle. Danielle Brooks."

After an awkward moment, I let my hand drop.

"Sorry," Danielle said, correctly identifying the look on my face. "I just...don't like touching. I'm a germaphobe," she quickly added. I could tell that she was lying, but I didn't know why. I decided to let it pass.

"Alright. C'mon and I'll introduce you to Jack and Sophie," I said and her face reddened. "No handshakes," I promised, relief flooding her face.

I led her back to the ladder and we climbed down to where Jack and Sophie were waiting.

"Who's this?" Sophie asked, her hand reaching for her dagger.

"Don't worry," I said. "This is Danielle. She saved my life up there, and it was her arrow that let us escape from Notus."

"So you just let her come with us?" Sophie said accusingly. "How do you know that she's not a kille---"

"Hi, I'm Jack," Jack interrupted, holding his hand out to Danielle.

"I-I don't shake hands," Danielle said, almost disappointedly. "Sorry."

"Ah, don't be," Jack replied. "I'm not much of a hand-shaker anyway."

"Come on, I'll give you a tour of the train," Jack said as he led her through the door. As soon as the door shut, Sophie started lecturing me.

"How could you invite her to stay with us?" Sophie snapped. "She could have been sent from Camp Half-Blood to kill us!"

"Don't you think we would've recognized her?" I snapped back. "She saved my life. And Jacks!"

Sophie seemed defeated, although she had a sour look on her face.

"She's pretty, don't you think?" she asked bitterly. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"That's why you didn't want her to come?" I asked, laughter still erupting from my mouth. "You're jealous?"

Sophie's cheeks flushed red.

"Look," I said, looking her straight in her eyes. "I barely know Danielle. She is my friend though, and she could be yours too." I smiled. "You don't need  to be jealous Soph. I've known you for four years and from the day we met I knew that I liked you. I was just waiting to see if the feeling was mutual."

Without stopping to think I leaned forward and kissed her. Not on the cheek like in our hotel room; a real kiss.

"The feeling was always mutual, Al," she whispered into my ear.

We opened the door and walked inside, our arms linked.

"You still didn't answer my question," she said.

"What question?" I asked.

"Do you think she's pretty?" Sophie said with a smile.

I sighed. "No Soph. To me, every other girl pales in comparison to you."

"I thought you'd say that," she replied playfully.

For once, we were happy.

Chapter 9
"Hey guys," Jack said as we walked up to him and Danielle. "What's....." He faltered as he saw our arms linked.

"Up." he continued. "Are you guys....."going out"?" he asked skeptically. Sophie and I blushed. Jack hit me on the back of my head.

"Well thanks for telling me!" he said sarcastically.

"Ow!" I yelled in protest. "Its not like its been going on for a while," I replied. "It sorta....just happened."

Danielle smiled awkwardly. I realized how weird this was for her, considering we met less than an hour ago. She wouldn't exactly feel comfortable. I cleared my throat.

"Um, I think its time for us to discuss Pontos," I said, not noticing Danielle's eyes widen. "You seemed to know who he was Jack."

"Yeah," Jack said grimly. "I remember him from Camp; we learnt about him in Greek Mythology." He paused for a second before continuing. "Pontos wa- is the Greek Protegnos of the Sea. He's really evil, and really powerful; his power is sorta like a mix of Poseidon's and Oceanus'. If he's back......well let's just say its not good news."

I sighed deeply. So an immortal being that is more powerful than a god and a titan put together was rising. Great.

"Guys," Danielle said quietly. "I know a few things about Pontos."

"Great," Sophie murmered in my ear. "So she's pretty,  and  she just happens to know about the  one thing we need information about."

I smiled and nudged her playfully with my elbow.

"Go on, Danielle." Jack said, giving us a stern look. I wondered what that was about.

"Well," Danielle began. "You know how my dad is the god of Prophecy, among other things?"

"Yeah," I replied.

"I sorta inherited the gift of Prophecy." she continued. "Its obviously not as accurate, and I only get certain future events, but there's this one that keeps popping up; Pontos rising."

"Do you know when?" Sophie asked, suddenly interested.

"Not exactly," Danielle said hesitantly. "I just know that its soon, and that we might need some immortal help...." her voice trailed off as she realized the rest of the train was silent.

"I think we should get some sleep," Jack said with a yawn.

"Good idea," I said. We settled in our seats and listened to the wind howling outside. Danielle and Jack fell asleep quickly, but Sophie and I stayed awake. She leaned on to my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around hers.

"Pontos," Sophie siad quietly. "He seems.....powerful."

"Very," I agreed.

"What if we don't survive this?" she said, her voice shaking.

"We will," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

"You don't know that, Allen!" she raised her voice. Her whole body was now shaking.

"Sophie, calm down." I pleaded. Suddenly, her hands were alight. She was thrashing around, and everywhere she touched was blazing. The other passengers were now awake, screaming their heads off. The train was slowing down.

Danielle's head shot up. "What happened?" she asked.

"Panic attack," I answered. Sophie had finally calmed down, and was lying motionlesssly on the floor. I put both of our bags around my shoulders and knelt down to pick her up.

"Wake Jack," I shout to Danielle. The fire was spreading. All of the other passengers had jumped out of the window when the train stopped. Danielle woke Jack and they got their bags. We all sprinted towards the window and jumped out.

Chapter 10
Jumping out of the window while I was holding Sophie was probably not the best idea. I managed to roll so that she landed on me. Danielle flipped around and landed gracefully beside us. Jack wasn't as lucky. He landed face-first on the ground a few metres away.

"Jack, are you okay?" Danielle said as she walked towards him.

"Yeah," he groaned in response. Danielle helped him up and he leaned on her. The other passengers were scattered around us. We all slowly made our way away from the group towards the woods. We stopped in a secluded area surrounded by trees.

"Now what?" Danielle asked, helping Jack sit and securing an arrow on to her bow.

"Now," I began. "We help Jack and Sophie." I handed her a piece of Ambrosia and brought one out myself. She gave it to Jack while I force fed a piece to Sophie. After a few minutes, she stirred and her eyes fluttered open.

"Allen," she said. "What happen---"

"Nothing," I lied. "You need rest. Just get some sleep."

For a moment she looked like she was going to protest, but then her eyes shut and her breathing slowed. I turned around and saw that Jack was now asleep as well and Danielle was sitting on a log.

"So...." I began as I awkwardly sat down next to her. "Are you hungry?"

She nodded slightly. I reached into my bag and pulled out the two granola bars. The only two I had. I gave her one and began devouring mine.

"Allen," she said once we had both eaten everything but the wrapping. "I just wanted to say thanks. For letting me come with you. For trusting me."

"Hey," I replied. "You saved my life. I think its safe to say that trusting you has been the only smart thing I've done today."

"You never told me," she began after a few minutes. "What you're doing. What are three demigods traveling the US for?"

"Well," I began. "Its a long story."

"We've got time." She said with a smile.

And I told her. Everything. How I always ran away from Camp with Jack and Sophie because we didn't fit in. How we were on our way to San Francisco to see what we could find out about Pontos. I even told her things that had nnothing to do with the "quest". Personal things, like how my dad was driven crazy by Mania because he pressured her to stay with him and raise me.

"Whoa," she said when I'd finished. "I'm so sorry."

"Its cool," I replied. "Just another sob story."

"I have one of my own," Danielle said after a pause. "My mom married this guy when I was three. He was cool enough; he bought me my first bike when I was six. Anyway, when I was around eight he began......beating me. If I ever did anything wrong - from not cleaning my room to accidentally spilling water - I'd get beaten. Until I ran away when I was nine. That's why I don't shake hands; I....just can't. I can't deal with human contact. Not even a handshake. I've been attacked by monsters every day for the past four years."

I was stunned. Everything I've been through seemed miniscule compared to that. My father was driven mad by my mother, but at least he cared about me. At least he still treated me like he loved me whenever I visited his mental hospital.

WIP