Josh's P.O.V
I kept watching the distant island, wondering when we are able to go home.
Just then, Adam joined me and Stephanie, and as Adam touched the salty water of the ocean, he gasped.
"Our friends!" Adam said. "I could sense them! They're close!"
Me and Stephanie looked at each other, and then hugged each other. Adam joined us, and chanted. "We are rescued! We are rescued!" Then we kept chanting until Platina came out.
"What is going on here??" Platina asked, annoyed.
"Well, guess what?" I told her. "We're getting rescued!"
Platina's grumpy face turned to smile. "That's great! Now since you are rescued, you don't need me anymore, so... bye!"
"NOOOO!!! WAIT!!!" Adam yelled, but Platina already evaporated into mist.
"Now that's just great!" I grumbled. "We just lost one goddess, and she is probably back in that camp."
Just then, I felt a poke opposite of Stephanie's direction. I turned around and saw Platina.
"Do you really think that I would abandon you?" Platina said, laughing.
"THIS IS NOT A JOKE, PLATINA!!" I yelled. "IF THERE'S ANYTHING HAPPENED TO THE RESCUE TEAM, THEN WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO GO HOME!!"
"But look on the bright side." Platina said. "You get anything that mother nature gives you. Mother nature had a reason why this place on earth is kept deserted, and it's because they provide you shelter. Take a look at the other countries. Do they provide anything like this? No. This is your one and only opportunity to experience the life on the wild, Joshy..."
As Platina prattled on, I began to think what she is saying. Platina is right. Mother earth has a reason why we are stranded in this place, and that is to care for this place, to prevent this place from dying. The more I realized that Platina is correct, the more teary eyed I become, and a few seconds later, I was in tears.
Platina hugged me. "There there, Joshy. I know you always care for anything, and it's time to care about mother nature. By the way, I have a story to tell you, story that involves stygian mist."
I looked at her. I always wanted to have a shot at manipulating stygian mist, but it's too dangerous.
"Sure!" I said. "I heard that something bad happened a few centuries ago, and that involves he stygian mist."
Platina nodded. "It occured in the early middle ages, in the 14th century, mirrorred as the Black Death Bubonic Plague that had plagued 1/3 of Europe's population." Platina told the story. "It all started when this demigod named Parvana Ellis went to the Europe for the Olympian expedition. She was a good girl, until she accidentally found a formula of how to manipulate the long lost stygian mist."
I waited.
"Then, Parvana Ellis, unknown to her the destructive power of the stygian mist, she experimented in her own laboratory, and kept experimenting it until one day she accidentally lost control of the mist, resulting in a poison gas that affects the whole block of Europe, but thankfully the gods had made it that demigods will survive this plague, and that is, one third of the population of Europe."
"So, that's what really happened?" I asked.
Platina nodded. "And since then, the gods forbade us from using stygian mists as weapons, but as always, people are always looking to manipulate stygian mists. Two notable moments are the Great Plague of Seville, which happened in 1647-1652, The Great Plague of London, which happened in 1665-1666. These are all mists that the gods made in order to mask the presence of the stygian mist from mortals because if they managed to get their hands into one of them, they will do research in order to make more of them."
Wow. Apparently, some parts of the history was just mist manipulated, just like the American civil war, which was actually the war between the roman demigods and the greek demigods. But some of them are not mist-manipulated, such as both world wars, Vietnam war, etc.
Anyways, we went inside to shelter ourselves, and we decided to play a game of ball. Apparently, there is a deck of cards that contains the list of punishments for indoor plays too, so we took them out and put the outdoor cards inside the box provided.
I looked at my wristwatch. It says 20:40, and I still wanted to play ball.
Stephanie held the ball in her hands, and she throw it to Platina. Platina caought it and then throw it to Adam, and we practically throw the ball in any direction.
After about 1 minute, Platina threw the ball at me, but my attention was on Adam, so when I caught it, the ball bounces from my hand and into the floor.
"Now, let's see..." Stephanie said, shuffling the cards. Platina and the others began to gather round while I shied away from them, afraid of the punishments they are going to inflict on me.
Stephanie pulled out a card and she read it out loud. "Get pinned down for one minute!"
Then they began to chase me. I ran towards the door but Bella quickly blocked it and I was stuck in this room. Stephanie caught me and pinned me down. I can't seem to escape because my body is so small. I really regretted about the research paper, it was supposed to be applied on me so I can grow normally, not being stuck like a little elf.
Anyways, after one minute, Stephanie got off me, and I gasped for breath. I stepped outside the circle and Stephanie started the game of ball again. Stephanie started, and after about 1 minute, Gary dropped the ball, and he put his palm in his face.
Stephanie handed Adam the cards and told him to shuffle. As soon as he shuffled, he pulled out a card and read it out loud. "Get slapped!"
Gary started to run, but then again, Bella and Mary blocked the door, and Bella held him to be slapped. Stephanie held up her hand and proceeded to slap Gary in his face hard.
"OOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gary screamed.
Now, I rejoined the game, and the game begins again, with Stephanie throwing the first ball again.
After about 2 minutes, Annabeth threw the ball at me, which I dropped. But due to Annabeth not throwing it properly (Annabeth throws the ball a little too high) that means Annabeth gets the punishment.
"Now, let's see..." Stephanie said, handing the cards to me and I shuffled the cards. As I continued to shuffle, Annabeth shies out in the corner, very afraid of what will happen. Then, I pulled out the card on top and read it out loud. "Get tied to a pole!*
Mary began to chase Annabeth, and she picked Annabeth up and grabbed the nearest pole and tied her up there.
"Let's go to sleep." Platina said, as she and the others are starting to go to sleep.
"Wait!!" Annabeth yelled. "What about me??"
"I'm just kidding, Annabeth." Platina said, getting up. The others did the same, and they started to untie Annabeth.
"You really fell for it, did you?" Platina asked. Annabeth just stood there.
"That is not funny!" Annabeth said. "What will happen to me if you guys actually slept?"
"Well, you could wait until tomorrow." Gary joked, but his expression dimmed when he saw Annabeth's angry face.
Then, we continued to play a game of ball, but this time we agreed that we're not going to have punishments, at least this time only.
Stephanie kicked the ball towards me, and I kicked it to Bella, and practically everyone is kicking the ball, practicing soccer skills of how to control the ball.
One by one, people are starting to go to sleep since Platina had ordered us to do so since it's already 22:20, which indicates the curfew.
Now this is the strange part. Every night, the time of the curfew changes. Now, it's not really early as it's about 22:20. The next day could be different again.
Platina turned off the lights, and I found a spot next to Bella and fell asleep.
Dreams found me, and each time they were getting more hopeful.
Hippolyta and her friend, Layla and Jarren came to rescue us.
"How much longer?" Jarren asked Hippolyta on his speedboat.
"It's just over that island!" Hippolyta shouted. "I can sense their presence over that island!"
"Very well." Layla told them. "If you're sure that's the island they're stranded on, then let's go. We have no time to waste."
"But... we might not get all the survivors on one boat." Layla told us sadly. Hippolyta gave her a shocked look.
"And why is that?" Hippolyta asked.
"Look at this speedboat!" Layla said. "It can only fit about 6 additional people. 2 people must stay behind."
Hippolyta looked at the speedboat again. She's right. It can only mount 6 people, not to mention that we're going to have Mary on board, which is equivalent to 6 people combined.
"Right... We have a problem." Hippolyta said.
"Now, how are we going to fix the problem?" Layla asked.
"We don't have time." Hippolyta said. "They need us right now, and fast!"
Then the dream shut off.
I woke up early in the morning, still hugging Bella. I looked at the clock right above the window. It says 05:30, which means it's still early in the morning.
Platina's P.O.V
It's another beautiful day, and apparently everyone is excited, because according to them, they saw 3 familiar faces coming to the rescue.
I rushed to look outside, and I found a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes, a girl with green hair and eyes, and a boy with silver hair and eyes. I really wondered who they are.
"Umm... excuse me." I cleared my throat. "Do I know you?"
"Probably not." I told them. "My name is Platina, it is a pleasure to meet you." I said while holding out my hands to shake them. They all shook my hands and proceeded into the sleeping quarter.
I peeked inside, and apparently, Josh has already been awake, and once he saw the rescuers, his face immediately filled with excitement and hugged them. It looks to me like Josh had met them before, and Josh proceeded to hug them all.
"Layla! Hippolyta! Jarren!" Josh said after hugging them.
"Josh, we missed you so much!" Hippolyta said. "How about the others?"
"The others are still asleep." Josh told them. "But they should be awake soon."
Hippolyta made a gesture to Josh, unseen by me, but I can really tell what is it about. It's mostly about friendship. I don't blame him, he must be very close to her.
I wanted to wake them up, and tell them that our ride is here, but I don't want to interrupt their sleep since it's 06:20, the time where the sun rises just over the horizon.
I walked outside, thinking about returning to Camp Half-Blood. But wait! One of my essence are there! And most of them are scattered throughout the globe. That's the thing about goddesses, they can be at many places at once, but I mostly focus on this island, helping them to survive.
Josh's P.O.V
I stared at Jarren, and I felt like I want to hug him again.
"Jarren!" I hugged him again. "It is so good to see you!"
Jarren also hugged me. "Me too, Father."
I withdrew from him, stared at him for a while and held my index finger close to his lips. "Shh..... don't tell anyone..."
Jarren seemed to understand. "Ok."
So, Jarren and I woke up the rest of the party, and I opened the curtain to the window.
"Good morning, everyone!" I announced.
Everyone began to squirm out of their sleeping place, and when they see the three rescuers, their faces lit up with hope.
"Finally!" Mary said. "We can finally go home! I am so sick of this place. There were hardly any food, and we don't get to train our skills."
"True that." Annabeth said. "Let's hope that we go home just in time for Capture the Flag. It's been quite a while since I played that game."
"Well, come on, let's go!" Hippolyta said. "We don't have anymore time to waste."
So, we all call for the boat to go home, and just then, a huge ship is coming to rescue. It says Search and Rescue: Wherever you are stranded, we will always be there.
The ship is coming towards us, and we can use the ship to go home. At this point, I don't care what kind of ship it is as long as it takes me home.
I took a closer look at the ship and apparently it's one of the Sinise's ship. We have to thank both of Adam's parents for providing us transport back to New York.
Platina did a headcount. Me, Stephanie, Annabeth, Bella, Platina, Gary, Adam, Mary, Hippolyta, Layla and Jarren are all here, and we are ready to board the Sinise's ship.
The ship is familiar. It looks like the ship that I had ridden on my earlier quest, to save our parents from that power hungry Shirato.
We decided to go for a little swim, and we're boarding the Sinise ship.
Once on board, Adam's mother is waiting for him. Adam hugs his mother.
"Adam! It's so good to see you again!" His mother said. "And by the way, this ship is set on course to Camp Half-Blood."
We looked happier than ever. We are very keen to go back to our beloved home, Camp Half-Blood, and I guess everyone is home sick.
We were placed on our individual bunks, and we can sleep in pairs. Me with Bella, Platina with Mary, Stephanie with Annabeth and Gary with Adam.
The journey home with this ship is going to take at least 2 days. But nevertheless, there's a lot of entertainment inside the Sinise ship, including playing cards and video games. We were able to play this game called 'Monster Hunter tri', and it turned out to be a very good game. We were playing, each of os were on separate screens.
I picked a switch axe, which surprisingly quite easy to handle compared to that of great sword, which deals massive damage but leaves you vulnerable for quite a while, and this gave the monster a window of opportunity to attack you.
Right now, we are selecting on which monster we're going to hunt, and Bella had selected one, and it's the king of the skies, Rathalos.
It was a fun game, with quite a bunch of tactics involved as well. The teamwork worked quite well. We ended up capturing the monster and the mission is complete.
After playing the game, I felt something moving just under the desk. I decided to find out what it is. I looked under the desk and illuminated my right hand in a ball of light, and three figures jumped at me.
"Wha..." It was Alvin, Simon and Theodore, the chipmunks. The chipmunks apparently had slipped inside this Sinise ship.
They began to run as we tried to catch them.
I began to chase them under the tables, and making sure that I didn't make the tables or chairs fall down as I tried to catch the chipmunks.
The chipmunks run away and they are heading towards the engine room, and I know I'm not supposed to be there, so I walked back towards the dining room to join my friends.
Just then, a guy ran and apparently he's not looking where he's going, and he ran straight at me. I fell down.
"Sorry..." The guy said, and helped me up.
I groaned. "Can't you watch where you're going?" I told him.
"Sorry, I am looking for my chipmunks. Their names is Alvin, Simon and..."
"Ohh... you mean the chipmunks that ran into the engine room?" I said.
The guy immediately puts on his angry face and yelled. "ALVIN!!!!!"
Everyone in the room with him stared at him. Instantly, I could tell his name is Dave Seville, who owns the singing chipmunks. Just then, there's an announcement from the captain, which is in the loudspeaker.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman." The captain spoke, but the voice sounds like Alvin. "This is your captain speaking. We would like to welcome our special guests, the demigods!"
The passengers fell silent, and then they began to murmur amongst themselves, as if asking what's a demigod.
"In case you have never heard of a demigod before, they're just average person, but one of their parents is a god. And to make things interesting, they have powers unique to their gods. I will assume that you guys know the greek gods, did you?"
The passengers are starting to look left and right, wondering which one of them are demigods.
"Now, allow me to introduce the demigods." Alvin said. "We have, Josh McLean, son of Hyperion. Well, he is technically a demititan, but he can pass for a demigod. He is depicted as a short boy with golden hair and eyes."
"That's it, Alvin! I'm going to kill you." I muttered to myself, and headed to the captain's room.
"Next, we have... AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
It appears that Dave guy had gotten hold of Alvin. Now I just have some explaining to do, especially since Alvin had declared that I am a demigod earlier.
I bolted right onto the engine room, and it leads straight to the captain's deck, and Dave had just pulled Alvin out of there.
I stared at Alvin with glaring eyes, and Alvin chuckled. "Sorry for the little speech earlier."
I grabbed him and my eyes flashed murderously. "Alvin, you are not to speak another word about demigods! Either that, or I will burn you right here, right now!"
Then, I continued my threats since Alvin had revealed that I am a demigod, and is about to reveal the next person had Dave not snatched Alvin from the speaker. "Now go, and if I ever caught sight of you again..."
Alvin didn't answer. Dave already yanked him on his tail and tucked him in his pocket.
I returned to the dining lounge.
As soon as I regrouped with my friends, I was silent, unable to talk and just kept silent the whole time.
"Josh?" Bella asked. "What's wrong?"
I didn't even lift my face up. "You know what's wrong, Bella. Soon enough, people are going to start treating me like a freak because of that stupid Alvin who made the ******* announcements!"
"But how are these people knew that you're a demigod?" Bella asked. "How..."
Just then, someone poked me in the back. "Hey, you're Josh McLean, no? The one that the captain introduced?"
Another one arrived behind me. "It is true! He matches the description that our captain has given us! He's short, and he has golden hair and eyes!"
I was furious, ashamed and timid at the same time. Soon enough people are going to start crowding me and my friends.
"That's enough!" I yelled, but then I spoke calmly. "Demigods do not exist, and they only exist in myth! Your captain has made a mistake."
They didn't listen. They began crowding me like crazy, and when I had enough, I ran away from the dining room and into my room.
I locked the door into my room and shut off all windows and doors and turned on some of the lights and began to sob uncontrollably. That chipmunk Alvin! How could he? I know he's just a kid, but why did he have to reveal the world of demigods to the world? I really wished that someone would manipulate the mist so that no one will remember this incident.
I saw something brightened around me, and when I look, it's Platina and Bella.
"Hey Josh." Bella said. "Look, what happened back there..."
"Just leave me alone..." My voice trailed off. I looked at Platina, who is doing something extraordinary. She raised both of her hands and she waved her hands, as if to manipulate the mist.
"There, Josh." Platina said, placing her hands on my back. "I've manipulated the mist so that everyone forgets about Alvin introducing the world of demigods."
"Thanks, Platina!" I said, hugging her.
"I swear, if I had my hands on the chipmunks again..." I heard Platina muttering to herself.
"I guess it's only Alvin, you hate?" I asked her.
Platina nodded. "He's hyperactive..."
"And so are we." I said. "Remember? Demigods have ADHD."
"Oh, right." Platina said.
I wiped my tears from my cheeks and opened one of the windows. I looked at the port in Miami. Hooray! We're home at last!