The Lost Fleece

chapter 8 - adelaide

I woke up to Nico coughing. He had been coughing a lot, and he looked sick. I knew something was in the soup.

I shake my head. I can't jump to conclusions just because I have a personal grudge against Hermes kids. I can't help it. History repeats itself. Luke did some reckless things. His siblings may follow in his footsteps.

With everything that's been going on, it's even harder for me to sleep.

I quietly climb out of bed and leave my cabin.

I sit on the front steps of my cabin and look at camp. Everything was so quiet and dark, so different from the daytime when this place is bustling with campers. I like it this way. It's peaceful.

I hear a door slam and get scared for a second. Who could be up at this hour?

I listen closely and hear the person's footsteps. They come closer and closer. Maybe I should go back to my cabin.

"What are you doing out here?" A dark figure asks, but I recognize his voice.

"Kade? I couldn't sleep." I reply with relief that it was him and not some Hermes kid out to get me. "What are you doing here?"

"Clarisse." He grumbles.

I hear thunder rumble, and it instantly starts raining. I quickly turn around and go into my cabin. Holding the door open for Kade. I know he wasn't supposed to be out of his cabin and in mine, but I couldn't let my best friend get soaked.

He follows me inside, and I shut the door.

Kade looks really tired. I know if he goes back to his cabin, he won't be able to sleep. He just stands there.

"Do you want a sleeping bag?" I ask him.

"Yeah. if it's no problem." I would offer him my bed, but I know he'll say no. Plus, it's my cabin; I get the good stuff.

I get him a sleeping bag. He unrolls it right away and puts it beside my bed.

"Goodnight Kade."

We both lay in silence. I usually have trouble sleeping, but for the first time in forever, I felt sleepy and started to drift off.

"Good night, Addy."

—

"I'm not jealous."

I hear two voices going back and forth at each other. I wasn't sure who they were.

"You are. You can't live with the fact that he's better than you. Just because he achieved the dreams you had doesn't mean he wants to ruin your life."

"It's too late. He ruined my life, and I have to get revenge on the things he cares about."

Before I could get a look at their faces, I get transported outside a school with two other people. We go inside and go through some stairs.

Everything happens so fast and blurry.

We go through a passageway by turning a key into a painting.

As we try to go through the painting, we get transported to the front of a school.

One of the people who was with me shoots arrows, trying to kill what I think is a cyclops. The other person fights so close to the monster, they're not afraid at all and if they are, they don't show it. They remind me of someone—the way they use their knife and their strength.

I seem to be invisible to everyone. Is this dream about the past, present or future? I don't have enough time to find out.

The monster disintegrates. I try to make sense of it but I get transported again.

I'm sitting next to a body that's lying there, almost lifeless. I feel them fade away slowly; their breath slows, and I feel their heart stop beating.

—

I jerk awake. That was the weirdest dream ever, but I have a feeling it was trying to tell me something. Maybe I should talk to Chiron about it.

I look to my left and see Kade. It was weird seeing him asleep. In all the years I've known him, he's never looked so peaceful. His eyes were no longer glaring, and his usual scowl was replaced with a wide, open mouth, snoring away. I notice the drool on his pillow and almost laugh.

Nico pulls me from my thoughts.

"Why is he here? And why are you staring at him?" Nico asks. I have the urge to shush him, but I answer as he sneezes.

"He was just having a hard time with Clarisse. You're lucky you have me as the head of the cabin."

He just nods, but his expression says the opposite. He really looked sick.

"Go wash up and then make your bed before cabin check. I don't know why, but I feel a bit more strict today." I give him a pointed look.

He looks a bit scared, and then he realizes I'm joking. "Yes, ma'am," he says with a half-cough and half-laugh, and follows my orders.

"Wake up, sleepy head." I said this to Kade, which was a mistake because he's definitely not a morning person. He gives me a sleepy glare, and I hold back a smile. There's no way I want to be on his bad side.

"C'mon, you don't want to get in trouble."

"Yeah whatever." He gets up and stretches, cracking his neck and yawning.

He rolls up the sleeping bag and hands it to me.

"I'll wash up in my cabin; thanks for letting me stay the night." He says it tiredly and rubs a hand over his sleepy face.

"No problem. See you at breakfast."

I watch as he leaves and can't help but feel a bit sad. 

—

I don't know what to make of my dream, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the quest. I didn't feel like going to Chiron, but I might have to. Sometimes this prophecy and quest stuff just annoyed me. What's the point of all this?