The Traitor

The quest is completed

I drove what was left of the way. I found it amusing how the trees and vegetation started to change as we got closer to the camp. Hunters spent most of their time in the woods. I knew every species of plants and animals that existed. Luke seemed distracted, he spoke only a few words before we packed and left, but I preferred it this way. I didn't know what to say either, "Hey Luke, how you feelin' about dying in an hour? Excited?".

I felt more comfortable in silence naturally. Inside my head the guilt was killing me slowly. I kept stealing glances at Luke, wondering if I should follow my head or my heart. Obviously choosing the second was against my morals, but the first would torture me forever. I wanted the hour to last a century and never get to camp.

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"We're here."

Showtime.

I parked the car at the entrance, where a big sign read in ancient Greek "Camp Half-Blood". Luke started to make his way around the side of the camp, strolling towards the sea. I followed. When we got there, he sat by the lagoon. The ground was rocky and I thought his butt might be hurting. He tapped on the ground next to him, for me to sit with him.

He stared at the water, I thought he wasn't very fond of it, since he wasn't a Poseidon son.

"When are you leaving?" Sorry, what?

"What?"

"I'm not stupid Alex, I know you're going to leave. I know what a person that leaves looks like." I kept quiet, I didn't know how to react, how did he know something was off. "I realised last night, when we talked. You would never tell me that if you wouldn't vanish the next day."

"Luke, I'm not leaving. But whenever Artemis wants me back I'll have to leave." He nodded.

"I don't want you to leave." He looked at me while saying, "Please." It sounded like a beg, it occurred to me that the reason he was so attached to me just because of a few days, was because he actually had no one left. I was the only one there.

I didn't know how to respond to him. I couldn't promise him that everything would be ok. I couldn't promise him that I'd stay. I didn't even know that myself. Luke kept his eyes on me, like he usually did. He studied every single one of my emotions going through my face. I couldn't look at him, I was scared of what that could do to me. The guilt crept through me like a spirit coming out of tartarus, threatening, dangerous. I saw him shift his position, going back to staring into the lagoon.

"I need to tell you something." My blood froze. I panicked. I didn't want to know, because I knew that whatever came out of his mouth would make me change my mind.

"I don't want to know." I answered before he could continue farther. He raised an eyebrow. He then took something out of his pocket, something that was familiar to me. The elixir we got in Las Vegas. Now I was confused.

"The elixir holds the power to tell you who your parents are." What?

"In the real world they call it a DNA test. The thing is, I wanted you to have it, so you could at least have a choice about your life. You didn't choose to become a Hunter, so if you ever leave and want to know who you really are, you have the possibility of changing your future as you desire, no rules or oaths." I stared at him wide eyed, I couldn't believe it.

"So it was never part of the plan?"

"It became a part of it when I met you. You deserve to choose if you want to be part of this, if I can spare you any pain, I'll do it without thinking" My heart was confused. My mind could not place the fact that this boy was the awful person everybody claimed he was. He was never even close to a villain all this time we spent.