artemis ; pjo

West Coast

All 6 of us climbed on Prince. Eric had told us that the Underworld entrance was in downtown L.A. Apparently it had moved from a recording studio and into a beachfront business. I guess the dead like ocean views.

   I handed Dan my GPS and he gave Prince the coordinates. The blistering hot sun was beating down on us as we flew west. I knew the closer we flew, the hotter it would be. Ugh.

   There was only fields were we flew, and there wasn't any sign of life. No animals, no humans, no nothing. Although, I wasn't paying attention to the ground. Prometheus's words raced around my mind. I still wasn't sure what he had meant. His words seemed to slur together more and more the more I thought about them. I tried to brush it off, but it still slightly lingered.

   MK was blabbing about something to Eric. Even though he forced a "I don't care" expression, I could tell that he was a little interested. I look up front to see Gabby and Dan 'secretly' holding hands. Ohhhhh. I guess all six of us were 'together', although I wouldn't consider it official. I guess James saw it too.

   He turned around to face me and we looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

James was the first to break the ice.
"So, how's life?"

"Well, ya know, just your average thrown-into-a-stressful-demigod-quest-to-save-all-of-humanity kinda day, you?" I said.

"How you holding up?" James asked.

"Meh, I just feel more and more stressed as days go by. And after what Prometheus said to me, it's just-"

"What did Prometheus say?"

Why the Hades did I have to say that?

"He, um, well-"

"Yes" James urged.

   I quoted the confusing saying word by word to James. He nodded every once in a while. His sea green eyes looked busy computing and comprehending what I said.

"I have no clue what it might mean" he confessed.

I shrugged.

   All of a sudden, the world went blurry. I knew exactly what was happening. My hands traced up to my back. I had been feeling weak lately, but I had tried to ignore it. The wound was beginning to sting. The pain coursed through my body and into my head. My head began pounding. Then, as if things weren't bad enough, I heard voices.

Amanda they whispered in my head.

Amanda, can you hear us?

I couldn't move, let alone respond. I guess the voices figured I could hear them. A more sturdy, tough voice began whispering in my head.

Amanda, know that you will meet me soon. I will explain the truth. The ugly truth. There isn't much time, they've almost got me, but I believe you can get to me. But I must tell you, you can't-

   My vision restored and I saw the whole gang huddled around me. MK was wiping a cool cloth on my forehead.

"Are you okay?" I asked them.

"She's quoting James Bond, I think she's okay" Gabby laughed.

"But seriously, are you okay?" Dan asked.

I nodded
"I think so"

"What happened?" James asked.

"My back, it began hurting. Then the pain went to my head and I heard voices. Then, I uh, I-I-" my voice faltered.

"It's okay, rest. We'll figure it out later. Sleep until we're at our destination" MK insisted.

"You sound like a flight attendant. I'll say it for you, And thank you choosing Prince airlines" Gabby said.

   That was the first time on a while all of us laughed, and it felt good. I fell asleep to the sound of my friends talking.

But when your asleep, your thoughts take over.