The Demigod Diaries

Chapter 16- Let's Gather 'Round the Campfire

"I had hoped the disappearance of Connor was nothing serious, but I was blind. He wanted to save your life, and I ignored it altogether."

"Chiron, this isn't your fault. If anything it's mine. I could've stopped him, it would've saved a lot of trouble..." Again my mind ventured to the deal.

"Don't blame yourself, it was his decision. You mentioned a threat... Is it something new with Gaea?"

How do I explain this? "Well, sort of. When I crossed back over, I saw things in my dreams. They were horrible, wars, death... Chiron, I was watching the end of the world."

If you have never seen a Centaur have a panic attack, I do suggest you avoid it at all costs. Chiron's eyes were dark and scared, a new expression on the man I'd never seen before. Maybe because he knew it was possible, he sent me away without further discussion. I guess we all need to grab a handhold every now and then.

My next plan of attack (not an actual attack) was to conquer the words that I'd have to say to Travis. I knew he'd be looking for me as soon as Chiron and I's conversation was over because, unlike Chiron, Travis knew that whatever trouble his brother was up to, it probably had to do with me. As if he'd been waiting, Travis Stoll seeped out of the shadows around the big house as I left, startling me more than just a bit.

"Travis! You nearly gave me a heart attack," I breathed, taking a cautious step back. How unfortunate that would've been, all Connor's efforts would've gone to waste.

"Right. Sorry." The nervous blush that crept up onto the boy's face reminded me painfully of Connor. I knew the kid for a week and it already hurt to think about him. I guess I forgot to mention that I fell quite hard for the troublesome Stoll twin in my brief stay. An awkward silence began to settle in. "Look, so I know you and Connor were um... Good friends, I guess. And he didn't want you to go on that quest and all, and I know that you know he's gone because if he weren't he'd have been the first one to see you..."

Ouch. You're killing me Travis, just like I killed him. "Travis," I sighed, "I know Connor is missing, and I know you want to know if it had anything to do with me."

"Well... Yeah, basically. He's been gone for a couple days, and we've looked everywhere and asked everyone. Rachel knows something, I know it, but she won't talk to anyone!"

"Travis, I don't really know how to break this to you because I really doubt anyone had ever had to do it before, but... Connor he gave me a second chance that I didn't deserve. I tried to stop him, but nothing I said made a difference." My voice broke halfway through the last sentence because I was basically telling Travis that I murdered his twin, and watching someone's face fall like that is ten times worse than any death or torture in the Fields of Punishment.

"Gods, he really did it..." Travis sat down hard in the grass and ran his long, thin fingers through his warm, brown hair. He looked so much like Connor, it was ridiculous. It was like telling Connor exactly what he did.

"Travis, I tried to stop him-"

"Yeah? But you didn't, Stella. You didn't. And now he's dead, and you're alive, and I never got the choice. Nobody ever gave me the damn choice!" Travis' hopelessness turned to rage quickly, and even as he balled his fists and yelled at me like I was a murdering lunatic I still felt empty. I watched blankly as he stormed off across the fields, kicking everything in his way.

I ran into Alice from the Hecate cabin on my way to cabin three, and she filled me in on the past couple of weeks. Apparently Reyna showed up a few days prior and explained to the warring campers what had gone down in Epirus, and the great big Athena statue thingy, and somehow they got to work things out. Also, despite the cheery conditions I'd dropped in on, tensions were pretty high between the camps. But fighting was over, and not too much damage had been done. And now everyone was gathering around the campfire like every other night, except we were sharing it with the Romans and camp was really crowded. I figured that if tensions were as high as she said they were, I'd pass an uncomfortable campfire gathering and take a long nap.

By the time she was done telling her story, I was nearly asleep, so she pushed me into the direction of Poseidon, and I stumbled my way in. Too lazy to even take my shoes off, I crawled onto my top bunk in the corner of the room and collapsed, hearing the unfamiliar crunch of paper underneath me. Since when had my bed sheets turned to paper? I rolled onto my side, and pulled out the crinkled piece of notebook paper left on my bunk. I read:

Go back to the dead parade, this camp isn't for traitors like you.

One sentence was all it took to chill me to the bone, despite the warm summer breeze running through cabin three. This camp isn't for traitors like you. Who knew? Someone was aware of my deal with Gaea, they had to be. Would they tell someone if I stayed? Some risks are better if you just don't take them.

So in the morning, I gathered some clothes and supplies for a lonely journey, and set off without any notice. I left camp knowing that this time really would be the last I'd see of it, since I was now a traitor, a fugitive of my own kind.

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Hey I updated this week, just as promised!(: hope you liked the chapter, leave your thoughts and questions below! So as you may know, I write and update all from my phone because I don't have a laptop, but I now have a problem with that. My phone took a bad fall and the screen is completely shattered, so it's very difficult to see what I'm typing. This does not mean that I won't be updating, but it does give me a headache and I might have more spelling errors/: My greatest apologies, lovely readers! I'm hopefully getting a laptop this summer because I'm hoping to start my own independent books, so I will let you guys know when that is! Thank you very much for reading, love you guys(: