Maelstrom

Sixteen

[in omnia paratus]

The end of the world came in three waves.

First came Reese's bloodcurdling screams of agony echoing through Tessa's ears. He slumped to the ground, clutching his phone—still showing a haunting feed of Imogen's lifeless hand—with white knuckles. Tessa and Mark tried to get him to his feet, but it was as if the strength had been sucked out of him.

In a way, it had been.

Second came Kaden, barking orders into the hall with Kassie and Dale, the idle infirmary springing into action as spirits and demigods alike armed themselves with medical supplies. It wouldn't be long until the rest of camp was armed and ready to go to war as well.

Everyone sounded like they were underwater. Tessa tried to fight the waves of sorrow washing over her, willing herself to replace them with action. The third wave hadn't struck yet, she noticed, and she didn't want to let it.

"Reese," She found her voice. "Reese, come on, we have to go."

The son of Apollo looked up at her, his blazing blue eyes bloodshot and filled with angry tears. She held his gaze, her heart breaking for him, and finally, Reese got to his feet.

"I'm going to kill him," His voice was scratchy and gruff. In a flash of light, his golden bow and quiver materialized. "I'm going to kill each one of them."

He shoved past Tessa and Mark. There was no use trying to stop him. Tessa glanced back to the TV screen instead, still playing footage of the now-aftermath of the tsunami. The images haunted her, swirling around her mind like a tornado of chaos and violence.

Menoetious had made his move, intentionally trying to spread their forces too thin. They would need to send forces to the West coast for recovery and to assist Camp Jupiter after another hit, while also trying to defend Camp Half-Blood and drive Menoetious from Manhattan.

With a bitter taste in her mouth, Tessa wondered if his plan would work.

"Flynn," Tessa's voice was sharp, booming across the walls. She turned to see Flynn walking towards her, from where he stood with Reese in the corner. "Where's Amelie?"

Flynn's eyes were dark. "Going over things with Nova and Sophia. I can get her." He made a move for the door, before Kassie spoke up.

"No need, we don't have time," The Huntress was rifling through the pockets on her silvery cargo pants. She produced a small packet of what looked like ground up diamonds for the way it sparkled in the fluorescent lighting of Chase's infirmary room. "We'll use this."

Kaden made a suspicious face at his sister from the doorway. "Kassie, what's that?"

"Dust from the dark side of the moon," His sister snapped, shooting him a look. "The Hunters use it for rapid transport."

"Just when I thought this day couldn't get weirder," Mark muttered."The dark side of the moon?"

Kassie winked at him. "No one can see it, so why not use it?"

"Fair enough," Mark cleared his throat and motioned for her to continue.

Kassie got to work at casting the spell they needed, and Tessa took the time to get her affairs in order. Her friends had quickly armed themselves, but they would need reinforcements. It was time for battle.