Miss Quinn

26 ~ No Going Back

Emma watched Percy through the crowd of people. She could barely see him, but she could tell Annabeth and Grover had joined him. The three left the crowded area and Emma followed. She was close enough to hear them talking, but too far to understand them.

When the three got back on the train, Emma made sure to sit on the way opposite side of the train car. She didn't need one of them to see her. Again. The food she still had packed in her bag was enough for a light snack, but at the next stop Emma planned to restock.

The train sped through countless landscapes and other landmarks. Emma felt her eyes closing, and she didn't have the strength to keep them open any longer. She slipped into dreamland, and her dreams were more like nightmares. First, she dreamed of Hogwarts in ruin, the stone walls being blasted to bits. Flashes of light were blasting from one end of the courtyard to the other. Emma saw herself in the middle of it all, though she was much older. A blonde-haired boy stood at her side, a boy that could only be Draco Malfoy. He looked different, but that was probably because he was older and no longer had his hair slicked back. He looked more mature, and if Emma dare say it, kind of... hot.

A bright light consumed Emma's dream and when the light died away, she was dreaming something she'd dreamed before. It was her and two others. Now she knew the others were Percy and Annabeth, but when she'd first had the dream, they were unknown people. Dream Emma didn't look much older than real Emma, so she figured the event would happen in the near future. Maybe in a year or two. Dream Emma shot an arrow at the monster they were fighting and the dream faded.

Emma was shaken awake. She found herself staring into stunning grey eyes. For a second she thought she was back in England, and it was Draco Malfoy watching her. No, it's Annabeth, she thought. Emma scrambled so that she was sitting straight and saw Annabeth, Percy, and Grover in front of her.

"Emma? Why did you follow us?" Annabeth asked.

Emma glared at Percy, "I told you to stay quiet!"

"Actually, you shushed me, plus I didn't tell them." Percy said. Annabeth had been kneeling in front of Emma, but now she stood up straight.

"You knew?" Annabeth asked.

"Technically I didn't know until I saw her at the arch, but yeah, I knew." Percy shrugged.

"Annabeth, it's not Percy's fault, I wanted to follow you, not go with you," Emma said.

"Emma, why?" Annabeth asked.

"I didn't want to just wait at camp while you were off fighting monsters," Emma said.

Annabeth sighed and waved for Percy and Grover to go on to where they were headed.

"Emma, I can't believe you'd leave camp!" Annabeth said.

"Sorry," Emma looked away.

"How'd you do it?"

"What?"

"How'd you leave camp without being caught?"

"Mocha," Emma said.

"Like... the coffee?"

"No. Mocha. The pegasus. I flew her to the bus station, then we followed the bus. When it exploded, we followed you to the forest and spent the night there. Then I told her to go home when we got to the train station," Emma said.

"That's genius!" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Thanks I guess," Emma said.

"Come on, we're going to get dinner," Annabeth said.

The four campers ate in the dining car and then went back to their seats. Emma sat with them instead of in her seat. She volunteered to stay awake first to make sure no one took their stuff. The others curled up on their seats and slept while Emma watched the stars outside. It was kind of nice not to have to hide from the others. Even though she wasn't supposed to be on the quest, she was. Now there was no going back.