The Survival of Four

Chapter 20

I silently exited my house, slowly closing the front door behind me. The morning air was dewy and a chill was carried with the slight breeze. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and zipped it up to my neck. I made my way through the circle of houses and to the head house. I walked through the front door and made a bee line for the dining room.

Sitting at the table was a female Apollo-born and another demigod I didn't recognize. The daughter of Apollo had a first aid kit opened on the wooden table and was dabbing a cloth on the other girl's forehead. I could see the drip of blood trailing down the side of her face from where I stood in the doorway.

My eyes widened and I quickly made my way to the girl's side. "What happened?" I asked, getting a closer look at the small gash on her forehead.

The injured girl looked up at me with a soft expression. Her big eyes were bright green and contrasted with her dark hair. There was no denying that she was pretty. She pushed a piece of her straight black hair behind her ear before speaking up. "It was an accident," she assured me. "I didn't dodge a dagger quick enough while training." Her voice was quiet and shy.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, at least I know to be quicker on my feet next time."

I chuckled. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Mia—daughter of Aphrodite," she informed me. I sent her a wide smile and shook her hand. I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but she interrupted me before I could make a sound. "Riley," she spoke with a polite smile. "We all know who you are around here."

I smiled politely. "I guess that's what happens when you are almost killed by Terran."

She chuckled. "You stopped Terran, that's what counts."

I shook my head. "It was a teamwork thing. Everyone took a part in stopping him."

She smiled, happy with my reply. I turned to the Apollo-born who was tending Mia's wounded forehead. "Do you have any nectar you can give her?"

The blonde nodded and smiled. "Of course. After tending wounds for about five years, I never leave the house without a bottle of nectar."

"You've been here since Safe Haven was created?" I questioned, shocked.

She nodded and her brown eyes glanced at me, before focusing back on the first aid kit. "I showed up two days after our parents told us we could come here for safety. I was the first medic for Safe Haven."

"Then I think that qualifies you as the best in the haven."

She smiled brightly and held out her hand for me to shake. "My name is Harper." I shook her hand before she transferred her attention back to Mia's head.

I turned around as footsteps entered the head house. Hermes walked toward me with a content smile on his face. He had a few envelopes gripped in his hand and a dark blue jacket buttoned up his broad torso. "Where's the man in charge?" he asked grinning from ear to ear.

I chuckled. "I think you mean girl in charge. I'm watching over Safe Haven at the moment. Kyle is visiting his father."

Hermes raised his eyebrows and handed me his hand full of letters. "That's a surprise. Usually, Hades tells the rest of us about how excited he is," he said, referring to the rest of the Olympian gods.

I shrugged. "It was for important reasons. Everything that's happening lately, is worrying a lot of people."

He nodded. "That is understandable. If you need anything just let me know, you hear?"

I nodded and gifted him a thankful smile. "I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he told me. "I better get going. I wish you the best of luck protecting the haven and everyone in it."

I nodded, silently thanking him. With a farewell to me and the girls behind me, the messenger god walked out. I flipped through the letters in my grasp, silently hoping for one to be sent to me. I was disappointed when none of the multiple envelopes were from the sea god.

I looked over my shoulder to Mia and Harper. "I'll see you guys later, I better go get these delivered." They nodded and waved with a smile before I walked out of the head house.

It took me nearly twenty minutes to get each letter delivered to the right demigod. Even after living on safe grounds for nearly six months, I didn't know many demigods living there. I had always spent my time hanging out or training with Kyle or Dylan.

Once I had no letters left in my possession I made my way to the southern border where Elliott was stationed to guard. I spotted him immediately standing lonesome by a tree, looking out from safe grounds. "Elliott!" I called.

He turned around and smiled as I jogged up to him. "How is your first full day of watching over the haven going?"

I chuckled. "As good as it can be going, I guess. Are there any updates on Dylan?"

He shook his head and his smile fell. "Not this morning. Fortunately, there hasn't been any more problems. There haven't been any signs of rogue demigods and there haven't been any monster attacks either."

"How are the shifts working out? Is it working effectively?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they are working great. There aren't any problems in the system."

I nodded. "Good, let me know if anything changes," I told him. He nodded and returned back to his position, guarding the Safe Haven border.

I turned away and walked back to my house. My stomach growled, filling the silent air around me. When I eventually made it to my front door, I walked in and made a beeline for the kitchen. My brother stood by the dining room table, pouring a box of cereal into a bowl. He looked up as I walked in and headed straight for the cabinet. I pulled out a granola bar and immediately began eating it.

Carson chuckled and grabbed the milk out of the fridge before adding it into his ceramic bowl. "Did you get a letter from dad today?"

I shook my head and placed the granola bar wrapper in the trash as I finished eating it. "Nope. He is apparently still ignoring us."

He rolled his eyes and began eating his cereal. "I don't see why he is avoiding a conversation with us. He is going to have to contact at some point."

"You'd be surprised. He went years without contact with me."

He sighed. "All the other gods are communicating with us, he should too." I nodded in agreement and placed the gallon of milk and the box of cereal back where Carson had found them. He mumbled "thanks" before continuing on with his breakfast. "I want to go out with a search group this morning," he told me. "We need all the help we can if we want to bring Dylan back."

I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned against the kitchen counter. "That a good idea." My thoughts traveled to the arrow I found matching with the one Dylan owned. If he was on a rampage wanting to kill demigods, maybe it was best for him to stay away from the haven.

***

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~Emily