Beneath The Gold (A PJO Fanfic)

Fifteen ~ Truth or Dare

"Okay fine. When I was nine, I stole my three year old sister's favourite bunny that drove me mad and I blew it up in a graveyard," Alyssa confessed.

"A graveyard? But the graves-" Percy started.

"Oh don't worry. I found a few blown up body parts that weren't completely crisped up. But I didn't keep them for some reason."

"Where did you even get the explosives?" Chloe asked.

Alyssa shrugged. "My dads were on a case and they had some explosives sealed up so I blew up mango cheeses to practice. Sadly Dad didn't get the right perp."

We all sat there with our mouths gaped. Alyssa didn't seem to take it as a big deal. "Truth or dare, Alex?"

After a pause, Alex said, "Truth."

Alyssa muttered a few curse words in Greek before coming up with a question. "What is the most embarrassing moment of your lifetime..." she narrowed her eyes and a dark shadow seemed to loom her face, "yet?"

Alex's face turned pink.

 I looked at him with keen interest, as it seemed whatever his answer would be, it'd be juicy. He paused for a long time, leaving me in anticipation. The seconds ticked by like minutes, making me more anxious. 

It takes 4 seconds for a silence to get awkward. Pffftt! My brain was busy trying to figure out what could possibly embarrass ALEX! Nothing felt awkward here.

At last, Alex answered "My... boyfriend found out... that I... er, I ruined my old top by spilling grape juice on it and bought a new one to replace it."

There was silence and a crushing disappointment in my heart. Drat! I had myself so worked up!

"Samantha, truth or dare?" Alex asked me.

"Dare," I rolled my eyes at him.

"I dare you to make me a throne," Alex grinned.

I glared at him. Great. Not that I know how... I'm a daughter of Athena, I should be able to figure it out, right?

I gathered some sticks and shoved them into the dirt, trying to make a chair. As I did, my eyes panned over to sleeping wolf skeletons, the dust dancing around them in the sunlight.

As I stared at the wolves, I wondered, what were wolves doing in Demeter's sacred garden or whatever it was called? She was the goddess of fertility, and surely there would be animals, but there didn't seem to be any here and wolves didn't seem to be Demeter's first choice of animal.

Did the others wonder the same thing? I wouldn't know. Everyone just sat down somewhere and started playing truth or dare. Though that came with a lot of nagging from Alyssa who wanted Lyra to do a back-flip in the air while she threw water at her.

Thinking about it now, I did notice Chloe's eyes flicking in the direction of the wolf skeletons, but other than that she had kept quiet.

Lost in thoughts, I numbly stacked up Alex's throne without much thought.

"Finished!" I called out to him, smiling to myself in pride slightly.

Head high, Alex turned his head around a look of intrigue in his face. I pointed to the craftsmanship of a throne I created and his face fell slightly.

"How am I supposed to sit in that?" his eyes narrowed to slits.

I couldn't stop myself and burst into laughter over my tiny little stick chair perfect for mice, only if they cared for thrones though.

"And where is my vault to keep my t-shirt safe?" Alex asked.

Alyssa came forward to examine the chair for a moment and pulled out a Sherlock voodoo doll from her back. I opened my mouth to ask her how long and why she had it there, then thought it might be best if I left that.

"YEET! DAD, YOU SIT HERE!" She placed the Sherlock on the chair like a four year old girl setting up her dolls for a tea party.

I almost choked on thin air. Well smoky air, but you get the point. The one person Alyssa obsessed over is her... Dad? I was not expecting that.

But the others seemed to already know, as they didn't seem that surprised.

"Ermm okay..." I broke the awkwardness that wasn't shared with anyone but myself. "Lenores, truth or dare?"

"Dare," an evil glint sparked Lenores's eyes.

I thought hard for a moment before replying with, "I dare you to dust bathe in the ash like a chicken."

Her eyebrows raised slightly in shock. "Oh. Uh okay..."

She wandered around the ash heaps and chose a spot to lie down in. She shuffled around awkwardly and poked her tongue out like a dog.

"Mmm... Yes... Sooo comfortable," she remarked sarcastically.

Then something strange happened. The ash formed a pit around her, swallowing her up. Screams escaped her lungs until the dust allowed her no more.