Yes I know you want Capture the Flag but I'm trying to stay in order so ha lol
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"We have ambrosia, bandages, food, water, whatever you need..."
Gem's vision was blurry when she opened her eyes, and for a minute, she forgot where they were. Why did the pirates have ambrosia? Where was the rocking of the boat?
"Gem!" Someone had noticed she was awake.
Then her vision snapped into focus, and she remembered.
Gem abruptly sat up, accidentally hitting her head against another head. "The Fury! Is she dead?"
Reyna backed away, wincing and holding her head where Gem had hit it. "Yes. Yes, she's dead. You killed her. You turned her whip into a tulip."
Gem's eyebrows were probably above her hairline. "Really?"
Reyna nodded patiently and held out ambrosia. They were in a barrack of some kind, with bunks against the walls, but Gem was on a mattress on the floor. There were other girls there, ranging from about fifteen even into their twenties. There was a bandage around Gem's neck, although not tight enough to choke her, and her head was throbbing.
"Where are we?" Gem asked.
"Amazon," a girl said.
"Like the company?"
"Exactly like the company."
Gem was incredibly confused.
"They're bent on world domination," Reyna said casually. "Hylla's talking with the queen."
"Oh," Gem said, still not satisfied.
Then it finally clicked. "They're the warrior girls who worship Ares and don't like guys."
"We don't worship him," one of the Amazons denied. "We just respect him. More than the other gods, at least. There's groups of us all across the world, but the biggest is here, in Seattle."
"Oh," Gem said again.
"Well," Reyna said. "Thank you for the supplies. We should really be going..."
"Oh, that's fine," the Amazon said. "We'll just wait for Hylla to come out. Then you can be on your way. In the meantime, Plant Girl should eat something."
"My name is Gem," Gem protested weakly. She realized how hungry she was as an Amazon handed her a wrapped up McDonalds burger and fries. Probably not the best sustenance after they had just nearly died, but Gem took it gratefully.
"How did you do it?" Reyna wondered.
"What?" Gem asked between bites.
"The plants."
The Amazons in the room listened curiously.
Gem didn't really care that they were there. "Well," she said. "...it was probably bonemeal."
"It wasn't bonemeal," Reyna insisted. "You tried to get some and then came up empty before that."
Gem thought for a minute, trying to remember.
"I felt seeds," she remembered. "Under the foundation of the bathrooms. They couldn't grow because of the building, but I kind of told them to anyway. And they grew."
She shrugged and finished her burger.
Reyna smiled and shook her head. "Demigod things," she said finally.
Hylla chose that exact moment to come back. "Time to go," she announced, although she seemed a bit sad about it. "We gotta get to Camp Half-Blood. Or at least, get Gem to Camp Half-Blood."
Gem stood up, nodding. She still wasn't feeling well, but as long as she kept her wounds bandaged and ambrosia in her system, she'd be fine. She got up shakily and was immediately supported by Reyna.
"You remember the way out?" One of the Amazons asked.
Gem didn't remember the way out. But Hylla and Reyna nodded in confirmation.
They made their way down a hall, through a massive factory room with men in collars working in it (Gem was a bit concerned), and then through a lobby and back into the cold Seattle streets.
Hylla gazed back at the building as they walked away. "I... I kind of want to join them."
“You what?” Reyna asked, immediately stopping. There was maybe a little bit of danger in her tone. Gem, who had tried to keep going without her, stumbled over her feet.
Hylla glanced at Reyna, refusing to meet her eyes. “I want to join them.”
“You- I- they- you what?” Reyna stammered. “But-”
“I’m sorry,” Hylla said. She had obviously already decided. “But I feel like this is where I belong. It’s nice here. I respect their queen. Please, Reyna.”
It really wasn’t nice here. It was freezing and wet and Gem didn’t know if she would ever be warm again.
Reyna looked at the ground. “But we have to stick together,” she pleaded. “You said-”
“I know I did, but… this is what I want to do.” Hylla pressed her ring into Reyna’s hand. “I’ll keep in touch.”
“No!” Reyna protested.
Gem put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Let her go.”
Reyna pulled away. “No! She promised.” She turned back to Hylla. “You promised!”
Gem backed away.
Reyna and Hylla continued to argue. Gem felt by some intuition that this wasn't really something she should get involved in.
A small growl caught her attention.
An animal emerged from the shadows - a wolf. What was a wolf doing in Seattle? Gem didn’t know. Maybe it was a monster.
But for some reason, Gem had no urge to kill it.
There was a brief staring contest. Gem held eye contact.
The wolf growled again, finally, but it didn’t seem hostile. Although not necessarily friendly either.
Gem let go of Reyna and took a hesitant step toward it, barely managing to keep her balance.
“Gem…what did you find?” Reyna asked, coming up next to her. There were tears on her friend's face, and Hylla wasn’t there, so Gem assumed the older girl had won. She put a hopefully comforting arm around Reyna and pointed to the wolf.
Said wolf’s ear twitched.
“Hey, there,” Gem said.
It started padding away, then turned back and looked at Gem and Reyna.
“Do we follow it?” Gem asked.
“It’s probably a trap,” Reyna said. “Everything else is. The lady in the bathrooms was.”
“Then keep your guard up,” Gem said, and staggered after the canine.
“Gem-” Reyna started to protest, then gave up and followed as well.
Night was falling. It was getting almost too dark to see the wolf. And it was getting ahead.
The wolf started running.
“Wait!” Gem called, picking up her pace even though she could barely handle it. “Slow down!” She tripped and fell. Reyna quickly helped her up and they kept going.
The wolf did not slow down. It took an abrupt turn into an alley.
“Thank you, Lupa,” a smooth voice said. “I can take it from here.”
Gem and Reyna rounded the corner and stopped.
There was a woman there, waiting. The wolf was nowhere to be seen. She had wavy red hair and a few freckles on her face. She wore golden armor, the same strange magical gold as Gem’s sword. A large scythe, Grim Reaper style, was strapped to her back. The handle was wrapped in vines and thorns.
“Hi?” Reyna said.
“Are you… the wolf?” Gem asked, bewildered.
The woman smiled. “No, that was Lupa. She is gone now.”
“Are you going to hurt us?” Gem asked. Pretty ladies were almost never good in Greek Mythology.
“No,” the woman said. “At least, not right now.”
Reyna was demanding something, but Gem’s mind was elsewhere. Was she a monster? A goddess? Another demigod who had somehow survived to adulthood? Another Amazon? They seemed to be having a lot of experiences with females here in Seattle. It sort of made up for all of the pirates on the ship.
“There’s somewhere safe,” the woman said.
“We know,” Gem blurted. “We met them. The Amazons aren’t where we want to be, though. And if you’re talking about Camp Half-Blood, that’s our goal.”
“I wasn’t speaking of either of those,” the woman said. “There’s a place in California.”
“Annabeth’s house?” That was Gem’s first thought.
“No.”
Gem was getting exhausted. “Look, we don’t have time for guessing games. Or California. We need to get to New York. We’re tired and cold. If you don’t have useful information, can we leave?”
She clapped her mouth shut. She didn’t know where that had come from.
The woman looked at her. Most goddesses, or monsters, didn’t tolerate any rudeness.
“Sorry,” Gem said, though the damage had already been done.
The woman stood up straighter and glowed with golden light, and Gem braced herself.
But the woman did not attack.
What she said was worse.
“That’s no way to speak to your mother.”
Tempted to end the chapter there but nahhhhh, I have a better ending
Gem's eyes widened.
"You're Demeter?" she asked.
The goddess made a so-so gesture. "Not really. I'm Ceres."
"Demeter's Roman form," Reyna mumbled.
"You have a Roman form?" Gem asked.
"It's... a lot to explain. This safe place..."
"So you're Demeter," Gem insisted.
Ceres gave in. "Yes. I'm Demeter." Her form flickered; she still had the same general features. But she was wearing a Greek chiton. The scythe was less Grim Reaper-y and more Kronos-y. There were less thorns and more flowers, and there were strands of wheat braided into her hair.
Then she was Ceres again.
"Okay," she said. "As I said, there is somewhere safe you can go."
"As I said, we're trying to get to our safe place," Gem said. "Or, my safe place. And I think it'll be safe for Reyna too."
Ceres shook her head. "Camp Half-Blood does not need your help right now. However..."
Gem waited, somewhat impatiently.
"However," Ceres said, smiling. "Camp Jupiter does."