6:46 AM.
Zedaph turned in his bunk. It was just one of those nights where it was impossible to sleep. He just couldn't get comfortable.
The clock on the nightstand on the floor below him switched to 6:47 AM.
Zedaph gave up. He sat and turned on a flashlight, reaching over to a shelf next to his bunk. He grabbed a notebook and a pen and started jotting down ideas for Zedvancements. He was horribly homesick. He thought about how well the other hermits' bases were probably going. At this rate, his would just be a boring boulder on the side of the Hermissippi forever. He had plans for his base, not that he was in any place to carry them out.
Annabeth had added a few tweaks to his base plans a couple weeks ago, and Zedaph had to agree that it definitely made his amateur architecture look a lot better.
Voices from outside caught his attention. It couldn't possibly be time to wake up already, could it? Zedaph glanced back at the clock. 6:53 AM.
He listened for a minute as they started to fade. And then his curious side took over and he attempted to get out of his bunk to investigate.
"Attempted" being the key word here. It was more like falling. Again.
Zedaph seemed to fall out of his bunk quite often.
He let out a dazed groan and got off the ground. The voices had sounded female. Hunters, maybe?
Silently, he changed into warmer clothes, opened the door, and crept outside, wincing at every sound he made. The moonlight reflected off the snow, making the whole camp seem brighter than it actually was. Zedaph squinted at the three figures walking away from him, toward the dining pavilion.
Two of them were walking together, wearing silver parkas and muttering to each other - definitely Hunters. The third trailed behind them slowly, as if trying to stay hidden. He probably was. Zedaph jumped in the bandwagon and followed them.
Zedaph didn't even need to listen to what they were saying to tell that one was Zoë Nightshade, the lieutenant person. The thees and thys and thous gave that away. He couldn't tell who the other girl was, nor the boy following them, who he quickly concluded was either a stalking satyr or a demigod who wasn't supposed to be awake.
They were saying something about a shirt and someone named Phoebe. Zedaph vaguely remembered a Hunter named Phoebe bonking Connor and Travis Stoll during Capture the Flag.
The Hunters stopped at the dining pavilion. Zedaph lost sight of the kid following them as he got a little closer so that he could hear better.
A hand grabbed Zedaph and yanked him behind a pillar.
Zedaph almost yelped, but then a hand covered his mouth. Zedaph looked into the freckled face of Nico Di Angelo, the geeky new kid.
From this new plot twist, he could only conclude that the girl with Zoë was Nico's sister, Bianca.
"Shh!" Nico hissed, pulling his hand away from Zedaph's face. "I'm listening."
Zedaph blinked at the unclaimed demigod, then silently nodded, turning his attention back to the two Hunters.
He suddenly remembered that Zoë and Bianca were going to leave for a quest this morning.
Oh, Zedaph was so dumb. They were getting ready to go. At... he reached for his communicator to check the time before remembering that he had left it in Hermitcraft almost a year ago. Old habits die hard. He guessed it was about 7:00 in the morning, almost time for the campers to wake up and go to breakfast.
He heard the quiet flap of wings behind him, and the patter of footsteps. Nico was too invested in the Hunters to notice anything. Zedaph turned around suspiciously, reaching for a sword that wasn't there, but he saw nothing.
He turned his attention back to the Hunters.
"It cannot be cured," Zoë was saying. "Not quickly enough."
"But how did it happen?" The other Hunter, who Zedaph had assumed was Bianca, asked.
"A foolish prank," Zoë growled. "Those Stoll twins from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid, and they spread it on the inside of that Artemis Hunting Tour T-Shirt."
"And what about the sixth member? Did you ever decide on one?"
"I regrettably was lost in my fury about what happened to Phoebe. I did not decide. It is down to me, and thee."
"But the other members- the prophecy!"
"There is no time," Zoë decided. "We must leave at first light. We must leave now."
Zedaph glanced at the sky. It was indeed starting to get light.
Zoë was still talking. "-besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."
"In the land without rain," Bianca remembered. "But that can't be here."
"This could be a land without rain," Zoë reasoned, although she sounded unsure. "This camp has magic borders. Not even weather can come in uninvited."
"But-"
Zoë's voice became strained. "Bianca, hear me. I have a sense that we should not pick anyone else, even if we go with only four. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing campers."
Bianca hesitated. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream.
"No. It would not help."
"But your suspicions, about the General-"
"I have thy word not to speak of that," Zoë said sternly, but there were anguished undertones. "Come. Dawn is breaking."
Thr two girls sprinted down the steps. Nico and Zedaph quickly scooted out of their way.
Zoë suddenly stopped to stare at air. Zedaph didn't blame her, staring at air was pretty great. Her eyes narrowed, and she reached for her bow, but Bianca called to her.
And then they both ran out of the pavilion.
Zedaph could almost see Nico's brain gears whirring. The unclaimed demigod slowly got up. Zedaph grabbed his arm before the he could run after his sister and whispered, "Wait."
But two voices said the word.
Zedaph turned his head to the spot Zoë had stared at, the same spot he had heard the footsteps from earlier. He was almost unsurprised to see Percy there.
Nico wasn't, though. He yelped and would have slipped down the icy steps if Zedaph hadn't had a firm grip on his arm. "Where did you come from?!"
"I was here the whole time," Percy said smugly. "Invisible."
Nico's mouth hung open in awe. "Wow. Cool."
"How did you guys know Zoë and Bianca were here?" Percy asked.
"I heard them walk by the Hermes cabin," Nico explained, blushing. "I don't sleep well at camp, and I heard them whispering. So I followed."
"Basically the same with me," Zedaph volunteered. "And now he's thinking about following them on the quest." He looked at Nico for confirmation.
"How did you know that?"
Zedaph chose his words carefully. "Because if it was anyone in the Athena cabin, or any of my other friends who might as well be, I'd be thinking the same thing."
"But you can't," Percy added.
Nico looked defiant. "Because I'm too young."
"Well, that too," Percy said. "But they'll catch you and send you back here. And it'll be too dangerous. There will be more monsters - Remember the manticore? Things like that, and worse. Some of the heroes will die."
Nico's shoulders slumped, and he looked sad.
And then he looked up. "But you guys can go for me."
"What?" Zedaph and Percy said in unison, Percy in genuine confusion, Zedaph in startled shock.
"Percy can turn invisible. And I saw Zedaph drink potions in Capture the Flag. You can go!"
"The Hunters don't like boys," Percy said. "In case you didn't realize, Zedaph and I are both in fact male. If they find out-"
"Don't let them find out," Nico said, getting desperate. "Keep an eye on my sister! You have to. Please?"
"Nico-" Zedaph started.
"Oh, come on. You're planning to go anyway."
Zedaph and Percy exchanged glances, a silent agreement passing between them. Zedaph hadn't really been planning on going for Annabeth, but Percy obviously had. And if there was a chance, Zedaph couldn't pass it up.
"Yeah," Zedaph said.
"We have to find Annabeth," Percy agreed.
"I won't tell on you," Nico assured them. "But... but you have to promise to keep Bianca safe."
"That's a big thing to promise, Nico. On a trip like this, anything can happen," Percy warned.
"Besides," Zedaph said, trying to give a better reason. "She's got Zoë, and Thalia, and Grover-"
"Promise," Nico insisted, almost harshly.
"I'll do my best, I promise that," Percy said, and Zedaph nodded in agreement.
"Get going, then!" Nico said. "Good luck!"
Zedaph and Percy exchanged wide-eyed glances again. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs. No food, no ride, nothing. Why were they doing this?
"Tell Chiron-" Percy started.
"I'll make something up. I'm good at that. Go! Hurry!"
"I don't have invis potions," Zedaph said.
"Go to your cabin. Hurry," Percy said.
Zedaph scrambled to his feet and ran.
He grabbed what he could - his sword, a few potions, and what little remained of his redstone box.
Zedaph left his cabin just as a couple of winged horses landed in front of it. He recognized Blackjack from Luke's ship, and the other one was an ordinary white pegasus from the stable. He gulped. "Pegasi don't really like me-"
"No time," Percy said from his perch on Blackjack. "Get on."
Zedaph awkwardly struggled onto the back of the other pegasus.
"Alright," Percy said. "Let's fly."