"Well, I guess that's that."
Kronos snarled and turned around. I felt the chair disappear with a pop and then reappear instantly behind him.
"No use, I programmed the chair. I'm behind you, 100%, until we separate in death."
"So we are stuck here forever..."
"No, no, no. I'll die sooner or later."
"You do not get it." I could tell that he was smiling now. "The girl. I can tell that she has certain feelings for you. She prevented you from instantly dying after all. She has had to hold it back for your 'quest', but I believe that she will not let you die, even if you told her to leave you."
"No, she understands what she needs to do."
"I guess if we are not dead within the hour, she has tried to help you in one way or another."
"Fine." We just stayed in silence, keeping track of time. Every so often, Kronos would turn and try to get an edge on me, but, of course, I was always one step behind him.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Oh, gods," I immediately fumbled inside my pack for the orb. It took a minute or two of random searching, but I finally felt an icy curved surface. Pulling out the sphere, I grabbed onto Brandon and prayed that this would carry both of us. Flicking the middle, I felt myself explode into light.
The next thing I heard was the shattering of a glass.
Chiron stared at me, and then at Brandon, and then back at me. Mr D raised his eyebrows and took the opportunity to peek at Chiron's cards.
"No time to talk. We need to get Brandon help, immediately."
He immediately grabbed Brandon, emerging from his wheelchair. "Get someone, now."
"But our cards!"
"Not now, my friend." Chiron tramped out.
I rushed around the grounds, attracting many astonished and questioning looks from campers. I was still extremely tired from the quest, and the instant teleportation had left me nauseous, but I had to keep moving.
Finally, I spotted a mop of blonde hair and rushed over. Will turned around and flinched.
"Ashley, what the Hades? You were gone for like six months, we thought you were dead."
"Will, there's no time. Brandon's dying and we need you."
"Um..." he looked nervously at the kid behind him. "ok. Just take care of this guy while I rush over, ok?" He started sprinting to the infirmary.
I exhaled in relief and turned to the smaller kid. "Hey, sorry about that. Are you new here?"
He nodded slowly, staring intently at me. "Were you fighting monsters?"
"Um...yeah."
"That's so cool!"
"Um, ok. So, was Will taking you on the tour? I think I can take it from here."
We spent about two hours walking around. It would have gone faster if the kid didn't have seventeen billion questions to ask me about the quest. The whole time while I was showing him around, I couldn't focus. I shivered and chewed my fingernails. It must have been obvious, because the kid suddenly spoke up. "Hey, miss. Maybe you should go check on your friend or something."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
"Ok. Have you been claimed by a godly parent?"
"No..." He looked down awkwardly.
"It's ok. Just go to the Hermes cabin, they'll help you out. Thanks."
Without another word, I began to make my way to the infirmary.
The first thing I registered was the array of bloody bandages lined up on the ground. There were actually piles on the floor, covering the space around Will's legs as he worked feverishly on Brandon. He was dressed in fresh white bandages now and seemed to be breathing more stably. Will turned.
"It's not looking good. He's taken a ton. What the hell did you two do?"
"Well, he may have been tortured for a few weeks..."
"Seriously?"
"And then he may have been stabbed in the back..."
"Oh, come on."
"And then stabbed himself in the stomach after Kronos possessed him."
Will put his face in his hands. "Ok. Kronos possessed him?"
"Yeah...Which prompted him to stab himself..."
Will sighed. "Ok, help me with him."
The rest of the day was spent keeping pressure on certain places while Will fixed Brandon up. Before long, his entire midsection was clean and taken care of. Will took to getting him some food. "You should take care of yourself, Ash. Dinner starts soon. Take a shower or something. Get fresh clothes. Do whatever you need to do. I'll stick with him."
I nodded. On the way back to the cabin, through the shower, and after, all I could think about was how much he had been willing to give up for Camp, for the world.
For me.
Dinner was slightly more uncomfortable than I thought. Everyone seemed extremely happy to see me again. However, there was a little tension from the Hermes table. They all looked at each other with forced smiles, wondering where the others were.
The Ares table was quiet. They not only had to live with the fact that one of their cabin mates had died, but that she had died betraying them and giving information to the enemy. It was uncomfortable talking about what had happened, as we had only been a trio for around three hours. They would not take it well.
After dinner, Chiron gave us a strained welcome back, and told everyone that Brandon was recovering in the infirmary. That did not seem to help the Hermes cabin. What had happened to him?
Finally, everyone trooped off to the campfire. I tried to be happy and to keep the atmosphere lively, and everyone tried to keep the same amount of charm to the experience, but even the fire, tinted green and sitting low, could sense the tension.
We went to bed. I just lay there. I should have just fallen asleep immediately. But I couldn't.