***Leo***
I didn't want to see another fire-not after the one that had killed my mother. I had gone over to fix Piper and Jason's oven, but Thalia started yelling at me to leave. I finished the job in a rush, but I could have sworn I had fixed it right.
Calypso and I were taking a moonlit stroll through the village together when I heard loud and familiar sounding sobs and smelled a familiar scent that made me almost tear up: smoke. Calypso and I ran towards the scene without ever consciously deciding to.
I had to choke down a sob of my own. Piper was crying beside an unconscious Jason, who had an ugly knot forming on his forehead. An ash-covered brick lay beside him. Thalia was slumped out on the ground and from the putrid smell of vomit on her clothes and sour smell of wine, I could tell that she had been drinking. I stared at my friends' house in terror as the smoke billowed from it. Firefighters finally arrived and began fighting the flames, but I knew it was too late to save their house.
I had to force myself not to think of my mother's last moments. Calypso seemed to sense that and she took my hand in her own and led me over to Piper, Thalia, and Jason. "Piper," I said, unable to think of a joke for once. "How did this happen?"
"It started in Thalia's room," Jason said weakly as his eyes fluttered open. "It wasn't your fault. It wasn't the oven."
I felt as if I had discarded a heavy lead jacket that I had been wearing. The guilt was gone, but the fear for my friends was not. "You guys need a place to stay," I said. "Leo's place is the best. It's a good thing you're married Piper or Calypso would be jealous. After all, all the ladies love Leo!"
Piper stared at me and then looked at Jason, who blushed crimson as she helped him up. He groaned as he saw his sister in a half-sitting position on the ground, her eyes closed. "Thalia has been drinking heavily," he said. "I'm not sure how she's been finding all the alcohol."
"Castor and Pollux sell it to her," Piper said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Putrid brick-heads," he cursed.
"They're not the ones who got knocked out by a brick," I pointed out.
"Right," Jason said. "Sign me up for the most useless brother and husband awards."
Right then, Thalia groaned. "Why do I see pine trees?" she asked before promptly vomiting.
Jason and Piper ran over to her and helped her to her feet. Thalia stared at her house, which was now a pile of half-burnt timber, charred bricks, burnt rubble, and piles of ash. "No!" she said and unsteadily walked forward.
Her brother and sister-in-law grabbed her again. "It will be fine,"Jason said in a shaky voice.
"You're alright, Thalia," Piper said in a soothing voice that calmed even my nerves. "Leo is going to take us to his home. We'll get this all figured out. You're alive and that's what matters."
When saying the last part, she met Jason's eyes and something seemed to pass between them. "Come on," I said. "I'll put on tofu tacos tonight and you can sleep in our living room."
"Leo!" Calypso said sharply. "As guests, they should get our bed."
"Yes, mam," I said with a salute and we headed into the sunset towards our house.
***Luke***
I was about to shoot the elephant standing in the peanut field when I felt a punch to my gut. I turned my head to see someone I hadn't seen since she was seven. When I was younger, I had ran away from my mother for a short time. During that time, I had befriended a young girl who read books and played hopscotch outside. That same young girl was glaring at me now, her grey eyes narrowed with dislike. "Annabeth?" I said incredulously.
"What are you doing on my land?" she demanded.
"Shooting an elephant," I stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Why do you sound like you're referencing George Orwell?" she asked with her hands on her hips.
"Who in the world is George Orwell?" I asked.
She sighed. "Nevermind," she said. "I thought I wasn't the only person who actually knows things."
She looked at the elephant munching her crops and smiled. "I can scare him away for you," I offered.
She shook her head. "I am not having you kill Rainbow," she said.
"Rainbow?" I said. "He's just an elephant."
"Tyson is quite fond of him," Annabeth said.
"Who is Tyson?" I asked.
"Tyson is my husband's brother," Annabeth explained.
She paused. "Luke, why are you doing this?" she asked.
"I have to!" I said defensively. "I need to provide for my mother!"
"At the cost of what?" she asked. "You promised me. You said that we were family. You befriended me-don't make me regret it. Don't betray me like my father did."
"Your father?" I said, remembering her strict dad.
"He had me married off to a horrible man named Gabe," she said.
I checked that my gun was loaded. "I'll kill him right here and now," I said, the elephant forgotten.
"He's in jail," Annabeth said. "I married his step-son."
I was still sorely tempted to at least punch her husband, but I lowered my gun. I turned back to the elephant. Its ivory cost enough to feed an entire village. I aimed at the elephant and as I pressed the trigger, Annabeth leaped in front of me and tried to wrestle the gun out of my hands.
I nearly screamed as I saw blood blossoming from her torso, soaking her dress. I loosened my grip off the gun and ran to Annabeth. Rainbow had taken off when he heard the gun going off and was now hastily making a retreat.
I squatted beside Annabeth, whose dress was now soaking in blood and with a jolt of guilt, I realized that she was pregnant. I had not just hurt the friend I had sworn to protect, but I had possibly harmed her unborn child. Annabeth looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. "You promised, Luke," she said. "You promised."
"Annabeth," I said, my voice thick with pain. "I-I'm s-sorry. I never should have-"
"What are you doing here?" a voice asked and I looked up to see a man with black hair and green eyes. "Why are you beside my wife and why is she injured?"
"I well, I," I started to say awkwardly, but Annabeth cut me off.
"Luke made a mistake-a big one," she said, "but he's learned from it now."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You're right, Annabeth Chase," I said. "I've learned from my mistake."
Annabeth's husband helped her up, but she insisted on standing. "Luke, if I see you trying to shoot another elephant, you're dead," she said.
I nodded, still not knowing how she had convinced me to give up my ways. "I will not just stop poaching," I said shakily. "I will go to the police and tell them all that I can about the Titans."
***Rachel***
I was going to leave. I was going to escape the evil armpit that my life was. There would be no more Titans, no more abusive clients, and no more stigma in my life-just pure, wild freedom.
I woke with a sharp pain in my left arm, but no man beside me. I sighed in relief. Bryce must have left early. I curled my lip in disgust just thinking about Bryce Lawrence. He was the most callous, unfeeling person I had ever met and that was saying a lot because I had met Kronos and even he wasn't as sadistic.
Silena and I both ate our breakfast together and as I looked at her puffy eyes and tear-smudged cheeks, I realized that I need not go out alone. "Silena," I whispered into her ear. "Do you want to leave?"
She looked at me like I was a singing lion. "Are you serious?" she finally asked and I nodded,
She wet her lip and nodded, but she still looked terrified at the prospect of leaving. We may have hated the place where we worked and lived, but we had become so accustomed to it that the idea of freedom was somewhat terrifying. It was almost as if we had forgotten what it was like to be free.
When we finally snuck out, we noticed that the men who guarded our barracks were drunk and passed out. I sighed in relief and we left the whole run-down facility and found ourselves at the outskirts of a village. In all the time that I'd been here, I had never actually left the facility. I felt a mixture of fear and excitement-like the first time I had painted with my feet. "What do we do now?" Silena asked, her eyes moving faster than a cheetah.
"We try to find a place to stay," I said, knowing how lame that sounded.
"I'm not certain that-" Silena started to say, but someone grabbed her and covered her mouth with their hands.
I pulled out my blue hairbrush and aimed it at the figure. They yelped in shock and their hood fell off to reveal Bryce Lawrence. Before I could march up to him and make him pay for all the sins he'd committed, I was jerked backwards. "Don't speak or you'll be killed," Octavian hissed.
"How did you find us?" I asked.
"I tracked you with the chip I inserted in your arm," Bryce said with a maniacal laugh.
I bit his hand and he yelped, flailing his hand and accidentally hitting me on the forehead. "Let go of me!" I said and landed a punch on his cheek.
Octavian recoiled and I saw a flash of silver before his fingers were tight around my throat and I saw a knife held against my throat. "Don't try to escape or you'll be killed right now," he hissed.
"You mean, you're killing us anyways?" I asked.
"You see Rachel, it's nothing personal," Octavian drawled," but the farmers want more rain and the only way is to spill more blood."