I'll post a new installment soon!

Leafpool-- I'm keeping you at camp because I want at least one secondary at each camp (Mirax is at Camp Jupiter), as events will be happening there as well. Sit tight, I've got a lot of stuff planned and I'm still trying to turn random ideas into a plot. xD  You'll turn up eventually.

Wwwwwaiiit, wwhhaattt? Oh dear. I just read both your installment and Brook's and now I'm depressed. Oh dear...

Mei, I'm at a camp, and not posting very much at all.

I'll go cry in a corner now... 

  Wow. I just realized yesterday that the Hampton Inn is actually a chain of fancy hotels. Ah well.

  PART VIII

After the incident in the Hampton Inn, the questers wanted to leave Albuquerque immediately. As they were walking out, they couldn't help but wonder how many of the people wandering around were monsters in disguise.

Nobody was really sure how they were going to get to Texas, but nobody mentioned it, either. Before they even realized they had left civilization, the ten were wandering alongside a deserted highway.

"We could hitchhike?" said someone, in a voice not very convincing.

"Nobody's going to let ten random kids ride in their car," said TARDISrider.

They kept walking.

After a million years, a little shop on the side of the road showed up. It was kind of a mini supermarket, with a sign saying Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles in front of it.

The questers were sweltering, and mini supermarkets always had A/C, so they went in without even discussing it.

Instantly, a girl about twelve or so bounded up to them. She had dyed-blue wavy hair, blue eyes with flecks of green and amber, and was an onslaught of color. Her shirt was tie-dyed, her Converses looked almost neon, and she had a dark green headband, a few bracelets, little rainbow earrings, and this purple messenger bag. Strangely, though, it all seemed to come together into a quite nice-looking girl with a few dimples.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "I'm Bluebird, Blue if you prefer. Welcome to Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles, or R.O.F.L.! WHat can I help you with this--" she checked a red watch "--afternoon?"

The questers looked at each other, suddenly realizing they hadn't eaten all day. The racks of food and tie-dye shirts suddenly called out to them-- or maybe it was just their stomachs.

Then again. . .

Automatically, the ten went into a huddle.

"I don't think she's a monster," said St.Owl instantly. "They couldn't pull that off."

It was obvious what she was referring to-- simply the outgoing, unimaginably friendly outlook Bluebird eminated.

"We couldn't have imagined that clerk would have been a cyclopes," shot TARDISrider. "We have plenty of food. We could eat somewhere else."

Brookiera and Mei-xue agreed.

"We want to save our supplies, though," said St.Owl. "Even a monster wouldn't give us poisoned food. They like eating demigods-- if they poison us, we won't be edible!"

"Great," said Indigo sarcastically. "And while we're pigging out-- BANG! We're as dead as Booksy."
The simile had the desired effect-- quite a few people shuffled their feet, looking uncertain.

Suddenly, however, Ashlee said, "Guys-- this is Rainbow Organic Foods and Lifestyles, right?"

Looking curiously at her, they nodded.

"And Bluebird-- that girl's the most colorful person I've ever seen, but. . . couldn't the Iris kids compare?"

Quite a few people went "oooh!"
"Let's ask."

They came out of their makeshift huddle and turned to where Bluebird was standing.

But Bluebird wasn't there.

"It's a trap," groaned Brookiera.

The demigods had begun drawing their weapons when a middle-aged lady came out from the back of the store, Bluebird next to her.

The lady had olive skin, long black hair, and brown eyes with glasses. She was smiling, but with only one side of her mouth, and her head was tilted as if considering a question.

The demigods sheathed their swords and fell to their knees.

Iris looked faintly puzzled. "May I help you?"
"Lady Arcus!" gasped September.

Iris still looked puzzled. "Are you Roman, dear?"
A little shakily, she nodded.

Iris laughed, and it was such a beautiful, reassuring laugh that suddenly even the ten were wondering why they were kneeling. "I'm Iris-- Greek. I take it you've met Blue?"

When she noticed they were still on their knees she said, "Oh, get up! Save that for the big shots."
They got up.

Iris looked them over. "Let me see. . . Athena, Athena, Ares, Athena, Athena, Athena, Poseidon, and. . . Bellona, Bellona, Neptune? It's harder to tell when Roman. But this is delightful, we haven't had a guest in ages! Are you on a quest?"

They nodded.

"What are you doing?" asked Bluebird.

"We're looking for Chimaeras," replied Brookiera. "There are supposed to be a lot of them in Texas."

"Lady Iris," said Mei-xue, "do you know which camp they're targeting?"

Iris sighed and shook her head. "You'd have to ask Apollo, dear. I'm really just a messenger-- but that does remind me. There was something dropped off for you. Blue, would you get it?"

Bluebird nodded and went to the back of the store again.

"Look around!" said Iris brightly. "If you want food or t-shirts, they're half price; life advice is free. We're having a sale-- dreamcatchers are 75% off, and they're guaranteed nightmare catchers! Work for a month."

They did look around, and soon were eating heart-healthy and organic foods (although had enough sense to steer clear of the sugar-free desserts). At that moment, Bluebird came back, holding a tightly wrapped scroll.

"This is for you," she said, handing it to Ashlee.

They thanked the two and left R.O.F.L., feeling much better and incredibly curious about what Ashlee had in her hand.

The scroll read:

Yo. Your quest is cool.

You left without a prophecy.

Here it is for you.

"'Prophecy' is three syllables," said Indigo. "Geez, whoever wrote this is bad."

Eleven little demigods begin the quest

One bangs her head and has a rest

The next is swallowed by one who was her slave

And the third is vanquished when her sister she tries to save.

The fourth is held down by something so dear

And the fifth is isolated year after year.

The sixth is alone and in a final breath

Saves the seventh, haunted by death.

The eighth will fall at her highest mark,

And the ninth changes the tale of the singing, springing lark.

The tenth will go into an enchanted sleep

And the eleventh awake her when over her bed she doth weep.

 On autumn's door the questers four

Will truly save the land

But in the end it is for naught--

There was a bigger plan.

Love,

Apollo.

Apollo, you little cheesecake. I knew you were going to be the one to write our prophecy. This is probably why Zeus got on your case in The Trials of Apollo.

  PART IX

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

And then they all began talking at once.

"This sounds like that poem from And Then There Were None!" St.Owl kept saying.

"What's the bigger plan?"
"Is the one who bangs her head Booksy?"
"Who's haunted by death?"

"APOLLO, YOU LITTLE CHEESECAKE!"

A few people laughed at Brookiera's outburst. "Cheesecake?"

She shrugged.

"I think we should go over this," said Ashlee. "Like-- we know what the first two lines mean. Eleven little demigods went on a quest-- pretty straightforward. One bangs her head and has a rest. I think that's Booksy. . ."

She didn't have to go on. Everyone understood.

"I suppose the poem's describing what happens to us. But it doesn't really make sense. None of us have slaves. . . I think this is the kind of thing that only makes sense after the fact."

The rest of the sentence hung silently in the air: So the line that describes you, you'll never be able to decipher.

"But the end is kind of clear too. On autumn's door the questers four--"

"So there'll be only four of us left alive," said Young Writer, "by autumn."

"And Will truly save the land-- I suppose we stop the chimaeras?"

"But in the end it is for naught/there was a bigger plan," recited Mei-xue. "Maybe we can figure out what this 'bigger plan' is, and stop the prophecy!"
TARDISrider shook her head. "Haven't you read the stories? Bad things happen to people who try to thwart prophecies."

"So you're expecting me to just twiddle my thumbs and wait for my turn to die?"
"I'm expecting you to help us do what we're supposed to do so that if you do die, you've actually done something worthwhile!"
TARDISrider and Mei-xue were shooting each other dirty looks.

"Okay," said Ashlee quickly. "I guess we just keep going."

They got up, having nothing better to do, and started walking along the road again. St.Owl was perusing a map they had bought at R.O.F.L., looking rather pale. Then she suddenly laughed.

"What?" asked the questers.

She pointed at one of the marks on the map. "There's a place in New Mexico called Moriarty? As in, the Sherlock James Moriarty? That's kind of awesome."
A few of the Sherlockians had to agree, but as it wasn't a major point and this scene probably would have been deleted if the author wasn't a Sherlockian herself, they moved on.

Eventually, they came to a river by the side of the road. Cockleburr and Brookiera in particular were very happy to see it, and everyone was soon wading in it, enjoying the coolness that it offered.

The river soon began to get deeper and spread, until the ten were walking around a lake. St.Owl checked her map again.

"I think this is the UTE lake," she said. "We must have been walking along Route 54. We're not too far from Texas."

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: YES, THERE IS A STATE PARK THERE AND PROBABLY NOT A RIVER, BUT IT'S FOR THE STORY. INACCURACIES ARE COMMON.]

The sun was getting lower in the sky, so they set up camp (having bought a large tie-dye tent from R.O.F.L.) by the lake and had a heart-healthy, organic dinner.

In the morning, the results of the long trek they'd had yesterday started to show. There were blisters on quite a few feet, and everyone's legs were sore. After a lot of arguing, they agreed to take one rest break before starting off again the next day.

Cockleburr and Brookiera went off to swim in the UTE lake. The others had to envy them-- if only they had powers that rejuvenated them as soon as they went into the water! Cockleburr and Brookiera seemed not to notice this, though, and when they came back with fish for lunch, nobody was complaining.

The day had been excellent, with a lot of loafing around. St.Owl was feeling very accomplished, as she had finally cried over Dumbledore's death. However, she also seemed to be a little more distant with the others, something they pushed aside as worry over the prophecy.

Brookiera finally finished her swimming and was hanging out on land with everyone else, but Cockleburr was still out there. She had been highly enjoying herself, testing out her telepathic powers on fish and other sea life.

As the sun began to dip behind the hills again, and Brookiera was talking about fetching Cockleburr so they could eat, a scream pierced the still air.

Without a second thought, the daughter of Neptune plunged into the waves.

The eight others ran around the shore, muttering about diving in and arrow shots and why they didn't bring a bathing suit and Brookiera's got this when a gigantic sea serpent reared out of the water, Cockleburr clutching on for dear life, Brookiera jabbing at its scales wth a trident. Mei-xue had pulled out a bow and was nocking an arrow, but by the time she was ready they'd gone back under again.

When the serpent rose, blue scales flashing, Cockleburr was nowhere to be seen and it was Brookiera this time who was clutching on for dear life, shimmying up the dripping snake. Mei-xue fired her arrow and it hit the serpent in the eye, but far from injuring it, it simply let out a roar of pain and shook Brookiera off its back in a rage. As she was falling, she demonstrated some excellent reflexes and stabbed it under the neck; her friends cheered, but the serpent didn't seem to care. Undaunted, it dove right towards Brooke and the questers looked away as blood filled the water--

When they looked back, the serpent was floating, limp, in the water-- Brookiera had killed it with her well-delt injury to the neck, but taken her own life in the process.

"The next is swallowed by the one who was her slave," recited Young Writer quietly, "And the third is vanquished when her sister she tries to save. Cockleburr can control sea animals, and she and Brookeira are technically sisters."

Figuring out two more lines of the prophecy did not really comfort the now-eight questers. They turned their backs on the lake and went back to the tent for another uneasy rest.

___

Happy belated birthday, Cockleburr-- here's your death, wrapped up all pretty for you.