Young Writers Society

The world is falling apart. Under the influence of Eris, Greek goddess of discord, Hera turned against Zeus. Olympus is now split in two, locked in a bitter and bloody war.To make matters worse, it has bled into the mortal world.

And it started with Camp Half Blood.

Now, with gods, demigods, and mortals alike fighting a never-ending battle and Camp Half Blood no longer a safe haven from violence, those who still cling to peace are left to hide in the shadows. Luckily, there is still one safe place. In the center of Raleigh, North Carolina, there is a statue of George Washington, a Greek demigod, wearing Roman armor the statue was built by the Gods after the Civil War to exude an aura of peace between Greeks and Romans. This symbol of peace serves as a gateway to a small base settled in a chamber of the labyrinth. This is the place you and the few people who still cling to peace call home.
You and your fellow neutralists now embark on an epic quest. Your mission: Take down Eris. If you do, Hera will be freed from her control and this madness will end once and for all. But beware. Keep your eyes open, friends. Because nothing on this road may be what it seems.

Now that you know your situation, hero, I will inform you of the rules.


And of course, you can't be a hero without creating one!



I hope to see you soon, friends. Gods know I cannot do this alone.

Rose Rolander

Rose sat up and sighed. She had been laying on some ferns near the lake at Camp Half-blood. She heard footsteps and groaned. She really only wanted to be left alone. Maybe they would go past her. She had only been here a year and didn't really know anybody, and while she wouldn't mind some friends, was shy and very cautious about trusting people. The lake was her favorite part of the camp. Just then she heard a voice in her head and smiled. Her mother was calling her.

MICKEY HALEN
I find that there’s nothing more peaceful than a casual afternoon walk in a magical maze. By now I knew the small portion of the labyrinth me and the other demigods inhabited by touch. Here on the wall was an old cut where a sword had slashed against it, and on the floor a slight dip where it had been dented or maybe blown apart altogether. I’d fallen into that thing enough to know it was there even before Laleps pulled away from it. I stumbled a bit as he swerved, and he waited for me to regain my footing.
“Thanks, buddy.” I rubbed his head and I felt his wagging tail brush my knees. Distantly, I heard the echo of another voice. Laleps stopped wagging. I felt the skin on his head wrinkle a little as his ears pricked. I knealt down beside him. “What’s up, Lay?”
He bolted. I yelped as I was pulled off my feet and his harness slipped from my fingers. His nails clattered against the stone, growing fainter and fainter as he drew farther away.
“Come back!” I felt my way to my feet. “Laleps hey come on don’t just--Ah, Styx!” The sound of Laleps’ charge soon faded into silence, and all of the sudden my dark world seemed a whole lot darker. I paced carefully, keeping a hand on the battered wall. “Okay Mickey…you’ve pretty much just lost your eyes.” The sound of my own voice echoed through the maze. The other voice had gone silent. I sat back down. “Come on, man. You gotta trust Laleps. He wouldn’t just leave you here…even though that’s kinda what he did.” A cold wind seemed to blow through my body. “He’ll be back, I’m sure.”
Time seemed to pass more slowly when I was alone. I kept alert, searching for any vibration that the odd gentle hum of the maze, whistling a tuneless rendition of a campfire song. After a forever that was more likely just a minute, The clicking of nails against stone came back into earshot, joined by the soft footfalls of another person.
“Mickey?” The person called softly. I recognized the voice immediately and turned towards it.
“That you, Ash?”
There was only a second’s hesitation before she answered. “Um…yeah.”
More clattering as Laleps made a beeline for me. I felt his wet nose gaze me briefly as he sniffed me up and down, searching for injury. “It’s alright, bud. I’m fine.” The damp examination continued.
I stood, giving his ears a reassuring rub. “Thanks for bringing him back.” Laleps sneezed, sending a wet spray into my face. “Augh! Dog snot!”
Ash laughed. I smiled at the sound.
“I thought you might be wandering around here.” Another voice, female and slightly irritated, echoed from the end of the hall. I stood and grabbed Laleps’s harness. “Olivia! Always a pleasure to see you.”
I could almost hear Olivia’s impatient look. “Mickey, you can’t see.”
I waved a playful finger. “Let’s not get into technicalities. What can I do for you this fine evening?”
“Ray’s called a meeting. He sent me down to get you.” And with that she turned and marched back the way she came.
I shrugged, and looked over at where I sensed Ash was. “I guess we’d better go then.”

Rose Rolander.

Rose blinked as she returned to the lake. She groaned and shook her arm. It was stiff and sore and tired after the training. She heard someone yelling her name. It was Olivia.

"I'm over here Olivia." Olivia came crashing through the brush.
"There you are." She said.
"Here I am." Rose answered, "What's up?"
Olivia shrugged.
"Not much. Ray's called a meeting. I've already fetched Mickey and Ash. I came to get you."

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Alright. Let's go."
"You don't sound real happy." Olivia remarked. Rose shrugged.
"I'm fine. Just tired. I just got done training again."
"Ah." Olivia said. Then peered at Rose's face.
"You had nightmares again last night, didn't you? You have dark circles under your eyes."
"Really?" Rose said, "Thanks for noticing. I was afraid I'd crack the mirror if I looked into it. And yes, I had flashbacks again last night."
Olivia sighed and rolled her eyes. Rose was so sarcastic at times.
"Is it really that noticeable?" Rose asked. Oliva walked ahead of her and turned to face Rose, walking backwards.
"Yeah, it's pretty noticeable."
"Thanks." Rose grumbled.
"You asked." Olivia replied.
"I know I did. What do you suppose Ray's called this meeting for?"
Olivia shrugged.
"Who knows?"

Mehenia Garthen

She knew it was likely that she would never even use her weapons anyway.

Besides the fact that her group's attempt to make peace hadn't progressed lately, Mia knew that she was the youngest in the group, which allowed her to be protected and coddled from the scary, big world out there.

She growled in frustration and parried an invisible enemy, flicking her bronze daggers in a series of complicated moves. The metal sparked as she hit the stone walls of the maze, but she kept fighting. Mia had to prove to them that she could defend herself. Otherwise, they would never let her do anything on her own.
I'll show them, she thought fiercely. I'll--

"Mia?"

She nearly dropped her daggers. Caroline had snuck up on her again. Slowly sheathing her weapons, Mehenia looked at the dream-walker. "Yeah?"

"Ray called a meeting."

"Be right there."

As Caroline walked away, Mia took one last look at the walls around her. For a moment it felt like they were pushing her in, confining her to the last place she was able to call home.

She made a valiant effort to push those thoughts away. Depressing, neurotic feelings did no good to anyone's self-esteem. Placing a firm hand on the hilt of one of her daggers, Mia raced down the hall, following Caroline's retreating back.

Olivia Gresham
Ray looked over at me as I entered the chamber. He was sitting on a cot in the center of the little cluster of pallets that served as our sleeping quarters. Everyone else was scattered casually in the same general area.
Back at camp when meetings like these were called by Chiron, everything was so organized. All the cabin leaders sitting around the table with him at the head. Chiron disappeared as soon as the war started at camp. Remembering sent my heart up to throb painfully in my throat, so I pushed the memories away and focused on my own more disorganized pack of stray teenagers.

“What took so long?” Ray called out to me. I shrugged, pretending indifference.

“Cross-country travel.” Ray raised an eyebrow at me so I explained. “I don’t know how she did it, but Rose was all the way back at camp.”

“It’s not my fault!” Rose protested. “I went a little bit outside our borders, and the tunnels switched around on me. I thought I’d found the gateway back to here!”

“Not the best thing for the nervous system I’ll bet,” Mickey conceded, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “Seeing as everyone’s tryin’ to kill each other there.”

“It’s fine, Rose.” Ray sighed “Just don’t do it again. Remember I was only able stop this part of the labyrinth from moving.” He gestured for us to take a seat. Rose sat down next to Laleps, who was laying on Mickey’s feet. The dog wagged lazily and kicked his back leg as Rose scratched his back. I sat at the front. Ray’s eyes met mine and I turned my head away to look at Laleps. The animal was almost comatose by now. He lay belly up and squirming with pleasure as Rose rubbed the white patch on his chest. Mickey kept staring blankly ahead, not seeming to notice.

“Now that we’re all here, we can finally call this meeting to order.” The minute Ray said it, everyone perked up. Rose stopped petting Laleps, who regretfully rolled back over and fell asleep. I’ll give the guy one thing, he can command respect.

“So what’s this all about, Ray?” Mehenia piped up from her seat beside Ash.

He leaned forward. “We can’t let all of this go on anymore.” The moment of silence afterwards was charged with confusion. Ash and Roland exchanged a glance and Roland shrugged.

“What are you suggesting we do?” Mickey sounded just about as serious as I’d ever heard from him before. His face was still. Unreadable.

Ray swept the room with a dark stare “I’m suggesting we take action.”

“What?” Ash’s eyes stretched wide. At the sound of her sudden exclamation, Laleps blinked awake and lifted his head sleepily.

“What’s the use of protesting this war in the first place if all we do is hide down here?” Ray waited, as if expecting someone to respond. “No one out there is going to stop it, are they?”

“I don’t know…” Roland spoke up cautiously. “There are only nine of us. If we did what I imagine you want us to do, we’d have to up against almost all of Olympus, and the entire mortal world. The chances of us actually succeeding at this is—is astronomical at best!”

“Then we get allies!” Mehenia stood up and faced the rest of us. “There has to be more people out there than just us. Ray’s right. We have to at least try!”

“We’re only kids!” Ash argued.

“And what have kids like us done so far?” Mehenia pointed out, starting to tick them off on her fingers. “Stolen a sacred lightning bolt from Hades. Fought giants. Killed a goddess. Do I need to make you a list?”

“Well we aren’t Percy, Mia!”

“But we’re still demigods.” A small, quiet voice drifted from the back of the group, silencing the bickering instantly. Caroline shyly stood and crept up to stand beside Mehenia. “People are dying out there, guys. And we’re the only ones in the entire world who are prepared to do anything about it. I say we go.”

The room remained suspended in an awed silence for a few moments. Staring at the shy young girl as if she’d just sprouted angel wings. Caroline shrunk into herself a little.

“Thank you, Caroline.” Ray broke the silence. Even his voice, which was usually full and charged with authority, sounded hushed. Caroline smiled at him a little.

Rose shook her head. “Well I think all three of you are crazy.”

Ray focused his gaze on where Mickey was sitting. He was smaller now somehow, his usually straight posture folding into itself so he was supporting himself with his arms on his knees. His sightless eyes were fixed on the ground. Ray’s eyebrows pricked downward, and he squinted a little as if struggling to focus on something. Then the expression eased a little. “Mickey…”

“Look I don’t know, man!” Mickey’s voice was charged with an odd emotion I couldn’t quite make out. “I just…I guess…I don’t know.”
Ray looked toward me next. I flooded my mind with as many thoughts as it could carry at once, letting one stand out. Stay out of my head. His expression didn’t change. “Olivia, what about you.”
I looked out at the others, then back up at him. My hand closed around the dog tags around my neck. “We should get some time to think it over. We’ll come back later and put it up to a vote.”

“I had a feeling you’d say something like that.” Ray sighed. He paused then, seeming to consider. “Alright, then. Take the rest of the afternoon to consider it. We’ll come together tomorrow and make our final decision then.” He stood, signaling the end of the meeting. The others quickly went their separate ways, leaving me alone with Ray. I turned and started hurrying away.

“Olivia.”

I closed my eyes and sighed, then slowly turned around. “Yes?”

“I really do think we can do it.”

“You wouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t.”

There was a heavy silence. He attempted a smile kind of like the one Caroline had given him. “It’s…a little harder than getting a golden apple, I guess.”

I turned away. “Since there doesn’t seem to be anything you need me to do, I’m going to leave. I have a lot of thinking to do.”

Ray Patel

Ray's right forefinger pressed into the cool marble of the plinth of the George Washington statue at Raleigh City Hall, tracing out in golden light the message he wanted to be seen. After a few minutes, he was finished and wiped the sweat off his brow.

It was barely lunch time, but Ray was already tired due to the complicated nature of the magic he had just used. What he had written into the stone would light up to any demigod passing by-and only to them-which was basically a call to all neutralists, asking for any who would stand with them for peace, with instructions to knock on the ground in front of it if they wanted to join.

The plan was that Ray would then come up out of the entrance a little way away, and talk to them and ascertain their true intent before letting them inside.

I hope it works, too. We have so few...we could use the numbers. thought Ray grimly.

"I'm back." said a voice from behind him, and turned to see Olivia, wearing an obviously heavy backpack. His heartbeat immediately quickened when he saw her, the sight of the face he'd seen and cared about for years having an immediate effect on him.

"Let me help you with that." he said, moving to take the backpack from her.

"Nooooo, thank you." she replied, pushing away his offered arm. "Just open the entrance, will you?"

Ray sighed. Will she ever talk to me the way she used to? he wondered as next to the right of the plinth, placing his palm on the delta engraved on it's side. "Daedalus." he muttered, and the ground underneath rumbled as a slab of stone moved aside, revealing a staircase going down.

Ray let Olivia go first, before following, closing the doorway behind him. He ignored the wrenching and groans he heard as he descended, the protests of the Labyrinth for being made stood still, as it strained against his magical bonds. Ray had managed to persuade it to be still before constraining it, and Labyrinth hadn't been too happy for being tricked since then.

Ray was just happy that the Labyrinth wasn't whole as it had been before, or the power might've been to great to overcome. The part they were in was one of the few surviving sections that dotted North America here and there. The entrances shifted here and there, though, as Rose had learnt to her surprise that morning.

Ray and Olivia walked into their main chamber and sleeping quarters. Mehenia, Roland and Ash were playing a card game on one of the cots, Mickey was playing with Laleps while talking to Caroline, and Rose was talking to Ed- and blushing, surprisingly.

But all of them turned to look at Ray when he entered the room. Ray too that in for a moment. Ever since they had fled Camp, the other pacifists had been looking to him for decisions and leadership, and after him, Mickey, for the simple reason that Ray's power and ability and Mickey's knowledge f safe places and skill at transversing the godly realm beneath the surface of the mortal realm was what had kept them alive so far. He hoped he could live up to their expectations.

Then Ray noticed, with surprise, that when Rose looked at him, she blushed, glancing at Ed, then back at him. He was curious as to what was happening, but pushed that feeling down to deal with the moment.

Ray quickly composed himself, before calling out, "Lunchtime, guys! Let's get going, get in line." and they all file into an orderly queue as Ray and Olivia handed out Happy Meals (literally).

"McDonald's again?' moaned Mia as she grabbed the paper bag from Olivia's hand.

"Not too fond of it myself, but it's still the cheapest thing available unfortunately. And may I remind you we don't have too much money?" replied Ray drily.

Mia grumbled but walked back to her cot. After serving everyone, Olivia and Ray themselves each took one before they, too, retired to their cots to eat.

Ray quickly wolfed down the basically grease sandwich (believing it best to get it over quickly before he barfed) and looked around. Noticing Olivia was looking at their money n her cot on the far side of the room, walked over to her cot and sat down beside her.

"How're we doing?" he asked.

Olivia glanced up at him with annoyance before replying, "Not too good. McDonald's has raised their prices due to the rise in meat prices with the new war tax. We have enough for maybe four days more, tops."

That's not good he thought, with an inner groan. "I guess we need help."

Olivia nodded. "Godly help would be best. Got any gods you can speak to to help us out with?"

Ray shook his head. "No...as you know, only Iris is still talking to us, and then only on the sly so she doesn't get in trouble. She might be able to lend us some human money from her store, but I doubt it will be much. It didn't seem a very profitable place."

Olivia pondered that for a moment before saying, "Wait, I think I heard Rose say she's talked to her mom recently. If she can contact her, maybe she can get help."

Ray nodded thoughtfully. "Good idea. I'll ask her later. In the meanwhile, how are we doing?"

Olivia frowned at him. "I just answered that." she muttered.

Ray raised an eyebrow. "I meant us. You and me. Just asking 'cause you seem to be glaring and scowling at me more than usual these days."

Olivia glared at him. "There is no you and me, Ray, There hasn't been for a very long time." and with that, she stood up and walked off.

Ray sighed as he looked around the room. The cot was far enough away from the others, and their voices quiet enough that no one else had heard the content of what they had said, but the tone of their voices and their expressions must've been clear to the others as the signs of something not good. Several glanced at him nervously.

Ray silently went to lie on his cot. He was still tired from his magic writing and the strong words with Olivia had made him unwilling to face her yet. Besides, he needed to keep his strength up if he was going to lead the group on a quest soon. There wouldn't be much time to rest on the road. He just hoped he could bring everyone through safely.

Rose Rolander

Rose sighed. She sat on her cot, her face turned to the wall. She looked at her sandwich. She wasn't really hungry. She got up and went to Mickey.
"Are you still hungry?" She asked. Mickey looked up.
"No, Rose, not really. Laelps is though." Rose looked down at the dog.
"Can I give him my sandwich?" She asked. Mickey shrugged.
"I guess, though you should eat it." Rose sighed at his reply.
"I'm not really hungry." She gave her sandwich to Laelps.
"Is something wrong?" Asked Mickey.
"No not really. I'm going back to my cot." Rose got up and walked away. She couldn't stop thinking about what Ray had said. She wanted to fight. She saw Ray and Olivia talking and sighed. She laid down on her cot. She was tired. Five minutes later she was asleep.

An hour later.
Rose bolted upright. She couldn't see anything. She was choking, she couldn't breath, it was dark all around. She bolted off her bed and ran out of the sleeping area, bumping into a cot, heard a voice, but didn't stop. She ran all the way out and to the entrance that Ray had closed. He was the only one who could open it. Rose sank to her knees and leaned against the wall. She was trembling and sweating and breathing hard. She crouched against the wall, trying to hide, hide from what? What a terrible dream! She looked down the hall and suddenly screamed. Blackness all around, she heard the water, and then she saw him. Posideon, god of the sea, with his huge triton pointed at a sailing ship. He looked at Rose, then flung his triton at the ship. She saw a familiar shape thrown over the side of the ship. Her father. She screamed again, Tears coursing down her face. Then it was gone. She hadn't been dreaming again, she knew that. She had just seen her dream again without actually falling asleep. She heard voices calling her name.
"Rose! Rose!" It was Olivia and Ray. She crouched even further into the wall.
They came running up.
"Rose!" That was Olivia. "Rose, are you alright?" Rose just looked at her. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying, which was still doing.
"She's had a nightmare and a hallucination." Ray said. Rose looked at him, not wanting to know what he meant. Then she gasped and her eyes opened wide. She was back in the sea, but this time Posideon was coming towards her with his triton raised. There was anger and laughter in his face.
"Rose!" Olivia shook her but got no response. Rose looked at where Ray was standing and saw her father, dead. She screamed and covered her face with her hands.
"Make it stop!" She sobbed.

Caroline Reed

“Make it stop!” Rose screamed shielding her eyes.

“Move.” I said from behind Ray and Olivia.

“No. She may become violent. Everyone just needs to get back.” Ray said waving me back.

“Ray…” I said quietly. Olivia looked back at me, and swatted at his arm.

“Let her do her thing. She’ll be okay.” She said giving me a soft reassuring smile. Ray opened his mouth to protest but moved aside. I slowly moved towards Rose with a grace my mother once used on me. I knelt at her side, and held out my hand.

“Rose...Can you hear me? If you can, I want you to grab my hand.” Tears were falling from her eyes, and she swatted at my hand sending a scratch across my wrist. I dont flinch, and I push farther towards her. “Rose. It's okay…” I take a deep breath sending sleep aura around her.

“No...no...I don't want to go back to sleep.” She whimpers.

“Trust me.” Her eyes begin to flutter and her body relaxes falling into my embrace. I wrap my arms around her shoulders, and begin to slowly stroke her hair. “It's okay Rose. It's okay. Your dad is waiting for you.” As her eyes finally close, a small smile washes across her face.

“Dad…” She whispers falling fast asleep. I fall into her dreams for a moment clouding all the nightmares that lurk at the edge of her unconscious. Tonight, all she will see is a never ending sea and her father's shining face as he holds her close.

I open my eyes to see Ray and Olivia standing over me waiting and watching. I stand grabbing the unconscious Rose in my arms.

“I can take her.” Ray offers but I brush him off.

“I’ve got her. She’ll sleep for a long time tonight so try to be noise conscious.”

“Of course. Thank you Caroline.” I don't say anything as I walk Rose back to her bunk and place her gently down onto the worn mattress.

“Sleep well.” I place my hand on her head, and leave letting her dreams carry her away. “I sometimes forget that we’re all still kids..”

--------------------------


As nighttime creeps around, I slowly approach the entrance where Olivia waits in a chair with her eyes half open.

“I’ll take first watch.” I say timidly doing my best not to startle her. Olivia, unfazed as usual, looks over to me with peering eyes.

“You always take first watch Caroline. And then you never wake anyone up for the second watch.” She says crossing her arms.

“I know. But I promise that I would wake anybody up if I ever felt even the tiniest bit sleepy. You know that.” I assure her. “Besides you've done a lot today. I haven't.” Olivia sighs in frustration.

“You know Caroline I've never seen you sleep, not once. Not since we've been here.”

“Please Olivia, stop worrying so much. This is who I am and this war is not going to change that. You and Ray both know that you're going to be the ones that are going to lead us. Which means you need to stop trying to do everything by yourselves, and get some rest. Let me help you. Staying awake, that's what I'm good at.” I grab her arm pulling her away from the entrance. “Please just let me do is for you. I'm better suited for helping these people get some rest than I am getting rest myself.” I say looking down. Olivia eventually yawns walking back towards the sleeping quarters.

“Just promise me you'll wake me up this time.”

“Of course.” I lie. If I'm lucky Roland won't notice that I used the sleeping aura on Olivia. I had to or she would've argued with me for at least another twenty five minutes.

It's not long after Olivia leaves that I feel the wave of sleep fall over the sleeping quarters. It's been a long few days recently, and the exhaustion of everyone has added up very quickly. I close my eyes as I make my rounds passing through everyone's dreams not making myself visible to anyone inside them. I can't stay anyplace longer than a few moments unless I want my father to track me. It's only when I completely shut down someone's unconscious that I am able to avoid my father's hunting, but I can't do that to everyone. Not without hurting myself in the process. I've done my best to correct everyone's nightmares but I can't do what I did for Rose to everyone. Most of my remaining energy was drained from doing that. Dreams are difficult and manipulating them is even more difficult.

“Caroline…” It's morning now, and I open my eyes to a face I had been avoiding for most of the night.

Aedolas "Ed" Forsyth

“I sometimes forget that we’re all still kids.” Caroline's words still ring in my ears as I turn in for the night and start going over all the day's events and conversations in my head. I'd seen Ray and Olivia sharing strong words earlier and knew instantly that we were running out of money for food and that's bad. It adds up to all the reasons that I should leave and give them one less mouth to feed, but of course my plans for leaving involve searching for others who need help and bringing them here and then there'll be more mouths to feed and round and round it goes.

Every way I look at it, we're in deep trouble and nobody seems to have any answers. Not even me. I know things, the kind of things that I have no right to know, like Zeus actually prefers beer over wine and Neptune's afraid of women. But I don't know what we're meant to do next or how we stop this war.

Then there's the group relationships which are strained at best and complicatedly intertwined at worst. I've known for some time that Rose has a crush on Ray, maybe longer than she's been willing to admit it herself, but I didn't mean to confront her about it now. It can't end well. Not with the way Ray's still hung up over Olivia and whether she feels anything back for him or not - I don't know that one - it leaves Rose in the same hopeless state that I'm in. And that... it hurts. It shouldn't matter, not with the war and the deaths and... yeah. It shouldn't matter, but somehow it does.

Then there's the nightmares. Caroline seems to be the only thing holding half the group together, though how she manages to do it every night, I honestly don't know. If it wasn't for her abilities to help the group sleep, I'm sure that we'd be at each others' throats by now, or we might have already split and gone our separate ways. But how long can she keep it up? There she is, by the door, keeping watch like always. I've to go to sleep soon, I know she can't start helping the others rest more easily until I do, but knowing something is true and doing something about it are both such different things.
__________________

Morning came slowly as Ed tried to hold on to the last wisps of his dream of being back at home with his father but the warm, smokiness of the small log cabin soon gave away to the coolness of their labyrinth den.

Ed dragged himself off the cot and changed into some slightly less smelly clothes, though by this point there wasn't a lot of difference between them. They only had one small water source down here and they needed that for drinking so they couldn't justify washing very often. The only thing Ed missed more than three round meals a day was a hot, refreshing shower.

"Everyone, we need to talk," Ray announced as Ed was fastening his shoes.

"Again?" Mickey asked. "Can we do it after breakfast? I'm so hungry I could eat Roland's socks!"

"Hey, eat your own socks," Roland shot back as he ran a hand through his mussed, black hair. "I'm saving mine for Ash." He winked at the blue eyed girl and she shook her head and mumbled under her breath:

"Like I'd want them."

Ed tried to hide a smile of his own; Ash was always so shy around anyone other than Roland - that boy could charm the birds out of the trees with those warm, grey eyes and his easy smile.

"No, I want to get an early start," Ray insisted as he stood with his arms crossed and waited for everyone to stop goofing around.

"A start on what?" Mehenia asked sharply. "Are we going to leave the labyrinth?" There was a tense excitement in her voice and Ed didn't blame her; they'd all been stuck down here too long.

"Wait we didn't vote on that yet," Olivia protested. "I'm not saying no, but we all have to make the decision."

Ed nodded and others murmured their assent around the room.

"Let's vote," Ed agreed. "But Ray, maybe you should tell us what the plan is. I agree that we should be doing something, but we've got to have a plan first and I'm sure everyone will feel better about going if they know where we're going to."

Post down below.

Mehenia Garthen

I can't believe it. Her mind raced, excitement flowing through her veins.

Finally, after so many days of worried waiting and pointless training, they were getting somewhere. Mehenia was sure that everyone would vote to leave--after all, wasn't everyone sick of being cooped up in the labyrinth? She wanted to be like the legendary Seven--heroic, courageous, always sacrificing themselves to save the day. Mia wanted to be like that... except she never got the chance to. Now...

"I vote to leave!" she exclaimed, twirling a dagger in her hand. "I want to--"

"Mia!" Mickey said, a note of apprehension in his voice. "You're too young to go. You're only fourteen! Besides, we haven't even voted yet. You have to stay here!"

"Mickey! Calm down. What's the point of arguing if we're trying to make peace between the gods themselves?" Olivia turned back to the others. "Now, let's get back to that plan we were trying to make. Before we go riding into the sunset looking for monsters to assault... where would we go?

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Mickey responded. "Washington D.C. There are so many signs of the gods being there, it's basically sacred to them."

"That's wonderful," Mia said with a frown. "I'm sure it's pretty much sacred to monsters, too."

"You were the one who wanted to go," Mickey hissed. She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see her.

"If we are going, I say we split up into two groups so that we attract fewer monsters," said Rose, ever the strategist.

"That leads us back to the question of whether or not we want to go. Let's take a vote--who wants to go?"

It was a unanimous vote. Mehenia could hardly keep herself from jumping into the air.

"Alright. Now--Ray, you're obviously going to lead one group. Mickey, you always seem to know where we're heading. Why don't you lead the other group?" said Olivia.

"I'll go with Ray," Rose said immediately. Mia squinted at the older girl. She was no daughter of Aphrodite, but...

"I'll go with Mickey," Roland added. Ashton followed suit, and so did Caroline. Mia decided to go with Ray. He was a powerful demigod who seemed to be a great leader, and he was one of the few who had actually read some books in their group. With luck, she could strike up a little book discussion with him as they traveled.

"I'm with Ray," she said. Olivia went with Ray as well, and Ed went with Mickey.

Mehenia threw her dagger up into the air, caught it, and smiled wickedly at nobody in particular. "So--when do we go?"

Ashton Vallin
She was nervous, but when was she not? Most of her nervous energy came from the fact that she was going on patrol with Mickey. Mickey... She didn't know what he felt about her but he was so... strong. Despite his disabilities, he was still one of the most amazing people she'd ever met. It was no question, she was head over heels in love with him, but she wouldn't let herself admit it. No, that would be too embarrassing. She was jolted back to the present when Mia started to whoop.

"WOOHOO ROAD TRIP!" Ash admired this girl's spunk and energy. Sometimes she wished she could be like that. They decided to stick together until the train station but then they would go their separate ways. Ray's group was going to take the bus rather than the train. Ash was glad Roland was with her. She wasn't really comfortable on her own without him. He touched her shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you even if we're not together physically." She nodded to him and held his hand. His gentle touch and his warm skin were very comforting. It was like she was back at camp, just enjoying her time in the woods singing softly to herself. She missed camp a lot and was hoping, as soon all of this was over, she could go back to the small, isolated pond not a lot of people could find and sing to the nymphs and the animals like she used to.

She had gotten so lost in her thoughts she didn't even realize they were at the train station until she almost walked into a pole. Roland yanked her backward and she blushed, hoping no one else noticed. If they did, they didn't show it.

"It says on the schedule that the train to DC will be coming in five minutes," said Caroline, "Thank goodness we got here in time. The next bus wouldn't have come until almost an hour afterward." Ray nodded and motioned to the rest of the group.

"We can sit for a little bit until the train comes." Everyone murmured in agreement and started to squish on the empty bench.

"It's a wonder they still have the train system up," commented Mia, "You would think that would have shut down because of the war." Mickey shrugged.

"Mortals man, they're weird." Ash was about to sit down when she noticed Rose was staring intently in one direction.

"Rose?" she asked quietly, "Is everything alright?"

"There's something strange coming from over there," she said, "I can't explain it but the atmosphere seems... off." Ash stared in the same direction that she was but she couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. She heard the train pull up and Roland calling her name. She walked over to see Mickey and the rest of his group getting onto the train. Roland let her go in front when a monstrous roar echoed throughout the space. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. Suddenly, a hellhound seemed to materialize from thin air and bounded straight towards the train. Roland pushed her inside and the hellhound bowled him over snarling and snapping at the son of Hades.

"ROLAND!" The train doors were closing and Ash let out the biggest scream she could. She ran to one of the windows and started to bang on it. She felt arms encircle her abdomen and suddenly Mickey was there, pulling her back from the window. She was crying and fighting but her struggling ceased as Mickey comforted her. She'd never been away from Roland for very long and the prospect was terrifying.

She wasn't sure what she would do.

Olivia Gresham
“Who votes to go?” Rose said, raising her own hand. Mehenia’s jumped up next, followed closely by Ed’s and Caroline’s. I raised one hand, and with the other I held my mother’s dog tags, rubbing the worn letters of her name engraved on the metal. This is what she would have wanted me to do. Mickey’s hand crept up slowly, as if it were being pulled up by a string. I looked to Ray and noticed he was looking at Mickey with something like remorse in his eyes. Another moment, and all our hands were in the air. Ray nodded. Suspicion pricked at the back of my mind. I turned to face the others.
“Alright. Now Ray, you’re obviously going to lead a group.” Despite anyone’s protests. I added silently. Ray opened his mouth to take over. “Mickey,” I cut him off before he could speak. “you always seem to know where you’re going. Why don’t you lead the other one.” Ray closed his mouth and scowled at me. I pretended not to notice.

“I’ll go with Ray!” Rose’s response was instantaneous. Ray looked over at her with raised eyebrows, and she…blushed. A small worm of nausea twisted in my stomach. I guess everyone has their own different tastes in people…very different. Roland and Ash both opted to go with Mickey. No surprise there.

Mehenia looked carefully between Mickey and Ray, and seemed to turn the choice over in her mind a few times before finally deciding. “I’ll go with Ray.”
My turn now. I glanced over at Ray. Rose and Mehenia were perfectly capable on their own. They should have no problem getting to DC. Mickey however…

“Hang on, Olivia.” Ray cut in before I could voice my decision “I want you with me.” He’d read my mind. The realization burned in my chest, making me feel oddly vulnerable. I glared at him. “And why the hades would I want to go anywhere with you?” I snapped. The others looked at me in surprise. Their eyes only scratched at my surface. That leech had been in my head. My hand tightened around the dog tags. The other one clenched into a fist. How long had he been looking around? “Why, Ray!”

Ray hesitated for a split second, a small spark of shock passing over his face at my reaction, then it passed as he regained his composure. “These two are skilled fighters, but they’re both inexperienced. It would be safer for there to be more than one experienced demigod with them.”

“Then why not take Ed?” I gestured to him and he backed up, putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

Ray narrowed his eyes “Because I asked you.”

I stayed silent and glared at him. Ed silently slipped away and joined Mickey’s group. I watched him go, and sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”

The labyrinth was silent for a while then. Everyone standing awkwardly, unsure of what to say. “Well…I guess that’s settled then.” Mehenia finally broke the silence. “So when do we leave?”

“Today.” Ray answered almost before the question had fully left her mouth. “Pack only what you think you’ll need. We’ll leave in a couple of hours.” Everyone separated to do just that, and I hurried to my cot. My small pile of things lay at the end of it, most of it consisting of clothes. I stuffed those back into my backpack, along with a small flask of nectar, a bag of ambrosia, what was left of our money, and a hairbrush. I zipped the bag up, then took the sleeping bag off my cot and started rolling it up.

“Olivia…” Ray’s voice. His hand on my shoulder. I jerked it off.

“Get away from me!”
…….
A few moments of frantic packing later, and we were all sitting at the nearest Raleigh train station. I sat on a bench separate from my three partners. Mahonia was still celebrating, shouting to the entire world that she was psyched, and the others were talking among themselves with a mixture of excitement and nervousness, but Ray sat apart from them, lost in his own thoughts. The sun shone brightly in my eyes, blurring the sight of the world in front of me…
_______________________

“Ray!” The young girl sprinted up the slope of Half Blood Hill, blonde braid streaming out behind her as she chased the receding back of her friend. “Ray!” He stopped this time, gesturing for the others with him to go on without him. He turned around, smiling, and waited for her to catch up to him. She grinned up at him. “I just wanted to tell you good luck.” She panted. Ray smiled.

“Thanks, Olive.” He scratched the back of his head “I’ll probably need it.”

“Don’t talk like that. I’ve never seen anyone as powerful as you. You’ll do great!”

Ray laughed nervously. “I sure hope so.” A voice in the distance called his name. “I should go.”

“Okay.” Olivia dug at the grass with the toe of her boot. “Just…promise you’ll come back, okay?”

Ray drew her into a hug. “I promise.”
___________________

“I’m sorry.” Ray spoke for the first time since we left the labyrinth. I looked up at him. He was still looking ahead at the road. “I know how much you hate me getting into your head like that. I shouldn’t have.”

“Whatever.” I looked away again. “It’s fine. Just stay out of my head.”

The train rattles up the road and hisses to a stop in front of us. The doors clatter open. Mehenia looked about ready to explode with excitement. She grinned at Rose, who didn’t seem to notice. She was staring off into the distance with a worried look on her face. I reached for the clasp of my bracelet. Time had taught me to trust Rose’s instincts. Mickey and his group began filing onto the bus. I drew up beside Rose. “What’s out there?”

Rose shook her head. “I don’t know yet, but it’s getting closer— “

A cloud of shadow plumed in the center of the street and from it bounded a giant black dog. Laleps started barking, but Mickey yanked him onto the train, shouting at the conductor to get moving. The train rattled off. Ash pressed herself to the glass of the back window, mouth open in a scream I couldn’t hear. Mickey appeared in the window next and pulled her away from it. The hellhound was on top of Roland, snarling. “Not good.” I muttered. I yanked my bracelet off my wrist and it quickly transformed. Chain elongating and the little crescent moon charm sharpening until I was holding a celestial bronze scythe attached to a long silver chain. I gripped the handle of the weapon and lashed out with the other end. The weighted ball attached to it wrapped around its mouth, lashing it closed. I tanked at the chain. The monster stumpled to the side, growling mutely. It jerked its head from left to right and I struggled to keep my footing, pulling the thing off Roland long enough for him to slip out from under its trampling paws.

“We’re out here for five freaking minutes and there are already things trying to kill us?” Mehenia pulled out her daggers as the hellhound rounded on us. “That has to be some kind of new record!”


I yanked the chain again. “You wanted to prove yourself,” I looked around at my surroundings. The station was narrow, with benches andpanicked mortals everywhere. Not enough room to fight with the chain. The hellhound finally clawed of the chain around its mouth. I let it retract all the way into the handle and spun the scythe around in my hand. “well here’s your chance.”

Rose sighed. She was in Ray's group, and it hurt. She knew that Ray didn't like her. At all. In any way. She shrugged and armed herself. Daggers strapped to her legs, knifes in her sleeves and on her arms. And then, before she knew what was happening, they were at the train station. Then they were being attacked by the hellhound. Olivia quickly took care of that. Rose growled. This was off to a great start! She looked out into the fog again. Someone was coming.

"What is it?" Olivia asked.
"there's something else coming." Rose Replied. Sure enough, A youth of about nineteen appeared. He had green eyes, dark brown hair, and was tall. He had no weapons. Ray appeared startled, Rose groaned and rolled her eyes. She approached the stranger.
"What are you doing?" Ray hissed at her.
"Back off Ray." She muttered. Mia looked at her in surprise.
"Well, if it isn't gorgeous Rose Rolander." The lad smirked.
"Just as dumb as ever, I see." Rose retorted.
"Who is that?" Mia asked.
"stuck up son of Posideon, Alex Miller." Rose said.
"Still as charming as ever, aren't you Rose?" Alex said, smirking.
Rose rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Let me guess, you're here for revenge." She spat.
"What is going on?" Olivia asked. Ray stepped forward, his hand on Rose's arm.
"Get back!" Rose snapped.
"Rose.." Ray started.
"This is my fight, it started a long time ago, and I'll finish it!" Rose's eyes darkened. Olivia stepped. "Leave her alone Ray. She can take care of herself."
"Ohhhh." Alex said. "I might have won after all. Remember Rose? Two years ago?"
"Oh, When you thought that I should just drop into your arms because you liked me?" Rose's voice dripped venom. "Well, I owe you and your low down idiot God of a father an old grudge."
Alex face darkened and a ball of water appeared between his hands. Mia gasped, and Ray looked shocked. Rose had nerve alright! She had just insulted a God and his son.
"I came back to find you, Rose. I came to take you with me, like I swore on the ship." Rose's dagger was in her hand.
"Yeah, like you swore on the ship! Till my father died, and you laughed in my face, you mocked my grief, and then killed my baby brother when I told you that I hated you!" Rose's voice was calm, but deadly.
"All I wanted was you." Alex said. Rose didn't reply, just threw her dagger and Alex disappeared into a watery mist. Rose cursed.
Everyone just stared at her. Rose had a person who had liked her?! "Shall we continue? Rose asked.
Ray blinked. Rose could be dangerous!
"You idiot!" He blurted out. "Do you realize what danger you've put us in? insulting a god and then trying to kill his son?" Rose looked at him, her eyes calm. Like she didn't care at all.
"Don't tell me that we were going to go through all of this without ticking them off."
Ray had no reply.