The Children of Demeter

Chapter 21: James Coon

James spun around to see Samantha standing there with a bow-n-arrow in her hands and a dagger strapped to her waist. She looked angry. Her short, ear-length black hair was tied back into a tight bun. She wore green camouflage with black capris. Her dark brown eyes glared at the two twins, and she plopped down next to them.

            "You were saying?" She asked, taking out her dagger and stabbing it right in front of James's face. She crossed her skinny, but buff arms on her chest and smiled wickedly. James gulped and back off right into Cassandra, who backed into Will Solace, who was in deep conversation with another Apollo kid. Grinning widely, Cassandra immdeatily (Yes, I know this is spelled wrong!) interrupted him.

"Hi, Will!" Cassandra grinned, moving in closer to her half-brother. James rolled his eyes at his twin but was still too scared of Samantha to say anything.

"Oh, ur.. Hi, Cassandra..." Will stammered, clearly scared of the younger girl.

"Just wondering, will the Apollo cabin supply us with ambrosia squares and nectar for the trip?"

"Uh, yeah sure... I'll go ask Chiron, and I'll get back to you on that." Will moved away quickly from the table, leaving Cassandra with James and Samantha. Cassandra frowned to herself and James laughed, but was stopped short by Samantha.

"As I was saying," Samantha started again, "We'll be departing tomorrow by train. Just make sure everyone is packed, please, I know where to go. And I already have supplies." She strutted away from the table in silence. James shook his head at Cassandra, but got up as well.

"Do you think we should help out Ruby?" James asked, getting up and walking with his twin.

"Not just yet, she's probably still in rage mode." Cassandra answered, still holding the high-heels in hand. "But seriously, do you have any shoes?"

"Let me go check." James walked away from his twin towards the cabin.

"Hi, James!" A voice greeted him. He turned to see Frisco, his gray eyes grinning. "I was wondering if you'd want to practice with me. Ruby's, um... busy..." He pointed towards Ruby, who was yelling towards the sky at a floating Petunia. James grinned.

"Sure. Just gotta help my sister first," He said, motioning towards the cabin.

"I'll help look. What're you looking for?"

"An extra pair of shoes. Petunia threw her's out." Frisco shook his head.

"I don't like her. She kinda scares me." He whispered, glancing around nervously as if afraid someone might hear him. James grinned and chuckled.

"She's not that bad. Did you hear what happened to her? Her mom died the day they came here."

"I don't even know where my dad is," Frisco commented sadly.

"I don't know where my mom is." James admitted, turning around when he heard footsteps. Devin grinned shyly at the cabin door.

"Sorry, my brother kicked me out of the cabin. It's going to be a pain spending time with him on the quest." Devin grinned and sat down on James's bed.

"You know, buddy, Cassandra and I were talking about splitting all 18 of us into 3 or four groups. It'll make it easier to complete the quest. So you don't have to spend time with Justin." Devin grinned widely at this info.

"Really? Well, can I be in your group?"

"Me too!" Frisco pipped up.

" 'Course. I could always use two strong boys."

"Speaking of Strong boys..." Cassandra interrupted from the doorway, "Ruby's kind of attacking Petunia." James led Frisco and Devin out of the cabin to see Ruby in the distance, pointing a bow-n-arrow at the sky.

"GET DOWN HERE!" She bellowed, pointing the bow right at Petunia. Petunia hovered just above and out of Ruby's reach.

Scarlett ran up to Ruby and Petunia. "Stop, both of you! Quit it!" She had a fierce look on her face. "Come on, Petunia. Come with me," She gestured to Petunia to follow, and Petunia followed in the air, crossing her arms on her chest with a sassy look.

"Whatever!" She yelled back to Ruby, who glared back in total hatred.

"Frisco, come with me. We need to start packing." Ruby motioned for her brother.

"But Ruby..."

"NOW!" Ruby dragged Frisco away from James and towards her cabin. Devin shook his head at James.

"I'm happy I don't have any sisters." He commented with a smug grin.

"Shut up!" James joked. Cassandra gave the two of them a look and walked back towards the cabin with them.

"Are you sure you have an extra pair?" Cassandra asked while rummaging through James's clothes.

"Pretty sure. And if not, Ruby might have a pair."

"She's a size 8. Ugh, I wish Petunia would give me back my sneakers!" James shook his head at his twin and kept digging with Devin at his side.

"Hey, what's this?" She picked up an ordinary notebook, but it was titled "James's Journal." Cassandra gave him a sly look and flipped it open.

"Cassandra! Give that back!"

"Devin, since when do guys have diaries?"

"Hey! I have a diary," Devin admitted in a small voice. Cassandra giggled and kept reading.

"Cassandra, I'm not joking! GIVE IT BACK! Plus, It's a JOURNAL!"

"Hold on a sec, how long have you had this?" She began to read a certain date. "January 14th, 2008? 'Today is our 7th birthday. Well, it would've been. I still don't know where my sister, mother or father is. My tree house is nice, but the bugs still come in'," Cassandra gave James a long look.

"You kept it after the fire? James, I never..."

"Fire?" Devin asked, confused. "What fire?"

"Maybe you should go, Devin." James whispered. He glanced back at Cassandra, nervous. Shrugging, Devin left the cabin, leaving the two twins alone.

"What happened after the fire? James, Tell Me," Cassandra demanded, sitting down on his bed.

"Well, I built a tree house. Remember when mom taught us about the berries? I lived off of that." James shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. He didn't like talking about his childhood, when he thought he lost Cassandra in a fire, and found out she had been living the same way and their mother died. When they found each other months later, they had no one to care for them and were orphans.

" I can't believe you still kept that journal." Cassandra remarked, shaking her head. "Do you remember what caused the fire?"

"I don't remember," James admitted. "Whatever or whoever it was, it was enormous. You don't think it was a monster, do you?"

Cassandra frowned. "I.... I don't know." Both twins stayed silent in the room, not doing anything, just processing their thoughts.