The Writer's Games 2014: Mission #9 Entries

Fire & Ice (Sequel to Home)

By: parisluv

Fire and Ice
The inside of Cabin 21 was even more amazing than the outside. The floors were pure white carpets as soft as snow, bluish white shimmering walls seemed to sparkle in the light. In the immediate room, it looked to be a sort of living room. There were fluffy white couches, a cheerful fire place with a fire dancing inside, and an ice coffee table with icicles hanging down the sides. My five siblings looked at me as I entered, I wasn't surprised we were related. We all had pale skin and black hair with either some shade of light blue and/or silver eyes. There were three girls and two boys. A girl with short hair, silver eyes, and a seemingly perky personality skipped up to me.
"Hello, I'm Jewel Hale," she said joyfully. "What's your name?"
"I'm Maya Woods," I answered gently.
"Are you a daughter of Khione as well?" Jewel asked.
"Y-yes," I answered.
"Then welcome to Cabin 21," a boy with spiky hair and sky blue eyes said, holding out his hand to me.
"Thanks," I said, shaking his hand.
"I'm Kyle, Head Counselor. This is Jack, Alice, and Laela. Boys room is over there, girls is over there. Jewel can show you to a bed."
"Let's go, Maya," Jewel said, grabbing my hand and tugging me to the girls room.
Six single beds lined the walls with fluffy white and ice blue bedding. A nightstand sat beside each bed and there were six wardrobes along one wall, each had elegant snowflake designs etched into it. The wood appeared to be pine, filling the entire room with its sweet scent. All I had was my bow, arrows, and a change of clothes.
"This is so beautiful," I breathed.
"One of the most beautiful cabins at CHB," Jewel replied cheerfully. "I heard you fought with a hell hound last night, that's impressive."
"It would have more been more impressive if I hadn't been injured."
"Thankfully we have some great children of Apollo. Don't worry, injuries are a normal thing around here."
"How wonderful."
I spent that night sleeping in an actual bed; probably the most comfortable bed in the history of ever. That didn't stop nightmares though, but according to Jewel nightmares were normal.
-Three weeks later-
I had finally started adjusting to life at CHB, when I got called to a quest. Athena wanted someone to go and find a the Scroll of Time, an ancient scroll that recorded the events of the world. It had been stolen by Medusa. Lucky me, the prophecy for the quest pointed right to me. I was allowed to take two companions, so I chose Caleb and Lief. Caleb and I hadn't discussed me kissing him on the cheek, I kind of wanted to but I was also dreading it. I don't even know why I did it! I mean, yeah I kind of liked him but what if he didn't feel the same? Okay, I totally had a huge crush on him, but he probably liked someone else.
"You okay, Maya?" Lief asked me.
We were sitting on a train heading for Oregon, where Medusa had relocated. We had left camp three days ago and had already encountered five monsters. My leg was bandaged from a deep wound and we all had cuts and bruises. I would have been okay, if we hadn't lost our ambrosia and nectar. Luckily, we still had our money and were able to buy train tickets.
"I'm alright," I answered. "Just thinking."
"How's your leg?" Caleb asked worriedly.
"It's been better."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"If I had gotten to you sooner-"
"It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you got that dracaenae when you did."
"Guys, be quiet," Lief whispered urgently.
"What is it?" I asked softly.
"There are five woman coming down the aisle," he whispered back. "And the air suddenly smells like monsters."
He pulled his beanie down a little tighter and I lifted the collar of my pea coat a little higher. The woman walked past us. They seemed normal enough, but I knew better than to doubt Lief. They sat in a spot where they could keep a close eye on us, but didn't make any moves. When we crossed the border into Oregon, they seemed to be getting agitated. My arrows were safely hidden in my magical quiver, and I held my barrette in my hand just in case they made a move. I could see Caleb itching to grab his sword, I laid my hand over his to relax him. Lief had his reed pipes ready for a moments notice.
The women had been whispering to each other for several minutes when one of them jumped up and said, "That's enough! I'm done with being patient!"
Suddenly, they all transformed into harpies with either blood red or cyan blue feathers. I drew an arrow and knocked it in my bow, Caleb drew his sword (Embers) with lightning speed, and Lief held his instrument to his lips. Luckily, the car was mostly empty. Still, I had no clue what the other passengers were seeing through the mist. They were all ducking beneath their tables, peeking out cautiously.
"Hello, Maya Woods," the head harpy hissed.
"What do you want?" I replied.
"Medusa asked us to give her a hand with getting rid of you," one of the other harpies answered.
"Too bad, since we're getting rid of you," Caleb said.
I let my arrow fly and sent one of them back to Tartarus. Caleb started battling it out with one of the harpies while Lief tried to tangle another in thick vines, the song he played kind of sounded like Fur Elise. I was left to deal with the other two. I shot an arrow, the first harpy dodged it but the other was turned to monster dust. I flip onto the table to avoid the first harpies razor sharp talons. I noticed that Lief wasn't doing very well. So, I quickly shot the harpy he was fighting. He in turn wrapped the harpy I was fighting in vines so I could easily send her back to Tartarus. Caleb sliced the last harpy just as the train was pulling to a stop. It wasn't our stop, but I still grabbed Caleb and Lief's hands. Everyone was staring at us with fear, so we ran to the nearest exit and jumped onto the platform. Our feet pounded down on the wood as we raced down the platform and into the streets. We didn't stop until we had reached the woods several blocks away.
"That was fun," I sighed as I sat at the base of a tree.
"Are you two alright?" Caleb asked.
"I'm good," Lief answered. "Maya?"
"Been better," I answered, my voice was pained.
My leg felt like it was on fire from all the pain. I rolled up my jeans and laid my hand on my knee. Ice traced down my leg and helped sooth the burning.
We spent the rest of the night in the woods. Lief went to buy us a little bit of food and when he returned he had good and bad news.
"What's the good news?" I asked.
"Medusa's lair is on the other side of these woods, which aren't too thick," Lief answered. "We should be there by midnight tomorrow if we leave at day break."
"Bad news?" Caleb asked.
"Someone caught our train adventure on camera," Lief explained. "The news has labeled us delinquents and if anyone sees us they are to call the police. Luckily, the pictures of our faces are fuzzy and they don't know who we are."
"If someone knew us, could they recognize us?" I asked worriedly.
"Probably, why?" Lief asked.
"It's alright, Maya," Caleb said gently. "I'm sure he won't see it."
"What if he does?" I worried.
"Don't worry, he won't find you," Caleb promised.
"Who?" Lief asked.
"My Dad," I answered. "I ran away for a very good reason and I'm terrified of going back."
"Don't worry, Chiron will fix everything," Lief reassured me.
I wasn't so sure Chiron could fix everything, but I would be happy if he could keep my father away from me.
The next morning we set off through the woods. Figuring that was the best way to avoid people. The trek was hard on my leg, but I never said anything. We needed to find Medusa. When we reached her lair it ended up being a tiny garden accessory store, Aunty Em's Garden Accessories, cut off from the rest of the city. We snuck in through the back entrance, it was easy for Caleb to open the door, and into the store. Still, we couldn't find her; however, Lief could smell her near by. I searched through her office with Caleb, but we couldn't find anything. I was getting very frustrated.
"Guys," Lief came running in. "She's coming!"
"Looking for something, dears?" Medusa's cruel voice said. She was wearing a towel on her head and sunglasses over her eyes.
"Think you can help us?" I asked.
"I would, but I don't help those who help Athena," she hissed.
"Sounds fair enough," Caleb replied.
"Oh well, I guess we'll do this the old fashioned way," I sighed.
"Look out!" Lief yelled as Medusa moved to unveil her snake hair and stone gaze eyes.
We all ducked behind the counter where the cash register sat.
"What are we going to do?" Lief whispered urgently.
"Lief, you try and tangle her in grass or something," I whispered. "Caleb, try and fight her without looking at her. I'm going to search for that scroll. I'm not much use in a fight right now."
While Lief and Caleb had her distracted, I continued searching in her office. I couldn't find anything, until I found a thick metal box. It had a seriously complicated lock on it, something told me it was the scroll. I looked over at a window and suddenly had an idea. I ran back to the others, leaving the box in the office.
"Caleb," I whispered ducking behind a statue with him. "Where's Lief?"
"Over there," Caleb answered, pointing to a concrete bench. "Did you find the scroll?"
"I believe it's in a box in her office, but the lock is really complicated. You go and open it, I have a plan."
"You sure?"
"Yes, now go."
"Where are you, dears?" Medusa hissed.
I didn't hear Caleb confront her, so I assumed he was okay. I could hear her walking closer. I motioned to Lief to play something, so he started something that sounded like Single Ladies.
"You'll pay for that little trick!" she yelled.
"I don't think so," I shot back.
I rolled over to Lief's side and created a thick wall of ice between us and her. I heard her gasp and then there was an eerie silence. When I dared to look, she had been turned to solid stone.
"Yes!" I breathed. "It worked!"
"And I found the scroll!" Caleb said.
"Good job, Flame Boy," I teased.
"Good plan, Snow Queen," he teased back.
"Well done all of you," Athena's calm voice said.
We turned and she was standing behind us wearing dark jeans and a silver sweater.
"Um, Athena," I stuttered. "The scroll..."
Caleb held it out to her.
"Thank you, children," she said calmly. "You must understand, that your destinies have yet to be fulfilled. However, I now have greater confidence in you."
"What?" I asked.
"You shall see," she replied. "For now, my chariot can take you home very quickly."
It was like we were in a dream. We actually rode in Athena's chariot back to Camp Half-Blood! When we got back, everyone celebrated our return. And I got my leg fixed up, mostly. It needed a couple days to be fully healed. That evening, I found Caleb sitting alone on the canoe dock.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked as I sat beside him.
"Look, Maya, I'm no good at this," he admitted.
"Good at what?"
"Every moment we were on the quest, all I could think about was that I couldn't loose you. I realized that-that I want to be more than just your friend."
"What do you want?"
Rather than say anything, he kissed me. At first I was shocked, but I was so glad to know he had feelings for me too. Even though we were fire and ice.
~The End~
Just so you know, the scroll is pure fiction and I have no clue if Medusa's gaze actually works on herself.