The Children of Olympus

Chapter 14 - Jake

A loud crash shattered the silence around Jake like it was made of glass. He immediately shot up from his bed. The noise came from... Zoe's room. Jake dashed out of his room and ran down the hallway to Zoe's room. He pounded on the door. 

"Zoe? Zoe, open up!" Another crash, this one followed by a cry of pain. Jake realized that she wasn't going to open the door and kicked it as hard as he could. Luckily, it swung open, although his foot flared up in pain momentarily. Zoe was lying on the floor near the fire, papers shredded around her and items cluttered everywhere. Jake rushed over to her and gently lifted her, then placed her on her bed. She gasped when he set her down, and his concern grew even more. "Zoe, are you hurt?" 

Jake scanned her for any wounds. He thought she looked fine...until he saw her hands. They were completely red and covered in blisters. 

"What did you do..." he whispered, unable to take his eyes away from the burns. Finally, he wrenched his eyes away and pulled out a healing balm from his pocket. Artemis had given it to him to put on his arm, but Zoe needed it more than he did. He scooped it up and slathered it over the burns. She winced, but didn't make a sound. Eventually, her arms were covered in the balm, and she finally spoke. 

"I put my hands in the fire," she said softly. Jake stopped rubbing the balm. 

"I got that much, but why? Why would you hurt yourself?"

"I'm sorry Jake. I'm really sorry," she said, her voice so quiet it could barely be heard.

"Stop. Don't apologize. Whatever happened it's in the past now. We're here and that's all that matters," Jake turned to look at Zoe. Her blue eyes seemed to glow in the dimness of the room. She leaned closer to him and he leaned in as well. Just as their lips were about to touch, the door flew open, and immediately the two of them pulled back from each other. Jake turned to look at the intruder and gasped when he saw Apollo running in. 

"Apollo? What are you doing here?!" he asked worriedly, noticing the fear in the sun god's eyes. 

"Erebus. He's here. We have to leave. Now," He grabbed Zoe's arms and pulled her up, not noticing her burns because her sleeves were rolled down. "Come on!" Jake jumped of the bed and followed Apollo out of the room. 

"Wait, what do mean, Erebus is here? I thought we were safe here!" he asked as they ran down the hall. 

"Clearly, you thought wrong! I don't know how, but he's here, so let's focus on getting everyone else than on talking!" Apollo snapped. Jake flinched, but he kept silent the rest of the way. He looked over at Zoe, concern flooding him when he saw her wincing in pain with every step, but there was no more he could do to help her. They had to go warn everyone. They hadn't run another minute when they heard yelling coming from somewhere nearby.

"No, stop! Please! Ple-" the pleas were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream that sent a cold shiver down Jake's spine. Apollo and Zoe came to a halt, and Jake nearly ran into them.

"Don't make a sound," he whispered, his voice so low that it was just loud enough to make out, but not so that anyone else could hear. They stood there, listening to the screams for another minute or so, until it suddenly cut off. Jake wasn't sure which was worse, the noise or the eerie silence it left behind. "You two stay here. I'll be right back," the sun god called and vanished into the darkness looming in front of them.

"Jake? What do you think is going to happen to us?" Zoe said softy, her eyes filled with fear. 

"I don't know, Zoe. But we'll make it through this, together," he replied back. She took a step closer to him, filling the space between them. 

"Together?" she asked him, staring into his eyes. 

"Together," he whispered and brought his lips crashing down onto hers. She stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and kissed him back with an equal passion. Time seemed to stop as Jake brought his hands and entangled them into her hair, pulling her even closer, their lips never disconnecting. He could have kissed her all day, but they were interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing. Zoe pulled away from away, her face bright red. Apollo stood a few feet away from them, his eyebrows raised. Jake had no doubt that his face was growing hot. 

"I don't mean to interrupt, but you need to see this," he motioned for them to follow and started walking away. Jake put his hand in Zoe's, and they started in the direction Apollo went. Things may have been pretty bad, but at least they wouldn't have to face it alone. They had each other, and at the moment, that was all that mattered.

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Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter!!!!!!!!!