章 2: KAI
Across the field, a large blow horn went off, signaling that we needed to return for the campfire sing-a-long - a frequent camp tradition that the Apollo cabin led.
As we exited the deep Camp Half-Blood forest, Rose and I got a few pats on the back and a few cheers from some of the campers. We headed to the weapons tray, where we deposited all the loot we collected in the games and our armor. We had been told to leave our actual weapons, like my Scorcher or Rose's daggers, behind for the game, since we'd be collecting loot as we progressed.
As Rose and I headed towards the campfire, I heard a loud cutting noise near the forest, followed by a big thud as some mysterious structure hit against the ground.
Last I checked, we weren't hiring lumberjacks to cut down the trees of the forest, especially when there were literal gaping holes elsewhere to be fixed.
Rose and I glanced at each other with curiosity before going towards the noise - which continued to persist.
Geneva was standing in a grove of slashed up trees, turning her attention towards us. The trees were heavily damaged, with deep marks embedded in the bark and layers of torn up leaves covering the ground. It looked like a tornado had hit the area.
Geneva herself didn't look too well. Her hair was unkempt and messy - a rare sight considering that her hair was always neat due to her relation with Hebe. Her eyes were glazed and empty, and her expression was that of someone who couldn't care less about what was going on around her. She seemed to be gathering her breath, exhausted from her efforts.
"Goodness, what did the trees do to you?" I asked.
Geneva didn't respond, and simply proceeded to thrash another tree with an onslaught of knife attacks.
"Geneva, you need to stop. Come on, let's make our way back to the campfire and talk this out," Rose suggested calmly.
Geneva paused for a brief second, ceasing her slashing and then tucking away her knives in their respective sheaths. She picked up her bag from the ground and walked past us, not saying a word in the process.
Rose sighed. "I can't imagine what she must be feeling right now. I can only hope that with time, the scars of the past heal and she is able to find some closure."
"I hope so too, not just for her sake - but for the sake of the trees as well. If she keeps going at this rate, we're gonna have a Lorax situation," I joked.
Rose punched me in the arm and rolled her eyes, as we started to make our way back to the camp behind Geneva.
My mind drifted off as we made our way to the campfire, and, as it always did, it went to thoughts about Arthur.
The last month of my life had been clouded by guilt, skepticism, and denial. It had most certainly been the most difficult time of my life, all of which stemmed from the sole idea that I likely could have stopped Arthur from leaving camp in the manner he did. I was the last person he saw before he left camp and aided him by giving him weapons and supplies, so was I a bad friend in not going with him? For not attempting to stop him? Even though I had thought about it all month and had tried reaching a point of acceptance, a weight of guilt still seemed to drag me behind.
But despite all that, I still wanted to believe he was alive.
Was that normal? To be in denial about your friend's death but still feel guilty nonetheless?
As if Rose had been reading my thoughts, she said, "Kai, you can't blame yourself. Arthur made his choice to go alone on that quest. You couldn't have stopped him."
"Still," I said. "I should've dissuaded him from doing the quest. Wherever he is now - whether that be six feet under the earth or someplace else - it's on me."
"We all could have done better, Kai," Rose said. "Blaming ourselves and wishing we could've done more won't bring him back. We just have to keep going."
We kept walking forward, nearing the campfire.
"Here, if this will make you feel any better, I can try using the Mist to find where he was last. I can't believe I never thought of this before, but maybe I could use it to find Arthur because of the strength of his scent."
"He smells that bad?" I asked. "Man took a shower twice a day. If anything, Alexander's stench-"
"You know what I mean, genius," Rose said flatly.
Rose closed her eyes and touched her pointer fingers to her temples. I had seen her do this same process once before when I asked her to locate my sword (long story short: lots of pointy bushes, and I emphasize pointy).
This is what I really appreciated about having Rose as a friend. She knew me well enough to know what I was worried about, and usually knew how to help me. Having friends like that is really helpful, especially when you go through the amount of crap I - and most demigods - go through on a daily basis.
Look at what she is doing now. She was indulging my insane belief that Arthur could still be alive, even though she herself didn't believe he was alive. Truly incredible.
However, almost the second she started the process, her eyes opened up. She looked absolutely horrified.
"What? What's wrong?" I asked.
"The Mist is gone," Rose said. "It's completely gone."
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