Synopsis: "Wandering around a forest can be dangerous, even more so at night. The demigods know that, Meg knows that, Apollo knows that far too well.
What they don't know is that wandering around a forest can be comforting too. Because sometimes the trees answer when you speak to them.
Or maybe just what's behind them does." (written pre-TTT)

Life is hard when you don't have a flying Maserati that can take you anywhere you want in the world when you need it to.

As we stepped on that mix of moss and dried mud typical of humid grounds and I thanked the gods that it hadn't rained, Meg and I tried to find a way to orient ourselves in the woods. We spent hours wandering through that forest (which, I believe, was in the northern United States), and we spent an entire week trying to get there; yet, we still couldn't manage to find a road that would guide us safely to Delphi.

The only thing we were finding were monsters, walking around there - and, most of the time, it was the bloodthirsty kind of monsters.

There was never someone who proposed to take a break and relax while enjoying the view. A giant scorpion with good manners would have been greatly appreciated, really. "Do you want a cup of tea, kids? It's blueberry flavoured - really exquisite!"

Nope. The most we could get was tea scented with hemlock poison.

"Hey, wait a second," someone with a functional brain cell could be saying, right in this instant. "You intend on going to Greece by foot? Are you two out of your minds?"

Of course not. Since America is unfairly divided from the rest of the world by the 4830 kilometers of the Atlantic Ocean, the only things we could do were either catch a flight or (and this was the most economic alternative) jump into the ocean and start swimming. But we didn't have enough money to buy even one plane ticket (actually, we didn't have any money at all), and getting to Greece by swimming was not a really good idea either, because a) a human could never live through such a tiring activity; b) I didn't want my legs to be eaten by a shark, thank you very much; c) let me remind you, the water there is pretty cold; d) the prophecy had a time limit, which was twelve days.

And in those twelve days (eight of which we had already lost due to our poor organization) we had to:

- find a way to get to Delphi in time;

- not get ourselves killed on the way to Delphi;

- find the cave of the Oracle;

- not get ourselves killed (again) by Python;

- kill Python, possibly with some manifestation of my godly powers (hi Dad);

- not die while trying to get home;

So, by "we were trying to find a way to get to Delphi safely" I meant "we were trying to find some immortal, divine being who could give us a ride". And here's where our major problem comes up: no god was authorized to help us, and we didn't have any magical ship that could make us arrive in Europe in a blast.

Amazing, right?

We went on for a couple of meters; then, after three minutes of Meg's irritating complaining, I stopped.

— Are we out of here? — asked Meg for the eighth time, in a hopeful tone.

I looked at her. Her dress was filthy, because of all the dirt and grass stains that were covering it. Also, despite the fact that at that point it had been stitched so much that it seemed almost impossible for it to be ripped even more than that, the war dress Jackson-McCaffrey seemed to have gained completely new tears, as unbelievable as it sounds, and they all had such strange forms that mending them again would have been an impossible task.

It was hard for me to look into her eyes because of how dirty her glasses were, so I just decided to focus on one of her eyebrows.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. — No, Meg, we're not out of here yet, or at least I don't know if we're out of here, — I said, emphasising every word. — because I don't know where we are.

She looked at me, puzzled. — So, we're lost.

— No, we're not lost. — I replied, annoyed beyond imagination, while crossing my arms. — I simply don't know where we are. It's different from being lost, Meg. Learn the difference.

— Apollo.

I wondered if lying to her would have been wise or not.

In the end I decided that, for my physical and mental well-being, it was better not to.

— ...well, yeah, maybe we're a bit lost.

— I figured. — Meg huffed, leaning on one of the trees. She adjusted her glasses, which by then had lost almost all their rhinestones. — What do we do now, then?

I looked around. We were probably standing in the brightest part of the forest, where the trees didn't cover all the sky, so I was able to roughly figure up what hour it was: looking up, it was easy to see, between the cracks in the leaves, a bit of the sky, coloured by the warm colors of the sunset. The sunrays were becoming fainter and fainter, and soon we would be covered by darkness.

— We have to stop. — I decided, dumping my backpack on the ground. — The sun is already setting, and soon we won't be able to see anything, while we still need to find something to eat and to burn for the fire. Also, if we go on we'll be an easy target for monsters.

— As if they won't kill us anyway if we just stay here. — Meg commented. However, with another huff she threw her backback onto the ground too, so I figured that she had silently accepted my suggestion.

It didn't take long to find all the wood we needed, which was good. There were many fallen branches on the ground (I didn't trip over them), so we chose to pick those up; plus, Meg was having fun, cutting down others from the trunks (they didn't fall on my head), so our task turned out to be easier than I expected.

While we were walking through the forest, as I was carrying all the firewood that my young master was collecting, I felt a sudden, strange kind of familiarity fill me, between all those tall pinetrees.

Of course, it was not the "Hey, I know how to get us out of here!" kind of familiarity, but more like a déjà vu. I had already been there but - damned mortal memory! - I couldn't recall when.

The teacup that I had as a brain, though, must have pitied me and decided to cooperate, because I suddently found myself overwhelmed by a vision.

— You'll never catch up to me! You're too slow!

A deep laugh, the rustling of the leaves on the trees. Quick steps on the moss, almost impossible to hear.

The sunlight illuminates the ground vividly - it's too bright, and it feels hot on the skin.

More laughter, shriller and more feminine.

A slim figure of a girl runs ahead, surpassing the guy. Her chestnut braid moves around, in sync with her movements. She has a bow in her hand, and a quiver on her back.

— You know that I'm faster than you, brother! — she says, lively. — Why do you insist on challenging me?

— It's not true! I always let you win!

— Yeah, whatever you say! — She looks around, then points to something distant. — If you're so fast, then try to get to that tree before I do!

— Okay then, let's jus... hey, stop, you're have the advantage! It's not fair!

The girl keeps running, and laughs again. — C'mon, Apollo, catch me if you can!

I winced, gasping slightly, forced to readjust to the darkness of the forest. I led my eyes from one tree to another, lost.

May the gods be blessed. Did I just see my sister again?

My... sister. Artemis. That was Artemis!

After four months and two weeks, not to count those six months during which I was Zeus only knows where (literally), the Fates gave me the chance to hear her laughter once more, to see her once more, even if it was just the back of her head. Then, quickly, they took it away from me, all over again.

I was not upset about it, honestly. I already got used to that kind of treatment.

I moved closer to a tree, managing to lean on it with one hand despite of the load that I was carrying. Was that the same forest? Was that the same land Artemis and I ran on, many years ago?

Sadly, I could not recall. I observed everything that surrounded me, recognising some details, but obviously the rest was just a confused mass of memories. I felt dizzy, and my eyes burned with tears of frustration.

Well, thank you very much, Moirai!, I thought, sarcastically. Keep on throwing at me depressing and useless visions, have fun.

I mean, couldn't they give me something like, well, a map of that place? I didn't ask much.

Sadly, the Fates did not reply.

Apollo.

I opened my eyes wide, sure that I heard someone calling out my name. It wasn't Meg, I could be sure of that: it wasn't her voice, since it wasn't a young tone. Who was it then? Did I definitely go insane?

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck quiver.

Meg, who didn't notice up until that moment that I had stopped, turned to me, confused. — Apollo? What happened?

I looked at her for a moment, trying to shift my attention to something different than the voice I had heard, probably while suffering from some sort of uditive hallucination.

You could think about enchiladas, rumbled my stomach. Or maybe about roasted chicken. Or about how to get those two things.

I found myself accepting that alternative, deciding that roasted meat would be a decent distraction, at least for the moment.

The wind ruffled my hair. I exhaled, trembling. — It's nothing, don't- don't worry. Let's go, we still have a lot to do.

Meg stared at me, hesitantly. Then it seemed that her stomach brought her back to reality too, because she quickly turned her head forward, heading towards the place where we left all our possessions - our few possessions, I should say. I followed her, adjusting the branches in my arms.

I had to think about other things at the moment.

Who had time to follow the voices anyway?