VI

Gabby

Being stuck with Ana was probably much worse than getting a flu shot, Gabby thought to herself. She could barely wave, let alone go on a quest tied to a Hunter and she kept banging into her whenever they went to pick up something. She was tired, upset, and of course, jealous. Most of all, she was annoyed. Annoyed of being stuck with the Hunter she disliked the most. Annoyed, that Leo betrayed her. Annoyed that Ana thought this was going to help her. The only thing that was going to help her was a nice walk on the beach with just her and her beloved Leo. She imagined the sun setting on the ocean horizon, and two pairs of footprints trailing behind them while holding hands. Thinking about the sea so much reminded her of the girl right next to her. Not only was she the best Hunter, she was now the best demigod overall! Maybe she was being too competitive, but there were plenty children of Apollo, but Poseidon? There was only one at the camp, currently. While the number one hero (her half brother) was away at college, having saved Olympus multiple times. She imagined Ana being lifted up by many fans and herself standing apart from the crowd, full of contempt. She noticed Ana wince, and she saw her look at her hand, which had now turned red. After a moment, she recovered, and looked like she was going to cry, but not with pain, but with sadness. That just made Gabby angrier. How could that girl feel any sympathy for her?

...

The two girls continued to follow Leo, who had a doofusy grin on his face, the one Gabby loved so much. After the hour of silence that had been lingering in the air, Leo finally spoke up.

"So, how was your day?" Leo asked cheerfully as if they were simply taking a hike. Gabby grunted and Ana squeaked. Gabby looked at her and found Ana looking the other way. Gabby stopped walking, her face red with fury.

"Why do you have to be so ANNOYING?!" yelled Gabby. Leo closed his mouth and resumed walking.

"Gabby-" Ana began, but Gabby exploded.

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE THE PERFECT ONE?! YOU ALWAYS WANT THE SPOTLIGHT, DON'T YA?! WELL, GUESS WHAT MISSY, I'M STILL HERE! NOT EVERYONE HAS ICE AS A HEART YOU KNOW! SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT OTHERS!" Gabby shrieked. Ana's knees buckled underneath her from all the unbearable pain, both physical and mental.

"What do you mean I'm perfect!? Gabby, you have the friends, the talents, the kindness, the fun personality, everything that I've ever wanted! Ever since we met, I've been wanting to impress you, the perfect idol. I practiced archery every night for years after you went to bed to get even close to your skill! Now you're angry at me? For trying to be as great as you?" Ana said after she regained her balance.

"GREAT AS ME?! YEAH RIGHT! YOU'RE ALWAYS THE ONE WITH TALENT AND PERFECTION WHILE I'M THE ONE SITTING ON THE SIDE LINES!" screamed Gabby.

"I've tried to gain your talents so I could hang out with you and not look like a total idiot like I did when we first met and I strung my first arrow!" Speechless, Gabby looked the other way, unsure of what to say. Only then, did Gabby realize that the 'cuffs' hadn't harmed Gabby's wrist at all.

...

After their long and tiring walk, they decided to rest for the night beside a few logs. Gabby's eyes had finally given up remaining open and let Gabby fall into the void of an emptiness until a vision started to formulate. No one, but the Apollo's children knew that their dreams were sharper and told more than regular demigods because of the oracle aspect Apollo possessed. Even though the oracle of Delphi was now merely a mortal, the dreams remained as strong. The main reason no Apollo kids spoke up about any of their dreams was because they didn't want to be cowered by a bunch of demigods asking questions like: "Will I beat Kelly in a sword fight?", "Do you know if we will win this game of capture the flag?", and "Is Harry finally going to shower today?"

The air was filled with a cold atmosphere. Everything was cold. Gabby curled up into a ball trying to grasp for any inch of warmth.

"Haha, you little demigods are so pathetic! You think little Leo can save Calypso in time? Forget it!" an evil voice screamed. A house in the distance held a girl who couldn't have been older than Leo and what seemed to be trapped in a burnt house. Every section of the house burnt, except for what Gabby could see in the corner of her eye was a section somewhere near the garage door. Leo and Ana were there, completely awestruck for a reason she did not know.

"Get up Gabby... GET UP!" screamed a voice, a familiar voice. Suddenly, Gabby jolted awake meeting face to face with Leo.

"Get up! It's a brand new day to find and save Calypso!" Leo beamed. Gabby rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, remembering about the conversation the day before. Ana was only waking up, herself. She shivered in memory of the cold voice and wondered what they were getting themselves into.

"What? Five more minutes," said Ana, not fully awake yet. Gabby stood up abruptly and yanked Ana up too. "Ok then, time to go I guess," she said, rubbing her eye with her free hand. They walked for another hour and Gabby got slightly annoyed again. One would think that a son of Hephaestus would be able to make some form of teleportation by now. Ana looked exhausted, as if she barely got any sleep. Leo turned around and told them to sit on a nearby log for a while. Hesitant, Gabby sat down abruptly and yanked Ana with her again.

"Gabby why are you still angry at me?" Ana asked, desperate for an answer. Instead of answering, Gabby merely looked the other way, towards Leo.

"So, how are ya'll?" Leo asked, sitting down amongst the two. No one answered and continued to sit in an awkward silence.

"Well, if good means nightmares, then yeah, I'm just GREAT," said Gabby after a minute.

"Well, what were they about?" asked Leo, appearing intrigued. Is he my friend or is he Dr. Phil? thought Gabby.

"Well, we were outside a really burnt house and inside it was Calypso. There was a really cold essence too, along with a cold voice. You, Ana, and I were there and you all looked so surprised for some reason and...that's all I got..."Gabby said, letting her voice trail off. Leo suddenly looked worried.

"Wow, that's really precise. Mine tells as much about my future as a squirrel shares acorns," said Leo. Gabby shifted uncomfortably. She was pretty good at lying, but she hated it when she did have to lie.

"I don't know. I guess mine was more precise for some reason," Gabby replied plainly. Leo seemed to sense the lie, but didn't press on. Ana gave a questionable look. Gabby just shrugged. A rustling sound sounded from the rose bushes snapping their attention towards it. Stealthily, they crouched over toward the bush, making sure the soles of their sneakers wouldn't make too much of a sound. When they got to the bush, they peeked over the leaves cautiously and saw a sight that shocked them all. There, stood a group of African and a half foot tall men.

"Pygmies. They're Pygmies," spoke up Gabby after a moment of shock. Ana and Leo looked at her, and she was insulted. "What? I'm not stupid. I know things." Ana looked away and Leo blinked, then turned his attention to the Pygmies.

"Wait, wait, wait. These are pig- pig- pig what nows?" asked Leo foolishly cute.

"PIG-MEES Leo. Pig-mees. They are a half foot tall African tribe who ride on goats and fight cranes that migrate," said Gabby containing a laugh.

"Migrating cranes? These guys are offensive to the common crane!" exclaimed Leo. Gabby couldn't contain her laugh this time.

"If you hadn't realized dumb half bloods, we are not deaf," spoke up one of the half foot men. "I am Roofaka, leader of the Pygmies," he said. Leo, after a minute of trying to suppress a laugh, burst out laughing.

"You munchkins are so cute!" laughed Leo.

"Yeah, where's Glinda? Are you going to sing for us?" asked Gabby, teasing the little creatures without hesitation. Ana looked at her with caution, trying to ruin her fun as she always does. Leo laughed, and Gabby felt pleased with herself and kept on teasing.

"Gabby..." said Ana warningly.

"FIRST, YOU INTEREFERED WITH OUR HUNT AND WE WERE GOING TO KILL YOU THEN, AND NOW THAT YOU MAKE FUN OF US...well...we're still going to kill you, but much more painfully," Roofaka said, grinning. Ana sighed and unsheathed her sword. Gabby, shocked, at the hilarious gesture, laughed again.

"What are you going to do? Sing us to death? Oh wait, maybe hug us to death?" said Gabby. Ana looked at her in fear and Leo was no longer smiling. Ana lifted her sword and attempted to slice at a Pygmy, but Gabby's arm was obviously an extra weight she wasn't expecting to, and so, they merely fell on top of each other, not doing any damage to any of the Pygmies.

Leo's arms lit up in flames and he lunged at the tiny creatures and a few munchkins bursted into sand-colored dust. However, an entire ambush was hiding behind and in the trees. They came out and attacked, but Ana and Gabby were trying to get out of their tangle and they just started arguing.

"Stop wriggling!" yelled Gabby.

"Ow! That's my arm!" said Ana.

"Get OFF!" screamed Gabby.

"I'm trying!" said Ana. She could see Ana's arm turning. Gabby realized that her bracelet wasn't tight at all the entire time. Ana's arm was red, and has gotten redder since they got the "cuffs."

The two girls finally untangled and found Leo deep within a pile of half foot tall men. They were strangling him, despite his efforts to burn them. He was drowning in dust and little men, and Gabby and Ana desperately tried to help.