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Chapter Quote:
"Presence is more than just being there."
~Malcolm Forbes
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Chapter 6: We're Identical

Bryn was almost done packing her bag when Luke entered. He leaned against the side of her bed and asked, "You almost ready?"

"Yeah. I just have a couple more things to pack," she replied. As she was grabbing a couple pairs of pajamas, Luke picked up one of the books in her bags.

"Ancient Monsters of Ancient Greece... why are you bringing this?" he queried, flipping through some of the pages.

"It's a new book in the library and after our little powwow in Tartarus, I want to know of every monster there is and how to defeat it. I'm not letting any monster ever get the better of me again whether it's an evil Cyclops or an arai or an assbutt primordial being. I'm not letting any of them ever hurt any of you again."

"Bryn," Luke said.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Anything," she retorted, snatching the book out of his hands and putting it back in her bag.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing."

"I've done something because you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Then what's going on?"

"The last few quests we've been on... half the time one of us knocks on Death's door and then runs away; one time one of us didn't run away fast enough and actually died, and I'm just getting a horrible feeling that this quest is anything but normal." Bryn took a breath to calm herself down.

"You don't have to go. No one would think any less of you. Gods Bryn, you've been through hell and back quite literally, you've died for us, you thought your family was dead for most of your life and you just got them back. You deserve a break."

"You know I have to."

"Who says? It's not like the Oracle gave us a prophecy that said you had to."

"I'm already going to worry about all of you on when we're on the quest. I'd worry exponentially more if I didn't go with you and if I go with you, I can at least do something to quell my fears."

"You do what's best for you, and whatever that may be, I'll support you," he told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Bryn kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going. Wherever you go, I do too. Someone has to keep you out of trouble besides Silena."

"I'm not the only one who causes trouble," he remarked. "You technically have a worse record than me."

"I think out my plans though. You just run headfirst into danger."

"I'm still alive though, aren't I?"

"Barely."

"See? A good testament to my methods. You need any help packing?"

"Although I like your hugs, it's hard to pack when you're doing so."

"Right." Luke backed away and sat on her bed. Within five minutes, Bryn was finished and ready to go. The rest of the demigods were waiting for them at the top of Half-Blood Hill.

"I'll take the first round of driving," Brady offered.

"Oh no, you're doing no such thing."

"Why not?" he demanded indignantly.

"Last time you drove in America, you drove on the wrong side of the road. Thank the gods you were only on a bike. No, you and Bradley will not be driving any portion of this trip. Hallie can't drive because she doesn't have her license yet. Silena, Derek, Luke, and I will be driving."

"I'll take first shift," Luke said.

"I'll stay up with you and take second shift. The rest of you can get some sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us," Bryn remarked. The demigods got into their ride which happened to be a Chevy Tahoe that somehow comfortably fit nine people. The twins fell asleep ten minutes in. Silena took out a book to read and put on headphones to drown out any sound. Derek rested his head on her shoulder, scanning the pages but soon fell asleep. Hallie put in her headphones and stared out the window. Bryn took out a book herself, one of the three she brought, to begin to pass the time.
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Bryn jumped awake. She didn't even remember falling asleep. Luke's hand rested itself on her thigh, as if trying to convey to her everything was okay.

"You okay sis?" Bradley inquired from the back.

"Yeah. How long was I out?" she responded, running a hand through her hair.

"About six hours. You fell asleep halfway through the trip. We're in Tennessee now," Luke explained.

"Why didn't you wake me to drive part of the trip?"

"You were sound asleep and I didn't mind driving." In a hushed whisper he added, "It kept me distracted from thinking about things."

Bryn placed her hand on top of his. "You okay?"

"Yeah. We're pulling over for the night. Mom and dad booked us all rooms. Girls in one, boys in another. They were very specific about that."

Derek snorted, sarcastically saying, "Gee, I wonder why."

Luke pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. The demigods hopped out. Silena checked in for them. Bryn kept trying to stay awake but it felt like gravity was pulling down on her eyelids. Thankfully it didn't take long to get their rooms. Both groups had keys to each other's rooms in case of emergencies; hopefully they wouldn't need them for emergencies...

"You going to be okay tonight?" Luke whispered as they trailed behind their friends.

"It's just one night. Will you be okay?"

"Guess we'll see. Text me if you need anything okay?" He kissed her on the head and entered his room. Bryn followed the girls into theirs. She and Silena took one bed, letting Hallie have one all to herself. It didn't take Bryn long to fall asleep, nor did it take a long time for the nightmares to come, which meant it didn't take her long to wake up either. However, she wasn't the only one.

"You okay?" Silena whispered. The Jackson girl was sitting up in bed, doing something on her phone.

"Not really. I'm never okay after these nightmares. What are you doing up?"

"Same as you... I'm blind in all of them. All I can hear are the screams of my friends and family. All I can do is listen. I can't do anything to help whatever is causing you pain."

Bryn rubbed Silena's shoulder. "Even blind, you could get us out of any situation you wanted to."

"I'm terrified of the dark now. Every time I wake up during the night, I think I can't see. So I grab my phone and stare at the screen to convince myself that what I'm seeing is real. Then I'll put it back down and go back to bed. What about you?"

The daughter of Zeus fiddled with her the edge of the blanket. "The dreams change. Most of the time I'm paralyzed and I repeatedly watch you all be killed... sometimes, the paralysis disappears, but even then, you all still end up dead."

"How do we get killed? Monsters?"

"Usually."

"The other times."

"... The other times you're killed by me. The thing is, in the dreams, I have no control over my actions so what I'd feel like if I actually did kill any of you is what I really feel in the dreams, but what I do, I-I..." Bryn trailed off, remembering the last dream she'd had like that, when she'd stabbed Luke in the back more times than she could count, when he'd slumped into her arms repeatedly asking 'why'.

"Hey, Bryn," Silena shook her friend gently. "You don't have to talk about it if it's too hard."

"No, I- I can, it's just that I don't know why I dream of it when I physically could never hurt any of you. Not on purpose at least..."

"We know you couldn't." Bryn smiled gratefully at her friend. At that moment, Bryn's phone buzzed. Hallie stirred, grumbling almost unintelligibly, "Who the Hades is that?"

"It's my brother," Bryn replied with a frown. She answered the phone. "Brady?"

"Would you get over and here and take care of Luke? Last time we tried to wake him up from the nightmare he's having, he punched Bradley who's now sporting a bloody nose."

"Oh gods. I'll be right over." She rolled out of bed, throwing on a jacket.

"What's going on?" Silena queried.

"What happened to Bradley?" Hallie added, now sitting up as well.

"Luke's having a nightmare and when they tried to wake him, he apparently punched Bradley. Besides a bloody nose and possibly a wounded ego, he's fine. I'll see you two later. Try and get some sleep," Bryn told them. She exited her room and knocked on the boys' room which was right next door. She'd forgotten the key to their room or else she would've walked right in (at least she remembered her room key). Derek opened the door, rubbing his eyes.

"Perfect timing. It's getting pretty bad," he said grimly. Bryn slipped into the room, hurriedly making her way to Luke. Although he was laying perfectly still, he was breathing abnormally fast. She sat on the bed next to him, gently placing one of her hands on his arm to prevent that one from trying to punch her. If he tried to hit her with his other arm, she'd be ready.

Taking a deep breath, she demanded quietly with Charmspeak, "Luke, wake up."

The effect was immediate. His free arm snapped up, his hand in a fist that was going directly for her head. Bryn deftly caught it.

"Easy," she said. "It's just me."

"Wha- what happened? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You were having a nightmare. Brady called me after you accidentally punched Bradley when they tried to wake you up."

Luke glanced over at the Winchester twin who was still holding a tissue to his nose. His eyes flitted to his fist that was still being held by Bryn, inches away from her head. He lowered it back down.

"Did I hit you too?" he asked.

"No. Just Bradley."

"Dude, I'm so sorry. I didn't-"

"Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean to."

Luke swung his legs over the bed, bracing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands behind his head.

"What happened?" Bryn inquired gently.

"The same as the other night. Except this time I used my power to do it."

"Hey, why don't we go for a walk and get you some fresh air?" Bryn suggested. Luke only nodded. He threw on his UT jacket before opening the door. The two demigods walked down the hallway to the elevator. Neither said a word all the way down. They ended up at the pool, which didn't surprise Bryn. Luke always did like to be near water when he was thinking.

He sat at the edge of the pool, sticking his legs in the water. She did the same.

"So," she began. "What happened?"

"Do you remember in Tartarus when I killed the arai?" he asked, frowning at the water.

"Yes."

"And how I later promised you I'd never use that power again?"

"Yes."

Luke began white-knuckling the side of the pool. "I-I broke it. When I was fighting Tartarus, I couldn't outdo him. I couldn't... think of a way to beat him. He thought I wouldn't do it and I never should have. I never should have broken that promise to you because it got you killed and-"

"You breaking your promise to me did not get me killed. I did that myself because Tartarus didn't want me to find a way to escape death from him once more."

"The gods don't take kindly to broken promises though."

"You didn't swear it on the Styx. If you had, the consequences, whatever they were, would have been much more severe."

"When I killed the arai, you gave me such a look of terror, a look that I never want to see again."

"I won't sugarcoat this when I say I was terrified of you, but more because it was at that point in time when a couple of things became extremely clear."

"What were they?"

"I always knew you were powerful. You're related to Poseidon so of course you'd be. But I didn't realize how powerful you truly were and that's what terrified me."

"What's the second thing?"

"It became extremely clear what you're willing to do to protect us, and knowing what that's gotten you into, what it could get you into in the future..."

"This coming from the girl who literally took on a curse for the guy she loved, purposefully separated herself from the people she loved most to protect them, and died fighting for them."

"I guess I'm one to talk," she chuckled quietly.

"Just a little," he said, give her a small nudge. "Are you mad at me for not telling you sooner?"

"No. I wouldn't have been mad because I know in Tartarus, fighting him, we had to do things we didn't want to. Besides, even if I was, it's obvious you've been beating yourself up over it for quite some time." Luke didn't respond until Bryn asked a few moments later, "There something else on your mind?"

"Maybe it's an after-effect of Tartarus. I'm hoping it is. But I think you might be right."

"There's quite a bit that I could be potentially right about. You'll have to be more specific Sharkboy."

"About how I could go down a dark path if I kept using the power."

"Why would you think I'm right about that?"

"All these nightmares about me killing the people I love, and specifically using that power to do so, and then the things I feel in those dreams, it's not normal."

"Luke, listen to me, those dreams are not a sign of you going bad or dark side on us. Tartarus brought out our worst fears. For all of us, in different ways, all goes back to our family and friends. Silena dreams about being blind and not being able to help us because she can't see. Derek dreams about us saying terrible things to him, things I won't even repeat, and he's woken up on more than one occasion to talk to me or Silena about them, just to validate that those dreams were not true."

"Why hasn't he come talked to me?" Luke asked. "I'd help too."

"Because for some reason, you and Derek have taken Tartarus the hardest, and he knows how bad it is for you and doesn't want to bother you with something like that, even though he knows that if Silena and I were for some reason unavailable, he could still go to you."

"Did Derek always have issues with feeling... what's the word? Inferior?"

"I don't know. If he did, he never said anything to me about it. I hope I never made him feel inferior to me in the years I've known him."

"I'm sure you haven't. If anyone did, I feel like it was me. I was kind of an ass to him when I first came."

"Now look at you two. You're practically brothers." Bryn looped her arm around Luke's and rested her head on his shoulder. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to head back to the room? Try and get more sleep?"

"Would you mind if we stayed out here for a little longer? It took me ages to fall asleep because Derek was snoring. Did you know he snores?"

Bryn grinned. "No, I didn't. At least he doesn't drool when he sleeps unlike someone I know."

"I don't drool!" Luke protested.

"Oh yes you do."

"Damn it... is that why you don't like kissing me in the morning?"

"No, I don't like kissing you in the morning because it's morning and I'm not a morning person."

"I'm fully aware of that. You've zapped me more times than I'd like to admit. And always in the butt."

"Whoops?"

"Listen, when we get back to camp, what do you say I book a trip for us? Maybe to the cabin in Montauk or maybe we can head to London, see your parents?"

"I'd love to. What made you think of that?"

"I figured after this quest, we might want to get away from monsters and prophecies and gods for a bit. We've kind of been through hell and I thought maybe a few days break would be good for us."

"You know, you're quite the romantic when you want to be."

Luke looked at her. "I gotta find some way to keep you on your toes."

"You're doing a fabulous job." The two leaned in to kiss but were interrupted by a scream.

"That was Hallie," Bryn stated as the two of them scrambled up to run to their rooms. Upon arriving, they found Derek, Silena, and Brady standing around Bradley who was holding Hallie in his arms. The daughter of Hades looked absolutely petrified.

"What happened?" Bryn demanded.

"We don't know. She came into the room, let out a scream, and fired arrows at nothing," Brady said.

"No! There was a shadow standing over Bradley and it was evil! I could sense it!" Hallie cried.

"A shadow?" Luke said.

"I don't know how else to describe it. It... it was like a 3D shadow, or a blob of-of mist in the shape of a human. It had eyes that were pure gold and that was the only distinct feature and it looked at me and that's when I screamed and when I fired my arrows and I couldn't see a mouth but I know it was smiling and I know it wasn't in a friendly way!" Hallie ranted.

"Okay, take a deep breath. I believe you," Bryn told her gently. "It's gone now. Why don't we all stay in the same room for the rest of the night? If need be, one or two of us can stay up to watch out for anything the rest of the night."

"I'll stay up," Luke offered.

"You've been driving all day. You need some sleep," Silena argued.

"Since Brady and I can't drive, we'll stay up. Besides, I'm kind of freaked out about a shadow standing over me. I hope it wasn't created by some freaky priestess sent to kill me," Bradley said.

"That's probably not a far-fetched idea in our world," Brady remarked.

"Why come after me?!"

"Because you're the one with the mouth."

"I'm also the better looking one."

"WE'RE IDENTICAL!"

"Twins, you'll stay up without arguing. The rest of us actually need to sleep since half of us might be driving tomorrow," Bryn told them firmly. The twins glared at each other but listened to their sister.

"I'll stay up too. I'm too wired after what I saw," Hallie said.

"Will you be okay the rest of the night?" Bryn queried, turning to Luke.

"Yeah. The talk helped. I'll see you in the morning. Don't let any shadows get to you."

"Same goes for you. Love you."

The girls went back to their room where they crawled into their beds. Bryn had just shut her eyes when Silena asked, "Do you think that shadow has anything to do with what we've been feeling lately? I mean those strange feelings?"

"I don't know to be honest. All I remember is being terrified," Hallie answered.

Bryn joined in, saying, "If it is what we've been feeling, then I'll start reading into shadows tomorrow to see how we defeat one. For now, let's get some sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us. We have to go all the way to Houston tomorrow."
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Hope you enjoyed the chapter- I swear things are going to pick up next chapter! :)