II

[ad umbras]

Tessa rolled over in her bed, heaving a breath as she stared up at the bunk above her. She'd been trying to fall asleep for a few hours, but to no avail. With each distant sound and each unprovoked thought, Tessa managed to keep herself awake in anticipation of some sort of supernatural attack.

The night was calm, with a partly cloudy indigo sky cast above them. Cabin Three was dark, save the luminescent undersea plants and trinkets that lined the windowsills and shelves. The windows of the cabin were the only other sources of light, filtering in moonlight into panes of light on the ground. In the distance, Tessa could hear crickets chirping, the waves of the Sound, and occasional animal sounds from the forest where just hours earlier, a monster had been spotted.

Tessa suppressed a groan at the thought. She needed to quit dwelling on what happened or else she'd be up all night. It was already, what, midnight? This couldn't go on.

You're being ridiculous, Brennan, Tessa thought to herself. You were safe last night and the night before that and the night before that. Chill.

Tessa sat up in bed, taking a deep breath of the cool air in her room. Her long brown hair tumbled over her shoulders as she did, the sensation enough to bring Tessa back down to reality. After a moment, she glanced at her bedside table to grab a sip of water, but a swift movement caught her eye.

Tessa found herself staring intently at the window a few feet away. For a moment, everything seemed to slow down, time morphing into heartbeats and cricket chirps. Tessa couldn't see anything in view of the window from her bed, but something told her that she was not as safe as she thought she was.

She was about to march herself out of her cabin and attack whatever was lurking outside when her vision averted to the panes of light on the floor beneath the window. Utterly bright as they always were, illumination in the darkness, but only now, the silhouette of a man darkened the squares.

Tessa bit back a scream, her hand flying to her mouth. Her heartbeat was erratic in her chest and she tried to calm her breathing. This wasn't happening. She was dreaming. Right? An awful nightmare that she would wake up from in the morning and blame on Mark for scaring her the day before.

But Tessa kept staring. Her sea green eyes were locked on the man's silhouette, and they didn't move even as the figure it belonged to retreated slowly and sluggishly.

Tessa abandoned all hopes of sleep that night.

~~

Tessa took a sip from her coffee, wondering if the small cup she'd gotten would do enough to wake her up. She was drowsy and jumpy from nights without sleep and needed the caffeine for an added boost. She curled her tense hands around the bright orange disposable cup, looking up at the closed dressing rooms before her.

Chiron had allowed Tessa and her friends to go into the city with Argus to find some Halloween costumes, and even if Tessa loved the holiday, she wasn't that thrilled to be in a bustling city with a lack of sleep. She was slouched in the stiff seat of a costume shop, her cup of coffee her only companion as she waited for her friends to finish trying on their costumes.

The chime above the door to the shop rang, and Tessa craned her neck to see who had entered. "Thank the gods," She groaned softly as Kaden approached, a tray of coffee in his hand.

The son of Aphrodite laughed as he approached, grabbing the seat next to Tessa. "There you go," He said, handing her another cup of coffee.

"You're a lifesaver, Kaden." Tessa mumbled, giving the boy a thankful look before discarding her empty cup and replacing it with a new one.

Kaden grinned. "I try." He set the tray down on the side table before reclining in the chair. "Any updates?"

Tessa made a face, sipping her drink. "Not necessarily," She mused. "Lots of indecisiveness."

"Ah," Kaden nodded. "I see."

Tessa sat up, stretching her muscles a bit. She needed a nap, but after her newfound nocturnal abilities, she doubted she'd be getting any sleep anytime soon.

"Tess," Kaden said softly, causing Tessa to turn to look at him. "Are you okay?"

Tessa hesitated for a split second. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said automatically, but the son of Aphrodite stared into her eyes, the emerald irises bold.

"Then why do you look like you haven't slept?" He asked.

Tessa bit her lip. She tore her gaze from Kaden's, focusing elsewhere as she took another sip of her drink awkwardly. "Because I haven't," She muttered.

"Why not?" Kaden asked, his eyebrows taut together in concern.

"Nightmares," Tessa responded simply. It wasn't a total lie; the past night had actually been a nightmare. She didn't need to specify what kind.

Kaden glanced over his shoulder, as if to check if the coast was clear, and leaned in conspiratorially. "Is it because of...y'know, that thing?"

Tessa didn't know how Kaden always knew what was wrong with her. He could read her better than Mark and Dale ever could, and it was both scary and heartwarming. She nodded, forcing herself to sit up. "I'll get over it eventually. Just a bit unsettling."

Thankfully, the sound of curtains being yanked open put a stitch in the conversation. Tessa and Kaden looked up in unison to see their friends emerging from their dressing rooms, packets and bundles of costume supplies in their arms.

"Finally," Tessa groaned sarcastically, standing up. "Make a decision?"

Dale shrugged—at least Tessa thought it was a shrug; the daughter of Demeter was carrying a bundle of clothing—but smiled. "Mark and I did." She shot a smug look at Mark. "Didn't we?"

The son of Iris met his best friend's gaze begrudgingly. "We did," He ground out. Tessa couldn't make out what his costume was, but whatever it was, it must've been good.

Reese ran a hand through his blond hair, making it stick up in every which way. "I don't know what to do. Flynn and I need some epic costume idea so we can beat out Calum and Nova's costume. They're going as Phineas and Ferb and that's, like, perfect."

Kaden motioned to his best friend with a cup of coffee. "You guys could go as Green Arrow and Red Arrow."

"Or you could be Hawkeye and Flynn could be..." Tessa thought. "Flynn could be Phil Coulson. He's awkward enough."

"You're not wrong," Reese laughed dryly. He grabbed a cup from the tray, taking a hearty sip. "Ah, well, I'll figure something out. What are you two going as, anyway?" He motioned to Tessa and Kaden.

Tessa and Kaden met each other's gazes conspiratorially. They had decided to plan costumes the day after the whole forest incident, and planning out what to be helped distract Tessa from her fears. Kaden's siblings had some sort of magical system to create perfectly tailored costumes for themselves, but he'd been able to make an exception for Tessa. Their plan was a secret until Halloween, now only two nights away.

"You'll see," Tessa said cheerfully. "Now, are we settled or are am I going to have to assign various obscure Disney characters for you all."

"Oh, please don't." Reese said, suddenly panicked.

"What was that, Frollo?"

Reese blinked at Tessa, then the two of them burst into laughter. "Alright, alright, I get the concept." He held up his hands in surrender.

"Then let's roll out," Tessa nodded her head to the cash register in the distance, and she and her friends marched off.

A little while later, bags in hand, the five demigods made their way through New York City. It was a brisk but sunny day out, the temperature much colder than camp's protective barriers, but Tessa didn't mind. The biting breeze helped remind her what was real and what wasn't.

"Okay, give us a hint as to what you guys are gonna be." Mark chimed as they crossed a street.

Tessa thought. "It's from a movie that you all better have seen or I might have to disown you."

"Tessa, you say that about every movie." Reese interjected.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do," Reese, Dale, Mark, and Kaden chorused.

Tessa gaped for a moment, but recovered quickly. "Jeez, everybody's a critic." She laughed. "Not my fault I love movies."

"So that means that this mystery duo of yours could be one out of...oh, I don't know, twelve dozen movies you've ordered us to watch?" Mark continued, tugging his beanie down low on his head.

"Exactly." Kaden pitched in, grinning an impish smile. He glanced back down at Tessa, and the daughter of Poseidon had to contain her excitement. Sure, she loved the characters they were going as but she was looking forward to seeing Kaden in his character's costume.

The demigods marched down the streets of New York until they encountered Argus' white van. The camp security guard was bundled up, which must have been obnoxious for his various eyes, but smiled upon seeing Tessa and her friends approach.

The five piled into the van, and Tessa stared out her window as her friends arranged themselves. She pulled off her beanie and ran a hand through her hair, but her face fell as she stared outside.

Argus had parked across from an alleyway, filled with Dumpsters and pipes and back doors of shops and restaurants. However, what caught Tessa's eye was the shadow of a man in the alley, but as Argus pulled down the street and the sun shined a little brighter, Tessa saw that there was no one there.

~~

When Tessa and her friends arrived at camp, they became the eye of a storm of panic. Everywhere they looked, demigods were blitzing past, tugging on armor and weapons. Shouts and whispers alike were billowing through camp, like an impermeable fog.

"What's going on?" Dale asked, her eyebrows knit together as she watched a group of campers drop their volleyball game near the Big House and take off.

No one answered, the confusion of the moment stumping them all. Tessa spotted Nova, the fiery daughter of Hephaestus, rush past, tying her mane of curly black hair up with a bandana.

"Nova!" Tessa called, jogging ahead.

The dark-skinned girl whirled around, the worry in her eyes fading momentarily at seeing Tessa. "Tessa, hey," She greeted.

"What's going on?" Tessa asked. "Is there an attack?"

"That's a good question," Nova answered. She turned to look at the masses of campers running about, spreading the news, and the brave souls who ran into the distance for who knew what reason. "Patrol reported a sighting of the monster."

Tessa felt her blood chill in her veins. Images of various Greek and supernatural monsters flipped through her head like a slideshow, but she forced them away. "Are we able to identify it?" She fell into step with the daughter of Hephaestus. When she turned back around, her friends had dispersed—no doubt trading their coats and scarves and bags for weaponry in their cabins.

"Not that I've heard," Nova reported. The two girls jogged their way down the trails, winding around the omega of cabins before arriving at the woods. Tessa remembered that she was unarmed, but hopefully, this mystery monster wouldn't attack if it knew what was good for it.

Campers ran past, but no one seemed to be shouting any military orders. Weapons were sheathed, bows were dropped, some people even walked away, horrified looks on their faces. When Nova and Tessa reached the location of the sighting, Tessa knew why.

A chunk of the trees in the forest had been curved into arches, creating an odd labyrinth of plants. A clearing had been formed in the wreckage, with only one standing tree in the center. There didn't appear to be any sign of a struggle, no traces of prints or clues that could help identify the monster.

Chiron inspected one of the oddly bent trees, staring up and down its curved trunk. He noticed Tessa and Nova, and came around to greet them. "Good to see you, girls," he said brightly.

"You, as well," Tessa responded before motioning around. "What happened here?"

Chiron exhaled, glancing around at the various campers trying to search for clues. The sight reminded Tessa of something out of Law and Order, a crime scene that needed to be investigated.

"The members of the patrol reported a sighting of a black and white monster, one that seemed to materialize out of nowhere. They reported feelings of fear and petrification, but by the time they came to, whatever it had been was gone." Chiron explained. "In all my years, I've never heard of such a creature."

Nova knit her eyebrows and walked away, inspecting the scene. Tessa watched her go and turned back to Chiron. "So whatever this is...it's not a mythological monster?"

"Well, every monster is mythological to mortals. The monsters we are used to are Greek, and can be destroyed using Celestial bronze weapons among others." Chiron discerned. "Whatever this is...I will not be sure on how to dispel it until I know what it is, but I am unsure when that awakening will be upon us."

"Hey Chiron?" Nova's voice called. She was halfway around the sole tree in the new clearing, staring up at the bark with a twisted expression. "What'd you say those kids described the monster as?"

"Tall, thin, black and white," Chiron called back, trotting to meet Nova. The other demigods in the area had followed, staring up at the tree in horror. Tessa was among them, and her heart stopped.

Something was carved into the rough bark of the tree. A likeness of a tall and spindly monster, its limbs stretching down the bark in jagged patterns. It seemed to be charred, as if sketched in ash.

A scream rippled through the crowd.

This hadn't been here before.

~~

Tessa was going insane; she was sure of it. No mentally stable person would march into the woods under the cover of darkness after witnessing tangible evidence that her childhood nightmare truly existed, after getting hardly any sleep in five days.

And yet here she was, scabbard around her waist, hood up, flashlight in hand. She was going to get to the bottom of this. Enough was enough. She was not about to let some...some myth lead to her downfall. She was Tessa Brennan, daughter of Poseidon; she couldn't be afraid.

Tessa didn't have far to walk from her cabin to the woods, but remembering where the odd trees and the engraving were located was a bit of a challenge. All the while, Tessa thought about what exactly she was getting into and why.

Maybe it was to prove that it didn't exist, to bring herself to some sense of normalcy again. Maybe it was pure insanity. Maybe it was luring her there, to make her disappear along with its other supposed victims.

Tessa waved her flashlight around, forcing herself to ignore the sounds of the forest around her. She reached the new clearing, the light from her flashlight bringing a somewhat bearable lamination to the woods. However, even that couldn't settle her.

Don't look back, Tessa reminded herself. That was the number one rule when it came to this thing. Keep moving forward, get to safety.

Tessa marched around to the engraving, the light making it stand out against the trees. She almost wished that the dryads of the forest could accompany her, protect her and their life forces, but she was alone.

Or so she thought.

Tessa felt a shiver run down her spine, freezing her in place. She forced her vision on the tree before her, eyes locked on the charcoal drawing. She would not turn.

A crack of a twig behind her.

A growing sense of unease.

A rapid heartbeat.

Tessa turned.