The Chloe Chronicles: The Lost Goddess

The campfire that night didn't give Andrew the same comfort it had in the past. The warmth didn't spread over him and give him a sense of security that he craved. He looked towards Chloe, who sat beside Nico under the Poseidon flag and he felt a twinge of jealousy. Andrew shrugged it off. It was unwise for him to feel this way, Chloe was a friend.
Campers sang songs and ate s'mores as the darkness enclosed itself around the camp. Andrew felt a cold chill rush against he back of his neck and he rubbed his arms, trying to forget it.
"Andrew are you alright?" Marcus asked. "You look pale."
"I'm fine," Andrew said. "I'm a little tired tonight, that's all."
Steve looked in the direction he stared and he smirked.
"You like her don't you?"
Andrew muttered and turned away from his brother. Behind him sat the quiet camp grounds at night. A cold chill ran across Andrew's neck again and he winced. He felt as if something was wrong.
A hand touched his shoulder and he turned, seeing Annabeth.
"Chiron wants to hear what you guys discovered earlier. We're having an emergency senior camp counselor meeting."
"I'm not a counselor," Andrew said.
"Yeah, but you're a witness," Annabeth said. "Take a shower and then head to the big house. You have fifteen minutes."
Andrew walked alone to the showers, feeling the cold chill streak itself across his arms again. He turned the water in the shower to a hotter setting, hoping it would remove the cold from his prescience.
"Andrew," A voice spoke.
Andrew froze, he didn't recognize it. It didn't belong to the wrinkled woman or any god he had met before.
"Andrew," the voice said again.
Andrew turned the water off, pulling on his pants and taking out a knife. The voice stopped speaking and Andrew's skin tingled. He glanced slowly towards the mirror, seeing a shadow behind him.
"Aaaah!" He screamed, dropping his knife.
The creature moved it's head from the shadows and Andrew saw something that resembled black shriveled skin that covered the skeleton body. The creature growled and moved towards him. Andrew looked towards his knife which lay on the floor, five inches away from him.
A spider crawled from the eye socket of the monster and Andrew felt his heart beat stop completely.
"Di immortals," he whispered.
His hands grabbed the door handle of the showers and he waited two miserable seconds before the creature lunged. Andrew swung the door open, grabbing his shirt and he began sprinting towards the big house. A second creature exactly like the first one came from the trees and began chasing him.
Andrew looked towards the statue of his mother that decorated an area erected in honor of the goddess and he said a quick prayer in his head.
"Mom, help!"
One of the monsters behind him growled and began picking up speed.
"Man, I need to run more," Andrew said to himself. He dodged one of the creatures as he ran up the big house stairs.
One of the monsters leaped forward and grabbed him, slamming him onto the ground.
The word "hungry" chattered through it's teeth and Andrew slammed his fist into it's jaw.
The creature fell backwards a step and shook it's head to regain it's composure. A shrill scream came from it's mouth and it lunged forward. Andrew prepared to be torn to bits when an arrow came from the doorway of the big house. The creature exploded into silver dust instantaneously.
Andrew looked up towards the door and saw the huntress put away her silver bow.
"You okay?" Thalia asked.
"I will be," Andrew answered.


When Andrew entered the ping pong room, Annabeth stood up.
"Oh my gods, what happened?"
"Something attacked him," Thalia said. "And by something, I mean the things that the hunters and I have been hunting for weeks. These creatures have killed three of my best hunters, and I don't even know what they are."
"We have to do something!" the girl from the Hebe cabin cried. "I don't want to be attacked."
"I say we give these things a pounding," the boy from the Nemesis cabin said. "I'm not going to be a wuss about it, I'm just going to punch it until it dies."
"Enough," Chiron said, causing the room to fall silent. The centaur walked toward Andrew and leaned closer to him.
"What did this thing look like?"
Andrew looked around the room, seeing dozens of eyes stare at him.
"Like a skeleton. It had a crusty kind of black skin and it kept saying my name."
"Andrew, you need to tell me the exact truth during this next part," Chiron said. "What is the last thing you remember doing before the attack?"
"I was at campfire. I kept feeling as if something was wrong, boy was I right!"
"Did you feel cold?"
Andrew nodded. "Why? Does that mean something?"
Chrion nodded gravely. "Percy, lock the door."
Percy shot a look towards Annabeth before getting up and turning the lock.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of this council, never before have I been forced to do this, but I no longer have any choice. It has been confirmed in my mind that indeed, Chaos is waking. These creatures that have attacked us tonight spawned within our borders from the pit that Percy and Annabeth found earlier by the red flag base. The Hecate cabin has placed a barrier over it, but I am not sure how long it will hold."
"Chiron, what were those things?" Andrew asked. "Why were they chasing me?"
"I don't know my boy. Among the early people, they were known as térata ostó̱n."
"Bone monsters," Annabeth whispered. "Also known as nightmares. Once they select a victim, they haunt them with their worst fears. They were created by Chaos from pure madness and evil."
"As he awakens, so does his creations. These nightmares were sent specifically towards Andrew, which means someone is targeting him."
Andrew began to sweat and his mind went to when his eyes searched Chloe's at the campfire, before Nico sat beside her. Her cheeks turned pink, she downcast her eyes for a moment, peaking up at him through strands of blonde.
"How are you feeling?" Andrew mouthed to her.
Chloe shrugged. "Better I guess."
"That's good."
Chloe giggled and motioned for him to look towards the fire.
"Do you feel cold?"
Andrew opened his mouth to answer, when Nico sat beside Chloe and her attention was taken away from him.
"Chloe," Andrew said. "At the campfire she asked me if I felt cold."
"She was asleep when I left," Percy said, standing up.
"We have to help her!" Nico said, drawing his sword.
Percy went to open the door when the girl from the Nike cabin screamed.
"Holy Hephaestus! What's that?!"
Andrew looked out the window, seeing one of the same creatures peering in at him. The screeches of more nightmares came from outside.
Andrew cursed in Ancient Greek and stumbled backwards towards the wall. Lou Ellen held her hands up at the window, casting a pink shield over it.
"None of them will be able to get in here," she said.
"What about the rest of the big house?" Clairesse asked gruffly.
The lights flickered in the room and the room became dark. Screeches of nightmares outside the room greeted Andrew's ears and he looked around the dark room quickly. Chiron lit a match, providing a small bit of light. Nico flicked the base of his sword, causing a ghostly lime green to light up the room. Percy's sword glowed in the dark and Andrew saw him grab Annabeth's hand.
"You got a plan wise girl?" he asked.
"Seriously?" Andrew said. "She's the daughter of the goddess of battle strategy and you have to ask her that?"
"It annoys her, that's why I do it," Percy said frowning.
"Shhh," Annabeth said. "We don't know how many are in the hall-"
"Eight," Nico said. "Wait...no ten. If Percy, Andrew and I left to help Chloe we'd be overtaken too quickly. Not to mention everyone else in here."
"What do we do?" Connor asked. "We can't just stay here, we'd be sitting ducks!"
"We have no choice," Chiron spoke up. "We have to wait until morning. That is when these creatures retire."
Andrew slumped back into a seat and shut his eyes, squeezing them shut. This was worse than the time his father thought it would be a good idea to leave him home alone when he was five.
"Mom," Andrew thought. "If you can hear me, please, watch over Chloe Wayland. She's going to need it."
The shrieks of the nightmares interrupted his thoughts, and the room turned dark when the sickly green light faded.

Notes