𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐀 | Unveiling, uncovering. The Greek notion of truth.
Esmerelda knew everything was going to change the second her super nice foster father suddenly turned into a snake monster and tried to eat her. She just never expected for all of...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
▬▬▬ CHAPTER NINETEEN ▬▬▬
ESMERELDA FELT LIKE SHE WAS drowning. Tears were streaming down her face as dark tendrils invaded her mouth, pushing themselves down her throat. She could feel her energy being sapped away from her. She was growing weak. "Almost time, my little hero," the evil voice crooned, sounding gleeful. "You are almost ready. My army will come to me soon, they just a need more persuasion. And soon, you and I will join together." Shut up, she wanted to say, but she was choking. She could feel the inside of her body get invaded. It was taking over her now. Her conscious was slowly slipping away. The last thing she heard was his dark chuckle before everything disappeared.
Gasping for air, she shot up from her sleeping bag. Her face was wet with tears and every inch of her was shaking with uncontrollable fear. She hunched over and pushed her hair away from her face.
That voice... He spoke of an army. An army that had yet to come to him... Apparently they still needed more persuasion. What was the army? More importantly, who was in it?
Her breath started to grow a little more steadier as she mulled over his words. Whoever spoke wanted her body for something... and he was trying to assemble some sort of army by persuading them to join.
Could it be Kronos? Her face paled at the possibility. He's all the way down in Tartarus, but then again, he was able to convince Luke to join forces with him. Was it possible that he did so through dreams? But wouldn't Morpheus try to block him out...?
She shook her head wildly. She was going to drive herself crazy at this point. Maybe she should try to go back to sleep... The voice usually never came back for a second round.
Suddenly, she heard a whimper.
Tensing up, she looked around the quiet cabin for the source of the sound. Ethan was snuggled up in his sleeping bag, pressed against her right side while Lyra was on her left, her head lolling a bit but sleeping soundly nonetheless (it was a miracle neither of them woke up from her jostling). She could see the Stoll brothers snoring away at their shared beds at the top bunk while Chris and another Hermes camper slept under them. Her siblings seemed okay too...
There it was again. Another whimper. Her gaze traveled to the front door, where one of unclaimed kids was sleeping at it's left—the worst spot to have since they were in danger of the door hitting them whenever it was opened.
It was ten year old Peyton Sweeney, a new camper that arrived a little over a week ago. She was unclaimed and would unfortunately stay that way (unless she was lucky like Esmerelda). Her scrunched up, sweaty face were strong indicators that she was having a nightmare, plus the fact that she was whimpering too.
Esmerelda would've gotten up and tried to comfort her, but there were too many sleeping bodies in her way. Peyton whimpered, but then began thrashing around until she finally woke up.
"Are you okay?" Esmerelda whispered from across the floor.
"F-fine," Peyton said between heavy breaths. "Sorry, I just..."
"Did you have a nightmare?" She asked sympathetically.
The younger girl nodded, and her next words caused Esmerelda's heart to stop.
"It was just... this darkness... and this voice...*" Peyton whispered. She let out a breathless chuckle that held no humor. "Ah, just forget. I'm sorry if I woke you up. I'm gonna try and go back to sleep."
Esmerelda didn't respond, she was too stunned to speak. Her stomach churned with dread as her mind filled itself with suspicions.
Was the voice in my dreams speaking in Peyton's too? And are there more of us experiencing it?
