Saving Thalia Part Three: The Beginning of Something Permanent (Thalia, Excelsior)

Within the tent, Samuel's eyes snapped open when he heard the screaming. Grabbing one pistol and his sword, he emerged expecting a fight. Instead, he saw Solania curled up on the ground screaming. Kyle and Zoey were standing over her, worry written all over their faces.
"Let me guess. The empathy link between her and Thalia is acting up because Thalia's getting tortured," Samuel said, approaching them.

Odysseus jumped up, and grabbing his bag, he rushed outside the tent with Redemption at his side. Without saying a word, Odie rushed over to Solania, and kneeled down. He pulled a potion out of his bag, and looked at Solania, he said,"Here, I want you to drink some of this. It is a gift from Hecate. It will temporarily mask the empathy link between you and Thalia. We need you at your best if we are to defeat Pallas and Kronos. Besides he using that empathy link to spy on us, anyways."

He tilted it, a bit, and waited for her to accept it. He wasn't about to waste it trying to pour it down her throat if she was going to be too stubborn to take it.

Kyle stayed by Solania's side trying to comfort her while she screamed. He sighed as he watched the love of his life being tortured. He hated the Titans. "Solania, it's going to be ok. We will get Thalia back, I promise, and you won't have to worry about it anymore. Everything is going to be ok."

When she raised the knife over her, Kyle grabbed her hands and Zoey kicked it away. He looked at her, and said,"How could you do something like that to me? What am I supposed to do if you kill yourself, huh? I know that Thalia's screams are hurting you, but she won't be screaming much longer. Don't you think Odie loves her enough that he would go to the ends of the earth to save her. We are almost finished with the journey."

A few seconds later, Odie came running out, and offered her a potion of some sort. It was supposed to help temporarily block the empathy link. He didn't say anything. He wanted her to take it, but he knew it had to be her choice. So, he waited.

Samuel rolled his eyes. Why did people tend to misinterpret his words just because of the tone they were spoken in? That was what his voice sounded like, and everyone needed to get over it.
"The only thing that bugs me is the fact that one of my teammates keeps dropping to the ground in pain without any prior warning. I'm sure it's a nuisance for all of you as well. Now, would you like a little rest? I'll take watch."

Aphrodite kids. They always misinterpret and jump to the bad conclusions, Samuel thought. "Hey! Correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't you find it a little inconvenient that you keep experiencing random moments of suffering? That is what I was calling the nuisance, not you as a person. You would do well to stop jumping to conclusions like that."
The son of Morpheus sat down and assumed his watch.

Odie watched the whole thing, and then turned to Sam, angrily. He said,"Samuel, you had better start using more tact when you speak. You are making more enemies than you are friends, and in this war we need all the friends we can get. If you can't start saying what you mean, then maybe you shouldn't speak at all. I know what you meant, but sometimes people interpret what you say wrong, because you have no tact. Start using your words more wisely in the future."

Having said that he ran after Solania, before Samuel could reply, yelling to Kyle,"Get back to the camp, and stay there. I will talk to her. She is very sensitive right now, and she needs to hear the rational side of things. Kyle begged to come with him, and finally he agreed, but he said,"Do not say a word. Let me speak."

She was near the road before they caught up to her. He yelled,"Solania Dritea Smitha, how dare you leave us when we need you the most. You are not a nuisance, and we cannot do this quest without you. Don't listen to Sam, he didn't mean that you were. He just has really bad tact. You are probably the best archer we have on this quest, and we are going to need that skill when we get to Mount Tam, tomorrow. Without you, the quest just isn't the same. You are like a sister to me, and I know that Thalia would never want you to do it alone. In fact she would probably ask me to watch out for you, if I know her. So, please come back and we will talk about what's really going on. I know there is something bothering you, and I'm pretty sure I know what, but we will talk about it when we get back to the camp."

He waited for her to see reason and come with them.

Kyle rushed over to Solania, and without saying a word, grabbed her hand and entangled it with his. He held it tightly, and smiled. He let Odie speak, and then when he was finished, Kyle added,"Please, Solania, I love you, and Odie is right. We need you more than you could possibly know. We can talk about this, and I promise we will listen to your every word. I know how hard this burden of Thalia's pain must be to carry, but you don't have to carry it alone. Let me carry it with you. Share your pain with me, and let me help you carry it. I love you, and I am not letting you go off by yourself, because despite what you think we all care about you and what happens to you."

Before she could reply he kissed her, and waited for her to answer, his hand still intertwined with hers.

It's always my fault, is it? Samuel ignored Odie's words. He said exactly what he meant--Solania interpreted it wrong, and there was nothing he could do about that. She was simply far too temperamental and thin-skinned, as were a number of other people.
Aphrodite kids.

Odie shook his head, and walked back to the tent, angrily shutting the tent door, and going back to sleep. He was tired of Sam and his sour attitude all the time. He was beginning to wonder why he had allowed Sam to come in the first place. There were a dozen more pleasant people to be around, that was for sure. Then he realized that Sam was a part of the quest. His part of the prophecy had yet to be fulfilled. Something about withstanding temptation.

As he pondered he fell asleep...

"Look, sweetie, get some sleep. Ignore him, he's just miserable, and it isn't helping your case being angry at him. Sam isn't really that bad of a guy, he just needs to know how to deal with people better, ok?"

He looked deeply into her eyes, and smiled. He loved her, of that he was certain. He kissed her, and then said,"Now, you need some sleep. You have been through a lot these past few days, and I need to talk to Sam, alone. Now go get some sleep, darling, I will see you in the morning, ok?"

He turned toward Sam, and started walking toward him. They did need to talk.

Samuel looked up as Kyle approached him. The son of Morpheus wondered what Kyle had to say to him. Maybe a blackmail attempt so Samuel could join with Kronos? That did fit wit the temptation part of the prophecy.
"Hey there, Kyle," Samuel muttered. "I see you aren't sleeping like the others are."

Kyle sat down, and said,"No, I can't sleep. There are too many things running through my mind right now. Look, I know you probably have a lot on your plate right now, but don't worry, soon this quest will be over and we will have Thalia back. Look, I know you don't trust me, and I know why. That is why I am here. We need to talk about it."

He paused and then added,"I need to talk about what you think you know. It is important."

"What I think I know--and what is most likely true--is that you, Kyle Jenson, are a traitor," Samuel said, never one to beat around the bush. The more important something was, the more quickly and directly he brought it up. "You pretend to be a loyal son of Hephaestus, but in truth you are one of Kronos' moles, subverted by his lies and tasked with gathering intelligence regarding our every move. True or false?"
As he spoke, the son of Morpheus brought his pistol up from his side to his lap. It was a simple move, but the message was clear: I'm on to you now. Make one false move and I will shoot you.

The grace of the Dove, shall Hammer's heart change. It seems that I was right about that line, Samuel thought as Kyle went back to his tent. Kyle fell in love with Solania, decided to reform because of her, and now I don't need to waste a bullet on him. Now let's see if they become so attached to each other they can't make the tough decisions when we get to Mount Tam.

Odysseus woke up, after having a dream of Thalia. It was the night he realized he loved her. He sighed, and shook his head. He just wished that they could leave together, and leave this war behind, but he couldn't he thought about what his mother had told him about him becoming the hero that his namesake was. He would have a name lasting throughout the ages. He sighed.

Sitting up, he realized that Sam was still out there, on watch. He needed his sleep, as well as any of them. They only had a few hours before they were supposed to leave for Mount Othrys. He got up, and grabbed his spear, Shockwave, and his sword, redemption, and walked outside. He walked up to Sam, and Zoey, and said,"Get some sleep Sam. You've done enough for the evening. I'll take the final watch. Trust me, everything will be fine with me watching over it, I assure u. Trust me, you need your sleep. I can't have one of my best soldiers, and friends, tired for the battle tomorrow. If anything happens, I promise I will wake you."

Turning to Zoey, he said,"You go back to sleep to Zoey, we only need one person up for watch, and I cannot sleep. Dreams of the past keep haunting my dreams."

Samuel nodded curtly and went back into his tent. Once again, he didn't sleep so much as napped, able to wake up at a moment's notice. Ironically, despite being a son of Morpheus, he didn't like sleep because he didn't like dreams. Also ironic, but well-warranted considering the things he dreamt of.

Odysseus' watch was very uneventful, and he kept eyeing the time, watching as the hours widened down. Pretty soon, he'd been on watch for two hours, and he sighed. He didn't want to sleep so he let the others do so, instead. He watched the stars, and he wondered if Thalia could also see the same stars from Mount Othrys/Tam that he could. He thought, again, about the breakup, and he knew that there was something he had to do when he saved Thalia.

He sighed, and closed his eyes, thinking of Thalia and how much he truly loved her. Looking around, he was just about to get up and walk to the other side of the camp, when his watch alarm went off, quietly. He got up, and walking to the girls tent first. Knocking on their tent door, he said,"Ladies, it's time to wake up. We need to take the camp down."

Walking over to the guys tent and knocks on the tent door. He relays the same message, and then goes over to the makeshift armory/infirmary, and begins tearing it apart, pulling all the equipment out and reloading it into bags.

Kyle was one of the first ones up and changed. He immediately rushed to help Odie, and waited to see Solania. He didn't say much as he gathered the medical supplies and put them away in their bag.

The first thing Samuel did when he awoke was check his weapons. All were ready to use. He climbed outside his tent and looked around at the morning sky.
"Odie, how far are we from Mount Tam?" he asked, getting straight to business.