Chapter 109 - Trap Net Formed

After Apollo's unexpected visit… or Fred's, nothing much of note happened.

They arrived at the outskirts of a small ski town in the mountains. The sign, in simple letters, read: Welcome to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. The air, thin and icy, seemed to cut the skin like blades of ice. The scene before them was a true winter painting: roofs covered by a thick layer of snow, mounds of it piled up on the sides of the streets as if nature had decided to take over the place. The long shadows of the majestic pine trees outlined the valley, creating a sense of isolation, even under the morning sunlight.

Ikki didn't feel the cold, but he could tell the others weren't the same. Even wearing coats with thick protection against the cutting wind, the freezing weather of the small town seemed to want to penetrate their skin and reach their bones. He continued along the main street, about 800 meters from the train tracks, walking with the group who were still half-asleep from having recently woken up, and the cold wasn't helping at all.

When they stopped in the middle of town, the scene was desolate. The town looked more like a ghost town than a tourist destination. There was the school, a few shops and cafes, some sad-looking ski cabins, and a warehouse with its doors closed. The smell of the icy air was the only sign of life, but it seemed to swallow everything else.

"Great," Thalia said, observing the scene. She was visibly irritated. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rentals. No way out." Frustration overflowed in her voice.

Grover tried to lighten the situation. "There's a diner!" he said, trying to find something positive amidst the impasse.

"Yes," Zoe observed, with her usual calmness.

"Coffee is good." Grover, in turn, seemed lost in his thoughts. "And pastries," he murmured, as if he saw a piece of happiness amidst the chaos. "And waxed paper."

Ikki looked at the group and made a decision: "Right. How about you guys go get some food for us while Atalanta, Thalia, and I go to the grocery store? Maybe they can give us some directions."

They quickly agreed, arranging to meet at the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Atalanta, though reluctant, agreed to accompany them. But Ikki noticed the discomfort in her posture. She wasn't completely at ease with the place, and he knew that meant something.

At the grocery store, the small town seemed to become even more peculiar. There wasn't much to be said about the place other than its peculiar simplicity: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and the town seemed more like an isolated trap than a tourist spot. The clerk, a lone man, looked tired of everything. "You could call a cab from Alamogordo," he said doubtfully. "It's down there, at the base of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Costs hundreds of dollars."

The weariness in his voice was evident. Ikki couldn't help but contemplate that no one really suffered more than anyone else or had a more difficult life; everyone faced their own problems and had to move on, as time waited for no one.

Without another option, he bought a rubber rat – something so bizarre and out of context that even he didn't know what he was doing. They returned to the street, where they met Thalia. She seemed even more restless than before.

"Wonderful," Thalia said disdainfully, crossing her arms and looking around. "I'll go down the street and see if anyone in the other shops has any suggestions."

"All right, go ahead. But be careful," Ikki said calmly.

"Sure…" Thalia grumbled about not being a child anymore and walked away.

Ikki agreed with this because he knew how Thalia's restlessness worked. All demigods had a touch of attention deficit, a result of their innate reflexes on the battlefield. When the mission was urgent, time seemed to drag. And the search for answers was undoubtedly consuming them, making them more restless, except for him, of course.

With a sigh, he held the rubber rat he had bought at the grocery store, examining it with a slight, ironic smile. He knew it was a useless purchase, but the strangeness of the object seemed to align with the peculiar atmosphere of that small, frozen town.

Suddenly, Atalanta's calm but slightly suspicious voice broke the silence.

"Nice rat," she said, nodding towards the object in his hand.

Ikki looked at the rat and then at her, giving an almost amused smile. "It was an impulse buy. The clerk looked like he needed a sale… and, well, I couldn't resist."

Atalanta crossed her arms, a faint smile appearing on her face as she observed his unassuming manner. Despite her initial apprehension towards Ikki, she couldn't deny that he wasn't the man she imagined when she learned of what had happened with Artemis. He seemed… different. More human. And, of course, she remembered the time he spent at the Hunters' camp, trying not to be a 'bother.'

This thought softened her posture.

"Do you still have feelings for her?" Atalanta asked directly, but without hostility. Her forest-green eyes fixed on him, searching for something in his expression.

Ikki was silent for a moment, staring at the rubber rat as if it could give him an answer. Finally, he sighed and shrugged. "No," he admitted, his voice deep but with a vulnerable tone. "After being rejected, I'd have to be pretty stupid to still like her..."

Atalanta raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by his honesty, though she noticed he seemed to be hiding something in his answer. "But why? Why her, of all people?"

Ikki took a deep breath before answering.

"I have a theory. She saw me, my flaws, my fears… and still allowed me to stay close. Even though I knew there would never be an 'us,' even though she rejected me, I never regretted trying. No matter what they say, Artemis was the first person who made me feel like I could have something I always wanted in my life."

Atalanta listened in silence, absorbing his words. She didn't expect such sincerity, and perhaps that made her sympathize with him a little more. Before she could answer, Ikki looked directly at her. "Do you understand?"

The hunter looked away for a moment, a shadow of regret crossing her face. "I understand," she said, her voice softer now. "I was a daughter of Hermes, but I lived in the mortal world for almost two centuries. I had a simple life… until I fell in love with a mortal man. I thought he was different, that he saw me as something more than just a pretty girl. But I was wrong. He tried to rape me, and brought his friends to help."

Ikki was silent, feeling the weight of her words as she continued, her eyes seeming distant, as if reliving the moment.

"I would have died, or worse, if it weren't for Artemis. She saved me. She gave me a new life. And for that, I swore loyalty to her. Artemis showed me that I didn't need to be defined by what happened to me." There was a pause before Atalanta looked at him again. "But even after all that, I never completely hated men. I had a younger brother, you know? He was pure, innocent… He didn't deserve to be judged for the mistakes of others. Just like maybe you don't deserve to be judged for what happened with Artemis, that's the conclusion I came to after observing you for the last two days."

Ikki felt a lump in his throat as he heard that. He had never thought that a Hunter could understand his pain, but there she was, sharing something so personal.

Atalanta shrugged, a melancholic smile appearing on her lips. "I think I understand you a little, Ikki. I'm sorry for letting my previous judgment affect you, you're not a terrible man as I imagined…"

Ikki didn't know what to say immediately. He just nodded, feeling a renewed respect for the hunter. In that brief moment, it seemed that despite all their differences, they had found common ground.

A few meters ahead, Grover, Phoebe, and Zoe emerged from the diner, balancing pastries and drinks in their hands. They seemed satisfied with the short break, and the warm aroma of fresh food soon reached Ikki and Atalanta. As they approached, Grover handed each of them a cup of hot chocolate, while Zoe and Phoebe stuck with coffee.

Ikki accepted the hot chocolate and a raspberry scone, which Grover had brought extra. Although he didn't need to eat, he never turned down a good meal. As he bit into the scone, he felt the sweet and tart flavors mingle on his palate, a momentary distraction from the cold that seemed to cut through the air around them.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said suddenly, her practical voice cutting through the tranquility. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

Grover, chewing absentmindedly on a fruit scone wrapped in waxed paper, mumbled. "Umm, I think so. I just need—" He stopped, his sentence interrupted mid-way. His eyes glazed over, and he became still as if he had heard something the others couldn't.

Ikki and the others exchanged confused glances, worry beginning to surface. Before anyone could ask what was wrong, an unusual breeze blew past them. It was warm, completely out of place in the freezing winter, laden with the scent of wildflowers and the softness of spring sunlight. However, there was something more: an almost imperceptible sound, like a distant voice trying to penetrate an invisible veil.

Zoe took a deep breath, a glint of alertness in her eyes. "Grover, your cup."

Before Grover could react, the coffee cup in his hands tipped over. The hot liquid spilled onto the snow, but something even stranger happened. The bird designs decorating the cup seemed to come to life. A flock of small doves shimmered in the air, flapping their wings frantically as they disappeared towards the trees. At the same time, the rubber rat Ikki had bought let out a supernatural squeak. In a blink of an eye, it jumped from Ikki's pocket, scurrying into the woods with real fur and whiskers.

"Grover!" Ikki didn't pay attention to this; he bent down as the satyr collapsed to his knees, his breathing ragged. The spilled coffee was melting the snow, but no one was paying attention to that. Zoe, Atalanta, and Phoebe knelt beside him as he groaned and opened his eyes shakily, as if struggling to return to the conscious world.

"Hey!" Thalia came running down the street, her spear shimmering with electricity. Her gaze went immediately to Grover. "What happened to him?"

"We don't know," Phoebe said, frowning as she held Grover's arm. "He just fainted."

"Uuuuuhhhh…" Grover groaned again, his voice weak.

Thalia looked around, clearly uneasy. "Well, get him up!" She tightened her grip on her spear, the tension visible on her face. "We have to get out of here, now."

She cast another glance behind her, as if she were being followed by something invisible. The air around them seemed heavier, almost pulsating, as if foreshadowing something yet to come.

They quickly left.

They reached the edge of town when the first two skeleton warriors emerged from the shadows between the trees on both sides of the road. Their figures were even more sinister now, with blue New Mexico State Police uniforms covering their translucent forms. Their grayish skin seemed to shimmer under the light, and those bright yellow eyes fixed on the group with cold intent.

The skeletons drew their weapons in perfect synchronization, and Thalia immediately slapped her bracelet. The Aegis shield unfolded on her arm, radiating a menacing glow, but the skeleton warriors didn't hesitate. Their eyes, filled with an inhuman fury, targeted Ikki like predators surrounding their prey.

Zoe, Atalanta, and Phoebe already had their bows in hand, strings drawn and ready to fire.

However, Ikki faced another problem: Grover, still disoriented and weak, was collapsing against him, hindering any agile movement. He couldn't just put the satyr over his shoulder as he did when he first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

"Fall back," Thalia ordered, her voice firm despite the tension. They began to take slow steps backward, but then they heard an ominous sound—the metallic clinking of chains. Before they could react, two more skeletons emerged on the road behind them, blocking their only remaining escape route.

Now they were surrounded.

Weren't there supposed to be twelve? Where were the others? While some of them wondered about this, they got their answer when one of the skeletons raised a cell phone and brought it close to where its mouth should be. Instead of words, the sound that came out was horrible—a noise of dry clicks, like teeth grinding against old bones. It was as if a dead language was being spoken.

"They're calling for reinforcements," Zoe stated, her eyes grim as she held her bow firmly. "We'll be surrounded soon."

The group exchanged quick glances, trying to assess their options.

Grover's breathing became more irregular, and he murmured something inaudible before groaning loudly: "It's close…"

"Nature's gift," Grover murmured louder, his voice trembling with agony, but no one understood at first.

"We don't have time for this," Thalia growled, adjusting the position of her shield. "Four of them, five of us. If we split up and fight, two of us will need to deal with only one. Maybe they'll ignore Grover in this state."

"Agreed," Zoe responded quickly, the tension evident in the line of her jaw.

Grover's groan grew louder, his disjointed words becoming more insistent. "Nature! The gift… it's here!"

A sudden warm wind swept through the canyon, swaying the surrounding trees. It was such an unexpected and surreal moment that everyone stopped, as if the forest itself was reacting to their presence.

Atalanta narrowed her eyes, looking at Grover. "What are you talking about? What gift?"

Grover seemed about to faint again, but he whispered, "Trust in nature…"

Ikki, still holding Grover, felt the warm breeze caress his face like a promise of something greater. He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the skeletons around them, and said calmly,

"I have an idea..."

His words, laden with confidence, caught everyone's attention. Thalia, Zoe, Phoebe, and Atalanta looked at him with a mixture of surprise and skepticism, but before anyone could question him, Ikki looked up at the skeletons, using his [Presence Manipulation] to create multiple visions of them fleeing in different directions for the skeletons to see.

When he activated this ability, his eyes glowed faintly, like lightning forming within a distant storm, and he fixed his gaze on each of the skeleton warriors, one at a time. It was as if something invisible and powerful emanated from him.

The skeletons, which had been motionless like predators ready to attack, began to hesitate. Then, without warning, one of them turned and started running towards the trees. Another followed close behind, stumbling in the snow as it disappeared into the forest. The two remaining skeletons exchanged empty glances, as if trying to understand what was happening, but soon they too set off in opposite directions, vanishing down the road and among the pines.

The group stood in complete silence for a few seconds, the sound of the skeletons' frantic footsteps echoing and fading in the distance. Zoe was the first to find her voice, though she was clearly stunned:

"What… was that?"

Ikki adjusted Grover, who was still slumped against him, and shrugged, as if what he had just done wasn't anything extraordinary. "Let's just say they needed a little… direction."

Thalia narrowed her eyes at him, clearly trying to process what had just happened. "You… sent them away? How?"

Ikki just gave a slight smile as he replied, "Let's just say it was magic…"

Phoebe crossed her arms, though her lips showed a slight smile of approval. "Impressive. I guess I have to admit that was… helpful."

Grover groaned softly, still leaning against Ikki, but managed to murmur, "Nature… trust in nature…"

Ikki looked at him and sighed. "Whatever that means, we'd better find out soon before the other skeletons come back with reinforcements."

Although he had projected the "presences" of the group hundreds of kilometers away to confuse their enemies, so he was sure they wouldn't be back anytime soon. He hadn't done it before because it took a while to expand the complex network he created to mislead his enemies; it was a job that required his senses and focus, and everything that had happened in the last two days had delayed it.

Zoe nodded, though she still seemed disturbed. "He's right. We can't waste this chance. Let's get out of here before they regroup."

Without another word, the group started moving again, their steps hurried as the tension still hung in the air. The warm wind seemed to accompany each of them, as if guiding them towards whatever was to come next.