Hunter turned around looking for the source of Kate’s voice. He searched and searched but still he could hear it.
“Hunter! Hunter!” The voice was coming from everywhere around him. He crumpled to the ground with his hands on his head. “You killed me, Hunter! You killed me! You stabbed me to death! I trusted you and you killed me.”
“NO! NO!” Hunter screamed in agony. Will knelt down next to him and started trying to shake Hunter out of it. Hunter screamed out as the voice pierced his brain and flooded his mind. He could do nothing but hear the voice shouting curses at him. Hunter, mentally broken, passed out.
The angry words in Kate’s voice still ringing around his brain, Hunter was in darkness. He was standing in his dream and couldn’t see anything around him. Suddenly, Kate appeared in a beam of light in front of him. She was happy and smiling. She waved to Hunter who smiled back and started running towards her. She turned around and started running. Hunter remembered that this was something they did a lot those 5 years ago. She would tease him and he would run after her. She would always let him win. She was just within his grasp when the body that he carried back to the camp appeared in front of him. He jumped back in horror. He stared as the body stood up and turned to him. “YOU! You killed me! I trusted you to keep me safe! You stabbed me to death!” Hunter was too shocked to say anything. “You killed me! You murdered me! You’re a monster!” Hunter looked up and saw the living Kate, the one he wanted to remember, waving at him and motioning to him to chase her. Hunter was conflicted. He didn’t know what to do. Hunter stood there shocked. To his side he saw another Kate appear and start yelling at him. Suddenly, another appeared and started yelling. In a matter of seconds, Hunter was surrounded by the exact image that had tortured his soul for so many years. He looked up and saw the living Kate, basked in light, screaming to him. He could only barely make out what she was saying
“Come on, Hunter! I’ll save you!” She screamed. Hunter was still too scared to do anything. “Follow me! I know what to do!” Kate screamed again. This time Hunter pushed his way through his barrier and ran after Kate. Kate turned around and ran. Hunter pretty soon was running I stride with her far off in the distance he could see a little spot of light becoming closer and closer. The closer they got, however, the voices got worse. They became louder in Hunter’s ears. Hunter ran faster and faster, but the closer he got to the light the more awful the voices became. The voices became twisted, corrupted. It went from a little girl’s voice to more of a low growl. The voices roared into Hunter’s ears and Hunter ran faster and faster and with every step the worse it got. Kate and Hunter were only a few dozen yards from the light when he heard the voice change again. It wasn’t a monstrous growl and it wasn’t the voice of a little girl. It was more nasal yet smooth. It was a voice Hunter had heard before. Before Hunter could identify the voice, he hit the light.
It was silent. Hunter stood up and rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t in the Fields of Asphodel. He knew this place. He knew it well. He was back in the woods in Camp Half-Blood. He was looking around. From the 12 years he spent in these woods he knew them well. He knew exactly where he was. He was in the exact spot he killed Kate disguised as the Minotaur. Hunter was suddenly holding the knife he had hidden under his bed for so long. In a flash of light, the Minotaur appeared. Hunter was in the same situation he was in 5 years ago. Hunter felt the urge to go and attack the Minotaur, but he resisted it. He made the mistake once; he was not going to make it again. He stood there behind the Minotaur and sheathed his knife. Hunter stared at the Minotaur in a hope to find a way to see through the illusion. He watched as the Minotaur turned around and roared at Hunter. This didn’t happen before. Hunter stared as the Minotaur became more and more agitated. “What are you doing?!” Hunter turned around and saw Kate standing there.
“Wha…But you…” Hunter was too confused to make a complete sentence.
“Hunter! When you were 10, you cried when Jimmy Baker beat you in a sword fight. When you were nine, You shot an aspirin capsule out of the air with an arrow.” Kate took a deep breath and continued to speak quickly. “You’re very tidy for a guy. You speak 6 languages. You love the color blue and the smell of rain. Now would you stop staring at me and kill that!” She pointed at the Minotaur. Hunter stared as tons of personal information about him was spewed out. “How do you…Only Kate knows that. I’ve never told anyone that.” Hunter finally realized that he was talking to Kate. He turned to the Minotaur just in time to see him start to charge. Hunter waited and dove away at the last minute. Hunter unsheathed his knife and jumped onto the back of the Minotaur. He plunged his knife into the back of the beast. Again and again he stabbed his blade into the back of the Minotaur. He jumped off and the Minotaur fell to the ground. He jumped on it and slashed across its throat, killing the beast. The Minotaur let off one last growl and then turned to dust. Hunter turned to Kate who was standing there smiling. He walked up to her and hugged her.
“What are you doing here? I-“ Hunter choked up. “I held your lifeless body. I carried you back to Camp Half-Blood and brought you to the infirmary. You died. You died because you were the Minotaur and I…I killed you.” Kate looked up him and smiled.
“Hunter. You’ve blamed yourself for so long. And to be honest I’m a little insulted. You only remembered me for that one event. Every time you thought of me it was to remember me as the person that you killed. You never remembered all the good things that we did together.” Hunter knew she was right. He tried to look back on all of his memories with Kate. They hadn’t been accessed in a long time. Flashes of happiness that were associated with Kate came flooding back into the forefront of his mind.
“Kate….I’m so sorry. I was tricked. I should have known that you didn’t want to be remembered for that. You wouldn’t hold that against me.” Hunter felt tears stream down his cheeks. He walked over to Kate and hugged her again. “I never wanted to be like this. I’m so sorry.” Kate reached up and wiped the tears off his face.
“You have to go now. You’re friends are waiting for you. You’re almost there, Hunter. You cannot give up.” She put her hands on his shoulders and started shaking him. Hunter’s eyes shot open. He was back in the Fields of Asphodel.