Chapter Text
That first night, I fell asleep in front of a television.
I remember the feeling of my heart pounding in my chest, my stomach turning. I crept through the kitchen, my school backpack slung across my shoulders. It was filled with a couple of pairs of pants and tops. I had stolen my father’s winter jacket from the back of his office chair and stuck my hands in the pockets, grateful to have been met with a couple of dollars in loose change. I was still in my pajamas, and I wrapped the oversized jacket around my body.
I shoved food into my backpack, not paying much attention to the contents as I opened and closed the cabinets as quietly as I could. I crossed to the front door, and clicked open the lock. I caught the screen door with my foot to keep it from slamming. On the pavement, the snow crunched and soaked through my shoes. I twisted the doorknob before I closed it to avoid any extra noise.
Trudging over the snow-covered paving stones, I crossed the threshold that separated the yard from the road. It was colder than I anticipated.
I looked back at the house one last time. It was two stories, and relatively nice. I found the window I knew connected to my father’s bedroom. The inside was pitch-black and impenetrable, impossible to make out a single thing that lay beyond. I turned around to face the street, illuminated by street lights. And just like that, I left.
I don’t know what I expected. Maybe to feel some sense of thrill or perhaps a relief. But instead, I felt nothing. I supposed another kid would be sad to leave home. If I were normal, maybe I would, too.
I didn’t really have a plan for where I would go. I knew I had family I could trust in Boston, a cousin my age and an aunt who seemed nice enough. But, it would take over a week to walk there (believe me, I checked) and I couldn’t find their phone number in any of my father’s papers. I decided that I would try to head that way eventually. Although, I had no idea how I would get there or what I would tell them when I did.
So, I made my way toward the city. We lived in a suburb just outside of Richmond, but I spent the rest of the night and into the next day trekking through the woods, shivering. I was afraid to use the main roads, because I didn’t want someone to see a young girl walking alone and go all “concerned citizen” on me.
I grabbed the sharpest tree branch I could find. When the monsters came for me, I didn’t want to be caught unarmed. Surprisingly, nothing showed up. Surely they would sense my presence in that way that they always did? And now I was alone, with no one to protect me. But, by the time I made it to the city, I was feeling very lucky that I hadn’t been bothered yet. I know now, however, that they were simply lying in wait, sizing up the new smell.
As I reentered the streets, I tucked the stick into my waistband and under my shirt so that no one would see it. Willfully, I didn’t make eye contact with anyone that I passed and tried to look like I knew where I was going. I imagined what I looked like to passersby, a little girl, dirty, drowning in a men’s puffer jacket, by herself. But, apparently, I didn’t need to worry. Everyone I passed overlooked me, like I was an everyday sight.
I found myself at the public library. My father often took me there when he had special work to do. At least, he used to before he met my stepmother and the twins were born. He would disappear into the upstairs reference section and let me have free reign of the children’s area on the ground floor. I enjoyed those times. I wasn’t allowed to use the computers, like many of the other kids, but I kept myself busy with the picture books. It was nice to be in a place where I wasn’t expected to interact with anyone. I could just mind my own business and everyone else did too.
This time, I made a beeline for the bathrooms, afraid that one of the librarians would recognize me. I gulped down water at the fountain. It took a while for my mouth to stop feeling like sandpaper. In the bathroom, I washed my face of the dirt I’d picked up from my trek. There was a sink lower than the rest that I was able to reach. It was only then that I realized how tired I was. I don’t know if I’d slept a wink the previous night out of anticipation.
I returned to the main room, where I could see the children’s section. There were a couple of kids, my age and younger, playing with some of the toys. There was a teenager at a computer and an old librarian with a shock of white hair and a kind-looking face. She was humming something under her breath and working on an arts-and-crafts project.
I sat down heavily on a cushy chair near the window. My eyes fluttered and I was forced to stifle a yawn. Without thinking, I placed my backpack at the ground near my feet and curled up on the seat. I adjusted the stick so that it wouldn’t dig into my stomach.
I watched the librarian as she was cutting a piece of purple paper, her expression pleasantly neutral. She was doing one of those paper-doll chains. The scissors glided across the outline swiftly and skillfully. The last thing I remember before I fell asleep was her cutting the head off of a little purple man.
When I woke up, the room was dark. The sun had set outside and the only light was that which bled in through the parking lot and the street. I rose slowly and carefully. My voice shook as I spoke, “Hello?”
The sound rang hollow. The room felt much emptier than it had before. I wondered if the library had just closed and no one saw me. Maybe I could just sleep here tonight? I wouldn’t be ideal, but at least I had somewhere to go. I turned to go back to the chair I’d been sleeping in, impressed with my luck again, when another voice responded.
”Who’s there?” The voice was frail and raspy, but soft, like a scratchy blanket.
A flashlight beam appeared down the hall, near the front desk. My stomach dropped like it did whenever I got in trouble. “I’m sorry,” I said, my voice trembling now more than ever, “I just accidentally fell asleep. I can go.” The flashlight continued to approach me, but I couldn’t make out anything but a figure behind it.
“Where are your parents?”
“Um… they’re…”
“How old are you?”
“I’m— I’m seven-and-a-half.”
“A little one like you shouldn’t be all alone like this.”
“I know. I can just go. I’ll go back to my parents.”
The old woman got closer. I could make out the overall details of her face. It was the lady I’d seen earlier at the crafts station. I recognized her by the stark white of her hair. Her face, though still kind-looking, was very pale, almost blending into the color of her hair. She shone the flashlight into my face, so I couldn’t get a good look at her.
She cocked her head, “What’s your name, little one?”
”Uh… Annabeth.” I squinted through the bright light.
“Annabeth,” She said slowly, like she was feeling the way her mouth formed around it.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You’ve been a bad girl, Annabeth.”
“I— what?” As I brought my hand up to shield my eyes, I noticed that her face seemed to be increasing in paleness. On instinct, I placed my hand on the stick underneath my shirt.
“You shouldn’t have left your parents.”
She bared her teeth animalistically. I realized with a start that her body was transforming, her back hunching and ears elongating. I backed away, pulling the stick from my waistband to hold it out, hands trembling. My fingers barely wrapped around the circumference.
The woman no longer looked friendly or kind, instead crossing a border between human and animal.
“What are you?” I asked.
In a low growl, she said, “I’m the original boogeyman, sweetheart. Mormo, is what they called me. And I eat children who misbehave.”
The monster lunged at me and I swung wildly. My stick made contact with the side of its face, but it didn’t so much as flinch and the creature tackled me and slammed me against a bookshelf.
Its paws were on my chest, pinning me to the hard wood and making it difficult to breathe. I could see the window looking out onto the parking lot. There were still a couple of cars.
“Help!” I shrieked, “Help me!”
The creature laughed without humor. When it spoke, its voice was stripped of its previous coziness, “Oh, no one’s going to help you, little one. It’s just you and me.”
It growled deep in its throat, its maw dripping with saliva. I looked around frantically, searching for any sign of rescue. Then, I looked up. The impact had knocked some books loose, some nice and heavy ones. I got a good footing on the carpet and slammed myself into the shelf once more. The books fell right on top of its head.
Taken aback, the monster’s grip on me lessened for just a moment, but that was all I needed. I scooted down and ducked between the creature’s front and back legs. I took off sprinting through the maze of bookshelves.
I could hear the monster calling out after me. I collided with the glass side door, finding it locked. The creature sprinted towards me on all fours. As it pounced, I took my stick and smashed the glass of the door. Alarms blared all around the building. I didn’t look back and took off down the sidewalk.
The creature roared in rage behind me. But, it didn’t seem interested in following me out into the street. Either that or it lost my scent in the city. Even so, I didn’t stop running until the library was at least two blocks away. It couldn’t have been that late at night, because there were still plenty of cars on the roads and I pushed past groups of people on the sidewalk.
My breath came hot and fast. Shoulders aching, I found an alleyway and collapsed next to a trash can. A diner glowed nearby.
The creature’s words echoed over and over in my mind. It was right, I realized. I shouldn’t have left home, but I couldn’t go back. I wondered what my father and stepmother were doing right then, if they were sick with worry, or if they were just moving on, business as usual. I didn’t know which was worse.
I felt my stomach grumbling. This was the longest I had ever gone without eating, barely more than a day. I hadn’t had any meals since supper the previous night. I reached around for my backpack. My stomach sank when I realized it wasn’t there. In my ferver, I had left it on the library floor. But I knew I couldn’t bring myself to go back to that place.
Tears started streaming down my face. I was hungry, exhausted, hurting, and alone with no food and no clothes. I wrapped my father’s jacket around myself to block out the cold air.
Across the way at the diner, a television gleamed on the wall. I could make out the local news station playing on it. My father liked to have the news on for background noise while he worked. So I knew that they did a segment every night on local missing children. They would plaster picture after picture on the screen, pleading for anyone who had any information to help return them to their parents.
I watched the television intently, even scooting closer so that I could get a good look. The segment came and went, but my face never appeared. No one was looking for me. To this day, I’ve never felt more alone.
I killed my first monster the next morning.
———
The next time I saw him, Percy was wearing an orange camp t-shirt. He was sitting at the Hermes table, right next to Luke. Percy had been glued to his side, copying Luke’s actions as he gave his burnt offering. I watched him as he sat back down with his food and sipped on a strange blue-colored drink.
Someone elbowed me in the ribs. I started, turning to Imala, who was sitting next to me. Her tan face shone in the torchlight and she smirked down at me, “Didn’t your daddy ever teach you not to stare?”
I looked down at my own drink, a flavored water, “I guess not.”
Imala hummed as she took a bite out of a roll of bread, “Anyone who didn’t know better might say you have a crush on that new kid.”
We glanced back over at Percy. He was making a face at a piece of fruit as he poked it with a fork. “Yeah, okay,” I said. Imala chuckled deeply.
We fell silent as Mr. D announced the standing of the ongoing capture-the-flag competition. The Ares cabin was in the lead, much to my dismay. As was tradition whenever we had a new addition, he introduced everyone to Percy, whose face had turned a deep shade of fuchsia at the sudden attention. Chiron made sure Mr. D got his name right.
After the sun had gone down, we all migrated over to the amphitheater, where a fire had been lit in the pit. I scooted over to Luke’s side. Some of the Apollo kids started a cheesy campfire song. The flames burned a bright yet muted orange. Luke glanced at me as I sat down next to him. We were in the back, where no one could see that we weren’t doing the motions. Lee, in particular, was notorious for calling out people who weren’t participating, so we slouched down into the shadows.
“Hey,” I said, “Imala wanted me to ask if you wanted to ally with us for Friday.”
“Alright. But, Travis specifically said that I should ask for your shower time instead of our usual deal.”
Our usual deal was the later sword-fighting session in exchange for (presumably stolen) goods from the camp store.
“We don’t want your shower time, though. It’s too late in the day, there’s never hot water left.”
“Exactly.”
I groaned, “Fine, but you’d better get us some really good stuff this time. Like, candy or something.”
“Do you want to ally or not?”
I rested my elbows on my knees and squinted down at the fire below, “Yeah,” I grumbled. He chuckled at my expression and I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Tell you what,” he ran his hands through his hair, “I’ll get you one of those sodas that you really like and we’ll call it a deal.”
The soda that I liked was called Oneiroi Lite and it was supposed to be a treatment for bad dreams, but I just liked it because it had a lemony flavor that was similar to mortal Sprite.
Down at the fire, someone had started breaking out the plastic bags of marshmallows and chocolate.
“I’ll only agree to it if you make me a s’more,” I grinned.
He laughed again and winked, “You drive a hard bargain, Miss Chase.” He rose and trundled down the steps. Yanking a tree branch from the ground, he stabbed a pair of marshmallows on top and saluted me as he rotated the stick over the fire.
———
“I don’t want to take cold showers!”
Back at the cabin, I was sitting on Imala’s bed, which was the bunk below mine, as she brushed her teeth in the cabin’s bathroom sink. I was already in an oversized t-shirt that I wore as a nightgown. We had been talking about my conversation with Luke when Jian, a foul-mouthed fourteen-year-old who’d come to Camp at the beginning of the summer, overheard. He had his hands on his hips and his voice rang through the room, causing the others to turn in response. Some who were already in bed looked up, annoyed. Jian didn’t seem to notice, though.
“Oh, hush up. It’s good for your immune system,” Imala’s voice was muffled and her toothbrush bounced up and down in her mouth.
“I don’t give a flying—“ Jian was cut off as someone’s pillow collided with his face. Giggles rippled throughout the room.
Even though the corners of Imala’s mouth were curled up, she kept her expression neutral. She disappeared for a moment to spit in the sink. When she returned, not only Jian, but most of the cabin had drawn their attention ever-so-slightly to see how she would respond. If she noticed the attention, she didn’t let it show.
“First of all,” she began, “It’s not gonna kill you to take cold showers for a few weeks. We’ll get our regular sword-fighting time slot back and we can always negotiate better stuff before they make their run,“ After a moment, Jian sucked in a breath, stamped his foot, and grumbled something as he walked away, “Second of all, you’ve got to stop taking these bad deals, Annabeth. I’ll admit, this one’s not that bad, but we’ve got to stand our ground. People are going to notice and start taking advantage of us.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I said, adamant, “We need Hermes on our side if we want to win this week.”
Imala crossed her arms. She wasn’t really mad, I could tell. She rarely ever got mad. She was like Luke in that way. They both consistently maintained an easy-going attitude, no matter what happened. They only got angry if their sense of justice was compromised.
“Why’s that?” She asked.
“Because I have a plan,” I said simply.
She opened her mouth to speak, then sighed and shook her head. She crossed over to the doorway, “Okay. We’ll talk about it more in the morning. Lights out.” She flipped the light switch, plunging the cabin into darkness.
I climbed the familiar path up onto my bed, where I fiddled with the ring on my necklace, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the low light.
———
I tutored Percy in Ancient Greek first thing the next morning. When I arrived at the dining pavilion, he was struggling over his breakfast, trying hard to stay awake. Clearly, he wasn’t used to getting up that early.
After breakfast, I met him at his table and led him over to the picnic benches overlooking the beach. I went through some basic pronunciation and grammar. He picked it up very quickly and he knew— almost intrinsically— what the Greek words meant, like most demigods did.
Over the next three days, this became routine. By Thursday, Percy was able to read full passages, albeit haltingly:
“‘Ó pópoi… oíon dí ny theoús vrotoí aitióontai,’” he read, “‘Ex iméon gár fasi kák émmenai: oi dé kaí aftoí sfísin… ata— atasthalíisin ypér móron álge échoisin.’”
“Good,” I said, “What’s that in English?”
“Um…” He thought for a moment, “‘Behold?’” He looked up for confirmation. I nodded and he continued, “‘Mortals are quick to blame the gods. They say that we plan bad things for them. But they, in their evil, plan worse things than fate does.’”
”Yeah, essentially,” I checked my watch, “Okay. That should be it for today. I have archery in ten, and you have wrestling, right?”
He nodded vaguely. I stood and began gathering up my books and things from the picnic table, but Percy was frozen in place.
“You coming?” I asked.
He furrowed his brow, “I just— I don’t get it.”
“Get what?”
“What I just read. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Oh,” I sat back down, “I mean, people do bad things. And it’s not always the gods’ fault.”
Looking out at the horizon, he said, “I guess.”
Spoiler alert: I didn’t go to archery. Chiron seemed to have given up on reprimanding me for my truancy, although he had taken to giving me disappointed looks whenever he saw me. Which might have been more annoying.
Instead, I walked the perimeter of the campgrounds, staying in the shade wherever I could. After hours of this, I began to see the smoke rising from the kitchen, indicating that lunch was soon.
I passed the sword-fighting arena. The floor had been transfigured for the purposes of the wrestling class. The Ares and Hermes cabins surrounded a large mat, where pairs of campers were sparring. I looked on from afar, pretending to be distracted by a dandelion.
Luke’s ashy blonde hair rose up above the others. I watched as he spoke with Chris Rodriguez, an unclaimed boy of about fifteen. Although not certain, Chris’ parentage had been assumed to be Hermes. He and Luke shared a special friendship, often sparring and hanging out together.
On the floor, two more campers were called up. To my suprise, Percy nervously mounted the raised mat. Clarisse quickly volunteered to be his opponent.
The match didn’t last very long. Percy was too hesitant to make any serious moves, whereas Clarisse was absolutely out for blood. The others watched on nervously, watching to make sure she didn’t go too far. Finally, Clarisse got him into a hold and someone called the match. She held him there for a moment or two longer, just because she could, I guess.
Clarisse smirked as she walked back to her siblings, who slapped her on the back. Then, Chris pulled her aside and the two began talking animatedly. Clarisse was clearly upset by something that he was saying and Chris, ever the pacifist, had his hands raised in mollification. She stormed off after a while, vehement.
That evening, after dinner, Imala and I went back to the cabin to plan for the next day’s activities instead of going to the campfire. We poured over a map of the woods projected onto a dry erase board. Imala scribbled on it with a marker.
We decided that we were going to take the Apollo and Hermes cabins as allies this week, and let Clarisse have her pick of the rest. Even so, numbers weren’t a problem, as we had the two largest cabins, bigger than all the rest of them combined. We also had the most traditionally athletic campers, overall. I was confident about our odds, but…
“I think I have a way to distract Clarisse,” I said.
Imala cocked an eyebrow, then gestured for me to continue.
“Okay,” I took a deep breath, “So, Clarisse hates that new kid, Percy, because of his stunt with the Minotaur. She’s been finding every opportunity to beat up on him. So, I’m thinking if we can get him here,” I pointed to a spot near the river border, “And when she goes after him, she’ll be forced to leave their flag basically unattended.”
Imala shook her head, “She’ll just put some of the others at the post.”
“Who? The Aphrodite kids? You don’t think we can take them?” She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off, “And even if she used some of the other Ares kids for guard, we still have the superior numbers. We can overpower them, easy. Especially when they’re missing their leader.”
She tilted her head back and forth, deep in thought. She sighed, “I mean… I don’t know how I feel about using him as bait.”
“He won’t figure it out. And neither will Clarisse, as long as we’re not too conspicuous.” She didn’t look satisfied. “I can be there,” I continued, “I can use my invisibility cap and make sure he doesn’t get too hurt.”
“Make sure he doesn’t get hurt. Period,” She insisted, “We’re not going to put him in danger for some dumb game.”
“Of course.”
The corners of her mouth tilted up, “It’s pretty good, if I’m being honest. Using her own pride against her. It’s like a Walmart version of the Trojan Horse.”
I nodded, “Percy’s the horse.”
Imala hummed in agreement and looked over the map one last time. She caught my eye and said, “If anything happens to this kid, Annabeth, I swear. I’m counting on you, alright?”
“Alright,” I asserted, “I won’t let you down. I promise.”
She pursed her lips then returned to writing on the board, muttering quietly under her breath.
———
The next day, I caught Luke up on the plan when both of our cabins had freetime and we decided to head out on a canoe. He rowed us out to the center of the lake, where no one would overhear. As I unraveled the strategy, an impish grin spread across his face.
“Oh, yeah,” he chuckled, “that’ll work. See, I knew you’d get us that victory. The Ares cabin might get the brawns, but Athena’s always two steps ahead with a good plan.” He leaned back against the side of the boat, chewing on a reed he’d plucked from the shore, looking shockingly like a cowboy.
I smiled, ”If I do say so myself.”
He took the reed out of his mouth and pointed it at me lazily, his eyes sparkling in the afternoon light, “You know… I’ll keep you around. I knew I picked you up for a reason.”
I picked up a glob of moss from the surface of the lake and flung it into his face. Luke laughed loudly.
“Hey!” He wrinkled his nose and wiped the green gunk from his cheek, “Jerk,” he mumbled, trying hard to feign offense.
I giggled, “I’m the jerk?”
He ran his hands through his hair and went back to fiddling with the reed, “Mmhmm.”
We sat in a comfortable silence for a while. I leaned over the side of the boat and ran my fingers through the water, watching the way the pond scum broke apart in graceful swirls.
“I wouldn’t count him out,” Luke said, breaking the silence.
I looked up, resting my chin on my arms on the canoe side.
“The new kid,” he gestured vaguely toward the cabins, “Percy. You should’ve seen him in sword-fighting the other day.”
“Was he good?” I asked.
Luke let out a huff of breath, almost a laugh. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, “Yeah.”
The rest of the day was a blur. I was jittery, giddy with anticipation. Before I knew it, we were standing in the dining pavilion, in the midst of the fading sunlight. Imala, another Athena kid, and I carried the gray silk banner to the cheers of the others. Clarisse and her siblings ran in on the opposite side with the blood-red Ares banner.
Chiron announced the teams and stated the rules. Then, he spread his arms and equipment materialized on the tables, armor according to our size and preferred weapons laid out in front of us. I strapped myself in and slung my dagger on my belt and put my cap in my pants pocket. At the Hermes table, Luke showed Percy how to put on his armor. The younger boy shifted uncomfortably under the weight. He ran his fingers through the azure plume on his helmet before putting it on.
On the other side of the pavilion, Clarisse smirked as she helped Silena adjust her armor. Silena looked over her shoulder and smiled gratefully. They put on their identical red-plumed helmets. Strapped to Clarisse’s back was her electric spear. It wasn’t on right then, but I vividly recalled the way that it emanated a menacing red glow. It was a formidable weapon, especially when it’s inches from your chest.
Once everyone was finished getting ready, Imala nudged my shoulder lightly. She tilted her head toward our team. I got the message: You lead.
I raised my eyebrows: Are you sure?
She nodded. I took a deep breath. In a loud voice, I said, “Blue team, forward!”
The other campers quickly fell in line behind me. I guided the group over to the path that led towards our base in the South. Clarisse and the red team went North. We walked nearly single-file through the woods. Eventually, people pulled out flashlights to light the way. Behind me, I heard some of the others laughing and jostling each other, but I kept my eyes forward, focused on running the plan over in my mind.
Suddenly, there was a loud metallic clanking. I turned around to see Percy, nearly tripping over himself to catch up to me. He trundled in his armor uneasily, trying to navigate the uneven path. He managed to make it to my side without eating dirt.
“Hey,” he gasped, “So… what’s the plan? Got any magic items you can loan me?”
His smile was a little too eager, like he was waiting for some kind of reaction. On instinct, I checked my pocket, but my cap was still there. I’d been spending too much time with Luke, I guess. He was always swiping my stuff, just for a laugh. “Just watch Clarisse’s spear. You don’t want that thing touching you,” I warned, “Otherwise, don’t worry about it. We’ll get the banner from Ares. You just do your job. Has Luke given it to you?”
”Yeah,” he said, fixing his helmet, “Border patrol, whatever that means.”
“It’s easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan.”
“Oh,” he said, his smile wavering, “okay…”
The others broke off at their assigned positions, and I went off with Percy. I showed him where to stand, and he nodded and vigantly held out his sword.
“You got this,” I said. I hoped it sounded encouraging, but he just sighed and looked out at the other side of the border.
Then, I moved on through the trees. I found a good lookout spot, where I could still see Percy standing by himself and fidgeting with the straps on his chest plate, but where I was still hidden. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the moonlight, then I pulled on my cap. I placed my helmet in a bush and made sure that it was concealed, then approached the creek as quietly as I could.
My skin tingled irritatingly. The feeling lessened the more uses I’d gotten out of it, but still, I hoped I wouldn’t have to wear the hat for too long. I rubbed my arms to see if it would help. I don’t think it did.
Percy kicked a stone, humming a tune under his breath. I leaned on a tree nearby. He turned quickly at the sounds of fighting in the distance. Someone had sounded the alarm that indicated that our team had attacked the red base. I was itching to join the fight, but I stayed put. Lee Fletcher dashed from behind us toward the enemy side, presumably as backup.
As Lee disappeared, someone else materialized through the underbrush. It was Clarisse, with four of her siblings. Two of them were carrying flashlights. I placed a hand on my dagger, just in case.
Clarisse yelled, “Cream the punk!” And all of them charged the creek and pounced on Percy. He put up a good fight, but was hopelessly outnumbered. Luke was correct, he was a good fighter, if untrained.
I waited, and watched the fight go down. I told myself that I would intervene if anyone got seriously injured. Maybe I would see how he would do, if he was worth all the hype. And if I revealed the plan too early, it might ruin the whole operation.
Clarisse’s spear struck Percy’s shield, his hair going on end. I cringed, remembering the numbing-tingling feeling the point induced. I did warn him. One of the guys— Nial, I remembered— hit Percy’s chest with the butt of his sword, and the boy fell down into the grass. They laughed hysterically at his expression.
Percy struggled to his feet, pointing his sword at Clarisse with a shaking hand. She nonchalantly knocked it aside.
Clarisse chuckled, “Oh, man. I’m scared of this guy. Really scared.”
Percy, for all his bravery, said weakly, “The flag’s that way. In case you didn’t notice.”
She crossed her arms, “Yeah. But, see, we don’t care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid.”
“You do that without my help,” Percy tripped over a rock, backing up toward the creek.
Clarisse stabbed, and Percy raised his shield, but her spear made contact with his side. The weapon left a pointed dent in his chest plate. Percy stumbled, eyes fluttering. Nial slashed into Percy’s arm and blood started dripping onto the rocks.
“Hey,” Percy mumbled, “No maiming.”
Nial smirked, “Oops. Guess I lost my desert privileges,” Then, he pushed the smaller boy into the creek.
If I was going to intervene, it would have been then. They weren’t doing anything except beating him up at this point. And Percy couldn’t defend himself like this.
But as I watched, Percy seemed to sit up a little taller, his muscles tensing. His eyes shone brighter. This time, when Clarisse and her goons splashed into the creek to come at him, Percy swung his sword at Nial’s head, knocking him to the ground. He hit one of them with his shield and another ducked quickly to avoid his blade. After that, they all backed away, looking Percy up and down with a new appreciation.
It was like someone else had taken over his body, someone more confident and skilled. He fought like he’d been doing it for years. My mind was racing. I’d never seen anyone fight like that. Well, at least not since Thalia.
Clarisse wasn’t deterred. She stabbed again, trying the same move she’d done before. But Percy took the spear and used his shield and sword to break the shaft in two.
She screamed viscously. I felt a pang of empathy, despite myself. I knew that was her one and only connection to her father.
”You idiot!” She roared. “You—”
Percy smacked her on her forehead with the butt of his sword and she stumbled back, in shock.
Before anyone could react, the sound of racing footsteps and shouts approached. Luke splashed into the creek, his face flushed, with the red banner high up in the air. I felt my face break out into a grin.
Perhaps the best part about the victory was the dumb looks on Clarisse and the Ares guys’ faces. They looked around, trying to piece together what just happened. Finally, realization dawned on Clarisse’s face.
“It was a trick!” She exclaimed. I’m telling you: detective.
They tried to run after Luke, but he was already on our side of the creek. Everyone cheered as the red boar and spear on the banner magically transformed into a silver caduceus. Chrion appeared and blew a horn, indicating that the game was over.
Percy was still standing in the creek, the water pouring over his tennis shoes. I approached him carefully, “Not bad, hero,” I said. He looked around. With a start, I realized I was still wearing my cap. I took it off and his eyes locked in on me, “Where’d you learn to fight like that?”
He glanced at the cap in my hands, but he didn’t ask me anything about it. His eyes flared with anger, “You set me up. You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me. You had it all figured out.”
I shook my head, incredulous, “I mean… yeah. I told you. Athena always, always has a plan.”
“A plan to get me pulverized?!”
“I was about to jump in! But… you didn’t need my help.” I looked him up and down. Other than the dent in his armor, he scarcely looked like he’d just been in a fight. Where I expected him to bruise, the skin barely even looked red. On his arm, the cut was already starting to close, the blood and irritation fading. My mouth hung open, “How’d you do that?”
He just glanced at it, “Sword cut. What do you think?”
“No,” I said, “It was a sword cut. Look at it now.”
He held it up to get a good look. His eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. As the two of us watched, the cut closed up, then blended into the tone of his skin, disappearing completely.
He stuttered, “I— I don’t get it.”
To test a theory, I said, “Step out of the water, Percy.”
He did, and immediately slumped down in exhaustion. I caught him before he could fall. My stomach felt heavy. It couldn’t happen like this. I cursed, “This is not good. I didn’t want…”
Just then, a howl rang through the air. Everyone quieted down immediately. I drew my standard-issue sword and Chiron ordered us to stand ready.
A black mass appeared on the rocks. Its bright red eyes were locked in on something. I followed its line of sight. It was looking at Percy, who was standing completely undefended in front of it. The mass charged him.
“Percy, run!” I shouted. I ran to take a stand in between him and the monster, but it just jumped over me and pounced on Percy. Chiron reacted the fastest and shot half a dozen arrows into the creature’s neck before it collapsed next to Percy’s injured body.
I ran to his side and he was fighting for breath painfully. I gasped as I saw the blood pouring down his chest. His armor was mangled, and his skin wasn’t much better. Luke pushed through the crowd, his banner abandoned on the ground.
I got a better look at the carcass and I swore again, “That’s a hellhound!” I told Chiron, his face grim. I stuttered, “They don’t… I mean, they’re not supposed to…” My voice failed.
Chiron nodded, “Someone summoned it. Someone inside the camp.”
“It’s Percy’s fault,” Clarisse insisted, “He summoned it!”
“Be quiet, child,” Chrion’s voice was uncharacteristically callus.
Luke placed a hand on Percy’s shoulder, both of their faces pale. The hellhound melted into the shadows, like it was being called home. I took Percy’s arm and tried to pull him to the creek, “You’re wounded. You have to get to the water, quick.”
“I’m okay,” he said, groaning in pain as I moved him.
“No, you’re not,” I looked over my shoulder at Chiron watching with a furrowed brow, “Chiron, watch this.”
The second Percy made contact with the water, the color returned to his face. The cuts on his chest began to close. Even his messy black hair seemed to get shinier, his skin fuller and more hydrated. Everyone was watching now and he was looking sheepishly at the crowd.
Just then, a green light shone in the clearing, emanating from a spot right above Percy’s head. A sigil was materializing, rotating and shimmering. It was a trident, the symbol of Poseidon. Everyone gasped. Luke and I exchanged a glance.
Percy looked around, confused. I pointed at the trident, “Percy, um…” He looked up and the symbol faded. “Your father,” I tried to explain, but my brain was moving too fast, and my mouth struggled to keep up, “This is really not good,” I managed to say.
Chiron raised his voice in announcement, “It is determined. Poseidon, earthshaker, stormbringer, father of horses. Hail, Perceus Jackson, son of the Sea God.”
As was procedure, we all knelt in reverence. The Ares kids grumbled as they did so. This is what we were taught to do. We had to show respect.
Percy’s voice was hollow, “My father…?” He looked at the bowed heads of the other campers, breathless, blinking hard.
———
We walked back down the path. Percy trailed behind the rest of us, looking deep in thought. I wanted to go and talk with him but I didn’t know what I would say if I did. Also, I suspected that I would have to keep my distance from him now, as he was officially claimed by Poseidon. I didn’t even want to think about what this meant for my quest, if I would even be allowed to go with him. I‘d be half-surprised if the next time I even looked at him after today, my mother would ever speak to me again. She didn’t play around with her hatred for Poseidon and everything he stood for. Even so, I couldn’t help but secretly feel a bit disappointed.
Someone took a hold of my elbow. Imala was there, the shadows flickering across her cheek.
“What was that?” She said, a light accusation in her voice.
I shook my head, “What are you talking about?”
“What do you think I’m talking about?”
I looked at her blankly, not really sure what she wanted me to say. She sighed and pulled me out of the line. We went off of the path and let everyone else go ahead of us.
Imala just crossed her arms and looked at me for a long time. “What?” I asked.
She shook her head, “I trusted you. I trusted that you wouldn’t let anything happen to him.”
“Oh… Well, I—” I felt my face flushing, “Nothing did happen to him. He’s fine now.”
“Yeah, now.”
”Look, I couldn’t help that the hellhound—!”
”I’m not—” She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, “I’m not talking about the hellhound. I’m talking about Clarisse.”
“He was fine!” I felt my voice getting high and strained, like it always did when I was mad, “The water healed him and it ended in him getting claimed, so, like, objectively it was a net-positive. How’d you even see it anyway?”
She went quiet and avoided my eyes.
“You didn’t really trust me,” My voice shook annoyingly, “You were watching, weren’t you?”
“I didn’t have to be,” she said simply, “Annabeth, we don’t gamble with lives. Whether or not it worked out, you put him in harm’s way and, as your head counselor, I’m not going to stand for that.”
“He wouldn’t have died! I obviously wouldn’t have let that—”
“Wouldn’t you?” Her voice carried a quiet firmness that reminded me a lot of Athena. Suddenly, I couldn’t argue even if I wanted to. “You sure you wouldn’t have let Clarisse do whatever she wanted to him if it meant that you could climb that little rung? You can bend and break any promises you make, just as long as it all works out for you in the end. It’s all for the glory, right?”
I opened and closed my mouth several times, trying to find a good response but not being able to find the words. Imala’s eyes were flooded with righteous anger. She never got mad, at least not like this. This ran deeper than just me and Percy and capture-the-flag.
“Whatever,” I said finally, which probably wasn’t the best idea, given the fact that her sword was right there at her waist. Even then, I knew I sounded like a little brat, “You can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mom.”
She pursed her lips, “You’re right. I’m not.” Imala turned on her heels and left me there in the darkness.