Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians.
This is for HallowedHallsOfWriting's Epic Fails challenge.
My twin brother was the real hero. The one who made the brave self-sacrifice, who died fighting for what he believed in. He was the one person I could always count on, and the one time he needed my assistance, I failed him.
The day of the battle I lost my brother in was abnormal from the beginning. Dad hadn't been at camp once this summer because he was checking the loyalties of the minor gods, proof that a war was inevitable. His absence made everything different. My mother had sent Castor and me to camp the year our father was sentenced there. He'd been there every year after. I'll admit it; it was cool having him around. Most of the other kids never even met their godly parent, while we spent a whole season with him each year. So maybe Dionysus wasn't the cheeriest guy around, but it's still awesome that he's our camp director.
All the cabins were using their talents to get ready. The Athena cabin was in command, the Ares cabin was drilling on the frontlines, the Hephaestus cabin had made an assortment of the most intricate traps imaginable at the mouth of the Labyrinth entrance. Still this was going to be one heck of a battle. "I wish there was something we could do to help. Watching all of this makes me feel absolutely useless." I turned to Castor. I knew I wasn't a skilled enough swordsman to make up for not helping the other cabins with the preparations, and my strawberry growing forte would be absolutely pointless right now.
"Who says there's nothing we can do to help?" Castor gave me the 'you're missing something obvious look'. Ordinarily I knew what my brother is thinking, but this time I had no clue.
"Somebody's starving to death and requires strawberries in order to properly fight off bloodthirsty monsters?" I asked. We did have regular meals here.
"Close. Maybe they're not starving, but on a hot day like today there's a good chance some of them are thirsty." That made sense. In fact, the idea was brilliant. It was the middle of the summer, everyone was working hard, and no one had the time to go get refreshments. I felt better when I had something to offer, even if it wasn't much.
So Castor and I made and passed out water bottles and juice boxes. We had every flavor of juice, even the types that weren't typically boxed like blueberry pomegranate and pineapple. That's the benefit to being a child of Dionysus: there isn't a type of beverage we can't make, no matter how rare or complex.
We passed out drinks for a little while. There was this ominous feeling the whole time. I kept my sword at my side and never let my defense down. We heard the enemy before we saw them. Castor and I exchanged glances. The Laistrygonians were the first to come. Several of them fell to our archers, but more monsters kept coming and their numbers seemed endless. Castor and I engaged in battle with some of the half-bloods who joined Krono's side. It was weird, because we knew some of these kids and they weren't actually bad people. I didn't know the kid Castor was fighting, but I did know he was an accomplished swordsman . . . a lot better than my brother. I keep thinking that if I were helping him maybe the outcome would have been different. I wasn't helping him though, I was fighting in a battle of my own. The kid I fought wasn't an expert and I could take him easily enough. So why didn't I check to see how Castor was doing? Why didn't I have his back?
Castor's fight was over quickly. I realized what had happened right away. It felt like the world had stopped, and at the same time the battle hadn't ended. I didn't get the chance to mourn. I had no choice but to get going. Our odds seemed truly helpless now. It was clear we were losing. It didn't matter. The rest of the battle was a blur. I must have taken on a dozen monsters. I was completely exhausted. At some point Daedalus and a one-hundred-handed one came from the Labyrinth to join the fight, their aid was appreciated but it wasn't enough. Which was saying something, because man those two could kick butt.
The battle ended with the most terrible noise I've ever heard in my live. Grover the satyr was able to make the sound of pure panic. Krono's army went running. We had a lot of injured to take care of. The Apollo cabin had the best healers, so they went around looking for those who were hurt the worst, and I did my best to assist them. Most people had their share of injuries. Even Chrion had broken a leg, but he insisted the others be treated first.
Later on I learned that Daedalus had died. I knew he didn't die in the battle, but no one would say what actually happened. In other news somehow the Labyrinth collapsed. That was the best thing I'd heard all day, now it could no longer be used against innocent people.
So many campers had died. We held the burial ceremony for them that night. I tried to share my best memories of my brother, but I couldn't speak. This was really happening. I had lost my twin and my best friend. He was the bravest person I had ever known. He always knew how to get me to laugh, or how to get me angry. He had been there for me my whole life and understood me like no one else. When I learned I was a demigod the shock was almost too much, I could never have made it past the first day at camp without him. And yet, I had failed him.
Right then and there I made a promise to myself. When this war went down, I would honor Castor's memory. I would fight courageously no matter what happened, and I'd do it all for him.