My name is Luke Castellan. I'm sixteen. I've made a few wrong turns today, and now we are almost dead. I didn't mean to, honest, but how can I stop this now?

Grover (a satyr) is screaming at me to hurry, and I'm trying, but I need to protect my best friend, Thalia. I need to lead the monsters off our trail.

Yeah, you heard me right, monsters. I never meant to, but I lead them here. I was trying to get away, trying to help, but I was needed to find help for Annabeth, who has a broken wrist, so I used a cell phone. Worst mistake ever.

We had finally gotten the monsters off our trail, but Annabeth was screaming in pain, I had to help her. They are trying to kill us because Thalia is a daughter of Zeus; it's not her fault though! No one chooses their parents! I need to help Thalia, I promised her that I'd get her through everything, and she promised me the same.

The monsters move in. Annabeth screams.

"Luke, help us!" Annabeth yells. She is seven; she ran away from home, as did Thalia and I.

Annabeth and Grover are on one side of the forest, Thalia and I on the other. The monsters have cut us off from each other; I know I need to save everyone.

"Luke, watch my back," Thalia says. She's the better fighter. She's tough, great with any weapon, and she can kill any monster if she has to without second thoughts.

"Okay," I say, moving in to keep watch from behind.

Thalia works her way through the sea of monsters, and I make sure none sneak up.

More and more monsters flood in, and it becomes too much for Thalia and I to handle.

"Luke, I know what I need to do," Thalia says; we're both exhausted and the monsters are a never ending pool of death coming at us from all sides.

"What?" I ask.

"Take care of Annabeth, make sure Grover makes the right choices, and promise me that you will never hurt them, never betray the camp!" Thalia says.

"Thalia, what are you going to do?" I yell.

She kisses me softly on the lips. "Goodbye."

"Thalia, NO!" I say. But it's too late; before I can stop her, she's broken away from the fight – she runs up the hill as fast as she can and before I can make a move to follow her, to stop her, a bright flash of lightning blinds my vision and when I open my eyes Thalia's gone.

In her place was a tree. A pine tree.

The tree is glowing with crackling electricity, and it moves out and attacks the monsters – they flee, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

I stand in the silence, the reality of what just happened hitting home.

Thalia was gone.

Annabeth comes hurrying over, a look of surprised confusion on her face.

"What happened? Where did the monsters go?" Annabeth asks.

But I can't answer. I can't speak. Thalia is gone, her last words running circles in my head.

I Promise, Thalia I think to myself.

"Where is she?" Annabeth asks, suddenly realizing that Thalia isn't here. "Where is Thalia?"

I can't even breathe, everything happy has left; I feel like everything turns grey and dizzy, like I need to sit down, and I can barely stop the tears from flooding my face.

"Luke?" Annabeth says.

I point at the tree. Annabeth shakes her head, confused, as tears run down her cheeks. "She's dead?"

I nod.

"No!" Annabeth runs up the hill to the tree, searching for Thalia. "Luke! Where is she?" Annabeth screams.

I can't stand it, so I walk up to her and by accident grab her bad wrist. Annabeth screams in pain.

"Help me Luke! She's dying!"

Grover walks up to her and picks her up; Annabeth cries into his shoulder. Grover also has tears in his eyes.

"Come with us before the monsters come back," says Grover. He saw everything, and gives me a knowing look.

"Let me stay here," I plead. "I need to say goodbye."

"I'll come back in a few minutes." Grover says. I nod.

Grover walks away, carrying a sobbing Annabeth.

I sit at the base of the new tree and sob.

"The gods are going to pay." I whisper. "I love you, Thalia. They did this to you. They killed you. I'm going to destroy them. I'm going to do it all for you. I'm going to destroy the gods for you. It's all for you!"

AN. Okay, reviews? This is just how I think Thalia turned into a tree and why Luke is SO EVIL! Because the gods turned her into a tree and HE LOVES HER!