Chapter 1: I Get a Sudden Wake up Call
We were in the dining hall having dinner when Grover ran in, panting, and looking scared. Everyone stared at him as he rushed to the head. I stared in confusion, wondering what was going on. He was whispering urgently to Mr. D and Chiron about something. I looked over to the Athena cabin where Annabeth was staring at the head table as well. She caught my eye and shrugged her shoulders. I turned back to the front in time to see Chiron stand up straight on his white stallion legs.
"Campers," he said in a loud carrying voice so we all heard him. "I'm afraid Mr. Underwood has just encountered monsters being led by Kronos only a couple miles from camp—" Everyone instantly started talking to each other and asking questions but Chiron held up his hand and everyone quieted. "Please listen! We have to immediately gather arms and get ready to assemble in attack formation! Ares and Athena cabins please help everyone figure out what to do and where to go! Now!"
Everyone instantly got to their feet and rushed to the armory to gather armor and weapons. I ran over to Grover and helped him to his feet from where he'd slumped to it after informing Chiron of Kronos.
"Grover!" I yelled over the noise of the other campers. "Are you sure Kronos is with them? You saw Luke?" He looked at me, fear etched on his face. He opened his mouth but no words came out, so he merely nodded vigorously.
I bit my lip nervously. This had to be it. Tomorrow was my 16th birthday. This had to be the final battle that would decide the fate of camp and Olympus. I gulped, but sucked in my fear. I left Grover and went to get armor from the armory and then to my cabin to get the shield Tyson had made for me a few years ago.
Before I snapped it onto my wrist, I glanced at it. Some of the pictures were scratched and hard to make out, but I could still tell who and what they were supposed to be. I had a feeling, today was going to feel like some of those old adventures.
I quickly strapped it on and left my cabin. I hurried across camp and over to where all the rest of the campers were getting ready for the fight. Clarisse and Annabeth, along with some other campers, were moving up and down the group, putting people into the best attack and defense formation. Of course, once the monsters got here, it would pretty much be every man for himself. Monsters don't care about proper attack positions; they just barrel on in and beat up whoever's in their way.
I ran up to Annabeth who was moving a few second year Hermes campers into a line behind the older, and more experienced campers. "Hey," she said when she saw me. "you ready for this?"
I shrugged. "I guess. I have to be. Kronos will be here. And I'm 16 tomorrow. This has to be it; the final battle, the one for Olympus." I rubbed my hand distractedly through my messy hair.
Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, I know. This is it, I can feel it. But, Percy—" She looked hesitant.
"Yeah?"
"Uh…never mind."
"No, what is it, Annabeth?" I could tell she wanted to tell me something important and I didn't know why she was so hesitant in telling me about it. "Hey," I put my hand on her shoulder and waited until she looked up at me. Her stormy gray eyes were sad and lost looking. She stared into mind, looking for answers. I wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, really I did, but I didn't know myself if they were. We could all easily die here today. It was a gloomy prospect, but we had to face it strong and do our best to defeat Kronos. "Listen to me, I'm not going to tell you it's all going to be okay, because I don't know. But what I do know is that every single person, or satyr or naiad or other creature is here to fight. And they're going to do their best to fight to the death and protect this camp as best they can."
She gave me a small smile and I nodded back at her. "Yeah I know. I'm just, well, just worried, and scared."
"We all are, but we're going to do our best."
"Thanks, Percy." Then, she hugged me. I hugged her back, holding on tightly, like I would never let go. It was like a last farewell. It felt sad and it lasted longer than normal hugs. It was like we were saying goodbye; like this would be the last time we'd see each other. She pulled away after a couple minutes, wiping her eyes as she did so.
She smiled and I smiled. My heart was fluttering rapidly in my chest. I wanted to tell her, and I was just opening my mouth to tell her when a loud horn interrupted me.
Everyone turned to look at Half-Blood Hill. I could see monsters tearing up the hillside, roaring and waving swords, spears and clubs in the air and glaring hungrily down at us. And there, at the head of the group, a malicious grin on his marred face. It was Luke. No, it was Kronos.