DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and The Olympians. I sure wish I did, but, alas... Anyway, enjoy!
I was walking through Camp Half Blood when the Iris Message came.
"Annabeth!" A familiar voice exclaimed. I stopped mid- stride and looked around, only to find an image of Grover, my good satyr friend, peering at me through a hazy window of mist.
"Grover!" I almost ran to hug him when I remembered that would disconnect the line. "What's up?"
"Uh," He looked around nervously; I just noticed that he was in a cramped shower stall. "I'm at Yancey. Annabeth, you'll never believe what just happened! The demigod I've been following… well, uh…" He trailed off and looked down at his fake- feet.
"What is it, Grover?"
"He was attacked…" He admitted shamefully. "By a Fur- uh, Kindly One disguised as a teacher. Alecto, to be specific. Annabeth, I've failed again!" He let out a large bleat and twirled his curly mop of hair.
"Grover, you have not!" I said, trying to comfort him. He'd been awfully fragile emotionally ever since our good friend, Thalia, was turned into a pine tree by her father, Zeus, after she gave her life defending us. Grover, being the assigned protector, had blamed himself for all these years.
Grover just sniffled, not believing me at all. "Well, anyway, he's okay. Chiron should be there tonight. I should be bringing him in to camp soon."
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Percy Jackson." Grover replied, still looking gloomy.
"Alright, Grover. Thanks for the heads up. See you soon."
"Hey, G-Man?" A boy's voice said. It sounded eerily familiar. "What are you doing in there? You know you don't have to hide from Nancy. What'd she do this time?"
"Nothing, Percy." Grover said and sighed. He mouthed bye and slashed his hand through the mist, ending the call.
I continued on my way towards the arena, where I was going to meet Luke for sword practice. I couldn't stop thinking about the half-blood that Grover had found. Why was his voice so familiar? I knew he had to be important, but I didn't know how. That frustrated me; I hated being left in the dark.
I passed our strange array of cabins, ranging from the cheerful flower-covered cabin of Demeter, with its grassy thatched roof and numerous gardens, to the less-than-picturesque Ares cabin, which was splattered with blood- red paint and barbed wire.
I eventually came to the arena. I walked in and found Luke, my best friend at camp, slashing straw dummies with amazing grace. His blond hair glittered in the afternoon sun, and even his infamous scar seemed cute today, the one he'd gotten on his quest to the Garden of the Hesperides two years ago. His bright orange Camp Half Blood shirt clung to his skin, and I stopped for a moment, just staring. I was admiring his exquisite technique, or at least, that's what I told myself.
After he decapitated the last poor Greek dummy, he turned to me and smiled a blinding grin. I tried to hide my blushing and get a hold of myself.
"Ready?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Alright, then."
I unsheathed my trusty knife and walked to the center of the clearing. He attacked right away, catching me off guard. I yelped and quickly rolled out of the way. I slashed at his torso, but it harmlessly clanged off his armor. Using my trusty knife, I went in for a jab in his right, and the feinted to then left and swung, but he anticipated the generic move and easily sidestepped. I cursed under my breath. Think, Annabeth! I screamed at myself. Be clever!
He brought down his sword, aiming right for my head. I ducked and rolled, just slightly missing Luke's blade. I leaped behind him and rolled between his legs, slashing his ankle. He cursed. I jumped up and held my knife to his neck. He stopped, breathing heavily.
"You've gotten better," He said approvingly. His voice lingered in my ears. I could smell the sweat on his neck, and I lost focus. Being so close to him was overpowering. His eyes were staring into mine…
Suddenly, he twisted so fast out of my grip that I couldn't do much more than ogle at the glinting blade now notched at my throat.
"But you've still got some kinks in your armor." He smirked and lowered the blade, tossing me a water bottle.
I caught it and drank, thinking how foolish it was that I'd lost. All because of a little look! I was disgusted with myself.
"Again tomorrow?" I asked, wiping the sweat off my brow.
"Sure thing, Annabeth." He replied.
A conch horn blew in the distance. "Dinner time." I announced obviously. We made our way to the dining pavilion, where I sat down at the Athena table with my fellow siblings, while Luke went to sit with the Hermes table. On my plate appeared a slice of olive pizza and my goblet filled with diet coke. I got up, like everyone else, and scraped a bit of the pizza into the bronze brazier.
O please, Lady Athena, accept my offering, I silently prayed. When I sat back down at my table, I listened absently as my siblings discussed battle plans for the capture the flag planned for this Friday. I couldn't help but wonder about the mysterious demigod Grover had found; why was his voice so dang familiar?
Before long, dinner was over and I made my way back to my cabin, a mildly tall gray stone building. Its intricate carvings were delicate but prominent; a stone owl hung over the white door, watching me. Once inside, I immediately dozed off, and was engulfed in a strange dream.
I was standing in a tall, marble room, bathed in shadows. The room was grand and filled with thrones, occupied by giant beings. And then I realized I was not alone. Standing next to me, so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body, was a familiar gangly boy. I glanced at his mop top of hair and the Rasta cap slung over the mess of curls to disguise the horns that I knew were there: Grover. I was so happy to see I almost cried out, but I was being held back by a strange, invisible force.
On my right was an unfamiliar boy, with dark, black hair and deep green eyes. When he turned to look at me, I stopped breathing. At once, I knew he was somehow important.
In front of us were all the gods, each sitting on their own personalized thrones. Zeus sat at his rightful place at the head, with Hera to his right. All the other gods sat around him. Zeus and Poseidon seemed to be arguing.
"I don't have it!" Poseidon yelled.
"Then who else took it?" Zeus roared. "Who did you manipulate to get—"
"I didn't use anyone, Zeus! I did not take it, nor do I have it!"
"You dare to sit here and lie to my face?" The other gods shifted uncomfortably.
"I am not lying!" Poseidon insisted.
"I do not believe you." Zeus sat back, visibly fuming. "You have until the summer solstice to return it to me, or I swear I will blast you to smithereens!"
And then my dream faded to darkness.
I woke up in the middle of the night, cold sweat dotting my brow. I sat up so fast my head banged against the bunk above me. Wincing, I quickly slipped on a pair of jeans and my orange Camp shirt, and slipped out into the night, trying not to run too fast to the Big House. I had to talk to Chiron about the solstice, and what it was a deadline to. Thunder rumbled as I sprinted up the steps to the chipping red farmhouse. Chiron had arrived from Yancey sometime last night, and answered the door when I knocked.
He had a sleepy look on his face. "Annabeth? What's wrong?" He trotted out onto the porch, his hooves clopping against the wood.
"Chiron, what is happening on the solstice?"
He hesitated, uncomfortably shifting on his hooves. "How did you know?" Chiron looked perplexed, but his attention tore away from me when a loud bout of thunder interrupted us. His old eyes fixed behind me, and I twirled to see a giant beast, easily seven feet tall, fighting a boy on Half Blood Hill. Intrigued and alarmed, I watched. Rain pelted down, making it difficult to see. But I saw enough. There were two people trudging up the hill, carrying a limp body between them. They split up, the boy sprinting to the left, and the taller one, an adult, I assumed, staggered off to the right to set down the body.
The beast, the Minotaur, I could now see, charged the boy. The boy stayed still for a painstakingly long moment, and then jumped to the side. The Minotaur stormed past and bellowed ferociously when it didn't hit the boy. I couldn't help but be impressed with this boy's bravery; he didn't look much older than myself and that kind of fearlessness didn't come with age. I wondered who this newcomer was… Maybe this was Percy Jackson?
A roar awoke me from my transfixed thoughts. The Minotaur barreled past the boy, who was expecting a full-on attack, and went straight to the adult, grabbing her in his fists. The adult, a woman, struggled but to no avail. Suddenly, in a burst of golden light, she disappeared. A mortal, no doubt.
"No!" I heard someone scream in a devastated manner. The boy stripped off his red jacket and waved it in front of him like a matador. He yelled something that I didn't catch, and the Minotaur came running forward. With remarkable skill, the boy leaped up and landed on the Minotaur's shoulders. The beast swung him around, and then, unexpectedly, a sickening crack filled the air. The dazed boy was holding a horn from the Minotaur. The infuriated beast flung the boy through the air as easily as if he were a rag doll. On his back and visibly weak, the monster charged but as soon as it got close, the boy stabbed the Minotaur with its own horn and the beast disintegrated.
It was silent for a moment, the only sound being the steady rounds of thunder. The boy then picked up the crumpled body and staggered down the valley, toward the Big House, calling for his mother. It was heartbreaking.
I watched as he came, closer and closer, to the Big House. He was incredibly weak; I offered to help him, but Chiron insisted that he must do this alone.
When he arrived, he collapsed on the wooden porch, and I realized the body he'd been carrying was Grover. I then looked at the boy, and I gasped. His vibrant, green eyes looked around blindly, too exhausted to see anything. His jet- black hair was matted with mud and sweat. This boy was the one Grover had been talking about. This was the boy from my dream. This boy was Percy Jackson.
"He's the one." I breathed. "He must be."
"Silence, Annabeth." Chiron scolded. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."