Thalia's POV

"I told him not to... I knew this would happen! Why did he have to go all hero on me? Why?" Annabeth sobbed. I rubbed her back soothingly, though my own eyes were stinging. Gods, Percy had better be okay. He had staggered into camp that morning, accompanied by a young demigod that he had saved from a pack of hellhounds. Annabeth, being Annabeth, had run out to help, and one of the monsters would have killed her if Percy hadn't jumped in the way. Apollo had come to help in infirmary. The boy that Percy had saved turned out to be a son of Hermes, and he had run off somewhere with his new siblings. But that hardly mattered. Annabeth was a wreck!

"Shh... Annie, Percy'll be fine..." I said, though I was mostly trying to reassure myself. She nodded weakly and continued to cry into my shirt. I sighed. Just then an someone knocked on the door of Cabin 1. "Come in!" I called. The door opened. A girl with blond hair and blue eyes, an Apollo camper no doubt, stood in the doorway, shifting uncomfortably. "What is it?"

"Um..." The girl says quietly. "Thalia, Annabeth, you'd better come with me.

"Why?" Annabeth asks, her voice muffled.

"It... It's Percy."

Annabeth's POV

My head jerks up at his name. "WAIT WHAT?!" Thalia and I yell at the same time, shooting to our feet. Lightning crackled around my friend, and the girl at the door paled noticeably.

"Sorry if I scared you," Thalia said, "But what. In Hades. Happened?" She demanded.

"Dad wanted me to come get you two immediately, he said that Percy..." The girl faltered, glancing at me.

"Percy what?"

"Apollo said that Percy's dying."