Piper McLean stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill, her long brown hair blowing in the wind. Her many colored eyes gazed intently at the scene before her, and her lips were slightly parted as if she were in a trance.
She knew that campers stumbled across the border every day, but this was different. Everyone seemed tense, as if they did not know what to expect. Why? Because today Percy Jackson is coming back, a little voice whispered.
Percy Jackson had been missing for about two months now, and he was in more danger than she had ever been in before. Sure, her quest had been scary, but this guy didn't even remember who he was. At least that's What Jason thought.
You see, Jason was going through the same thing. Hera had wiped his memory, but little by little he was gaining it back. Only a week ago he had remembered the exact location of the roman camp for demigods, and the rescue mission for Percy had started about three days ago.
What if they don't come back? That question had been nagging Piper ever since the team had left. But there was no sign of them anywhere.
Then she heard the shout. "I see them! I see them!" shouted a scout from the Apollo cabin. Then she saw them too. Thalia and Jason were supporting an unconscious demigod between them. The kid had a hood pulled around him, so she couldn't see who it was. Behind them walked Leo, and on his other side Will Solace.
Jason stumbled and the kid's hood fell away, revealing black hair and the same features from photos Piper had seen of Percy Jackson. Yes it was him. But something was wrong. He had a cut on his forehead, and it was trickling blood. His face was pale and when Piper rushed forward to catch him, she felt the heat radiating off his skin.
"He- I- we didn't know what to expect!" Thalia stammered. "And when we got there, he… it was too late. They'd found the truth. We just managed to get him out. He's been unconscious since we saved him!" With that, she burst into tears.
Percy moaned faintly as Piper laid him on the soft grass, and his breath caught in his throat. Then Clarisse came forward and gently lifted him off the ground. "It's okay Prissy," she murmured. "You're safe now."