Edit: I apologize for the bad editing. I did proofread it, but obviously a couple words slipped. That was under my usual standard, and I've re-edited in hopes of having a cleaner chapter.
It's finally done (except the epilogue). I've been working on this for about two months, so to finally be able to publish it is a relief.
I have everything written (except the epilogue, which is half-done), so anyone who doesn't trust me after stopping mid-story the last two times I tried a chapter story can relax. This story will be published all the way through.
The story is six chapters, divided into two parts, with an epilogue at the end. This first part takes place after Sea of Monster, and the second will be from after The Titan's Curse to the beginning of The Battle of Labyrinth. The epilogue will take place at the end of The Battle of Labyrinth.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything under Rick Riordan's name. So pretty much everything in this story.
Enjoy!
Part 1
Chapter 1: Shocked
Clarisse found him injured and muttering nonsense in front of the playground three blocks down in the middle of the night.
She had been taking a walk, clearing her mind of one of those annoying demigod dreams, when she had noticed a figured slumped against one of the posts of the playground. Recognizing an injury even from a few yards off, she had ran over to help while cursing the fact she didn't have a phone to call for help.
She only recognized him when she was face-to-face with him, and that was a miracle considering his face was grimy, dirty, and scraped up.
But then again how could she not?
"Chris?" Charisse asked. "Are you okay?" Chris's eyes wouldn't focus on her, and he only responded with a mumble.
He had one hand on a stomach wound, the other on the opposite shoulder. His hair was sticking in every direction, and armor was bent and smeared with... something. All in all, he was in very bad shape. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Clarisse thought. Why didn't you bring your bag?
"Chris, can you see me?" Clarisse asked again, waving her hand over Chris's eyes. No response. Shock? Something more?
Clarisse shook Chris's shoulder, but he didn't respond, so she moved on to his wounds. Carefully removing his hand, she inspected the stomach wound. It was a stab wound - nothing Clarisse hadn't seen a million times before. She replaced his hand and pushed it a little, hoping Chris could still apply pressure to the wound. When he did, she moved to the shoulder wound. This time it was claw marks.
Both wounds needed treatment and soon. Clarisse lightly pulled on Chris's arm, hoping that he could still stand. And too her surprise, he looked at her.
"Mary?"
"What?"
"Is that you?"
"It's Clarisse. Chris, can you stand up?"
"Mary? There was a trap, Mary. Don't go."
"Chris?" Clarisse shook his shoulder as his mumbling became more and more incoherent. "Chris, can you stand up?"
"It's dark. So dark."
"It's nighttime. Can you stand up?"
Clarisse didn't know how, but eventually she got Chris up and walking.
Her house was close, and it wasn't long before she was digging a key out of the welcome mat (it's cliche and obvious, but her mom was always paranoid that she would come home during a quest injured and find an empty house). Clarisse led Chris into the house and into the guest room on the first floor, where she helped him remove his armor and forced him to lay down on the bed before going to find medical supplies.
When she returned, Chris had wondered into the kitchen and was staring dumbfounded at the sink.
"Chris?"
"String. We need to find the string."
"If you say so. Now please let me treat your wounds."
During the time Clarisse cleaned and treated Chris's wounds, he had tried to wonder off twice, punched her in the jaw once in a panic, and had muttered enough absolute nonsense for Clarisse to actually begin to make sense out of it.
Chris and another demigod named Mary, who Clarisse thought she remembered from the Apollo cabin, had been traveling through some sort of maze (please don't let it be the labyrinth, camp had enough problems as is) when they had been separated somwhoq. Chris had found his way out through an old abandoned house near the playground Clarisse had found him at, and was apparently looking for string. What happened to Mary, Clarisse had no clue, but she felt bad for her. She had been a tough demigod and good capture-the-flag ally before she turned.
Eventually Chris fell asleep, and Clarisse passed the time by doing damage control on his armor.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Chiron at camp half blood." Clarisse chanted, throwing her drachma through the rainbow.
She was in her yard, with her hose set up to make a rainbow. Like every backyard in this area, hers was fenced in so she didn't have to worry about pesky neighbors. No one would be seeing a hologram of a centaur floating in the mist.
"Clarisse!" Chiron exclaimed when she appeared. "Everything going good at home?" He was in the big house, playing a one-person card game. The clock behind him showed three o'clock, though it was still eleven in Arizona.
Clarisse really hated time zones.
"I need your help with something." Clarisse replied.
"Yes?"
"Last night I was taking a walk when I found a demigod - Chris Rodriguez - injured on the side of the road. He's resting now, but he's badly injured and seems to be in some kind of shock."
"Chris Rodriguez. Is he not one of Luke's followers?" Clarisse nodded. "Do you have any idea what he was doing in Phoenix?"
"He was navigating some... maze when I think he got into a fight. He has a stab wound on his stomach and claw marks on his shoulder, and he he was unarmed."
"Do you know anything about this maze he was navigating?"
"It's full of traps, and monsters and rogue demigods. And he was talking about a string." Chiron's eyes widened. "Don't tell me it's the Labyrinth."
"I'm afraid that's what it sounds like." Clarisse cursed. "I'll see if Annabeth can come help you. I'm sure she has plenty theories about the labyrinth. As for now, just watch Chris and try to nurse him back to health. Hopefully the shock will wear off."
"String. We need to find the string." Chris mumbled, ignoring the plate of food Clarisse put out for him.
"You need to eat." Clarisse repeated. "Please, Chris."
"The string, Mary. We said we'd find the string."
"Eat, Chris. Please." Clarisse's mom gave her a look of pity. Chris's injuries were mostly healed, but it he was still acting...
Well, he was acting insane.
The doorbell rang, and Chris jumped out of his seat. Clarisse reached for his arm in an attempt to calm him while her mom went to see who it was.
"It's alright," Clarisse told him, "It's just the doorbell."
"No. No." Chris muttered. "Don't go, Mary. It's a trap! It will kill you!"
"Chris, I'm not going anywhere." Clarisse promised.
"Clarisse it's a friend of yours at the door." Her mom called.
"Who is it?" Clarisse called back.
"It's Annabeth." The guest called from the door. Well, that was fast, Clarisse thought.
"Let her in." The door swung shut, and a few minutes Annabeth and Clarisse's mother reappeared in the dining area.
"It's so hot outside," Annabeth stated. "How do you live here?"
"It's August. It's hot everywhere." Clarisse responded. "Did Chiron brief you?"
"Yes. Are we really dealing with the Labyrinth here?"
"Yep."
To Be Continued...
