Prologue
It was Springtime when Percy got the call. He was sitting at the beach, gathering seashells. They'd make a great gift for Annabeth.
As he piled them into the bag he brought, his phone rang from his pocket. An unknown number, something Percy didn't usually answer to. Still, he answered it anyway.
Answered it to hear the news.
Annabeth was working on new blueprints when Percy started to pound on her door. Her father answered it, talked to the teenager, sent him to Annabeth. That's how she first knew something was wrong.
Her next clue was Percy's face. His green eyes were rimmed in red, a tear had made its way down his cheek. His lips moved, he spoke the words she never thought she would hear.
Breathing heavily, Jason jogged down the road. It was early morning, the sun just having started to poke up over the horizon. Dew covered the grass, the smell of spring was in the air. Five miles by five in the morning. If he kept this up, maybe he'd make the football team after all.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, vibrating his thigh. He ignored it but stopped when it started again, Annabeth's face filling his screen.
"Annabeth?" he answered with a sense that something was horribly wrong. "Annabeth, what is it?"
He could barely make out her words, but he understood one: dead. Someone was dead.