Chapter 4: I Get To Meet the Honorable Oracle
WhenI left the Poseidon Cabin and looked at what was attacking us, I was utterly confused. Kronos wasn't the one that was attacking no matter how much I expected it. It was Hydra.
Argus and the barrier around the camp should have kept her from entering. The barrier remained in tact, and there was no fire... yet. Kids spread out from everywhere, half in armor and half simply in their own clothes. The boy that Callie was with earlier was one of them, leading who I thought was the Athena Cabin.
I clutched Riptide tighter and turned to Callie. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was biting her lip, like she was thinking of something completely different. "Aren't you going to help them?" I called to her over the roar. We jumped back into the cabin and shut the door tightly as one of Hydra's heads flung in our direction.
"I..." She mumbled. The wistful look was in her eyes, and she didn't tear away from her friend. He was giving directions over the roar to everyone in the Cabin, and they disperse once he was done talking. Other campers were struggling over the monster. Hydra flicked them away one by one, and a kid in particular had been shoved aside and crashed into the side of the Hermes Cabin, elbow first.
"Come on!" I yanked her arm and barricaded through the crowd of kids. The fallen member winced, eyes dead on the wound. He was the same age Callie was with twice the scowling.
"What do you want, Jackson?" He spat. I blinked, wondering how he knew my name.
"Well..." Oh yeah. Callie was my daughter.
"Just trying to help," I cut in. I hadn't gotten a good look at his face, but I took a hold of his arm. He winced and screeched when I touched it, but for a very good reason. Bone could be seen and a gash was at his upper shoulder. Sighing, I said goodbye to my good shirt, ripping the end of it and clotting the blood with cloth. From the corner of my eye, Callie was just standing there, frown on her face as she watched the others fight. Chiron, forest creatures, and Mr. D were nowhere to be seen—we were on our own. Kronos must have found her again and brought her to distract us—me in particular—from finding him. This didn't make sense though—Thalia's tree was alive and thriving! "Isn't Argus supposed to be keeping guard for the monster?"
The boy looked at me like I was crazy. "What are you talking about?" He yowled when I applied pressure to the wound and was close to strangling me. "This is a drill!"
"A what?"
The question was left unanswered when someone's familiar voice suddenly went, "Callie!" I flung around the second I heard her high screech. She was caught in one of Hydra's mouths with her fangs buried deep into Callie's stomach.
"Here! Keep it on there and get an Apollo kid to look at you!" I tossed the rag in his face and gripped my hand around Riptide again. Before anyone else could even react, I had leaped into the air and was on top of the Hydra's back. She freaked out, running wild and screeching at the top of her lungs as four of her heads tried to rip me limb from limb. "Wh-Whoa, evil freaky monster!" I stumbled again and managed to get on the head of Callie's captor with pure luck.
Riptide ripped into Hydra's neck, which was when she broke loose. If she was wild before, then she was insane now. I had just barely enough time to scale her mane and grab Callie before leaping off the head. Poison splurged about and scattered across the ground. I covered Callie from the blow when we took the long dive for the ground. When we finally landed, she was on top of me, and my back was buried into the ground.
"You okay?" I asked her firmly.
Callie's eyes widened in shock, but she numbly nodded her head. "Y-Yeah... but she got a good bite of your arm!"
"She did?" I looked at my arm and surly enough, Hydra had ripped the sleeve off my shirt, but left no scar. I gave her a toothy grin as we picked ourselves up. "That hurt about as much as an ant bite. Less, really."
"Callie!" We turned our heads. The boy from the Pegasi Stable ran up to us with a permanent scowl and smoke coming out of his ears. "How many times have I told you to stay away from the battlefield?! You could get hurt!"
"But I can fight!" Callie's voice was fierce. I couldn't help but sigh in relief now that she was feeling better. "If you just gave me my sword, I could—"
"You're forbidden to." Callie's friend sneered, but more than half of it was aimed at me. I, on the other hand, was staring at the Hydra. Two heads were still left on her, and one of them had to be the immortal neck. There was no plan being executed; everyone was charging at her with their own moves. I held Riptide tighter in my grip.
I cut into their bickering, "Um, Callie and Callie's friend? Not the best time to be having a lovey-dovey moment."
Campers alike were charging at the monster. Tactics and battle strategies were amazing. Teamwork; not so much. Apollo Cabin, for example, was known for long ranged attacks, and campers who were trying to cut the heads off were on thin ice each time the arrow went between them. At they rate they were going, half of the camp was going to be gone before they could prove themselves as warriors. The heads were already growing back from the last attack. I charged at her, sword in hand and slid under her to her belly. That'd give me some time to think of a plan in between blocking off big heads and being a distraction.
Hercules had defeated Hydra by putting her immortal head under a heavy rock and then stabbing her with her own poison. Had the other heads been there before? Got it.
Even though it wasn't going to do much damage, I pierced Riptide into Hydra's underbelly with as much force as I could conjure. She roared in agony while I made my escape by rolling away. In less than thirty seconds, Riptide would fall and appear again right in my pocket. That was enough time from executing plan A to planning execution of plan B. It's a good thing to have your girlfriend—err, ex-girlfriend—be a master strategist. "Hephaestus Cabin, Apollo Cabin! Meet me over here!"
A bunch of the campers stared at me like I was crazy, but when I glared at them and called them in a stricter tone, they didn't think twice. Two kids in particular from each group ran up to me.
"Fire covered arrows." I ordered simply. Once again, they looked at me like I belonged in an asylum. I turned my head and called for the Hermes Cabin. "You guys know how to tease a monster, don't you?" They looked at me with wile grins, loving the idea with each ticking second. "Toilet paper her, kick her, tease her. Anything it takes to tear her attention away from destroying camp!"
When I looked back at the Apollo and Hephaestus campers, they looked at me with mischievous eyes. They got the plan. And liking it, from the looks of it.
Riptide appeared in my pocket ten seconds earlier than I had estimated. Glimpsing at the campers, I made it positive that they knew what to do. They spread out quickly, and I took it upon myself to charge at the Hydra again. Two heads were once again cut off, and two equally flaming arrows had made it to the core of Hydra's neck bones. They burnt and simmered, but the flames were hot enough to evaporate any fluids that'd generate another ugly nuisance.
I managed to charge forward and cut off another head, and a flaming arrow met the stump of Hydra's third neck. Don't doubt Apollo when he says that he's got a killer aim. End of story.
The only downside to my plan was that everyone else was getting in the way. Don't get me wrong; Chiron doesn't kid when he's training us campers, but I had to shove a camper out of the way when one of the Hermes kid threw a rock into one of Hydra's mouths.
"Demeter campers!" I called out to no one in particular. Hydra was spiraling out of control again. "Try digging her feet into the ground; Zeus campers! Zap her enough so that she's temporarily paralyzed! Get your biggest camper prepared! Morpheus Cabin! Can you put some of her asleep?!"
It was amazing. Even though I knew only one person out of the whole entire camp, they had come together quickly and followed my orders without a complaint. Zeus campers did the zapping, Demeter campers rooted her to the ground, and two of the six heads left were drowsy.
"Everyone else, follow my lead!" I charged at Hydra again with a high up battle cry, Riptide strong in the air.
One of the other campers, who I suspected was from the Iris Cabin, managed to blind one of the heads. I cut it off right afterwards, and turned to give another order when: "AH!"
Callie's friend had been in the way when an Apollo member pierced straight into his arm. "Lucas!" cried some of the campers. A thing about Hephaestus fire: they can manipulate the temperature so it's hotter than the sun, or have it as warm as hot cocoa. Hydra was up and about again, and one of her other heads lunged for him. I tackled him to the ground above everything else and we tumbled to a different side.
He was seething as the burns came in tact with his skin. The arrow had to be three inches deep into bare flesh; already splattered and squishing with blood.
"You okay?" I asked slowly. He tensed as I touched the arrow.
"I've been better."
I stared at the arrow dumbly, cursing to myself for not being able to see it, but it was mostly his fault for underestimating the accuracy and power of Apollo's kids. It was still burning and flaming before I finally took it out with my hand. Even then, I couldn't feel the pain. The water of River Styx had done a good job when keeping me safe. He grunted in pain as I struggled with it. When it was finally out, bleeding was worse and gushing like a waterfall.
"Hey, you!" I called out to one of the archers. She looked my way immediately and I gestured for her to come over. "Can you heal this wound?" Stunned, she nodded.
I wielded Riptide again and looked again and looked at the second head. One more head, and we would be able to put Hydra out of our misery. Sparks of blue covered Hydra again, and she screeched into the air. I, along with someone else from the Hades cabin, cut the second head off in sync. The last arrow was finally in set and burning at the stump. The big camper I asked for was a guy who looked exactly like Hephaestus and was already ready when I looked his way. He lunged at Hydra's remaining head, and she wailed in the air as the pain rushed to her. Fortunately, the guy was able to keep her down.
Slowly, I scanned the area for just one more thing: a bloodied head of the Hydra. Running over, I dipped the tip of Riptide into the puddle of blood and ran back to the struggling camper. "And her own poison," I said slowly, "is the end of her." I jabbed the sword into her one last time, and she let out another fierce cry before she was down for good. She faded away, and everything from this battle had gone with her.
Campers were speechless as I took my sword out, all staring in awe. I yielded Riptide, and it reverted back to its pen form. Finally, they burst into cheers and applause, murmurs surfacing above everything; mostly questions like "Who is he?" and "Isn't he the kid from the creek?".
I helped out the large camper and and highfived him. "Nice job, uh..."
"J.T.," he said carefully. "You're amazing at these drills, dude."
The kid earlier had mentioned something about drills too. I blinked, looking at everyone around me. "What do you mean by drills?"
"What do you mean, 'What do you mean'?" Remember how everyone was staring at me like I was nuts? They were doing it again. J.T. stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. "We have these drills once a week so that we'll know what we're up against. I don't think we've ever worked together so easily like that before."
"...Oh." That explained why the Hydra had faded instead of dissolved like how normal mythological beasts did. I made my way to Callie, who was bandaging the wound on her friend's arm.
"I'm fine," he mumbled. His eyes were on the ground and glaring at nothing in particular. "Callie, Corona already healed the wound. I'm gonna be fine."
"I could have had your back if you let me." Callie scowled, eyes narrowing at him. "Lucas, you can be so hardheaded sometimes!"
"What's done is done. There's no changing the past." Boy, did that sound ironic coming out of my mouth. I scanned the area for that Corona girl Callie and Lucas were talking about. The second I did, I flashed a knowing grin and gave her a thumbs up. In return, she along with a lot of other girls turned red and waved at me. I blinked. Wonder what that was about. Glancing over to Lucas, I examined the wound myself. "He's right, Callie. Corona did a good job at healing him."
Lucas stiffened with the contact of my hand. "I don't believe we've met properly," he said under gritted teeth. "I'm Lucas."
"I'm Pe—" I hesitated, looking between both Callie and Lucas.
His glare was tenser.
"Ow," I faked an injury and clutched the side of my head. "I think I got a concussion or something when fake Hydra hit me. I'm pretty sure it starts with a 'P' though. Maybe a Bob, or a Patty." Callie offered me a strange look, but a big smile formed over her face.
"Oh my Gods! That was amazing! Here, I thought that you were just a rookie camper, but you knew how everything and everyone worked! You knew which campers would be able to manipulate element! But..." Her demeanor fell when she gestured to the pocket where I held Riptide. "The tip of your sword... it's chipped."
"Hmm?" I felt Riptide in its pen form. Kronos had found a weak point in its binding. I shrugged nonchalantly and shook my head. "It's fine. I'll see if I can get someone to fix it."
"How did you pull the flaming arrow out of Lucas's arm without burning yourself? There isn't even a scratch!" Callie gestured to my hand.
I moved it to prove her point, and thought about all of the possible reasons I could think of. "Uh...the...Internet?"
"That was reckless of you," Lucas interrupted our conversation. He stood up and met me perfectly at my height. "The strategy you used was poor, and it was pure luck that you were able to get everyone to cooperate like that."
He seemed to be forgetting who saved his sorry, flaming butt. "Lucas, you seem to be forgetting who saved your sorry, flaming butt." Callie said it; not me. I looked over to her, somewhat amused that we both came up with the same conclusion. She glared at him angrily and touched my hand. "He's a great hero! If we were to do that with the real Hydra, we'd win; no sweat!"
"It would have been less risky if someone from the Athena Cabin had come up with the strategy," he huffed. Lucas's face scrunched up again and his eyes narrowed at me. They were sea green, just like Callie's.
"Well if it helps any, I dated someone from the Athena Cabin and knew her for five years," I mumbled, "before she dumped me."
Lucas tensed once again, and he stood up from the dirt. I was the only one who caught him wincing when he moved his arm a little. "Whatever.."
He left with the crowd of dispersing kids. "What the hell is your boyfriend's problem?" I looked over to Callie, who was mortified. "He's not jealous that you've been the one feeding me and such, is he?"
Callie paled to a sickening white. "Dude, that is the grossest thing you could ever say to me."
"What?" I smirked, having fun with teasing her. "Don't you have a little crush on him?"
"Of course not!" She shrieked, clutching her stomach. She made a gagging noise and rolled her eyes. "He's my brother!"
—
"So do you remember your name yet, you poor thing?"
"You look a little bit like a Grayson! Does that ring a bell?"
"Hey! You need to come by the Apollo Cabin for a healing session!"
Exactly two days had passed while I was in the new future. It was driving me crazy; half the girls at the camp wouldn't leave me alone; always asking the creepiest questions for who-knows-why, and I had traded battle tactics with probably seven other people now. The girls followed me just about everywhere I went; it was kind of hot and kind of creepy.
"You said it started with a 'P', right?" A girl from the Aphrodite Cabin asked me. Bella Aulora; that's what her name was She was really pretty, but kind of the touchy-feely type. "You look a little bit like a Peyton, or a Pierce. Or maybe... a Peter?"
I stopped and snorted, twirling around again. Bella Aulora's lips stretched into a happy grin.
"It's Peter, isn't it? It's so Peter! It was a matter of time that I'd figure it out, right? It's such a good sign from Mom!" Yeah, it was a good sign all right. And my son and daughter from Annabeth were totally telling me that I was never getting back together with her. Bella rattled a hand around the sleeve of my T-shirt. "Maybe you and I should..."
"It's not Peter," I said flatly. I scratched my head. "Um, maybe it doesn't start with a P. Maybe a 'T' or something, you know? I like the name Theo."
"But you're too hot to be named something stupid like Theo!" shrieked the girl from the Hera Cabin. Her name was Abigail Smith. "What about something like... like... Porter?"
And finally, the third girl, from Nemesis Cabin, who had been following me around too shook her head. "Girls! I'm pretty sure his name may have something to do with who his mother or father is!"
There was no way I could hear that without grinning in amusement. They all nodded in agreement and contemplated on what name I could possibly have for yet another minute. They were farther from their goal than they thought they were. From the corner of my eye, I saw the fourth girl that went unnoticed: Callie. When I first stepped out the Hermes Cabin this morning, I went straight to the Poseidon Cabin to get her. That was when the other three girls decided to follow me around.
While I was here, I guess I had sort of developed an attachment to my daughter (that was still so, so awkward to say). She said that she was eleven and had never gone on a quest before, but made it very vague on why. That made Lucas, my son (this was a little more awkward) and the boy that Annabeth and I were expecting. He had to be sixteen, if I was being reasonable. She was at elast five years younger than him, and it was one of the reasons why I kept her around the way I did. If she was born five years later, then that at least meant that I had a good five more years with Annabeth before something bad happened. Basically, if I had gone to the future and Callie was still here, then it was very clear that I had made it back.
We shared a secret gesture we had come up with yesterday, and quickly we ran while the others were still bickering.
"A girl from the love goddess, a girl from the marriage goddess, and a girl from the revenge goddess," I speculated. No matter how many ways you phrased it, all of it was just a bad combo. Callie giggled behind me as we finally lost them. It would be a good three minutes before they realized that she and I left. Sarcastically, I quipped, "I certainly have it going for me, now don't I?"
"Well, Abby was head-over-heels in love with Cody Sparks from the Zeus Cabin before you came," Callie said as we ducked behind the Big House. She stared at me, eyes gleaming. "Maybe you're a kid of Eros's? He's looking pretty jealous."
"Maybe," I decided to humor her. I shrugged, eyes looking around clearly to see if anyone had followed us. So far, everything seemed quiet. "I doubt that anyone will claim me."
"Of course they will! You're an awesome warrior already! You took out Chase Rodriguez without breaking a sweat, and he's one of the toughest kids in the Ares Cabin!" Chase Rodriguez had the bad arm from when he slammed into the cabins. In his defense, it probably still hurt. Plus, I was a foot and a half taller than him. "I still don't get it though: how'd you know his every move?"
"Let's just say I've seen them before." I hid the smile that came over my face. Any idiot from my time would have been able to spot Clarisse's features on that boy and know immediately who's kid he was. I'd have asked him myself, but I doubt anyone would feel normal if some guy from the past came up to him and asked, "Hey, what's your mother's full maiden name?"
From the looks of it, Clarisse had taught the kid everything she knew about fighting. In his arsenal had been a spear exactly like his mother's. "Hey, Callie. Could I ask you a question?"
"Sure, anything!"
What Lucas had told her about being forbidden to go on the battlefield played over and over in my head. Yesterday after I was hanging out with her, he was giving her a lecture about how I was reckless and unpredictable and blah blah blabitty blah. Dating my own daughter would just be gross. "Why is Lucas always on your back about things?"
"...Oh." Her answer was meek and quiet. I glanced over and saw her nervous expression. "Um, pass?"
Obviously, she wasn't comfortable with me asking. I nodded to respect her wishes and then let myself out in a clear, open area. "Keep an eye out; I need to talk to the Oracle."
Callie's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Are you crazy?! She's not just going to let anyone talk to her, you know!"
"I need an offering, right?" Callie nodded. I grinned and shrugged. "Trust me, she'll let it slide this time."
Compared to the old, murky look that was around the last time I was here, the place was absolutely decked out. When I went to the attic of the Big House, it was much cleaner, and some of the old artifacts that I remembered seeing before were hanging up on the walls. Posters saying "Save the forest!" and "Be friendly to your planet!" all hung above with walls painted a dainty burgundy that only I knew only this girl in particular would like.
"Great Oracle?" I mused. My eyes scanned the room again before someone suddenly appeared in front of me. When I saw her, I definitely knew it was Rachel, but Rachel had never looked so... un-Rachel-ish. Her hair was much longer, spawning to her mid-back. I was still taller than her, even after almost twenty years into the future, but she definitely looked older and filled out a lot more than Rachel seventeen years ago did.
"Percy...?" She stared at me, like she was unable to identify who I really was. I nodded. "Oh my Gods! Percy!"
"Ah... stop... Rachel...choking...me...choking...still choking... Alright, there we go." I sighed in relief when she finally let go of me and collapsed onto her mattress. My scrutiny of her continued. "Wow. You are so... old, Rachel." Needless to say, she slapped me upside the head. I started laughing, but she didn't. When I looked at her to ask why, her eyes had grown misty and her eyebrows were furrowed. "What?"
"I... it's been so long, Percy." She hesitantly brought hand out to touch my cheek.
"Don't I come to visit you in the future?" I arched an eyebrow.
Rachel smiled a weary smile, and even if I was joking before, it was clear that she had aged. "So long, Percy. So, so long. In this time, you went missing six years ago."
My eyes widened. "How?"
She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. "It's... hard to explain, Percy. Everything you did was for a good reason, but I'm not allowed to disclose that information." Her eyes were misty again. I took it upon myself to grab a tissue from her nightstand and hand it to her.
Lucas and Callie grew up six years without a father, and last month, they lost a mother. I couldn't stop staring at Rachel as she blew her nose.
"What about Annabeth?" I asked. "Chiron wouldn't tell me what happened to her, but I know she was..." I didn't want to say it. The word killed just didn't belong in the same sentence with Annabeth. That made her sob harder. I could feel myself grow impatient. "Rachel, I need to know these things. If I know these things and go back to my time, I can change the outcome of the future. Kronos won't be raiding around, and everyone comes out safely."
Rachel continued hiccuping before reducing to sniffles. She let out a big ugly booger in the tissue I provided her with and finally calmed down. "The prophecy."
"The prophecy?" I repeated.
"I read that prophecy for a reason all those years ago, Percy." Her eyes narrowed at me. "We didn't know what it meant then, but you were there when I read it to you. Then, seventeen years later, you pop your head here. Both of them, Percy. I have a feeling... I know what you'll do and need to do."
I thought about the times she had prophesied something. There where two instances—the prophecy that she told me right before I left, and the Great Prophecy. Looking between the two, my eyes widened. "You mean—?"
She neither nodded nor shook her head. "As the Oracle, disclosing more information than allowed is forbidden. Apollo will have my head and make me sing karaoke with him again if I do. But it's a maybe—you know how prophecies sometimes go unplanned. The first line of one of them has already come true—you have to see to it that the first line of the other does as well."
"You're lying," I blurted. My mind was spinning with all of the other conclusions that seemed possible. But she was right—prophecies took advantage of a lot of loopholes and had a way of being vague in the most obvious situation possible. "I just defeated Kronos last summer, Rachel! I barely stood a chance against him when we met this time—there's no way that this could be happening all over again!"
But the straight look on her face wasn't shaken. She shook her head, eyes tightly closed before she put a hand over mine.
"It's because the time line is becoming polluted, isn't it?" I curled my fingers into her bedsheets. "Kronos is popping everywhere, so he's triggering events that aren't supposed to happen for hundreds and thousands of years. When I'm dead is when they're supposed to happen, Rachel!"
Rachel hadn't nodded and she hadn't shaken her head, but the look in her eyes told me that I was right about some of the things coming out of my mouth. "You have a good instinct to believe those things, Percy. I will admit that even as the Oracel, some of the words I speak have become blurs and... mush together."
"So Kronos is messing with them! See?" I didn't want to believe that it was true, but when Rachel gave me that sour look, we both knew that I was in denial. My fake confidence faded from me.
"Math was never your best subject, so I'll add the theory for you, Percy," Rachel said softly. She rubbed my back soothingly like Mom used to do when I had nightmares as a little kid. "Kronos for one is never dead. So long as he lives in those who remember him, he lives on. He's the God of Time, so he could be anywhere he wanted to be at this second. In fact, he might even know what I'm saying to you at this very moment. Whether or not you truly are of this prophecy, Percy, it's your job to see if it comes through. You're the hero of the last one. You have to."
I hated it when girls were right. Protect what time has truly preserved was the very last line of the prophecy she had given me before the trip here.I bit the inside of my mouth and sighed in defeat. It wasn't about me—it was never about me. The fate of the Olympians was what really mattered. Seven halfbloods will answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. "How will I find the six other halfbloods?"
"Don't worry about that." She pulled me into a hug like it would be my last from her. "It'll come to you. Eventually."
—
"So how did it go?"
"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts and faced Callie. Her sea green eyes looked at me inquisitively, but it was hard to form words. "She uh, let me stay for a little bit," I mumbled. "I think she found me a little cute."
"That's not creepy at all," she muttered. We looked at each other, sending silent messages before bursting into a fit of laughter. My troubles washed away and became forgotten, and I found myself laughing harder and a bit longer than she was. When I opened my eyes, she was staring at me, lips curled into a wide smile. "Do you know what a hellhound is?"
"Little barking chihuahuas that don't know how to shut up?" It was cute watching her burst into another fit of giggles.
"Okay, so you don't," Callie confirmed on her own. She yanked at my arm and gestured to the forest. "Would you like to meet the world's friendliest and largest dog on Long Island?"
I was hesitant at first. Ms. O'Leary was likely to recognize me from my scent if I were to come with her. Callie apparently mistook this as fear because she laughed and pulled me off to the forest before I had a chance to refuse.
"Don't even tell me that you're afraid of dogs!" A mischievous glow overwhelmed her eyes. She smirked. "And if you are, you can hide behind me and I'll protect you."
It was enough to make me smile just for a little bit. As she waddled ahead of me, I made note of the features of her face again. It was stalker-ish of me, but I began doing it without realizing it. "Callie," I said absentmindedly, "do you actually know how to wield a sword?"
Callie halted in her spot. Slowly, she turned around and hesitantly eyed me. "Of course I know how. Daddy actually taught me when I was little, and Chiron doesn't let anyone who steps foot in this campus step foot out without knowing how to battle."
"Then how come your brother made a big deal about it when we battled the fake Hydra?" I slowly managed to catch up to her. She took the time to jump onto a log in the middle of nowhere and balance herself on it.
"He's always been like that; ever since Daddy went missing when we were little," she whispered quietly. "Last month... my mother died. I wasn't there when it happened, but Lucas was. He's grown bitter and irritated now, and worries more on my safety than anything."
"So he does have a human side," I concluded for her. A small smile tugged on her lips, but she floated back into her thoguhts. I felt awful. If I had just been there, I could have prevented this—all of this.
"It'll only go on for a couple more years. He has to stop eventually."
"You figure?"
"I know." She jumped off of the log and gazed about before smiling in satisfaction. "When I officially turn thirteen, he isn't allowed to make the choices for me—sworn by the River Styx. Whether he likes it or not, he's promised that I can go on missions and stuff."
I frowned. "Prophecies don't wait for kids to turn thirteen, Callie. They kind of just happen when they happen."
"Depends on what prophecy you're talking about." Her eyes twinkled again. She looked my way with a silly smile and shrugged. Callie had a point; the prophecy I was involved in had me anticipating what was going to happen for a full four years and three hundred, sixty-four days before it finally came true. Finally, she stopped. "Okay, we're here."
"We're where?" I asked curiously.
She sucked in a deep breath and cupped her mouth. "MS. O'LEARYYYY!" At first, everything was silent. Her voice echoed off the trees, and soon three dogs the twice the size of Labrador retrievers scurried out of the bushes, tackled me to the ground and filled my face with dog slobber.
"WHOA!" I managed to choke. The gross part was there was some tongue-to-tongue involved in all of that.
"Oh good," I barely heard Callie say, "she brought the puppies with her."
Puppies? "Uh, nice dogs." I couldn't help but laugh and pet every single one of them by their muzzles. There was a big, roaring earthquake that I had gotten used to all of last summer. A big WOOOF that could make all of New York tremble was heard, and the trampling was phenomenal. Ms. O'Leary came running and barking happier than any of the other dogs. Puppies aside, she came up to me, licking all of me herself and caused me to fall to the ground all over again. "Hey—uh—girl. It's nice to see you. For the very first time....ever!"
Ms. O'Leary barked again and leaped six feet into the air with excitement. Her puppies did the same to a smaller degree.
"Okay, I see where you wanna go with this," I grinned. I looked around the forest to find the biggest branch around. Luckily enough, there was one a few yards away. As soon as I found it, Ms. O'Leary and her puppies jumped five feet into the air with excitement. The second it left my hand and into the comb of trees, they were off before I could say anything.
"That's... amazing," said Callie. I glanced her way and saw the mix of confusion over her face. "I don't think I've ever seen Ms. O'Leary take a liking to anyone like that so quickly. You're so lucky!"
"Uh, really? I have a dog just like her back at home." I shrugged and tried not to make it look like a big deal. If I had said anything else, then I would have certainly blown my cover. Ms. O'Leary was making it harder for me than it should have been.
"What'd you say your name was again?"
"Billy Joe Armstrong," I snickered. Of course, I was only kidding. When I looked over to Callie, she was staring at me. I blinked, scratching my head. "I was... kidding, Callie."
"Oh." Unfortunately, a wave of disappointment washed over her face. She stared at the ground sadly, and I couldn't help but feel bad for not being able to tell her what my true name was.
"Once I remember," I suddenly said while putting a hand on her shoulder, "you'll be the first one to know. You've been too good to me for me not to tell you what my name really is."
A red blush splattered her skin. Callie's lips stretched into an excited smile and she furiously nodded her head. "O-Okay!"
"You remind me a lot of my girlfriend back home," I then said. There were fragments of Annabeth's personality embedded here and there when it came to Callie, but other than that, she was her own person. She was a little reckless, somewhat daring, loud, and was excited easily. The only time she would ever back down was when it came to Lucas, where she would bite her own tongue and stubbornly refuse to talk. A crestfallen flicker fell into her eyes. I looked at her, confused. "What?"
"Nothing," Callie quickly replied. She shrugged and nervously laughed before playing with a random loop of hair. "Go on. I remind you of your girlfriend?"
"We need some space between us right now, so we're definitely not seeing eye-to-eye," I muttered. When I looked back at her, she was staring intently with her sea green eyes wide and intrigued. I couldn't help but smile. I could have sat there next to her for the rest of the day and watch her mess around just to see which qualities she had gotten from me, from Annabeth, and what she developed on her own. The future was gonna be so totally awesome. Other than the me going missing and Annabeth dying part. "I have a hunch that everything will be different when I get home though."
"Too bad for all the girls at camp then, huh?"
"What do you mean by that?" I looked at her in confusion. Callie's eyes narrowed and she arched an eyebrow with an Are-you-serious? look.
"Have you not been paying attention to all of the girls that have been following you around?" I shook my head. They were kind of a nuisance, but I tried to tolerate it. Chiron said to keep a low profile, and telling them to stay away seemed unnecessary. Plus, have I mentioned how hot they were? "Wow. For a guy who can practically lead an army, you're really, really dense."
"Trust me, I get that a lot." My eyes narrowed. I shrugged and turned around just as Ms. O'Leary and her puppies came running for me. "Who's the father, anyways?"
"Guess."
"A little, flaming chihuahua."
"Cerberus."
I looked at her form the corner of my eye to see if she was telling the truth. A wide grin spread across my face as I scratched one of the puppies behind its ear. It was excited as it stomped its foot into the ground. They had Ms. O'Leary's eyes, but Callie was right when she said that Cerberus was their father. Playfully, I joked, "What, only one head guys?" They barked again happily and nudged the stick to me. Callie came up behind me and pointed to the pup closest to its mother.
"That one's Asphodel. You can tell it's him because he has a big tan spot on his ear. The one you're petting is Elysium. He always slobbers more than the rest. Diddles is the smallest out of all of them."
"Diddles?" I arched an eyebrow and smiled.
A blush flared her cheeks and she shrugged. "We wanted to name her after her previous owner, Daedalus, but when I suggested the name, I couldn't pronounce it properly, so we settled on Diddles."
"She's my favorite then," I teased. I called her over (which took some time; I think they were really really young puppies).
"Could I ask you something, Billy Joe Armstrong?" You'd be amazed how serious she was when she said my 'name.'
"Mm?" I tossed the stick again and yelled out a high, "FETCH!" before looking back to her. Callie was squinting, and I could have sworn her eye color had changed to a solid, slate gray. I was going to have to ask her later how she was able to do that.
"How is it that you remember your girlfriend, your dog, and know the abilities of all of the cabins at this camp, but," her voice raised suspiciously, "you can't even remember your name?"
"A really, really bad concussion." I hadn't bothered to exchange looks at her when saying that. Instead, I started to walk back to the camp. I could have just stayed and waited for the pups and Ms. O'Leary to come back, but understand that a hellhound has seven times the energy of a normal dog, and we just go started. It's a good workout playing fetch for the next forty years until they tire out, if you're willing to throw that hard.
Classes were supposed to be in session, but after Chiron had heard about how I became a lieutenant and got everyone to cooperate with the fake Hydra, he forbid me to go to any of the classes. Needless to say, I was grounded until further notice. What Rachel advised me came to mind. "Callie," I turned to her, "when are the battles held? Or Capture the Flag? What tournaments are coming up?" Stupidly, I asked since I was on a roll, "What month is it?"
"Uh," Callie's eyes widened. She wasn't expecting me to suddenly blab like that. "Capture the Flag is every Friday, and the arena is open any time but Saturday mornings, because that's when Cabin Ten and Seven fight to decide whether or not we watch chick flicks or an actually good movie later that night. We do have a tournament coming up two weeks from now for a compare and contrast tournament towards the end of the summer. And," she added quickly, "It's June 3rd."
"Ah." I nodded my head gratefully. "So everything's pretty much the same."
"What do you mean?" I looked over to her. "Isn't this your first year here?"
"Uh... yeah." I scratched my head and started walking faster to nowhere in particular. "Just a little curious and all; to see if it's the same as any other of the camps."
"This is the only camp that allows demigods to pass." Callie looked at me in suspicion.
"It's nothing to think about now... I think my amnesia is acting up again," I lied. I rubbed my head and looked back at her. Just between you and me, did she look like she was buying it? Didn't think so.
I continued walking with her behind me, and somewhere in between getting from the forest to Thalia's tree, I had apparently crossed through the other creak without realizing it because when I turned around, Callie was on the other side giving me a blank stare.
"What?" I asked.
She rubbed her eyes, narrowing them before pointing to my pants. "You're not wet."
Oops. I stared at my feet to see if there was a puddle that formed between my feet, but it unfortunately didn't. When I looked back up, Callie was in front of me, and her eyes had gone from gray to green again. She wasn't wet either. I blinked. "How'd you do that?"
"Kids with Poseidon's blood running through them don't get wet unless they want to," she explained. That hadn't been what I asked though. Callie ignored my question entirely and suddenly grinned. "It's a sign. It's a totally sign. Unless any other kid can do it, you're definitely the kid of Poseidon!"
That was the understatement of the century. "Maybe," I said awkwardly. I scratched my head. "I don't think I can do much with a fork thingy though."
"Trident," Callie irritably corrected. I hid the grin that formed on my face. "Where are we going?"
"Nowhere in particular." I actually wasn't sure. Wandering around the place normally cleared my head, but I could only think of both of the prophecies again. The longer I was away from my own time, the more the future would change, right? I grimaced.
It had been exactly like Annabeth and I discussed before the whole mess happened. Somewhere out there—out here—there was a little Annabeth and a little Percy just itching to take Kronos down.
