Chapter Four
Percy

Now, really, I regret saying that Thalia sounded like Athena or Annabeth.

You might ask why. You probably already know the answer.

Yes, I gave Thalia a lecture on quantum physics. I'm not even kidding.

In fact, I was pretty sure that it was all Thalia could do to restrain herself from duct-taping my mouth shut, tying my hands together with a thick length of rope, and killing me while dumping me in some abandoned coal mine. I understand, really, but my mouth wouldn't stop blabbering about this and that. I didn't even know what I was saying. How did I know this stuff about quantum physics? If these bursts of knowledge kept on coming at this rate, I would be smarter than Athena, Minerva, the whole Athena cabin at Camp Half-Blood, and the whole Minerva cabin at the Legion camp combined. That very thought creeped me out so much that I stopped talking at once, trying to forget what I had said.

I woke up, startled, in a nice, fluffy, white bed, awoken by a strangled shout.

"GAH!" Thalia yelled, jerking violently in her sleep. "Luke! No, STOP!"

I wondered if Hypnos was feeling merciful at the moment. I really doubted that thought. If Thalia was currently dreaming of Luke and was screaming his name in her sleep, it had to be a nightmare of some sort. Unless Luke had a near-death experience that I didn't know about while he and Thalia were on the run. I hoped that it was the latter. Even though it was not a good dream, it was better than a nightmare about Luke. Would he have demon eyes? A forked tongue? Little red horns sprouting from his head? Wait, for Thalia, both of them would probably be nightmares. Not good.

I cursed Morpheus. I cursed Hypnos. Morpheus for even sending Thalia this dream, and Hypnos because he won't free Thalia from his clutches.

Stop thinking about this, Percy, I chided myself. I shook myself from those thoughts and turned to Thalia.

"Thalia..." I whispered in her ear.

She didn't heed my voice and flinched even more violently, scrabbling at the sheets. Was this the first sign of madness in demigods?

"Thalia!" I said, my voice louder. I was getting really worried when she didn't even turn towards the sound of my voice. Gods, what in the name of Poseidon was wrong with her?

Thalia was twitching violently now. "Luke..."

I shook Thalia as hard as I could without sending her sheets tumbling or pushing her off the bed. "WAKE UP!"

Thalia jerked again, but didn't stir from Hypnos's clutches.

"No," she muttered. "Percy...keep...him...alive..."

What? What does she mean, me keeping Luke alive? He was already dead! He can't return from the Underworld!

Thalia groaned, twitched, and then snapped awake, her blue eyes clouded and full of terror. I had never seen her that way, even when Apollo let her (ahem, forced her) to drive the sun chariot.

I murmured, "What's wrong?"

Thalia wildly looked around to make sure that there was no Zombie Luke lurking around the room before she answered, her voice trembling. "W-what do y-y-you me-me-mean? You were all b-bl-bloody...you were d-dying, and I...I...was responsible!"

Her last words came out as a choke.

"What's this about Luke?" I asked, panicked, because Thalia was really scaring me at this point.

Thalia flinched so hard that she fell of the bed in a tangled mess. "N-nothing," her muffled voice stammered from somewhere in the bedsheets.

"Thalia! Don't lie!" I said.

Thalia appeared from the sheets, her eyes kind of glassy now. "I don't w-want to talk about it."

Seeing the look on my face, she bowed her head. "Please."

If Thalia was "please-ing" me, she must really not want to talk about it. But the words she had said earlier, about me dying...what on earth did that statement mean?

"Thalia!" I pleaded. "Just tell me! I can help!"

That totally did not sound like me, but I didn't like the part about me dying. That part doesn't sound good.

"You can't," Thalia whispered, burying her head in her hands. "Y-you can't. That's what scares me."

I frowned. "Aw, c'mon, Thals..."

"Don't call me that."

"Fine," I relented. "But why is a simple dream upsetting you so much? It's not as if it was a prank call from the gods!"

Thalia didn't answer that statement, which led me to believe that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

"Or was it?" I asked, getting more and more confused.

Thalia glared at me with red-rimmed eyes. "Percy, I'm begging you...stop inquiring over this. It'll get you nowhere."

I persisted, though. I felt like Pandora now. "Thalia, it can't be that bad. It can't be so bad that it will end your life! Artemis wouldn't want that! Neither would Zeus, or me, or Annabeth..."

My voice trailed off as Thalia shook her head miserably. "You don't understand!" she said. "Besides, it's nothing you should be poking your finger into. It's too personal!"

The way that she said personal reminded me way back, back during that Capture the Flag game with the Hunters...

The way that Thalia had quirked a little when she said the name "Jason", unnoticed by the other campers. Which turned out to be her long lost little brother's name.

"What now?" I asked. "Some other long-lost family member that you've told no one about?"

Thalia turned away and muttered something about going to the bathroom. She zoomed out of the room in search of the toilets.

My curiosity was a roaring flame that couldn't be diminished by anything at this point. Except for answers. I got up quickly and quietly and followed Thalia out of the room.

I followed the rather loud footsteps. Thalia obviously wasn't trying to cover up her tracks.

She wandered down the sprawling labyrinth of hallways, hands shoved in her jacket pockets, muttering aimlessly to herself. I caught the words cousin and son of Hermes.

I got a feeling that she was definitely talking about Luke.

I didn't know much about her past that she spent on the run. Long story short: she got turned into a tree. Nothing left to say.

But there were rumors around camp when the Hunters weren't there (well, if Thalia was there, their mouths shut up) that she had a "romantic" relationship with Luke while she was partnered with him. Before she and Luke met Annabeth.

Personally, I think that that whole business is gaga. Crazy. Absurd. Off of the launcher. And now, I was even more sure of that statement.

I thought back to when Thalia had yelled to Luke, You could never beat me! I had a premonition that she wasn't talking about the times she and Luke sparred together.

I think that I found out the answer, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Luke had replied, We'll see, my old friend or something like that. But I saw both of their eyes. I knew that the word, "friend" meant a lot more to them than anyone could have dreamed of. Even Annabeth.

Suddenly, the pieces clicked together. I seemed to go numb, getting a massive brain freeze.

Luke. LUKE!

Luke was...

Oooooh, cliffhanger! Not really. Or really?