"Are you sure that's everything?" Octavian demanded.
"Yeah. I could weld you onto the Invictus, so you can annoy the others to death, but somehow I think that'll just hurt us more," Vanessa said.
"I don't know," Alex sighed. "I think we've built a tolerance."
"Okay," Octavian mumbled. "Point taken."
"But seriously though, is this everything?" Felix asked through a strained expression.
"We won't have time for anything else," Vanessa confirmed. "This is everything."
But is it enough? The thought hung in everyone's mind so heavily, it was palpable.
In the late afternoon, Vanessa had just put the finishing touches on the chariot and taken it outside the forge for us to admire. Octavian was reluctant to expose our design for the whole of New Rome to see, but he conceded after Felix mentioned that there was no point in hiding it now, since the tournament was starting tomorrow.
Under normal circumstances, I would have been speechless at Vanessa's work. It was a massive wooden construction with wheels that almost came up to the top of the carriage itself, which reminded me a lot of those teacups you ride in carnivals, but almost twice as wide and with an open back, which made me nervous. It would be awfully easy for someone to fall off. The others reassured me that this design was the only reason why a chariot could move faster than your average bicycle, but I wasn't entirely convinced. Upon closer inspection, though, my doubts eased up a little.
What I thought was paint on the chariot's exterior turned out to be real metal plating, polished until it shone like a mirror. The metal loops that were going to be tied to the horses looked sturdy enough to tie down a ship, and the enormous spoked wheels were similarly armoured. The interior was even more impressive. There were little nooks and crannies filled with all kinds of weapons: flashbangs, stink bombs, and big vases of motor oil. Emblazoned in golden text on the side of the construction were the words INVICTUS, in letters that were huge and yet still elegant.
"I can't believe you made this thing," I said in awe, glancing at Vanessa. "I can't even make a paper airplane."
"I just followed Daedalus' designs, same as everyone," she shrugged in reply. "It's really not too far from assembling a Lego set."
"I can't do that either," I muttered.
"It's beautiful," Octavian decreed. "The Fifth Cohort has never owned a chariot this good in years. Next up is the victory laurels, and an absolutely ridiculous sum of denarii."
"So if we win the race," I said, counting the first step on my fingers.
"When we win the race," Felix corrected.
"When we win the race," I repeated, "then we'll advance to the next round."
"You'll advance to the next round," Alex corrected. I sighed.
"Right, right. Then I have to fight whoever comes second, then the winner has to duel Jules. The best fighter in the legion, who also happens to be old enough to be in college."
"Stop it, Percy," Vanessa scolded. "If I can make this thing in a week, then you can beat Jules. Didn't your training with Dakota help?"
"Well, yeah…" I trailed off. The nightly sparring sessions with Dakota had made me nothing but tired all week long. It was a lot of good practice, I guess, but I wasn't sure how helpful it'll be in the final showdown.
"It doesn't get better than that," Alex said. "We're as prepared as we'll ever be."
All eyes returned to the chariot. I couldn't even imagine riding it. Won't I look stupid, holding a golden coin in one hand and a vase of motor oil in the other, while hundreds of people cheered me on? Or threw rotten tomatoes at me, more like. This was the only way, though. I had to gain the respect of the legion. I hadn't earned the tattoos on my arm. Not really.
"Come on," Octavian said, gesturing with his arm towards our barracks. "Dinner's starting soon. Wouldn't miss that for the world." We all mumbled agreement and shuffled after him.
The camp was abuzz with even more energy than usual. There was a lot of trash talk between the cohorts, and while most of them seemed semi-serious, there were plenty of glares being thrown around too.
Despite the tension, the Romans feasted. Since practically everybody was going to watch the tournament tomorrow, all the drills we were supposed to do tomorrow were done today in addition to the stuff already scheduled. Everyone was exhausted, and they ate like it. But since we were going to participate in the race, we were given the whole day to prepare, and we'd been stewing on anxiety since the moment we woke up.
The aurae were supposed to know exactly what everyone wanted to eat, and the fact that we were only given a few bottles of Coke told us everything we needed about how we felt. Even Alex, who technically wasn't even in the race and had to do all the drills, only took a few sips. The rest of us did little more than stare at the table and wonder how much we'd embarrass ourselves tomorrow. I almost fell off my seat when a hand slammed on my back.
"Percy! How're you doing, my dude?" Dakota yelled into my ear. The chaos forced you to speak up, but not that much. I flinched involuntarily and almost spilled my blue soda. Dakota had his vampire grin plastered on his face with a smattering of even more Kool-Aid than usual. If he was nervous, he didn't show it.
"I'm fine, thanks," I mumbled, before returning to my drink.
"And I'm fine too, thanks for asking. Come on, where's your energy?" he shouted, lifting both his arms up. When nobody reacted, he frowned.
"Jeez, who died?"
"Nobody yet," Octavian muttered.
"Ah, it's the tournament, isn't it?" Dakota chuckled, spinning in his seat to lean back on the table, tilting his head back and taking another swig from his flask. "I remember when I got in. It wasn't pretty, so I guess I understand what you're going through."
"Wait a minute," I blurted out. "You were in the tournament?"
"Of course! You're not the only promising demigods in the Fifth, you know," Dakota replied. "I was the best swordsman they'd seen in a long time. After my second or third year, we pooled our resources and decided to actually try and win, instead of giving up from the very first lap."
"That's just embarrassing," Octavian said, wrinkling his nose. I couldn't help but feel the same.
"You guys didn't even try?"
Dakota shrugged in response. "We were outclassed anyway. At least that way, the only thing that got hurt was our pride, and believe me, it can take a beating." He laughed his weird hiccupping laugh.
"What happened to you? Did you win? Did you get to fight Jules?" Felix stammered. It was the first time I had seen Dakota sobering up. He had a faraway look in his face, like he was reliving that day.
"I… I shouldn't tell you. You'd just get worried," he said while waving a hand.
"Now we're even more worried. Thanks for that," Vanessa grumbled.
"I guess that's true. But I can tell you this." He turned in his seat again and leaned forward conspiratorially. We brought our heads together.
"You guys have a better shot than I ever did. You have an awesome team, an awesome chariot, and this guy," Dakota said, clapping my shoulder. "Don't tell anyone, but I'll admit that he's better than me. And after a week of sparring, I'd even say he has a fighting chance against Jules. You guys got this."
I knew that he meant well, and I was flattered from all the compliments. But all that did was lay even more pressure on each one of us.
"Besides," he burped as he stood up too fast, "he's the son of Neptune! That trident's got to count for something, am I right?"
"Thanks, I guess," I mumbled as Dakota disappeared into another table.
I knew that was supposed to be reassuring as well. It reminded me to turn my arm and hide the tattoo, if nothing else. Desperate to distract myself, I looked at each of my friends.
Octavian was tight-lipped and had his brow furrowed, like he was faced with a complicated math question. He was tapping his finger on the table ceaselessly. For all the world he only seemed a little worried, but we all knew that for him, he might as well be hyperventilating.
Felix was close to doing just that. Despite being the biggest guy in our group – even bigger than Vanessa – he was muttering to himself and kept looking at the sky. I realized that he might have been praying. It seemed kind of weird for a child of Apollo to do that at night, but it seemed appropriate for Felix.
Vanessa tried to keep a stoic expression, but her eyes were a storm of doubt and anxiety. She was starting at her empty plate, no doubt triple-checking her calculations and asking herself if it was going to be enough. I think she had it the hardest. It really all came down to the Invictus, after all. The burden was quite literally on her shoulders, even more than mine.
Alex kept her face carefully blank while twirling her knife in her hand. It was a nervous tic that I associated with her and only her, because I didn't know anybody else who I trusted more with sharp objects. I realized that I was wrong: she must've had it worst of all. At least the rest of us would be in the race and had a chance of winning. She was stuck on the bleachers, and the best she could do was cheer us on. I wanted to tell her that she did her part already when we sabotaged the others' chariots, but I was sure that she'd just punch me.
There was only one thing to do in such a situation.
"Octavian, could I borrow your phone?" I asked.
He flinched at the sudden noise. "What? Uh, yeah, sure," he mumbled, fishing it out and tossing it to me.
"Going to call your mom again?" Alex teased. Vanessa shook her head, smiling.
"Hey, lay off. Maybe if she'll FedEx his teddy bear, he can calm down," she sniggered.
"Don't be mean," Felix piped up. "What he needs is a good night kiss."
They all burst into laughter. That was some tension released, at least.
"Wow, you guys must really be depressed if that's the best you can do," I said. "And trust me, it's a surprise that's a lot better than a good night kiss. You'll be thanking me soon enough." I ran off to find a quiet spot and made the call.
It took longer than I expected – I hadn't done it in a long time. When I came back to the mess, there were only a few people still there, chatting up their friends or eating dessert. My friends were all gone, but they'd at least left me my blue soda. I picked it up and hurried back to the barracks.
I found them laying in their bunk beds, trying to sleep in their own way. Vanessa and Felix were as still as vampires, while Alex and Octavian were thrashing around every few seconds.
"That was way longer than I thought it'd be, even for you," Octavian said as he caught his phone. "Who did you call?"
"The only gods I'll ever respect. Let me know when you get a call," I said.
"How do you know it'll be whoever you're expecting?"
"Please. Nobody ever calls you."
That got even more laughs. I even caught Octavian smiling as I clambered onto my own bed.
All that talk of my mom made me think of her. I wondered what she would do if she were here now. She'd probably tell me not to worry while she tried to hide her own worried expression. And if she were me, she'd probably do the same. Put on a brave face for the world, and steel yourself for whatever it is she needed to do. I figured that was the best thing I could do at this point. Act like a hero.
Just then, Octavian's phone buzzed. We all bolted upright at the sound. Turns out everyone was as jumpy as I was. Octavian passed his phone to Felix, who snaked his arm to me.
"Percy, your mom's calling," Octavian said with a yawn.
"I can't believe you actually – wait a minute," Felix said, retracting the phone before I could take it. "I know this number."
"Oh God, Felix," Alex said. "What've you been doing with Percy's mom?"
Felix didn't seem to hear her. "But – but this is Pizza Hut!"
A stunned silence filled the room. I seized the opportunity.
"I know, I know, I'm a genius," I said. "The only thing that can help us at this point is divine intervention, and since we're running short on that, I took the next best thing." I rolled over in my bed to see their smiles. Instead they were all starting at me in horror. Even Felix and Octavian somehow managed to make eye contact with me.
"What?" I scoffed. "Pizza Hut is great. Don't tell me you'd rather have Domino's."
"First of all, your opinion is incorrect," Octavian said. "And did you seriously just order a delivery here?"
"Yeah, why not? We didn't have anything for dinner, and I don't want us to starve before the tournament," I said shrugging.
"Okay," Vanessa said in a tone like she was talking to a child. "So you ordered a pizza delivery here. In Camp Jupiter. A secret part of Ancient Rome that's guarded by armed guards and a literal god."
Slowly her words sank in. "Uh…"
"When does it arrive?" Octavian demanded. Felix took a second before responding and swore when he found what he was looking for.
"Five minutes!"
We leapt to our feet in unison. I fell off my bed along the way, tangled in my sheets. The others shoved past me as they put on jeans, t-shirts, and windbreakers, cursing as they went. Once I separated myself from the mass of linen I pulled on some clothes too. Most of my roommates were already outside. Felix was holding the door open for me.
"Come on!" he yelled, waving his hand. I stumbled past him, and the five of us ran across Camp Jupiter. The night air was a sharp contrast to the fuzzy indoor temperatures. I felt like I was running through a curtain of beads.
"Get to the bridge!" Octavian cried out.
"No time!" I shouted in reply before crossing the Little Tiber. The others exchanged glances before they rolled back their jeans, took off their shoes, and followed my lead.
If the air was cold, the water was freezing. It wasn't so bad for me, though I suspected it was because of my parentage. My friends weren't so lucky. The water came up to their knees and would occasionally splash to their chests. Vanessa almost tripped on a rock and would have taken a swim if Alex didn't catch her.
"Careful! You almost drowned!" Alex yelled into her ear. Vanessa shook her off. "Fine. I'm fine! Keep going!"
By the time we got past the river I was the only one dry and relatively warm. For once, I thanked Neptune. I don't think I would be strong enough to keep running through the cold, but my friends were made of stronger stuff and braved on. We paused to catch our breath at the mouth of the tunnel.
"Wait," Octavian gasped. "Guards posted outside. Let me do the talking."
"Good idea," Vanessa grumbled. She was wringing water off her hair, while Alex and Felix put their shoes back on. "If you don't die after this tournament, Jackson, I swear to all the gods that I'll murder you myself."
"At least we get pizza," I tried.
"We crossed a river in the middle of the night," gasped Alex, "for pizza. And only hours before the big day. This better be the best gods-damned pizza I've had in my life."
"Stuffed crust," I promised. The grumbling quieted a bit.
"How did you pay for this, anyway?" Octavian asked.
"Our sponsor did. Paid it through your phone."
"At least we're not paying for it," Felix said. Vanessa nodded sombrely.
"Free food is the best food."
"Technically I'm paying for it, but whatever," Octavian mumbled. "Alright, gang. We'll powerwalk from here. No need to alarm the guards."
We nodded and fell in behind him. The dark tunnel was surprisingly well lit, and I could see the sentries far before reaching them.
"Halt! Who goes – why are you all soaking wet?" one of the guards said. The face behind the mask looked like a girl, but it was hard to tell. Her companion turned to face us too.
"Going for a walk," Octavian said easily. "Big day tomorrow. Couldn't sleep, so we thought we should tire ourselves first."
"You can take a walk in New Rome," she pointed out.
"We can take a walk outside too," Octavian countered. "We're all feeling a little cooped up. I'm sure you understand."
The guards exchanged glances. For a moment I was worried that they'd send us back, meet a very confused pizza delivery guy, and kill him. Or worse, they'd take our pizza for themselves.
"A group like this will attract monsters," she said. The other guard shrugged.
"Small enough to make it hard, though. And big enough to fight for themselves. It'll be fine, dude," he said.
The first guard took a second to think before sighing. "Alright, whatever. Go ahead. Just make sure you don't stay out there too long."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding while Octavian nodded graciously.
"Thank you both. We'll be back soon."
We all mumbled thanks as we shuffled forward. With a start, I realized that I hadn't really explored San Francisco without being chased by monsters. And I hadn't explored anything with friends. Although they were shivering and glaring at me, I was… happy. Like I was with a family.
We crested several small hills along the way. Octavian looked back once to make sure that the guards lost sight of us, then started giving orders.
"Alright, everyone spread out. Look for the delivery guy and make sure he does not – "
"No need for that," Felix said, pointing somewhere. My eyes followed his finger and spied a guy standing next to a red motorcycle. He was holding a stack of pizza boxes in one hand and a phone in the other, no doubt checking his Google Maps. I whooped, and together, we raced to him.
The poor guy must have been even more confused to find a pack of feral demigods charging at him. I realized how we must have looked and slowed down a little. Luckily, the others took the hint and followed suit.
"Hi!" I said a little too loudly.
"Um… hi," the delivery guy said, eyeing each of us in turn. He looked like he spent most of his days studying in a library, only going out to deliver pizzas.
"Delivery for Mr. Jackson?" he asked hopefully. I grinned and reached out to take the boxes.
"That's me."
"Alright, cool," he mumbled. "Did I actually get the right address? What're you all doing out here?"
"Uh…"
"School trip," Alex said.
"Camping," Octavian supplied. "It's going to be our last day out here for a while, so we wanted to spend it under the stars."
"Oh, are you visiting, then? Where are you guys from?"
"Rome," I said.
"Right," the guy said. "Well, I hope you enjoy your pizza." He hurried back onto his bike and headed back towards the city as fast as he could.
I almost buckled under the weight of so much deliciousness, but I risked a peek inside one of the boxes. The smell of pepperoni and cheese wafted in the air until Alex slammed it close again.
"Hey!" I protested.
"You'll just get it cold," she scolded. "And seriously, Rome?"
"Well, I wasn't lying," I mumbled.
"Whatever. Now what? We can't go back with a stack of pizzas. What're we supposed to do, say we found them?"
"We can just eat them here," I suggested. A whole tirade of arguing was about to be unleashed, until Felix spoke up.
"I know a place," he almost yelled, to get our attention. He pointed to the direction that ran between the city and the wooded area. "Not that far from here. Come on." Felix started marching towards that direction. Nobody had a better idea, so we went after him.
As it turned out, it was pretty far. It didn't feel like it. I admired our surroundings between the endless banter and bickering, and it was beautiful. I thought there wouldn't be much to see – and I was right, in a way – but that just left us to the buzzing of crickets and the chirping of birds. Dew was already forming on the tall grass that we waded through. Patches of flowers stood out among them like little trail of lights in the dark.
Eventually, we reached what must have been the place Felix mentioned. It was a small picnic area, secluded in a grove of trees that blocked out the sounds of the nearby highway. It must have been part of a park but forgotten and abandoned. What remained was a stone table with benches, a little bigger than the ones we have in Camp Jupiter, with ivy and moss crawling on their sides. But the best thing about this place was the view.
It overlooked the hills that we had just crossed and most of the city, dazzling lights sparkling in the distance. The skyscrapers and suburbs looked like monopoly pieces from our position on the big hill, and just beyond that was the ocean. Far, even further than the city, I could see the Golden Gate bridge, its tops clouded by mist, and a long line of traffic crossing it in perpetual motion. The moon and stars reflected off the water to shine on the harbour. It was breath-taking.
"How the hell did you find this place?" Alex demanded. Felix shrugged shyly.
"Sometimes when I'm alone, I want to get as close to the sun as possible without getting too far. After a few years, I found this place. I never told anyone about it, but… seems appropriate," he said.
"This is amazing," Vanessa breathed. Octavian was at a loss for words.
"I bet you're glad I did this now," I grinned. "Who wants some pizza?"
And so, we spent the night before the most important day in our lives eating pizza on a hill overlooking the most beautiful part of San Francisco. We stuffed our faces with it and made up for the tension at dinner with plenty of talk and laughter. I realized that for the first time since I arrived, I didn't spend the whole night worried and afraid. It made sense. After all, I was surrounded with friends.
