Copyright and Discalaimer: Bibliotaku748 does not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Maximum Ride. She only owns this story.
"It all started a few months after we arrived at camp. I was already sorted by this time and was already seeing less of Luke than I was used too. But, even though we weren't together as often as we were when we were coming here, we still were close. I figured that it was all okay, that we'd find a way around everything. But, I guess I was wrong.
"He later admitted that he felt like he got the short end of the stick. Even though Hermes claimed him he never felt a real connection to him. I guess it was because so many people were in and out of his cabin and he just felt insignificant. But, you wouldn't believe how happy he was once Hermes finally sent him a quest. He was so excited to finally have something to do and I had hoped that once he came back things would be better." Annabeth laughs scornfully, shaking her head like she couldn't believe her own nativity. "He played all of us, made a fool out of his own family." Her expression tightens, giving her a pinched expression. The catch in her voice also made it obvious that she was having a hard time trying to keep her tone neutral.
"In any case," she forces out. "After Thalia did… what she did to save us, it was like Luke was pushed over the edge. Oh sure, he mourned with me but after a while he began distancing himself. He was no longer the same Luke who had guided me to camp. He lost what little empathy he still retained." She closes her eyes and sighs through her nose, old wounds reopening with the mention of the past.
I stare out at the filed in front of us, the wheels in my head still processing this new information.
I already knew what happened to Thalia, compliments of a very intimidated camper who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut concerning things that are better left unsaid, but hearing Annabeth referencing it just made it more real.
Sympathy washes over me but I keep quiet. It's not exactly like I can say, "oh hey, sorry about your friend turning into a tree trying to save your life." Not to mention she had probably received more sympathy than she cared for.
But, underneath that was another feeling, one that I was more familiar with, and it was all aimed at Luke. I mean, can you say asshole any louder? Annabeth looked up to him and he just threw it back in her face. When she needed him most he just bailed when things got tough, choosing to wallow in his own self pity. He should meet Jeb, the two of them could converse about their cowardliness over tea or something.
I purse my lips. I really hate to do this but I needed to ask. "So, where is Luke now in all this?" I sneak a glance at her and gauge her reaction.
She blinks and swings her stormy gaze towards me in surprise. "You didn't notice yet?" she asks in astonishment.
I gaze back at her levelly. "Notice what?" I blurt out, feeling completely out of the loop.
She narrows her eyes at me and assesses me slowly. "Didn't you tell us that you were chased by a tall blond haired kid?"
I nod slowly, having a sneaking suspicion to wear she was going with this but not wanting to believe it.
Annabeth views me almost pityingly. "Max," she begins carefully. "Did this guy have a scar and golden eyes?" she asks.
I run my tongue over my teeth. "Yeah, I think he did," I pause. "Where are you going with this Annabeth?" I can't help but ask suspiciously.
She turns away and shifts uncomfortably. "Max, do you know the back story of why Kronos is the way he is?" At my flat expression she switches into brainiac mode. "To make a long story short, Kronos was the king of the Titans and is the father of the major gods on Mount Olympus. When Kronos was still in power he was warned that one of his children would overthrow him, causing him to swallow all of his kids. But his wife, Rhea, hid his last child and let Kronos swallow a stone instead. That kid was Zeus.
"When Zeus grew up, he snuck into his father's palace and poisoned Kronos, releasing the major gods. They eventually defeated Kronos and took over reign.
"The only problem was that they never killed Kronos, they only dismembered him. Now, Kronos was obviously angry at being 'betrayed' and bided his time until he could find someone who opposed the gods. That's were Luke came in. He was the exact person Kronos was looking for. Angry, naïve, easily manipulated and harbored a grudge against the gods. He convinced Luke to steal Zeus' lightning bolt and try to bring it back. Luke eventually got caught but it was too late- Kronos already brainwashed him to a point where Luke just became a vessel to him. That kid you ran into before you were sent here? That is was what happened to Luke."
I gape at her openly, my brain completely zip lining. I knew Luke had something to do with Kronos but I just figured he was one of his lackeys or something to that nature. I never expected Luke to actually be Kronos. Or… for Kronos to be him depending on who's perceptive you look at. At least now I understand how I didn't recognize Luke. After all his evil mutations he was completely unrecognizable to the Luke I once met.
"Annabeth-"
The word barely out of my mouth an alarm starts to ring, the sound nerve grating and loud. Oh, that's just great. I finally think of something to say and am interrupted by a freaking bell that sounds suspiciously similar to a fire alarm I heard one in Arizona.
A hand clamps down on my arm and tightens, nails digging into my skin. I look down at the hand in mild disbelief, shifting my eyes to the owner's face.
Annabeth looks visibly pale, her lips thinning in determination while her eyes glimmer in anger and… fear?
"They're trying to break through the border," she mutters, glancing uneasily around her, pulling me up to my feet with her. "Come on, we need to get closer to the camp."
Without saying anything more she drags me in the direction of the cabins, forcing me to half jog next to her.
The closer we get to civilization the more I notice as everyone around us head towards the Dining Hall, leaving us to be the only one heading in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, no one stops us as we fight against the masses, pushing our way to the cabins and over to where the gang said they'd be.
"Max! Annabeth! Over here!"
We stop in our tracks and turn to the direction the voice called us from only to see the Flock and Percy weaving their way over to us.
Annabeth lets out a breath and we mimic their movements, meeting them half way.
"Percy," Annabeth greets grimly. "Is this a drill or…?" She trickles off suggestively, pressing her hands tightly to her sides.
He shakes his head. "I don't know," he admits, exchanging looks of unease with her.
The Flock and I exchange confused looks, not completely sure what the bell meant but knowing it must mean something very, very bad.
"Attention campers! False alarm, I repeat it was a false alarm! Please, return to your activities. The barriers are still holding," a voice booms from out of nowhere.
Some campers that were heading past us and stopped to listen looks over at us gravely before turning back to whatever they were doing before, other campers following in their example, completely unaffected by the alarms that were still going off.
"Hold on," Percy frowns. "Something isn't right. If it's a false alarm then why is the bell still going off-?"
Boom! An explosion from behind us sounds and I'm thrown to the ground, rocks digging into my face. Other explosions quickly follow and I instinctively cover me head with my arms to protect myself from flying debris.
Chaos reigns and, over the terrified screeches of campers that weren't as lucky to receive the blunt end of the explosion, I hear the voice over the loud speaker yelling- "We were tricked! It's a set up! The enemy has infiltrated the camp-!"
Hey guys! Yeah, sorry for this being a late update. My laptop committed suicide so I'm working off my sister's computer. I.e. it's a bit hard to update on time.
Anyway, thank you to all who read, reviewed, alerted and put this on their favorites. You guys are seriously made of awesome. Like always, please review and let me know what you think about this chapter. All feedback is appreciated.
