I am so sorry. I said that I would be uploading more chapters over the break, and instead I didn't put up any at all!

So anyway, here's the next chapter. It's a bit clunky, but I hope you enjoy it, and I promise I'll have chapters up more frequently from now on.

I don't own the Percy Jackson series.


It was nearly midnight before I could be sure everybody was asleep. Standing among soft breaths and restless shifting, I made my way to the door. Stepping over a ten-year-old with a teddy bear, I opened the door and slipped out into the night.

It was colder than I expected. I hunched my shoulders against the urge to rush back inside, and walked around behind the cabin.

In my head, I tried to justify what I was about to do. George had said that camp was the safest place for a half-blood. The boundaries kept monsters out. But Angela had also been clear about how dangerous the use of a cell phone would be. I wanted to talk to my brother, but Monique was sure everything had been 'explained' to him.

How did you 'explain' this? How did you tell what happened when a girl disappeared out of a tiny town? What would they say at my school? To all the family friends? And what was my 'mother' going to tell Anthony, Silas, or Liza? What about Emily?

What if that grey thing had come back for me, and all he had found was my family? What if he'd already killed them all? How would I know? No. I had to at least check to see if my family was okay. And it really wouldn't hurt so long as no monsters got in and nobody found out. I pressed the 'A' key and held my breath.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tony," I said, struggling to keep my voice calm. "It's Kate."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. I do still have your caller ID, you know. Just because you left doesn't mean we exiled you."

Just because I left? What exactly had my mother told him? "Yeah, good point," I said, and waited for him to give away more of what Mom had said.

"Yeah, well. So what's up over there?"

He knows where I am. Or at least he thinks he does. "Not much," I said vaguely, "hey, sorry for calling so late."

"What do you mean? It's nine over here. It's not like I go to bed before nine."

Crap! I'd forgotten about the time difference. "Oh, right. Forgot. Well, what's up over there?"

"Not really anything much. I mean, all of us are absolutely seething that you got to go to Kati and Josh's place without any of us, but besides that, we're fine." His tone was mostly light, but I knew that part of him wasn't joking. So there it was. My mom was smarter than I gave her credit for. Kati was Mom's sister, and she lived with her husband in Chicago. It was a bit of a long shot, me heading off to Illinois at the drop of a hat, but still much more explainable than the truth.

Anthony was still talking. "Why didn't you tell me? Why couldn't I come with you?"

"Oh, uh, it was kind of a last minute thing."

"Mm-hm. You and Mom probably planned it. But maybe I could come and join you in a few weeks?"

How long was I 'staying at Kati's'? "I don't know. I know the tickets cost a fortune."

"Yeah, I guess so." We weren't poor, but money was always a bit tight, definitely too tight to send multiple kids off to Chicago.

"Maybe you can go some other time. When I'm-back."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Um, how long did Mom say I was staying-here?"

"All summer. Honestly, it's completely unfair. You're over there having some big adventure-"

"Oh, you really have no idea," I muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing. Go on."

"You're having some big adventure while I'm stuck here babysitting the girls and doing the dishes and sorting the laundry..." he trailed off.

"And doing all the things that I do?" I prompted him with a grin in my voice.

"Well, yes."

I laughed, an almost real laugh this time. "I think you'll live. Now I should probably go. Um, Josh needs it quiet. He has a huge meeting tomorrow or something." It made me sad to be lying about hanging out with my aunt and uncle. I hadn't seen Josh or Kati in over a year, and I knew Tony missed them just as much as I did.

"Well, keep in touch," Anthony said.

"Yeah, I will," I choked out, "bye then."

"Talk to you later." The line went dead.

I stood there, my phone to my ear, for more than a few minutes. Tears swam in my eyes and threatened to spill over. I blinked, looking up at the stars and trying to dry them out. I was just about to go and sneak back into my cabin when I heard a familiar voice say, "what are you doing?"

I turned with a start. It was George. His arms were crossed and he saw the phone in my hand. I expected him to get mad, but his expression softened. "Calling your family?"

"My brother," I said stiffly, still waiting for a lecture on rule-breaking.

"Hey, chill. You have perfect reason to want to talk to them. Annabeth herself has a cell phone, but don't tell her I know that." He smiled, winking, and I nodded numbly. "Well, it's freezing. You should probably come inside." His face went serious. Here it comes. "And hey, be careful when you use that phone. You're lucky I'm the one that woke up, otherwise you'd be in serious trouble. I'm not gonna rat on you, but any one of the others might. We Hermes kids, we're not exactly the most trustworthy kids you'll ever know. Me being the exception of course."

"Of course." I cracked a grin and nodded, following him inside.


That chapter was pitifully short. I have no excuse except that I wrote it in half an hour because I couldn't bear not to put up something today. Anyway, please-please-please review! I swear I've never smiled so big as when you guys give feedback. The first review I got, I honestly started jumping up and down. My brother thought I was crazy.

I hope your springs are all going stupendously!

-natalie.