DISCLAIMER: All the characters except the OC's, belong to Rick Riordan.
Chapter 14: I finally meet the strange new camper.
Annabeth struggled through the book of monuments during the day and re-read the Iliad every night, to see if she could gain any inspiration from it. The latter turned out to be fairly interesting; it was a story of hero Achilles, and a full-out battle between the Greeks and the Trojans, egged on by the gods. Malcolm had started to notice what she was doing and asked her about it once. She explained some parts that were harder to understand, adding some other myths she knew of, like the ones Hebe had told them on Olympus. That, of course, led to a discussion about the Winter Solstice field trip.
Before she knew it, the whole cabin wanted to know more about the stuff, and Annabeth found herself giving an impromptu lecture on Ancient Greece. She was okay with a single lecture, but she doesn't know about continuing it. It was something her father did for a living—a history professor at West Point—and he wasn't exactly the role model she wanted to emulate.
As May rolled around, more and more satyrs returned to camp as their respective school terms let up. Many returned alone, some even dejected by failures (half-bloods inevitably get killed, every year), others reported that the demigods they'd found hadn't come into their scent yet and would likely last another year undetected. But everyone had something in common; they seemed uneasy about something and refused to talk about it with the campers. They clamped up every time a demigod passed by.
So Annabeth decided to risk it and sneak up on the satyrs one day to get some accurate information. She planned it carefully and chose the time when the activities were lax and Mr. D had set up a pinochle game with the elder satyrs. She even waited for a day when Mr. D was away from the stand to sneak around the Big House.
Once the new activities director distributed the work in the arts and crafts room, Annabeth picked the furthest corner of the room and put on her invisible Yankees cap. Then she slowly inched towards the exit and slipped past the infirmary to reach the Big House. She sidled up the door that opened out to the back porch.
She knew she couldn't get too close—accidentally, even—because satyrs could sense emotions. She heard some nervous bleats from the porch, around the pinochle table.
"—back by the summer solstice."
"Well, it's different from all those times. I don't want to know what'll happen on the deadline."
"We're doing everything we can. It definitely wasn't at any of the schools we scouted," another satyr added. "And it's not here either."
"Whoever stole it, they hid it well." one of them complained.
"What's the use in finding the location? The ancient rules prohibit him from fetching it himself. He'd need a hero for that."
There was no sign of Mr. D, but that didn't matter to her. The satyrs' conversation was already informative enough. She eagerly waited for more.
"A quest, then?" her heart did a flip-flop. She clamped her mouth to stop a squeak.
"Only if it's one of his sons, though. He wouldn't trust others..." another bemoaned.
Annabeth listened intently, definitely interested now. She hoped they would work back around to what was stolen. That was exactly what she wanted to know. The satyrs turned silent followed by loud footsteps down the hall and a screeching wheelchair.
Annabeth held her breath and slowly backed down as Mr. D advanced. Invisible cap or not, she couldn't hide from a god, of all people.
"—back at last from that fool's errand," she heard Mr. D, before slipping from the Big House. That was all the confirmation she needed to convince Chiron—who has just returned—to issue a quest. She tried to hide her glee on her way back.
The camp grew excited and geared up for the summer with Chiron's return. The buses would arrive in two days, bringing the regular campers. Except for the four honorary ones, every cabin would be filled with triple the number. Camp activities, chores, campfires would start up, and best of all, capture the flag. Annabeth was determined to win the first game of the summer.
Before the regulars arrived, Chiron called the counselors for a meeting, so it was a surprise when Mellissa came to get Elliot and her, saying that Chiron had specifically asked for them to be there, too.
All the counselors were already gathered around the pool table in the rec room of the Big House. The camp rules dictated that the position of counselor was passed on to the oldest remaining camper unless someone with a quest experience wanted to challenge the position. Since no quests had been issued in the last two years, there weren't many of them who could claim that honor. So, most of the counselors were mainly older campers who'd been around for at least two or three years.
Luke had been the head counselor of Hermes cabin, but since he was away on a mission, it was filled by Chris Rodriguez. Mellissa Wright from Demeter, Amy Campbell from Aphrodite, Arin Forester from the Hephaestus, Lee Fletcher from the Apollo, and finally, Clarisse La Rue, who was appointed as the youngest counselor of Ares cabin last fall at fourteen years, when the previous counselor had left the camp.
Annabeth realized why Chiron must've called for Elliot, since only their counselor was absent from the meeting, though she was still uncertain what she was doing there.
"Where's Carmen?" she said. "Is she going to be late?" The head counselors who weren't year-rounders usually tried to get to camp earlier for the meeting, but perhaps Carmen had been delayed? Though Annabeth sensed the truth as different, she hoped their counselor had been delayed.
"Carmen's family moved to Los Angeles last year," Chiron said. Everyone around the table winced. Los Angeles was known to be the monster central, with the entrance to the Underworld situated right in the middle. "Unfortunately, she had to move with them, and—well, she was ambushed."
Gasps rang around the table and everyone shook their heads. Annabeth and Elliot shuddered lightly. Losing a camper to monsters was hard enough; for their counselor to fall in an ambush in L. A was devastating.
"Now then, cabin six needs a new counselor," Chiron continued. "Elliot, as the oldest member of your cabin, will you—"
"No," Elliot rejected. "I don't want to lead the cabin." Carmen had been their support for a long time now, and the news had rattled him. "I can't lead the cabin properly." he pleaded.
"I was afraid you'd feel that way, which is why I asked Annabeth to come, too." Chiron sighed and turned to her. "Annabeth, you've been asking for more responsibility for a while now. I thought you could help Elliot carry out the duties as a counselor."
"Chiron, you mean.." Elliot hesitated.
"Yes. You still are going to be the counselor, but most of the tasks are going to be handled by Annabeth. I think she's sufficiently familiar with the rhythm of things around here." Chiron said. Elliot hung his head but nodded. He was brainy and book-smart, but he hated being put in charge of anything.
"Annabeth, will you take up the position as an interim counselor? Perhaps you will have the ability to take over in time?" he said pleasantly.
"I accept." Annabeth clenched her fist. But her mind was somewhere else. Take over in time? Only campers with a quest under their achievement could challenge the counselor position. Her heart leaped. She wanted to ask for more details, but the meeting was still going on.
"That's settled then," Chiron said. Cabin six's counselor was decided just like that. None of the counselors seemed perturbed, except for Clarisse, who looked a little disgruntled. As long as the person in charge performed their duties without issues, the other counselors wouldn't care who held the position.
The meeting continued with Luke and Mellissa as camp leaders for the year. As the leaders, they're held responsible for cabin inspections, and overseeing general discipline, along with Mr. D and Chiron. They're the senior counselors for any help. Since Luke had been absent, Arin took over for him.
Then the duties of the cabins; A segment from the training activities will be led by each cabin. The schedules, overseeing instructors, and the management fall under the respective counselors. Chiron went over the table, checking off each cabin against a list of activity stations. Apollo oversaw archery and Hephaestus handles the forges always. Others tend to rotate the activities based on whatever their counselors excelled in.
Luke was the best sword fighter Camp Half-Blood had seen in centuries, so Hermes took over fencing instructions, ever since he'd become a counselor. Carmen's thing had been weaving and crafting—a natural talent from Athena, but not one of Annabeth's best places to be. She wasn't sure her cabin can handle the task.
"Cabin six...ah, I suppose you wouldn't be keen on continuing the crafts classes?"
Elliot looked at her in embarrassment. He wasn't even a novice at weaving or crafts. Her entire cabin had average builds with average skillsets for taking over one of the camp's activities.
"No," Annabeth decided and racked her brain for something they could do instead. She then remembered Malcolm and the others in her cabin had been interested in her storytelling.
"We could do an ancient Greek class. All the myths about gods and goddesses, and the old heroes too. Monsters are always reborn from the myths, right? We could give a rundown about the important details on how to handle them."
Clarisse scoffed at the idea. Annabeth let out a snort. Clarisse's idea of dealing with the monsters was one size fits all: attack head-on and destroy. Ares handles the wrestling classes again.
"Good, Ancient Greek, it is." Chiron made a note against her cabin on the sheet. "I'm sure it'll be entertaining." there was a mysterious light in his eyes. "Can you make up a schedule and lesson plan for me by the end of tomorrow?"
Once Chiron had gotten the list of activities for each cabin, he dismissed them to inform Mr. D about the camp schedules. The cabin counselors were supposed to make sure to ready their cabins for the regular campers, but there wasn't much for Annabeth to do. Athena's children all tend to be fairly orderly.
She left Elliot to break the bad news about Carmen to the others and cleaned out Carmen's bunk with Celia, which was depressing enough to dull her bubbling anticipation about a possible quest. Carmen hadn't left much behind since her last visit at Thanksgiving; a couple of t-shirts and shorts, and a large rainbow-colored feather about the size of her forearm. Carmen was one of the last campers to have a quest, the year before Luke. She had to free a Seven-colored Sacred Crane from some trap.
Celia sorted out the clothes and said she'd take care of them, but looked at the feather wanly. "The feather should probably go with the other trophies in the attic, right? Could you..?"
Annabeth nodded and took the feather and left it on her bunk. She'd need a solid reason to visit the Big House; she couldn't possibly sneak in successfully every time. By the time their cabin arranged everything for the summer and planned their activity details, the sun was almost beyond the horizon. The conch horn for dinner rang in the valley.
Five of them, including the new-youngest Malcolm, joined the line to the dining pavilion. The pavilion was still sparse, noting that once the summer officially begins, thrice their current number would flock in. At the end of the meal, Chiron stamped his front hoof on the ground for attention.
"Campers," he said. "We'll begin our summer session shortly. I'd like to remind everyone to ensure that your living quarters are ready for the regulars arriving tomorrow." He looked significantly between Ares and Aphrodite's tables. "Incidentally, we'll leave you all to settle in for a day and the camp officially commences in two days. I hope everyone is excited!"
A loud cheer started at the Ares table and went around the pavilion. Claps and wolf-whistles filled the air.
"On that note, I'm pleased to announce Arin and Mellissa as your camp leaders for the summer." There was an outburst of cheers and applause, loudest from Hephaestus and Demeter. "Most of the counselors, you already know, but for Athena cabin, Elliot Blanchard and Annabeth Chase will be taking over as co-counselors."
The cheering was a bit muted since the circumstances surrounding their promotion weren't exactly festive-worthy. The mood at Athena's table turned a little somber, at their previous loss being reminded again.
"I expect the activities schedules to arrive at the Big House by tomorrow evening. Your counselors will also be passing them around. That's all for today. Dismissed!"
On their way back, Chris Rodriguez and Travis Stoll from Hermes were waiting for them.
"Travis, Chris, you weren't at the pavilion. Where have you gone to?" she asked suspiciously. The Hermes cabin mostly consists of notorious pranksters. Given the time, they would be planning to play pranks on the regulars arriving the next day.
"Oh, you know, just the forest," Chris replied vaguely. "We were scouting. Preparing for capture the flag and all. You're still going to partner up with us this year, aren't you?" he surprisingly asked her, rather than Elliot. Elliot shrugged and pointed to her, leaving all the decision-making to Annabeth.
"I guess so," she said lightly. "I've got some, um, good strategies." she offered lamely. That wasn't precisely accurate—she hadn't spared a great deal of thought on capture the flag yet—but was confident to come up with battle plans in the meantime.
"Great! We're relying on you then," Travis said. "We'd best be on our way. Don't want to get caught by Chiron. See you later." they both jogged down the beaten path towards their cabin.
They all returned to their cabin, and just as Annabeth was planning to slip away to the Big House with the colorful feather, she stopped hearing her sibling's discussion.
"We're going to have a funeral pyre for Carmen, right?" Isaac, who only arrived that day, asked glumly.
"We haven't—well, we have to get Chiron's permission, I think," Elliot said uncertainly, looking at her for backup.
"Yeah, we'll ask Chiron tomorrow then," she said. It hadn't really crossed her mind. Stuff like that had always been organized by someone else—Carmen. She realized, though Elliot didn't want to be put in charge of things, he knew how much more the job held than arranging duties and chores. Counselors were supposed to actually take charge, and take care of all the kids in the cabin and their needs, dead or alive.
Earlier, she'd been so confident and proud that Chiron made her the co-counselor, but she was already failing. She had even left the task of breaking the bad news to Elliot. Little knives of guilt stabbed at her.
"We're going to need a shroud too," Isaac said.
Noelle winced. "Carmen was the best we had. She'd have made a beautiful shroud." she sounded like she was going to cry.
"Celia's good at weaving too," Elliot supplied, and the said girl in question nodded. Celia is a fourteen-year short girl with chest-length sandy hair. She had a pair of glasses on and looked like a straight-A student.
Annabeth made a mental note to recollect all the other members of her cabin and their specialties in her head. "Once everyone gets back, we'll get it sorted."
"Why do we need a shroud?" the quiet Malcolm asked. "There's no...well, we don't have her...um..," he trailed off.
Annabeth eyed the feather in her hand and placed it back on her bunk. She figured she might as well take charge of her cabin for once. She beckoned Malcolm to sit with her and explained the funeral traditions to him.
Perhaps it was because of the talk of funeral traditions, Annabeth dreamed of the worst day of her life.
The dream started completely dark, filled with hazy outlines. Under the stormy night sky, four tiny figures were running across hilly terrain, pursued by a large number of dark shadows.
Halfway through, the smallest figure stumbled, falling behind. The remaining ran back to pick her up and the bulkiest—satyr—hopped forward with her. The dark shadows descended upon the other two, turning into Furies flanked by a pack of Hellhounds. The tallest separated from the monsters and picked up the smallest to climb up the hill faster, yelling back at the last one surrounded by monsters. The remaining figure pulled out a spear and pierced the nearest Fury. Lightning flashed in the dark sky and she shouted at her running companions.
The scene held no sound, but Annabeth perfectly remembered what Thalia's last word had been. "Go, Luke! Get Annabeth to safety. I'll hold them off!"
oOo
It was the arrivals day, which meant the campers would be trickling in a constant stream all day. The official first day was always chaotic; with the largest group coming from the airport, driven by cleaning Harpies and the ones who lived near generally had their parents drive them.
The activity schedules have yet to be distributed, but Annabeth was busy overseeing the arrivals in her cabin with Noelle. By mid-afternoon, the central compound was in a state of hustle. Travel bags and rucksacks were scattered all around the hearth. The goddess who occasionally tended the fire looked at them disapprovingly before she disappeared.
Annabeth helped Elliot check off everyone's name against a list once they arrived, which kept her busy all day in her cabin, but that didn't stop her from listening to all the commotion around. The landmines in the Ares' compound exploded occasionally. Hephaestus's cabin had a whole lot of groaning noises, and cabin ten—Aphrodite—was a mess of shrieks and perfume. Throughout all this, the Hermes campers were running around looting stuff out of camper's bags left unattended in the square. Trent Harrison came running out of the Apollo cabin, his bow targeting Connor Stoll for nicking something from his bag.
It was just your typical settling-in day.
Athena's cabin remained neat and tidy throughout all the racket, and Annabeth worked on her lesson plan and schedule, with her siblings offering suggestions. By dinner time, they all came up with a list of stories to last throughout the summer.
Dinner on the arrival day was unrestricted. Since campers turned up at different times, starving on their journey, Chiron didn't impose any formalities on the first night. The campers ate whenever they were hungry. As long as they made their offerings to the gods, Chiron and Mr. D left the kids to their devices and went off on their stuff.
Before Chiron could disappear, Annabeth took the chance to quickly ask him about a funeral pyre for Carmen and got permission to organize it with her cabin. She saw him disappear into the woods, probably to stockpile for the capture the flag. The residents of cabin six surrounded Celia to design the shroud: a colored feather intricately worked into a light grey fabric. They planned to burn it in three days, before the game.
Once the curfew was called, Annabeth used the bustling activity to slip away to the Big House, carrying the colored feather to drop at the attic. As she traipsed across the lawns, she noticed the sky was unnaturally dark, like a starless night sky. A cluster of inky-dark clouds skirted over the camp and traveled down the hillside. A low rumble echoed over the hills, but no flash of lightning accompanied it.
Watching the skies hanging threateningly over Thalia's tree made her uneasy. The last nightmare gave her a vivid recollection of the day she'd arrived at camp Half-Blood. It had the same grim and unforgiving overtones, with a howling wind and casting shadows. She imagined an enraged howl of a savage beast.
She hurried to the Big House. With the memories still fresh from her last night's dreams, she didn't care about reliving them.
"Ah, Annabeth. What brings you here? Do you need anything?" Chiron asked once she settled on the opposite couch.
"No, sir—I mean, yes. I do have a question, but not about the camp stuff."
"Oh, everything good in your cabin then?" she nodded. "Go on," Chiron put down the report.
"You said yesterday.. you said I might be able to take over as head counselor. Did you mean, like challenge the position?"
"Well," he tried to recollect. "I'm sure you'll be an excellent counselor," he said. Annabeth waited for him to continue, but he didn't.
"I—I thought you might have said that because, um.." she bit her lip, a churning feeling in her stomach. "you might have a quest for me."
Silence enveloped them while Chiron looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry to have gotten your hopes up," he said gently.
Disappointment crashed down on her like a flood. "But I thought for sure, with the summer solstice deadline, and the theft..." it was Chiron's turn to be shocked and concerned.
"How did you even—never mind, I don't want to know your methods nor how much you've known. It doesn't matter. The gods will have to resolve their quarrel on their own. It's not safe for a quest under these circumstances. We're already losing too many."
"So the gods are fighting then? They want to issue a quest?" she asked, hopefully.
"The issue has come to rest for now," he said shortly. "I reminded them we had no one who fit the bill."
"What! That's not fair. I could do it, if you tell me—"
"Annabeth, did you already forget about Carmen?" Chiron rubbed his forehead wearily. "Are you really that eager to put yourself in danger?" he asked. It was the rehash of the subject between them, with no advancements. "Anyway, It has nothing to do with us. The gods had suspected... well, my job is to protect you. All of you."
A jolt went up to her spine, like a spark of electricity. "It's about him, isn't it?" she said. "The kid in the Prophecy. Grover found him, the son of Zeus. That's why he called you, to protect him."
"Annabeth, this isn't your business..." he warned.
"Please, Chiron. If it's the kid in the Prophecy, I need to know!" she pleaded, tearing up a little.
He sighed. "First off, you know I couldn't tell you the exact details. It wouldn't be right for me to go about sharing details about another camper with you. When Grover brings him in—not yet, I guess—you'll have plenty of time to meet him and get to know him yourself. Secondly, I'm not sure, either. I can't tell you for sure who his parent is. It's like with every new camper—he'll be undetermined until the gods claim him. I have a feeling they may not be so quick to do so at the moment." there was a dark undertone in his response.
"Why? Because they're fighting? Or is it because of the pact? If they want his help, they'll claim him, won't they? And I could help, if he gets the quest."
"I don't know about the details, but that doesn't matter. You're still very young, my dear. And I will keep you safe as long it is within my power. I would very much like to see you grow up."
Annabeth didn't answer. Her mind was whirling with questions that she nearly stamped her foot in frustration. If Chiron wouldn't set her up with this kid and his quest, she'd catch Grover when he gets back for more information about the boy and the quest. An evil smile spread across her face.
"And I don't want to catch you talking about this to anyone," he warned sternly.
Annabeth slammed the door and stamped out of the Big House towards her cabin, amidst the weird weather.
Her dark mood mellowed after returning to her cabin and thinking it over again. She picked the Iliad from her bunk and continued. By the time she closed the book, all her siblings were fast asleep. Just as Annabeth hopped into her bunk, she heard a faint, desperate wail, like a dying animal's last struggle. A tingle went up to her spine. Something heavy was about to go down.
She flung her sheets, tucked her shoes, and ran towards the Big House. The night sky was dark and grim, with cold winds blowing against her hair making her shiver. She paused noticing the lit-up lamps on the front porch, and quickly climbed the steps and froze, her hands on the doorknob.
"—generous protection for ages." she heard Chiron trying to convince someone. Annabeth could only make out a shadow from her position.
"Nothing will happen to the campers within the borders," she heard Chiron's reassurance.
Annabeth snorted to herself. What will happen to the campers within the borders? Whoever it was, he was flippant and insecure enough to question Chiron about the camp's security in the dead of night. She wondered who would be so paranoid to arrive at camp this late hour.
Then she heard a thump of a body colliding with the wooden floor. Taking it as her cue, she pushed the door open, glancing at the collapsed figure before her. There were three bedraggled bodies on the pathway, one of the couch nearby and two on the floor, excluding a surprised Centaur, looking at her questioningly. "Annabeth? What are you doing—" she didn't let him finish, before rushing to the figure in front of her.
Her first thought after looking at him was, I know him!
A boy, about her age, with black hair plastered against his face. He was completely spent, breathing in ragged gasps. He was drenched, covered in blood, dirt, and grime. A large gash covered his forehead, leaking blood continuously, yet he was crackling with energy. He painfully reminded her of Thalia.
The one on the couch was a girl, similarly, her age, soaked and covered in grime. Blood leaked from her head, onto her shirt. Her left arm was bent at a strange angle. Her face was caked with mud and dirt, making it hard to ascertain her features.
She recognized the last one immediately. On the far end was her friend, Grover Underwood, divested of his disguise. Wet fur clung to his hindquarters, unconscious but his chest heaved slightly.
Another thunderclap, but Annabeth was too busy to notice anything other than the boy. Her mind raced frantically.
Grover... the unknown but strangely familiar boy... the Oracle's prophecy... resemblances to Thalia... rumbling thunder...
Everything fell into place in her mind.
A half-blood of the Eldest Gods.
"He's the one!" she gasped. "He must be!" excitement bubbled up inside her.
"Silence, Annabeth!" Chiron's voice made her jump. She'd completely forgotten he was there. He'd clearly been roused from his bed in a pastel peach nightshirt and a dozen curlers on his horsetail. "Hurry, we must bring them inside." he knelt with his front legs and scooped the boy up.
Grover moaned when Annabeth heaved him to sit. He was surprisingly heavy for his size. She felt a rush of admiration for the boy for managing to drag Grover and a girl as far as he had. Chiron lifted Grover with his other arm and beckoned her to pick up the girl.
Annabeth dragged the girl into the infirmary. She was light, but her athletic figure was impossible to hide underneath her clothes. She settled the girl on a cot and ran to the cabinet where the Apollo kids kept their main stack of Ambrosia and nectar—the food of the gods. Next to it, she found a half-crushed tin can and snatched it up.
Chiron force-fed nectar to the girl and the boy while Annabeth waited for Grover to wake up. He came to first, thrashing and arms flailing. She grabbed his hands and stuffed the can into his mouth.
"Mmm, iron, mhm.." he muttered, then his eyes flew open. "Percy!" he yelped.
"Grover, it's me, Annabeth." she shook him gently.
Figuring out she was no help, Chiron sent her to fetch a medic. Will Solace was a year-rounder and one of the best medics at camp, so, she didn't have to consider a late arrival and find another one in this emergency. Though he was rather annoyed at being roused from his sleep, Will followed her without complaints once she told him the situation.
Grover sat up, speaking to Chiron when they returned. Will took charge immediately and placed his hands on Percy's forehead. "Woah! What happened to his life force? It's like he's near his death. This is bad." he muttered. Grover's eyes widened in horror and whimpered weakly.
"Did you give him the nectar?" Seeing Chiron nod, he went to the girl. "I'll whip something for him." After confirming that she was only unconscious with a possible mild fracture, he proceeded to the cabinet and pulled things out.
"I'd better let Mr. D know what's happened," Chiron said.
Will gawked at Chiron's tail curlers and his cheeks went slightly pink. He refocused to prepare his medicines.
Chiron twisted to look at his hindquarters. "Ah," he said, "I suppose I'd better go make myself presentable first." he trotted to his room.
Annabeth went to sit by Grover's bedside. He was alternatingly sipping from a mug and munching on the tin can. His eyes looked dull and miserable.
"I messed up things again, Annabeth," Grover said.
"No, you didn't. You found two half-bloods, Percy, right? Who's the other one?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Piper."
"Yeah. And you got them to camp in one piece. They'll have to approve of your searcher's license now." she knew Grover's dream was to search for the lost God of Wild, Pan. Only satyrs who had successfully brought a half-blood could apply for one. Personally, Annabeth thought he was long overdue. He'd brought Luke and her in, after all. But his mission was considered a failure because Thalia didn't make it.
It was a little insulting—if she thought about it—as though Luke and her didn't count because they weren't Zeus' kids. But it was probably that his mission was to escort Thalia, which he had failed.
"But Will said..." he trailed off. They both glanced up at Will, who was busy mixing things up. Soon, he arrived at Percy's side and force-fed him some red liquid. In a few minutes, his breathing slowly turned calm and peaceful. A little color appeared on his face. Piper was unconscious, but out of any danger.
"What did he do to become like this?" Will asked. "Did he fight a god?" he asked jokingly.
"No, the bull of Minos, actually."
"The Minotaur?" Annabeth gasped while Will looked stupefied. Grover blanched and glared at her. "Sorry, I mean, like Pasiphae's son? Are you sure?"
"Yeah, he did everything," Grover continued. "I was completely useless and barely knew what happened after the car flipped. It was those two that saved me. Those heavy injuries were because of me." he moaned sadly.
"What do you mean?" Will still looked shocked, but Annabeth looked impressed. The Minotaur was a strong and dangerous ancient beast. It hadn't reformed since Theseus killed it in the Labyrinth of Crete, thousands of years ago.
"Well, our car crashed near the borders. Percy and Piper were quick enough; they had the chance to escape unharmed, even. But they covered for me and took all the damage. I would've been done for if not for them." Grover sighed, before continuing.
"Then the Minotaur came. I offered to distract it, but Percy left us on the hillside," they both gasped again, silently cursing Percy for leaving the two injured behind. "Don't assume stuff. He left to bring the Minotaur away from us." Grover glared at them. The two exchanged a sheepish smile.
Annabeth was impressed with Percy's integrity, but a twinge of jealousy prickled at her. Percy had already gotten his chance to prove himself against a monster that was so ancient. It was worthy of a quest. And here she was, eagerly waiting for a chance to show her prowess as an excellent fighter. Instead, it had landed neatly on his lap.
She shook it off immediately. If he was the one she'd been waiting for, the one she'd have to team up with, it was a good thing he was a powerful fighter.
"Hey, Annabeth." Will concocted a bowl of yellow goop. "Are you staying? I'll get changed and return."
"Yeah, I'll be here," she said without thinking.
"It's ambrosia pudding. Feed him this. It'll help." Will said. "Piper's been taken care of. She needs sleep to recover."
"Okay."
He left the pudding on the table and hurried out, muttering, "The Minotaur, wait till the others hear this..."
"I should've brought them sooner," Grover sighed. "I knew the Kindly One was after him, but he'd already fought it off. I thought—"
"Wait, what?"
Grover wrung his hands. "A Kindly One! In the school! If Chiron hadn't been there..."
Annabeth shuddered along with him. The last time she had seen a Kindly One, it had delivered a fatal blow to Thalia.
"Chiron got rid of it?"
"No, it was Percy. I was told he stabbed it with a sword."
"Wow." Her appreciation of Percy rose even further. "Grover, do you think he's...like Thalia...?"
"He's someone big. I knew he was really powerful the moment I met him. And the closer we get to the Summer Solstice, the more monsters seem to be out for his blood." he said.
Annabeth nodded encouragingly, hoping Grover would take the hint and keep talking. Chiron had forbidden her from talking about the subject, but if Grover was telling her everything of his own accord...
"I'm sure Chiron agrees. He was always making sure he knew stuff about gods in class, and Percy has always shown interest in the subject. They talked a lot before the school let out too. I was told to bring them after their farewell to their families, but who knew—"
"Grover Underwood!" They both jumped as a deep, loud voice rang out throughout the room.
Grover gave a bleating, nervous burp. "It's Mr. D. He's gonna—he's gonna want a report." He got out of bed. "I'm in so much trouble."
"Good luck," she said, trying to sound upbeat amidst her annoyance at Mr. D for choosing such bad timing. Or maybe he'd done it on purpose. Grover nodded bleakly and trotted out, leaving her alone in the room with the mysterious half-bloods named Percy and Piper.
She stared more intently at Percy, trying to figure him out. He wasn't bad-looking, for a guy who looked like he'd recently been run over by a truck. His black hair curled lightly at the ends, framing his grimy, dirty face. Then she inspected Piper closely. After a nectar dose, all the wounds on her closed up, leaving behind faint scars.
She thought about what Grover had said about Chiron preparing him and felt excited. Perhaps he did know what was going on. Maybe he could help her convince Chiron to issue a quest.
She sat at his bedside and quickly ran through the pieces she had managed to put together from eavesdropping on the satyrs: a theft, something about the summer solstice deadline—the day in two weeks, speculation about the son of Zeus being able to retrieve the stolen item. It was perfect for a quest.
She carefully spooned a good chunk of the stuff into his lightly opened mouth. It smelled like butter frying in a pan.
Percy cleaned off the spoon and swallowed obediently, but a glob of it dribbled down his chin, looking absurdly like a mustard-yellow beard. Annabeth stifled a giggle and used the spoon to scrape up the mess.
She waited for him to regain consciousness to solve her doubts, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
It was Argus, the chief security officer. He wagged a finger at her, mimed sleeping with his hands, and then pointed at the door. His message was clear: go get some rest. Then he pointed at Percy and himself to indicate that he would take over watching him.
"Okay," she said and looked back at Percy. He was sleeping peacefully. There was nothing she could do anymore and returned to her cabin.
Will hadn't wasted any time in spreading the gossip about the new kid who'd defeated a Minotaur. While Annabeth napped through the breakfast, the information spread through the camp like wildfire. It was the topic of every conversation at lunchtime in the mess hall.
"Are you for real? He fought—"
"A new camper arrived?"
"Did he really fight the bull-man to get here?"
"I wonder if he's cute?"
It was amidst all this speculation that Grover found her at the Athena table. Although the satyrs usually sat at Mr. D's table with his sons Castor and Pollux, they weren't forbidden to join other tables. Grover's presence immediately drew her attention.
"Hey, how did your meeting go?" she asked with a mouthful.
"He's reserving judgment," Grover said. "He wants to hear what they both have to say."
"That's good, right? It's not an outright failure." she encouraged. "And they wouldn't suppress your advancement, would they?"
Grover buried his head in his arms. "I don't want to think about it. I mean, I didn't do anything useful and even caused their injuries."
"Don't think like that. Without you, how are they going to enter the camp?" she patted his back. "Want some toast?"
Grover shook his head. "Are you doing anything this afternoon?"
It was the first day, with nothing much to do. The campers are still settling down. Annabeth would have to oversee the arrivals and any requirements of her cabin.
"I'm co-counselor for Athena," she told Grover. "I'll have stuff to do."
"Oh," he said. "It's fine then. I was going to see if they were awake."
Annabeth thought about it. "Well, I'm sure I can spare half an hour."
"Okay, I gotta go somewhere first. Let's go."
They hiked up the hill to Thalia's pine. A good heap of pine needles surrounded the base. A long skid line ran down the slope of the hill. At the bottom, a battered yellow car lay in a crumpled heap. Two of the doors had been completely detached. Glass shards were scattered all around it.
Grover winced. "The cleaning harpies are gonna complain about this."
"Is this from the last night?" she asked. The wreck scene was so incongruous with the bright afternoon sunshine. She tried to picture how it would have looked under the dark, threatening skies. Grover didn't reply. He picked up a large branch and went over to the boot of the car. With one good hit, the dented cover gave way.
"Thank gods, it's all here!" he prayed.
He picked up duffel bags from the boot. Thankfully, the car's fuel tank hadn't been ignited last night. Everything inside it would've been incinerated.
"Grover, look." she pointed to a large, pointed horn lying several feet away. She would have thought it was a rock, except it was striped unnaturally in black and white. The grass around it was flecked with rusty spots and the tip of the horn had specks of dirt.
"The Minotaur's horn!" Grover gasped. He immediately clasped a hand over his mouth and looked around nervously as though the beast might suddenly charge out of the forest.
"Percy did that?" she said, awed.
"Yeah." Grover picked it up and wiped the dirt off the tip. "I don't remember much. I asked him to leave me to distract it while they run to the Big House to call for help, yet he took care of it alone and fast." He held the Minotaur horn and wrapped it in a cloth carefully.
It was a spoil of war, and it should belong to its rightful owner.
There was nothing else to retrieve. They jogged back over to the Big House. Argus was still in the infirmary, keeping watch. Half his eyes were closed, so only the left side of his body blinked blue eyes at them. He shook his head at them like they weren't supposed to be there.
"Did he wake up at all?" Grover asked.
Argus shook his head again but allowed Grover to step inside to put down the luggage. Annabeth peered over Argus' shoulder to look at Percy, who looked much more peaceful. His hair and face were cleaned up. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards, and a thin line of drool ran from the corner of his mouth. She stifled a giggle. He definitely looked nothing like the hero Grover had described.
A girl sat at his bedside, her back facing Annabeth. She was lean, with snappily chopped dark brown hair. Grover asked her how Percy was doing. "He had overexerted himself back then. Thanks to him, we both survived." her tone was pleasant, without any scorn for Grover's lack of usefulness.
Grover shook his head. "You both saved me. I would've been done if not for the two. You hid it well, even I didn't see that coming." he gave a nervous laugh.
Piper laughed gently. "It's not that we hid everything, you just didn't ask anything. It's not our fault you were a little slow." he thanked her once again before exiting the infirmary.
Argus waved his hands in a shooing motion, then mimed sleeping. They got the message: run along and let him rest.
The stories surrounding Percy continued to grow. Before dinner, she had heard several versions of it. There was so much interest in the Minotaur that she revised her lesson plan to do the story of Theseus and the Labyrinth first. Her first lecture was meant to be the next morning.
Everyone formed some opinion on Percy. Clarisse claimed not to believe a single word, though anyone but her half-siblings could deduce that she was simply jealous. Will Solace told everyone that he was cute, which made all the Aphrodite girls swarm the Big House. They left with disappointment that he was 'just a plain twelve-year-old kid' and not some amazing hunk.
Personally, Annabeth decided she'd reserve judgment until she finally had the chance to speak with him. She was still holding out hope that he was the son of Zeus and he'd get a quest that she could join him on. Even if he was a skinny boy no older than her who drooled in his sleep.
Though she said that, it didn't stop her curiosity to take a look at him again. She skirted around the Big House invisible, hoping to stumble upon some details. Never had she expected to stop in her tracks to stare at the open window at the infirmary.
A shirtless, familiar boy, her age, was staring at the expanse of the camp, his eyes crinkling. In the twilight, it was impossible to make out his eyes, but with a tousled shaggy black hair, a taut and shapely torso, he looked breathtaking. He narrowed his eyes and looked over in her direction.
Annabeth looked down, her mouth dry, hoping she wasn't blushing. Then she realized she was invisible and deftly ran off to the Big House. Shortly afterward, Percy and Piper arrived when she delivered her revised lesson plan to Chiron. He and Mr. D were setting up for pinochle on the back porch. She hovered over the porch rail after handing her plan to watch the drama unfold, though she wasn't exactly jumping for the opportunity to stay near Mr. D.
She watched Grover come around the front porch and stood beside her while Mr. D surveyed the demigods with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. As they got near, everyone on the porch—except the god—suddenly felt they were completely exposed the moment a pair of eyes fell on them. It was as if they were stripped and tossed into an icy field of wind and snow.
A cold like icy wind swept from the boy's direction. That cold seemed to engulf the whole world with ice. It was like the calm sea had suddenly turned hostile and let out monstrous waves.
An absolute calm turned into an earth-shattering agitation in a blink of an eye! This sharp contrast made everyone unable to react in time; especially the satyr, who had heightened senses. However, the boy seemed to suddenly sense something and immediately took back the cold air. This ability to freely release and take back shocked everyone to the core!
"There you are, Percy, Piper. It's good to have you here." Chiron coughed to disperse the tense air. "Annabeth?" she woodenly stepped up. "Percy Jackson, Piper McLean, Annabeth Chase. This young lady stayed up all night and nursed you back to health." she thought that was stretching the truth a bit, as all she did was hoist one to the infirmary and feed some pudding to the other, but she tried to look graceful.
Percy was tall, probably had an inch on her, and lean with broad shoulders. His clothes were still rumpled and his hair stuck up in the back. He didn't seem terribly impressive; except for his sharp features and intense bright green eyes.
Their gazes were directly on each other. Their eyes seemed to have met each other by accident, but they were both shocked! This seemingly casual gaze was deliberate on both sides.
From one glance, Annabeth was able to perceive one thing in Percy's momentum, his grandeur, and gaze. The boy in front of her was an extremely dangerous character. If he was a friend, he would be of great help. As an enemy, he would be a formidable one!
Separated by a few yards, two people and four eyes faced each other. In their minds, there suddenly rose a subtle feeling. As if they should never have met each other; this impossible encounter of friend or foe that should never have been possible now suddenly met in this chaos of time and space.
This was an extremely mysterious feeling. A meeting completely outside of fate!
The two people, for a while, did not move, as if frozen solid. It was as if time had stopped, but of course, things could not simply continue in this manner. His mouth quirked upwards into a slightly lopsided grin, a dimple on his left cheek winked at her. Annabeth averted his gaze, her face burning hot. To escape her current predicament, her mind helpfully supplied the last image she'd seen of him in his sleep, with that little trickle running out of the corner of his mouth.
"You drool when you sleep," she blurted out. Piper and Percy stared at her, wide-eyed. Annabeth could've smacked herself. Of all the idiotic things to say!
xXx
A/N: I swear the Florence Nightingale is an amazing cliched effect in the story. As usual, reviews are appreciated.
