Hey guys! It's been a loooong time and I apologize for the dreadful wait. I ended up losing inspiration for this fanfic but, to ring in the new year, I thought I'd wrap up all the lose ends of this story (finally!)
After this chapter, I'll be writing Chapter 9 and then a epilogue to finish it! I really hope you guys enjoy this ending 3
Annabeth's POV
My shaking, sweaty hand gripped Percy's hand firmly as we were led outside of the hospital building and into the back of a large, black van. Normally, I would've been wary of entering the back of a stranger's van - especially after the traumatic experience Percy and I had just gone through - but it was precisely the trauma that caused me not to question why we were about to be driven away by Principal Chiron - who had shown up from absolute nowhere - or where he was going to take us.
It was precisely the trauma that caused me to relive the last few moments in slow-motion over and over and over again.
I dissected the situation we were just in, trying to think of what I could've done to prevent what had happened from happening. I never expected Luke to inject himself with poison and kill himself - although, the obvious signs of his clear mental illness should've been evidence enough of what was about to transpire.
His face was what got me though - his mixed expression of defeat, loneliness and...something else. Something that set off a feeling of knowing - as if he knew all along that this would end with him killing himself.
And the word that caused my heart to jump into my throat every time it filtered its way into my distressed thoughts was: Why?
I didn't know why he tried to kill Percy or why he felt the need to kill himself. I didn't know who that man in the alley - Kronos - was or why he had threatened Luke into murdering Percy. I didn't know anything and that was what was eating me alive as Chiron sped down the road, onto the highway taking us to who-knew-where.
The only thing that was stopping me from putting my head in my hands and sobbing or screaming (or both) was Percy's hand in mine. As always, he was the one thing keeping me sane in this highly stressful situation and I couldn't imagine how he was feeling, having witnessed the death of one of his swim mates, whether he liked him or not being completely thrown out the window.
I didn't want to break down in front of him - not again.
Instead, I focused on the task at hand, that being where the hell Chiron was taking us.
"Principal Chiron", I said, my voice a little hoarse, "Where are we going?"
"You will see all in due time, Miss Chase", he said, smiling knowingly into the rear view mirror. Suddenly, something clicked in my brain: I remembered the odd taxi driver who had taken me to the hospital during my insane mission to stop Luke. How the taxi driver ominously knew my name and how, thinking back, I hadn't even paid for the ride before sprinting out of the vehicle.
Miss Chase, we have arrived at your destination, his voice was playing over and over in my head like a broken tape. I didn't know why or how our high school principal had hijacked a taxi and happened to pick me up at the exact moment I needed him most but I was starting to get a sinking feeling in my gut that something was really wrong.
I peeled my eyes away from the window - we were finally getting off of the highway and were entering a weird path that led to an area of foliage - and looked down at the bag at my feet. I remembered shoving my phone into my backpack and - as quietly as possible - I unzipped it and fished around for my phone.
I pulled it out and looked at the time - 6:04 PM.
I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion - getting a weird look from Percy as he looked at my phone from over my shoulder - as I was utterly baffled by how fast time had flown!
The van was slowing down, gravel crunching beneath us as we entered a small, abandoned-looking parking lot in the middle of a weird forest. I still had a bad feeling in my gut as my eyes flitted to the corner of my phone's screen.
No Wifi...perfect.
My screen suddenly went black and I realized that my phone had just died...again.
Double perfect.
I cursed silently and swore that if I ever made it out of this situation alive I would beg my dad for a new phone.
Percy's POV
"We've arrived at our destination", Principal Chiron said, turning off the ignition as he unbuckled his seat belt. I unbuckled mine in a daze as I was more focused on the bizarre look Annabeth was giving Principal Chiron right as he hopped out of the van and opened the door on her side of the vehicle. Annabeth kept staring at him as she said with an even tone of voice, "I'm not getting out of this car until you tell us where the hell we are."
I smiled at the fact that Annabeth had found her voice first - as I had no doubt she would - and Chiron matched my grin as he said, "As I said before, I promise to explain all in due time, Miss Chase. Until then, I'm afraid if we don't get inside soon we may very well be late for dinner."
At the sound of the word dinner my stomach rumbled. I hadn't eaten since breakfast at the hospital and, while the mention of food after the events of the past hour sounded foreign at best, I couldn't stop myself from murmuring with a hoarse voice, "I could eat."
Chiron smiled even bigger as Annabeth made an exasperated expression, unbuckled her seat belt and - warily - slid onto the pavement that surrounded us. I hopped out of the car from her side and did a 180 as I surveyed our surroundings.
We had got off of a long dirt-and-gravel trail and parked in the middle of an abandoned-looking parking lot. Hundreds of humongous trees surrounded the empty lot and, if it wasn't for the orange glow filtering through the gaps between the trees, it would've been hard to tell what time it was.
I knew it was around 6 in the evening judging from the light of the sun setting on the horizon and the fact that I had seen a glimpse of the time from Annabeth's almost-dead-phone minutes before. I numbly wondered how my mom was going to react once she found out what had gone down at the hospital - how her son's attacker had committed suicide and her son was driven away in a weird black van by his sketchy high school principal with his best friend right by his side.
Best friend.
The words rang hollow in my head: Annabeth suddenly felt so much more than just a best friend now that she had saved my life. Granted, she had saved my life once before - when I had called for help on that dark night whilst being suffocated to death - but something about this time - how she seemed to have torn through half the city, picked a lock and witnessed her boyfriend inject himself with some fatal poison and die - made the term best friend seem so weak to describe our relationship.
Not that our relationship was the biggest thing on my mind right now, as Chiron quietly led us into a strange-looking concrete building that I could've sworn had not been there before when I had numbly surveyed our surroundings. I turned to Annabeth - as I kept finding myself doing - and she had the same perplexed look on her face, suggesting that I wasn't going crazy: the building had just appeared out of nowhere.
Or maybe we were just so filled with shock and grief that we were both going crazy.
Either way, the building loomed ominously in front of us as Chiron unlocked the bolt on the door and shoved it open with a grunt. He turned to look at us and gave us a knowing smile before disappearing into the dark corridor, giving us no choice but to follow.
We had snaked through a long, dark corridor - the feel of Annabeth's hand in mine and the sound of our shallow breaths being the only indicator that I had not in fact passed out (yet) - before Chiron stopped to unbolt and open yet another door. I dazedly put up my aching right arm to shield my eyes from the sudden light coming from the next room and, after Annabeth had gone through the doorway, dragging me along with her, I instantly felt my jaw go slack and my eyes widen as I gazed upon our new surroundings.
We were in a massive room filled to the brim with people. The sound of everyone's chatter and laughter pierced my eardrums and bright lights danced in my vision. The amount of movement in the room caused me to have trouble focusing on one thing at a time: there were people climbing huge walls with stone handhelds, cutting and gluing paper at a table in the far back of the room, even people fighting in a sectioned-off part of the center of the warehouse that I assumed was an arena. As I looked at the two people going at it in the ring, I saw that they not only seemed to be fighting in hand-to-hand combat but that they also had freaking swords strapped to their backs - one of the guys went to release his from the scabbard before being met by the other guy's sword with a clash of metal.
What is this? I thought as I turned my head to look at Annabeth. Her slack jaw and impossibly wide eyes made for a very un-Annabteh-like expression and I would've busted out laughing if I wasn't so confused, tired and hungry.
"This way, children", Chiron beckoned us forward, probably sensing that if he didn't say something, Annabeth and I would've been here all day just taking everything in (he wasn't wrong).
We followed him in a daze, walking through the crowds and crowds of people to a circular platform that sat in the middle of the warehouse right next to the large arena. The sounds of swords clashing, pained grunts and friendly taunting were even more prominent as we got closer and, as I got a better look at the two guys fighting, I realized that they couldn't have been older than 16 - they were my age!
I took a better look around at the people we were passing and realized they were all teens like me and Annabeth, some of them looking at old as 17 and as young as 12!
What is this place? I wondered again, this time in horror. Was it some mafia recruiting kids and teens to do their bidding? A secret government organization that hired teen agents? Something even worse? My pulse quickened as I numbly wondered what Annabeth and I had gotten ourselves into when we walked through that front door and a phrase Luke had used just an hour before as we fought in that hospital room kept playing over and over in my head:
Kronos's Army.
Could this be what he was talking about?
I desperately wished I could talk to Annabeth without Chiron overhearing us as we stepped onto the large circle in the floor. As my aching feet hit the wooden platform, it suddenly started to move up like a huge car jack, making it's way towards the ceiling. Except, after looking up, I realized that there was no ceiling in this part of the room. It was as if a giant circle had been cut out of the ceiling, giving this strange elevator just enough room to take us to the second floor.
Right before the ceiling seemed to swallow us whole, Annabeth and I stood - still holding hands - and watched the overwhelming amount of people going about their business below us disappear before our eyes.
Annabeth's POV
I thought I couldn't have been more in awe than when I tore through my first historical fiction novel in 3rd grade and the library became my favorite place to go to or when I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time in the 5th grade and fell in love with all of the history.
For once, I was wrong.
Following Chiron into that warehouse and watching all of those people - all of those kids and teens - was beyond mesmerizing. Something about how they all seemed to coexist so harmoniously took my breath away. It wasn't like at school where every high schooler always seemed to be at each other's throats. It wasn't like at home when my stepmother always glared at me from across the room or when my dad gave me a nervous smile like he was afraid I was going to run out on him any day now. It was like everyone here was so used to each other in a way that caused them to get along so beautifully.
Like a real family.
As I scanned every work station that had crowds of people gathered at it, I noticed that there were some odd activities that these kids and teens were participating in, shattering any thoughts I had of this just being some normal secluded community college, some normal anything.
Past the somewhat-ordinary activities - like the "Craft" section where people cut and glued pieces of paper into elaborate paper sculptures or weaved colorful and intricate designs on a loom - there also seemed to be a place for people to climb the walls using measly stones embedded into the drywall as hand- and footholds as well as a section where people seemed to be hammering pieces of metal into weapons - the sound of metal on metal being drowned out by the hundreds of voices echoing off of the large ceiling.
Except, I noticed as we came closer to a strange sectioned-off circle in the ground and looked up, there seemed to be a huge circular opening in the middle of the ceiling, letting even more voices from upstairs filter down towards the ground floor.
Strange design choice, the architect in me thought. With a startle I realized that we were actually about to go through that huge hole in the ceiling when the platform below us suddenly started to move up.
At this point, the architect in me was going crazy at the ingenuity of this futuristic-yet-minimalist style of an elevator. However, other thoughts filtered through my head as I finally caught a glimpse at two Percy-age guys who were sparring and sword-fighting in the middle of a large arena.
What if this is where Luke came from?
What if this is what he meant by "Kronos's Army"?
What if Chiron is working for Kronos?
What if-?
My last thought dissolved once we entered the second floor - although floor was a huge understatement.
The room was longer than two football fields and wider than the Globe Theater (trust me, I've been there). There weren't nearly as many people upstairs as there were downstairs but, as we stepped off of the circular platform and onto the tiled floor, I noticed that the architectural-masterpiece-of-an-elevator was already moving back downstairs to pick up more people. The twenty or so teens that were upstairs were seated at some of the many large round-tables that were organized row-by-row down the length of the room.
Overlooking all of the tables and chairs was an enormous stage with a microphone, a large table and several chairs. In one of the wooden seats on the stage, sat a stocky guy with a beard who glared at us with suspicion, causing me to squeeze Percy's hand a little tighter as Chiron led us to an empty table towards the front of the stage.
"Now normally we make it a rule for everyone to be seated based on their heritage and that no boy or girl may sit alone together", Chiron said hurriedly as the hoards and hoards of people coming upstairs became more noticeable, "but due to the circumstances in which you both have just escaped, I'll allow you to sit and eat together for the night", he smiled warmly.
I opened my mouth to ask a question - one out of hundreds - when Chiron stopped me with the wave of a hand, "I know you both must have several questions for me but I have to ask you to postpone these questions until after dinner once we're all in the comfort of my office. I must be going to make some announcements to the Camp but please try to enjoy your dinner", he said and, before either of us could protest, he was already jogging off to a small set of stairs at the side of the stage.
"Enjoy our dinner? How are we supposed to enjoy our dinner?", I asked Percy, feeling as lost and agitated as ever. The sounds of the dining room - as I assumed this was - were getting pretty loud so I moved my wooden chair a bit closer to Percy as he began to speak.
"I have no idea. But, Annabeth, what is this place?", Percy asked, his eyes widening as he took a look behind me at all the teens making their way upstairs.
"I have no clue. You don't think that this might be...", I said, not wanting to even finish the thought.
Fortunately, Percy finished it for me, "That this might be that army Luke was talking about? Kronos's Army? Yeah, the thought crossed my mind once or twice or three thousand times", he gave me one of his signature smiles and something about it - combined with the fact that I was exhausted and couldn't remember the last time I had eaten - made me giggle. Soon he was chuckling along with me, although the moment was short-lived when he asked quietly, "Annabeth, what are we gonna do if this turns out to be where Luke came from?"
"I don't know", I said, matching his low voice so as not to be overheard (though I didn't think of it as much of a risk considering the amount of noise that surrounded us), "While it makes sense that this is what Luke was talking about, this just doesn't seem like the type of place that would recruit kids and teens and turn them into murderers.", I said, my eyes looking down at my feet as my voice hitched at the words Luke and murderers.
"What if that's just what they want you to think?" Percy countered, his right hand going to rub his left forearm as if remember Luke's attempt(s) on his life, "What if they make everything seem really cool and fun for the newbies and then, once you join, only then do you realize what you've gotten yourself into?"
"I don't know, maybe. Or maybe you've just watched too many spy movies", I said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Maybe. I've learned from the best after all, Detective Chase", he said, with a wink that made my heart flip.
"Oh, hush", I said, giggling once more.
We fell into silence and the significance of how quiet the room was suddenly starting to become was a bit unnerving as we saw Chiron emerge from a large orange curtain from behind the stage and walk towards the mic.
Just before Chiron started to speak, Percy tapped me on the shoulder, his words jumbling over each other as he spoke in a low voice, "Annabeth, I just remembered something that Luke mentioned. Something about another group of people "wanting us", he said, making air-quotes around "wanting us", "I'm trying to remember the name...Camp Halfsomething. Camp Blood? Camp-", he was cut off abruptly as Chiron's voice boomed throughout the dining hall.
"Welcome campers, young and old, veterans and newly-enlisted! Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."
Percy's POV
I struggled not to give Annabeth a triumphant smile, as she and I - as well as the rest of the Camp it seemed - became enraptured by Chiron's speech:
"Now as most of you may know, today is a pivotal day in history. On this day, fifteen years ago, Camp Half-Blood won the five-year battle against Kronos's Army and saved the nation - scratch that, the world - from the evil clutches of the Army's sinister and infamous leader. It was on this day that the way was paved for future generations to be able to come to Camp Half-Blood and not only be among their true people, but to be able to serve the biggest cause there is - and that is to keep the world safe of ancient dictators such as Kronos."
"Ergo, we stand today with the most amount of Camp members to date and, as a matter of fact, we have among us two very important campers who have been through a great deal in the past weeks - Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."
A spotlight was cast on the empty table where Annabeth and I sat and we both flinched as everyone gasped and awed at us - two disheveled, confused teenagers who had just been through hell and back.
After the applause subsided and the painfully bright spotlight was taken off of us, I finally felt like I could breathe again as Chiron continued:
"Mr. Jackson and Ms. Chase have been through a lot these past weeks, as they were almost captured and killed by Kronos's Army", Chiron paused as more gasps and murmurs broke out among the audience of teens and kids, some whispering in fury that "this was the last straw" or that "we're headed into another war".
He silenced everyone with a show of hands and went on, "I know what some of you may be thinking: that these are dark times and that Kronos is testing the waters. In this, you would be correct. It is my belief that Kronos is looking for another war, another way to gain the power he's so desperately wanted for centuries. However, after decades of being this Camp's Counselor I must say that he has a mighty foe, indeed. I believe we can stop Kronos, for the world and for our ancestors who worked so hard for our freedom. Let us fight and let us conquer!", a massive cheer went up from the crowds of campers behind us, and Annabeth and I sat awkwardly at our empty table, unsure of whether we should've clapped or made a run for the exit.
After Chiron sat down at his table that was on the stage, food was served. And, by "served" I mean it appeared out of thin air onto our tables. Juicy steak, roasted green beans, mashed potatoes, bowls of fruit, spicy chicken wings, you name it, it was on our table. My eyes widened at the sight of so much food and my stomach rumbled as I hastily grabbed a fork and shoved anything in sight into my mouth.
After about half of the table's contents were in the safety of my belly, I finally looked up from my plate and noticed that Annabeth was sitting forlorn next to me, having barely touched her food.
I swallowed my bite of chicken tenderloin and caught her eye, "Sorry, did my awful eating habits ruin your appetite?", I asked, trying to cheer her up.
She smiled fleetingly, "No, you're fine. I know you're hungry. I am too, it's just...", she finished the thought with a sigh and started to pick at her food miserably.
"You're confused? Frustrated? Grieving? All of the above?", I said, shoving another bite of potatoes into my mouth.
"Ding", she said halfheartedly as she took a small bite of green beans, "I just don't get how we're here. Why we're here. I was supposed to study for a Chem exam on Monday. I was supposed to take my SATs and ACTs and start applying to colleges and...now we're here doing this and I can't help but think...", she trailed off.
"You can't help but think about Luke? How he fit into all of this? How we might fit into all of this?", I guessed. She nodded and didn't need to continue for me to know what she meant: she was terrified and confused. How could she not be? I couldn't help but remember Luke's last words from only an hour or two before.
Percy, do me a favor...
Don't let Kronos win.
A shiver went down my spine and I jumped slightly at the shock of Annabeth's touch as she patted me on the shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry", she said, giving me a brave smile, "We'll get through this... together. Right?"
I gulped, "Right", I said quietly. My nerves were suddenly frayed, not only from the thoughts of what came next but from the way Annabeth was looking at me and, I suspected, the way I was looking at her. I didn't know what it was: all I knew was that, despite the dirt on her face, the leaves and twigs in her frizzy hair and the tear stains on her cheeks, she was still beautiful.
Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when a shadow loomed over us and Chiron put his hands on both our shoulders as he said, "Come with me to my office. We need to have a talk."
We walked down almost the entire length of the massive room before finally turning right down a narrow hallway and entering a large, surprisingly well-lit room. Chiron's office included a large cherry wood desk, a comfy-looking rug on the polished wood floor, and a smallish window on the back wall that let the moonlight flicker onto the stacks and stacks of papers on Chiron's desk. On the walls were all kinds of awards, achievements and was that a moose head?
"Take a seat", Chiron said as he sat down in his own chair with a sigh. One moment, there was just empty floor and rug in front of us and then, out of thin air, two large leather armchairs appeared at the front of Chiron's desk, startling me so much that I stepped backwards and almost knocked over a lamp.
Annabeth looked at me with wide eyes and we both sat down, doing so cautiously in case the armchairs suddenly sprouted legs and ran away with us in them.
Despite Annabeth's obvious fear, she bravely rolled back her shoulders, took a breath and slammed her fists on the wooden table making some of Chiron's papers fall to the floor as she demanded, "Percy and I have been in the dark long enough. Could you please tell us what we are doing here? Why have you brought us to this place? What is this place? Who are you?"
Chiron smiled knowingly as if this were all some sort of joke that only he was in on, "I admire your spirit, Ms. Chase. I understand how you and Mr. Jackson are feeling at the moment and I know you have a lot of questions. With that being said, I see no need in withholding any information. As you may have learned from my speech, 'this place'," he said, putting air quotes around the two words, "is Camp Half-Blood".
"Yeah we kinda got that from all your mumbo-jumbo about armies and battles and war", Annabeth said, rolling her eyes, "What we don't understand if why you've brought us here."
Chiron sat back as if puzzled by the question himself. After a moment of silence, he turned to me and said, "Mr. Jackson, do you know who your father is?"
I flinched at the mention of my father. That was the second time he had been mentioned that day in over ten years and I felt confused and startled as I stuttered, "M-My father left my mom when I was baby. I never knew him. What does he have to do with anything?"
"Many things", Chiron replied cryptically, "There's no easy and fast way for me to explain everything to both of you and have you understand. Let's start with who I am", he said, sitting back once more as if he knew this was going to take a while, "My name is Chiron. For three years, I have posed as your high school principal. In reality, I am the head Counselor of Camp Half-Blood where we train kids and teens who are descendants of the Olympians."
I smiled nervously until I realized he wasn't kidding, "You...you mean the Greek Olympians? Like Mt. Olympus?"
Chiron chuckled, "In a way, I suppose you are right. The Olympians are a group of powerful, magical Generals who fought against Kronos and his army over a century ago. For various reasons, many believe that they are indeed the Greek gods and goddesses who have manifested themselves here on Earth."
"Woah wait, a century?", Annabeth asked, looking as lost as I felt, "But...on stage you said there was a war against Kronos fifteen years ago."
"Yeah", I said, Luke's last words playing over in my head again, "And who is this Kronos guy anyway, some evil wizard?"
"You're closer to the truth than you may realize, Mr. Jackson. Kronos is, to put it simply, a very powerful being, and a very old one, at that. He's lived for over a thousand years and has planned for most of his life to assert total global domination. He seeks to purge the world of everything good and decent and manipulate every human being to do his bidding. So, yes, you can call him a wizard, of sorts. And he is most certainly evil."
I gripped the seat tighter, my hands slick with sweat, as Chiron continued, "The Olympians have also lived as long as Kronos and have worked for that long to stop him from putting his plans into motion. A century ago, the Olympians battled Kronos in the First War. They defeated Kronos's Army but not before the man himself escaped and swore vengeance on the Olympians."
"Fifteen years ago, word had gotten around that Kronos was building his Army once more and that, this time, he was prepared for anything. The Olympians and their new army - the newly-founded Camp Half-Blood - faced Kronos's Army in a bloody five-year-long war. We won by the skin of our noses, but not without consequences: Kronos escaped once more, thousands of lives were lost and, possibly worst of all, most of the Olympians were gravely wounded and were forced to go into hiding. We haven't heard from them since."
"However, despite our lost communication with our betters, Camp Half-Blood is still open to any descendants of the Olympians, where anyone is allowed to train and fight in the battle against Kronos."
There were several moments of silence after this, in which Annabeth and I processed all of this information. My mind was still buzzing by the time Annabeth spoke, "Do you honestly expect us to believe all of this?"
I turned my head towards her, and she looked me in the eye and asked, "Do you believe him?"
My head felt heavy as I shook it with bewilderment and said, "I-I don't know. It sounds crazy but...everything about today has been crazy", I sighed and turned towards Chiron, "Are you saying you've brought us here because you think we're descendants of these Olympian guys?"
Chiron smiled tightly and said, "I don't think, Mr. Jackson. I know. I know both of you are - not just the descendants of two of the most powerful Olympians - but the children of General Poseidon and General Athena."
My ears started to ring in the stunned silence that followed. I swallowed nervously, my eyes glued to the floor as I muttered, "Annabeth's right: this is completely insane."
"Is it, Mr. Jackson?", Chiron asked quietly, "I know it's all a lot to take in and I'm guessing neither of your parents informed you about any of this. About your heritage, your destiny-"
"What destiny?", Annabeth interrupted. I turned my head to look at her for a moment and she looked as wretched and exhausted as I felt, like she was just emerging from the eye of a hurricane.
Like her world was being turned upside-down.
Chiron sighed, "There is a Great Prophecy that has been around since the disappearance of the Olympians fifteen years ago. It talks of seven demigods who will 'raise Olympus'. Now, normally, prophecies are never specific. But, in this case, it speaks of two demigods: a child of Poseidon and a child of Athena. While we do have many children of Athena, Camp Half-Blood has never in its history housed a child of Poseidon. In fact, Percy, you may be the only one."
I sat back in my chair, "What makes me so special? Even if my dad is who you say he is, how does that make me capable, or any of us capable, of defeating some evil wizard and saving the world? We're just kids."
Chiron smiled, a tinge of sadness hidden in his eyes, as he said, "It is because, Percy, of your divine abilities. Your powers."
At that point, I was about ready to storm out of the room in incredulity. I chuckled nervously, "Okay so what, you're saying I'm some sort of superman? What can I do, fly? Does Annabeth have powers too?", I asked, starting to get a kick out of this whole situation, "Annabeth read my mind", smirking as I turned towards her, only to see the dejected look on her face.
"Percy, this is serious", she said looking grim.
"Yeah about as serious as I am when I say I'm gonna do my homework", I said, trying to catch her eye, "C'mon Annabeth, he's crazy! This whole thing is crazy! There's no way any of this is real-"
"And what if it is?", she said finally looking at me. Her eyes were red as if she was holding back tears - and maybe she was - as she said, "What if this is real?"
I sat back, feeling defeated, before I heard Chiron speak up,"Percy, look at me."
I looked up and, before I could react, Chiron reached under his desk for something and water came flying in my direction. I reflexively put up my bandaged arms to shield my face. I opened my eyes only a second later when I felt no water on my hands and I heard Annabeth stumble out of her chair and gasp.
The water was floating in front of my outstretched arms, hovering in mid-air.
I put my arms down abruptly, causing a spasm of pain to shoot through my forearms, and stood up in my chair. As soon as I did, the water fell to the floor, as if time had suddenly started up again.
"What...what was that?", I whispered in shock, though on the inside I was screaming What the hell just happened!?
"That, my boy", Chiron said with a smirk, "was your powers in action."
"H-how?", I asked, unsure of how to quantify how confused I felt into one question, "This has never happened before at swim practice. I-I don't move water with my mind when I swim...Water doesn't just do that when my teammates splash water in my face...", I stuttered, the word "teammates" making me think of Luke.
Don't let Kronos win.
"From what I can tell, you've never noticed your powers in action before for a few reasons. One, because you were never in any real danger, especially around water. And two, because of something we like to call the Mist. The Mist is a supernatural force that makes people see what they can understand - in essence, it makes them see what they want to see. When both of you entered the vicinity of Camp Half-Blood, you went through barriers that keep the effects of the Mist out, allowing all demigods who roam the Camp to see everything as it truly is, magic and all."
I thought of the armchairs we were sitting in when we came into Chiron's office and how they had seemed to appear out of thin air. I thought of the food in the Dining Hall and even the building of Camp Half-Blood when we had gotten out of Chiron's van.
It wasn't a dream or a hallucination due to exhaustion or hunger.
It was real.
Chiron continued, "My guesses are, because of your exhaustion, your minds are having a harder time processing the lack of Mist. Once you're settled here, I think it'll be easier to work with your powers because your brains will be used to the presence of magic."
"Wait", Annabeth said, speaking up for the first time in a while, "So you're saying my dad - our parents - knew about all of this", waving her hand to signify what "all of this" was, "and never told us?"
Chiron put up his hands in a don't shoot the messenger way which made me realize how angry and irritated we both must've looked in that moment, "It seems to be that way, yes. Both Sally Jackson and Frederick Chase knew who they were having a child with when they did. They were also aware of the existence of Camp Half-Blood and how it is a place for demigods and descendants of the Olympians, such as yourselves, to live and train and nurture your abilities. The fact that neither of them informed you about any of this tells me that they may have wanted to protect you."
"Protect us from what?", I asked, starting to feel more ticked off by the minute.
"They wanted to protect you from the dangers of being demigods in this modern world", Chiron said, his voice taking on a grave tone, "Enemies - spies for Kronos's Army for example - lurk around every corner. Enemies that would do anything to get powerful demigods like yourselves to join their side - even attempt a murder", he said and - just as my mind went back to Luke once again that evening - Chiron pulled out a thick folder. Annabeth gasped as if she already knew what would be inside (and I'm sure she did) before Chiron slowly opened the folder and, staring back at us, was a black-and-white photo of Luke, his piercing eyes making it feel like he was in the room with us.
As if his ghost was watching us from beyond the grave.
"Luke Castellan, believe it or not, was one of our own here at Camp Half-Blood. He was a son of Hermes, as a matter of fact. Son of the trickiest Generals of them all."
"Why did he do it?", Annabeth whispered, and I was startled to see silent tears roll down her cheeks as I turned towards her.
"We're not sure what drove Luke to defect and join Kronos and his Army. He began to act secretive around his friends and roommates and abruptly decided to go stay with his mother for a while, away from the safety of Camp Half-Blood. Then, we went days, weeks and, before long, months without hearing from him. Months in which, I'm sure, he was communicating and conspiring with Kronos."
"I saw them", Annabeth said suddenly, leaning back in her chair, "This morning...I followed him. I saw him go down this alley and he was talking to Kronos and I saw them together", Annabeth turned towards me and I struggled to keep myself from brushing the tears off her cheeks as she said emotionally, "Kronos gave Luke the poison. He was going to kill you and I just...", she stopped herself as I took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
We'll get through this together...right?
Right.
Chiron cleared his throat, making the blood rush to my cheeks. However, neither of us moved to let go of the other's hands as Chiron said, "It is my belief that Kronos, being aware of the Great Prophecy, knows that both of you are a threat to his plans. Therefore, he saw the need to get rid of you."
"And he enlisted Luke to do his dirty work since he already knew both of us from school", I realized.
"Exactly. While I did pose as your school's principal initially to keep an eye on the two of you, I stayed these last few months particularly to keep an eye on Luke, who I learned had enrolled at your school."
"I don't think Luke was going to kill Annabeth", I said, remember pieces of my one-sided conversation with Luke back at the hospital hours before, "He made it sound like Kronos only cared about killing me and that, once I was dead, Luke would be free to convince Annabeth to join their side or kidnap her or something", I said, my thoughts getting jumbled at the thought of Annabeth being forced to go with her best friend's murderer.
Best friend.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts as Chiron nodded and said, "It sounds like Kronos to only focus on you, Percy, since he probably deems you one of his biggest threats due to, not only your heritage, but your great powers."
The way Chiron talked about me made me feel uncomfortable. As if I could be some great hero capable of saving the world.
Even though I was just Percy Jackson: clumsy high-schooler and NYC Aquarium volunteer.
Chiron clapped his hands together, startling me out of a daze, and said, "Well I suppose I've explained all I can for the evening... which just leaves one last question."
Annabeth and I lifted our heads up at him simultaneously.
"What do you plan to do next?"
Thanks for reading everyone! Chapter 9 will come out very soon (I promise, this time) and after that we'll just have the epilogue to go!
Make sure to check out my TeenInk account (Username: bookworm12120) to read some more of my (original!) stories! :)