Hey, guys. Sorry that it took me so long to update, but I had a long labor day weekend and really busy week. I finished the chapter the other day, but just wasn't satisfied with it so I went over it again and fixed it up a bit. So here it is. Chapter 5.

Also, thank you all so much for the reviews! They mean a lot to me.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5

I awoke the following morning, back aching, sweat trickling down my forehead, to thundering footsteps booming throughout the clearing. Shooting into a sitting position, I surveyed our surroundings. Thalia and Rachel were stirring, slowly waking, while Apollo and Nico were sound asleep. Annabeth was nowhere in sight. That's….odd.

I stood, creeping closer to the noise, and peeked in front of a tree. OH MY GODS! My eyese widened as I watched hundreds of guards barreling toward us at breakneck speeds, weapons raised. Luke lead the raid, his stringy blond hair billowing in the wind, a vengeful glint in his crystal blue eyes as he directed them toward our camp. He was perched on a black pegasus who whinnied in protest whenever he tugged on its mane, urging it to go faster. The poor animal bucked and kicked, but Luke relentlessly demanded obedience, digging the heel of his boots in the pegasus's side, eliciting a painful whine from the creature.

"Split up. Kill them all and leave no survivors. But you leave Jackson to me!" Luke bellowed angrily. His men dispersed into tightly knit groups, several hundred in each, all equipped with the finest weapons and glittering armor. Celestial bronze helmets hung low over their faces, leaving only their eyes and mouths exposed.

I twisted around, manuevering my way through the trees and avoiding tree roots that jutted from the ground just waiting for me to trip over them. Branches drooped in my path, threatening to whack me if I don't push them out of the way.

Behind me, the thumping footfalls grew louder and the shouts sounded only feet away. I glanced behind me and nearly had a heart attack when I saw how quickly they were closing in on me. Only 15 feet away and gaining ground rapidly. Pushing myself harder, I put on an extra burst of speed, but my efforts were futile. The addition foot I'd put between up was closed once again when Luke yet again dug his heel into the pegasus, causing it to pick up speed.

I breathed a sigh of relief once I saw our camp come into view, but it was shortlived. I'd been distracted by my destination up ahead that I'd missed the fallen tree and tumbled over it, hitting the soil with a thud. Pain shot through my ankle like a bullet, but despite the throbbing, I scrambled back to my feet just seconds before I would've been trampled by Luke and his pegasus. Leaves obscured my vision. Blindly tearing through the woods and to our clustered little clearing, I rammed smack dab into Thalia who had risen from her makeshift bed and had drawn a long, pointed hunting knife.

I caught her elbow just before she hit the ground and yanked her upright. With no time to explain, I shoved them ahead of me and with a quick "run", we were dashing who knows where as fast as humanly possible.

The landscape blurred by in a mash of color, green and brown. Leaves and branches clawed at us until our faces were scratched and bloodied. Dirt kicked up behind like a puffy cloud of filth. Obstacles appeared before us, a log, a large rock, and even a small stream, that forced us to make wild leaps over them. The wind blew in my ears, blocking out any and all noise except the strong thumps of my heart, pumping a mile a minute, straining itself with the physical exertion.

And suddenly we stopped and I, totally not expecting it, slammed into Nico's back, sending him toppling to the forest floor. He emitted a surprised oomph!, but didn't complain when he arose, brushing clumps of the moist dirt off his midnight black pants.

"Guys, what are you doing? We need to get going…like now." I said, unsure why we stood stationary and not running for our lives. But then I really took in the scene and movement caught my eye. Twisting around, I noticed that Luke's men clouded around in a wide circle, blockading us from all angles. I spun around, searching desperately for a chink in their armor, but came up short. Every weak link they had was protected by a burly guard that would definitely take two to take out.

We were trapped, enclosed between guard after guard, with nowhere for us to run. Had my friends and I only come so far to be captured in the end? It's not like we had any other options, but give up and die or put up a fight and take out as many guards as possible before we're overrun.

All seemed hopeless until Nico shot me a look, a look he only got when he's about to put one of his terrible plans into action. But for once, I wasn't about to immediately shut him down, I was willing to try whatever he'd had in mind as one last hurrah before the inevitable happens.

With a subtle nod, I gave him the okay and without a second of hesitation, Nico sprang forward, thrusting his Stygian iron sword in the earth.

"Rise, my friends. Fight in the name of Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." He chanted and not a moment later, the earth began to rumble, shaking tree branches and dirt and debris. Skeletal hands, stripped of their skin and muscle, clawed at the air. And all at once, they climbed out in an undead horde, some wore dented pieces of armor while others were bare, revealing their hollow skeletons. When they fully emerged, they stood tall, sizing up the enemy, which thankfully, they seemed to identify as Luke and his men. As a unit, they raised their weapons high over their heads and shouted:

"In the name of the son of Hades." They voices were lifeless and void of all emotion. And with that, they charged.

In a matter of seconds, the clearing erupted into chaos. Everywhere you looked there was a skeletal warrior and a guard locked into combat, vying for the win. Bodies littered the ground, some dead, some close to it. Crimson blood splattered the lush green grass turning it a horrid shade of red. Screams, moans, clashing swords, and moans from the injured rang in my ears as I watched in horrified amazement as the skeletal warriors ripped through the guards like they were made of paper. The skeleton men were viciously brutal as they sliced into the bodies of the guards without a hint of remorse. Some slice and diced them with their swords while others who had lost theirs, fought tooth and nail, biting and clawing. It was by far the most gruesome thing I'd ever seen and I'd no doubt have petrifying nightmares about it later.

Through the carnage, I managed to catch a glimpse of Luke and you wouldn't believe what I saw. That coward was running away, a look of sheer horror decorating his face. He had blood soaking through his gray t-shirt and long gashes on his arms and chest. His face was pale and painted with red, whether it was his own or someone else's. Luke all but threw himself around the black pegasus, who'd been smart enough to put itself far away from the skeletons. Catching my gaze through the chaos, Luke shot me a look filled with pure malice before taking off into the woods, leaving his men to be picked off one by one. Funny how when the odds aren't in his favor, Luke runs off like a scared little girl. All you have to do is throw him in a pink dress and he'd play the part perfectly.

I turned my attention back to the fighting only to realize that it was over. Not a single one of Luke's men stood standing. All of them laid in the dirt, dead as a doornail. Looking at my friends, I took notice that all of them wore similar expressions, a hint of relief mixed with an undeniable revulsion. A look I knew was mirror on my own face. We were all happy to be alive, but for what price? So many lives had been lost, innocent lives that just got mixed up with the wrong crowd, lives that didn't deserve this fate. A deep sorrow swept over me. Countless families will have to contacted and informed that their children will not be returning home. Even the ones without families will still have people deeply affected by their death, whether it be a sibling or a friend. Their deaths won't go unnoticed.

I tried to imagine myself in their place. What my own mother would think if she were told that I'd been killed, her reaction? She cry for sure and be completely and utterly heartbroken. And I knew the other families would, too. What I would do to help ease that pain? I wanted to do something for those families, to make the pain a little more bearable. And like I'd been struck by lightening, I came up with the perfect idea.

Thalia turned toward me after getting over her initial shock. "Let's go. We need to leave before that weasel Luke sends more." Her voice sounded oddly hollow, broken like this had shattered something inside of her.

"I want to bury them." I told her, my voice quiet and sorrowful. I wanted those families to know that their kids weren't left lying on the ground like they were trash and not worth our time, I wanted them to know that we may be many things, but we are not the ruthless monsters they believe us to be. Death is death no matter whose side your on. It still breaks you, chipping away pieces of your heart shard by shard. I didn't know these people, these demigods, these mortals, but that doesn't make it any easier and I wouldn't want it be. These feelings of remorse let me know I'm still human, let know that despite the killings and feud between us and mortals, that I still care, that my humanity is still intact.

"Okay." She replied, for once not protesting my ideas. Obviously, what had just went down had taken a toll on her, too. "Where do you think we should bury them, Nico?"

When he didn't respond, I swiveled my head toward Nico and found him lying face first in the dirt. Panic surged throughout my whole being like a lightening bolt. Dropping down on my knees, I flipped him over, inspecting his body for any signs of injury and thankfully, found none. The exertion from tapping into his powers must have taken a lot of energy out of him.

I looked to Apollo, who'd been writing more "I am so awesome" poems in an orange notebook throughout the entire battle, silently asking him if there was anything he could do for him, and he shook his head. Guess, we'll just have to have Nico rest up.

Throwing him over my shoulder, I walked to an enormous oak tree and propped him up against the trunk. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he nestled closer to the trunk.

Rising from my crouch on the ground, I walked back over to my friends and we got to work. It was a tiring process digging hole after hole with only half of a fallen tree branch that was conveniently flattened at the end as a shovel. It took several hours, but we managed to bury every single one. And it took us another hour or two to stop staring frozenly at the lumpy mounds of dirt placed over each grave, but eventually, we pried ourselves away. I had a strange feeling that our little memorial was missing something and it wasn't until we were ready to move on that I realized just what that was.

"Apollo, can I borrow that pen and a piece of notebook paper?" I asked.

He handed them over to me right away.

I turned to a clean page and scribbled away, trying to make my writing as neat as I was finished, I cut a small hole through one of the trees, took a thin twig, stabbed a hole through the paper, and stuck the twig through and into the hole, using what I had as a nail. The paper hung from my makeshift nail. It read:

To the family and friends of the deceased,

I am truly and deeply sorry for you losses, but I want you all to know that they didn't die in vain. They may've been intent on locking away innocent demigods, such as myself, but in the end, we're all fighting for what we believe is right and how can that be blamed. It is not the fault of your sons and daughters, but the fault of Lord Kronos for striking fear in mortals that should only be directed at him. If not for his tirade, this death and destruction would have never occurred and one day, I do hope that we can once again unite and defeat this evil Titan Lord, avenging the deaths of those we love. And as for your children, may they all reach Elysium.

Sincerely,

Percy Jackson

Thalia and the others read over the note quietly to themselves before sending me a nod, letting me know that they approved. They grabbed our meager items and followed closely behind Apollo, who lead us through the brush to our destination, Camp Halfblood.

"Hey, wait, did anyone else notice that we lost Annabeth?" Nico asked out of the blue, swiveling his head from side to side as if looking for her.

"Yeah." I replied dryly, my throat tight with emotion.

"Shouldn't we go back for her?" He arched a brow, wondering why I wasn't searching frantically for her. Couldn't he see what was right in front of him? Annabeth disappeared into thin air and shortly after, we're ambushed by Luke and his men. Something's not right there. Obviously, she had sold us out, not like I'm surprised. She's a backstabbing bitch, I knew that, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"Nope." I said shortly.

"Why not?"

"Don't you get it? She told Luke where we were. She must've regained consciousness before any of us woke and since someone fell asleep when it was his turn to take watch, she got away with it." I said, looking pointedly at Nico.

"Hey, I was tired, okay? Escaping from prison and summoning dead guys takes a lot out of a guy."

Rachel shot me a worried look. "Are you alright, Percy? I know how hard this must be for you."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Truth is, I was disappointed, not angry or sad, just disappointed. I'd hoped Annabeth would've- What am I thinking? That she would've had some epiphany, seen the error of her ways? Yeah, like that would happen.

Shaking my head of all thought, I focused on the matter at hand, getting to this camp. I spaced out as we walked and before I knew it, soil became pavement and trees became buildings, scurrying woodland creatures became people. We'd arrived in a crowded city with obviously, a very high populous. Everywhere you looked there were people. People walking, people talking on the phone, hailing a cab, shopping. I couldn't turn my head with making eye contact with another human being. It was overwhelming. After being trapped in a quant prison with limited human contact, I was fidgety and felt cramped and almost claustrophobic with so many people milling around.

"We're almost there." Apollo said, breaking the silence. "My car is just a few blocks away." Car? But I didn't have any time to ask because he was on the move, brushing passed people, striding down the winding roads with a purpose.

We passed shop after shop, all clustered together, and a large park off to my right that strangely reminded me of Central Park back home. The whole place managed to remind me of home, from the honking of horns to the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and I realized I had a terrible case of homesickness. I missed my mom, my simple life back in New York. Things were easier then, instead of being on the run, all I'd had to do was remain under the radar, not draw attention to myself, not make friends-well, mortal friends that is-, not do anything that could blow my cover. Now, I was a deer caught in the crosshairs of a gun, seconds away from an inevitable demise that sent shivers down my spine. One mistake could send the bullet rocketing toward my head.

I was shaken from my thoughts when Apollo sudden shouted:

"Here it is. Isn't she beautiful?" That statement contradicted itself. The car that stood before me was anything but beautiful. It was a rickety old thing that I doubted would even start. The paint was a hideous shade of green similar to what it would look like if someone just barfed all over it. Rust coated the entire exteriour of the car from bumper to windows were cracked and shards of glass were missing from the windshield. Personally, I'd thought Apollo had pretty good taste when it came to material items like the fancy white sunglasses placed over his eyes, but this car definitely contradicted that starement.

He noted my look of disbelief and scowled, rolling his eyes. "This isn't what it really looks like. It's disguised. I figured it wouldn't gain so much attention this way. Do you seriously think that my level of style is this low?" He muttered something incoherent under his breath and in a flash, a flashy red convertible took the dreadful pile of junk's place.

"Nice." I said, nodding my approval. We climbed into the sleek, leather seats and buckled up. Apollos jammed the keys into the ignition and drove to a secluded spot in an empty parking lot for an abandoned convenience store, light posts the only thing illuminating the asphalt.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Thalia asked, crossing her arms over her chest, her electric blue eyes flashing with a hint of anger.

"Of course not. We very well can't take off with so many bystanders who could witness it."

"Witness what?" Rachel asked, her voice filling with a spark of worry and doubt in the god of poetry.

"You'll see." Apollo responded with a wink.

He pounded a strange button his glowing orange dashboard and suddenly, the car burned into a blazing orange ball of fire, burning as bright as the sun. The light was so intense I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut to avoid blindness.

"Welcome to the Apollo Express. Please remain seated and keep your hands, feet, and other miscellaneous body parts in the vehicle at all times, unless you when them burnt to a crisp. Enjoy your ride." And with that we were off.

The car picked up a remarkable amount of speed, using the parking lot as a runway. The momentum took us high into the air and suddenly, the once black sky, darkened by night, erupted in an orange inferno. Darkness receeded and the light took its place, changing night to day. It was truly amazing….until I looked down. The enlarged city now appeared small like a village for ants and not hundreds of millions of people. Nausea swept through and my hands clammed up, my stomach flipped. Beads of sweats poured down my face as I strained my muscles, clamping my shaking hands on the closest thing to me, which just so happened to be Rachel's hand.

She looked down and blushed before a look of concern decorated her face as she took in my panicked expression.

"Percy, is everything okay? You look really pale." Her eyebrows knit together as she studied my face.

"I-I'm….I don't like heights. They make me nervous because of the whole Poseidon and Zeus rivalry thing." Nervous butterflies fluttered angrily in my gut, worry built up to an almost unbearable level. Would if Zeus sees me in his domain and knocks me right out of the sky? Would if I die? Would if I never get to see mother again? But then, a sense of relief comforted my whole being as I reminded myself that he wouldn't do that with his daughter in the car. Well, unless she did something that seriously pissed him off. My nerves settled and I no longer on the verge of a panic attack. Yay. With an odd sense of calmness slowly washing over me, I managed to fall into a dreamless sleep.

"Percy. Percy, wake up." Someone was shaking my shoulder, rousing me from my sleep. I opened my eyes and was immediately met with bright green eyes, red hair, and freckles, lots of them. Rachel.

"Hey." I said, rubbing sleep from my eyes with the heel of my hand. "How long was I out?"

"Couple hours."

"Where's Nico, Thalia, and Grover?" I asked, surveying the car and taking notice that they weren't inside it.

"They're settling in. We've arrived at Camp Halfblood. We were going to wake you to meet the camp leader, Chiron, but we figured you needed the sleep."

Before I could respond, she opened her mouth and added:

"Come on. You've got to see it, it's beautiful. You're going to love the lake." Lake? That's exactly what I need right now.

She led me out of the car and through a wide clearing filled with cabins, a strawberry field, stables, an open-air pavilion, and a large, blue house. Like the city we'd went through, people were everywhere you looked except these people radiated power. Most of them were teenagers, some college age, and all of them wore orange t-shirts just like Grover's. Weapons of different varieties either hung from sheaths at their waists or were clutched in their hands. Demigods. No way. I've never seen so many in one place before; there has to been at least a thousand.

Rachel urged me on until we reached the steps of the big, blue house. Two people stood on the porch, engaged in conversation, looking at each other like long lost friends rejoicing at their reunion. I stopped dead in my tracks. One was a half man, half horse, a centaur. But he wasn't the one who shocked me to the core. A tall, thin girl stood beside him, long, curly blond hair hanging down her back. What the hell is she doing here?

The centaur turned and noticed my prescence. He sent me a small smile before saying:

"You must be Percy. It's a pleasure to meet you, dear boy. I am Chiron and this," He said, gesturing to Camp Halfblood as a whole, "is my camp." I wanted to speak to him about the camp, ask questions about how this place is undiscovered by Kronos and his men and the mortals. I had so many question bursting to come out, but when I opened my mouth, the only thing that came out was:

"What the hell are you doing here?" I sneered at Annabeth before turning to Chiron. "She's a traitor. She's working for Kronos."

Chiron laughed, a deep, rumbling chuckle. "No, she isn't, Percy."

"Yes, she is. I don't know what she told you, but it's a lie. You have to believe me."

"Come with me and I'll explain everything." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and ushered me into the blue house, telling me to take a seat on a comfortable looking couch in the corner of a small room. Annabeth sat in the couch opposite me. He handed me a glass cup filled with a steamy, sweet smelling tea before beginning:

"Many years ago, a girl had run away from home and stumbled upon our camp. I'd known the cute, little seven year old was a halfblood almost immediately. She'd had nowhere to go, her family didn't want her, thought she was too dangerous to be kept, and I'd taken her in, letting her stay her at this very camp. Through the years, we've grown very close and I feel as if she were my own daughter. I could trust her with anything, any doubt or worry I'd had about almost anything I shared with her, no matter how bleak it seemed. Not once did she utter a peep to anyone else. I trusted her, I do trust her, even with my own life. That girl, Percy, was Annabeth. She lived here, made it her home, hardly ever left. Well, until she met you, that is. One day, she left for some unknown reason and returned hours later, practically bouncing with excitement that she'd made a friend named Percy. Everyday, she'd disappear for hours, going to visit you. You were her best friend; you both were extremely close. And as the years went by, you went from her friend to her best friend to her boyfriend. Then, the mist vanished and chaos broke out. Annabeth grew very worried for your safety and would do anything for you so she accepted a little proposition I'd thrown out there for her. But she didn't just accept for you, she also accepted because we needed someone on the inside, someone who could learn the secrets of the mortals and demigods running the prison and very well, use them to our advantage. As I said, she accepted and became a guard for the prison, keeping up the persona that she was loyal only to Kronos, while reporting everything she learned back to me. The others believed her, but eventually, her loyalties were questioned when they noticed how she disappeared for long hours at a time and no one knew where she was. So to prove her loyalty, they gave her an assignment, capture and bring a demigod into the prison. And unfortunately, that demigod was you. Once you were inside, she'd planned on getting you out, but she didn't know how. And she figured you were so upset with her that you wouldn't want to talk anyway. But then, you asked for you help and jumped at the opportunity to assist your escape. And well, you know the rest. She'd never meant to hurt you, Percy."

Multiple conflicting emotions filled me, but the one that ruled me was fury.

"NEVER MEANT TO HURT ME?!" I shouted, my voice full of anger and disbelief. "She knew what she was doing was going to hurt me, but did it anyway. She didn't even tell me about the plan when she could've and avoided this whole thing." I faced Annabeth, turning my tongue lashing on her. "How could you do that to me? You let me believe that I didn't mean anything to you, you let me believe that our relationship was a lie, you let me believe that you didn't love me at all. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? "

"Percy, I wanted to tell you, I really did, but I figured you'd try to talk me out of it and we couldn't afford that. I'm so sorry. For everything. And I hope you can forgive me."

"Not a chance."

"Percy." She said my name so gently it sent shivers down my spine. She held out her hand, reaching for me, but I jerked back, out of her reach.

"Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. Don't even come near." I twisted around and sprinted out of the blue house and into the closest cabin I could find, hoping Annabeth wouldn't come after me. And if she did, she wouldn't look in here.

The cabin was larger inside than it looked from the outside. Probably twice the size of my bedroom back home. The walls were colored a beautiful blue almost exactly like the color of water. A bed was pushed against the wall and a shiny marble fountain sat opposite it in the far corner of the room. A dresser was against the wall beside the fountain and to my surprise, it was filled with clothes. Orange t-shirts with the name Camp Halfblood etched in the material in black ink. Dark jeans. Pajama pants. You name it, it's in there. In the center of the room, a deep blue rug hugged the floor, a gold trident in the middle. That's when it occurred to me that this was the cabin dedicated to Poseidon's children. If I were to stay here, this would be my cabin.

I ran my hand along the dresser top, swiping the mounds of dust off. Leaning my head against the strong, plaster wall beside the dresser, I thought about all that had happened in just a few short hourse.

I wake up. Annabeth's gone. Luke ambushes us. Nico summons the skeleton men. The death of all those people. Apollo takes us here. Annabeth returns. I find out that Annabeth hadn't done that to hurt me, but to prove her "loyalty" to the Titan Lord so she could gather secrets and report them to Chiron. It's all so overwhelming, swimming through my brain like it's in its own personal swimming pool. I try to clear my mind of all the events of today and I almost succeed, but my mind latches onto another event that occurred.

The letter I wrote to the families. Of all of those who'd never see another day. And it was all because of Kronos. I wished that there was something I could do, something that could inspire people to rise up, fight the evil that's engulfing the world. But how could I, only one person, do something as grand as that? I wouldn't even know where to start, how to start. I can't start something like that.

But I already had. I just didn't know it yet.

That's chapter 5. Really hope you like. Leave a review down at the bottom letting me know what you think.

Review!

~TwistedTrident~