Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Rick Riordan does.
"You sound like. . . you went through the same thing?" he half said, half asked.
"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."
"Ambrosia and nectar." he said, trying to get it straight.
"That food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've turned your blood to fire and bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."
Then, out of the things that could've happened next, one of the worst possible happened.
Chapter 3
I heard a familiar gruff voice say, "Well! A newbie!"
It was—"Clarisse," I said. Wow, usually she just punches the new guy at first sight. She was accompanied by Lina Demoterra, Selene Masterson, and Mary Ramon. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?" I said, trying to sound as harsh as possible.
She looked at me like she was Hera and I was Hercules. "Sure, Ms. Princess," she scowled. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."
I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. "Erre es korakas!" I yelled. "You don't stand a chance."
"We'll pulverize you." she said, as she turned to Percy. "Who's this little runt?"
"Percy Jackson, meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares." Percy blinked. "Like. . . the war god?"
No, I thought sarcastically. The rapper! Gods, he's gonna get it.
Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"
"No. It explains the smell." Said Percy. NOW he's dead meat.
"We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy. Come on, I'll show you." She grabbed Percy.
"Clarisse—"I said.
"Stay out of it, wise girl."
Percy handed me the minotaur horn, and was dragged by Clarisse to the girls' bathroom. I felt sorry for Percy. I'm sorry, but the sight made me laugh a bit. Percy was kicking and punching, but Clarisse held him away, so he was basically hurting the air.
I watched as they disappeared past the bathroom doorway, then followed. I could see through my fingers that Clarisse pushing a struggling Percy toward a toilet bowl, saying something to her friends about 'Big Three' material.
Percy was bet over the toilet bowl, and I braced for the worst. The worst never came.
Suddenly, water shot out of the toilet in a curve and Clarisse was screaming. The water started pushing Clarisse onto her butt. Soon all the other toilets spewed water, along with the showers. I was soaked as I watched Clarisse, Lina, Selene, and Mary spin out of the bathroom on a sewage water current.
I dropped my hands away from my face and stared at Percy, dumbfounded. He was sitting on a dry spot. The only one in the bathroom. I replayed the incident again in my head. This can't be good. . . it can't be.
As Percy stood up, I said, "How—How did you. . .?"
"I don't know." he said.
We walked out the door to meet Clarisse and her muddy friends. "You are dead, new boy." She told Percy. "Totally dead."
"You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse?" he asked. "Close your mouth."
I thought of earlier, how Clarisse planned on running me through with her spear Friday night. . . Friday night was capture the flag. I then thought of what Percy had done in the bathroom. I just stood there gaping at him.
"What are you thinking?" He asked.
"I'm thinking," I said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."
As I showed Percy the rest of camp, people repeatedly stared at us. I showed him the metal shop, arts-and-crafts room, climbing wall, and other places.
"I've got training to do." I told him after the tour. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."
"Annabeth," he said, "I'm sorry about the toilets."
I replied with a flat "Whatever."
"It wasn't my fault." He said. Really? Sure? Ugh… whatever.
"You need to talk to the Oracle," I told him.
"Who?"
I tried not to roll my eyes. "Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."
He looked into the lake, stared for a while, then waved. Ugh. Stupid naiads.
"Don't encourage them. Naiads are terrible flirts." I said.
"Naiads," he said. "That's it. I want to go home now." Is he crazy? I thought.
"Don't you get it, Percy?" I frowned. "You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."
"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?" he said.
"I mean not human. Not totally human. Half-human." I said.
"Half-human and half-what?"
"I think you know." If you can't answer this, I will forget I ever thought you were the one.
"God," he said. "Half-god." Thank Zeus, you know something!
I nodded. "Your father isn't dead. He's an Olympian." Percy looked as if Clarisse had succeeded in dunking his head in the toilet.
"That's. . . crazy."
"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last millennia?"
"But those are just—" Myths? I thought. Would you dare to call them myths? Percy continued, "But if all the kids here are half-gods—" Half-gods? This time I couldn't help but correct him.
"Demigods," I said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."
"Then who's your dad?" My dad. . . My hands clenched the railing on the pier. As I mentioned, I didn't exactly like my. . . dad.
"My dad is a professor at West Point. I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."
See, Annabeth? I said to myself. That wasn't that bad. . . I was starting to feel proud of myself, but then Percy ruined it by talking.
"He's human." he said. THAT ticked me off. "What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"
"Who's your mom, then?"
"Cabin Six," I said, proudly.
"Meaning. . . ?"
I straightened up, full of pride for my mother. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."
"And my dad?" asked Percy.
I tried really hard not to roll my eyes. "Undetermined, like I told you before. Nobody knows."
"Except my mother. She knew." He said.
"Maybe not, Percy." I said. "Gods don't always reveal their identities."
"My dad would have. He loved her." Poor guy, I thought. If he doesn't get a sign. . . well, I won't burst his bubble.
"Maybe you're right." I told him. "Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens." I prayed silently to the gods, hoping I was right.
"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"
"The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always. . . Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us." Like my father. . . He interrupted my thought. "So I'm stuck here," he said retorted.
"That's it? For the rest of my life?"
"It depends," I said. "Some campers only stay for the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble— about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."
"So monsters can't get in here?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."
"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"
"Practice fights. Practical jokes."
"Practical jokes?"
"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm.
"So. . . you're a year-rounder?" he asked.
I nodded as I pulled out my camp necklace. "I've been here since I was seven," I said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college." I explained.
"Why did you come so young?" he said. And it all comes back to. . .guess who?! DAD!
I played with the college ring on my necklace. "None of your business."
"Oh." He stood there, awkwardly silent. "So. . . I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted?"
Looks like somebody has a death wish. . . "It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's of Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of summer session unless. . . " you got a quest.
"Unless. . . ?"he asked. "You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time. . ." I couldn't bring myself to say it.
He changed the subject—sort of. "Back in the sick room, when you were feeding me that stuff—"
"Ambrosia," I corrected.
"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."
Does he know? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease. . . "So you do know something?"
"Well . . . no." My heart dropped. Again. "Back at my old school," he continued, "I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"
"I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so. . . so normal."
"You've been to Olympus?" he asked. "Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."
"But. . . how did you get there?" he asked, somehow amazed.
"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor. You are a New Yorker, right?" I could tell he lost me at 'six hundredth floor'.
"Oh, sure." He said. I continued. "right after we visited, the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping . . . I mean—Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon. But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."
"I've got to get a quest…" I mumbled to myself. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem . . . " At that, I heard Percy's stomach growl. "Go ahead. Dinner's starting soon." He left, and I stood there, tracing random shapes onto the railing.
After a while, I went back to the Athena cabin. Everyone was lining up, and I ran to my spot in the front. We all sat down once we got to the tables, and Chiron stomped his hoof, and raised his goblet. "To the gods!" he said.
We all did the same. "To the gods!"
Then, as always, the nymphs came by with the platters of food, and I filled my plate with barbeque and a couple of strawberries. I walked up to the sacrificial fire and pushed some bbq in. Athena, please, grant that I am granted a quest. . . It was the same prayer I'd been reciting since I was seven.
I went back to my seat, and sat down next to Nike Samuels and Minerva Gandamo. "Who's on our team for Capture the Flag, Annabeth?" said Nike. "It's Hermes, Apollo, and us." I said. The rest are with the Ares cabin."
"Hermes?"said Minerva. "Why them? I mean, it's just a bunch of undetermined half-bloods? Well, we'll figure out a strategy, right, Annabeth? Like always."
"Well," I said, "There's a new guy, and he's got some pretty powerful ability. I think he may be a key asset. . . his name is—" I was cut off by the sound of Chiron pounding his hoof again. Mr. D stood up. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."
Not for long.I heard the Ares kids cheer, but it sounded more like an ugly roar. Mr. D continued, "Personally, I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."
Chiron mumbled something to him, most probably a correction to Percy's name. "Er, Percy Jackson, I mean. That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."
We all shouted joyfully, and went down to the amphitheater.
"Is that who you were talking about?" said Nike. I kept quiet, trying to think. We all sang the same songs, same fire. All we could think about was capture the flag. Once the campfire was done, we went silently back to our cabins. It wasn't long before I fell asleep, and dreamt of Luke.
A/N: So, I won't be writing a lot in a while, cuz I promised 2 lend my copy of Lightning Thief to my BFFL. Please read and review!!!
REVIEW REVIEW!!! The contest is still going on, so the first 5 people to review get their own character in the capture the flag scene! I can't write til I get them! So please, click the lil green button. Oh, and if you're one of the first 5, I'll PM you and ask several questions so I can make your character. thanks!!!!!
~Sword-WieldingDemigod12697
