Chapter 7: Messed up time

Percy

I wake up by the sound of crackling flames. For a moment, it feels like I just dozed off besides the campfire at Camp Half Blood, and deep down inside I hope that could be true. Before I open my eyes, I say a little prayer to the gods, asking them if it's possible to make everything that happened to be nothing more than a bad dream. But when I blink a few times and although my eyesight's still a little fuzzy, I can tell I'm still finding myself in the middle of a nightmare.

"Welcome back."

Annabeth is sitting at a campfire she made, poking it up with a stick. To my relief, she looks unharmed, although her facial expression is worried and her hair has some dirt in it.

"Thanks," I mutter. I notice that it's gotten dark again. "When did the lights go out?"

"Not so long after you passed out. I barely managed to light a fire," she nods at the flames, "but it worked. How're you feeling?"

"Fine," I lie, "How long have I been out?

"I don't know for sure, but about an hour, maybe two." I curse myself. That's a very long time.

"What happened to you?" Annabeth asks.

Good question. What had happened to me?

"I could hear her, in my head. Just like in my dreams, but now I could also feel her presence. Her power…" my voice dies. I felt so helpless. Gaea had told me she didn't want us to send an Iris message to anyone. She insisted I should stop resisting her will, but when I didn't listen, she took over. She controlled me - made me go far beyond my personal limit. I could feel myself slipping away, as if I was going to die. Right before I blacked out, she told she won't go gentle on me next time.

I look up at Annabeth, but she doesn't ask me any more questions, and I'm thankful for it. Together, we sit at the fire in silence. I stare into the flames; thinking about the others. I wonder if they made it out in time, with the Athena Partenos.

"Percy?"

"Yes?"

"When you were out, I was checking on my watch constantly, and I noticed something odd." I can sense she's been wanting to tell me this ever since I woke up.

"You finally agree that green is not your color?" Annabeth gives me a 'shut-up'-glare.

"No, you see. Something's wrong. One moment, the minutes rushed by, like they merely lasted seconds. A bit later, the seconds lasted for minutes. Like time had slowed down."

"Maybe your watch is broken?"

"I don't think so. You remember how long it stayed dark yesterday? It wasn't as long as it has been the day before."

"So?"

"So, I figured the darkness represents the night, and when it's light, it means it's daytime. But as those periods of light and darkness are not the same length…" she doesn't finish the thought. Maybe she's right about the light and the dark, but still, I'm not convinced.

After a while, Annabeth whispers: " There's something else. You got hurt, when you tried to summon that water. I think it must be have some sort of dehydration. You had a burning mark, right there." She points towards my right shoulder.

I frown - my shoulder doesn't feel burned at all. I pull my shirt aside, only to see nothing's wrong with me. "You're sure I was burned?"

"Look closer."

I narrow my eyes and inspect my shoulder a little more. Then, I notice that my skins seems irritated and a little red. Maybe Annabeth is right.

"It's gone, but … It takes weeks to heal a wound like the one you had," Annabeth says.

I stare at her, not sure if I should believe her or not. Or better – If I want to believe her.

"So you're telling me that either I magically healed or that … someone has been messing with time?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you."

"But if that last thing is true, I wonder… Who has such power? There is nobody I can think –" Wait a minute. There is someone I can think of, someone who has the power to bend time. But that can't be true, because he's gone. He must be gone…

"Don't believe him to be dead, Percy. Titans cannot die. If we're lucky, he's shattered, so he won't be able to reform," a voice echoos in my head.

"You already figured it out, have you?" I look Annabeth in the eye.

"I did. Only one person is able to bend time at his will. The lord of time. The Romans know him as Saturnus," she says.

I shiver, "and we know him as Kronos."