The Loss of a Hero

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Percy POV

Pence looked at Chloe. "You want to see the data? What, you think you'll find more, from devices I personally handmade, than I did?" He laughed. "Well, no harm in trying, I guess." He snapped his fingers, and the devices and tablet computer reappeared. He handed the tablet to Chloe. "There you go, knock yourself out."

Chloe just nodded, staring intently at the screen. She sat down on the water couch, tucking her legs beneath her, and started tapping quickly on the device, utterly concentrating on it alone.

I chuckled, then turned my attention to Nico. "Hey, how you feeling? You doing alright?"

Nico looked up at me, still nervous as ever, but the calmest I'd seen him so far. He nodded slowly. Eve had her hand on him, gently rubbing his back while her fingers glowed gently with green light.

"Eve?" I said. "What is that glowing-hand thing you do?"

Eve looked up at me. "Um.. It's kind of a thing I can do, because of my life source..." She looked around nervously at all the people in the room, shrinking back a bit.

"Oh, okay." I figured that if she didn't want to discuss it, that was okay. I didn't need to know, and I figured it was sort of personal. Changing the subject, I asked, "So, Eve, where are you from?"

"Oh.. Nowhere, really. I just kind of...drift." She laced her fingers with Nico's. "The short time I... traveled with Nico... was really the only time I had kind of a home..." She looked away.

I nodded. "I'm sorry. That's harsh."

I had to stop myself from offering her a place at Camp Half-Blood. With how alive I felt, it was sometimes hard to remember that I was dead, and that I was under a magical disguise. To everyone else, I'd never been to Camp, so it would seem strange, and maybe kind of rude, if I offered a home to her that I wasn't even a part of.

After a few minutes of silence, Chloe looked up from the tablet computer. "Grab a plate, Pence," she said.

"Huh?" He walked over. "What do you mean?"

Chloe grinned. "You got some words to eat." She tilted the tablet so Pence could see what was on the screen. He took one look at it, and his mouth fell open. "Impressed?" she asked, wearing a bright smile.

"Wh- but- ... how did you do that?!"

"I've got my ways," Chloe said, smiling mischievously.

I laughed. "Don't bother trying, Pence. Resistance is futile."

"Yeah... I think I might have figured that out already..." He groaned.

Chloe giggled, then looked over at me. "Hey, Jake, could you give Pence a hand setting up a projector of some sort? This, I believe, is definitely something that everyone will wanna see."

End of Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hey, guys, sorry about the wait. First Fanfiction crashed, then I was super busy. But, here we are! Another chapter! Amazing! ^-^

So, I can't believe that it's bleedin' August. Only about a month, then school starts.. I want to run and hide, but I know it will find me wherever I go.. Sadness.

Speaking of which, if I'm not mistaken, my love has departed for the East Coast already. That kinda slims down the opportunities for me to see her. However, I have a plan. As soon as I figure out that she's back, I'm gonna frickin beg and plead 'til my lips turn blue if I have to, but I am gonna do my absolute best to convince both my parents and hers. I have a plan to help get my parents closer to okay with it, maybe even enough to get them to tolerate it, if I get lucky. It involves going to a school that I don't want to for my senior year, which will be a drag, but hey, if I can get them to sweeten the pot with allowing me to be with my love, then there is nothing in Heaven or on Earth that will stop me from doing so.

Anyway, I'm boring you. Read and review!