Act I Chapter XVII: The Demigods Find a Piece of The Past
"Is there a Camp Half-Blood sign anywhere?" Percy complained as he slowly looked around the road that they stood on. They tried to stop and ask a few people where this camp was, and they all gave a confused and even concerned look. Reyna told them that she knew where the camp was, but she seemed to be having trouble finding it as well.
"No," Luke replied flatly. Percy looked along the road that they were walking on. They had been driving for some time until Reyna told them that it looked familiar. So, they parked the car and looked around. At grass. And trees. For what felt like miles.
"I thought you said you knew where Camp Half-Blood is," Annabeth chastised as she looked back at Reyna.
"I do," Reyna promised. She looked around again "It's just that everything looks the same."
Percy nodded his agreement. The road seemed to stretch on for miles. Behind him, there were trees on each side of the road, suffocating it. In front of him was a field of grass that stretched on farther than he could see. There was also a hill to his right. Maybe, they could get to high ground and scout.
"It is a forest," Annabeth stated. Percy walked towards the hill, leaving the conversation behind. It wasn't that he didn't want to hear it, more that he just had a feeling in his gut. Percy made it up the hill, and he stared at the scene in front of him.
Below the hill was a field that stretched all the way to the water that surrounded the island. There was a forest further back, but it looked odd. Some of the trees were destroyed and smashed. Other trees were leaning sideways about to tip over. It looked like a giant had slammed its fist into the forest to uproot some of the trees.
Near that was a field full of weeds and something dark below it. Like crops that had died and then been preserved. But it was the view directly in front of Percy that told him this was where they needed to be. The grass that had once been there was brown and dead.
What buildings had been there were long gone, and only the foundations remained. Shards of marble were scattered all around, with some rotted wood flaking the ground. For Percy, it looked like a kid had made a city out of dominoes and then got angry and threw a ball at it, shattering the pieces.
"Guys," Percy said as he turned back towards his companions. He didn't have to raise his voice as they all turned toward him. Annabeth took up a jog to make it to the hill. She almost barreled past Percy as she made it to the top, and she came to a sudden stop. A gasp left her.
Luke slowly made his way up the hill. When he made it to the top, his jaw clenched, and he swallowed painfully. Reyna was the last one up, staring at the ground the entire time like she was scared the ghosts of the Greeks would come back to attack her.
"It looks like someone dropped a bomb on this place," Luke said softly. "How many lives were lost here?"
"Too many," Reyna answered in a soft voice. Annabeth nodded her agreement. Percy looked away and stared at the ground.
"Chiron said that the Oracle is in a cave. Any ideas on where that cave would be?" Annabeth questioned as she looked around. Percy frowned in response. Was it a cave that led into the ground and was therefore somewhere in the forest? Was it a cave near the water? He could see where the waterline met what seemed to be a hill.
"Not really," Luke answered, examining their surroundings with a small frown.
"We could split up," Annabeth suggested. She looked around as well. "One can search the rubble here to see if there is anything useful around. Another person should search the field of what I guess is dead plants or grass. We don't know if there is a hatch or not that leads into the cave. One should search the cliffs near the water, and the last person can search the forest. I volunteer for that."
"I don't think that's a good idea. Monsters know that demigods used to live here. When they pick up on our scent, they'll come racing here," Reyna objected.
"I agree," Luke said with a nod. "We can't risk being attacked by monsters. We'll search each area together."
Luke was the first to walk down the hill, squaring his shoulders as he moved. His gaze stayed ahead, and as Percy made his way down the hill, he understood why. The ground was littered, not just with the debris of the buildings, but with pieces of weapons, armor, and... skeletons.
Percy stared at the remains littered all around, and he felt sick to his stomach. He looked at the sky. Percy knew those skeletons were long dead, but he felt like they were disturbing the final resting place of these spirits.
Annabeth gently pushed past him and started scanning around. If this bothered her, she did a great job of not showing it. A glance back showed that Reyna had walked down the hill but wasn't crossing the threshold between the grass and the field of the dead. It looked like she was hesitant to cross onto hallowed ground.
As Percy walked and tried to examine his surroundings, he realized how crazy all of this was. It wasn't even a day ago that he was training how to survive as a demigod. It wasn't even months ago that he was a normal kid going to school. Now, he was on an unapproved quest trying to save the world.
Percy kept his gaze on the ground, trying to avoid the skeletons and rubble but also trying to find some kind of secret entrance to the cave. It took him about three minutes to realize that it was useless to just walk around and stare at the ground. They would have more luck at the shoreline.
Percy started to walk closer to the forest, looking past it. If the stumps were anything to go by, the trees at the edge of the forest had been destroyed, creating a path toward the ocean. Percy stopped and resisted the urge. If he went off alone and got attacked, he would not hear the end of it.
His gaze moved over to Annabeth. She was kneeling by the foundation of each destroyed building and searching it intently. Luke had started to make his way closer to the field. Reyna was walking, not really looking at the ground. Her arms were crossed.
"Hey Reyna, you okay?" Percy asked as he slowly made it to her side. Reyna seemed extremely agitated. It was different from how he had seen her before. "It makes me uncomfortable too."
Reyna glanced at him and then looked away. She walked away from him, closer to the fields. So much for that. Percy frowned and heard a branch snap. He jumped and looked down at the branch, nope, that was a bone. Luke had stepped on a bone, and it sounded just like a branch.
"Don't feel too bad," Luke assured. He gently grabbed Percy's arm and led him closer to a place that didn't have much rubble around it. There were a few stones that looked like they were in a circle, and ash rested in the middle. Percy knew Camp Half-Blood had been destroyed long ago, and over the years, storms and wind should have cleared the evidence away. Instead, it looked like only a few weeks had passed.
Luke sat down in front of the ash. Percy could almost imagine a fire that once burned there. Marshmallows and chocolate passed around for campers to make s'mores. Luke grabbed the ash and closed his fist around it. He lifted his hand and watched the ash trickle through his fingers.
"The truth, Percy, is that Reyna is just like me: bitter. Why would the gods have kids in this godless world?" Luke questioned. "I've heard all the stories from when the gods were around. Hearing it from Chiron, you might think it was a great time. Peaceful, even."
"How can a time so peaceful lead to this?" Luke wondered as he looked up at the ruins all around them. "No, the truth is that the time of the gods is just like right now: with demigods fighting for their lives. It was even worse then. There was too much blood and destruction."
"You sound like you hate it," Percy noted gently. He watched Luke grab another handcuff of ash. "Why insist on this quest?"
"Because the world was bad with the gods around. It's just as bad now with them fading, but if they were to fade away completely, if all of them were to disappear, I'm afraid of what would happen. Things will only get worse, and that is why we gotta bring the gods back," Luke explained. His voice held a conviction that made Percy sit up straight.
"And when they are brought back, we demand that things change," Luke continued. "The heroes in all the old stories received gifts for their quests. They received rewards for what they have done. If we bring the gods back, they have to reward all of us who help. If the four of us agree that the only thing we want is for things to change, the gods have to abide by our request."
"I hope so," Percy muttered. "More importantly, I just want a safe place for kids like us."
"Me too," Luke agreed. He sighed and looked down. "It's hard, Percy. To train demigods and not know if they are going to die or not. There are times when I can look at a demigod and know that they aren't going to make it. There's another where I think they can, only to learn that they were killed in a surprise attack by a monster. To have a chance for a place that maybe not guarantees safety, but increases the odds of survival is something I will fight for."
"That's why I'm here," Percy stated. He nodded to himself.
"It's a good goal," Luke commented. "And, it's bound to make us mad just because we have to do this in the first place. We're just thrown out into this world without choice and sometimes no warning. Are you bitter, Percy, that you don't know your father?"
Percy remained silent. He couldn't tell Luke that he did in fact know his father. Especially since that was such a loaded conversation. Luke nodded and continued, "I understand, Percy. I really do. It sucks to just be dropped into this and not even know the person who did it to you."
"It makes it too easy to not care about anything. To wanna change something. Anything. Almost to hurt the person who did this to you," Luke muttered. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "If you ever have those thoughts, let me know."
Percy nodded slightly, but he couldn't help but stare at Luke. He nearly jumped out of his body again as something snapped near him. Annabeth spoke, "There's nothing here. Should we try the forest?"
"The cliffs," Percy suggested as he tore his gaze from Luke and slowly stood. "I have a good feeling about it. If they were trying to hide the Oracle, they wouldn't do it in the woods. Secret entrance or not. The Romans would just burn the forest, and that would hurt the Oracle. The cliff is safest. It would take time for the Romans to locate the cave."
"You might be onto something," Annabeth agreed, and she looked surprised.
"I have good ideas sometimes," Percy argued. Annabeth nodded. Percy turned his gaze to look at Luke, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Annabeth give Luke a reprimanding look and then shake her head. Percy decided to ignore it.
"Reyna!" Luke called. "We're heading to the caves."
Annabeth turned to catch up to Reyna. Percy waited for Luke to stand and looked back at him, "I don't think Reyna is bitter. She seems nervous being here."
"Why can't it be both?" Luke rebutted as he started to walk away. His gaze moved back to Percy. "Nervous to be in a place with all this death, to step anywhere and find another body, and bitter to realize that this was the past and could very well be the future. We are doing our best to change things and break this cycle, but what if we can't? What if we spend all this time trying to save the gods and bring the world back from the brink, only for Romans and Greeks to turn on each other again and bring us back to the start."
"That is what makes people bitter," Luke stated. He sighed. "Enough of that talk. Let's find the Oracle and really get this quest started."