Chapter 1 - Castor

Preparations have been grim for a week now. Our camp was a mess of unruly teenagers, panicked nature spirits, and war supplies. I've never seen my summer home so distraught, not even when Tantalus was the camp director or when war between Zeus and Poseidon was threatening to break out two summers ago. Well now it's really happening, with Kronos' army threatening to invade our backyard at any moment… at least according to Annabeth. Chiron seemed to agree, which was good enough for me, not that I doubted her at all. I learned a long time ago, never bet against Annabeth. She's been here for ages, far longer than anyone else, and I think I can count the number of times she was wrong on my hands.

Apparently, she found all this information on her quest where she ran into Luke's army. To be honest, I have no idea what Annabeth, Percy, and that satyr were really up to. I just know they were in the Labyrinth? Like the original Labyrinth; yeah, the one with the original Minatour, Minos, and Adrianne (my step-mom which is still so weird to me). Part of me admired Annabeth for being so brave. Another part thought it was so reckless, diving headfirst into unspeakable terrors as a fourteen year old. Not to mention Percy. I just know three things about him: he's Poseidon's kid, my dad, the camp director, likes to annoy him, and he saved the world two summers ago. I don't think I ever spoke to him, but he seemed cool. Him and Annabeth were just so confident and fearless. Like nothing could ever touch them, that death would never come for them. Was I supposed to be like that? Or because my dad is the Wine Dude I never got the same heroic genes. So many people at camp seemed crazy to me, so courageous or strong or powerful. How do I fit into the picture?

I shake my head and run from the pavilion, carrying as many crates of water and juice boxes as I can into the woods (the Stoll brothers had paid us a pack of cokes to include the juice boxes, don't ask). Clarisse had been setting up defensive barriers near Zeus' Fist the whole morning alongside Beckendorf and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin. Something was up with her because she was so angry and snappy, I mean more than usual. I've heard rumors floating around that a guy she had a crush on went insane; some guy names Chris? It came from the Aphrodite kids, so it could be just a lot of pegasus dung. Regardless, her intensity had really brought all of us to a hundred. The threat has never felt so real, not since Thalia's pine tree was sick last summer. Even then I never truly felt any danger. Within a few weeks Clarisse had successfully brought back the Golden Fleece which healed Thalia's tree.

I heaved the crates next to some platforms designed for the Apollo kids to shoot their arrows from.

"Clarisse, this should be the last of liquids. Is there anything else we should bring? Maybe some food?" I wiped the sweat off of my brow as I looked around. Beckendorf was setting down some tripwires hooked up to vials of green liquid.

"No, the food will make people sluggish. Thanks Castor." Clarisse barely looked up from the trap she was setting, a pitfall with wooden spikes.

Her voice was also tight, as if it would snap at any second. It's clear her nights have been restless as the bags under her eyes were more prominent than ever. Despite her bad attitude most of the time, I appreciate all she has done for us. I know it wasn't easy to shoulder so much responsibility whenever Annabeth, the other person we look up to, goes missing on quests.

I sighed as I ran back to start picking up my own equipment from the armory. As I dashed through the familiar woods, I saw dryads and satyrs putting on wooden armors and shields made from bark. Some carried thick branches that had been smoothed into clubs, while others had slings with pouches of rocks and acorns. I never got why people thought David was the underdog in that fight with Goliath. If you see how powerful these rocks get launched… well let's just say I am never littering.

Pollux and I were the last ones to the clearing. Tyson the cyclops was helping Beckendorf and Jake Mason with the catapults while Clarisse and the other Ares kids were practicing phalanx formations. Lee Fletcher, the counselor from the Apollo cabin was directing his brethren amongst different vantage points, making use of the platforms that were hastily assembled. Annabeth was with her siblings at a command tent, surely discussing plans. Everyone was here, even the Hermes cabin was lined up in a loose formation led by the Stoll brothers.

"Castor," a familiar voice called out to me. I looked back at my own brother, Pollux. He had grown taller than me in the last year even though I was older, his blond hair barely visible underneath his helmet.

"What's up?" I gave him a brave smile, but I don't think it came out that way.

"Have you heard from dad?"

"No," I muttered. Our dad was out there, checking in on the minor gods. It felt so much emptier when he wasn't here. "But he's watching over us, I know it."

He didn't answer, but he gave a slight nod. His armor straps were done wrong, which brought a real smile to my face. I walked up to him to readjust it for him.

"What?" He asked slightly confused, but when he realized what I was doing, he groaned. "I could never get this stuff right."

"Me neither until Clarisse almost bit my head off that one time in capture the flag."

Pollux laughed, "I remember that, I had gotten lucky that day. That was when Connor threw rotten eggs at us right?"

"I thought that was Travis," I chuckled as I finished up. "To be honest it was probably both."

"I still remember how mad Annabeth was, but man she was scary." Pollux picked up his sword to put it on his belt. "They all make me nervous. It's like they're… I don't know, like-"

"I know what you mean," I said softly. "It feels like they're different from us, right? Like they're real heroes…"

Pollux nodded glumly. "Do you think we could ever do that stuff? Go out there and kill monsters? Save the world?" He laughed a little bit at his own words as if it was silly.

"I don't know. I can't even imagine it." I looked down. I mean what have I ever done besides play games in camp and help with the strawberries? Even when I've helped kill a monster, it was always just as support for the Athena kids or the Ares kids under the watchful eyes of Chiron.

I glanced over at my brother and sighed. "But today we can. Look at us. We're children of Olympus." And I was right. Since a few summers ago Pollux and I have both leaned down, helped by all the farm work and exercises we do at camp. While Pollux was lankier, I was stockier, but both well built.

Someone giggled behind us. "And a bunch of idiots." Katie Gardner leaned against Pollux, smiling at him. Normally, she's always lecturing the other campers, but she was always more lenient with us.

"Hi Kaite," Pollux's voice cracked a little causing Katie and I to laugh. Slowly his face began to tinge pink.

"What's up Katie?"

"You guys ready? Annabeth wants to know everyone's status," Katie began to tie her hair into a bun so that it would fit under her helmet. "By the way did you guys eat breakfast?"

Pollux nodded earnestly. "We're good to go, and we did eat breakfast. Please don't give us any of those wheat and barley bars."

Katie gave us a suspicious look and shrugged. "I don't know why boys hate healthy snacks."

"I don't think anyone likes those things Katie," I muttered.

"What did you say?" Katie whipped her face to me.

"Nothing…" I quickly found a great interest in my spear.

Katie sighed, "Just make sure you guys stay safe. Don't get into too much trouble ok? This isn't some stupid training Chiron makes us do. This is real."

Pollux nodded silently and fidgeted with his leg while looking over the clearing. His hands gripped around the hilt of his sword.

"Hey, why don't we pass some water around?" I suggested. Doing anything right now would be better than nothing. "We still have to get those juice boxes to the Hermes cabin."

Without saying a word, Pollux nodded. My brother and I split up, running around to deliver refreshments to our fellow campers, leaving Katie to prepare her cabin before the battle began.

Just as I wrapped up with the dryads the ground shook. I thought I had gone deaf and insane because the earth just exploded. A wall of angry red boulders began marching towards us. Wait, not boulders but ugly giants armed with tree trunks as clubs and flattened cars as shields. I cursed as I ran as fast as I could to my brother.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the Ares line being tossed back like ragdolls while Beckendorf yelled something. Two large rocks slung from the catapults, hitting one of the giants square in the chest. Fletcher and his siblings lit the other giants up with arrows as I scrambled to Pollux who was next to Katie.

"Pollux!" I panted and bent over breathing hard. He pulled me into a hug. "Stay with me, don't leave my side."

"Of course," he broke away and gripped my shoulders. "Are you ready?" At that moment, we saw at least thirty dracaenae burst from the labyrinth, reinforcing the dwindling giants that were being picked off.

My heart thumped harder than it ever has in my life. Things started to slow down as I ran with the Demeter kids to meet our enemies. Greek fire exploded at the feet of the snake ladies while more monsters and traitor demigods swarmed out of the tunnel. Annabeth, her cabin, and Argus got there first, slamming into the enemy line. I surged forward, hyping myself up to join them.

I dodged an arrow that clipped the side of my face before jumping on top of a giant's thigh, stabbing my spear as deep as I could. To my surprise, it dissolved instantly. As I landed onto my feet, I felt myself smile. Before I could even take in what I did, I rolled instinctively to my left right before a dracaenae could slice me to ribbons. Malcolm slammed his shield into both the snake trunks while I shish kabobed her right through the chest.

I was feeling good, almost as good as the cool summer nights singing songs with my friends or taking care of the strawberries with Pollux and Katie. Little by little, I felt like we gained ground. At some point, I even saw Katie turn a telekhine into a bushel of corn. I laughed or chuckled. I wasn't sure, but it was apparently insane enough to spook some enemy half bloods.

"Malcom, do you think we can break their lines?" Before I could get my answer I saw the problem. Tyson was riding a giant, but he was driving that thing right to us. "Come on Pollux!"

I sprint to the giant, dodging random spears and swords from monsters and demigods alike. As I got to the heel of the giant, I drew my knife and slashed the achilles tendon. With a roar it buckled while Tyson kept slamming a bronze shield into its nose. I looked back, and to my horror Pollux was being cornered by two half bloods I didn't recognize.

I leapt farther than what I thought possible and caught a sword mid swing, pushing him off my brother. Meanwhile Pollux pushed the other off with his shield. He was bleeding from the leg.

"Solace! I need a medic!" I screamed as I turned my attention back to our enemies. "Pollux, can you fight?"

Using me as support, I could feel Pollux nod. He was lying. There was no way he could stand for long. I roared and levied my spear towards both of the demigods. I didn't care that they were half bloods like me. I had to protect my brother. Just as they began to charge, Tyson landed on one of them, squishing her flat.

"TYSON! Take Pollux to the medical tent!" I yelled before the other demigod could recover from what just happened. I'm not sure if the cyclops understood, but within half a second Pollux was dangling from his collar being dragged to our rear ranks.

I turn back to my opponent and barely dodge a slash at my throat. I parry back hard, backing up to levy the longer reach of my spear. In a flash, he jumped the distance coming with a flurry of attacks. My heart was leaping out of my chest. Everything came into laser focus as I drank in every detail before me. I felt myself being pushed back, and there was no opening. Slowly, after each exchange I began to feel the sweat on my brow, the numbness in my hands from the vibrations of my spear. I felt the fear of losing, of dying.

I grit my teeth, wrestling my emotions. Calm down. Through deep breaths, I looked for an opportunity to gain the upperhand. I had to get back to my brother. Then it happened. A feint to my chest. I went to block only to see the trick too late. I felt a cold feeling in my left arm. In a single move, I was on the ground with my head swimming. My arm felt weak, and warm, and wet. I didn't dare to look. I croaked for a medic but nothing came out.

Pollux. Dad. Katie. I looked up to the sky thinking of nights at the campfire. Chariot races with the Demeter cabin. Cool mornings picking weeds with my brother on the strawberry fields. Then I saw him, a regal man with the skin of teakwood. His eyes were the color of gold. Were those wings? Why did he look so sad?

I sigh and close my eyes for just a second. I hope my brother is safe.