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Percy had thought he’d been adjusting to this whole demigod thing pretty well. He’d gone on a quest, saved the world, helped win some Capture-the-Flag games, and had a whole month of training under his belt. He wasn’t the best at anything (except canoeing) but he wasn’t half bad. He was keeping up with most of the other campers his age (Annabeth didn’t count; she’d been doing this since she was seven.) And while training was exhausting, it wasn’t more than he could handle.
Well, until the scorching heat of late July that is.
Because Percy didn’t have any cabin mates to do activities with, he was often ended up paired up with another cabin. Like foot racing, for example. For that rather miserable activity, he was paired up with the Athena cabin. Which was… Look, most of the cabin didn’t like him, but he got to hang out with Annabeth, so that was cool, even if she did run circles around him.
Anyway, Percy and the Athena kids were doing their cool down laps after an “easy” 7 stades run (that was almost a mile! Who thought that was easy!) when Percy started to feel kinda awful. Like, okay look, running wasn’t Percy’s thing. He wasn’t good at it; he didn’t like it, and he always kinda felt terrible during it.
But this…this was a different kind of awful. He was thirsty, exhausted, and his head hurt. His arms and legs felt heavy and awkward, like they had been replaced with clay. Percy stumbled and fell, barely managing to catch himself so he didn’t smash his face into the track. Most of the Athena kids ran right past him, but at least Annabeth stopped to jog in place.
“Come on, Seaweed Brain,” she teased him. “Only a few more laps to go. They’ll be easier if you keep moving. Afterwards you can flop on the ground like a dead fish.”
Percy didn’t respond. He was too busy trying to keep his arms from collapsing underneath him, let alone get up and continue running. Had it been this hot the whole time they had been running? And why did his muscles feel like they were melting?
Annabeth stopped jogging. “Percy?” She sounded concerned.
Percy tried to look up at her, but apparently that was a bad idea. His head spun, and his stomach lurched, and he just barely missed throwing up all over Annabeth’s sneakers.
Annabeth jerked backwards in alarm. “Percy!” she cried, quickly followed by, “Balsam! Ash! Hickory!” Then she was kneeling on the ground next to him, a hand checking his neck and his forehead. “Percy?” she asked again. “Can you talk to me?”
All Percy could manage was a groan in response. Something was wrong. It was hot, so hot. His arms were shaking, barely managing to keep him from completely collapsing. And he was so tired.
Water, he needed water. Now if only he could figure out how to ask for it.
Percy was vaguely aware of their dryad instructors telling the rest of the kids to do their stationary stretches. Their voices sounded like they were getting closer. Soon more people were crowded around him. He heard Annabeth saying something (“I don’t know what happened. He just collapsed.”)
The cool, rough hands of the dryads grabbed him, and slowly, carefully lifted him up, carrying him away to somewhere. They seemed to be doing their best not to jostle him, for which Percy was grateful. After all, his stomach still felt like it might try to exit his body.
Eventually, Percy noticed that he was somewhere cooler, and out of the sun’s glare. They laid him down on something soft, and someone put something cool and wet on his forehead.
“Percy?” Percy opened his eyes to see Chiron standing over him. But his eyes fluttered shut again. He couldn’t keep them open.
Someone lifted his head and pressed something against his lips, but Percy had given up trying to figure out what was going on around him. He was just too tired. He heard more talking, and felt a sharp prick in the back of his hand.
Someone said, “Rest, Percy.” So that’s what he did.
*****
One of the first things Percy noticed upon waking up was that someone had removed his shoes. Then he noticed that someone had removed his shirt. He opened his eyes, his body felt stiff and slow to respond. He was in the infirmary. And Annabeth was sitting in a chair next to him, reading her giant architecture book. He tried to shift in bed, knocking loose the damp towels that someone had placed on him.
His movement must have caught Annabeth’s eye. “Don’t,” she said, putting aside her book and reaching out a hand to hold him in place.
“Don’t grab me,” Percy managed, trying to wiggle away from her.
“Rest and I won’t have too,” Annabeth countered.
Percy huffed, but settled back down in the bed.
Annabeth grabbed a cup of something with a straw from his bedside table. “Drink this. Slowly,” she ordered, holding it where he could sip it.
Now, Percy had been expecting nectar, so he jolted with surprise when it tasted like… well, he wasn’t sure exactly what it tasted like, but it sure as heck wasn’t nectar.
“What is that?” he asked.
Annabeth looked at him like, Really? “Gatorade,” she said. “Now drink.”
Percy didn’t even try to argue with her. Annabeth had that look on her face like she was about to give him a lecture. He figured it was best to just lay back, sip his gatorade and listen.
“Don’t do that!” she began. “Collapsing, puking, and then almost completely nonresponsive. Honestly, if you’re feeling bad you need to tell someone before it gets to that point. You are so lucky that this happened at Camp, instead of somewhere where it is harder to get medical attention.”
“I think what Annabeth is trying to say is that she was worried about you, Percy,” Chiron said, walking over to his bedside. He turned towards her. “Annabeth, could you give Percy and me some privacy. There are some things I need to discuss with him.”
“Yes, Chiron,” she said, placing the cup back on the bedside table. She gathered up her book. “I’ll just be out there,” she said, gesturing off towards the front room of the Big House. Then she left, leaving Percy with Chiron.
“May I?” Chiron asked, gesturing towards Percy.
“Mmhm,” Percy hummed, and allowed Chiron to start checking him over, feeling his pulse, taking his temperature, checking his IV bag because, oh ya, he had an IV in his hand. Man, something really bad had happened to him, hadn’t it?
“How are you feeling, Percy?” Chiron asked.
“Um, okay? Better,” Percy replied. “What happened?”
“Technically, a combination of things,” Chiron replied, continuing to check his vitals. “Heat exhaustion, dehydration, hyponatremia. They can happen to anyone, especially if you don’t know what symptoms to look out for or how to prevent them. You’ll be fine.”
“Hypo-what?” Percy asked, only understanding half of what Chiron was talking about.
“Low sodium levels,” Chiron clarified. “You weren’t replacing your water and salt levels as fast as your body was losing them, and you started to overheat. Your instructors should have noticed your symptoms before it got this far. I will have a talk with them about that.”
“Oh,” Percy said, squirming a bit. He really didn’t want to make a big fuss over all this. It wasn’t their fault that he collapsed.
“That being said, there is one thing I should bring to your attention as well,” Chiron continued. He paused in his examination and looked Percy in the eyes. “It has been a while since I have had any siblings of yours as my pupils, but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten the traits you all seem to share. You are a child of Poseidon, Percy, a son of the sea god. And as such, you are a part of the sea, as much as it is a part of you.
“You and your siblings have always had a higher concentration of salt and water in your bodies,” Chiron said. “You have always needed more of that than the average human, and thus, are more prone to dehydration and hyponatremia than an average human. Do you understand?”
Percy swallowed. “Ya, I think so,” he said. Then tentatively asked, “ So this is going to happen again?”
“I hope not, child,” Chiron said, placing a comforting hand on Percy’s head. “A water bottle and some salty snacks should help mitigate that. I’ll make sure you have some electrolyte solutions on hand to add to your drinks if necessary.” Chiron paused, then asked, “You are on good terms with your mother, correct?”
“Ya, I love my mom,” Percy said, pushing himself upright. Good, no dizziness or shaking.
“Then I will discuss this with her as well,” Chiron said, gathering up the damp towels Percy had been covered with.
“Can I call her?” Percy asked. Even though he no longer felt like he was going to collapse or throw up, he still felt miserable.
Chiron’s eyes softened, “Of course, my dear boy.” Chiron rummaged around in his side bag and pulled out a drachma and a prism. “You are excused from your activities for the rest of the day, on the grounds that you rest, and try to stay cool and hydrated.”
“Okay,” Percy agreed. Ya, that sounded like a good plan.
“I have excused Annabeth from her activities, as well,” Chiron said, guiding Percy into a standing position.
“You don’t trust me?” Percy stated. Figures.
“Not that at all,” Chiron said. Seeing that Percy was steady on his feet, Chiron got to work removing his IV. “It’s more that I don’t want Annabeth distracted or sneaking off from her own activities. And I figured you would enjoy the company, especially now that Grover is off on his quest.”
Chiron taped a cotton ball to the back of Percy’s hand. “There. Now, your shirt and shoes are at the end of the bed, and there is water and pretzels in the kitchen, okay?”
Percy nodded. Chiron smiled, and ruffled his hair. “Good. Enjoy yourself.”
*****
After dinner, Percy settled into his bunk, angling the prism until it formed a rainbow in the rays of the setting sun. Percy tossed his drachma up and down a few times before saying, “O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering.” Then he tossed the coin into the rainbow and asked, “Sally Jackson. Our apartment. Manhattan.”
Percy really hoped that the goddess wouldn’t mind him trying to send a message to a mortal. How weird were the gods about that?
The rainbow shimmered, and the image of his mom appeared. She was sitting at the kitchen table in what must have been their new apartment, scribbling something down in a notebook.
“Mom!” Percy called.
His mom jumped, looking around until she locked eyes with him, “Percy? Hi baby! How are you? I didn’t expect you to call.”
“I’m okay, I guess,” Percy brought one of his legs up to his chest, hugging it, resting his chin on his knee. “That’s uhhh… kinda why I wanted to call you. Did Chiron get a chance to talk to you today?”
His mom put her pencil down. “Yes,” she said. “He said you were in the infirmary earlier today. Something about overheating, your sodium levels dropping, and dehydration.”
“Ya, that pretty much sums it up,” Percy agreed, picking at a stray thread on his shorts.
“Hmmm,” his mom said. “You doing okay, baby?”
“Ya, I’m fine,” Percy said. “Chiron said I’m going to be fine.”
“Then what’s bugging you, baby?” his mom asked.
Percy pulled at the stray thread some more before answering. “It’s just… I don’t know,” he started. “I thought the dyslexia and ADHD were bad enough. But it turns out that I’m, like, part fish too. I guess I’m just more of a freak than I thought.”
“Percy,” his mom said, her voice almost impossibly soft, “You are not a freak. Or a fish. You are my son, my brave little boy. Just because there are some things different about you doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you.”
“Most people don’t collapse because it got too hot,” Percy argued.
“It happens to other people too, sweetie,” his mom reassured him. “Especially in places warmer than New York. This isn’t a uniquely demigod thing.”
“Ya, but it doesn’t happen to them because they’re a fish that needs more salt water,” Percy mumbled into his knee.
“And last time I checked you didn’t have gills or scales,” his mom countered. “Besides I’m sure it happens to other people for reasons that you don’t have to deal with. Percy, sweetie, these things just are sometimes. It doesn’t make you a fish.”
Percy grumbled into his knee.
His mom sighed, “Oh baby. We’ll figure this out. You’ll be okay. Now, I was thinking of sending you some snacks along with your water bottle. How do chips and cookies sound?”
Percy looked up at his mom. Despite everything, snacks still sounded good. “Blue ones?” he asked.
His mom smiled, “Of course, sweetie.”
That got a smile out of Percy. “Thanks,” he said. And then, “Hey Mom?”
“Ya, baby?”
“Can the water bottle be blue too?” Percy asked. “With, like, a clip or a strap so it’s easier to carry?”
“I’m sure I can find something like that,” his mom said. “Anything else we need to talk about?”
Percy brightened, “Do you want to hear about the sandcastle Annabeth and I built today?”
His mom leaned forward, “Absolutely! Tell me all about it!”