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That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. At last, it was time for capture the flag. The night is warm, sticky and ominously dark, with the occasional howl of a monster deep in the forest.
…
“Hey.”
Percy managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over his equipment. It weighed a ton, and the straps were digging uncomfortably into his skin. He figured that everyone at camp had years to build the strength to casually walk around with tens of pounds of metal on top of them - years that he didn’t have. His shield alone was the size of an NBA backboard and weighed about a million pounds. Percy figured he could have snowboarded on it fine, but running with it would be nearly impossible. He had walked less than a kilometer, and he was already out of breath.
She kept marching quickly, and Percy struggled to keep pace with her.
"So what's the plan?"
"Just watch Clarisse's spear," Annabeth said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"
"Border patrol, whatever that means."
"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."
She pushed ahead, leaving him in the dust.
Easy, Percy thought. He could do easy. He barely knew how to hold a sword and use a shield but it couldn’t be too hard, could it? Annabeth wouldn’t assign him something beyond his capabilities. Chiron’s rules would prevent him from really getting hurt. It would be fine.
…
It was not fine.
On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.
"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed. In the moonlight, Percy saw her brandishing a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made Percy feel any better.
They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. Percy was alone. He could run. Or defend himself against half the Ares cabin - some of the strongest warriors at camp - that held a personal vendetta against him, with next to no training under his belt.
Percy ran. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
With his armor weighing him down, it didn’t take long for the Ares warriors to catch up to him. They splashed across the stream, into the blue team’s territory and quickly surrounded him. Percy cursed the heavy armor; he was never the fastest at running but this made it worse.
Clarisse thrust at him with her spear. Percy deflected the point with his shield, and then felt a painful tingling all over his body. His body hair stood on end and sizzled. His shield arm went numb, and the air burned.
Electricity.
Her stupid spear was electric, and Percy’s armor was completely metal. Percy collapsed on the ground as the electricity zapped him all over. Another Ares guy slammed me in the arm with the butt of his sword and Percy dropped his sword. They started kicking him, his sides back, chest, until his insides started to feel like jelly. Percy curled up against his shield. It took most of the blows, but the Ares warriors still got a few in.
"Grab his shield." Clarisse said.
Percy held onto his shield with all his strength, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear. Sparks flew, some of them hitting his skin and leaving small burns.
Now both his arms felt numb.
Sometime when he was on the ground, it had started raining. Thunder continued rumbling, closer than before. Some of the Ares warriors had finally noticed and were glancing at the night sky and each other nervously, but Clarisse and her right hand brother didn’t seem to care.
Percy’s heart jackhammered in his chest, as he stared up at them. At their weapons, they were more than ready to use. He thought about how Chiron, Grover and Annabeth had insisted that Camp Half Blood was a safe place for him. The only safe place for him.
He remembered his mother, the fact that she had intentionally kept him away from here until the literal last moment when their choices were death by the minotaur or camp. He remembered how his mother had put up with all of Gabe’s abuse for him, so that Gabe’s scent would lead the monsters away, because that option was safer, better for them than camp half blood.
"The flag is that way," Percy told them. All that desire to prove himself, to follow Annabeth’s orders evaporated. His mom had died trying to save him. Percy wasn’t about to die for a goddamn capture the flag game and let her sacrifice go in vain.
He wanted to sound brave, but his voice cracked, full of fear. He wasn’t even sure if the Ares warriors heard him over the rain. It was really starting to come down now; Percy felt soaked underneath his armor; the rain soothing his electrical burns.
"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."
"I didn’t do anything. You were the ones who attacked me!" Percy protested. Clarisse had grabbed him and tried to shove his head in a toilet before he barely learned her name.
Clarisse’s spear stuck Percy straight in the ribs. If he hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, he would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked his teeth out of his mouth. This head throbbed, and he smelt something burning. One of her cabinmate’s slashed his sword across Percy’s arm, leaving a deep cut.
Seeing his own blood made him dizzy—warm and cold at the same time. Percy watched it spill far too rapidly out of his arm, mixing in with the rain water and soaking the forest floor beneath him. This went beyond any stupid teenage summer camp game.
Thunder boomed, almost deafening. The storm was on top of them now. The natural canopy of the forest was shielding them, but that didn’t stop the massive droplets of rain and broken twigs from falling. Three of the Ares warriors took one look at the sky and ditched them, but it was too late. Percy was in no state to fight the other two off.
"No maiming," Percy gasped, in pain.
"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privileges.”
The guy and Clarisse laughed, and Percy’s blood turned cold. They were going to kill him. They were actually going to kill him. Electrocute him to death, stab him until he bleed to death or both. Percy’s vision turned blurry, and a tear slipped out of his eye. He didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not like this. He wanted to find out who his dad was. He wanted to bring his mom back from the underworld. He wanted -
He wanted to live.
Suddenly, Luke jumped out from the underbrush with the red team’s banner. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes and Apollo warriors covering his retreat. None of them sounded particularly elated - the fun, competitive spirit they had earlier was gone. Percy could barely see them through the rain.
Clarisse started cursing.
"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."
They took off after Luke, leaving him alone. With great effort, Percy managed to sit up. His head swam, and spots appeared in his vision. He was losing too much blood. He grasped at his arm, applying pressure but it wasn’t enough. His whole arm and a good section of the ground was soaked in blood.
Chiron cantered out from the woods, blowing the conch horn. He met Luke in the clearing, and exchanged a few words, both of them looking serious. Percy tried to wave, yell at them to get their attention, but the rain was too loud and it was too dark.
“-He was supposed to be with Annabeth on border patrol.” Luke was saying. “They were supposed to draw the Ares cabin out, away from this part of the woods.”
“We need to find him now.” Chiron replied, anxiously glancing at the sky. “He might be hurt. Organize a search party. The Hermes and Hephaestus cabins will head for the north side…”
Rainwater pooled over him, and the spots in Percy’s vision started to disappear. Percy managed to shakily stand up, still trembling from all the injuries and exhaustion. The moment he was on his feet, the storm eased into a light drizzle.
“You survived.” Annabeth said. Her voice was right next to him in the creek, but he couldn’t see her. "Not bad, hero."
The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.
All Percy’s fear switched to anger. He wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up! You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank!"
Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."
"A plan to get me pulverized. You left me alone to get beaten up and killed! For a stupid game!"
“Percy!” Their yelling had caught Luke and Chiron’s attention. Chiron quickly trotted across the stream towards him, crossing the distance within seconds. “You’re alive, thank the gods.”
“You’re hurt.” Luke said, arriving. He frowned at Percy, noticing the blood and burns. “What happened?”
“My plan worked.” Annabeth said, before Percy could speak. To his disgust, she had a proud look on her face. Her cheeks were flushed as he looked up at Luke for approval, like a sunflower following the sun. “Clarisse and her siblings decided to go after Percy. I lured them towards him, then doubled back to take out the rest of the red team in your path and then came back.”
She had actually left him there, for the Ares kids to pulverize. And she was proud of it. Percy could hardly believe it. If Percy hadn’t been hanging onto consciousness by a thread he would’ve exploded and shown her the temper that had gotten him kicked out of half his schools and straight into military school. Chiron and Luke looked stunned.
Before anyone could say anything, the rain stopped completely, and a bright green glow appeared in the clearing. Percy looked up to see a hologram of a spinning and gleaming three tipped spear: a trident.
"Oh shit." Annabeth said, looking stunned. “This is really not good."
Chiron found his voice. "It is determined."
All around Percy, campers started kneeling. Even Annabeth, though she didn’t look happy about it.
"What?" I asked, completely bewildered.
"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."
The hologram didn’t last long. The campers got up after it disappeared. Chiron told Luke to get the campers back to their cabins and settled in for the night, and then turned to Percy, who was swaying on his feet in exhaustion. Percy didn’t think he’d be able to make the walk back to camp, and Chiron must’ve realized that because he lifted Percy and swung him up to sit on his back. With pursed lips, he instructed Annabeth to pick up Percy’s fallen sword and shield and to meet them at the infirmary after she had cleaned up.
The next hour or so passed in a blur. Percy vaguely remembers Chiron bringing him out of the woods, into the infirmary and gently setting him on the bed. He remembers the prick of the needle as Chiron stitched his sword cut closed, and the faint pressure of nectar applied to his burns and bruises.
He must’ve passed out, because when he woke up, the camp felt still. It was late, still dark out. It wasn’t raining, but every few moments Percy thought he heard thunder rumbling in the distance. The nectar and Chiron’s legendary healing must’ve done their jobs, because Percy actually felt alive, instead of the exhausted walking corpse he’d been in the forest.
There were faint noises coming from a door at the far end of the infirmary. People talking. One of them sounded particularly angry. Percy quietly slipped out of bed, and hovered behind it, straining to hear.
“-Annabeth your actions today were unacceptable.” Chiron was saying. He sounded tired, like he had been repeating the same thing over and over. “Both as a camper and a leader-”
“But I won!” Annabeth protested. She sounded pissed. “Fair and square! No one died. We followed your rules! The banner belongs to me and Luke! It was the Ares cabin that beat Percy up! They should be punished, not-”
“And I will be speaking with Clarisse and the four other Ares demigods afterward.” Chiron interjected. “Right now I’m talking to you. Do you understand why I’ve called you here, Annabeth?”
There was a thump, like Annabeth stomped her foot, or kicked something. A desk, maybe. “Because Percy got hurt.”
“Yes, but do you recognize your part in that?”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Annabeth yelled. Her voice was shrill, even through the door. “It’s not my fault that he got beat up, that he couldn’t fight off-”
“That he couldn’t fight off five of the most powerful demigods at camp with barely a week’s worth of training?” Chiron continued, cutting her off.
Annabeth was silent.
“You knew that Clarisse had a vendetta against Percy. You knew that she was planning on taking her siblings to gang up on him. You left Percy alone to deal with five of them.”
“I came back as fast as I could-” Annabeth protested.
“Not good enough.” Chiron’s voice was unyielding. “He could’ve easily been killed. How long did you leave him alone for? A minute? Five minutes? Ten?”
Annabeth didn’t answer.
“It only takes a moment to end a life Annabeth. After witnessing Thalia’s death, you know this. And as a leader, you have to act accordingly. You have responsibilities. Yes, victory in battle is one of them, especially with the world we live in. But there are others, just as important. We spoke about this when I made you the leader of the Athena cabin. There are qualities that leaders need to be effective. To be good. Do you remember what they are?”
“Yes.” Annabeth said, the word sounding like it was grinded out between her teeth.
“What are they? Recite them for me.”
“Accountability, collaboration, communication, problem-solving and self-awareness.”
“Good. Now tell me, did you embody these qualities today?”
“... No.”
“Elaborate.” “Look, I get that I messed up, okay?” Annabeth huffs. “I’m sorry. I accept my punishment of no dessert. I’ll be better next time.”
“I don’t think you do understand, Annabeth. The consequences of your actions today go far beyond punishment equivalent to no dessert or extra chores. Now, elaborate, please. Start with communication.”
“Communication? My communication was fine. I told Luke my plan to lure the Ares cabin away. Percy what his station was.” She sounds baffled.
“Did it not occur to you to communicate to Percy that you were using him as bait for the Ares cabin?”
“... no. Okay fine. I’m sorry, I didn’t communicate the full plan to Percy ahead of time so he could prepare himself.” Annabeth says, annoyance in every syllable.
“And?”
“And what?”
“Did it not occur to you to have back-up waiting near Percy? So as soon as he lured the Ares cabin away he wouldn’t have been pulverized?”
“I couldn’t have spared anyone! There were more important stations and defense positions-”
“So having a good defense for a capture the flag game was more important than preventing Percy from getting hurt or killed?”
“... No. I should have communicated with my team to have someone nearby to help him.”
“Yes, you should have.” Chiron says. “Next quality, accountability.”
“... It was my fault I didn’t think to add extra protection around Percy, because he isn’t capable of defending himself. There. Happy?”
“No!” Chiron exclaims. “Annabeth, your plan set him up to be beaten up and electrocuted, possibly to the point of death!”
“That was Clarisse’s fault! It’s not my fault! Her actions!”
“Annabeth. You knew what she would do. It may have been her hands - and she will be punished for it - but you facilitated it. You set it up.”
“Oh, give it a break, Chiron.” A third voice speaks up, and Percy startles. It’s Mr. D. Percy hadn’t even realized that he was in the room. “You’ve spoiled her. Nothing you’re saying is really getting to her. Tell her what’s going to happen.”
“Mr. D-”
“Or don’t, I guess. I’ve seen this play out before. I’m going to arrange for Castor and Pollux to return home early, so they don’t get swept into the ocean by old Barnacle Beard when he finally snaps and destroys camp.”
“What?” Annabeth’s confusion, shock and fear mirror Percy’s own for a moment. Mr. D doesn’t reply again, and Percy hears, receding footsteps, another door opening and closing.
“Chiron, what’s he talking about? Destroy camp - what?”
“Percy’s father is one of the big three gods, Annabeth. One of the most powerful. You’ve done extensive research on the myths. You know that the gods are protective of their own, Poseidon far more than most. You should also remember how… complete his wrath is when any of his children or descendants are hurt or killed. He doesn’t hold back, and he isn’t precise. Entire fleets of ships and coastal cities have been wiped out in an instant of protective fury.”
“I know he’s dirty and rotten! Zeus wouldn’t let that happen! My mother-”
“Foolish child!” Chiron snaps, sounding angry. “Hermes, Athena and the other Olympians are doing what they can to convince Poseidon to spare your life, and the lives of the Ares demigods and this entire camp, and you would further provoke his anger?”
“I-”
“Zeus and Poseidon have been at odds since the winter solstice. So far, the other Olympians have managed to keep the peace. But now that Poseidon’s youngest child has been harmed? In the camp that was designed to keep him safe, no less? Well. It doesn’t look good. Mr. D has already given up, as you can tell.”
“But I-” “Enough, child. It’s late and I am tired of your stubborn complaints. Hermes and Athena are negotiating for your life. At a minimum, the punishment will be stripping you from holding any leadership positions at camp, including the Athena cabin, capture the flag games, and all other activities we hold. Even if Poseidon had not gotten involved, I would not allow you to remain leader of the athena cabin after you showed such little care and thought for the people you’re responsible for.”
When Annabeth finally speaks, her voice is small and scared. “I don’t want to die.”
“You likely will not, tonight.” Chiron replies. “Go straight back to your cabin. Give the lake and the ocean a wide berth. In the morning, make your offerings to Poseidon and beg for forgiveness. Apologize to Percy too, and if he chooses to forgive you, Poseidon might consider sparing you.”