1

Could this be the one?

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, alongside Chiron. A young half-blood, about my age, lay in the entrance with Grover sprawled out to the left; the boy's hand scrunched around the scruff of Grover's neck. The boy looked terrible – tears stained his bruised and bloodied face. Matted dark hair swept across his forehead, his eyes totally obscured. This blue t-shirt looked torn and stained from the fight. He's not dead...well, I think.

As we neared, I could see the trickle of blood flowing from Grover's mouth. I began to think the worst, my heart pounding worse than Thalia's old rock music, but then I heard a groan of 'Food'. I couldn't help it as a smile flickered across my face – trust Grover to think of food at a time like this!

We finally reached them, and I collapsed onto my knees beside Grover. It is just so typical of Grover to get himself into another situation like this. First with Thalia, but this time, they made it. Could it be that..."He's the one. He must be."
"Silence Annabeth," Chiron cautioned "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."

Despite him telling me to bring him inside, he picked them both up and slung them over his back like luggage, cantering away into the darkness. I trudged back towards the camp, the bitter rain splattering against my face. Dozens of questions rampaged through my mind: Who is this kid? Could Grover have possibly found a child of the Big Three again? Which child of the Big Three could he possibly be, or is this just another average demigod? What powers might he possess? Is he involved with what's going on at the summer solstice? What was it that was stolen anyhow? So much has gone off tonight. And a Minotaur! Why does some random kid get that lucky chance?

I eventually reached the Big House, wind whipping my hair across my face. As I entered, Mr D and Chiron suddenly ceased talking, both of them staring at me. They had obviously been talking about the boy and the prophecy, so I don't see why they shut up when I walked in – I already know all about the prophecy; well, most of it. I suppose they may have been talking about the summer solstice too – but I don't mind getting my fingers into a bit of information about that!
"We have decided that it would be best if you were to nurse Percy-"
"-Percy?"
"The newbie" said Mr D in an impatient tone.
"Yes, Percy-Percy Jackson- back to health." Chiron continued.
"Erm, yeah, sure." I muttered, "But what about my normal duties?"
"I'm sure we can work that out." Chiron said, waving away the matter, "Now, will you please go and look after our new guest - he's just in the other room."
"Of course, sir," I said, and then walked over to the ajar door.

Just before I reached the door, I heard a mumble saying "Get away!" from inside the room. I opened the door quickly but silently and ran into the middle of the room. No one was there except Percy. It must have been Percy then, I realized, he must talk in his sleep. I walked quietly over to his bed, he twitched every so often. I picked the ambrosia and nectar off the side-cabinet that was next to the wooden bed, and spoon-fed him whenever he was semi-conscious. He kept on dribbling, I couldn't help but smirk, it was just like feeding a baby.

***Next Day***

Later on he mumbled a bit louder saying "I don't have any food!" What on earth was he dreaming about? After a few more boring minutes of spoon-feeding, I decided to get my new book on architecture, from my cabin, to entertain me. So I cautiously crept out of the Big house, and towards the cabins. I met my brother, Malcolm, at the door of the Athena cabin.

"What happened last night? Where have you been all morning? Who is the new kid everyone is talking about?" He threw question after question at me. I waited till he had finished his rant and then I finally spoke, "The answer to your first question is: Grover found another demi-god and they got attacked by a Minotaur. The answer to your second question is: Chiron asked me to feed the new boy-his name is Percy- ambrosia and nectar. And the answer to the last question that you asked me is: the new half-blood that Grover thinks is pretty powerful, but I think he is just another average demi-god, although he looks like no one else, so I don't know."

"Okay. So you won't be doing your camp chores for a while? I wonder who this new demi-gods god parent is..." he said thoughtfully (yeah, children of Athena tend to think a lot).

"Chiron said he is going to work something out so people can do my chores. Anyway, I need to get my book quick because I am not supposed to be out of the Big House yet. Bye."I pushed past him and walked over to cabin six. When I got inside, I walked over to my bunk at the back of the room and picked up the architecture book that was laying open, face-down, on my bed. Then I jogged back to the Big House and down the corridor and then into the room where Percy was still un-conscious on the bed.

I kept on spoon-feeding him and wiping bits of drool off his chin for a few more hours until he opened his eyes. I took the chance of speaking to him before he fell asleep again, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"

"What?" He croaked. I looked around, checking nobody was listening.

"What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!" He must know something if he was a son a one of the Big Three, then again he might just be an ordinary camper.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I don't..."

Someone knocked on the door, I quickly filled his mouth with pudding; I didn't want to get caught not doing my job! Percy fell unconscious as soon as he gulped down the nectar. Chiron trotted in, his bow slung over his back- he must have just finished his archery class.

"Hello, Annabeth. Nice to see you've being nursing Percy. How's he doing? Has he woken yet?" Chiron asked.

"Hi, Chiron. He's doing fine. His cuts and bruises have gone, but he is still quite a bit pale. No, he hasn't woken up yet." I replied, I lied about him not waking up because I didn't want him scolding at me for not alerting him at once. Even if I did tell him, Percy would have fell unconscious more or less straight after I went to get Chiron.

"Yes, he seems to be making a fine recovery. He'll be up and about in no time. Well, I'd better go and deliver the news to Grover, he will be glad that the boy isn't dead," Chiron said, and then trotted out of the room and into the woods. I fed Percy another spoonful of nectar and then sat on a comfy arm-chair and read my book.

A few minutes later, my stomach rumbled, as if on cue, the conch horn sounded: breakfast time. I marked my page, fed Percy a tea-spoon of ambrosia, wiped drool off of his chin, and then left the room in a hurry to the dining pavilion.

Just as I sat down with my siblings at the Athena table, the nymphs came out of the trees and served us crunchy cereal. As I slowly ate my cereal, my thoughts wandered over to Percy. I wonder what Grover thinks is so special about him. I mean, all Grover talks about nowadays is Percy this...Percy that...I still have trouble thinking that a half-blood, who hasn't had any training, can kill a Minotaur! I finished my meal and then went to the sword arena to practise. I hadn't practised for a while; nursing Percy had kept me busy.

When I got to the arena, I met Luke practising his moves with his sword- he is said to be the best sword-player in 300 years! I was just about to walk out and let him have some privacy, when he turned around and spotted me. "Hey, Annabeth," He gasped, his fore-head beaded with sweat.

"Hi, Luke, I see you've being practising hard," I said as I looked around the room, all the dummies had been shredded to pieces.

"Sorry, I should have left some for everyone else," He said guiltily.

"Oh, it's okay. The Hephaestus cabin have made some new ones, they're in the store cupboard," I said, trying to make him feel better.

"How long have you been standing there?" He asked.

"Not long, I just came in," I replied.

"Okay. Do you want to practise with me? I'll teach you some moves." He asked.

"Alright, but go easy on me though." I said.

"What? Easy? But you're really good with a knife, especially that one," He pointed to the knife that was strapped to my arm.

"Fine," I sighed. We battled for ages, and he kept on pressing me harder. He won most of the battles, I only won a few.

"I beat you! Haha," I laughed.

"I won most of them. I went easy on you on the ones that you beat me, though."

"You so did not,"

"Yes I did!"

"Whatever, there is no point arguing with you. You never give up," I huffed. Luke smirked. I sheathed my knife, while Luke cleaned his sword."See you later," I said.

"Bye," He replied. As I walked back to the cabins I realized that I had left my book in the Big House. So I changed direction and headed to the Big House. I could smell the sweet scent of the strawberries as I past them. The smell filled my nostrils with goodness. Caster and Pollux must have been walking nearby or satyrs could be playing their reed pipes. I ran up the steps three at a time, with my hands in my pockets. I walked down the quiet creaky corridor. I then turned left into the room that was occupied by Percy. I spotted my book on the arm of the armchair and cautiously walked across the room. I noticed that Percy was shivering so I fed him two spoonfuls of nectar and threw another blanket over him, he ceased shivering then. I took one last look that everything was okay and then closed the door quietly and headed back towards the cabins, again.

***In The Athena Cabin***

I sat on my bed and read my book; I finished it in the hour, I know, I am a very fast reader. I decided to design a monument that I would like to make in the future. So I decided it was going to be a very, very important house for someone who is famous or important .e.g. the prime minister. Or it was going to be a very, very special building for a well-known company. I sketched it, erased a bit, improved it, sketched it, erased a bit, improved it. I did that again and again until I was satisfied with it. Katie, my sister, (A/N it doesn't tell you any other names of the Athena children in the book so I made a name up) came in while I was admiring my handi-work, figuring out a way to improve it.

"Awesome! That looks really good, Annabeth! You are going to be a fantastic architect someday," She said, amazed.

"Thanks, but I'm sure your just as good, Katie," I smiled at her.

"No way am I that good," She said, "I've got to go to the volley ball courts now, Tracy wants to have a match. See you around," She walked out the door, closing it gently. After a while, I decided to stick with my monument, if I changed it any more I would end up ruining it.

A few hours later, the conch horn sounded again: lunch time. I got up of the floor, put my pencil back on the wooden table, had one last look at my new monument, and then headed to the mess hall (dining pavilion).

Mmmm...jacket potato with cheese and beans, one of my favourites. While we ate, we talked about architecture (obviously), and what we had done during the day. It turned out that every one of my siblings had a more interesting day than me, although, mine was quiet funny when Percy talked in his sleep.

"I had a canoe race with the Hermes cabin, my team won because we had the best strategies." Malcolm boasted.

"I beat Tracy at volley-ball. She wasn't very good at it, don't tell her I said that," Katie whispered, then she said (not whispering), "So Annabeth, what did you do today?"

"Erm..., it was pretty boring actually, I fed Percy- the new demi-god- nectar-"

"Percy? Isn't that the new half-blood that killed the Minotaur with his bare hands? Awesome! All camp has been talking about him and how he had the lucky chance to kill it..."Tyler, another sibling, ranted on and on about Percy. The conversation always ends about Percy, nowadays. Poor kid, he'll be badgered with questions as soon as he's conscious, or maybe he won't be the big gossip when he wakes up. As soon as I had finished my lunch, I decided to climb the climbing wall. So I turned right and jogged up to the wall.

When I got there, I put on some protective gear, and then sprinted up the wall like a cheater. I reached the top with a minute and a half before the lava was due to fall. I was quite pleased with myself- I had beaten my high score by six seconds. I slid down the rope, onto the hard ground. I caught my breath before running back to my cabin to get some rest before the campfire at 8:10.

***A Few Hours Later***

The conch horn sounded. All the Athena cabin-10 children in all- lined up in senior order behind me, I had been at camp longer than everyone, except Luke, so I had the right to lead the line. When everybody was lined up, I started to walk towards the mess hall. All the other cabins were doing the same behind their cabin counsellor.

Once everyone was settled at their cabin table, the nymphs came out of the trees and served us: spaghetti bolognaise.

"Cherry coke" I said into my cup. Instantly, the cup was filled with fizzing cherry coke. I saved my two fattest, nicest looking meat balls for the offering. When I had finished, I got up and walked over to the fire in the middle of the pavilion. I scraped my meat balls into the fire whilst saying "Athena". The sweet smell of olives, filled my nose. I breathed the smell in for a moment and then I turned and sat down at my table.

"As a reminder to you brats, there is a campfire at 8:10 tonight,"Mr D said tonelessly. the camp filed out of the pavaloin, group by group. I could'nt be bothered going to the campfire, it was already 8:00. So I went to my cabin instead and slept.

***One Day Later***

I went to find Grover because Percy was just about awake now. I found him in the forest playing his reed pipes. Everyone at camp, even grover admitted it, new Grover was rubbish at playing the reed pipes, although he was improving over the years. I covered my ears and walked over to him. I had to shout over the noise, "GROVER!,"

Grover gave a startled jump and turned around. He grinned and said "Hey, Annabeth," I took my hands away from my ears and said,"Percy is nearly awake he keeps on waking up for a while and then goes to sleep, thought you ought to know, he will be able to walk round camp and train some point today,"

"Cool! I'll go visit him now, I take him outside for some fresh air. He's been cooped up to long in that house." He jumped up, put his reed pipes in his pouch that was hung around his waist, and ran off to the Big House. I decided to wait in the porch for Grover in case he needed help, so I started to walk slowly to the Big House. When I got to the porch Chiron (in his wheelchair) noticed me and waved me over.

"Hello, Annabeth. Going to see Percy or looking for Grover?" Chiron asked.

"I was going to help Grover because he was going to try and bring Percy outside..." I replied.

"Oh, Grover already brought him out side, he's on the other side of the porch," Chiron said.

"The satyr was galloping like a lunatic up to the house!" Mr D (Dionysus) exclaimed. Chiron rolled his eyes.

"He used his pipes to help him get Percy to the other side of the house, I think Grover is Feeding him nectar so he'll wake up quickly,"

"Okay, I'll just wait here then," I said.

"Great, you can play pinochle with us while you are waiting," Mr D said with a grin on his face, I sighed. I was just about to lift myself off the railing when Percy came round the corner, followed by Grover. Grover mumbled something to Percy, and then pointed at Chiron. Chiron turned and smiled at Percy, who was clutching a box that had a Minatour horn in it.

"Ah, good, Percy," Chiron said," "Now we have four for pinochle,"

He offered Percy a seat to the right of Mr D, who looked at Percy with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great big sigh."Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you,"

"Oh, thanks." Percy scooted a little further away from him.

"Annabeth?" Chiron called to me.

I came forward and Chiron introduced us."This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now,"

"Sure, Chiron," I said. I looked at Percy, he was probably about my age, a couple of centimetres smaller. With his normal shade of skin and short, messy, very dark brown hair, he was exactly what I thought an ordinary Manhattan boy, except his eyes were amazing. They were a magnificent deep shade of green and blue- a sea green colour. When you looked into them it felt like you were staring at the peaceful ocean.

I glanced at the Minotaur horn in his hands, then back at him. He probably wanted me to say something like, Wow, you killed a Minatour! But his eyes had startled me so I said the first thing that can to my mind, "You drool in your sleep."

Then I sprinted down the lawn, not wanting to make him feel more embarrassed. I ran and ran until I reached the cabins. I walked over to the Hermes cabin- cabin eleven- and knocked on the door. Luke answered the door, I blushed a tiny bit.

"Hi. Erm..., Chiron said to make room for Percy in here," I said, looking inside the cabin, it was jam-packed.

"Okay," He smiled, and then turned and faced the cabin and shouted over the noise "Make room, make room, come on. We've got a new camper coming soon."

The cabin groaned. Luke grabbed a sleeping bag from one of the cupboards and placed it on the floor at the back of the cabin.

"There we are," Luke said walking back to me, "All sorted."

"Thanks, bye."

"See you," Luke said. I walked out; Luke closed the door behind me. I went back to my cabin and grabbed a book, and then went back outside, to sit in front of cabin eleven and read while I waited for Percy to come.

A few minutes later, Percy, along with Chiron (in centaur form), came over to me. When they reached me, I looked Percy over, still wondering how someone could have such nice eyes. He looked at my book, squinting at the title.

"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"

"Yes, sir"

"Cabin eleven," Chiron told Percy, gesturing towards the doorway. "Make yourself at home," i let Percy study the outside of the cabin before I opened the door.

Chiron didn't go in, the door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him, they all stood and bowed respectfully.

"Well then," Chiron said, "good luck Percy. I'll see you at dinner."

He galloped away towards the Archery range. Percy stood in the doorway as still as a statue. I figured he wasn't going to move so I helped him. "Well? " I prompted "Go on, " Percy started to slowly walk in but tripped before he took his first step. This is going to be a disaster. A few people sniggered, but none of them said anything.

I announced "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven,"

"Regular or undetermined?" A Hermes kid asked. Percy looked at me, not knowing what to say.

"Undetermined" I said.

Everybody groaned.

Luke came forward. "Now now campers. That's what we are here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor right over there."

I smiled. Isn't he welcoming?

"This is Luke" I said. Percy was looking at me. "He is your counsellor for now"

"For now?" Percy asked

"You're undetermined" Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travellers," Percy looked at the spot that he now owned, then he looked at all the campers face's.

"How long will I be here?" He asked.

"Good question," Luke said, "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?"

The campers laughed. I decided to save him from more embarrassment.

"Come on," I told him," I'll show you the volleyball courts."

"I've already seen it," Can't he see that I am trying to make this less embarrassing?

"Come on,"

I grabbed his wrist and dragged it outside. I could hear all the kids of cabin eleven laughing at him.

When we a few metres away, I said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."

"What?"

I rolled my eyes and mumbled under my breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one."

"What's your problem?" He was getting angry now, "All I know is, I kill some bull guy-"

"Don't talk like that," I told him, "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"

"To get killed?"

"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"

He shook his head, "Look, if the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories..."

"Yes." Get on with it.

"Then there's only one."

"Yes." Your point?

"And he died like a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So..."

"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."

"Oh, thanks. That clears it all up."

"They don't have souls like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even a lifetime, if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re-form."

He was silent for a moment and then, "You mean if I killed one, accidently, with a sword-"

"The Fu... I mean your Maths teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."

"How did you know about Mrs Dodds?"

"You talk in your sleep."

"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"

I glanced nervously at the ground. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."

"Look, is there anything we can say without it thundering?" He sounded a little whiny, but he didn't seem to care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven anyway? Why is everyone so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."

He pointed to the first few cabins, the three main cabins. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are...or parent."

I stared at him, waiting for him to understand.

"My mom is Sally Jackson," He said, "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."

"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad." Duh! I did feel a bit sorry for him; he had no family now, except for his god parent. But it's not like they are going to look after him.

"He's dead. I never knew him."

I sighed. I'd had this convocation before, "Your fathers not dead, Percy."

"How can you say that? You know him?"

"No, of course not."

"Then how can you say-"

"Because I know you. You couldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"You don't know anything about me." He's so stubborn.

"No?" I raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out a lot of them."

"How-"

"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."

"What does that have to do with anything?" He looked embarrassed, there was no need to be, everyone here had dyslexia and mostly everyone had ADHD.

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD- your impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal. Of course, the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't you seeing them for what they are."

"You sound like...you went through the same thing?"

"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like one of us, you couldn't of survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar."

"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."

A few minutes later a husky voice from behind yelled, "Well! A newbie!"

I turned round to look at Clarisse and three of her big, ugly friends. As always, they all looked mean-looking like Clarisse; they all were wearing camo jackets.

"Clarisse," I sighed, "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"

"Sure, Miss Princess," She said, "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

"Errete es korakas," I cursed, in Greek it meant 'Go to the crows', it was a worse curse than it sounded. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," she said, but her eye twitched. She turned towards Percy. Uh oh..."Who's this little runt?"

"Percy Jackson," I said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares.

He blinked. "Like...the war god?"

Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"

"No," he said, then he said really unwise, "It explains the bad smell."

Clarisse growled, "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."

"Percy" He corrected.

"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."

"Clarisse-" I tried to say.

"Stay out of it, wise girl."

This is going to be real bad. But I stayed out of it, Percy didn't argue. Her probably thought he could handle it, idiot.

He handed me his Minotaur horn. Before Percy had time to think, Clarisse had him by the neck and was dragging him towards the cinder-block building: the bathroom.

Percy was kicking and punching, but it took no effect on Clarisse at all. I followed them, keeping my distance. She was taking him to the girls' bathroom.

Clarisse's friends were all laughing.

"Like he's 'Big Three' material." She pushed him towards the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."

Her friends snickered.

Percy looked at me, where I stood in a corner, watching through my fingers.

Clarisse steered him over the toilet and started to push his head towards to toilet bowl. Percy was trying really had not to have his head dunked in the toilet.

Then something happened. The plumbing started to rumble, the pipes started to shudder. Suddenly, water shot out of the toilet, making an arc over Percy's head. They water was aiming at Clarisse. More water shot out of the toilet, hitting Clarisse bang on the face, so hard, it pushed her onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backwards into a shower stall.

She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming towards her. But at that moment, the other toilets exploded with water, even the showers acted up. Some of the water hit me, I was drenched. They water carried on until it had pushed the camouflaged girls right out of the bathroom.

Then the water shut off completely.

The entire bathroom was flooded. I hadn't even been spared. I was dripping wet, but I hadn't been pushed out the door. I was standing in the exact same place as before, staring at Percy in shock, not a single part of him was wet. He looked down at himself and the dry spot on the floor, where he had sat.

He stood up, his legs shaking.

I said, "How did you..."

"I don't know" What a stupid answer, you were the one who made the water come. I think he would make a good team mate at capture the flag.

We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and smelled like sewage. She gave Percy one of her famous, evil, hatred glares. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."

Percy said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth."

Her friends had to hold her back. The dragged her towards cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.

I stared at Percy. Percy looked at me.

"What?" He demanded, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," I said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."