Part 1

Chapter 1

Bad Beginnings

I woke up in the middle of a field. Gods, my head hurt worse than after that one party with the Ares kids. When they weren't trying kill you, the children of Ares were throwing wicked parties. I tried to think about what I did right before conking out in this field, but nothing came to mind. Then a vague memory of some fireplace started to take shape in my head. Oh Gods, I was dead. Hell and everything.

"Watch out."

I jumped up and turned my head towards what I thought to be a minotaur. Only, it wasn't charging me, it was slithering. I put my hand on my pocket, only to find that I had an iPhone. I wasn't sure why I had one. Turn it on urged a voice in my head. I expected it to be Kronos, but it wasn't.

I pressed the home button, and out sprang Backbiter. But before I could do anything, the bull was right in front of me. I jumped out of its path, but unlike a minotaur it snaked around, and grabbed my foot in its massive hand and dangled me upside down.

Unless I wanted to impale myself, I had to drop my sword. I heard a sickening crunch as the bull squeezed my leg. The pain made me sick to my stomach.

Right then, an arrow whizzed past me and struck the bull in its arm. It straightened up and roared, breaking the silence. The bull dropped me, giving me enough time to grab Backbiter, but my thoughts were clouded by pain.

I managed to dodge the bull and slice through its belly. The beast collapsed to the ground, and so did I.

I felt like passing out, and there was nothing stopping me from doing so. As I started to close my eyes, I could see this girl dragging me towards a fence line. It was Camp Half-blood's barrier. Then, everything went black.

# # #

I started to dream about being in Tartarus. There was the feeling of absolute hopelessness as I looked into the darkness. It was terrifying to say the least.

Did you like my gift? a voice called out from the pit. It was Kronos's voice.

"What do you want?" I asked.

It laughed, shaking the ground where I stood, saying I sent the Ophiotaurus to help you, servant! The ground shook again, but not from him. I heard thunder.

If you had known, like a competent person, then you could have burned its entrails.

"Why? I'm not really looking to barbecue a snake," I said, not really thinking.

You lost the last chance to redeem yourself and kill the Gods.

It dawned on me that I was trying to destroy the Western world, but the rage was gone. I didn't feel the revenge I'd been fueled by.

"No, now leave me be, Kronos. I won't help you."

It must have really been raining outside because I could hear the thunder cracking against the sky.

"Why don't you like barbecue?"

I opened my eyes. Thalia was sitting next to my bedside as the rain pounded outside the med pavilion.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to see you," she said cheerily, far more cheerily than I thought possible.

"What—What's going on? Why am I here?" I croaked.

She smiled and held my hand. "There's been a lot going on since you passed out."

"Wait, did I die?

She nodded.

"Is this like a second chance? Can I change?"

"Of course you can."

This all felt weird, and I was getting a headache. I sat up in the bed, but I almost collapsed from weakness.

"Why is it raining? We're in Camp Half-Blood, right?"

Thalia grew pale, and sadness filled her eyes. The storm raged on harder. "Because none of this is real," she said.

This time, I really did wake up. It was raining, just not inside the camp. Instead of Thalia was Clarisse. You know the movies where the wounded hero is cared for by the benevolent woman? This was not that movie. I wished Clarisse was part of the dream, but I was really awake.

I almost said something rude, but I knew better than to in my condition. "Why am I alive?" I asked, not intending for it to sound philosophical or anything.

"I've been asking that whole time you were unconscious."

I moaned as I stretched my arms. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost two days. Today, you started to mumble things that didn't make any sense."

Clarisse handed me a glass of nectar that I sipped slowly. It tasted like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, which put the bitter thought of my mother in my mind. I didn't feel like finishing it even though I hadn't drunk much. I handed it back to Clarisse. She smirked.

"Something got you down?"

"Yeah, a lot of things, actually." I looked away from her gaze. "What happened to everyone?"

"After the war, we put the camp back together. Things for the most part fell into place. The only problem is the Gigantes—" She stopped like she shouldn't have told me this.

"What about the Gigantes?"

"Someone will tell you sooner or later. I don't want you freaking out right now."

"Never mind then. Clarisse, I'm asking about the people whom I hurt." I adjusted myself—hopefully inconspicuously—and said, "I know I really messed up."

She laughed humorlessly before saying, "Messed up is an understatement. So many of my friends, family—they're all gone. You know, a lot of your own brothers died fighting."

They were actually half brothers, but I still felt bad. I looked down at the sheets again. I felt like throwing up. Actually, I did.

To Clarisse's surprise, I jumped out of bed and crawled over to a basin and puked. Once I had finished, Clarisse helped me up, though she had a hard time supporting my weight. I could have walked, but she wouldn't let me.

"See, I shouldn't have told you anything," she grumbled as she got me back on the bed. "You're one of those stress vomiters."

I shook my head and drained a glass of water that was by my bedside. "Could you get me some crutches? I need to talk to Chiron."

"You're still weak."

I managed a smile. "Since when did you care?"

She sighed and grabbed something from a closet. "You might want to put some clothes on first. She threw me a pair of jeans and a camp tee shirt. I put on the shirt and struggled to get the jeans on. "Mind looking away?"

.

On my way to the Big House, a lot of people stopped and stared, but no one said anything. I kept my head down and kept walking. There were only a few campers that I recognized. Chiron waited on the front porch, drinking an iced tea. Mr. D. was there too.

"I wondered when you'd wake up or die, Luke Castellan," Mr. D. said over his cards.

I did my best to bow to Chiron, and ignore Mr. D.

"Hello Luke," Chiron said.

I went to say something, but I couldn't. I just wasn't sure what I should be asking. Why am I even here? What happened?

"You realize everything you've done?"

I only nodded.

"You unleashed Kronos, helped kill hundreds of campers, including your friends, and caused a series of events that have yet to conclude."

"I know. I betrayed everyone."

To my surprise, he put his hand on my shoulder. "But you also sacrificed yourself to save Olympus."

"Chiron, why aren't I dead?"

"As I said, there are some damages that haven't been remedied yet. Kronos's, or should I say Gaea's, army is capturing Gods. Thanatos was one of them. Without him, the passages out of the underworld are unguarded. Someone must have brought you back to the mortal world."

"Why would anyone do that?"

Chiron shook his head and stamped his hooves. "I do not know. Strange things have been happening lately. Percy Jackson and Jason Grace were abducted several months ago without any memory and sent to opposite camps."

I almost forgot about Percy.

"So whoever's doing this is trying to mess with us?" Clarisse elbowed me in the side.

"Seems so. Greeks and Romans have never been on good terms, but the tensions become unbearable."

"So, is someone doing something about it?"

"We sent several people to handle the situation. I imagine that you're wondering what's going to happen to you. You'll be staying back at the Hermes Cabin."

Sure, change the subject.

I couldn't tell you how awkward it was to go back to my old cabin because I'd betrayed them. Also, being twenty-one made things weird. Travis and Connor were surprisingly nice to me. Everyone else glared. I had no idea what to do. I didn't blame them for hating me, but I wasn't exactly to the point of self-loathing that I welcomed it.

At dinner, I sat alone for the most part, hardly eating. Some kid sat next to me. I think his name was Thomas. He was really small, like a fourth grader with a pimply teen's face.

"Are you really him?"

I slammed down a Pepsi. "Yeah, I'm a living legend," I said bitterly.

"I'm waiting for my dad to claim me. Maybe I'll go to one of the new cabins."

"What new cabins?"

"For the minor gods. Percy Jackson made a deal with the Gods that they'd claim every one of their children because of what happened."

"No wonder the Hermes Cabin was sorta empty."

"Well, I have to go."

He went off and sat back with the other younger campers.

I knew that I had led a pointless rebellion. I wanted better treatment of the demigods, but I wasn't really thinking realistically, and my solution wasn't even a solution. It was a way to get Kronos into power. I was glad that Percy got demigods better treatment, and that what I did wasn't an entire waste. I just wished that I could have slowed down and realized that there were better ways to go about things. Rebellion doesn't always achieve everything.

Once I was finished, I took a walk. Clarisse was near the edge of the forest, so I joined her.

"Hey."

"Leave me alone, Luke."

"You sure you want to be out here alone? I heard some weird stuff's been happening."

Clarisse motioned towards a scabbard with a large knife in it. It was new, from one of her brothers, if I remembered correctly.

"Hey, did you hear that?" she asked, stopping.

I replied, "Hear what?"

Clarisse shook her head. "Nothing, just nerves. Things haven't been normal since—well, you know."

We continued on for some time. "Hey, do you know who shot that arrow at the Ophiotaurus?"

Clarisse stopped again. "Nobody was there, Luke. We saw the burning monster and assumed that you killed it and dragged yourself over the line before passing out."

"No, I didn't." I got a sickening feeling, but I didn't vomit. "You said that the body was burning?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Before I woke, I had a dream with Kronos. He said something about me having to burn the Ophiotaurus. It's supposed to give you the power to defeat Gods."

"Is there a risk with Kronos?"

I shrugged. "I'm just saying, Kronos wanted me to light up crime-against-nature, and somebody did. That seems kind of concerning."

"Luke, do you have your sword on you?"

"Yeah." I took out my new phone that I still didn't trust entirely. Mortal objects were always dangerous.

"Why do you have that?" she

I pressed the home button and my sword appeared in place of the contraband item.

"Luke, why do you still have that?" she asked, pointing at Backbiter.

"It appeared in my pocket, when I was about to get attacked. Some voice in my head told me to use it. I don't think it's bad."

"Hearing voices is a bad thing."

It was at that moment, Chris and another camper I didn't remember jogged up. There was something strange going on because their eyes were golden. Clarisse didn't notice.

"Hi, Chris, Will," she said.

"Hello, Clarisse," Chris replied back in his own voice.

Maybe I was paranoid. They seemed normal enough, and Clarisse would have known if there was something wrong. She said goodbye to them and kissed Chris.

"Jealous, Luke?"

I shook my head. "Are Chris's eyes usually gold?"

"You're seeing things."

I was about to say no when Clarisse grabbed my arm and pulled me down. An arrow shot past where my head had just been. Will was standing with another arrow notched. Without thinking, I grabbed Clarisse's sword and flung it at his bow, breaking it in half.

"Nice going, idiot. Now he has a sword."

I rolled my eyes before charging at Will. I sliced at his arm, trying not to mortally wound him before hitting him in the head with the hilt of my sword. He fell to the ground. Chris was harder to get since we were more evenly matched. I parried his attack and tried to jab him. Instead, Chris's arm came straight down on mine, slicing in and making the red flow. I cried out and stepped back.

"Now would be a good time."

I kicked the second sword back towards Clarisse before refocusing on Chris. He dodged me easily and jabbed again. "Shit, do something."

"I don't want to hurt him."

"That's right, child. Don't hurt your precious meat puppet," Chris said.

"What are you?" Clarisse yelled.

"You don't need to know. By then, our brothers will turn the Romans against you."

Chris laughed in a cold shrill way before raising his sword to strike. Right at that moment, a satyr came up behind him. He wound up his club and winked at me before whacking Chris in the back of the head. Chris fell down the ground with a thud.

"Thanks, Coach Hedge," said Clarisse.

"Yeah, thanks."

Coach Hedge took the putrid smelling cigar out of his mouth and said with disgust: "Those are Eidolons, and I assume that they were looking for you." He pointed his cigar at me. "They might transfer into another body soon. Grab one and we'll take them to the infirmary."

I picked up Will and the old goat carried Chris to the medical pavilion. On the way back, we neared archery range.

"Chiron," I called out. He came bounding out, bow still in hand.

"What happened?"

"Eidolons are here," Coach Hedge said.

"Hang on, explain that again?"

Chiron sighed. "They are disembodied spirits sent here by Gaea. She must want you dead."

Clarisse and I let the two walk ahead of us and talk privately.

"Thanks for not hurting Chris."

"No problem. He was the one hurting me."

Clarisse pulled out a canteen of nectar. I shifted Will onto one side of my shoulder and took a swig before handing it back to Clarisse.

Later that night, all the camp counselors were called to the Big House. Connor and Travis occupied my old spot where there used to be a decent Tommy Bahama beach chair. Now there were two beat up, nylon, folding chairs. I assumed this about my appearance.

Butch said the first thing: "Why do we care if Kronos's army tries to kill this traitor?"

"I didn't ask to come back to life," I spat back.

"Careful, Luke, Butch," Chiron scolded. "We're not only here to talk about Luke's predicament. We have knowledge of Gaea's plans to foil the negotiations with Reyna."

"So what do we do?" Pollux asked.

"I think we need to go down there with another convoy," suggested Katie. "Since they might not believe us through an Iris message."

"I think we need Luke since Gaea wants him dead," said Clarisse.

"Well, who should go then?" Chiron asked.

"Someone who knows their way to Camp Jupiter," someone else suggested.

No one said anything.

"I know my way there. I recouped at Camp Jupiter after my failed quest," I said since no one else spoke up.

Will said, "I hate to say it, but if Luke knows, then he should go, and so should Connor."

"Why me?" Connor asked.

"Because you're the competent twin, and we'll still have another twin with us."

"Fair enough, now we just need a third," said Chiron.

I expected Clarisse to volunteer without hesitation. Instead, Drew stepped forward. "I should go. If a fight breaks out, I could stop it in seconds with my charm speak."

I didn't know how I felt about this. I thought that this was going to be an actual convoy, not a goof and Drew.

"Fine," I said.

"But what if he really is a traitor?" Pollux asked.

He didn't have to refer to me as he, but I didn't say anything because I would have said the same thing if I were in any of the counselors' positions.

Chiron intervened. "I trust Luke to carry out this mission."

I doubted that Chiron liked this plan at all, but I didn't think anyone had any other options.

Authors Note: Thanks for reading. If you want to check out my own fiction, my medium account is Alison Lilla. I'm currently working to publish a novel called The Stoner Idiot, a coming of age novel. If you're interested in funding this novel, check out my link here: help-publish-novel-thestoner-idiot

2016: Reviews are still welcome and greatly appreciated.