Percy Jackson & The Mutant Demigods

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Parvo?

Percy

I woke up feeling sick. The last thing I remember was a woman saying, "Don't worry, Percy. It's just a direct injection of an advanced Parvovirus XPB-19. You won't die."

But I found out that there were worse things than death. I groaned, and I heard a voice that sounded like Annabeth's: "Percy!"

I saw Max and the flock looking at me with a mixture of concern and worry. I was about to say, "Here" when it struck.

I heard something go SNAP. My entire body was in pain, and I almost couldn't breathe. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the pain vanished. I looked at Max and gasped. I could see individual strands of hair surrounding her face. I could also see every single detail on her... wings? Okay, I thought, she has wings. The rest of them probably does too.

I looked at Sam. It was weird, but I could smell his emotions. Surprise. Worry. Anger. Fear. But the strangest things were his eyes. Usually brown, they glowed with a golden light, fixated on me. Then, Sam closed his eyes, and the glow disappeared.

Annabeth must have been watching me, because she knew something was wrong. I trained my eyes on her, and she yelped. "Percy, your eyes..."

My gaze shifted behind her to a mirror on the wall. Staring back at me were not my normal sea green eyes; instead, glowing golden irises returned my stare. Panic overwhelmed me. This had to be a dream.

SNUP. All my energy left me, and I doubled over in pain. When I could sit up again, Annabeth asked, "Percy, what was that?"

Everyone was watching me now: Annabeth with the most concern since I had been on Calypso's island, the flock with genuine concern, and Sam with... interest? I remembered how his eyes were the same as mine. "You know something about this." He definitely knew something, and I wanted to know what.

And I wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

Sam put his head down, deep in thought. When he looked up, it was obvious something was wrong. He kept opening his mouth, but no sound came out. When he did speak, he asked, "Should I give the short explanation, or should I start at the beginning?"

I was confused, but both Annabeth and Max said, "The beginning."

Sam sighed. "Well, um... I have a canine super virus invading my body."

Sam

I can't believe I just said that. Tory's worst fear has come true. Well, one of them anyways, all having to do with parvo.

"Sam?" Max asked. "Who's Tory, and what's parvo?"

I guess I said that out loud too. Oops. "Parvo is the canine super virus. Specifically, Parvovirus XPB-19. Tory is one of the other people who caught parvo as well."

"Wait." Annabeth was confused. "When was this?"

"Last May, so before I made it to camp."

"How did I not know this?"

"We've gotten better at hiding our, um, abilities, with people trying to kill us and all."

She understood, but now Nudge was confused. "I once heard that only dogs can be infected with parvo. How did you get it?"

"This is no ordinary parvo. The first to get it was a wolfdog named Cooper. We didn't know it could infect humans until it was too late."

Percy looked extremely scared. "So that's what I was injected with?"

"I guess so," I told him.

He started freaking out, but before I could calm him down, an Eraser burst in. "Projects N19 and J72, it's your turn."

I snarled at him, quite literally. Then I turned to Annabeth. "I guess it's our turn."

The Eraser picked up my cage in one hand, and Annabeth's in the other.

"Well," I said, looking at Annabeth, "see you on the other side of this."

She frowned. "But why not—"

"Because," I interrupted, "I don't think I'll be able to find my way back." Not to mention that I was tired.

She sighed. "Well, tell Seaweed Brain I love him."

She should NOT have said that. "Percy!" I called. "Annabeth says she loves you!"

He grinned. "Love you too, Wise Girl!"

Annabeth face palmed. "Seriously?"

I smiled maniacally. "Hey, if I'm going to die soon, why not have some fun?"

Of course, that's when we came out of the room. A different Eraser took my crate and threw me in an examination room. I hoped to all the gods that I would stay alive. There were people who needed me.