PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS X READER

IV

"We've got barrier action!" Clarisse announces to the camp.

I immediately start to run towards the barrier to see what the problem is when Percy grabs my arm.

"I think you should stay here." He says while looking at my stomach where my bruises are.

"Annabeth told you." I scowl.

He doesn't say anything for a while and doesn't maintain eye contact.

"Just stay put." He says, ordering me like I'm a dog.

"Not a chance." I say as I run past him to catch up with the other campers.

"That is so awesome." I hear Clarisse say while we all look at the barrier.

It looks like some sort of bull trying to get through, but its impossible. The barrier has always kept us safe.

"The barriers holding." Says Annabeth.

Right after she says that, the barrier shatters, quite literally. The bull charges at us and the campers disperse. As I am running, a camper knocks me over and I hit the ground. The bull is only inches away when Percy helps me up.

"I told you to stay put!" He says.

"Distract the bull for me!" I order.

"Stella," He warns, "I really think you should sit this one out."

"Nothing has ever gotten through the barrier, Percy. Nothing. I don't see how I can." I say and he grabs a red flag from a pole.

He nods at me and signals for me to make my move while he has the bull in a daze staring at the flag.

I take a sword and climb onto one of the tables to jump onto the bull. I successfully get on and manage to stab the bull with my sword. Sadly, it doesn't do much, but make it angry.

"Stella!" I hear Percy yell.

The bull starts to jump up and launches me onto the roof of a cabin, and I fall off onto the ground. I can feel so much pain where my injury is. My head is bursting, my ears are ringing, and I can barely see two feet in front of me.

The last thing I see is Percy getting chased by the bull, then everything goes dark.

———

"That bull really got you good." Is the first thing I hear when I start to wake up.

Everything is still blurry and the voice keeps echoing in my ears.

"Bad choice making it angry, though." Says the voice again.

All I can see is a distorted figure that looks like a person. My head is killing me, and I can barely move so I just stay on the ground and don't even try to get up.

The figure gets closer and kneels down next to me.

"I've missed you." They say. "What have you been doing to yourself?" They say as they look at the bruise visible because of the huge rip in my shirt.

The figure puts its hand on my face and brushes away my hair. I can see the face more clearly now. Its Luke. I can feel my body numb and my heart start to race.

"L-Luke?" I say, barely audible.

I may be hallucinating, or dreaming. I am probably still passed out, but it just seems so real. I can feel the warmth of his hand on my face and his presence right next to me on the ground.

"Stella! Where are you?" I hear Annabeth call.

Luke looks around panicky and then back at me.

"Sorry, Stel, but I got to go." He says as he kisses my forehead and gets up and walks away.

I reach my hand out to try to prevent him from leaving, but groan in pain. Annabeth runs up to me and has tears in her eyes.

"My gods!" She says while examining my injuries.

Narrator's POV

Stella has blood covering her face and all over her white shirt. The shirt has a giant gash in it from hitting the roof, revealing Stella's injury on her stomach. Annabeth covers her mouth with her hand as she tries not to scream. Stella looks dead, or like she is dying. She looks like she has seen a ghost, or like she is the ghost.

"Somebody help me! We need some help!" Annabeth calls out to some of the campers.

"The tree!" Calls one of the campers and Annabeth jerks her head in the direction of Thalia's tree.

Stella immediately starts to feel some relief and hears a voice in her head.

"For the pain." It says. The voice sounds exactly like Hades. "You have been too hard on yourself."

Stella wonders why he would want to help her. Hades never bothered to contact her before, so why now? Maybe he has been watching her all this time, but pushes her thoughts aside to focus on whats happening.

"Lets go." Stella says as she starts to get up, whilst holding her side.

"How are you walking?" Asks Annabeth.

Stella looks at her arms to see most of the cuts disappearing and the bruise on her stomach looks slightly healed.

"I don't know, gift from dear old dad I guess." She responds as she starts to limp towards the tree.

Annabeth grabs Stella's arm to assist her in walking as they both make their way towards the crowd of campers.

"Poison." They both hear Chiron say whilst examining her tree.

Annabeth immediately runs over to the tree while aiding Stella in sitting down right next to where Thalia lays. Stella has seen the tree many times, she has even talked to Thalia about how she admires her bravery, but she sees it all so differently now. She sees this as what it is, death.

"Who would do such a thing?" Whispers Annabeth.

Both of them just sit there and look at the poisoned tree. Stella looks at Annabeth sorrowful knowing that her and Thalia were close.

"I'm so sorry, Annie." She says.

Annabeth just looks at her, then behind her to see Percy making his way through the crowd.

"Percy! Your okay!" She says as she runs to hug him.

"Yay! He's alive." Says Clarisse sarcastically.

"Yeah, I'm not the only one." Stella turns her head as Percy says this. "Luke poisoned the tree." He says.

Stella looks up at him and has a blank expression on her face. It wasn't just a dream. Luke was actually there.

"You saw him?" She asks.

"Yeah." Says Percy while looking at the ground.

"So, I wasn't just dreaming." She says with a look of uncertain relief on her face.

"What do you mean?" Asks Percy as he pulls her aside.

"Percy, I saw Luke, too. I knew it couldn't have been a dream. He's alive." She says with a smile on her face, but it quickly fades when she notices Percy's worry.

"Stella, Luke poisoned Thalia's tree and let the bull into the camp. We aren't safe anymore because of what he did." He says trying to show her that Luke being alive isn't good. "I thought you let him go and moved on."

Stella looks at Percy with tears in her eyes realizing that, yet again, she has to put her feelings aside, but she can't do it anymore. She is so happy that Luke is alive, and she hasn't felt happiness in a long, long time.

"He's alive, Percy. I have been searching for evidence of him being alive for months and he just shows up at camp one day and poisons a tree. I want to know why, so we need to find him." She says while starting to walk back into camp. "We need to bring him home."