VIDEO GAMES! (p. jackson) (#1)

- three

AUGUST 16, 2020. DAY ONE OF THE BATTLE OF MANHATTAN.

1 VOICEMAIL FROM: percy :)

hey rose, i know you're mad at me right now, and i get why, but i need you to do me a favor. get as many people from camp as possible who can fight, and bring them into the city as soon as possible. bring extra armor and weapons and healing supplies. something bad is going to happen today. meet me on fifth avenue, okay? bye.

they were in the queens-midtown tunnel when percy finally called rose back.

"hey," he said. "you get my message?"

"percy, where the fuck have you been? i've called you five times, we've been worried sick!"

"i'll fill you in later," he said. "where are you?"

"we're on our way like you asked, in the queens-midtown tunnel. but, percy, what are you planning? we've left the camp virtually undefended, and there's no way the gods—"

"trust me," he said. "i'll see you there."

three white vans pulled up to the curb on fifth avenue. they read delphi strawberry service, which was the cover name for camp half-blood.

the first van was driven by argus, their many-eyed security chief. the other two were driven by harpies.

the doors slid open. a bunch of campers climbed out, some of them looking a little green from the long drive. rose had gotten as many people as possible: pollux, silena beauregard, the stoll brothers, michael (who she was still mad at), jake mason, katie gardner, and annabeth, along with most of their siblings. chiron came out of the van last.

his horse half was compacted into his magic wheelchair, so he used the handicap lift.

percy did a head count: eighty campers in all.

not many to fight a war, but it was still the largest group of half-bloods rose had ever seen gathered in one place outside camp. everyone looked nervous, and she understood why. they were probably sending out so much demigod aura that every monster in the northeastern united states knew they were here.

as rose looked at their faces—all these campers she'd known for so many summers—a nagging voice whispered in her mind: one of them is a spy.

she stood by percy. she was dressed in black camouflage. knives were strapped to her arm and thigh, and her rings glittered on her fingers.

she frowned. why was percy looking at her like that? "what is it? is there something on my face?"

"what?" percy asked.

"you're looking at me funny."

"it's, uh, nothing." he turned to the rest of the group. "thanks for coming, everybody. chiron, after you."

chiron shook his head. "i came to wish you luck, my boy. but i make it a point never to visit olympus unless i am summoned."

"but you're our leader."

he smiled. "i am your trainer, your teacher. that is not the same as being your leader. i will go gather what allies i can. it may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. meanwhile, you called the campers here, percy. you are the leader."

he clearly wanted to protest, but everybody was looking at him expectantly, even rose.

he took a deep breath. "okay, like i told rose on the phone, something bad is going to happen by tonight. some kind of trap. we've got to get an audience with zeus and convince him to defend the city. remember, we can't take no for an answer."