Zombie Parade

33: World

Percy POV

Day 386

Soon after Luke's death, we finished building the wall. When you're standing on the hotel's roof, you can see the wall in all directions. The only way into or out of our settlement is to climb the 20 ft carbo boxes that surround our camp.

Annabeth's idea was great, no surprise there.

The wind ruffled my hair as I looked at the wall. The settlement is about a few square blocks in distance. We encompassed many buildings, fields, and parks.

Stella giggled in my arms while playing with her teddy bear. We found the toy in a UPenn cafe next to the hotel. She immediately fell in love with it. Everyone is still hesitant about freely walking the safe streets of our camp.

Of course, that is understandable.

Reyna led the guards and cleared all the zombies within the settlement. Officially, there were zero zombies within our perimeter walls. Reyna and Annabeth worked together to create a safe, zombie-proof establishment.

Ever since Luke's death, I haven't really helped them properly. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't get myself to function normally. I guess Luke's sacrifice affected me more than it should. He gave up on life. A part of me connected with his sentiment to just quit. However, I can't quit because I still love people in this world.

I hugged Stella tightly while pressing my head against hers. She squirmed in my arms before forcing me to set her down. Once she was out of my arms, Stella happily walked around the roof. I smiled at her before looking around again.

A few civilians were walking in the street, enjoying the sun.

"Percy, I've been waiting for you for over 15 minutes. Why haven't you come down?" Grover asked. He walked to me near the edge of the roof.

"I guess I got lost in my thoughts," I replied.

"Are you okay?" my best friend asked. "You haven't been the same since Luke's death. You both weren't that close either."

"I know, but what he was doing mattered to the camp. I couldn't find a way to get us both out of that situation," I paused while taking a breath. My knuckle turned white as I leaned on the roof's brick and marble railing.

"There's nothing that you could've done. He choose to sacrifice, Percy, and he did it after almost killing you."

"He wasn't in the right headspace, G-man."

"Mental illness is like that, Percy. You never know what's going on in someone's head or someone's life. People are very quick to judge, but the truth is that you never know what's happening under the surface," Grover explained. He patted my shoulder before forcing me to leave the roof with Stella.

It was Hazel's idea to have a memorial for all the people we lost over the past month. Nico and Hazel wanted to celebrate Binca's life.

They extended the service to everyone we lost recently.

We are going to burn an object or piece of clothing in honor of everyone who died. I picked a navy blue blanket for Luke's shroud. We're burning the materials as a way to send our memories up to heaven where all our friends and family probably went. I'm even burning a few clothes for my mom and Paul.

The memorial was held on a field near the East side of our settlement. The field is located right next to the walled border. Some dandelions were growing in the field despite it being the Autumn season. We're already collecting battery-powered space heaters for the winter.

It's not hard to survive when you're working together. Even the civilians are braver now. They absolutely love the prospect of a settlement where they are protected.