Story of Solace

chapter 1: recruitment

*Contains dialogue from Percy Jackson: Battle of the Labyrinth*

I woke up that morning with Michael shaking me awake. "Will, wake up! We've got some issues." He said, giving me one more shake just to be certain I was up. I looked up at him, shaking off my tiredness. He had been gone the night before. Him and some of our other siblings had gone off to raid some enemy demigods camp in Philadelphia, along with the help of the Ares cabin.

"What is it Michael? How'd the raid go?" I asked.

He grimaced, shaking his head. "We met some enemy demigods alright. Sad to see them so hateful towards us. Some of them I knew."

I looked down, putting the pieces together.

"You saw her?" I asked.

"Yeah... looked the same, but sure didn't act like the person she used to be." He paused, then shook his head. "But that's not important. We found a flying chariot. Sam and Austin were clever enough to steal it from them, but once we got here, Sherman said to park it by their cabin. Next thing you know all the Ares kids are outside, saying since they led the raid, it's theirs. Chiron got it calmed down but they aren't backing off."

I sat upright, processing. "We found it. I mean, finders' keepers, right?"

Michael smirked. "Yeah. Anyways, I wanted to warn you before you start the day. I thought you would have heard the commotion, but I found you here. Watch your back, okay?" he gave me a concerned look, and stood. Michael was always looking out for everyone in the cabin. Being the counselor and all, of course. But this year was his first summer of being an actual counselor, since last year he had been hastily promoted after... after Lee.

"Hey, Michael," I said before he left the cabin.

"What's up?"

"If you ever need to talk about, you know, Michelle, I'm here. Okay?"

He closed in a little, but nodded. He walked out, slamming the door harder than usual.

Michelle. Michael knew her about 2 years back. She was an unclaimed from the Hermes cabin, and, that summer, the two had become very close. Not having the responsibility of head counselor then, Michael often hung around with her. She would do a lot of activities with the apollo cabin. Most of the unclaimed were free to go do activities with most of the other cabins, if the head counselor approved. Lee did, and because he saw they were so close, he allowed it. Rumor spread among the dryads that they had been sneaking out after curfew with each other, which spread around camp like a wildfire. The next summer though, the summer that Daedalus pretended to be our sword fighting instructor, she didn't return.

That summer, we had all been called to the amphitheater to go to Percy Jackson's shroud burning. Annabeth stood with Chiron, crying and hugging him. I remember her blond curls flying in all directions out of her bun, like she hadn't even bothered to comb it. Her clothes were wrinkled like she slept with them on. I had never seen her so off guard, so vulnerable. Her usual self was stern and hard, like you had just told her you ate her leftovers she was planning to eat, and she was planning her revenge.

"Now, you all most likely know why we are here this afternoon," Chiron said, shaking the crowd into silence. "Annabeth Chase returned from her quest alone, bravely navigating the labyrinth. Percy Jackson has not returned since the two parted ways at the telekhine forge, two weeks ago. Unfortunately, we have to assume he is dead. After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honors." Annabeth grabbed Percy's long green silk burial cloth and set it on the flames. Some people murmured things like, "What about the prophecy?" or "I can't believe he's dead." And some of the Ares cabin chuckled, but Clarisse smacked them across the head, and even she looked shaken up. I had been sitting next to Lee, his hand on my shoulder, when he muttered "This is not going to be good for the camps morale."