Tempus Est Asinus

Quare, Kronos?

He's speaking.

Listen.

Take no chances.

Stay at home before you get caught out.

Don't hide from time.

Time comes for all of us.

"Jason Grace..."

"You are weak..."

A sharp pain in the back. That's the least of your problems, Jason.

"You will never surpass Time."

Time comes for everyone.

Even heroes.

"Jason Grace..."

A portal. Golden. Growing wider and wider by the second. He peered through. A boy was lying on dirty roads, dressed in odd clothes, leg twisted the wrong way. "Help me..." he pleaded.

Wake up.

Jason woke up in a cold sweat, clinging to his blanket.

Moonlight streamed through the window above him. The clock read 3:45 a.m. His alarm was due to go off in fifteen minutes, anyway. Today, he went into New York on a supply run for camp, and he preferred to go earlier rather than later.

The statue of Zeus glared down at him as he staggered to his feet and pulled on his one pair of cutoff shorts and a purple t-shirt. It took another ten minutes for him to realize he'd donned his old Camp Jupiter tee instead of the trademark orange ones the Greek demigods could be seen wearing every day.

You can take the boy out of the Roman camp, but you can't take the Roman camp out of the boy.

Jason tied his shoes and left. He didn't have time to change.

The car was waiting for him. Percy Jackson had strapped himself into the driver's seat. As the only boy out of the two who had a license, the honor of driving fell to him. Jason opened the door and swung inside, his shoe catching on the cushion and dampening it with the dew from the grass. He stared at the wet patch before settling in for the car ride.

"You're quiet." Percy started the engine.

"Tired."

"I thought Romans were up at the asscrack of dawn every day to train."

Jason smiled. Percy returned it with his usual humor. "So, what do you think about hitting up a coffee shop before we go? I can tell you've got something on your mind."

Percy could read Jason better than Thalia. Jason liked to think he could read Percy best, but that coveted position went to Sally Jackson. "Could we swing by your place? Bet your mom will load us up with cookies."

The idea brightened both boys' spirits. Jason knew how much Percy missed his mom when he was away, so he was glad he'd made the suggestion.

Percy pulled through a McDonald's, ordering two black coffees and passing one to Jason. They drank in silence until Percy hit a pothole and spilled all over his hand. "Hades!" he cursed, braking and grabbing a napkin to pat his hand down. Jason held onto the wheel while Percy cursed "whoever the stinking god of coffee is, probably Apollo, curse Apollo..." and on and on and on.

"I had a dream," Jason interjected, if only to get Percy to shut up.

Percy shut up.

Jason's mistake is that he would actually have to talk about the dream now, and Percy wouldn't take some bullshit lie.