The Sea // pjo

Chapter Nineteen // The Story Ends With Another Plot-Twist

    The first thing I heard when I woke up again was Will saying, "You idiot...I'm gonna kill you one of these days..."

        "Nice to see you again too, Will..." I grunted. "Did it work? The Fleece?"

        He sighed, coming into view on my right, "Yeah. It did. There are patrol units around it 24/7, and he's working on getting a monster to come and protect the tree."

        "Cool beans..." I yawned. "Where are—?"

        "They're getting ready for the chariot races."

        I looked at him, my brows furrowing, "Did—"

        "Chiron said they would go on."

        I pushed myself up, leaning against the headboard, and gritted my teeth as my shoulder stiffened up on me, "Well...I bet Percy and Annabeth are loving that. So, how long have I been here exactly?"

        Will scratched his head, ruffling his blond curls as he sat next to me, "Uh...like three-ish days?"

        "Oh, lovely."

        Will grinned at me and whispered, "I'm glad you're back. I was worried..."

        I could see the tears forming in his eyes, and I had to remind myself he was only eleven years old and I was only thirteen.

        We were just kids, and becoming frightened for each other's lives was a normal thing now.

        It made me feel sick.

        I pulled him into my arms, hugging him as tightly as my sore body would let me.

        He reciprocated, but his embrace was much tighter, and I could tell he had been genuinely terrified for me.

        "I'm here now..." I murmured. "You're okay..."

        He nodded against my uninjured shoulder, "I prayed to my dad that he would keep you safe and whoever else would listen."

        I sighed, "Well, someone listened."

        Will pulled away, smiling brightly, "Yup!" He stood up and said, "I want to give you a check-up, and then you should be okay to go."

        I smiled and nodded at him, "Let's get moving then."

        He cleared me fairly quickly, giving me a fresh change of clothes.

        I stepped behind a curtain, and I grimaced when I spied the new scar on my shoulder. It was a diagonal, jagged line across my left shoulder blade, dark and ugly to match the scars on my back.

        I am gonna have quite the stories to tell when I am older.

    I changed quickly after that and, with a pair of slip-on shoes from the doctor himself, stepped into the clean air of Camp Half-Blood.

   I could see the Fleece on Thalia's now beautifully green tree, and I smiled excitedly.

   Everything felt normal again.

    And it was even more normal when I was literally body slammed into the ground by a handful of familiar people.

   "If you don't stop almost dying, I'm gonna kill you," Annabeth said as she and Percy, and Tyson strangled me in hugs.

   "I don't do it on purpose," I wheezed underneath them.

    Percy pulled me to my feet, and I got a whiff of gross, sweaty teenage boy as he hugged me, "Thank the gods you're okay, though! Dude, you're never gonna believe the chariot—"