NEVER BE THE SAME . . . percy jackson

sixty four: the first dinner.

AFTER SUFFERING THROUGH a shit ton of muck on her because she was getting tar, out of all things, Brooklyn took a really long shower before heading to the "mess hall" with everyone else.

As she was the last to sit down ( naturally, she's Brooklyn Hayward, who do you think she is? ), she realized that this is the first time it's been just the eight of them, together. No more pretending like the Great Prophecy was seventy years off anymore. They were under way, with a bunch of angry Romans behind them and the ancient lands ahead. The giants would be waiting. Gaea was rising. And unless they succeeded in this quest, the world would be destroyed.

The others must've felt it too. The tension in the mess hall was like an electrical storm brewing, which was totally possible, considering Percy, Jason, and Brooklyn's powers. In an awkward moment, the two boys tried to sit in the same chair at the head of the table. Sparks literally flew from Jason's hands. After a brief silent standoff, like they were both thinking, Seriously, dude?, they ceded the chair to Annabeth and sat at opposite sides of the table, Percy next to Brooklyn, Jason across from her. She'd been snickering the entire time.

The crew compared notes on what had happened in Salt Lake City, but even Leo's ridiculous story about how he tricked Narcissus wasn't enough to cheer up the group.

"So where to now?" Leo asked with a mouthful of pizza. "I did a quick repair job to get us out of the lake, but there's still a lot of damage. We should really put down again and fix things right before we head across the Atlantic."

Percy was eating a piece of pie, which was completely blue — filling, crust, even the whipped cream. "We need to put some distance between us and Camp Jupiter," he said. "Frank spotted some eagles over Salt Lake City. We figure the Romans aren't far behind us."

That didn't improve the mood around the table.

"I don't suppose we should go back and try to reason with the Romans?" Piper asked. "Maybe — maybe I didn't try hard enough with the charmspeak."

Jason took her hand. "It wasn't your fault, Pipes. Or Leo's," he added quickly. "Whatever happened, it was Gaea's doing, to drive the two camps apart."

Piper didn't look convinced. "Maybe if we could explain that, though—"

"With no proof?" Annabeth asked. "And no idea what really happened? I appreciate what you're saying, Piper. I don't want the Romans on our bad side, but until we understand what Gaea's up to, going back is suicide."

"She's right," Hazel said. She still looked a little queasy from seasickness, but she was trying to eat a few saltine crackers. The rim of her plate was embedded with rubies, and Brooklyn was pretty sure they hadn't been there at the beginning of the meal. She was used to it at this point, though. "Reyna might listen, but Octavian won't. The Romans have honor to think about. They've been attacked. They'll shoot first and ask questions post hac."

"You're right," Piper decided. "We have to keep going. Not just because of the Romans. We have to hurry."

Hazel nodded. "Nemesis said we have only six days until Nico dies and Rome is destroyed."

Jason frowned. "You mean Rome Rome, not New Rome?"

"I think," Hazel said. "But if so, that's not much time."

"Why six days?" Brooklyn wondered, stabbing at her baked potato. "And how are they going to destroy Rome? Personally, the city's boring, but maybe that's just me."

No one answered. Rude.

"There's more," Piper said. "I've been seeing some things in my knife."

Frank froze with a forkful of spaghetti halfway to his mouth. "Things such as . . . ?"