Gods of Olympus

Chapter 4 - Annabeth's POV

"Oh my gods. Carys, how could you not tell me that Mom sent you here on a mission?" I said pacing around the cabin.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you before, but Mom told me specifically not to tell any of you about this mission. The only beings on earth that know about the mission are Chiron, Dionysus, and me. That's it. I'm not telling you anymore," Carys said from up on her bunk. She was packing up a duffle bag with a couple of quivers of arrows, a sword, a collapsible shield, some knives, a roll of bandages, a bag of ambrosia, and a thermos full of nectar. "Dad is going to pick us up at dawn. Bring whatever you need with you. I'm not sure when we will come back here."

"Wait. What? We aren't coming back to Camp Half-Blood?" I asked.

"It's not safe. By staying here, all ten of you will put all the other campers in grave danger." She said, making me very nervous.

I started to pack my duffle bag with pictures of my friends and family, all the clothes that I had here at camp, my laptop, and other necessary items. It was really hard to sleep that night. I woke up several times and looked over at Carys. She spent the entire night gazing through the window next to her bunk. As I watched her, I started to wonder why our mother had chosen Carys for this mission. Athena had sent me on a mission once before to retrieve the Athena Parthenos from Rome and that didn't go that well and led to my mother not speaking to me. Before I knew it, the hours had passed and Carys had woken me up from my sleep.

"Annabeth. We have to go. It's almost sunrise and we don't have a moment left to spare. Get up and get dressed. Dad is going to be here in a few minutes" Carys said, gently shaking my shoulder. She was wearing a sea green and gold, cropped t-shirt with the letters MOH and a horse design with the words Leadership 2022 - 3022 (must have been an inside joke,) with a pair of dark blue leggings and her tall gray boots. She had a pair of sunglasses in her hair as usual with a quiver of arrows attached to her back, a knife strapped to her leg, and her bow slung across her shoulder. In the light of the cabin, I could see the details of her bow and arrows more clearly. The bow and arrows were ice blue and strangely translucent. It was like I was looking through glass.

It took me a couple of minutes to put on my clothes, brush my teeth, and comb my hair but I managed to do so relatively quickly. It was still really dark outside, but the central hearth was burning brightly and you couldn't tell that it was that dark. Percy, Jason, Piper, Leo, Calypso, Frank, Hazel, Nico, and Will were already waiting with their duffle bags and weapons. It was barely almost dawn, but my friends looked alert and even a little nervous. Carys was looking toward the horizon like she was waiting for something to appear.

"So when will your dad get here?" Leo asked Carys. The sun was just starting to appear on the horizon.

"He should be here in a couple of seconds. Also, when my dad shows up you might want to cover your eyes unless you want your brain to be melted before he parks. And try not to mention any poems. His haiku phase lasted WAY too long. Like almost 200 years!" Carys said.

"Wait. Haikus? Doesn't that mean your dad is...?" Nico was interrupted by the sun coming up fully over the horizon.

"EVERYONE. CLOSE YOUR EYES NOW!" Carys shouted as everyone covered their eyes.