PERCYS POV:
Percy got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. He grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke from under his bunk.
The Cokes were against the rules. No outside snacks or drinks were allowed, but if you talked to the right guy (or girl) in Hermes's cabin and paid him a few golden drachma, they could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.
Sneaking out after curfew was against the rules, too. If he got caught he would either get in big trouble or be eaten by the harpies.
But he wanted to see the ocean. The son of Poseidon always felt better there. His thoughts were clearer. He left the cabin and headed for the beach.
Percy spread a blanket near the surf and popped open a Coke. For some reason sugar and caffeine always calmed down his hyperactive brain.
He tried to decide what to do to save the camp, but nothing came to him. Percy wished Poseidon would talk to him, give him some advice or something.
The sky was clear and starry. Percy was checking out the constellations Annabeth had taught him-Sagittarius, Hercules, Corona Borealis-when somebody said, "Beautiful, aren't they?"
Percy almost spewed soda.
Standing right next to him was a guy in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt.
He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. He looked kind of familiar, but Percy couldn't figure out why.
His first thought was that he must've been taking a midnight jog down the beach and strayed inside the camp borders.
That wasn't supposed to happen. Regular mortals couldn't enter the valley. But maybe with the tree's magic weakening he'd managed to slip in.
But in the middle of the night? And there was nothing around except farmland and state preserves. Where would this guy have jogged from?
"May I join you?" he asked. "I haven't sat down in ages."
Now, Percy knows-a strange guy in the middle of the night. Common sense: he was supposed to run away, yell for help, etc.
But the guy acted so calm about the whole thing that Percy found it hard to be afraid.
Stupidly, he said, "Uh, sure."
He smiled. "Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?"
He sat at the other end of the blanket, popped a soda and took a drink. "Ah ... that hits the spot.
Peace and quiet at-"
A cell phone went off in his pocket.
The jogger sighed. He pulled out his phone and Percy's eyes got big, because it glowed with a bluish light.
When he extended the antenna, two creatures began writhing around it-green snakes, no bigger than earthworms.
The jogger didn't seem to notice. He checked his LCD display and cursed. "I've got to take this.
Just a sec ... "Then into the phone: "Hello?"
He listened. The mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear.
"Yeah," the jogger said. "Listen-I know, but... I don't care if he is chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number, we can't locate his package.... A gift to humankind, great.. You know how many of those we deliver-Oh, never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go."
He hung up. "Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying-"
"You have snakes on your phone." Percy commented.
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A web of fates | Percy Jackson and the Olympians
FanfictionDaphne Evans, a thirteen year old girl. On the outside, she's just an ordinary girl but in reality that's not true. At the age of nine, she watched her mother die and then she was dragged to Camp Halfblood by a satyr. She's a demigod. That's what th...
