DEVOTION, percy jackson

Chiron Says His Goodbyes

Percy let go of Tallulah as soon as Clarisse was out of sight. He blinked, then turned to Tyson and said, "You didn't die."

Tyson looked down like he was embarrassed. "I am sorry. Came to help. Disobeyed you." "My fault," Annabeth said. "I had no choice. I had to let Tyson cross the boundary line to save you. Otherwise, you would've died."

"Let him cross the boundary line?'" Percy asked. "But-" "Percy," she said, "have you ever looked at Tyson closely? I mean ... in the face. Ignore the Mist, and really look at him."

Tallulah could see exactly when Percy saw that Tyson had one eye, not two. "Tyson," he stammered. "You're a ..." "Cyclops," Annabeth offered. "It's about time. I honestly didn't think you could be that blind, Jacks." Tallulah teased.

Annabeth continued and said, "He's a baby, by the looks of him. Probably why he couldn't get past the boundary line as easily as the bulls. Tyson's one of the homeless orphans."

Tallulah spaced out for the rest of their discussion. Not only was she bored and didn't really care, she was confused. How had the bulls gotten in so easily?

The girl pondered the question and was about to ask Annabeth, but her thoughts were interrupted by the infamous daughter of Ares.

"Jackson, we need to carry the wounded back to the Big House and let Tantalus know what's happened." "Tantalus?" Percy and Tallulah asked at the same time.

"The activities director," Clarisse said impatiently. "Chiron is the activities director. And where's Argus? He's head of security. He should be here." Annabeth said.

Clarisse made a sour face. "Argus got fired. You three have been gone too long. Things are changing." "He can't just be gone. What happened?" Percy asked.

"That happened," Clarisse snapped, her face grave. She pointed to Thalia's tree.

Every camper knew the story behind the tree. The pine had been here ever since, strong and healthy. But now, its needles were yellow. A huge pile of dead ones littered the base of the tree.

In the center of the trunk, three feet from the ground, was a puncture mark the size of a bullet hole, oozing green sap. A sliver of ice ran through my chest.

It all clicked into place. Tallulah stood on the hill, scared in a way she had never felt before. If they didn't figure out how to heal the poisoned tree, Camp Half-Blood could be destroyed forever.

__

Physically camp was almost the same. The strawberry fields still grew in the sunlight, and the cabins still glowed magically. The thing that had changed was that the camper's had lost their glow.

There were few residents in camp, but the ones that were there were riddled with anxiety and fear. They were lonely and afraid. The poisoned tree and the danger that followed changed the atmosphere.

Tallulah walked over to her cabin. When she entered she looked around. The cabin felt timeless, like nothing had changed since her and her sisters left. The grass drapes covered the windows, the sun barely getting through them.

Tallulah saw her bags, which were somehow transported to camp, sitting on her neatly made bed. Tallulah grabbed a change of clothes out of them. She picked out her outfit, undergarments, a camp shirt, and denim shorts, and went into the bathroom and showered.