The Trials of Camp Half-Blood

Trial by Fire

You ever have one of those days where you think, "Well, this can't get any worse," and then it absolutely does? That was this day, except I was starting to wonder if we'd make it to tomorrow.

We stood in a tense, silent circle after Luke's confession. Annabeth's brain was clearly working overtime, her brows furrowed as she stared at the fire. Clarisse paced back and forth, clearly itching to punch something—preferably Luke—but she kept her distance. And Luke? Well, he looked like someone who had just realized he might be responsible for unleashing a titan on the world. You know, typical demigod drama.

Me: Okay, so Kronos is pulling the strings. Luke messed up, but now we have to clean up the mess before he wipes the floor with all of us. No biggie.

I was trying to keep the mood light—classic Percy move, right? But no one was laughing, and honestly, I wasn't feeling that great about it either.

Annabeth: It's worse than that, Percy.

She crossed her arms, looking more stressed than I'd ever seen her, and trust me, I've seen Annabeth deal with a lot of high-stakes situations.

Annabeth: If Kronos is manipulating people inside this trial, it means he's trying to weaken us. And if that's his goal, it's not just about us... he's planning something bigger.

Luke shifted uncomfortably, his gaze still on the ground.

Luke: Camp Half-Blood.

I felt a cold chill down my spine. Of course. It made sense. The trial was a distraction, a way to pick off the strongest demigods, leaving the camp vulnerable for an attack.

Me: So, let me get this straight. There's another traitor? Someone else working for Kronos? Here, in the trial... or back at camp?

Annabeth: Probably both.

For a second, I thought Clarisse was going to explode. Her fists clenched at her sides, and her face was flushed with barely controlled rage.

Clarisse: If I find out who it is, I'm gonna—

Me: "Yeah, we get it. Punch first, ask questions later."

Annabeth shot me a look, but I wasn't wrong. Clarisse's solution to most problems was brute force. Effective? Sometimes. Subtle? Never.

Annabeth: We're trapped in here. There's no way out until the trial is over. But if Kronos has a traitor inside this trial, they'll keep hunting us, picking us off one by one.

I looked around at the others, feeling that weight settle in. We had no way out. No way to warn the camp. The only thing we could do was survive and hope we could stop the traitor before Kronos's plan fell into place.

Luke: I never wanted this to happen.

He spoke quietly, his voice strained with guilt.

Luke: I thought I was doing the right thing, pushing the gods to act, but I've been a pawn this whole time.

I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Me: Well, congratulations, Luke. You've officially made the worst mistake of your life.

Luke flinched, but I wasn't about to sugarcoat things. He'd betrayed us once before, and now we were all paying for it.

Annabeth: Right now, it doesn't matter what you wanted. What matters is how we stop this.

She was right, as usual. The bigger issue was surviving.

Annabeth: We need to figure out who's being controlled. It's likely one of the other demigods here.

Me: And what if we can't figure it out in time?

Annabeth met my gaze, her eyes hard.

Annabeth: Then we fight. We survive. We don't let Kronos win.

I nodded, but the knot in my stomach tightened. Survive. That was the key word. We were trapped in this trial, and while we were busy trying not to die, Kronos was plotting something even worse.

Clarisse: So what now? We just keep going? Waiting for the next person to try to gut us?

Annabeth turned to her, resolute.

Annabeth: Yes. We continue. But we stay together, watch each other's backs. And we try to lure out the traitor.

It wasn't a great plan, but it was the only one we had. And considering we were out of options, it would have to do.

As we packed up to move again, I couldn't shake the feeling that the woods were closing in on us. The trees seemed darker, the shadows longer. It was like Kronos's influence was seeping into the very ground beneath us. And as the evening wore on, strange noises echoed from deep within the forest—branches snapping, the occasional distant howl of some monster lurking nearby.

Great. 

Because creepy woods and a killer on the loose weren't enough. 

Let's just add some monsters into the mix.

We huddled together that night, our campfire barely more than embers as we tried to keep quiet and out of sight. No one said much. Clarisse was sharpening her spear, glaring at the darkness like she was daring something to come at us. Luke was quiet, avoiding everyone's eyes. And Annabeth... well, Annabeth was working on a strategy, no doubt. Her mind always seemed to be five steps ahead, trying to figure out how to beat whatever came at us next.

But I could feel the weight of it all. The trial wasn't just about proving ourselves anymore. It was about survival—about stopping Kronos from tearing everything we cared about apart.

As the night stretched on, the sounds of the forest seemed to grow louder. Every rustle, every creak of a branch made me jump. And I knew I wasn't the only one. We were all on edge, waiting for the next attack.

Me: I hate this.

I muttered to myself, but Annabeth heard me.

Annabeth: I know.

She scooted closer to me, her face serious in the dim firelight.

Annabeth: We'll get through this, Percy. We always do.

I wanted to believe her. But the truth was, this felt different. More dangerous. More real. And if Kronos had a hand in it, there was no telling what he'd do next.

Luke: I'll take first watch.

We all glanced up at him. I could see the guilt still written all over his face, but at this point, none of us had the energy to argue. He was just as trapped as we were.

Me: Fine. But don't get any ideas about running off, Luke. We're all in this together now.

He nodded, though I could tell he didn't exactly appreciate the reminder. But we were past the point of trust. We had to stay sharp—because if we let our guard down for even a second, it could be the last mistake we ever made.

The woods around us felt alive with danger, and as I lay there, trying to sleep, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone—or something—was watching us.