Camp Half-Blood: stories untold

Heart of stone

This is placed right after Clarisse came back to CHB with Chris, between The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth. I hope you enjoy seeing another side of Clarisse!

Clarisse tossed and turned. Faces haunted her dreams. Kronos. Luke. Monsters she had fought. But the one that scared her the most was Chris Rodriguez.

Clarisse saw a long brick corridor with mud everywhere she stepped. The only shimmer of light came from her flashlight. Then she heard a cry.

"Please, no!"

"Chris!" Clarisse yelled and ran to find him. "Don't move! I'm coming!" She stopped dead in her tracks as a deep, evil laugh made the corridor tremble. A flash of bright light came from nowhere, tossing Clarisse in the air. She landed flat on her back. Brick fell from the ceiling all around her. She scrambled out of the way. Fear filled her and was quickly pushed down.

Everything became deadly silent.

"Chris?" Clarisse asked the darkness. She was covered in a thick layer of dust, like she had been sitting in the Big House attic for a few decades. She moved her foot to step forward but couldn't.

Finally, he just appeared- trapped under rubble. She wanted to call out him again but her voice stopped working.

"Mary," Chris mumbled. "The string. . . he wants it. . ." Then he twitched so furiously that he freed himself from the fallen bricks. His head jerked to the left like he was a puppet on a string. "He's everywhere. . ."

The deep laugh dared to return. "Watch, daughter of Ares, as I destroy all you care for."

Clarisse bolted up and gasped. Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. "Just a dream," she whispered to herself and looked around the Ares cabin. No one was awake. She laced up her combat boots and quietly left for the Big House. I have to see him, she thought as she creeped into the infirmary where he was. Clarisse pulled up a wooden chair next to his bed and thought about the dream.

She was so scared. No! Children of Ares were never fearful. . . But she could cry out all of her frustration here. No one would see her. Forget it! Crying was for babies. Despite all the struggling against herself, she let one tear loose, then another, and another. Too late- the dam had broken and she couldn't stop.

Just then, a hand touched her shoulder. Clarisse flinched and turned to see Annabeth with hurt in her eyes.

Clarisse furiously wiped away her tears. "What the heck are you doing here, punk?"

Annabeth sighed. "Making sure you're okay, punk."

Clarisse was shocked to hear her talk like that.

Annabeth smiled sadly. "He's going to be alright. It just takes time."

Clarisse wrung her hands. "He's getting worse. . . and so are the nightmares." She jumped out of her chair. "If you tell anyone-"

"I won't. And just to prove it to you, I'll tell you one of my secrets. I really want Percy to kiss me."

Clarisse swallowed. "Why would you tell me something like that?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Leverage."

Clarisse blinked back more tears. "Well when he does, I'll be there to throw you two into the canoe lake."

Annabeth smiled again. "Let's go back." And she followed Clarisse out of the Big House.