The Traitor (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

When Cath Didn't Leave me to Die

Rose's POV:"Do you know where we're going?" I asked

"Nope!" Cath called back to me over her shoulder. I rolled my eyes. Typical.

I said, "Well, can we stop running? I think we lost them and I am not almost running off a cliff again."

Cath laughed as I sat down on the grass.

"Just because we're running from the law doesn't mean that we always have to be actually running," I panted, trying to catch my breath.

"It kinda does," Cath said. "And you saw those guys back there. I do not want to be anywhere near them." She glanced nervously over her shoulder. "Come on, we have to move."

I groaned. "No, it requires too much effort. Just leave me here to die. Remember me."

"Come on," Cath grinned, tugging on my arm. We both laughed when she succeeded only in falling over. "Seriously, we have to go."

"Fine," I said, standing up, Cath doing the same. "But where are we going?"

"Ummmm," Cath hesitated. "I'm not sure, I just have, I don't know, a feeling to keep moving. A feeling that we're going to find something. It's weird."

"Okay, I trust you. But do we have to run? Can't we, you know, leisurely walk towards this place we're going to find?" I said.

"You are so stupid sometimes, you know?" Cath said.

"I know," I replied. "It's my specialty." We both grinned at each other before we set off. Cath and I had been traveling together for about a month. I ran into her, quite literally, after what was a normal day of school. These monsters were chasing me and as soon as she saw the monsters, she bolted. I followed her because she was the only person that could see the monsters. We had escaped together and had been traveling together ever since. We were currently in a forest full of pine trees. I could hear animals, or at least what I hoped was animals, scurrying around. It freaked me out a little, but I had encountered much worse than squirrels in the last few weeks.

As we were walking, I noticed that Cath kept looking behind us and jumping at every noise. "What's wrong? You seem jumpy." I asked.

"I don't know, I'm just worried something is gonna find us." I could understand. When you had been chased across the country for the past year like Cath had been, it was okay to be nervous while walking in a creepy forest. I didn't respond to her though; I was afraid that she would be able to hear fear in my voice. We trekked through the woods without conversation. I heard my stomach rumble, but I ignored it. We always had to ration our food. Cath and I didn't trust ourselves to tell the difference between poisonous and safe food in nature, so we had to steal our food. It's not like we ran into a store and raided it, we just casually took some things whenever we could find it while walking through a town. I didn't like it, but it was the only way to survive.

Suddenly, we reached a hill. I could make out some buildings, but I wasn't sure what I was looking at. Meanwhile, Cath looked overjoyed. "I made it. I mean, we made it. We're here! Come on, Rose!" She began to walk towards the top of the hill.

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea? What is that place?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I just have a really good feeling. We have to go there. You trust me, right?" I nodded. "Well then, what are you waiting for?" Reluctantly, I followed her up the hill. I felt what seemed like a flow of electricity at one point, but I ignored it. I probably just imagined it.

Inside the little town, there were people out, but they all seemed to be teenagers. I was unsure what to do and looked at Cath for help, but she was busy looking around, so I tentatively called out, "Um, hello?"

A blonde girl with gray eyes walked up to us. She had on a bright orange shirt. "Are you new?" she asked. "Who brought you?" I looked at her, unsure what to do. Where were we?

Seeing that Cath wasn't going to answer, I said, "We're here with our parents. Vacationing nearby and they let us explore. They're right down there." I pointed backwards toward the bottom of the hill. I was good at lying. Cath and I had long ago agreed on a cover-up story in case anyone questioned our presence.

"Really? Are you sure?" The girl asked. It didn't seem like she believed us. I felt the urge to leave, get away from this freaky town, but before I could do anything, Cath started speaking.

"No, that's not true. We're runaways. What is this place?" I was shocked. Cath just gave away our whole cover. This girl was going to take us to the police and then I would have to go back to my family's house and Cath would go to an orphanage. What was she doing?

"Okay," the girl said slowly. "I'd explain it to you now, but it would be too confusing. Best that I take you over there." She pointed at the biggest building in the town. "But are you sure that you didn't meet a person along the way telling you to come here? How did you end up here?"

Cath spoke once again. "We're sure. We kind of just stumbled across it while-" I gave Cath a hard nudge. She better not say anything about the monsters. This girl would think we were crazy. "Yeah, we just stumbled onto this place."

The girl raised her eyebrows. Without a comment, she started walking towards the building she had pointed out earlier. Cath started walking too, so I had no choice but to follow. We got some stares from other people as we walked. I figured it was because we were the only ones not wearing those bright orange shirts. I shuddered. What kind of place all wore the same shirt? When we reached the house, the girl said, "Wait out here. I'll be right back." She popped into the building.

Seizing my opportunity, I said, "Should we run, Cath? This place seems weird."

Cath shook her head. "No, I think this is all going to work out for the best." Her weird behavior bothered me, but the blonde girl came back out before I could ask Cath about it.

The girl said, "Chiron, he's the head of this camp, is in there, ready to see you. He'll explain everything. I think I forgot introductions. My name is Annabeth and welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

"I'm sorry, did you say Annabeth?" Cath asked.

Annabeth smiled. "I know, it's not a very common name. Now, go right in." Camp Half-Blood was a weird name for a camp, but I went with it.

Cath stepped into the house. "Coming?" she asked. This whole experience so far had been scary and I was not sure if I trusted this camp. It all seemed very odd. But looking at Cath, I knew she wasn't leaving and I couldn't go without her. She was all I had.

"Of course," I replied. Together, we went in to meet Chiron.