Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Lightning Thief

| Chapter XXV | I Live |

*Unknown Time*

*Percy's Point of View*

***

My vision came back slowly, and at first, I wasn't sure if I was alive or dead. Suddenly, the pain hit me, and I knew: I was still alive, and I felt terrible. My mouth was dry and scratchy, my bones ached, and my hand felt as if it was lying in a bed of coals.

I opened my eyes, though it seemed to be the hardest thing in the world. When I finally managed to crack through the layer of eye gunk that had gathered along the seam, I saw blinding white.

Soon, my eyes adjusted－thank the gods－and I saw that I was in the infirmary for the second time. Only this time, I was the one in the bed.

I looked to my left and right, first thinking I was alone before I saw three people sitting around my bed. The first was Artemis. I guess she found out about my condition. At first, I was surprised that she'd gotten to camp so quickly, but I had no idea how long I'd been out－it could have been months.

The second occupant was Annabeth. She probably felt guilty because she'd been the one who chased me out into the forest, one for me to get stung by the scorpion.

As I turned my attention to the third occupant, I was confused. I didn't know who it was. The boy looked to be about my and Annabeth's age and had bright, curly ginger-coloured hair. His skin was pale and freckly, and he had a bushy goatee covering his chin.

They were all asleep in their chairs, so I tried to speak, but ended up in a coughing fit, almost hacking up my left lung.

They all jumped awake, and Artemis immediately ran to my side, helping my sit up and rubbing circles on my back. I coughed a few more times before calming, giving Artemis a small, thankful smile.

She smiled in return, but suddenly, her expression turned to an angry one. "Don't ever do that to me again! I thought you were going to die!" she yelled in my ear.

I tried to speak again, but she put her finger over my lips. "Don't even try to make up any excuses! It's been three days! You're lucky that Mr. Underwood here found you when he did!" She continued lecturing me for a while until Annabeth saved me.

"Lady Artemis," she interrupted. "I'm sure Percy didn't mean to get stung by the pit scorpion. You can't blame him."

Artemis turned to her with a menacing expression. "Don't talk to me like that! I'm venting! My best friend for the past eight-and-a-half years almost died!" Finally, she stopped, breathing heavily. She took a deep breath, calming herself. Then, she turned to me.

"I'm glad you're okay Percy," she said softly. Then, she teleported away, probably back to her hunters.

The ginger-haired boy cleared his throat and stood up from his chair. It was then that I noticed that he was a satyr. Interesting.

"Um... hi. My name is Grover. Grover Underwood," he said.

***

Published: Sunday, December 25, 2016

~CSP2708~