Broken || A Riordan Universe Story

Frank POV~ "Fish Are Friends, Not Food."

    When we arrived at the dinning pavilion everyone was eating, as usual. But there was something else in the air. Sadness. Since some of Camp's greatest heroes were taken, no one was in a good mood. The campers stared at our diverse group as we sat down at Poseidon's table.

     I stared down at the plate of food in front of me. There was a steaming hickory grilled salmon, with a roll of buttered bread and orange carrots splattered on the backdrop of the white plate. I couldn't eat. There was too much that went down in a span of 24 hours. I mean, how could I eat? My girlfriend was gods know where, and she could be- No. That wasn't a possibility. All of a sudden I felt sick to my core. My thoughts were occupied with Hazel. I couldn't focus at all. These Games were killing me from the inside.

     "Good thing you're not eating Frank." Percy said between bites of pizza. "Fish are friends, not food."

     I rolled my eyes.

     "Thanks a lot Percy," grumbled Nico. "You ruined the most perfect awkward silence."

     "Anytime." Replied Percy.

     "Do you think Leo's done yet?" I asked.

     "Idk dude." Said Magus.

     "Did you just say I-D-K?" Asked Carter, "no one uses text slang in reality."

     "Looks like we found the new Annabeth." Replied Magnus.

     Percy grimaced.

     "No one can replace my Wise Girl." He muttered. Percy stood up and left. "I'll go check on Leo."

     "Magnus, you are a true idiot, kid." Said Blitzen.

     "Sorry, I really don't have a filter anymore." Magnus apologized.

     "Anymore?" Blitzen questioned.

     "We're all on the same boat here." Jason added. "I get it."

     "Well, I'm done." I said, getting up. "Does anyone else wanna come with me to find Leo?"

     Everyone stood up this time.

     "I lost my appetite." Sighed Walt.

     I made my way towards the Big House. On another occasion it would've been cooler to meet Magnus and Carter. But with the situation we were in, I doubted any small talk would be necessary. We walked in silence, but Nico left us, saying that he would meet us back at the Big House soon.

     Finally, we saw the outline of a dragon. Festus. His bronze scales were glimmering in the gold sunlight. Leo was standing next to him. He was having a hushed conversation with the Bronze Dragon. Percy was uncapping Riptide. First it was a pen, and then a sword.

     "Hey." Said Leo. "Ready?"

     "Yup." I replied.

     I turned to see Magnus, Blitzen, Hearthstone, Carter, and Walt staring at Festus is amazement. Magnus's jaw was dropped wide open.

     "Careful Magnus," grinned Percy. "You'll catch flies."

     Magnus shut his mouth immediately, as a deep shade of red creeped onto his cheeks. At that moment I saw Nico jogging towards us, a red blush on his cheeks.

     "Carter, do you have coordinates for that Al-Hammray Machan Village thing?" Asked Leo.

"Al-Hamrah Makhan." Corrected Carter. "And I have a map. Not exact coordinates."

Carter put his hand into his satchel, and pulled out an old piece of parchment.

"This is a map of Egypt, and right here-" he pointed. "-is Al-Hamrah Makhan."

"Thanks, the Red X is very cliche. But I love cliches." Grinned Leo. "I'll put this into Festus's navigation. Usually it would take us a day to get there, but I gave Festus some upgrades. It should be a five hour trip, unless there's traffic."

"Traffic?" Asked Walt.

"Gods, monsters, demons. Basically whatever the heck the Legion of Doom wants to throw at us." Leo answered.

"Fun." Groaned Magnus, rolling his eyes.

Leo climbed onto Festus, using a rope ladder that attached to a huge saddle.

"Well?" He asked. "C'mon."

Percy climbed up first, followed by Carter, Walt, Magus, Hearthstone, Blitzen, Jason, and finally, Me. The rope was made of twine. It reminded me of the training courses in Camp Jupiter. Those were the days. The stress free days where I didn't have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I finally pulled myself up, and into the saddle. It reminded me of the saddle in Avatar the Last Airbender. The one Aang used on Appa. I used to watch that show all the time with my grandmother before I left on my journey. I remember her vividly, and it still hurts to this day.

"There are seatbelts for your comfort." Started Leo. "If anyone is afraid of heights here. Also there are the enchanted plates and cups from CHB in the cooler right over there. I'll be focused on Festus and the Archimedes Sphere from the Amazon box. I suggest get some sleep. It's going to be a long week. There are some weapons I grabbed in that cloth bag there, just in case we are under attack. Lastly, hold on, and don't die."

"Well that makes me feel better." Said Magnus flatly.

"May the odds be ever in our favor." Sighed Leo.