The Mark of Athena (Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 3- Piper

Chapter 3

Piper

     Piper saw Jason so happy at Camp Jupiter. This was his home. That Reyna girl was totally checking him out. That made Piper mad, but she needed to be happy for Jason.

     In the barracks, she chatted with Hazel. Hazel was nice. She said she grew up in New Orleans and her father was the god of the Underworld. After a long conversation, Piper felt so tired she clunked out immediately. The dreams followed her.

     She was at Camp Half-Blood. There was a fight. There were splashes of orange and purple. Octavian was leading the Romans to attack the Greeks.

     Piper saw that there were only about eighty Romans. But the Greeks were losing. Piper watched in horror as a familiar face –Travis Stoll- fell. Piper wanted to scream, Travis! Someone help him! Her voice didn’t work.

     You see, Gaea purred in her mind. The Greeks and Romans were never meant to work together. Give up, daughter of Aphrodite. You’ll never make it past Rome.

     Camp Half-Blood went up in flames.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

     Piper woke up. “No!” she cried. She was shaking and crying. Gaea wanted to tear Piper apart. Mother Earth was winning.

     “Piper, are you okay?” Hazel was dressed and packing a bag. She rushed to Piper’s bed and the two new friends hugged.

     Piper managed to shake her head. “I think Octavian is planning an attack on Camp Half-Blood.”

     Hazel bit her lip. “Octavian has the motivations. I think you’re right. But right after breakfast we’re leaving.”

     “This can wait,” Piper agreed, nodding. “We can always Iris message Reyna if we find out about an attack.”

     “Of course we can,” Hazel said, patting Piper’s forehead. “Get dressed. I’ll meet you at breakfast.”

     “Got it,” Piper said as Hazel left.

     As Piper dressed, she thought about the different alternatives. It was either Gaea just trying to scare her, or Octavian was leading an attack and Gaea wanted to rub it in Piper’s face. Whatever caused the nightmare to happen, Piper was shaken.

     Piper’s things were already on the warship. She borrowed the pajamas from a girl named Gwen. Gwen had been a centurion for the Fifth Cohort, but after dying and coming back to life, she stepped down to go to college. Piper didn’t find that comforting.

     At breakfast, Piper was the last one at the table. Thank the gods Reyna wasn’t there. Piper already felt miserable from her dream. She didn’t need to think about Jason.

     Everyone’s eyes followed Piper’s every move. Piper slumped down between Jason and Frank. A wind nymph got her some toast. She picked the bread apart with her hands.

     Annabeth didn’t have any food. She had bags under her eyes and she played with something in her pocket. She sighed before saying, “We only have six.”

     “What?” Percy asked.

     Annabeth sighed again. “Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. That’s you, Piper, Jason, Leo, Hazel, and Frank. That’s only six.”

     “But you’re the seventh,” Jason argued. “We decided this when we first planned making the Argo II.”

     Again, Annabeth played with her pocket. Since last month, she’s been looking and touching her pocket all the time. “I have my doubts.”