The Harvest Trials

Chapter XX

Reyna

The four of us sat huddled behind a restaurant in Trincheras, watching Calypso's mad hacking skills. We'd stolen someone's laptop last night and Calypso had been making slow but steady progress all day with getting past firewalls. She was almost in. Thalia and her hunters had gone ahead to meet up with the Amazons. Hylla sent me a letter back telling me she'd meet us in Phoenix, Arizona.

Meanwhile, Piper was enlightening us with a story. "Okay, so when the guards came back one afternoon I requested tampons, because you know."

This caught Rachel's attention. "And Leo looked at me like I was an alien from Venus or something," Piper continued, laughing. "He said, 'Wait, periods are real? Like, girls actually have those?'"

Calypso chuckled, no doubt thinking about her boyfriend's idiocy. Piper had to pause to let the giggles even out before continuing. "And Hazel gave him a look that shut him up right away. It was priceless! And then Percy perked up and said, 'Calypso's never sent you on a tampon run before?'"

Piper had to stop again, laughing too hard. "And-and then Leo looked so lost and-and embarrassed! Percy was just shaking his head in disappointment. Oh my gods, it was the funniest thing!"

"But did you get your tampons?" Rachel asked through giggles. "Yes, I got my tampons," Piper answered, "thanks for asking." I grinned at the two idiots. 

Just then, Calypso let out a yelp and a squeal. "I'm in!" she yelled, "I'm in, I'm in, I'm in!" We all crowded around the screen. She was officially hacked into the database. She pulled up a map of the compound and Rachel was already copying it down. 

While Rachel copied down the map, Calypso adjusted the headset and pulled up another tab in the corner. It was a little box measuring sound waves and I had to assume it was the comms back at the compound. 

Calypso sat listening to them for a little while and I studied the screen, trying to memorize the layout of the compound. That was until Calypso gasped and threw the headset. "What is it?" Piper asked. Calypso quickly unplugged the headphones and turned up the volume. 

"Damn it," a woman's voice was saying. 

"Montgomery, what seems to be the problem?" someone else answered. Montgomery replied, swearing again and the four of us all exchanged a glance. This couldn't be good. 

Another voice tuned in, "We are on our way to the cell with the body. Everette decided to tag along." 

My eyebrows shot up in alarm. "The body?" Piper screeched. 

"In answer to your question, Leroy, there was an overload in the Harvester this evening." Montgomery chuckled. "I guess the poor kid couldn't take anymore of it. He died at around 1:27 am."

"Oh no wonder Everette's so pissed. There goes his most prized demigod. That kid was his sole water income!"

I sat back on my heels. Everything was hitting me at once. I knew it had to be true, but I didn't want to believe it. 

"What was his name again?" the mystery voice from earlier chimed in. "Jackson," said Leroy, "Perseus Jackson."

Jackson, Perseus Jackson. Perseus Jackson. Percy Jackson. Percy. Percy is dead. Percy is dead.

I sat in shock, not at all sure how to begin processing this new, devastating news. Percy can't be dead. He can't be. Percy and death don't even exist in the same realm of possibilities. Right?

No. Percy can't be dead. He can't be. No. 

Percy is supposed to be invincible! He's supposed to be the hero, the one that always wins! He's supposed to be alive and well, just waiting for the opportunity to save everyone. He's supposed to follow the one rule of all those stories. The good guys always win! So why have we lost?

When I look up, we're all in various forms of grief and shock. Rachel starts gagging and has to stumble off to where she throws up all the contents of her stomach into a bush. 

Calypso's staring numbly at the screen in front of her. Her hands are no longer on the keys, but hovering in front of her face. Shaking. 

Piper's probably taking it the worst out of all of us. The news took a little while to sink in, but now she's sobbing. And I feel the pain ripping through her screams. I feel it deep down. I wish I could make a sound like that to let out all of the pain, but I can't seem to be able to. And it hurts everywhere. 

My chest aches from the gulps of air that won't fill my lungs. My heart aches from this empty space meant for my friend. My head is pounding, my fingers are numb. 

And I don't know what to do. 

My first thought is Annabeth. My gods, I can't believe the pain she must be going through right now. But then I remember that she probably doesn't even know. She probably hasn't even seen Percy in forever and now he's gone. 

And I think that's almost worse. My soul hurts for Annabeth. Because someone is going to have to tell her. And I can just pray that it won't have to be me. 

My second thought is Thalia. Thalia is Percy's cousin, and I know they're pretty close. When we get to Phoenix, we're going to have to tell her that her cousin is dead. What has the world come to?

^*^*^*^

We didn't arrive in Phoenix until early the next morning. When we got to the rendezvous point, I could see Thalia and her hunters waiting there with the Amazons. I spotted Hylla and I broke into a run, already crying.

I practically flew at her, tackling her in a hug. When we broke away, I could see that she was crying too. "I was so worried," she said. "I'm so glad you're safe."

Later, after a little more catching up, I took a deep breath, going over what I would say in my head. Thalia noticed my silence and frowned, bumping her shoulder into mine. "What's up?" she asked casually enough, but I could just pick out the slight tremor in her voice. 

My mood plummeted even more, and the other women around me seemed to pick up on that. "Thalia..." I started. "There's something you need to know."

Her frown deepened and she sat forward. "What is it?" She asked. She looked between Piper, Rachel, Calypso, and I, all of us avoiding her piercing stare. 

I think that's when she knew something was horribly wrong. 

"Reyna," she begged, "what's wrong?"

My throat was closing up. I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to have to tell her. I didn't want the news to be true. But someone had to do it and the other three were obviously not pitching in anytime soon. 

"Thalia, Percy is dead."

"Huh?" Was all she said. I looked away before looking her in the eyes. I nodded once.

She got off a choked laugh. Then she laughed again. But the more she tried to play it off, the more it sank in and her shaky smile dipped more and more into a quivering frown. Her eyes soon filled with tears. "Y-You're joking right? This is a joke?"

A tear slipped. Then another. "Thalia..." I tried again and she started sobbing. I'd never seen her cry, let alone this. She was torn. She fell into me and I held her. She had me in a tight hold. She didn't let go for a long time, just sobbing. 

She didn't ask for details, didn't ask anything, really. Just cried. A long time later, when most everyone had spread out, gathering things for a camp and organizing plans, and when Thalia's cries had dissolved into hiccups, she sat back. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as we sat together on the dirt ground. 

She was struggling to catch her breath and she kept wiping at her eyes, thought they were long since dry. 

She scoffed. "You know, the shitty thing is, I knew I was gonna outlive him," she said, turning to look at me. Her lips started quivering again and she let out a shaky breath that sounded a little like a strangled cry. "But it wasn't supposed to happen so soon," she whispered. 

"I know," I whispered back, "I know."

Her gaze hardened. She clenched her fists and stood, huffing. Her soft, hurt expression morphed into one of rage and determination. She gritted her teeth and scowled. She glanced at me, her electric eyes carrying with them a shock of purpose.

"Let's go kill that motherfucker," she said.