Guiding Light (Perzoe)(Under Editing)

A Talk

Four
A Talk

"Chiron, I promise you, I'm not running myself ragged." Percy said, a silent sense of annoyance dousing his words.

"Alright, but try lightening up okay? I can't have you failing me." Chiron begged, knowing he played a dirty card. Percy hates letting people down, especially now. He attributed the action to the old Percy, something he was trying desperately to get away from.

"Of course, Chiron." Percy replied, a slight edge to his tone. He was as angry about the card as the centaur was guilty. On top of that, he was was dead tired. Demigod dreams had been keeping him awake for the past week, sleep eluding him like prey might escape a hunter.

Seeing that the conversation was over, the boy quickly bounded off the steps, heading for the sea. The water had always calmed him, and it gave him a place to practice in peace. After all, who can distract you when you're ten feet under water.

He probably would have headed to the Arena, but the weapons classes were probably full swing right about now. More than anything, Percy hates people getting in his way when he had something to accomplish.

It had been months since Percy had turned his mother away atop half blood hill, and summer was right around the corner. Along with the return of the campers, came an undying nip of annoyance. Not only did they bother him and interrupt his workouts, but they had the gall to just sit around and play games.

They were at a camp that was created to save their life, but the camp wouldn't be here forever. There would be a time when they'd have to make it in the real world, and the only ones who showed any potential were the Area and Apollo cabins. Some stood out among the laziness of their cabin such as Silena and Annabeth, but many just wasted their days at the volleyball court, or in the water.

Percy had planned on talking to Chiron about it, but anytime he neared the old centaur, he would shoot the boy a look, conveying the message of their multiple conversations on the same topic; That he should start taking it easy.

After a few dreadful moments of maneuvering through campers on the beach, the boy finally found himself situated at the bottom of the water, where he kneeled. As if they could feel the anger radiating off of him, the schools of fish and sea life avoided him like the plague. He would always be their prince, but they had learned to avoid him on days such as these.

The first thing that came to his mind were the dreams. Various flashes of Olympus in ruins, the underworld, and another place he just couldn't make out. It looked to be a palace like Othyrs, but the sky about it was littered with stars and the blackness of space.

And then there was the hallucinations that seemed to just love crippling him. They were always of his memories of him and Zoe, and yet some looked to be what could have happened in the future. He always woke up in a cold sweat after those.

Percy had maybe been spacing out for a few brief moments before he felt a body sinking in the water next to him. The boy wanted to turn and lay out on the demigod for interrupting him, but was met with the sight of Kayla, one of the smaller campers, unmoving underneath the wrathful waves caused by his negligence. 

The demigod instantly surged forward, scooping up the mere child before propelling himself to the surface. As soon as his feet hit sand, Percy hurriedly set the girl down before beginning CPR.

The seconds seemed to tick by like an old grandfather clock as Percy shoved on her chest, all while trying to draw the water from her lungs. He could feel the liquid moving throughout her lungs, and it took all his strength to force it back up her throat and out of her mouth.

Just as Percy felt a hand settle atop his shoulder, the kid let out a soft cough which rapidly built into stronger ones, hacking up the remaining bits of water. Percy could only sink back on his heels as he kneeled next to Kayla, seemingly better after the coughing fit.

As much as Percy he come to despise his fellow campers, he loved them to the stars and back, some of them more than others. Kayla was one of them. The little girl, only eight, had always been one of Percy's favorites. She was a daughter of Apollo and had declared herself Percy's official doctor, something that had drawn a hard fought smile from the usually angry boy. As soon as Percy deemed her alright, the demigod swept up Kayla in a tight hug, ready to berate her for being so foolish.

"Kayla! Thank the gods you're okay! What were you thinking! I told you I would teach you how to swim, but you need to be careful around the water, it's not forgiving." Percy whispered, hugging the now crying girl against him. The boy could feel various eyes on him, but he couldn't care less. While Kayla had declared herself his doctor, Percy had turned right around and declared her his little sister, making the child laugh and smile before hugging him.

"You were... you... you were under there so long... I just wanted to see if you were okay.... but the water kept pushing me down..." Kayla cried through choked sobs, only enhancing the gut wrenching feeling in his heart. She's been hurt because of him, because he wasn't paying attention and the thought killed him on the inside.

He would have to work even harder then. He wasn't strong enough. If he had been any slower, any weaker, she might have not survived, and Percy knew he wouldn't have been able to live with himself if that had been the case. The deaths of his friends still weighed heavily on his mind and heart, add to it the recent disappearance of Nico, Percy was a broken mess, but he would keep pushing.

That's what the Hero's supposed to do right? To push and push through all their hardships until they can't push any longer, and then to even still keep pushing? Isn't that what made them Hero's?

It was for people like Kayla and Annabeth that he would keep training, keep practicing. He wouldn't give up until he knew that they could both go home to their families and never have to worry about another thing from the world of Gods and Myths. He would do it for everyone.

That was an admirable goal wasn't it? A thought struck Percy like a speeding bullet; What would Zoe think of his goal? He would never admit it, but his crush for her had seemingly grown in the past few months and his hounding Of Annabeth for any knowledge about immortals was starting to put a strain on their friendship. He was convinced she was somehow alive, or could be revived if his dreams were anything to go off of. The idea brought a feeling of pure hope to him. Maybe he could save someone after all.

But it didn't matter much to him. It was all the same if she was safe. And in the process of saving everyone, he would bring back the countless people that had given their lives because he wasn't strong enough. He would repay their deed a thousand times over, and even then he didn't know if he could consider it enough.

Percy would climb this mountain before him, even if he woke up to find himself at the bottom, he would keep climbing and climbing until he finally reached the top, even if it killed him.