Second Chances: Another Wrong Move

Chapter Five

Percy Jackson

In my hazy state of unconsciousness, I began to dream. They were confusing. If my memory hadn't been shot, they probably would have made more sense.

The first dream had featured the woman from the day before and some random man that looked like he belonged in a surfing ad. They were staring at a bundle in Sally's arms, only breaking their gaze when the sound of thunder entered their ears.

"Sally," the man took a small step back. "You need to keep him safe. He'll be powerful when he grows up, and my brother will not approve of his existence."

"How do you expect me to protect him, Poseidon?"

The dream changed when the man, apparently named after the god of the sea, disappeared in a splash of water. The scene changed to reveal multiple people screaming at one another in what appeared to be a large throne room. I stood directly in the middle of the action, but it seemed like no one could see me.

"Perseus has been taken to Camp Half-Blood," Poseidon said to the others, briefly shutting everyone up.

"Chiron let the traitor into Camp?" an angry voice suddenly boomed.

"My son has no memory of anything he's done in the past," he glanced at the other man as he continued to speak.

I stopped listening as I tried to process some of the words the surfer and the other guy had said. My father was that weirdly named guy? That meant the baby in my last dream had likely been... me. Was the monster that had attacked me the thing Sally was supposed to protect me from?

The monster. The attack. My dream suddenly took on a hazy shade of red as an unbearable pain flared up in my chest. My arms felt heavy as they moved to clutch the burning skin. If not for another person grabbing them, they would have made it there.

I opened my eyes and screamed. The shadows on the edge of my vision made it difficult to see the blonde gripping my hand.

"I know it hurts, Perce," he spoke gently. "I had to touch around the wound to heal it, but it's stopped bleeding. You'll be okay."

I screamed again, making the small smile on his face drop. He attempted to yell over my pained screech. Two people reached over to join him. As they started speaking in a different language that I could someone understand, the pain faded and everything returned to the darkness of nightmares and dreams.

Clarisse La Rue

The sounds coming from the infirmary besides the Big House made our meeting come to an abrupt halt. The gathered cabin heads glanced at one another. If the gods wanted Chiron to kick Percy out of camp, they'd likely have to wait. I had a feeling Will Solace cared more about saving the momentarily innocent boy than removing him from our home.

It felt weird discussing the life of someone that was supposed to be dead. We've been having the same conversation since WIll had kicked nearly everyone out of the infirmary. The only person allowed to stay were the injured, the sick, and those with the ability to heal their peers. With nothing else to worry about but the son of Poseidon, Annabeth had called for a head counselor meeting.

"I really think we need to convince the gods to let Percy stay at Camp Half-Blood," the blonde repeated as soon as the chaos outside ceased.

"The only issue with him staying here is the fact that he believes we are keeping him here to fight," I sighed. "I know we kind of are, but that isn't going to convince him to stick around."

"If Gaea has the same intention, to have Percy fight, will he side with her, either?" Bianca asked curiously. "He has no reason to side with our parents or the Giants."

"He had no reason to side with the Titans."

Travis's words made silence fall over the room. We all knew he hated Percy the most. His brother had been one of the demigods killed in the war. The only thing keeping him from ending Percy's life was the fact that Percy had been jailed on Olympus when the other boy had died.

"That is true," another counselor said quietly.

"That isn'ttrue," Annabeth glared at everyone in the room. "Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty. Had we been able to save him before Kronos and Luke had tortured him into complying, we could have kept him on our side."

The room once again lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. I knew Annabeth was right, just like the rest of the group. Percy Jackson had plenty of reasons to work with the Titans. We had given up on him.

8/22/19