This is Halloween - The Great Holiday Mystery

7. Agreement

Leo banged the machine a few more times, a nail between his teeth and tool littering the ground around him.

‘Pass me that hammer there,’ he instructed Jason.

The son of Jupiter handed Leo the tool just out of his reach. Leo nodded thanks and hammered the nail into the base of the DJ booth. Sitting back on his haunches, the son of Hephaestus wiped his brow.

‘Nearly done,’ he said with satisfaction. ‘Not long now.’

‘Hey, guys,’ Percy strode into the Mess Hall, high fiving Frank on the way who was wiping down a bench and nodding at Nico across the room. ‘The girls are getting on with the costumes.’

'They better leave some behind,’ Leo mumbled, too busy concentrating on his work to look up.

‘I wouldn’t bet on it,’ Percy shook his head. ‘The way they want everything. You know girls.’

Frank chuckled, ‘Don’t let them hear you say that.’

Percy shuddered, ‘I’d never live another peaceful moment.’

Working in silence, the five boys slaved away to ready the Mess Hall for the Halloween party the following night. The pillars were strung thickly with rolls of cotton, pulled apart to look like spider webs.

Here and there, small plastic replicas of the arachnids dotted the white material. Lain across the cabin tables, cloths patterned with spiders and pumpkins, and on every table was a pumpkin carving, ready for a candle to be placed inside.

The disco ball hung up on a metal bracing Leo had already put up and installed. At the moment, it was dark, but Leo knew the flickering orange it would become upon activation.

‘It looks good,’ Nico said, breaking the silence in a way that only the son of Hades could.

‘Yeah,’ the others agreed.

It fell silent once more; an uneasiness hanging over the five of them that couldn’t be explained. They all felt a heaviness inside them; an instinct. As if reading each other’s minds, Percy, Nico, Jason, Frank and Leo looked up from their work and exchanged looks.

‘Do you,’ Percy started, feeling strange, ‘feel … odd?’

‘If, when you say odd, you mean like we’re in danger,’ Frank replied. ‘Then yes, I feel odd.’

Jason hesitated, ‘There’s something I haven’t told you. Hazel and I found something yesterday. A note. It said that we’d sleep forever.’

Silence.

Percy shifted, ‘We haven’t been entirely honest with you guys either. Nico found a note and showed it to me and Annabeth. In short, it said that we had to beware and that someone was going to attack us at the party.’

Frank’s face darkened, ‘We’re being targeted again.’

‘We just have to be alert,’ Nico broke in. ‘If we’re on guard there’s no way whoever it is can take us down.’

‘We have warning,’ Jason said. ‘Why did we have warning?’

Leo stood up from the booth’s control panel looking as serious as the jokester could.

‘Isn’t it obvious,’ he shook his head. ‘We’re being played with. This is another game.’

‘By the same person as the last time?’ Frank wondered.

‘Sounds like,’ Percy said.

Leo balled his fists, ‘We can’t afford to get all worried over it. What happens happens. Now, as for me,’ he shoved his thumb at his chest and smirked, ‘I wanna have a happy Halloween. And what better way to shove it in this guys face than having a good time?’

‘Never thought the day would come when Leo is right,’ Jason chuckled. Then the smile turned sincere. ‘But you are. There’s no point worrying over something we can’t help.’

‘Exactly, thank you,’ Leo nodded. Then he paused and frowned, ‘Hey!’

‘Well, I think the Mess Hall is done,’ Frank gazed around appreciatively. ‘And its almost midday. Should we check on the girls?’

‘They’ve had hours, they should be done,’ Percy said.

‘Should,’ Nico grumbled under his breath.

‘Come on.’

Frank led the way out of them Mess Hall and down to the cabins area. Campers they passed offer high fives and cheered. Some thanked the demigods for the upcoming party. Leo bathed in the praise, acting like some sort of king, bowing and waving, until Jason slapped him upside the head.

‘Idiot,’ the son of Jupiter scolded.

‘Jason,’ Calypso called from the deck of the Aphrodite cabin. ‘Are you manhandling my boyfriend?’ The boys drew closer and the immortal gardener girl folded her arms, ‘You know only I’m allowed to do that.’

Leo scoffed, ‘Thanks for the love.’

Calypso rolled her eyes, ‘The girls are almost done. You can go in in a sec.’

‘How long does it take to pick an outfit?’ Percy complained.

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Annabeth said, emerging from the cabin. ‘You’ll figure it out when you’re in there.’

‘Well, if you lot would finish up, we would be in there,’ Leo mumbled.

Calypso grabbed his ear, ‘I heard that.’

‘Ow, ow, ow!’ Leo’s face screwed up in pain. ‘Hurting me.’

Calypso smirked and let go, ‘That’s the idea.’

Leo rubbed his earlobe but wisely kept quiet.

Finally, Hazel and Piper came out, followed by an unexpected friend.

‘Thalia?’ Jason said, his sister coming over and embracing him.

‘Long time no see, little bro,’ the Hunter chuckled, ruffling his hair.

Jason pat it back down again, ‘Well, actually, going by years, I’m really-’

‘Dream about it,’ Thalia put him in a headlock which he struggled against, unsuccessfully.

‘When did you get here?’ Leo asked, watching in amusement as his best friend was taken on by his older/not-so-older sister.

‘The Hunters arrived early this morning,’ Thalia said.

‘Enough chit chat,’ Percy said impatiently. ‘I wanna get my costume!’

Annabeth laughed and stood aside, ‘In you go, boys. Just don't screw anything up.’