The lost hero returns

22. We are ready

"Parade rest!" I order loud and clear.

800 soldiers move as one.
They are all in uniform. Which is black cargo pants, boots and T-shirt.
It looks very cool. It makes me smile.

"Thank you for comming. We have a big day ahead of us. Tomorrow camp half-blood will be attacked by the goddess Nyx and her army. Our duty is to protect this camp and defeat the goddess. It will be a hard and difficult battle. But I know that with each and every one of you. We will win." I say.

I turn around facing the campers.
"Take your rest tonight. You will need your strength. There will be guards everywhere. You can count on them. Besides. I think she will attack at nightfall when she is the most powerful. So we have tomorrow for final preparations." I say to them.
They nod and look determined.

I think my soldiers gave them a confidence boost that they needed. That's why I called them here now and not in the morning.
Maybe this will make sure they can sleep better tonight.

I turn back around to my army. "I will take care of the cabins. Alpha. Assign a team for patrols and guards. Let me know when anything happens. Immediately." I say.

Luke salutes.

"Dismissed." I say to the army.

I want to walk to an open space but hands hold me back. Chiron.

I turn around and see the demigods looking at me.

"Omega... We can't thank you enough for everything. With your help we stand a chance." Chiron says.

"No problem. Glad we can help." I tell them.

I turn around and get my army some cabins.
I get four cabins. I felt all my energy leaving my body.

"Each know your jobs and tasks for tonight. Get some rest. I expect all of you to follow protocol tomorrow morning." I say.

The protocol means that everyone has a task. The task has been decided before they came here. And that after the task they make preparations.

They all split up in their cabins. It can easily hold 200 soldiers each. They are bigger on the inside than you might think.

I look around and see all the campers heading for their cabins to get some rest.

After 10 minutes camp is everyone has returned to their cabins and is the camp deserted. Except for the patrols.

I take a deep breath.

As I often do before battle I get to a water source. In this case the lake.

I sit down in the sand and I close my eyes.

I can never sleep before a battle so I meditate.
In the beginning it was hard to sit still and do nothing. But I forced my ADHD to take a seat and shut up.

I focus on my breath and clear my mind.

I listen to the sound of the water and the leaves in the trees. I take everything in.

I think about the campers. About my team. My soldiers. The plan. Everything.

We are ready.

>>>>>

The sun is comming up and the sky turns a beautiful blue collor.

I can hear someone approaching.

"Did you sit here all night?" She asks.

"Yeah. I often do this before battle. It helps me clear my mind." I tell her as she sits down next to me.

Annabeth's blonde hair was in a ponytail and she is wearing black pants and her orange camp shirt. She looks tired. I guess she didn't get much sleep.

"I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. And how sorry I am for what happened. And please believe me when I tell you that I would never have broken up with you. Never. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. And I hope you can forgive me for everything I did." She says looking at the water.

I know that this is never easy for a child of Athena. Their fatal flaw is mostly pride.
So apologies are not common.

But right now. She looks like she doesn't care.

"I do." I say. She looks at me. "I was thinking about everything. I think I forgave you a long time ago. But Annabeth. I don't think I will come back to camp. I am happy as commander." I say.

"I know. The way you calmed the campers last night.. It was amazing. You know what you are doing and you love doing it." She says.
"But I really miss you. I miss the old times. And I don't think I can ever forgive myself for everything I did." She says with tears.

I lean over and give her a hug.

"Annabeth. You have to. I don't want you to stay stuck in the past. You deserve to live and be happy. Things have changed. But you need to forgive yourself." I say.

"Since when did you turn into the smart one?" She asks smiling.

"Oh well. I am actually more than 250 years old. It must be the age." I say grinning.

She looks at me with wide eyes.

I laugh. She is still beautiful.
It's going to hurt so much when I am going back. But I want to stay with Chaos.

We sit next to each other in a comfortable silence for a while. Just looking at the sunrise.

I take a deep breath and stand up.

"Let's go. We need to wake the campers." I say. She takes my hand and we head for the cabins.

I wake my soldiers and Annabeth the campers. In half an hour everyone is eating breakfast and talking.

I search for Alpha.
He is talking to the patrol. His face looks serious and he looks around.

"Everything okay?" I ask.

"We were looking for you." Luke says.

"Why? Whats wrong?" I ask.

"The army is approaching. And it's big." The soldier says.