The Ghosts Among Us: A Percy Jackson Halloween Special

10 | In Which Percy Blows Up

"We'll cover you, Percy, grab Hazel and just run. We'll be right behind you," Annabeth said.

Percy looked at his girlfriend, concerned. "Are you sure you can do it?" He asked.

Annabeth stared at Percy with an 'are you serious, Seaweed Brain?' look. "Percy, have you met me? Making sure someone doesn't touch you seems like a piece of cake compared to everything else I've done," Annabeth said.

"Yeah," Percy nodded, trying to sound happy though his voice was dull and sunken, "Okay."

They finally reached Hazel while dodging around a few possessed demigods that reached for them. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia jumped in between Piper and Hazel. Frank laid behind Piper, crumpled on the ground and screaming in pain. The transformation seemed to be extra long for the son of Mars.

"Let's go, Hazel," Percy said, capping up Riptide and shoving it in his pocket. He then picked up Hazel easily, she was so light, and slung her over his shoulder bridal style. Hazel just proceeded to scream and thrash, pounding on Percy's back with her tiny fists.

"NO!" Hazel screamed through tears. "I CAN'T LEAVE HIM! I CAN'T! I CAN'T LEAVE FRANK! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Hazel, he's gone!" Percy tried to yell over her screaming as they ran. That's when the realization finally swept over Percy. "He's... he's gone," Percy said quietly, his voice breaking.

Just stay strong for a few more minutes until no one is watching. Do it for Hazel. You need to, Percy thought to himself as he ran. Taking a shaky breath and snapping his eyes shut for a second before opening them again, Percy did his best to regain himself.

Continuing running, Percy saw that Thalia and Annabeth were indeed following him. Unfortunately, so were Rachel, Grover, and Clarisse, all scowling and black eyed. Any time they would reach for Thalia or Annabeth, the two girls would dodge them and push them back with their weapon, careful not to touch them.

Percy looked forward again to see his cabin wasn't that far away. He just had to make it there and lock the door and they would be safe. Hazel had grown exhausted and wasn't pounding on his back as aggressively, just soft and weakly. Her head rested on Percy's shoulder, her curly hair falling in her face.

"Frank," She whispered, her throat sore from all the screaming she had been doing, "Please... Frank."

"It's okay, Hazel," Percy said, trying to comfort her, "It's okay."

Finally, they reached the Poseidon cabin. Percy fumbled for the knob, turned it, and leaped inside. He held it open just wide enough for Thalia and Annabeth to quickly dive inside, then quickly slammed it shut, just before the possessed demigods could follow after, making sure to lock the door.

After that, Percy tried to turn on the lights, but the lightbulbs seemed dead. It wasn't that bad though since the full moon was shining through the window and illuminating the room with natural, yet slightly eerie, light. It was a bit odd since the moon light was nowhere to be seen at the campfire in the amphitheater though.

Percy gently placed Hazel down on one of the beds, then collapsed to the ground himself, panting heavily, exhausted from the long, tiresome run. Hazel really put up a fight. He sighed, taking off the round glasses he wore that went along with his costume.

Harry Potter would be able to save the day if he was here, Percy thought to himself glumly. Glaring at the fake glasses, he tossed them aside along with the wand. The Aphrodite campers would probably be upset he was being so careless with his costume accessories, but he still had every other part to the costume. They were probably dead anyways...

He sat up a tiny bit, just enough so he could see what Thalia and Annabeth were doing. They were pushing one of the giant, heavy chests for storage in the Poseidon cabin in front of the door, just for good measure. They then ran around the cabin to each window, closing and locking them, then shutting the curtains.

Percy found the part of putting the curtains back over the windows a little humorous. As if the possessed demigods would smash the window, but then see the little curtain and just give up and walk away. Though it was his Wise Girl doing this, so he decided to trust her.

Percy groaned, standing up and adjusting his wizard cloak. He looked behind him at Hazel. Hazel who had fallen asleep in a crumpled heap, a look of anguish on her face, tear tracks on her cheeks.

Percy frowned, sad to see one of his best friends like this. He turned around to face Thalia and Annabeth. "So this is actually happening," Percy said, his voice low and hollow, "They're all... they're all-"

"Dead," Thalia spat angrily, "They're all dead."

Percy stared at Thalia in shock. "You say that as if you don't even care," He said.

Thalia glared back at him. "Of course I care, you idiot! Probably more than either of you do! My brother is out there! I've just dealt with so much loss in my life. Jason when we were just kids, Bianca, Zoë, my mom, all those Hunters, Luke! I mean, I just got Jason back, but then he goes and dies again! So many people in my life have left me! This is basically just a... normality for me," Thalia blurted, her eyes getting surprisingly watery.

Percy's expression softened, along with Annabeth's. "Hey," Annabeth said, hugging Thalia tightly, "You still have us, and we are never going to leave you."

"That's the thing with being immortal though," Thalia said. Percy couldn't help but notice how broken and defeated she sounded. "You're all going to grow old and die! When you're 99, I'll still be a 15 year old girl! I'll watch so many lives just pass me by and I'll never get to see them again!"

"Then leave the Hunt!" Percy said, joining in on the yelling.

"Leave the Hunt?" Thalia growled, glaring at Percy with such an angry look it frightened him. "Are you insane?! I can't leave the Hunt! I love those guys! They're like my family!"

Something about Thalia's last line made Percy snap inside, though he didn't quite know why. 'They're like my family!' Perhaps Percy was just angry that Thalia wasn't as loyal towards him, Annabeth, and Camp as he was to her.

Percy's face darkened and he clenched his fists, glaring daggers at Thalia. Thalia's eyes widened in surprise at the fury radiating from the usually happy guy. But instead of a loud shout coming out, Percy's voice was quiet and barely audible, yet somehow horrifying.

"And we're not?" Percy scowled. He spun around and began to walk towards the bathroom. But right before he entered, he stopped in the doorway. Without turning around or moving, he said, "Why don't you make up your mind before you go whining to us. You can go to your family if you want to do that."