Ch. 7

Over the next week, Thalia Grace struggled to acclimate herself to normal life in Camp Half Blood again. Despite the fact that her abduction was brief, it had shaken the daughter of Zeus. After everything she'd seen and been through, she just couldn't slip back into the daily schedule of demigod training.

She kept seeing the decapitated head of Jackson staring at her, eyes wide and mouth open, like he was calling out for her to save him. The image of his murder replayed over and over in her head as she thought about what she could have done to save him.

Perhaps if she hadn't sent Perseus into a rage, Jackson would still be alive.

Maybe if she'd been braver, she could have warned him before he could attack a god.

But she did nothing. She had been curled up like a scared child and just watched dumbstruck as one of her friends was slain right in front of her.

She was a coward.

During the days, she often kept to herself and excused herself from lessons. Chiron had told her it was her decision on what activities she would go to. The old centaur was sympathetic after her ordeal, though he did suggest she try to keep active during the days in order to help put it all behind her. He didn't press her on details and she was quite grateful for that.

Luke had tried to broach the subject but he gave up quickly when he was zapped after putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. She tried to apologize but he'd taken care to avoid her for the next few days.

Despite feeling guilty for hurting him, she was actually happy that she was left in peace. She really didn't want to talk to anyone about what'd happened yet. Whenever she did emerge from her cabin, to eat or shower, she could feel the probing eyes of her fellow campers, whispering to each other and then averting their eyes when she'd look at them.

But the days were the least of her problems.

Her nights were a million times worse. Every night, she would find herself returning to the place of her dream about Perseus and Artemis. Like her first dream, she would often just watch as they played in the forest, both just mere godlings, not looking any older than she was. Other times, she found herself looking through the eyes of the goddess herself, sitting in a secluded pocket of forest and just talking and laughing with Perseus. It wasn't hard for her to see the connection the two shared.

She would wake in a cold sweat, feeling like she'd just closed her eyes only to find the sun risen and the sounds of demigods beginning their days outside her cabin.

She struggled to comprehend everything in her dreams or why she was even having them. The god that'd taken her was nothing like the joyous and playful boy that haunted her dreams.

But then she figured being cast into Tartarus had that effect on a person, even a god.

The hunters had appeared in camp a few days after they'd burned the shroud for Jackson. That only gave her less incentive to come out of her cabin. For the most part, the hunters kept to themselves, eating at the Artemis table and only talking amongst themselves. Well, with the exception of one.

Every time she would raise her eyes from her meal, she would catch the dark, piercing eyes of Zoe Nightshade staring at her. As soon as she noticed she'd been caught, she'd turn away and join her fellow huntresses in conversation. But with near certainty, Thalia would catch the huntress eyeing her again, making her feel even less comfortable in camp.

She'd met Zoe Nightshade before, while on the run with Luke, Annabeth and Grover. She'd almost convinced Thalia to join the hunt before Luke had talked her out of it. Part of her now wondered if maybe it would have been better if she'd taken Zoe's offer all those years ago.

On top of all of that, they gods had gone silent. Dionysus had vanished from camp and Chiron had been less than clear on the reason for his absence or the happenings of the gods. She hated the way they kept her in the dark. Her bitterness only grew as she recalled the prophecy Perseus told her. If it was true, she was going to die to save Olympus anyway... The least they could do was keep her updated on the status of her current death sentence.

Perseus' claim of capturing Athena and Hermes was still the talk of camp, even a week later. Chiron had assured them that it wasn't possible but even he didn't sound convinced that it was a lie. The fact that Artemis had dumped the hunters off in camp made Thalia sure that things were going badly on Olympus.

Thalia peaked her head out the window of the Zeus cabin. She could see the campers preparing for their weekly game of capture the flag. With the hunters in camp, the game would be a continuance of the decades old rivalry with the hunters. Currently, the demigods were zero for eternity. But like always, their spirits were high at the prospect of ending the hunt's winning streak.

Thalia had made a point to stay inside all day. The last thing she wanted was to go into a deadly game with Zoe Nightshade on the opposite side. The way she had looked at her made Thalia feel like being on the opposite side of Zoe's bow was not a good life choice.

She jumped when she heard her door thump loudly. She cursed under her breath as she slowly climbed out of her bed. She slipped on her boots and opened the door.

Chiron was standing in front of her cabin, armed with his bow and medical supplies, his usual attire as referee for capture the flag.

"Thalia, my dear." His smile didn't quite seem to reach his eyes. "It is almost time for the game to start. You should be getting ready."

She didn't meet his gaze. She didn't want to see the disapproval in it.

"I... Uh... I'm not really feeling good, Chiron." She said and started to close her door. Chiron's hand reached out and stopped it before it could close. It forced her to look up at him.

"My poor girl," the genuine sympathy in his voice broke her heart a little. "I know it's been a difficult time for you. But you'll never be able to move past this by hiding in your cabin. You need to come out, interact with your friends, return to your life."

She couldn't help but frown, "I know, Chiron." She rubbed the back of her head. "I... I just don't think I'm ready." She sounded pathetic and she knew it.

He held out his hand to her, "You'll never know if you don't try. Come, join me. You can serve as a referee with me."

She looked at his hand for a moment. She hated how much his argument made sense. Why did he always have to make so much sense? It made coming up with an excuse nearly impossible.

"Okay," she sighed. "Let me get dressed. I'll be out in a minute."

This time, his smile seemed less forced as he nodded and backed away from the door.

The string of curses she whispered under her breath would have earned her stable duties for the next month as she slipped into a pair of ripped jeans and Green Day t-shirt. She grabbed a black hoody and slipped it on, throwing the hood up as she stepped out of her cabin. She kept her head down and made her way over to Chiron who was waiting at the edge of the cabin area.

When she reached him, she was shocked when he lowered himself to the ground, giving her a small smile as he offered her a ride of his back. Chiron never let people ride of his back. She kind of figured it was a pride thing; a way to make clear that he was a centaur, not a horse.

"Hop on, child." He said assuredly. "The game will begin shortly."

She tried to be careful as she sat down but then nearly fell off when he raised himself up and began to trot in the direction of the forest. When they made it there, a small group of campers lead by Luke and a small group of hunters, lead by Zoe Nightshade were waiting on opposite sides of the creek.

"I believe you all know the rules." Chiron said loudly. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. Flags must be prominently displayed and can have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed but not bound and gagged." At that Chiron gave a meaningful look towards the hunters. The two behind Zoe snickered a little, making Thalia think this had been an issue in the past.

"Killing and maiming are not permitted." The two huntresses pouted at this. "First team to capture the opposing team's flag and get it across the creek wins the game. Are we clear?"

Thalia felt uncomfortable as Zoe's eyes were on her, rather than Chiron as he laid out the rules. She turned towards the campers, where two of Luke's brothers were whining about Chiron not chauffeuring them around camp. She glared at them and they quickly shut up.

"You're not playing?" Luke gave her a strange look.

"She is serving as referee and battlefield medic with me." Chiron answered sternly, making clear that the discussion was over. "Retreat to your sides. The game begins when the conch horn sounds."

Luke just shook his head and turned back towards their side of the forest, making Thalia frown. Zoe gave her one last glare before she too retreated to the hunter's side of the field.

Chiron knelt down and lowered his left side, allowing Thalia to slide off before he placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Things will get better, my dear. Believe me, it takes some time but this will be good for you."

She gave him a small smile. His concern and care for her wellbeing was clear and genuine. He was the closest thing to a father she'd ever had.

"I know. Thank you Chiron."

He smiled and pulled the conch horn from his pack of medical supplies.

"You ready?" His voice was a little excited. "Watching the game from this perspective can be quite," his smile turned mischievous, "entertaining."

He brought the horn to his mouth and blew, sounding for the game to begin.

Almost instantly, the forest came to life. Teenage girls in silver darted across the river, disappearing into the camper's side while she saw Luke and a half dozen demigods slip into the hunters territory. Almost immediately, the spot the campers had ran into was filled with screams of pain making her panic. She looked at Chiron who's expression was only amused.

"I believe we have our first customers," he chuckled. "That actually took longer than expected."

He trotted off in the direction of the hunter's side of the forest, Thalia forced to jog quickly after him. Less than twenty yards into the hunter's territory, they found three campers rolling around on the forest floor.

Travis Stoll had a silver arrow sprouting out of his thigh as he writhed around cursing the hunters. A laugh escaped Thalia's lips when she noticed his brother Connor a few feet away. He was on his stomach groaning, a silver arrow sticking out from each butt cheek. A third boy, Chris she thought his name was, was laying on his back mumbling nonsense. The huge dent in his helm showing that the hunters were quite capable to disabling their opponents in a variety of ways.

"Well Connor," Chiron laughed. "It seems you've finally decided to see what all your pranks are like to deal with." Thalia giggled at his humorous dig at the troublesome child of Hermes.

"Agh," Connor grimaced. "Well played, sir. Well played."

Chiron knelt down and plucked the arrows from his backside before attending the one sticking out of Travis' leg. Thalia wasn't really good with healing so she just kind of stood awkwardly.

Chiron reached into his pack and held something out to Thalia. She took it, looking at the small, white, oval shaped item.

"Why don't you help Chris?" He said gesturing to the third boy. "Break it in the middle and hold it under his nose. He should pop right up."

Thalia was a little confused. She didn't know what she was doing or what this was but she followed his orders and knelt next to Chris bending the small object in the middle until she felt it snap. It moistened a bit and she brought it closer to her face before lurching back, quickly understanding. She held the smelling salt under Chris' nose as he mumbled nonsense until eyes shot open and he sat up fast.

"Whoa!" He yelled, looking around urgently. When he saw Thalia and what was in her hand, he groaned and pulled his damaged helm off, holding his head. "Damn those girls are vicious."

"They only knocked you out!" Connor complained. "They shot me in the ass!"

Chris looked over and then smirked when he saw the bloody holes in the back of Connor's pants.

"Alright," Chiron said. "Off to the medical tent, all of you. You'll need to get those wounds stitched and Chris, you need some ambrosia, you're probably concussed."

All three seemed disappointed they were out of the game but none protested as they hobbled and limped back to towards the creek.

Thalia and Chiron found several similarly injured campers and fewer, but still plenty, of injured hunters. Chiron tended them until they were able to make their way out of the forest. Around the thirty minute mark, the camper's side of the forest erupted in cries of outrage and panic and Chiron sighed.

"Come, Thalia." He said gesturing towards the creek. "Looks like the game is about to be decided."

Before they could make it far though, a similar chorus of alarmed cries came from the hunters side of the forest. Chiron looked almost proud and quickened his trot as they headed for the creek.

When they reached it, Chiron pointed towards the camper's side. Flashes of silver moved through the forest at shocking speeds. Thalia turned when she heard the thudding of arrows hitting trees and saw Luke in a dead sprint towards the creek, the hunter's flag in hand.

"It's gonna be close." Chiron said, his eyes darting from side to side, as Luke and the silver clad hunter closed in on the river.

Thalia saw Zoe Nightshade burst through some low hanging branches and then take two big strides before launching herself across the creek. The fraction of a second later, Luke reached the opposite bank of the creek and made a desperate lunge for the win.

Zoe's microscopic head start made the difference. Her small frame came down with a quiet thud, landing in a graceful crouch holding the campers' flag.

Luke landed on his side of the creek and spun around only to curse when he saw Zoe grinning smugly with the campers' flag raised.

Chiron sighed quietly and pulled out the conch horn and blew, signaling the end of the game. He forced himself to smile at Zoe.

"Hunters and heroes!" He boomed over the sounds of the hunters' cheers and campers complaints. "A fine contest, the closest to date! But for the fifty sixth time in a row, the match belongs to the Hunters of Artemis!"

The hunters cheered, shooting smug looks across the river at the scowling campers. Thalia walked over to Luke.

"Nice job, Luke." She said sincerely. "That was really clo..."

"Yeah," he cut her off. "Nice of you to help us out." His tone was bitter and she was surprised at how angry he was.

"I... I'm sorry." She said shaking her head, taken aback by his tone.

"Yeah, well, whatever." Luke turned away from her and started to walk back towards camp when a collective gasp from both campers and hunters alike made him pause.

Thalia turned around and flinched when she saw the decrepit and emaciated body of the oracle slowly marching its way towards the gathering of hunters and demigods. Her oversized peace symbol necklace and tattered tye dye sundress making her look like the grooviest zombie to ever walk the earth.

The hunters backtracked and Zoe bumped into Thalia who was too stunned to notice her backing into her. They both froze as the oracle's corpse made a slow but direct march right towards them.

She stopped uncomfortably close and looked up at Zoe with glowing green eyes. Smoke began to pour from her mouth and arced around the stiff bodies of Thalia and Zoe.

Her mouth opened and she spoke, her voice a raspy combination of several voices.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

Unearth a secret for centuries concealed,

Hero, traitor and a fealty revealed,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by parent's hand.

The green smoke began to disperse and the mummified oracle collapsed right into Thalia. She squeaked when she felt the leathery skin of the oracle touching her but Chiron was quick to carefully grab the withered old hag and gently lay her down.

When he turned back towards Thalia, his face was ghostly white. He seemed nervous, terrified and saddened all at the same time. When the campers and hunters started to murmur behind him, he seemed to regain his composure.

"Everyone! To your cabins! No campfire! The harpies will be around in thirty minutes. Anyone caught outside will face severe punishment!"

The campers let out a collective groan but from the centaur's tone, none dared to argue with him. Thalia started to back away when Chiron turned back to her.

"Not you, Thalia." He said firmly. "The oracle was clearly addressing both you and Zoe. I will meet you two in the Big House in ten minutes. Speak to no one. We have much to discuss."

Before she could even respond, Chiron turned and trotted off after the campers, hurrying them along and making sure none wandered off. Thalia turned and found Zoe with a pretty identical expression to the one Chiron had had. When she felt Thalia's eyes on her, she turned and opened her mouth but then seemed to think better of it. She turned and jogged off towards the big house, leaving Thalia standing alone in the middle of the forest with no one but the decayed husk of an oracle that apparently was making house visits to deliver prophecies.

Thunder boomed over head and lightning shot across the sky. Thalia watched it and had a feeling that it wasn't just a random storm. It seemed whatever the oracle had just said was not what her father wanted to hear.

A.N: Okay...  the chapter earlier was short... So I wrote another one. Two chapters in like 14 hours? Come on, not bad, right? No? Fuck off then... lol, just kiddding. But yeah, so some input would help... I wanna know if people like where the story is going. And no, it's not PercyxZoe... Surprising right? Well, good... Gotta mix it up... And comment.. I love waking up and reading comments.