riley doesn't want to deal with this

after breakfast the next day, percy and i went down to inspect the cabins.

actually, it was my turn for inspection. percy's morning chore was to sort through reports for chiron. but since we both hated our jobs, we decided to do them together so it wouldn't be so heinous. 

we started at the poseidon cabin, which was basically just percy. percy made his bunk bed that morning (that's what he said. all he did was make sure his sheets were on the bunk and not the floor) and straightened the minotaur horn on the wall, so he gave himself a four out of five.

i scrunched my face up as i searched his room, "you're being generous." i used the end of my pencil to pick up an old pair of running shorts.

percy snatched them away. "hey, give me a break. i don't have tyson cleaning up after me this summer."

"three out of five," i decided. 

he knew better than to argue.

percy tried to skim through chiron's stack of reports as we walked. there were messages from demigods, nature spirits, and satyrs all around the country, writing about the latest monster activity. they were pretty depressing. 

little battles were raging everywhere. camp recruitment was down to zero. satyrs were having trouble finding new demigods and bringing them to half-blood hill because so many monsters were roaming the country. thalia, who led the hunters of artemis, hadn't been heard from in months, and if artemis knew what had happened to them, she wasn't sharing information.

we visited the aphrodite cabin, which of course got a five out of five. the beds were perfectly made. the clothes in everyone's footlockers were color coordinated. fresh flowers bloomed on the windowsills. 

i gave aurora and drew — who had rearranged the cabin — a nod of approval.

percy wanted to dock a point because the whole place reeked of designer perfume, but i gave him a look and he wisely shut up.

my gaze fell over silena who sat on her bed, looking like a zombie. theo and aurora were next to her, and trying to comfort her. 

"great job as usual, silena," percy said, trying to make her feel better. 

silena nodded listlessly. the wall behind her bed was decorated with pictures of charlie. she sat on her bunk with a box of chocolates that her dad sent on her lap.

"you want a bonbon?" silena asked. "my dad sent them. he thought — he thought they might cheer me up." 

"are they any good?" percy asked. 

she shook her head. "they taste like cardboard." 

percy didn't have anything against cardboard, so he took one. i declined and instead searched through my cubby. i pulled out a pack of jellybeans. silena liked them.

i handed her the pack and she gave me a small nod of thanks. 

"what cabin are you guys off to?" aurora asked.

"apollo, then ares," i answered.

"oof," theo muttered, "that's gonna be fun."

with the promise of finishing quickly, we continued to the next cabins.

as we crossed the commons area, a fight broke out between the ares and apollo cabins. some apollo campers armed with firebombs flew over the ares cabin in a chariot pulled by two pegasi. the same chariot they were fighting over.

soon, the roof of the ares cabin was burning, and naiads from the canoe lake rushed over to blow water on it.

then the ares campers called down a curse, and all the apollo kids' arrows turned to rubber. the apollo kids kept shooting at the ares kids, but the arrows bounced off.

sarah thompson and andromeda lune from the apollo cabin ran by, chased by an angry lea fay from the ares cabin who was yelling in poetry: "curse me, eh? i'll make you pay! / i don't want to rhyme all day!"

i groaned. "not again. last time apollo cursed a cabin, it took a week for the rhyming couplets to wear off. this isn't going to end well."

"what are they fighting about anyway?" percy asked.

i ignored him as i drew a zero onto the sheet and circled it. the marks were given from one to five, but this was absolutely ridiculous.

i shook my curtain bangs out of my eyes and looked up at him, "that flying chariot."

"huh?"

"you asked what they were fighting about. it's that stupid chariot."

"oh, oh, right."

"they captured it in a raid in philadelphia last week. some of kronos's demigods were there with that flying chariot. the apollo cabin seized it during the battle, but the ares cabin led the raid. so they've been fighting about who gets it ever since." 

i pulled an energy shield over our heads as michael's chariot dive-bombed an ares camper. another angrier ares camper tried to stab him and cuss him out in rhyming couplets. he was pretty creative about rhyming those cuss words. he could probably give aurora a run for her money.

"we're fighting for our lives," percy said slowly, "and they're bickering about some stupid chariot."

"they'll get over it," i shrugged. "clarisse will come to her senses."

percy didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue either.

we checked out a few more cabins, percy flipped through a few more reports. i wanted to tell him about those visions, but i... couldn't. i didn't even know how to start, what to say. they were important, but i couldn't figure out why.

on the way to the big house, we read the last report, which was handwritten on a maple leaf from a satyr in canada. 

"'dear grover,'" percy read aloud. "'woods outside toronto attacked by giant evil badger. tried to do as you suggested and summon power of pan. no effect. many naiads' trees destroyed. retreating to ottawa. please advise. where are you?   — gleeson hedge, protector.'" 

i grimaced. "evil badgers. they're almost as bad as peacocks," i looked towards percy. "you haven't heard anything from him? even with your empathy link?" 

percy shook his head dejectedly. 

the last news we had heard from grover was that he was in central park organizing the dryads, but nobody had seen or heard from him in two months. we'd tried to send iris-messages. they never got through. 

"riley," percy stopped us by the tetherball court. i knew this was serious because he said riley, and not tink(er bell). "listen, i had this dream about, um, rachel..."

i wanted to stop him right there, but he told me of her paintings. even the one of luke as a child. when he finished, i pursed my lips, "what do you want me to say?" 

"i'm not sure. you're one of the best strategists i know. if you were kronos planning this war, what would you do next?" 

i shrugged, "i'd use typhon as a distraction. then i'd hit olympus directly, while the gods were in the west." 

"just like in rachel's picture." 

"percy," i said, my lips in a tight line, "rachel is just a mortal. she doesn't get demigod dreams or visions like us." 

"but what if her dream is true? those other titans — they said olympus would be destroyed in a matter of days. they said they had plenty of other challenges. and what's with that picture of luke as a kid—" 

"we'll just have to be ready," i said, not having the answer to his questions.

"how?" he asked. "look at our camp. we can't even stop fighting each other. and i'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped." 

i threw my hands up in the air, "i knew it! i knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy. all it did was scare you. you run away from things when you're scared." 

percy stared at me, not speaking for a few seconds, "me? run away?" 

i stepped forward. "yes, you. you're a coward, percy jackson!" 

we were nose to nose (as long as you didn't count how he was taller than me). 

"you know, if you don't like our chances," i started, "maybe you should go on that vacation with rachel." 

"riley—" 

"i mean, if you don't like our company—" 

"that's not fair!"

"oh, it's more than fair!" i yelled. "you — i can't right now. i do not have the emotional, the physical, the mental capacity — i can't deal with this right now! i can't deal with you right now!"

"what's going on, tink?" he asked, gripping my elbows lightly. "you can talk to m—"

"that's the thing," i said, my voice cracking as i took a step back. "i can't even tell you anything anymore. we're supposed to be — we're supposed to be... best friends, but where were you when i needed you? huh? i am one hundred percent sure you knew about my dad's hearing, about the whole fiasco in monaco, about the dude who sabotaged the stark expo. all i wanted was a simple phone call, iris-message, a letter, gods i would've been satisfied with a dollar store balloon."

"i'm sorry," percy said. "i didn't—"

"don't," i shook my head, walking away. i didn't even hide the stray tears falling down my face. "i don't want to hear it. gods, even e—"

i froze before i could finish that sentence. i almost told him 'even ethan's a better listener than you.'

"tink," percy called out desperately, "wait, i—"

"i'm sorry, percy," i said, my voice heavy. "i — i — i think i just need to be alone right now."

and with that, i walked away.

i wiped my tears.

we had an assembly at the campfire to burn beckendorf's burial shroud and say our good-byes. even the ares and apollo cabins called a temporary truce to attend.

beckendorf's shroud was made out of metal links, like chain mail. the metal melted in the fire and turned to golden smoke, which rose into the sky. the campfire flames always reflected the campers' moods, and today they burned black.

i had felt a vision coming on, and ran away leaving silena with clarisse. before the visions were usually triggered by something around me, but ever since that combat mission in brooklyn, they just happened.

"dodgers or phillies?" rebecca held her popcorn to buck like it was a microphone.

"dodgers, obviously," he said. 

"i would have pummeled him if he had answered otherwise," steve said, on the other side of buck.

"you can try," buck offered.

"hush!" rebecca said, leaning forward. "reiser's getting ready."

the game was tied, 4-4, and the bases were full for the brooklyn dodgers. ike pearson threw the pitch and pete reiser hit it for all it was worth. 

"oh!" rebecca pointed.

it wasn't a home run, but one by one, the runners scored and the crowd got on their feet, cheering the dodgers on.

soon, steve, buck, and rebecca were all on their feet at reiser was being waved around third. the relay came... but not in time! the game was 8-4; dodgers.

"oh my god!" rebecca jumped, popcorn flying. "did you see that? didya?"

"same time you did," buck muttered.

steve was just as excited as rebecca, yelling incoherently in support of his home team. 

"i can't believe it," rebecca said to the two boys, "an inside the park grand slam! and on my birthday. how often do you see that?"

i rubbed my temples as my vision cleared and the familiar interior of the aphrodite cabin appeared. i wasn't sure why i saw the baseball game, but it didn't really matter to me right now. i scribbled a note of the inside-the-park grand slam reiser hit, and wrote that it was rebecca's birthday. i threw my notebook to the side and put my face in my hands.

i was tired. of everything going on. the visions, percy, rachel, all the demigods dying and joining up with kronos. a part of me felt like i was betraying camp by hanging out with ethan, but for the last few months he was the only one who had been there for me. i did what i always did when i was tired.

i turned to music.

i pulled out a blue hoodie — which just so happened to be percy's swim team hoodie — and pulled it on. it was a little large on me, but it felt like a hug, so i was okay. i fumbled through my belongings until i found what i was looking for. i placed the headphones over my ears, pulled my hood, and pressed play.

'guess you didn't cheat, but you're still a traitor.'

"hey, i need you to get to manhattan, outside the empire state. bring everyone, all of the campers. and be prepared for the war. there's a trap that's gonna happen, and we need to visit olympus."

i turned my phone off, and gave annabeth a look, "see, his message said virtually nothing."

"i just wanted to make sure," she said.

after we burned beckendorf's shroud, percy disappeared. juniper said she saw him, but she wasn't sure how long ago. trees don't do well with time. the entire day, we'd been trying to get ahold of him, but we couldn't reach him. no iris-messages, no satellite scans, nothing.

and then, i got a voicemail from him. annabeth and i rounded up the campers — except the ares cabin, because clarisse was still being a bitch — and we set off for manhattan. i sent a prayer to my mom before we left, hoping she'd be able to block those visions — even temporarily.

i scrolled through my contacts, stopping at a familiar one. i pressed the contact labelled 'flynn rider' and pressed it to my ear.

it barely rung and he'd already answered it.

"hey minnie," my dad's voice sounded from the other end of the line. "what's going on?"

"hi dad," i muttered. "listen, i... uh, i need you to leave new york."

"what? why? there's still some wiring left for stark towers," he said. i heard some whirring in the background, "no. no, put that down, dum-e."

"dad, i know," i said, pinching the bridge of my nose, "but i think that the war's coming to new york. go home, go to malibu, europe, i don't even care. just leave new york right now. please."

"what kind father would i be if i let my daughter fight in a war?" he said, speaking a little louder so that his voice wouldn't be drowned out by all of the noise in the background. "i'm iron man. i can help."

"that's the thing, dad," i told him. "you're iron man. you fight the bad guys of the real world, i fight the mythical monsters. i was born to do this. my birthright is to fight monsters, fight wars that others can't. you can't help me with this."

it was silent — except for the mechanical whirring in the background — for a few seconds. finally he responded, "well too bad. i'm staying."

"dad," i argued. "do it for pepper. she's with you in new york. she's not at all prepared for what might happen. you need to protect her in case someone gets to her. can you do that?"

it was pretty far-fetched, but there was still a chance that kronos could send people or his monsters after our families in new york. i needed my dad to leave, and the only way he would do that was if pepper was there with him. 

once again, there was a pause as my dad tried to find a way out of my suggestion. finally, he sighed in defeat, "fine. i'll protect her as we get to malibu."

"thank you."

i ended the call and looked at the screen. my gaze fell on my right thumb — where the silver ring sat — and i looked away painfully. chances were, we were going to have to face each other on the battleground.

"hey, you okay?" drew asked.

i shook my curtain bangs out of my face, "yeah, yeah. i'm fine."

my sister narrowed her eyes at me, "no you're not. and don't bullshit me. i know you too well. and you said you're fine. i asked if you were okay."

i sighed in defeat, and rested my head on her shoulder. she dropped hers on top on mine. "i mean, it's nothing big. it's just — i'm scared for my dad. what if he doesn't leave? or if kronos decides to launch an attack on him? it doesn't help that he's iron man. he just thinks he can do whatever he wants, and he won't ever get hurt."

"hey," she said. "put some faith in him. i know you're scared, i'm scared for my dad too. but they're gonna be okay. we're all gonna be okay. if there's one thing lena's taught me, it's to keep a positive mindset, and positive things will happen."

"i heard my name," silena lifted her head from aurora's lap and looked towards us.

drew waved her off, "we're just talking about how you're a wonderful role model."

silena shook her head sadly, "don't look up to me. i'm not a hero."

"of course you are," drew insisted. "even if you haven't gone on quests like riley, or annabeth, or other campers, you're still a hero. remember the time you held liam in a headlock because he tried to steal your jellybeans?"

i laughed as i remembered the memory.

silena just narrowed her eyes at drew, "well he shouldn't have tried to take my jellybeans."

"wait," aurora muttered, "liam. liam jones? like lu's boyfriend? who's like three years older than us?"

i nodded in agreement to all of aurora's statements. 

liam was an apollo camper who was two years older than silena, but three years older than aurora. last year, he was dared by the stolls to steal silena's jellybeans. in the end, he walked around with blue skin and shaved eyebrows for a week. that was drew's first impression of silena.

"where was i when this happened?" aurora asked.

"oh, hun," drew said, "you were beating up connor for cutting your hair. right after you brought me to camp."

"he's lucky it grew back properly," she said, "if it hadn't, i would've beat him up again."

drew shook her head, laughing slightly.

i was about to remind drew that she had also beat up her fair share of campers, when my phone rang.

it was percy's mom.

well, it was percy. he was using his mom's phone.

"hello," i picked up.

"hey," he said. "you get my message?" 

"what do you mean, did i get your message? yes, i got it! doesn't matter because your message said literally nothing! where have you been?" 

"i'll fill you in later," percy said nonchalantly. "where are you?" 

"we're on our way like you asked, almost to the queens — midtown tunnel. but, percy, what are you planning? we've left the camp virtually undefended, and there's no way the gods—" 

"trust me," he said. "i'll see you there."  

and with that, he hung up.

REY WRITES !

thanks for reading !

next chapter: percy pov !!