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chapter thirty-five
( the battle of the labyrinth )
❝ her perilous twin! ❞

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We made it back to New York━running as fast as we could. As soon as we were in a deserted alleyway Percy whistled as loud as he could five times. A minute later, a flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. Blackjack was in the lead, followed by six of his white friends.

Blackjack must have said something because Percy replied, "Yeah, I'm lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride to camp quick!"

They touched down, and we all started to saddle up. I had a beautiful pegasus by the name of Blueberry, but there was much time to gaze in awe at his beauty. As soon as I fixed the saddle, I climbed on, my heart racing. Rachel watched us, a little awkward.

"Well," she told Percy, "I guess this is it."

He nodded, uncomfortable. He glanced back at me, and I pretended to be very busy with my pegasus. "Thanks, Rachel," he said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"I wouldn't have missed it. I mean, except for almost dying, and Pan..." her voice faltered.

"He said something about your father," said Percy. "What did he mean?"

Rachel twisted the strap on her backpack. "My dad ... My dad's job. He's kind of a famous businessman."

"You mean ... you're rich?"

"Well, yeah."

"So that's how you got the chauffeur to help us? You just said your dad's name and━"

"Yes," Rachel cut him off. "Percy ... my dad's a land developer. He flies all over the world, looking for tracts of undevelopmed land," she took a shaky breath. "The wild. He━he buys it up. I hate it, but he ploughs it down and builds ugly subdivisions and shopping centres. And now that I've seen Pan ... Pan's death━"

"Hey, you can't blame yourself for that."

"You don't know the worst of it. I━I don't like to talk about my family. I didn't want you to know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," Percy said. "It's cool. Look, Rachel, you were awesome. You led us through the maze. You were so brave. That's the only thing I'm going to judge you on. I don't care what your dad does."

Rachel looked at him gratefully. "Well ... if you ever feel like hanging out with a mortal again ... you could call me or something."

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Percy frowned, and glanced back at me. "I mean ... I'd like that."

"My number's not in the book."

"I've got it."

"Still on your hand? No way."

"No. I kinda ... memorised it."

I took a deep breath, don't do it, don't get angry, just leave it. I looked over at Rachel, who was giving him a happy smile. "Hey, Little Red," I said, and she met my gaze. "Take care of yourself, yeah? Don't do anything stupid like every other mortal."

Surprised at the compliment, Rachel managed another smile towards me. "Save your camp, yeah? And don't any of you get killed in the process."

She walked off down Seventh Avenue and disappeared into the crowds.

Nico was having trouble with the horses. His pegasus kept shying away from him, reluctant to let him get on. In the end, he let out a frustrated, "Go without me! I don't want to go back to that camp anyway."

"Nico," Percy frowned, "we need your help."

He folded his arms and scowled. I sighed and swerved my pegasus over towards him. It whinied in protest, but I didn't let it run away. I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nico," I begged. "Please. Will is there, and Cain━they're your friends, they need your help."

Cain nodded, and gave him a pat on the back as if to tell him, yes we are.

Slowly, his expression softened. "All right," he said reluctantly. "For you. But I'm not staying."

Percy arched a brow at me, like, how come all of a sudden Nico listens to you? I rolled my eyes at him good-naturedly. At last, we got everyone on a pegasus. We shot into the air, and soon we were over the East River, with Long Island spread out before us.

° ° °

We landed in the middle of the cabin area and was immediately met by Chiron, Hannah, Cory, the potbellied satyr Silenus and a couple of my siblings━the archers, so, that would be Lee, Michael, Dean, Seamus. Chiron raised an eyebrow when he saw Nico, and when we told him about Quintus being Daedalus or Kronos rising, he wasn't surprised.

"I feared as much," Chiron said. "We must hurry. Hannah, Cory is welcome to to stay in the Big House, or leave Camp Half-Blood to somewhere safe. Whichever it is, he must go now. Hopefully you have slowed down the Titan lord, but his vanguard will still be coming through. They will be anxious for blood. Most of our defenders are already in place. Come!"

"Wait a moment," Silenus demanded. "What of the search for Pan? You are almost three weeks overdue, Grover Underword! Your searcher's licence is revoked!"

Grover took a deep breath. He stood up straight and looked Silenus in the eye. "Searchers licences don't matter anymore. The great god Pan is dead. He has passed on and left us his spirit."

"What?" Silenus's face was bright red. "Sacrilege and lies! Grover Underwood, I will have you exiled for speaking this!"

"It's true," said Percy. "We were there when he died. All of us."

"Impossible! You are all lies! Nature-destroyers!"

Chiron studied Grover's face. "We will speak of this later."

"We will speak of it now!" Silenus said. "We must deal with this━"

"Silenus," Chiron cut in. "My camp is under attack. The matter of Pan has waited two thousand years. I fear it will have to wait a bit longer. Assuming we are still here this evening."

On that happy note, he readied his bow and galloped towards the woods, leaving us to follow as best we could. Before I did, I quickly raced forward and hugged Hannah and Cory.

"Stay safe," Hannah told me, kissing me on the cheek. "I have to get Cory somewhere safe."

I nodded, "You too. Stay safe. Please."

I know she didn't want to let go, but she had to, and Percy and I quickly caught up with the rest of our friends.

It was the biggest military operation I have ever seen at camp, and I've been here for a very long time. Everyone was at the clearing, dressed in full battle armour. The Hephaestus cabin had set up traps around the entrance to the Labyrinth━razor wire, pits filled with pots of Greek fire, rows of sharpened sticks to deflect a charge. Bekendorf was manning two catapults the size of pickup trucks, already primed and aimed at Zeus's fist. The Ares cabin was on the front line, drilling in phalanx formation with Clarisse calling orders. Apollo's and Hermes's cabins were cattered in the woods. Many had taken up positions in the trees. Even the dryads were armed with bows, and the satyrs trotted around with wooden cudgels and shields made of rough tree bark.

Annabeth went to join her siblings from the Athena cabin who had set up a command tent and were directing operations. A grey banner with an owl fluttered outside the tent. Our security chief, Argus, stood guard at the door. The children of Aphrodite were running around, straightening everybody's armour and offering to comb the tangles out of our horsehair plumes. Even Castor and Pollux, the Dionysus twins had found something to do. The god himself was still nowhere to be seen, but his two blond sons were running around, providing all the sweaty warriors with water bottles and juice boxes.

I took a deep breath, feeling suddenly very sick. Cain was beside me, and he clenched his fists. "I won't be good in the trees," he said to me.

He was right, and so I said, "Go and tell the Stoll brothers and the Athena cabin, and then join Clarisse on the front line. She'll need a swordfighter like you."

Cain nodded, and started off at a run, already unsheathing his longsword. Chiron muttered next, "It isn't enough."

"No ..." I murmured. "But Cain will be good on the front line. He's the son of Phobos, Chiron━" he didn't look surprised, "━and he can send off the first line of monsters screaming for their ugly mothers. But it will tire him out."

"He must pick his moment carefully," Chiron advised. "But I'm sure he already knows."

Over at the edge of the clearing, Grover was talking to Juniper. She held his hands while he told our story. Green tears formed in her eyes and he deilivered the news about Pan. Tyson helped the Hephaestus kids prepare the defences. He picked up boulders and piled them next to the catapults for firing.

"Claire," I met Chiron's gaze. "You should join your siblings in the trees."

"Jay will be amongst the army," I said, frowning. "I don't know how I know that, but I do. And he's like me Chiron, he can control light, and he can heal himself."

Chiron sighed, looking as if he had just aged another two thousand years, "I feared as much. And I am right to assume you have figured out to use your powers again?"

I nodded, "I always could," I eyed him suspiciously. "But you knew that all along, didn't you?"

The smile he gave me was grim. "Go to the front lines, then. Be careful, Claire."

"I will, I promise..." I said.

I went to go, but Percy stopped me. "Claire━"

I took a deep breath, and took his hand. I gave it a squeeze. "Don't die, Seaweed Brain, okay?" I quickly reached up on my toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. After that, I was sprinting over to join Clarisse's ranks.

Skidding to a stop near her, she saw me and let out a, "Moore! What are you doing here?!"

"Get behind me!" I shouted back. "I'll hold back the first hit of the army long enough for your ranks to attack."

Clarisse frowned, "How in the Hades are you meant to do that?!"

"Just trust me," I told her. I met Cain's gaze, and he gave me an encouraging nod.

With a deep breath, I spun on my feet to face the entrance to the Labyrinth. I tried to calm my nerves, and ignoring how silly it must look for a single demigod to stand in front of the first row of ranks, alone, with no weapon brandished.

I can do this, I told myself. I'm the Light's Kin. Father, be with me for this battle. Lord Hades, I pray to you also for aid. Let me survive this, please.

The ground underneath us was trembling, and I opened my eyes. Everyone in the clearing stopped what they were doing. Clarisse barked a single order: "Lock shields!"

Then the Titan lord's army exploded from the Labyrinth.

The first thing I saw were a dozen Laistrygonian giants erupting from the ground. They yelled so loundly my ears felt like they would burst. I took another deep breath, watching them with their shields made from flattened cars, and clubs that were tree trunks with rusty spikes bristling at the end run towards me.

One of the giants bellowed at me in front of the Ares phalanx. He raised his club, and smashed sideways. I threw up my arms diagonally from the side, and with a tug in my gut, a wall of light erupted in front of the whole front line. Crossing over, I held the shield as the gaints hit it multiple times━each one becoming harder and harder to keep back. I gritted my teeth, my feet digging into the ground, but I held on long enough for Bekendorf to shout: "Fire!"

The catapults swung into action. I waited for the right moment to let go as two boulders hurtled towards the giants. One hit the giant right in front of me in the chest, and it went down. It gave me time to get out of the way as the Ares cabin with Cain attacked. Another deflected the second boulder off a car shield with hardly a dent.

"FIRE!" I shouted to my siblings I saw in the trees, and Lee nodded, ordering the rest. They all fired a volley━dozens of arrows that flew over everyone's heads and sticking in the thick armour of the giants like porcupine quills. Several found chinks in armour, and some of the gians vapourised at the touch of celestial bronze.

With the momentum of my running, I ran up the side of a tree, jumping onto different knots and finding a nook with a clear shot. "AIM!" I shouted back as I took of my necklace and spun it in the air. Sun-Bearer appeared in my hands, dark as night with the Stygion Iron arrow heads in their quiver. I thought of Greek Fire arrows. As soon as they were pulled out my quiver, they lit up with green flames at the tip. I notched the three arrows, aiming. I waited a few moments, "AND FIRE!"

Another volley of arrows soared. My Greek Fire arrows led the storm, and made their mark, setting fire to the tree clubs. Some giants yelled in alarm, distracted and trying to put the Greek Fire out. As they were distracted, Clarisse, Cain and the Ares cabin attacked from below. Cain managed to impale one giant in the chest, and it incinterated into gold dust. He spun his sword and ran to the next.

When I thought that maybe we could get somewhere with the giants, one of them found the location of the Apollo arches━mine and Lee's left flank. With a yell, it swiped it's large tree trunk club against the trees. I didn't have time to shout at my siblings as the spikes took away branches and some full trees.

The tree I was perched on collapsed. I gasped and tried to get off as it fell. I ran along the largest branch, feeling scratches on my skin from stray twigs and splinters. Thinking I was crazy, I leapt off the tree before it fell. I tucked myself into a somersault position, and landed━roughly, but safely━against the ground, coming to a stand amongst a few of the remaining giants. Shit.

And if I thought this couldn't get any worse, the next wave surged out of the maze: thirty, maybe forty dracaenae in full battle arour, weilding spears and nets. They dispersed in all directions. Some hit the traps the Hephaestus cabin had laid. One got stuck on the spikes and became an easy target for the right flank archers. Another trigged a trip wire, and pots of Greek Fire exploded into green flames, engulfing several of the snake women. But many more kept coming. Argus and Athena's worries━led by Annabeth━rushed forward to engage them. I couldn't watch any longer, for one of the giants raised their clubs to finish off━

"NO ONE HURTS CLAIRE!"

Out of nowhere, Tyson landed on the back of the giant that was just about to smash my head in. I watched, amazed as he grabbed his bronze shield and was hitting him on the head with multiple clangs of━BONG! BONG! BONG!

But there were still more. I jumped back into focus and swiped my hand across the closest one. A flash of light blinded it, and it went stumbling back into a squandron of dracaenae, and there were many snake curses as some ran out of the way, or were crushed under the larger-than-average size of the giants.

I wish I hadn't focused on that giant, though. If I had, perhaps I would have been able to stop it in time. As I spun around, my voice was stuck in the back of my throat to see one of the remaining giants whack their club against Lee's head.

"NO!" I screamed out, watching him fall to the ground. Blood coated his face, and I tried to get closer, but the giant hit again, straight down━ "LEE!"

With a sudden rage, I screamed at the remaining giants and with a throw of my hands, I watched them all disintergrate straight into dust, like every molecule in their bodies had been seared to combustion point by the burning of pure light.

It took a lot out of me, and I fell to my knees next to Lee's crumpled body. I knew he couldn't have survived a hit like that, and yet I still tried to shake him awake. Amongst the blood and broken bones ... and ... I couldn't describe it. It was too much ... too horrifying. "Lee!" I cried out weakly. "Lee, come on! Wake up! Lee!"

He was dead. I knew he was dead. I think I was crying, and amongst the chaos and battle that raged on around us━no one had even noticed what had happened━I desperately tried to do anything. I tried to shake him awake, scream him to wake, pray to our father, try to heal him ... but none of it worked.

Lee was gone.

In the distance, I heard the sound of the earth rumbling, and a fissure opened in front of a group of dracaenae where a dozen undead warriors crawled from the dephts. They drew their swords and engaged the monsters. Nico crumpled to his knees not far from them. A fire was raging amongst the trees, and I think Percy sent a wave to subdue it. Some of the enemy demigod fighters screamed for their mothers and ran back straight into the Labyrinth, and I saw Cain hovering over many wounded Ares campers.

A pair of feet padded towards me. Immediately, I looked up and was ready to fight. When I saw that it was Jay, I was on my own feet, swaying and exhausted, but I quickly grabbed my dagger and held a hand out. I was a sobbing mess, but someone was going to pay. Jay was going to pay.

But he didn't attack me. Instead, he just stared at Lee's dead body, and I frowned, confused. Jay took a step towards his fallen brother, but I snapped, "Get away from him!"

Jay halted right in his place. He looked miserable. He had no cuts or scars or bruises━he was perfectly fine in that way. But his eyes were bloodshot, his hair was scraggled and his face was so sullen I thought that for a second, it wasn't him, but instead just his skeleton. "Is he...?"

"Dead?" I finished, seething. "Yes, and it's your fault! You did this━all of this! They're killing innocent kids! Destroying my home━this used to be your home too, Jay! Don't you see that He doesn't care? He wants to destroy the gods, yes, but he will destroy everyone in the way━demigods, mortals, so much innocent blood and you will be the last ones he kills, and you'll realise the mistake you had made. And I hope that when he kills you, you will realise all the blood that was spilt thanks to you, you traitor."

The words sounded weak coming out as a mournful whimper. Jay didn't look at me, he just continued to stare at Lee. "They ... He told me none of you would get hurt," he whispered. "All of cabin seven would be spared."

"Don't make me pity you!" I sneered at him, sobbing. "I now know you don't care━about any of us! Your jealousy has taken all of that away! It was always your fatal flaw, Jay! You had a home, and a family right here and you couldn't see that through the green monster in the pit of your stomach!"

Jay sighed. Then, he did the last thing I expected. With a hang of his head, my brother dropped to his knees. "Then kill me ..." he murmured, defeated. "Just kill me ... it's all I want. It's what I deserve ..."

It was tempting, to bring my dagger right into his heart and watch as he faded away, but I wasn't that person. Instead, I stared at him, a little taken-aback. "What are you doing?"

"I should die for what I've done," he told me, voice muddled with thick tears. "Everything ... I was ... I was too blind ... and now━I did this..."

I was confused. Why the sudden change of heart? This was a completely different Jay to the one I ran into in the maze━to the one who wanted to kill me. Was this some sort of trick? What was he playing at? What was his plan?

"Please just kill me, Claire..." he started to cry. "Just kill me ..."

I watched him break in front of Lee's body, his sobs shaking his back. It was pitiful, and I thought that maybe I should stab him in the back where he stabbed me to make him stop, but I couldn't. He continued to cry, and I heard amongst the weeping: "I've destroyed the only place I felt welcome. I destroyed that━I destroyed my home ... all because I was so stupid and naive and jealous..."

I should've killed him. I know I should have. But I didn't. I wouldn't. Jealousy may be Jay's fatal flaw, but not being able to let go of my past was mine.

Maybe that's why I said, "It's not destroyed yet."

Jay stopped, and met my gaze finally. His tear-strained face frowned. "What?"

"Camp can still be saved," I said. "You can choose to watch it be destroyed, and be the coward we all think you are, or you can stand up, and you can fight, and you can save it."

He stared at me, stunned. Jay went to say something else, but I cut him off. "Look, will we ever forgive you for what you've done? Maybe not, or maybe we will, who knows. But right now, no one cares about who you were, or what you've done. If you go out there━" I pointed to the battlefield that was a raging chaos, "━and you fight for the place you call home, then perhaps you will get a second chance━the second chance Lee always wanted you to have. Don't let him having died believing in you when he never should. Give him a reason as to why he still believed you were good, after everything."

I reached into my pocket, and was surprised that after so long, it was still sitting in there. Pulling it out, I threw Jay's old clay bead camp necklace. He caught it, staring at it with tearful eyes. "Lee kept it. He wanted me to give it back to you. Now he's dead. Think about that."

Before I could change my mind and stab Jay still, I grabbed my bow from the ground and raced back into the battle. I felt terrible for leaving Lee's body there; beaten, bloody and still. But I had to keep fighting. I had to━I had to━

Around me, it was chaos. I saw some monsters run across the fallen body of Castor, son of Dionysus. A satyr's crumpled body lay on the ground after being trampled by a Hellhound. I saw one of Clarisse's siblings━Saoirse Jennings, I think━dead with a sword wound in her stomach, her little sister Niamh Jennings was sobbing by her side.

"Claire!" I heard someone shout.

I quickly parried a strike from a dracaenae━the voice distracted her, too, and I took the chance to stab her right in the neck, and she wailed as she disintergrated. A body ran towards me, and I thought I'd might cry in relief seeing it was Percy.

"Gods, you're okay!" he said, looking me up and down. "I saw the giant and the trees falling and you jumping off━I couldn't get to you━" He was cut off by a monster screeching out of nowhere. Percy quickly parried a hit before thrusting his sword in their stomach, and they died. Looking back, he said, "Are you okay? Are you hurt━?" he saw the look on my face, and faltered. "What?"

"Lee..." I said, my voice no louder than a whimper. "T━the giant, it's club, I couldn't ... he's━he's dead ..."

Before Percy could say anything, an unearthly shriek echoed out of the Labyrinth.

The strangest monster I have ever seen shot into the sky, her bat wings fully extended. She landed on top of Zeus's Fist and surveyed the carnage. Her face filled with evil glee. Her waist was a mess of mutant animal heads that growled. Snakes hissed and swirled around her legs. In her right hand, she held a glittering ball of thread━Ariadne's String━but she popped it into a lion's mouth at her waist and drew her curved swords. The blades glowed green with poison. I realised who it was, and my knees grew weak beside Percy. "Is that ...?"

He didn't need to answer, because I knew who she was. Kampê screeched in triumph, and some of the campers screamed. Others tried to run and got trampled by hellhounds or giants.

"Di immortales!" Chiron yelled. He quicky aimed an arrow, but Kampê seemed to sense his presence. She took flight with amazing speed, and Chiron's arrow whizzed harmlessly past her head.

Tyson untangled himself from a hellhound he had pounded to unconsciousness. He ran at our lines, shouting. "Stand! Do not run from her! Fight!"

But then another hellhound leapt on him, and Tyson and the hound went rolling away.

Kampê landed on the Athena command tent, smashing it flat. Percy and I immediately ran after her, dagger and sword in hand. I watched him sprint beside me, and I felt my stomach twist. I knew who Kampê was, how dangerous she was in the stories. She could kill us ... we could not walk out of this alive.

"Percy..." I found myself saying, all though, I didn't know what I was going to follow along with it.

"Yeah?" he replied back, only giving me a brief glance.

"This━this might be it."

"Could be."

There was so much I wanted to say, but I didn't know how. "Percy, I ..."

"Yeah," Percy nodded at me, "I know."

Together we leaped into the monster's path. Kampê hissed and sliced at us. Percy dodged, trying to distract her, while I went in for a strike, but the monster seemed to be able to fight with both hands independantly. I had to jump back to aviod the cloud of poison coming off her sword, and suddenly wished I had a much better weapon than my father's dagger or my bow. Just being near the swords was like standing in an acid fog. My eyes burned, and my lungs found it hard to breathe. I knew we wouldn't be able to stand our ground for more than a few seconds.

"Come on!" Percy shouted. "We need help!"

But no help came. Everyone was either down, or fighting for their lives, or too scared to move forward. I saw Annabeth pinned by a monster, and Cain quickly rushed in, killing it from behind. They were too far away to be able to help. I looked back at Kampê, three of Chiron's arrows sprouted from her chest, but she just roared louder.

"Now!" I shouted.

Together, Percy and I charged, dodged the monster's slashes, got inside her guard and Percy almost ... almost managed to stab Kampê in the chest if he hadn't been distracted by the mutant lion face that snapped towards my stomach. "Claire, no!" he shouted.

I would have been mauled then and there, but suddenly, a body flew in front of me. The lion's jaws clamped around someone else's torso, and I heard the scream of a brother I never thought to hear.

Despite everything he has done, all the pain he caused, I couldn't help but let out the scream of, "Jay!"

Percy pulled me back before Kampê could attack us, but Jay managed to━no matter the pain he felt in the lion's hold━raise his scimitar and send it straight into Kampê's chest. I had no time to process what just happened, or find a way to help Jay before a wall of darkness slammed into the both of them, sending the monster and Jay━still in her grasp━sideways. Percy kept me back with a hand around my waist as Mrs O'Leary appeared.

"Good girl!" said a familiar voice. Daedalus was fighting his way out of the Labyrinth, slashing down enemies left and right as he made his way towards us. Next to him was someone else━another giant, much taller than the Laistrygonians, with a hundred rippling arms, each holding a huge chunk of rock.

"Briares!" Tyson cried in wonder at the Hundred-Handed One.

"Hail, little brother!" Briares bellowed. "Stand firm!"

I looked to where Kampê and Jay had been thrown, only to see the latter on the ground, surrounded in monster dust and two curved, poisonous green swords scattered a little way away. A cheer went up from the campers, but I ignored them, and ran forward. Percy was at my side, and we both fell to the side of Jay as he tried to move, but couldn't. He coughed up blood, but that wasn't the worst part. His whole stomach was a horror film━mauled and a mess of blood and flesh ...

Around Jay's neck, I saw his old camp clay-bead necklace, and I pursed my lips, hating how all the hatred I held for him had just gone away, replaced with a lump in the back of my throat.

He managed to turn his head towards me, "Claire━Claire ... I can't ... I can't feel my legs. Are they ... I think they're broken..."

No matter what he had done, seeing my brother die this way made my eyes well up with tears. No longer was he the Jay that had betrayed us all, but the Jay Jay I knew back what seemed so long ago. The Jay Jay I showed around camp who turned out to be my brother, the Jay Jay who had to sleep with two pillows, who loved the camp strawberries, who was a good person ... who was a hero, deep, deep down.

Choking back a sob, I gripped his bloody hand with mine. "You're okay," I told him. "Yeah? You're okay ... just ... just heal yourself, Jay? Okay? We can get out of here."

He nodded weakly. Jay took a deep breath that only caused him to cough more━his mangled stomach shuddered, pooling blood around him. "O━Okay ..." his voice trembled. "Okay ... okay ... but━but I saved camp, right? I━I did the right thing, didn't I?"

"Yeah," it hurt to speak. Beside me, Percy watched our old friend slowly fade away, pained. "Yeah, you did. You━you did good. You saved our lives. You ... you did good, Jay Jay."

Jay nodded again. He looked up at the sky and his eyes closed. My lips trembled as I tried not to cry, holding his hand tight still as I watched the rise and fall of his chest get slower and slower ... fainter and fainter ... Jay's eyes snapped open and he turned back to me, and my breath hitched. "Claire ... Claire. I━I can't feel my legs. I can't ... I think ... I think my legs are broken ..."

Jay didn't say any more. A final breath cascaded out of his lips, and then he went still.

*

     a/n: brb while I sob for a character y'all hate but I love. and holy gods, poor claire. she's lost two siblings and that's only the beginning *cries*