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chapter thirty-seven
( the last olympian )
❝ a little older, not at all wiser! ❞

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    The start of the end of the world wasn't going well for me.

Since last summer, I have learnt that the Gods do not appreciate the help of demigods. I don't know why I was surprised, it made sense, but I honestly thought that considering my father could see that I was supposed to defeat Typhon (which is a lot of pressure and something I really don't think I'm capable of), the gods don't want anything to do with me.

"The number of times you have Iris Messaged me, Claire Moore, is seriously getting on my nerves," Hades narrowed his eyes at me through the shimmering window of Mist. "I'm a busy god. I have my own realm to watch that is getting worse and worse in this stupid war."

I sat on my bed, legs crossed apple sauce and narrowed my eyes back at him. "You can always just not answer."

"I could vaporise you for that."

"Oh, please do," I sighed and set my chin on the palm of my hand. "It'll make my life so much easier."

Hades gave me a blank look from where he sat at his dining table. There was an argument happening in the background between Persephone and Demeter (with the inclusion of some plant projectiles). "Don't be glum, Light's Kin, it makes me almost pity you."

"Oh, wow, you're such a good person."

He sat up straighter, miffed by my sarcasm. "I don't know why you are even trying to speak to me, half-blood. My brother does not listen to me, I cannot get you to Typhon. You must do that yourself."

"I've been trying!" I let out, throwing my hands up in frustration.

Hades rolled his eyes and picked up his dinner knife as if imaging the best way to stab me with it. "Just show up, Claire Moore. He might not vaporise you."

"Emphasis on might. Why aren't you helping them?"

"Why isn't my brother Poseidon helping them?" Hades replied back sharply, like a four-year-old. I resisted the urge to sigh. I ended the Iris Message after that, and the Mist disappeared, leaving me a clear view of Lee's bed.

The flowers that had started to grow from last year were now flourishing, giving life to something so mournful. We still weren't over his death━none of us were. I still wasn't used of having Michael Yew as my co-Cabin Counsellor. I miss Lee's mature look upon things. I miss his smiles, and his jokes, and his hugs. If he was alive right now, he would be able to solve the spat between the Apollo and Ares cabin. Michael didn't listen to me. At all. He had perhaps taken his death harder than the rest of us, and Jay's death as well, and blamed me all for it. I didn't argue, because to be honest, I blamed myself, too.

The door to the cabin opened, and I looked over from my bed. Little Kayla Knowles poked her frizzy-red haired self through the golden threshold. "Claire!" she called. "Percy and Cain are back!"

My stomach did a set of somersaults. "Percy?" I breathed out. It felt like ages since the last time I talked to him. He was telling me about the possible vacation with Rachel ... now, I like to think I put that jealousy behind me, but still.

"Yeah, he and Cain are back from theirs and Beckendorf's attack on Luke's ship!"

I stood up and fixed my camp shirt. Walking up to Kayla, I frowned. "Beckendorf isn't with them?"

Her little shoulders slumped, and she hung her head. It hit me, and the flutters in my stomach were gone. "Oh, gods..." I murmured. "No ..."

Beckendorf was like the rock of the camp. He was good friends with Cain, a hero to the younger campers, someone all of us looked up to and relied on to keep us standing. Now ... now, he was gone. Oh, Gods ... Cain ... Silena ...

I followed Kayla out to the plain. I saw Percy and Cain stopping at the dining pavilion with Connor Stoll. Cain looked miserable, eyes red and puffy. Immediately, I left Kayla's side and rushed up. Hurrying towards my friend, I quickly grabbed his arm. I know he didn't want to cry in front of the whole camp, "Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault ..."

Annabeth suddenly was at my side, "What happened?" she asked. "Is Luke━?"

"The ship blew up," Percy said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where━"

Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup, which wasn't like her. "Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding. Cain took a deep breath, meeting her gaze sadly.

She stared at him, and slowly, began to shake her head. "No ..." she murmured.

Chiron clearned his throat and turned to the girl, "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House━"

"No," she continued, shaking her head. "No. No."

She started to cry, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. Cain sniffled, wiping away his own tears. Annabeth looked like she wanted to say or do something, but didn't know what. She placed her hand on his arm, but he didn't meet her gaze. We had already lost so many people over the summer, but this was one of the worst. With Beckendorf gone, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the camp.

Cain decided to take a step forward. "Silena━"

He held a hand out, but she stepped back, still in denial. "No. N━No."

Cain faltered, pained. Beckendorf was one of the first people who talked to him, who was nice to him, who wasn't afraid of him. I knew exactly what he was feeling right now━the guilt, the grief, the anger ... the want to just collapse and lie on the ground, never to get up again.

Finally, Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena, a strange friendship, but one of the purest. Clarisse was dressed in her blood-red combat armour, her brown hair tucked into a bandanna, looking very mean, but she spoke gently to Silena. "Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Only Cain, Annabeth, Percy and I stayed. I took a deep breath, eyes up at the sky to stop the sudden need to cry myself. I met Percy's gaze, and we shared a sad moment.

"I'm glad you're not dead," I decided to tell him, which was the very brink of what I wanted to say.

"Thanks," he murmured. "Me too."

"You too, Cain," I turned to the son of Phobos, but he didn't reply back. Instead, he just rubbed his forehead, tired. Chiron placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure you did everything you could, Cain," he told him. "Will you and Percy tell us what happened?"

They did, looking terrible. Percy told us the story, including his dream about the Titans. Cain piped in every now and then. But they were keeping something from us, I knew it by the look they shared as if to say: should we? and Percy replied: no. I narrowed my eyes.

Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately to discuss this spy, and other matters."

"Poseidon mentioned another threat," said Percy, "something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan mentioned in my dream."

I stiffened. I glanced at Chiron, seeing the look on his face turn very grim. None of them wanted me to face Typhon, it was far too dangerous. I didn't want to face him. But I had to, and at the moment, if the gods keep refusing my help, Typhon will make it to the Hudson River, and we'd all be dead. "We will discuss that also," Chiron promised.

"One more thing," Percy took a deep breath. "When I talked to my fahter, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy."

Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Claire, Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth━all of it. Let's go to the attic."

° ° °

When we reached the ladder, Chiron asked for me to continue up with Percy. He couldn't climb up with his horse legs, and Annabeth wanted to stay with Cain as he and Chiron had a small talk about Beckendorf. The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and far creepier than usual. Stepping onto the dusty wood, I pulled Percy up after me. He closed the trapdoor with his foot, but we didn't let go of our hands. I shuffled close to him, eyeing all the old hero trophies that were stacked everywhere━dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988.

Then, I saw a pair of scimitars. I could stil see the green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it. Stepping forward, my breath was stuck in the back of my throat. My fingers fell away from Percy's and I decided to pick it up. The tag was dated last summer. It read: SCIMITAR OF KAMPÊ, SLAIN BY JI SUNG, SON OF APOLLO, IN THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH.

I didn't want to start crying then and there, but in seeing my hands shake, Percy walked up behind me. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "He died a hero," he told me gently.

"I know," I whispered. "I know ..." sighing, I set the sword back down.

Looking over my shoulder, I met his gaze. We were so close. If I wanted to, I could just close the gap and just stay in his arms forever. It seemed so much easier that way, but I couldn't. So I quickly cleared my throat and looked away, "Prophecy."

"Right," Percy nodded, a little red. "Prophecy."

We continued our way over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle, who has definitely not aged well in her time as a mummy. Beside me, Percy whispered, "I never understood this."

I frowned, "Understood what?" I whispered back.

"Why it's a mummy."

"Percy, she wasn't always a mummy. For thousands of years the spirit of the Oracle lived in an actual maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generations to generations. Chiron told me she was like that fifty years ago," I pointed at the Oracle. "But she was the last."

"What happened?"

I went to tell him, but thought better of it. It wasn't exactly the nicest story in the books. "Let's just do our job and get out of here."

Percy nodded. He gazed nervously at the Oracle. "So ... what now?"

I walked up to her and held out my hand. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I, the child of Phoebus Apollo, ask for the Great Prophecy."

I felt a breath of fresh air, as if my father was telling me it was okay to approach. So, I unclasped one of the Oracle's necklaces and gingerly pulled out an old leather pouch on a cord braided with feathers. Opening the bag, I carefully took out the roll of parchment that was no bigger than my pinky.

Percy frowned, "No way," he let out. "You mean all these years I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck."

I gave him a look. "The time wasn't right," I told him. "I'm serious, Percy. Annabeth and I read this when we were ten, and we still have nightmares about it."

"Great," he muttered. "Can I read it now?"

"Downstairs at the war council," I said, leading the way back down. "Not in front of ... well, you know ..."

We glanced uneasily at the Oracle of Delphi, before making our descent downstairs to join the others. The senior counsellors had gathered around the ping-pong table, though when Percy, Annabeth, Chiron and I came in (Cain wasn't a senior counsellor, sadly), it was more of a screaming match. Hannah sat at the end of the table, looking tired and as if she wished she could just go back to bed.

Clarisse was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back, well, her second one since Percy broke her first one. Her boar-shaped helmet was under one arm, and a knife was at her belt. She was in the midst of yelling at Michael. I threw my eyes up, annoyed. No, I will not deal with this stupid rivalry again. Who cares about a stupid chariot! We have worse things to worry about!

"It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tipoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "if you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!"

Around the table, people were trying not the laugh. The stoll brothers, Pollux from Dionysus, Katie Gardner from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counsellor from Hephaestus, who managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention, sitting beside Clarisse with red, puffy eyes. My heart sank for her. I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael stood over her, arguing about something so stupid just after she lost Beckendorf, so I clenched my fists and snapped:

"Both of you! Stop it!"

Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell your brother not to be a selfish jerk!"

"Oh, that's perfect, coming from you!"

"Michael, stop it!" I held a hand out, glaring. "We are not arguing over this stupid chariot━"

"Oh, of course you'd call it stupid━"

"━Whoa, hey, don't throw this onto me━"

"━I'm cabin counsellor, too! I should get a say in all of this!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose as Clarisse growled. "The only reason I'm here is to support to Silena!" she shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin!"

"Clairsse," I threw my hands out, annoyed. "There is a war going on right now! We can't keep arguing over who deserves a chariot more━"

"What are you all talking about?" Percy demanded.

Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days."

"It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully, and I shot him a look.

Percy frowned at me. "What issue?"

I was going to explain, but Clarisse cut me off, spinning to face Chiron angrily, "Your in charge, irght? does my cabin get what we want or not?"

Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters━"

"Sure!" snapped the daughter of Ares. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're supposed to show up and fight when you need us and not complain!"

"That would me nice," murmured Connor, and Hannah held a hand up towards him, to tell him to be quiet.

Clarisse gripped her knife, "Maybe I should ask Mr D━"

"As you know," Chiron interrupted, starting to get angry, "our director Dionysus is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this."

"I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counsellors? Are any of you going to side with me?"

Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes. She gritted her teeth, "Fine!" she snapped, before turning to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost ... anyway, I apologise. To you. Nobody else."

Silena didn't seem to register her words, she just stared blankly at the table. Clarisse threw her knife onto the ping-pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."

The counsellors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room.

Finally, Michael said, "Good riddance."

I spun on him, livid. "Are you━are you an idiot!" I shoved my brother in the chest. "This is a disaster━we need them! And you caused this all over a stupid chariot. This is not how counsellors act━"

Micheal got right in my face, too. We were the same height. "Yeah, well, if you hadn't gotten Lee killed, then maybe you wouldn't have to deal with me as your co counsellor!"

My stomach burst in anger. I went to shove him again, maybe punch him across the face, but Annabeth pulled me back with a quick, "Claire, stop!"

I think I had tears in my eyes, but I blinked them away, not wanting to cry in front of everyone who had gone terribly silent after Michael's outburst. Instead, I turned away as Chiron said, "Now, if you please, counsellors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy━the Great Prophecy."

I handed him the parchment. He met my gaze, and we stayed there for a second━looking for reassurance from each other before he uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read:

"A half-blood of the eldest dogs..."

"Er, Percy ...?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's gods. Not dogs."

"Oh, right," he went slightly red.

"A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds..."

He hesitated at the next lines.

"And see the world in endless sleep,
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."

Percy stopped, and I saw him swallow hard.

"Percy," Chiron urged. "Read the rest."

He took a deep breath, and said the last two lines:

"A single choice shall ... shall end his days.
Olympus to per━persue━"

"Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means to save."

"I know what it means," he grumbled.

"Olympus to preserve or raze."

Once he finished, the room was silent. I've read the prophecy before, but hearing it was something completely different. Knowing that Percy was the child of the prophecy━at least, I think, I'm still confused over what my father had said about neither him or Thalia being who it was talking about━and one of the lines shall end his days ... I didn't want to think that Percy could die, but ... but it seemed like that was what the prophecy was saying. I took a deep breath and looked away. I already lost so many, I couldn't lose Percy, too.

Finally, Connor Stoll spoke up, "Raise is good, isn't it?"

"Not raise," said Silena, her voice hollow. "R-a-z-e means destroy."

"Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble."

"Got it," Percy muttered. "Thanks."

Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. "You see now, Percy, why were thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders━"

"Without realising I was going to die in the end anyway?" he said. "Yeah, I get it."

"Don't talk like that," I snapped at him, hating how my voice cracked. He's not going to die━he can't die━he won't. "Okay? Prophecies are always more than what you read. It most likely doesn't literally mean you die."

"Sure," I frowned at his sarcasm. How could he be sarcastic in a time like this? Over a subject such as this?! "A single choice shall end his days. That has tons of meanings, right?"

"It might not mean you," I said, clenching my fists so hard they shook. "It could be someone else━"

"Maybe we can stop it," offered Jake Mason, seeing another argument on the rise. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. Maybe we could find this blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?"

Hannah pursed her lips, sharing a glance with Chiron. He took a deep breath. "Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines. He needs time━"

"No," Percy folded up the prophecy and shoved it into his pocket. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"

I stared at him, shocked. Is he seriously━? I found it hard to speak, words stuck in the back of my throat. How could he say that? How could he just accept it? I couldn't lose him like I lost Lee and Jay. I couldn't lose him like Silena lost Beckendorf. "You━why aren't you trying to stop it?" I asked him, my voice wavering. "Why are you being so defeatist about it?"

Percy frowned at me, "Claire, I'm not being defeatist."

"Yes, you are!" I didn't mean to raise my voice, but I couldn't help it. "So you're okay if you die, you don't care about everyone else you leave behind, huh?"

His frown fell, as if just realising the underlying of what I had said. I didn't want to say anything else. I didn't even want to look at him. I just sat down at the table beside Michael, crossing my arms and glaring at the table to try and not cry.

Percy watched me, upset. I didn't give him another glance, and in the end, he gritted his teeth, annoyed before saying, "Let's move on. We've got other problems. We've got a spy."

Michael scowled, "A spy?"

Percy told us what happened on the Princess Andromeda━how Kronos had known they were coming, how he had shown him the silver scythe pendat he had used to communicate with someone at camp.

Silena started to cry again, and Annabeth put her arm around her shoulders.

"Well," Connor Stoll said, looking very uncomfortable, "we've suspected there might be multiple spies for years, right? We had Jay━which did good in the end━" he added towards Michael and I, "━but even after he had left, someone kept passing information to Luke. It must be somebody who knew him well."

His eyes flickered between Annabeth and I. I clenched my fists again. I wanted to snap back something, but he looked away quicly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody."

"Yes," Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She had disliked them ever since they decorated the grass roof of the Demetor cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. "Like one of Luke's siblings."

Travis and Connor started arguing with her.

"Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she managed to seeth, "Charlie's dead and ... and you're all arguing like little kids!" she put her head down and began to sob. Her hot chocolate dripped off the ping-pong table, and everybody looked ashamed.

"She's right," said Pollux at last. He had changed a lot since his brother had died; growing more mature. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos has one, the spy probably does, too."

Michael grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever."

"No, it won't," said Hannah, her brows furrowed. "His next assault is already on the way."

Percy scowled. "You mean the bigger threat Poseidon mentioned?"

I stiffened. I met Annabeth's gaze, and together, we glanced over at Chiron. He nodded to tell us: it's time. I pursed my lips, feeling another twist in my gut. I wasn't ready for this. I can't destroy him. He was one of the worst monsters in the stories, and the gods don't even want my help. They are barely holding Typhon off themselves━how am I supposed to defeat him if all the many gods can't? It seemed impossible.

"Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your ... mortal friends."

I hated how my cheeks went red. I shuffled lower in my seat. I hate how it still affects me that Percy is hanging out with Rachel. It shouldn't, I know. But it just does.

I know Percy's mood only got worse that that. "Tell me what's happened."

Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table and tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually metled nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, and made a rainbow in the lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist and called upon Iris to give him a visual of Mount St Helens from two days ago.

But that wasn't the threat, the eruption itself. It was what came from it, stepping out from the destruction. I couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was a large giant━vaguely humanoid. The mountain shook with a horrible tremor, as if the monster was laughing. Typhon. The monster I had to destroy.

"It's him," Percy said. "Typhon."

Chiron nodded grimly. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today."

He waved his hand, and the image changed. I saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered, lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path━houses, trailers, cars ... I met Hannah's gaze, and she gripped the edge of her chair so tight her knuckles were white. I knew she was thinking the same thing; how I had to face Typhon.

"Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared the disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." The camera zoomed in onto a column of storm bearing down. Inside the storm, I saw the giant━just glimpses of his form; a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast, and I flinched.

I can't do it. I can't do it.

Seeing the small figures of the gods fighting him, Percy's eyes widened. "Are those ... the gods?"

"Yes, Percy," said Chiron. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward━towards New York. Towards Olympus."

I took a deep breath and looked down at my fingers. I couldn't watch the footage any longer. Percy frowned. "How long until he gets here?"

I knew everyone's gazes were on me. I didn't look up, or say a word. Chiron sighed, sullen. "Unless the gods aqquire the help of Claire, it would seem, to stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there ... except your father, who has a war of his own to fight."

Percy turned to me, "Why aren't you there?"

I clenched my jaw, wishing to just run away from this place. "They don't want the help of a demigod. It hurts their pride."

"But if you can stop him━" Percy faltered, his gaze flickering back to the Iris message, as if it just dawned on him what I had to do. "I'll go with you," he told me. "I'll help."

I shook my head, and finally met his gaze again. "You can't, Percy. You need to stay here. You need to guard Olympus━no one is there at the moment, I don't think."

Connor shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."

"I'm trying, Connor," I said. "But they refuse my help. A━and━and how am I even supposed to destroy that?" I gestured to the mist. "He's ... he looks impossible to kill..."

Something else dawned on Percy, and he looked like he might swear. "It's a trick," he realised. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen."

Hannah frowned at him. "Something worse than Typhon? Gods, I hope not."

"We have to defend Olympus," Percy insisted, watching me warily. "Kronos has another attack planned."

"He did," Travis reminded him. "But you sank his ship."

It hit me. I sat back in my chair ... Oh, gods. Percy glanced at me, and we were thinking the same thing. So was Annabeth, who's grey eyes dulled. Kronos had let Percy, Cain and Beckendorf blow up the Princess Andromeda because it had been a ploy the whole time. But we didn't say anything. Silena's boyfriend had sacrificed himself for that mission.

"Maybe you're right," Percy said, though I didn't believe a word of it━and I'm sure he didn't either.

He met my gaze again, and I know he wanted to talk. We needed to talk. About a lot of things. Maybe an argument ... I have a feeling it'll end up in some sort of argument. But no matter what, I just wanted to hug him and cry into his shoulder. I was scared. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, or how to get the gods to let me help. I didn't know how to stop him. And if Kronos was planning to attack Olympus, then I couldn't just let that happen either.

(The start of the world definitely wasn't going well for me).

° ° °

The next morning, after breakfast, Percy and I were tasked with inspecting the cabins. The air between us was tense. Neither of us knew what to say or to do; we both knew we needed to talk, but at the same time, I was scared of the conversation because I knew exactly what it had to be about. The prophecy, and the danger we were both heading into. And him just accepting his death like there was no other way around it. No, I don't want to have that conversation. I want to ignore it as long as possible. I spent all night last night sneaking into the Athena cabin to take over Annabeth's bed as she slept to research a bunch of different myths for a way for Percy to survive. The only thing I could find was for him to bathe in the River Styx, and I wasn't sure whether I wanted him to risk that much either.

(I mean, technically, it was my turn for inspection, but Percy also had to do his morning chore of sorting through reports for Chiron, so we decided to do it together to make it less heinous, considering we both hate our jobs. But that didn't change how awkward the air was).

We stared at the Poseidon cabin, which was basically just Percy. I don't get it, because like, he is literally the only person in this cabin and yet it was an absolute mess. Percy decided he would give himself a four out of five and I stared at him.

"Are you━?" with the end of my pencil, I picked up an old pair of running shorts. "Do you not see this?"

Percy blushed and snatched them away. "Hey, give me a break. I don't have Tyson cleaning up after me this summer!"

I frowned at him, "Perc, you should be cleaning for yourself." Shaking my head, I scratched down a number on the form. "Three out of five."

Knowing better than to argue, Percy rolled his eyes and we continued. He tried to skim through Chiron's stack of reports as we walked. I saw messages from demigods, nature spirits and satyrs from all around the country, writing about the latest monster activity. Little battles were raging everywhere, which mean Camp recruitment was down to zero. Satyrs were having trouble finding new demigods and bringing them to Half-Blood Hill because so money monsters were roaming freely. Thalia hasn't even been heard from in months, which I tried not to think about, because the thought that something terrible has happened to her was a layer to thick for the cake of all my problems right now. If I stopped to add that on top of it all, I knew I'd collapse from the weight.

We continued on to the Aphrodite cabin, that obviously got five out of five. Silena was not in the mood for the praise, and I pursed my lips and squeezed her shoulder. She offered us some chocolate from her father that tasted like carboard. Percy took them. As we crossed the commons area, a fight broke out between the Ares and Apollo cabins. Some Apollo campers━Seamus, Michael and Dean (of course)━armed with fire bombs flew over the Ares cabin in a chariot pulled by two pegasai. The chariot they had 'won'. 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 cabin called down a curse and all the Apollo kids' arrows turned to rubber. My siblings kept shooting at the Ares kids but the arrows bounced off. Two archers ran by━Austin and Will ... oh gods, Will ... why did you throw yourself into this. They were followed by an Ares kid who was yelling in poetry: "Curse me, eh? I'll make you pay!/I don't want to rhyme all day!"

I glanced at Percy, never more embarassed of my own cabin than now. So I clenched my fists and shouted, "STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!"

Both cabins faltered, they turned to look at me. Dean Morrow shot a final rubber arrow at a camper, to get the last word. Heaving, I scolded my cabin. "All of you are doing dish washing duty for the rest of the week!"

Will went to complain, but I glared at him, he fell silent.

"And that's a zero on cabin duty for the both of you!" I snapped. "And where is Kayla? I know she was the one who cursed Niamh to speak in rhymes!"

One of the Ares campers, Xavier, pointed to a bush where Kayla's bushy red hair was peaking out of. I sighed, rubbing my forehead in fustration. "If I see something like this again, all of you are having stable duty for the rest summer! Now go back to your chores!"

They did as they were told, and I turned back to Percy to see him staring at me. "What are they fighting about anyway?" he asked.

I gritted my teeth and looked down at my form, giving the Ares cabin and my own cabin a big fat zero out of five. I could feel Percy continuing to watch me, and I don't know what he found so interesting. But he had that look on his face that I risked a glimpse to see━the open-mouthed-I'm-a-Kelp-Head-face. If I wasn't so annoyed, I might have gone red.

"That flying chariot," I told him, pointing to the one Micheal, Seamus and Dean were tugging back over, all sending me annoyed looks. I frowned. I used to be so close to all of my cabin mates, and now it was like all of them hated me, just because I put my foot down this summer to be reasonable. I felt so alone in my own cabin.

Percy blinked out of his trance. "What?"

"You asked what they were fighting about."

"Oh. Oh, right."

"We captured it in a raid in Philadelphia last week," I explained. "Some of Luke's demigods were there with that flying chariot. My cabin seized it during the battle, but Ares cabin led the raid. So they've been fighting about who gets it ever since."

"We're fighting for our lives," said Percy, "and they're bickering about some stupid chariot."

I nodded, ashamed. "I've tried to stop it ... but ... after Lee ..." my throat still closed up, even now. "I just ... I'm not welcomed as much by my siblings anymore. Especially Michael. He took it pretty hard and has blamed me. The cabin's pretty split on whether they blame me, blame Jay, or think the same as I do. I thought Will was with me on this ... but, I guess not ..."

I sighed, shaking my head. "I deserve the zero━for being an incompetent cabin counsellor."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Percy told me as we stepped into the Athena cabin to check their space. I winced at the sight of Annabeth's messy desk, they must have been too scared to move any of her things.

Her brother, Malcom, grinned at the sight of Percy and me. I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. "We'll wait outside while you finish inspection," he said, and he rest of Annabeth's siblings filed out the door.

When the door closed, I glanced at Percy awkwardly. He gave me a strained smile in return, before pretending to go through some more reports. I rolled my eyes, what an idiot.

I sighed, "Guess Annabeth won't get a five out of five for this one this time ..." I doodled a four onto the form.

"So ..." Percy cleared his throat.

"So ..." I murmured as well.

Percy nodded to Annabeth's laptop sitting on her desk, "Has Annabeth gotten any good info from that thing?"

"Too much," I admitted. "She told me there's so many iedas that she could spend fifty years just trying to figure them all out. I don't understand them, but they sound cool."

"Yeah ..." Percy pursed his lips. "That would be fun."

I met his gaze, slightly amused at the underlining sarcasm. He was glad Annabeth wasn't in here to whack him upside the end. I went to tell him that, but faltered. We stood there, watching each other, and I could help but notice how there was a stray eyelash on his cheek that was gone as soon as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, or how his black hair looked more like waves today than any other day.

He might die, and that was a punch to my gut. Who knows when. One day, probably very soon, I might just walk out and see him not back from whatever I had done, and I would be exactly like Silena. I know I wanted to wait ... but ... did I even have time for that any more?

Maybe that's why I took a courageous breath and said, "Um ... you know ..." I fiddled with my necklace. "This━um━this whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. I mean, it, um, it kind of makes you think, you know. About ... about losing people who are important to you."

Percy nodded. I don't know whether he understood what I was trying to say. But his ears went red, and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "U━um, yeah," he stammered. "Like ... like ... how's Cory, I didn't see him in the Big House?"

I frowned, disappointed. He hadn't understood. I scoffed, shaking my head and looking back down at the form. "Yeah, he's fine. He's staying with his family for the days leading up to your birthday in Wisconsin, just to stay away from the danger. Come on," I pushed past him. "Let's finish your reports and get back to Chiron."

We were close to the Big House when Percy read out the last report. It added another layer of problems I didn't need: "Dear Grover," he read aloud. "Woods outside Toronto attacked by giant evil badger. Tried to do as your suggested and summon poewr of Pan. No effect. Many naiads' trees destroyed. Retreating to Ottawa. Please advise. Where are you? ━ Gleeson Hedge, protector."

I grimaced, not wanting to think about Grover either, but I couldn't help it━much like other things. We had lost contact with him, just like Thalia, and it made me sick to the stomach with worry. "You haven't heard anything from him?" I asked Percy. "Even with your empathy link?"

Percy shook his head sadly, and I nodded, gaze casting down low. I tried to think positively; like how if Grover died, the empathy link would end up killing Percy, too. So, there was still hope yet.

We reached the tetherball court, and Percy stopped me, "Claire," I hummed, meeting his gaze. "Listen, I had this dream about━um━Rachel ..."

He told me everything, including a picture of Luke as a child. For a while, I didn't speak━I couldn't. I was too busy trying to think what this could all mean, oh, and he's dreaming about Rachel, so that's ... that's cool. With this sudden burst of anger, I rolled up the inspection scroll and crossed my arms. "What do you want me to say?"

Percy pursed his lips, knowing I was annoyed. I'm trying not to be, I promise! But I just can't help it. Rachel would be so much better for him that I would be. I'm making him wait, and Rachel would probably just say yes straight away. "I'm not sure," he said. "Perhaps your opinion on it? If you were Kronos planning this war, what would you do next?"

I narrowed my eyes, "I'm not a child of Athena, I don't know strategy." At the look he gave me, I looked away and kicked the grass, muttering: "I would use Typhon as a distraction. Then I'd hit Olympus, directly, while the gods were in the west, and were too arrogant to realise they need my help."

Thunder didn't roar, which I think meant that Zeus didn't hear me.

"So, just like in Rachel's picture?"

(Yes, but I didn't want to admit she was right).

"Percy ..." I tried to think of something else. "It could have been just something she came up with in her mind. Mortal dreams are all related to the subconsious━"

"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━"

I didn't want to talk about it. "We'll just have to be ready."

"How?" Percy let out. "Look at our camp. Your cabin and the Ares cabin can't even stop fighting each other. You're meant to go up against a titan the gods can't even beat and I'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped━"

"Hey! Don't joke about that!" I threw the scroll down in my anger. Here he was again, talking about his life like it was nothing━like it meant nothing. Like I wasn't standing right here, miserable over the fact that I could lose him just like I've lost everyone else. It was my greatest fear, losing those I cared about, and losing Percy was ... it was too much.

"I'm not joking about anything!"

"Yes, you are!" I got right in his face. "That's all you do! You joke, and you joke, and you accept that you're going to die without doing anything about it! We can't lose you, okay? None of us can lose you━I can't━" my voice broke, and I shook my head. "I can't do this," I said, stepping back.

Percy watched me, all of his anger gone, "Claire━"

"If you don't like our chances," I snapped at him, "maybe you should just go on that vacation with Rachel. If you don't like our company━"

"Hey━that's not fair━Claire!"

But I just pushed past him and stormed towards the strawberry fields. In my anger, I smacked the tetherball as I passed, sending it spinning angrily around the pole. My mood didn't get better that afternoon, having to watch the ashes of Beckendorf's spirit float up into the air, hearing the sobs from Silena and Cain's small sniffles from beside me. Beckendorf was our anchor at camp, and now that he was gone ... no wonder everyone's spirits had dropped down. We had accepted defeat as we said goodbye to one of our best campers.

But not me.

Not yet.

Not ever.

*

    a/n: here's the first chapter of the last Olympian!!!!!!!!!!!!

    also, someone commented on one of the previous chapters that claire's rly petty and irrational and I'm like yes she is. and then they're like I hope she grows up and gets some character development, and now I'm here stressing cos I'm like does she??? have I written a good character development??! aghhhhhhhhhh insecurittttieeeessssssss