Resurrected

Ethan's POV

I woke up in the Infirmary. What a surprise. But what surprised me more was that I didn’t feel like coughing. I felt under my shirt and came across none of the earlier gashes, or even scars left behind by them. That’s when I realized the genius of Kronos’ plan.

Of course I wouldn’t be able to prove that Kronos attacked me! And with Luke possessed with no one seeing it, and Percy still wary, how in Hades was I supposed to tell everyone my plan without them thinking that Kronos was driving me crazy?

That’s when the lovebirds came in. Luke and Annabeth were holding hands like they were boyfriend and girlfriend when they walked past the Infirmary to see me awake, and with a scowl on my face.

“What’s up, Ethan?” Luke asked nonchalantly. His eyes were as golden as the Fort Knox reserve, but Annabeth didn’t seem to notice.

“Nothing much,” I said, trying to control my fear, “What happened to Percy?”

“Percy?” Annabeth asked, almost in a daze, “Huh, I don’t know. That’s weird.”

I wanted to scream at the girl for not knowing what happened to her boyfriend after we went tearing into the woods to chase them, and then I realized, too late, that I was getting angry.

Think! I told myself, Think of her, Ethan! Think of Alex!

Slowly, like an Alka-Seltzer melting, my anger dissolved into my bloodstream. Crisis avoided. I felt like I now knew what it felt like to be the Hulk. Always angry, always having to restrain himself from becoming something he didn’t want to be. I couldn’t get angry with the Black Spot on my chest. Even I didn’t know how much damage I could do, and that scared me.

“I think Percy went to go rest,” Luke said, fake sounding unsure. That made me feel even more scared. Percy could be dead for all I know.

“Okay,” I said, trying to sound convinced, “What are you guys doing here? I mean, you didn’t have to check on me.”

“Oh, come on,” Annabeth said, smiling, “Ethan, you can’t belittle yourself like that. You’re important!”

Okay, now I was more scared than I had ever been. Annabeth Chase has never ever thought of me as important. Something was definitely up with her. Had Kronos brainwashed her?

Suddenly, she looked straight into my eyes as Luke looked behind him towards the sounds of the birds outside. She winked at me and glared at Luke, who was still turned around. I mouthed,

Are you okay?

She shook her head as gently as she could, and I felt for my sword on the floor. I could see the bead of sweat forming on Annabeth’s forehead, the scared look she was trying to hold in. But then Luke turned around, and since I was already reaching for my sword, I had to fall out of the bed to keep both Annabeth’s and my cover. Annabeth said, almost from a script,

“Oh, no! Ethan, are you okay?”

Then she walked over to help me up, and I said, in that same scripted voice,

“No, I can stand.”

But while I was still on the ground, she whispered,

“Percy’s gone. Luke’s acting weird. Help.”

Then, we both got up. Luke reached out for Annabeth’s hand and while she was still looking at me, facing away from Luke, she gave me a desperate look for help. But I couldn’t do anything. So, looking a bit betrayed, she turned and took Luke’s hand, forcing a smile. Then, Luke and she walked out of the Infirmary.

I felt horrible for letting her out of my grasp, seeing as I could have stalled for time, but I couldn’t do anything. I mean, what was I supposed to do? But then, as I watched them walk out, another wave of anger swept over me. But with this anger, I felt in control, and out of Kronos’ hands. I picked up my sword and walked quickly to catch up to Annabeth and Luke. Castellan was bound to still be weak from being resurrected, even with Kronos being in control. And most of his Styx-armor would be faded, so I decided to something crazy. I decided to get some revenge on the Lord of Time.

Annabeth glanced behind her when she heard me coming, but it didn’t seem like Luke could hear me. She was a smart girl; she knew what to do. She started talking, loud enough to cover my footsteps,

“Hey Luke! How about we stop for a second, eh?”

“No problem, Annabeth,” He said, flashing his pure-white smile.

That’s when I struck. I raised my sword hilt and brought it down on the back of Luke’s head. He
slumped to the ground, and Annabeth said,

“Jeez, Nakamura! You didn’t need to hit him that hard!”

“Uh, yes I did,” I spat bitterly. I realized that Kronos would be mad at me for knocking Luke
unconscious, so I forced myself to stay calm, to think of Alex again. I envisioned her face, her vibrant eyes and her light voice. I slowed my breathing.

“So that’s what the…thing does,” Annabeth realized, staring at where the Black Spot was on my chest, “It turns you into a rage monster.”

“Yeah,” I said, “A real-life Incredible Hulk.”

“What’s gotten into Luke?” Annabeth asked, and I responded,

“What’s gotten into you? I thought you not knowing where Percy is was an act! Do you actually not care about your boyfriend?”

“What are you talking about?” Annabeth retaliated defensively.

“Where’s Percy?” I asked, and she stayed silent, “Where is he?”

“I…I don’t know,” she said glumly.

“Jeez, girl!” I scolded, “You two have been to Tartarus together! You should never have separated! Alright, stay with Luke and make sure he doesn’t wake up! I’m going to find Percy.”

Then, I sprinted to the forest, leaving Annabeth in the middle of the Cabins area with an unconscious son of Hermes. I zoomed through the woods and found a pretty gruesome sight. Percy Jackson was sitting against the trunk of a tree, three or four stab wounds throughout his entire chest.

I was about to carry him to the Infirmary when suddenly, a small kid in all black appeared out of nowhere. I mean, literally out of nowhere. It looked like he had just stepped out of a shadow.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed as the kid materialized in front of me, blocking my way to Percy. He was facing away from me, and I wasn’t expecting a kid to apparate in front of me, straight out of Harry Potter. So, naturally, as I was going at a full sprint, I bowled him over.

“What in Hades!” He shouted as we both tumbled to the ground.

Then the kid started attacking, and I knew I was dealing with someone trained. Within half a second he had drawn his sword and pinned me to the ground, pure rage filling his eyes. I didn’t even have time to get angry at him for getting in my way.

“Look,” I told the kid, not caring who he was or why he was here, or how he could walk through shadows, “Percy’s hurt, you’re in my way, and I don’t want to die again, okay?”

“What?” He asked, completely confused.

Then, I struck. To stall, I said, “Look! He’s bleeding, see?”

“That’s not good,” the kid muttered when he saw Percy’s bloody body against the tree. But when he turned back to me, I had a surprise waiting.

I grunted, and coughed blood into the kid’s face. He fell backwards, screaming in a pubescent voice as he tried to wipe the mucus off of his face. I smiled at myself. I had never used that one before, but Kronos had taught me how to fight in an unorthodox style. I ran over to Percy, and he groaned as I lifted him up, encouraging,

“It’s okay, Jackson. You gotta stick with me, okay? Trust me, I’ve died more times than you have, and the light you’re heading to is not a good place! C’mon Percy! Think of Annabeth!”

The kid in all black had wiped off his face and had been about to slice me into a million pieces, but when he heard my voice, what I was saying, he stopped. Then, he sheathed his sword and helped me with Percy’s other arm. Together, we helped Percy limp to the Infirmary.

"Found him!" I shouted to Annabeth as we passed her.

She ran over to us and helped me with Percy, saying, "I took Luke to Chiron, and Chiron put him in the basement of the Big House. It's locked by a special lock made by Cabin 20."

"Cabin 20?" I asked, still not familiar with the new cabins that I had given my life to have.

"Hecate," Annabeth replied, "goddess of magic."

"Good lock-makers, eh?" I asked, and she said,

"Well, the lock itself was made by Cabin 9, but the magic on it was put on by Cabin 20."

"Oh," I said, rolling my eyes. Jeez, could a child of Athena get sarcasm?

“I remember you,” the kid said out of nowhere, “you were at Manhattan.”

"Oh!" Annabeth exclaimed at the sound of the kid's voice, "Hey Nico!"

"Hey," Nico grumbled.

“Yeah,” I said, “And I died. But thanks to Kronos, I’m back.”

He looked at me with sudden fear, fear that I was still on Kronos’ side. I was getting really tired of that look coming from everyone.

“Look, I want to kill him!” I shouted, “Kronos, I mean. Who's your dad again?”

"I'm a Son of—”

“Hades!” I remembered, “Son of Hades. Jeez, I feel for you, kid. Talk about rough parents.”

“I know, right?” The kid agreed gruffly. Then we reached the Infirmary. We laid Percy on a bed and got some of the Apollo kids on him. Chiron showed up five minutes later to work his magic, and we decided to leave Percy alone.

Nico and I decided to talk for a while.

Notes

SO, Luke's possessed and Annabeth won't believe it, Nico's at Camp, and Percy just got stabbed. WHAT FUN!

Enjoy,
Grafon