Resurrected

Tommy's POV

The infirmary was quickly becoming the hottest spot at Camp. I had rushed over with Chiron to help with Ethan and Percy, and then, after they had become stable for about an hour, still unconscious, Silena and Clarisse had shown up with the unconscious bodies of Piper and Leo.
Silena didn’t look too good, and she had started crying. Chiron had tried to sort out the situation, and Silena had tried to explain what had happened, but it was all very confusing.

“So, let me get this straight,” I summarized, “Kronos possessed you, made you use charmspeak to get Leo and Piper to kiss, and then you regained control and stopped them?”

“Basically, yes,” Silena responded, “I’m sorry, Chiron, I couldn’t control it. But that’s my power, the ‘Sting of Cupid’ as Kronos called it. He also said that we all had one month to redeem our souls, or something, before he sent us back to Tartarus. He said that he was going to bring back the one who gave him a body before. He wants to use our souls returning to force Luke back into the mortal world.”

“This does not bode well, my child.” Chiron’s face looked fifty years older than it should have, which troubled me.

We all sat in silence then, Clarisse watching Piper and Leo’s bed along with Silena, I watching Ethan’s bed alongside Annabeth, who was watching Percy’s face intently. After looking over Ethan for the past couple hours, I had gotten a bit bored, but I still wanted to stay a bit longer, just until they woke up. And, as if on cue, Percy’s eyes opened, fluttering around the room. Annabeth rose from her chair next to me and went over to him, quickly checking his vitals before kissing him and asking him how he was. She had been a good companion, watching the two boys. I had told her my entire story, and she had related her side of the war. She felt bad about my death, sincerely guilty, and I had respected her for that. She looked like she had been through a lot lately, but I decided not to pry into her personal life. Percy, after a couple sips of water and nectar, said,

“What in the name of the gods happened? I’ve never been refused control by water, especially at Camp. It was like Ethan had some voodoo mind-controlling device on him.”

“I have no idea what happened, either, Seaweed Brain, but I’m glad you’re okay. Ethan turned for the worse about an hour ago, but he looks like he’ll wake up soon. I assume you’ll want some space.”

Percy didn’t say anything, but nodded slightly. His sea-green eyes were very pale, as if all their strength had suddenly disappeared, draining out of them. He looked over at Ethan, and, instead of having a murderous look on his face, which I expected, he looked scared, genuinely afraid. In an evil way, I felt proud of Ethan for being able to do that to Percy. It felt good to put the people who had taken our lives away in their place.

By the time Leo and Piper had woken up, Ethan still lying unconscious next to Percy, it was almost five in the afternoon. We had arrived at Camp early in the morning, and I couldn’t believe the day had gone so quickly. Clarisse, Percy and Annabeth had left the infirmary, leaving only Silena and I to watch over Leo, Piper and Ethan. Silena was very busy apologizing to both of them, and they accepted her apology. They both still seemed scared of Silena because of how powerful she had been. But Leo seemed especially bashful, like he had just told a secret he hadn’t wanted to, and now everyone knew. I started wondering what had happened to the guy when Ethan started coughing in his bed.

His eyes flew open, and they looked wild and desperate, a mixture of gasping for air, and the murderous look he had had in his eyes when Kronos possessed him. I rushed over to him and sat him up, pounding his back until he could breathe again. With a shock, I realized that he had been coughing blood. His shirt was now covered in it, along with his mouth and chin. I grabbed some gauze from the table and wiped it off, the gauze coming back soaked in red.

“You okay?” I asked nervously.

“No,” He replied, “Feel horrible, like I just got stabbed. Kronos…he sent me a dream-vision. Said I had learned my power, that I had a month to redeem my soul or something. Then, he showed me how I had died the first time again, with my sword shattering and the shrapnel stabbing me in the gut. I felt the pain again, and then I woke up.”

“So Kronos is making you bleed from an injury he showed you in a dream?” I was really scared. To be able to cause that much damage through a dream took a lot of strength, more strength than Kronos should have been able to possess.

“I guess so,” Ethan replied, “Where’s Percy?”

“He’s with Annabeth, walking around. You scared him pretty bad, disabling his powers like that. Are you in control, by the way? Kronos doesn’t have his grip on you anymore, right?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” Ethan responded.

“Good,” I said, “because you were uncontrollable under his spell. Nobody could get within five feet of you without bumping into this invisible forcefield that had formed around you.”

“Woah,” Ethan murmured, in a way that seemed more pleased than shocked. That scared me.

“Kronos told me that Percy was still guilty of the crimes he had committed against every monster he had slaughtered, told me that Percy had to pay. I’m not saying Kronos still has me, but I’m not saying he’s wrong. Kronos was a horrible master, but he’s making a correct point here. Percy is still guilty of murdering thousands of beings.”

The rage returned to Ethan’s eyes, a fiery sort of madness that troubled me deeply. I wanted to tell him that Percy was a friend, that there was no reason to be angry, but something held my tongue. I was angry too, I realized. Angry at my mother for never claiming me, for never telling my dad her true identity, for leaving us. I was angry at this Camp for shoving me into a crowded cabin and leaving me to rot. I was angry at Percy and his squad of friends, who hadn’t even stopped to remember all those demigods who had died on the losing side of the Titan war. I couldn’t argue with Ethan because I sympathized with him. And there was still one thing I hadn’t answered.

“Ethan,” I asked, “Do you remember, when I died the first time, who the soldier was that killed me?”

The question seemed to take him by surprise, but after some thought, his eyes lit up, and he looked like he had bad news. In a voice that told me to take this answer lightly, to not freak out, he replied,

“Tommy, I think the person who killed you was Clarisse, the daughter of Ares. Do you remember at all? Tommy?”

My eyes had drifted off, sucked into the memory. Of course it had been Clarisse. That explained the read armor, the rage-filled fighting style, the war cries. A white hot lump of anger filled my lungs as I snapped back to reality, focusing on Ethan’s face.

“Tommy,” He said gently, “Calm down. You’re hyperventilating. You need to calm down.”

The sound of his worried voice brought me back to the present. I took a couple of deep breaths, and controlled my emotions. My breathing returned to normal, and I said,

“I’m okay, I’m fine. Just, realizing who killed you…makes you a bit angry, doesn’t it. Hungry for revenge.”

“Revenge…” Ethan sounded out the word like he was tasting it, savoring its flavor, “Yes, I guess it does make you hungry. But Tommy, you can’t run off like a madman—”

“You did!” I shouted, the anger returning. Who was Ethan to tell me what to do?

“That was different, Tommy, and you know that,” He said, in a warning voice. “Don’t be as stupid as I was. I wasted my life trying to seek revenge and balance. It isn’t as great as you think.”

The bitterness in his voice surprised me. But I didn’t care. After checking his vitals, making sure he was stable, I left him with an Apollo medic and stormed out of the infirmary. There was a daughter of Ares that I needed to talk to.

Notes

HUGE MISTAKE. I forgot to upload this chapter the first time because the site glitched out and I didn't notice. This is the actual Chapter 6, and I will re-upload the other two chapters, plus a new one soon. To my knowledge, this is the first mistake I've made on this site, and I sincerely apologize.

-Grafon