Annabeth's Mortal Friends

Chapter Thirty-Two

{ make sure to stay until the end of this chapter for the quick author's note ! }

Caleb Pierson's POV:

I adjusted my backpack on my shoulder and leaned toward the door. I don't know how I was lucky enough for Annabeth to accidentally leave it cracked open, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

They'd been talking forever. There was so much discussion about "camp" and Ancient Greek monsters and demigods. They talked about this stuff as if it were real, they sounded crazy!

"You took on three Laistrygonians all by yourself?" I heard a male voice through the door. Laistrygonian...that word sounds so familiar. Where have I heard that before?

"I wouldn't exactly call a Laistrygonian a tough mental opponent." That voice was definitely Annabeth. So that male voice was talking about Annabeth? She'd "taken on" three Laistrygonians?

Wait, now I remember where I've heard that before!

I took the strap of my backpack off one shoulder, unzipping it quietly and pulling out my history textbook. I flipped to one of the first pages, which was the section that we learned about Greek mythology. I thumbed through the chapter a bit, finding the page that mentioned a few of the Greek monsters.

Laistrygonian. A man-eating giant.

What was the symbolism behind this? I know Annabeth is Greek, but she and these people mention so many things from Ancient Greece: Laistrygonians, gods... Annabeth and Percy themselves are even fluent in Ancient Greek! I wonder if the rest of these people speak it too.

A weird shiver ran down my spine, and the slow realization was giving me a pounding headache. The mysterious disappearances, the talk about monsters and gods...what if I'M the crazy one? What if this is all real..?

I straightened my back, taking my ear away from the door. My arms hung lazily at my sides as the possibilities raced through my mind. No, there's no way.

Before I had time to react, my backpack slipped off of my slumped shoulder. I stuck my arm out in an attempt to stop the bag from hitting the ground, but my reaction time was too late, and I ended up knocking it into the slightly ajar door.

The door swung open, revealing the eight teenagers sitting in the living room. I had no time to duck out of sight before one jumped out of her chair, staring me down with a scary look in her blue eyes.

"You!" She exclaimed, her fist clenching like she was getting ready for a fight. The rest of the group turned to get a look at me, Annabeth gasping when she saw me. I didn't get a look at Percy, but I figured he looked about as angry as the punk girl standing 10 feet away from me.

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Annabeth frowned at the girl. "How do you know him?"

She pulled a Mace canister from her pocket, and my head started to hurt again, as if my eyes were trying to see something that wasn't really there. Something seemed off about the weapon, but I wasn't too eager to figure out what it was.

"He's the monster that's been following us around all day," she spat at me, holding the Mace threateningly in an outstretched hand. She rested a finger over the trigger, and my head started to hurt again. What is happening to me? "How did you find us? Reveal yourself!" The girl commanded. She was intimidating, and if I had any idea what she was talking about, I would've done what she asked right away. Did she think I was one of those Greek monsters.

"Thalia, stop! He's not a-" Annabeth started, giving the girl, who I assumed was Thalia, a pleading look. Annabeth didn't seem too eager to finish her sentence, but I could tell what she wanted to say.

"I'm not a monster?" I suggested, fixing my bag back onto my back. Annabeth stared back at me, at a loss for words.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked.

"Long enough," I replied. "What are you guys talking about? Ancient Greek monsters? Gods? All this Greek mythology stuff is real? I thought Percy was just in some psycho cult!"

"You thought I was what?" Percy blurted.

"You're crazy, man!" An mischievous looking teen reassured me. "We're just, uh, method actors?"

The pretty girl standing behind him smacked him in the head. "Seriously?"

"Of course mythology isn't real, Caleb," Annabeth said in the kind of calming voice that you use to tell a crazy person that they aren't crazy. "Gods, monsters, all that stuff is just a bunch of stories!" Thunder sounded in the distance, and Annabeth winced. "I think you just misheard us, that's all."

I stood in the doorway, looking between each member of the group. The dots were all connecting in my head now.

"That night that I was attacked...Percy told me it was a dog, but I heard him use the word "hellhound" with you in my hospital room! That's a Greek monster, isn't it?"

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably. "Caleb-"

"He mentioned the Mist too! I've heard you guys talk about that all the time! A-and when you two couldn't give blood, that wasn't because of matching tattoos, that..." Words were just spewing out of my mouth at this point. Everything was making sense.

"Caleb, seriously, it's not what you think." Annabeth said calmly, although the wide eyes of the rest of the group sold her out.

"Those shirts you guys always wear, they say half-blood on them."

Annabeth shook her head, taking a step toward me. I looked up, locking eyes with her in amazement.  "In that classroom last year...you said you were a daughter of Athena..."

The color drained from Annabeth's face. She must have realized that it was too late. I knew her secret. She turned to look at Percy, who looked just as panicked as she did. He took a step closer to me, keeping his voice level.

"Caleb, relax. This is all a big misunderstanding, just take it easy..."

He came closer and closer to me with each word. With a secret this big, I really didn't want to see what they would be willing to do to me to keep everything quiet.

I wasted no time turning on my heel and dashing out the open door. The group was too shocked to follow me, which I couldn't help but thank God for. Wait, God or gods? This is so confusing...

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alright guys, i know a lot of you have very strong opinions about whether or not you wanted the demigods to be revealed. this chapter may have upset some of you guys, but this story is almost over, so i ask that you stay until the end! everything will be resolved soon, don't worry :)

1/16/21