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chapter seventy-one. ☄︎. *. ⋆
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I DON'T REMEMBER going to sleep, but when I woke up, I was washed up on the shore of Camp Half-Blood, and I'd never been happier to feel its soggy sand beneath my feet.
When I landed, the camp seemed deserted. It was late afternoon, but the archery range was empty. The climbing wall poured lava and rumbled all by itself. Pavilion: nothing. Cabins: all vacant. Then I noticed smoke rising from the amphitheater. Too early for a campfire, and I didn't figure they were roasting marshmallows. I ran toward it.
Before I even got there I heard Chiron making an announcement. When I realized what he was saying, I stopped dead in my tracks.
"...assume she is dead," Chiron said, and I almost thought he sounded choked up. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered. I have asked her best surviving friends to do the final honors."
I came up on the back of the amphitheater. Nobody noticed me. They were all looking forward, watching as Percy took a pale yellow silk burial cloth, embroidered with a pattern of suns, and set it on the flames. They were burning my shroud.
Annabeth and Percy turned to face the audience. They both looked terrible. Percy looked like he hadn't slept in days. Annabeth's eyes were puffy from crying, but she managed to say, "Theo was probably the bravest friend I've ever had. She...." Then she saw me. Her face went blood red. "She's.. she's right there!"
Heads turned. People gasped.
"Theo?" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded around me and clapped me on the back. I heard a few curses from the Ares cabin, but Clarisse just rolled her eyes, like she couldn't believe I'd had the nerve to survive. Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him.
"Well," he sighed with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me—"
"Where the hell were you?" Percy interrupted furiously, shoving aside the other campers. I thought he was going to punch me, but instead he hugged me so hard he nearly cracked my ribs. The other campers fell silent. Percy seemed to realize he was making a scene and pushed me away. "I—we thought you were dead, Sunshine! What the fuck?"
I had no idea what to say. I'd never crashed my own funeral before. "I'm sorry," I said. "I got lost."
"LOST?" he yelled. "Two weeks, Theo? Where in the world—"
"Percy," Chiron interrupted. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"
