The Forgotten Heroes || PJO

T W E N T Y: The Prophecy

—-Percy POV—-

IF ANNABETH HADN'T GOTTEN HERSELF HURT, everything would be okay. At least, that's what I want to believe. Annabeth's injury probably just sped up the inevitable, which could be a good thing, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

Zale had been giving a class, (with a small group of campers watching in awe) when it happened.

"Come on Endymion you can do better than that! Wait... are you training with Aegle again? I told you, you can't do that! You're too soft on each other! Buck up! Adelene, Draco, get over here!" The duo had frozen when they heard their names and hurried over when Zale finished talking.

"Yes  Ide?" Dillon asked.

"Adelene fight Endymion, Draco go with Aegle." We started to separate area for space and Zale called, "If you two start training together under my watch again, I will get Stormbringer over here and the two of us will train with both of you."

Thalia and I looked at each other. "Don't worry. It won't happen again Ide." I assured her.

"It better not." Zale grumbled. "Irene, what happened to the disarming technique I showed you? You could have beaten Aglaia already! Practice it, twenty repetitions. Each. Go." She turned her attention to a different pair and I started training with Adelene.

We had barely gotten started when someone ran into the arena.

"Has... anyone... seen... Chiron?" Zach asked.

"I know where he is. Why?" Zale asked stiffly. She hated when her training sessions were interrupted. Spectators were fine, but someone distraction her warriors wasn't okay. The fact that Zach was the one who'd interrupted didn't help.

"It's Annabeth... she's hurt... I think... she might be... unconscious."

"Where is she?" Piper, Leo, Clarisse and Will came up.

"In... in the forest."

Mailene and I looked at each other. "Stand up soldier." Zale snapped.

Zach straitened up. "You aren't the boss of me."

"But I could easily kill you now." Zach didn't believe her, but Zale continued before he could talk. "Are you telling me one of your comrades is down and you left them behind?"

"No. I ran for help."

"Are you not strong enough to carry her yourself?"

"It'd be faster with more people."

"But there won't be someone nearby to help you in a battle. This is the perfect example campers. You NEVER leave the wounded behind. If they are still breathing, you help them. Unless they are dead, and you are absolutely sure of it, you drag them with you. Am I clear?"

"Yes." The campers chorused.

"This is stupid. She needs help!" Zach snapped.

"If you had pulled her with you like, Ide?" Zale nodded. "Like Ide said, she would already be being tended to. Where in the forest is she?" Piper said harshly.

"Near Zeus's Fist."

"That deep! You idiot!" Leo and Will had already run off and Piper followed them. Zach collapsed and Zale tuned away with her nose in the air. (We weren't wearing caped today, but the campers knew that this wasn't what we actually looked like.)

"Excuse me." Clarisse had followed Zale to us.

Zale turned to her. "Yes?"

"Would you mind if I trained with you?"