σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I Screw Up a Rescue Operation

Long Island, New York
2007
Theo's POV

My summer ended in the worst possible way possible.

Almost a week after the Golden Fleece had brought Thalia Grace back to life, I decided to invite her and Annabeth to meet my adoptive father, David Miller, and then get pizza afterward.

And what did I find? The apartment door was covered in Mist, which could trick mortal eyes into seeing something normal. I opened the door, only to find the apartment completely trashed, and no sign of David.

We did find a note. It was written in Ancient Greek, which I managed to understand, and there was no signature.

The note only said: See you soon, Theodorus. This meant that the one who wrote the note knew who I am since they used my Greek name. And they also kidnapped David, possibly to get to me.

I kept the note in my pocket as Annabeth, Thalia, and I went back to Camp Half-Blood. We told Chiron and Dionysus what we saw.

I showed them the note, hoping that they might tell me who would've written it. Chiron told me he had no idea, and Dionysus told me the exact same thing, except he called David "Dale," the prick.

But I still kept the note, in case I bumped into a god. Maybe if I show them the note, they might be able to help.

Percy and Grover were confused when they saw me back at camp already, but their confusion turned into shock when I told them what happened.

Percy, the idiot he is, asked me why I didn't just go to the cops. After a few smacks in the head and a handful of insults, I told him why: The perpetrator used my Greek name, which meant they were at least a half-blood, which meant that mortal police would never be able to find them.

After what happened, I decided to just stay at Camp Half-Blood for the year, or at least until David was found.

It's been about 6 months since I came back from the Sea of Monsters with Percy, Grover, and Annabeth, and there was still no news about David.

Right now, I was at the arena, sparring with Percy, while Thalia and Annabeth were watching. Grover had gone to a school somewhere in Maine looking for another half-blood.

Percy and I had our swords and shields as we sparred for the last 10 minutes. Percy and I were getting tired, but I didn't care. I needed to train hard. I had to train. Every second I waste, the more likely it is that David could be dead. That is a possibility that I CANNOT allow to happen no matter what.

Annabeth and Thalia looked at each other before the former got up.

Annabeth: Okay, let's take a break.

Theo: Hell no. There's still time to train.

Thalia: Theo, Percy is 5 seconds away from passing out from exhaustion. And you're no better.

Percy: Come on, man. Just 10 minutes.

Theo: No. We're not done.

Annabeth: Theo, I understand how you're feeling about this, but—

Theo: NO, YOU DON'T!

Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy looked at me surprised. Then I realized what I just did.

Theo: I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean to...

Annabeth: It's okay.

Theo: It's just...I can't lose anyone else. I already lost too many people. I don't know if I could handle...