Perachel

Chaos at Camp

Rachel had been popping ripe strawberries into her mouth when she heard the screams. She jerked her head up, a half eaten berry falling onto her jeans, staining it with red juice. She stood up, and looked around for the source. The sight that met her eyes made her sigh, another false alarm. 

Why did she think that? Because a bunch of prissy little princesses came running up the hill in disarray and fear, screaming about how their nails or their hair were going to be messed up. Typical Aphrodite girls! They probably spilled some hair spray or something, no biggie. Rachel frowned and headed into the fray of screams, deciding she would go find Percy, wish him luck before the final contest. When the heard of wild girls passed, she was shocked to see Percy with riptide out, his back to her, his front to a chimera?! 

How would a chimera get inside camp, the fleece was still on the tree, and it looked healthy as a doctor. And also, how was this thing so big? It was almost three times the size of a normal chimera, and it was not pretty. Rachel ran down the hill towards Percy, and then froze a few steps behind him, how was she going to fight this thing? She only had a bobby pin in her pockets. Not good odds, let me tell you.

Percy made a dash under the beast's belly, and stuck riptide in. The chimera raised it's massive front paws, and as he was about to swipe at Percy, Rachel saw a chance to do the likes of which are only seen in movies. 

"No!" She screamed, making her decision. She dove toward Percy, knocking him down. She saw his surprise, and smiled. The claw slashed into her, sending her flying into the wall of the Demeter cabin. Tears filled her eyes, and she knew she had saved the one she loved from death, and that was all that mattered, right?

Percy took a shaky breath as he saw Rachel, and turned to the monster, fresh fury powering his steps. He roared, and struck fast and furious. One of his strikes hit the monster in the eye, and it roared, turning to gold dust and crumbling. Percy stared at the gold dust a second, and turned, dashing to Rachel.

"Rachel," He began in a pleading tone, "Just hold on to my hand, okay? I'm going to get you a doctor, and Chiron, sound good?"

Rachel stared up at his beautiful eyes, and a tear slid down her left cheek. "Okay, I trust you."

Percy looked up at the sky, begging Hades not to take her away. He felt a gentle squeeze on his hand, and looked down to see Rachel holding his palm with two hands. "What a dam situation I got into, right?" 

Percy chocked back a sob, and nodded, a lump forming in his throat, "Dam right." He managed. 

"Help! Somebody, Chiron! Rachel, Rachel... She's... Hurt!" He yelled, refusing to say the word dying. 

He picked up Rachel and held her shivering body to his. Her breathing was shaky, and he lightly touched the fabric of her shirt where she was clawed. He heard her take a sharp breath. "I'm sorry, So sorry, it's all my fault." He whispered, beginning to tremble. Rachel just shook her head, her eyes closing. Her breathing evened out, and she snuggled against him. 

Percy began to panic, sleep was bad, 89,000 people died every night in their sleep. He looked desperately at the blue house, where he was relieved to see Chiron clopping down the steps with a medical kit, an old dusty one. A mortal one. The centaur began galloping, his face lined with worry. 

He leaped down the hill, and skidded to a halt next to Rachel's feet. He looked down at Percy, And raised his eyebrows. Percy took the hint and set Rachel on the grass, a foot or so away from him. Chiron knelt down and blew on the medical kit, dust flying. He opened it, and shook his head. 

"Percy," He began gently, "Do you perhaps have an idea as to why there was an unusually large chimera inside boundaries?"

Percy shook his head, his hands balled into fists. If only this all could have happened tomorrow, when Rachel and him were going to be long gone in Colorado! But no, and now Rachel was bleeding out. 

Chiron set to work, bandaging, cleaning, healing stuff. 

"Hey Chiron," Percy asked, "Why can't an Apollo kid heal her?"

Chiron didn't look up from his work, of swabbing the wound with rubbing alcohol, the cloth coming away red with blood. "Because, magic might not take so kindly to a mortal, I know the difference seems minuscule, but it could make the difference of life, death, infection, coma."

Percy nodded, Chiron always made sense. Even when Percy first met him, over five years ago as his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner. He reminded Percy of the caring father he never had, wise and gentle. He looked down at the pale skin surrounding the wound on Rachel, and bit his lip. What if she didn't survive, and he never got to say 'I love you'? He knew despite what she said, he would destroy himself with guilt over her death, knowing it should've been him, not her. 

And it wasn't just Percy who would be affected by her death, but everyone at Camp Half-Blood. She was the oracle, after all. Without her, who would deliver the prophecies? Percy looked at her calm, serene face, and it nearly broke him inside. He didn't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for him, much less his girlfriend. 

It also just occurred to him how long Rachel liked him. The first year he met her, she seemed a bit quiet around Annabeth, and from then on as well. She always invited him alone to do things, and repeatedly asked how things were with Annabeth. She'd been there all along.