Zero to Hero (Percy Jackson Fanfic)

Chapter Seventeen-Swimming Rainbows

Percy's POV

"What was that?" Thalia asked, once everyone was inside the Big House sitting room. She looked scared; she jabbed a finger into my chest. "If this is another prank, so help me, Percy Jackson--"

"It wasn't!" I protested, "I don't know what happened."

"Well, then...what in Hades was that?" Thalia wrung her hands with anxiety.

I sat myself safely in the corner of the room. The others sank into armchairs or couch cussions, looking disturbed. What had happened?

"Weird things are happening," Thalia continued, "The other night, I swear I could see a shadow on the moon, like a chariot. And, the last time I tried to shock someone, it knocked them off their feet. Nico said he's been having strange dreams—"

"You've been having dreams?" I asked, remembering the giant spiderwebs and my father's voice.

"Yeah," Nico said very seriously, "Not normal dreams either. There really vivid and gruesome, and they make me feel like I'm missing something."

"You've been having dreams too?" Thalia asked me.

I nodded. "Like Nico said. Vivid, and not pleasant."

"And now this," Thalia gestured at me, like I'd just confirmed her theory on how the water moved on its own. "Are we all just going crazy?"

"Percy's in the Poseidon cabin, right?" Annabeth asked after a long silence.

"Yeah," I said.

"Well..." Annabeth seemed to hesitate, "I just think it's an odd coincidence that you allegedly moved the water, and that your cabin's patron is the god of the sea."

Thalia looked like she was about to hyperventilate. "Alright. Alright. Is anyone else having strange bouts of influencing nature? No one? Good. For now, I suggest we try and figure out what's going on."

"Everyone can do research," Jason put in, "Percy do you still feel like swimming?"

I raised my eyebrows. "What are you thinking?"

"Maybe we could go down to the lake and try to recreate whatever it is you did."

"I'm coming to watch," Thalia said.

"Me too." Nico hunched his shoulders.

So, the plan to recreate the wave basically failed. We stood there for about ten minutes of nothing happening before Jason and I decided we might as well give up and start swimming.

"They are way too dry over there," I said to Jason. 

He looked at me accusingly and then rolled his eyes. "Oh alright. But when Nico tries to murder me and Thalia knocks an arrow, I'm throwing you under the bus."

Together, we dove under the water, making our way for the little dock on which Thalia and Nico sat, being totally boring. I swam under, spun around and, meeting Jason's gaze, held up three fingers.

One. Two. Three.

At the same time we threw ourselves backwards onto the surface and kicked as wildly as we could in the direction of the dock. Over the splashing, I could hear Nico and Thalia screaming and cursing. 

I stopped kicking, and floated in place, laughing. Thalia and Nico were drenched and looking murderous. 

"You two are dead," Thalia growled, stripping off her shoes and socks. Nico angrily ripped off his T-shirt and wrung it out. Thalia jumped off the dock and shot towards me like an underwater bullet. I backpedaled as quick as I could; a rampaging Thalia was not something I wanted to confront, even in the water. I made sure to kick water at her face each time she came up for air.