The Third Camp Trilogy: The Final War?

Chapter sixty five: Neptuna

"Carrie!" I sobbed loudly, my singular voice ringing around the large hall, finally breaking free off my dad's fist.

I launched myself off the arm of the throne, landing in a roll and jumping up, then I scrambled to Carrie's lifeless body.

"No, no no no no!" I whimpered, shaking his limp body. "You can't be dead, please, you can't leave me. You can't be gone!"

"Child, leave him. He is undoubtedly dead." Poseidon rolled his eyes.

"He can't be!" I growled, giving my father a glare, I scanned the room desperately until my eyes rested on Hades. "You." I growled and marched over to his throne. "Tell me. Is he dead?"

"...He—" Hades had began to speak, but just then—

There was weak coughing from where Carrie lay, I spun around and gasped. Carrie was desperately trying to get up, but to no avail. I was at his side in seconds. I gently took his arm and slung it over my shoulder.

Zeus pushed me to the side with the wind (Which caused me to be slammed into the base of Apollo's throne), then he growled, gripped his Master bolt once more, and brought it down on Carrie. At the last second Carrie grabbed the Master Bolt.

"Not this time." He growled and threw the Master Bolt to the other side of the Throne Room.

I gasped, not only because the breath had been knocked from my lungs when I was thrown into the wall, but because Carrie, even when incredibly weak, caught the Master bolt.

The air around Carrie shifted until his whole face was covered in scars. I hardly noticed. He was alive!

Normally, I would say 'Thank the gods' but, ah... 'No thanks to the gods' seems more appropriate for this situation. I jumped up and ran to his side, my head still spinning from hitting the wall. Just as I reached him, he began to collapse. I caught him and kept him from hitting the ground. I, once again, lifted his arm around my shoulder to support him.

The blood, still drizzling down his chin, was now dripping onto my shirt. I used a free hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, before wiping a tear from my own face, which smeared both Carrie's blood and my own across my face (The tears had made the dry blood on my face smear-able).

"N-Nept-tuna..." Carrie croaked, barely strong enough to speak. "N-neptuna, I'm going to die... I d-don't want-t you t-to have t-to w-watch me d-die... I-I love y-you... A-and I-I rem-member y-you n-now... Goodb-bye..."

"Carrie, you'll be okay. But we need to get you to the healers, now. Hang on, I'm going to open a portal." I used one hand to pull out my trident and swung it through the air, instantly cutting a portal to the healer's tent.

Then I rushed through and threw my trident onto the ground in the tent.

"Help!" I yelled. "Please, help!"

All of the healers looked up, and a collective gasp tore through the tent, both from healers and everyone else.

"Praetor!"

"Oh, gods!"

"What happened?"

"Quick, get him on a bed!"

I led Carrie to a nearby empty bed and helped him lie down. I wiped the blood from his mouth again and sat on the edge of his bed, watching his ragged and strained breathing with agony.

Healers started working on him, checking his vitals and such.

"Oh, Carrie..." I gently stroked his scar-painted cheek. "What did you ever do to deserve this? Why do the gods hate you so much?"