Rick Riordan's Hunger Games [PJO AU]

Ep 6 - "Heart"

"I really want to save him," Rick muttered. "I'm getting calls from frantic sponsors. He's really a favourite, isn't he? Dorkiness and looks pay off, I guess."

"Fine, whatever," President Clair rolled her eyes. "That boy's no trouble. The scorpion wasn't even meant for him."

Rick pressed the button to let the parachute through.

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The Careers gathered around their spasming teammate. Holding in her panic, Piper slapped his face, "Percy, can you hear me?" The only reaction he gave was irregular breathing. She could see his pupils rolling around wildly under his eyelids.

"You've got to be kidding me," Bryce groaned at the sky. "Now we're down another swordsman!"

"Help him!" she snapped. "He's the one reeling in all the sponsors, remember?"

That got his attention. Bryce bent down, "Okay, uh, I could chop off his hand?"

Piper nearly slapped him, then actually considered his words. But Percy's arm was twitching and threaded with bulging green veins. Poison was almost always fast-acting in the arena, and it was way too late to just slice off a limb. Besides, a quick death from poison was a lot better than risking a slow death from blood loss.

"Keep his hand below his heart," Clarisse added, more helpfully. "So the venom circulates slower."

Piper propped him against her backpack and adjusted him, though at this point she knew it was hopeless. She didn't even know why Clarisse bothered to suggest something.

They didn't know how else to help. She checked his pulse, which was beating extremely fast. She sat back grimly, "There's nothing we can do." She wondered if she should say a few parting words, but Careers never did that and she didn't know him very well.

Bryce reached for Percy's belt, "I call first dibs on his sword!"

"No way!" Clarisse snapped, elbowing him. "Since when did you use swords? Let me have it!"

Piper tiredly watched them argue, not noticing the silver parachute until it fell past her face. She grabbed it. Inside was a slim box containing a syringe with clear fluid.

"Guys, move!" She shoved Bryce out of the way and inserted the needle into Percy's arm, pressing down on the plunger.

She pulled out the syringe, and they watched.

It took a minute for Percy's breathing to even out, and his skin slowly went back to its normal colour. Bryce made a noise of disbelief, "He got an antidote? No one in the previous twenty-three Games ever survived being poisoned. This is favouritism."

Piper rolled her eyes, "The sponsorships are based on favouritism."

It was also the main reason they stuck together. Tributes got significantly more sponsors as a group than apart, and no one wanted to leave only to find out they weren't the one who'd won the sponsors over.

And so far things were grim. The Games usually lasted two weeks, and they weren't even halfway through. Already their supplies were destroyed, two of them had been killed on the first day, and Percy just got poisoned.

Percy turned over, drool going down one side of his mouth.

Bryce sat down heavily, chin in his hand, "Well, I guess it's a bad move to kill dear lovable Perseus."

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Will and Calypso did not agree on their next move.

Calypso wanted to stay in the oasis, where nothing had harmed them yet, but Will was determined to go find Nico.