Heroes of Olympus - The Blood of Olympus (Discontinued)

Chapter 14 - Jason

Chapter 14 - Jason

Jason called a meeting in the mess hall after the Titans left. "I need answers here," he said in exasperation when the half-bloods were all gathered at the table. "We're on a set course - tight schedule - to get to Athens on time to stop Mud Brains from destroying all of man kind, and now we all of a sudden have to change course and head to Rhodes? Rhodes is like, 250 miles southeast of Athens. And Frank, what's today, the twenty first? Twenty second?"

"Twenty third," Frank answered.

"Twenty third!" Jason cried. "Even better!"

"Jason, what are you suggesting?" Annabeth asked.

"I may not be a complete expert in battle strategy like you, Annabeth," Jason said. "But every sign in my head points to 'trap'. Oceanus just put us through a literal game of life and death, and he allowed the stakes to be raised as high as us dying in there!" He gripped the table making Hazel flinch. "Now suddenly, he agrees to help our cause and give us instant directions?" He made an impression of Oceanus's voice. "I like to make young demigods like you fight to the death and kill each other. Should you win my game though, I become your instant BFF! Here's the ingredients for stopping Gaea!"

Piper laid a gentle hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Jason, calm down. We'll figure this out."

Jason instantly started to relax the tension on his shoulders, and as always, he was amazed at how the magic she could project into her words could instantly control him. Though he felt himself relaxing, he didn't want to calm down. He wanted to continue being angry - angry at Gaea, angry at Oceanus, angry at the giants for starting this whole uproar. But he knew it would not solve anything. Looking over, he saw his friends watching him silently, Leo trying to keep a straight face (obviously he thought Jason's impression of the Titan was amusing). Percy sat silently with his left arm braced over the table, still cocooned in its bandages. Annabeth laced her fingers with his good hand reassuringly. Looking at Frank and Hazel, Hazel was pressed gently up against Frank as if trying to tell herself he was still there, watching Jason quietly, her golden eyes narrowed in concern and what almost looked like fear.

Jason hung his head. "I'm sorry, guys. I just wish there was something we could do - something I could do. I hate feeling useless like this."

Percy scoffed. "Dude, you just lead a life-saving expedition back there! Heck, if it hadn't been for you and Leo, I'd be dead right now."

Jason looked over in time to see Annabeth give Percy's hand a comforting squeeze. She turned her gray eyes on him with a look of such gratitude, Jason felt himself growing warm all over. "Well, I was glad to help," he said back.

Leo snickered. "Yeah, that was a blast."

"Yeah, for you maybe, Mr. Hank Aaron!" Percy said. "I thought I heard baseball commentary in there somewhere."

Leo blushed. "Oh Styx, you heard that?"

"I think the entire Island of Manhattan could've heard it!" Percy laughed.

A chorus of laughter rose around the table, and suddenly everybody started sharing their own details of Oceanus's game of Capture the Flag.

"And that's when I turned into a hippocampus!" Frank was saying to Leo.

"Jason was actually able to use my gems to attract lightning," Hazel explained to Piper.

"For the love of Hephaestus, how can oranges explode!?" Leo scoffed to Jason.

The friends talked for around forty five minutes, turning what seemed to be a horrific game of death, into something as small as a date at the mall.