heavy bones [jason grace]

4. campfire stories

Dinner rolls around and Piper is still under. Jason has yet to be claimed. Everyone pretends like they're not watching him as they eat. Unlike most new campers, he's sitting with Cabin 6 — with Annabeth. I don't have much of an appetite. Butch rubs my shoulder and asks me if I'm okay. Like clockwork, I tell him I'm fine.

I'm not fine.

Crying, breaking down, usually that helps with all of the emotions I keep pent up. Not today. Today I feel like my skin is buzzing. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, at the top of a peak, waiting for the drop, staring down at my fate and it is a long way down. I feel so much that I feel nothing. I only get to the amphitheater thanks to muscle memory.

We're about halfway through the first song of the singalong when I spot Piper and Rachel approaching. Usually, I'm the loudest voice in the Iris cabin, but tonight, I've yet to open my mouth. It's like I'm on hold. Like some force out there has paused me. The flames are getting higher and hotter. The stifling heat is strangely familiar.

The song ends and everyone erupts into applause. I make eye contact with Annabeth. Like before at dinner, Jason is by her side. Her brow is furrowed. She's not stupid. She knows something is up with me. I lean on Butch and close my eyes. I barely register Chiron talking, the Ares cabin grumbling, and Nyssa stammering excuses. It's not until everyone starts yelling and complaining that I jolt upright. Chiron stamps his hoof down on the stone lining of the fire pit, the equivalent to a judge banging their gavel.

"We will have to be patient," he says as soon as everyone quietens down. "In the meantime, we have more important matters to discuss."

Miranda frowns. "Percy?" The fire is practically out at this point. Chiron gestures to Annabeth. The fierce blonde steels herself then rises to her feet.

"I didn't find Percy," Annabeth announces. She tries to keep her facial expressions in control, but I know she's close to tears. My jaw tenses. Annabeth and I can't fall apart on the same day. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis —everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" Drew calls out. Everyone turns to look at her and I can't help but wonder if that's the exact reason why she spoke up. Annabeth tries to play dumb, tries to deny the horrible truth, but Drew is having none of it. "Well, come on. Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"

The entire camp's gaze shifts from Drew to Rachel. I think I'm about to be sick. Rachel steps forward. Her voice never wavers as she speaks. "Yes. The Great Prophecy has begun." And just like that, Hades breaks loose. Everyone is talking at once. I need to get away from here. I need to run again. I try to get up from my seat but Butch has my arm.

The talking subsides and Rachel takes another step forward. Every camper recoils like she has the plague. I need to leave. I need to get out of here. Rachel says, "For those of you who have not heard it, the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

To storm or fire, the world must fall-"

Jason jumps to his feet. "Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus. Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem." I no longer think I'm going to be sick. I know I'm going to be sick because Jason just spoke Latin and I understood it perfectly. I need to run. I try tugging my arm out of Butch's grasp, but he's holding me like a lifeline.