Decimate

Chapter Twenty Seven--Phil--Prometheus

I woke up in a chair.

I wasn't tied down. I was cold though.

My eyes hurt. Like I had been in the dark for hours and now I was in the blinding sunlight.

"Ugh," I muttered, cracking open my eyes and sitting up slightly.

I was met with a man.

At least—I think he was a man. His skin was a dark shade of brown. He had gray eyes and black hair in a neat ponytail. His suit was pristine, despite the fact we were surrounded by rubble and dust. The inhuman thing was, his face was laced with white scars that contrasted with his skin. He was also probably about seven feet tall.

"Hello Phillip," he said. His voice was deep and calming. "My name is Prometheus."

I wrinkled my brow. "Hi. Uh, where am I?"

He smiled. "My apologies friend. I had to take you from your camp to talk to you. I hope my eidelon didn't hurt you."

I paled. One of the few things I was good at at camp was learning about monsters. "An eidelon?"

Prometheus nodded. "Yes. Don't you worry though, he is quite friendly. He understood why I needed to talk to you."

My mouth was suddenly very dry. "Why did you need to talk to me?"

He laughed. "Oh Phillip. Do you not understand yet? I suppose you have had very poor training."

I stood. My legs were weak and shaky. "Uh, listen. If you don't mind, I really need to get back to my friends."

"I would like to talk to you please," the man said. "Sit. Have a biscuit." He gestured to a platter of cookies on the table between us. I took one, just to be polite.

"You see," Prometheus said. "The world is ending."

I gasped. "What?"

He ignored me. "The world is ending. Nobody knows. Just you and I and a few of my friends. But I know how to save it."

I leaned forward. "How?"

"Have you ever heard the story of Gaia?"

I frowned. "You mean the evil dirt lady who tried to kill everyone? Is she coming back?"

He smiled. "So you heard that version. Yes, I was worried you had. The thing is Phillip, The Earth Mother will not destroy the world. No, quite the contrary. She will save it."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he chuckled. "The demigods told that story because they were on the wrong side. They told you she tried to destroy the world, when in reality, she was trying to save it. The demigods destroyed her. They scattered her across the earth. Now we need help to bring her back. That's where you come in Phillip."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Phillip, you have more power than you could possibly realize."

I looked at the ground. "I don't—"

He interrupted me. "There was a prophecy. That a very powerful demigod would save The Earth Mother and therefore the world. But he was with the enemy. We had to rescue you from Camp Half Blood so that you could fulfill your duty as a follower."

I looked back up at him. "What?"

He seemed to be getting a little tired of me. "You need to use your powers to bring back Gaia."

I gasped. "What? No way! Gaia is evil!"

He sighed. "Phillip, I'm very sad you said that. I wish we didn't have to but we have no choice. We need you to cooperate."

A hand was suddenly set on my shoulder.

"And," Prometheus said. "We'll get your help with any means necessary."

I screamed as the hand ripped me out of my chair.