Annabeth Chase and the Lightning Thief

Chapter 3 - I babysit a drooling unconscious boy

Chiron carried the boy across his back, draped like a sack of potatoes. I walked beside him to make sure he didn't slip off although I doubted I'd catch him if he did. His aura just felt so powerful and reminded me of something, something I hadn't seen in any half-blood before. After my initial jolt of hope and excitement, I began to feel worried and suspicious.

Who was this boy? Was he a half-blood? If he wasn't, then how could he pass the camp borders and defeat the creature?

I looked down at the horn in my hand. I had a faint inkling of what mythological creature it belonged to but I was skeptical. Surely this boy couldn't defeat that, with no training or anything. Unless . . . he already had training, but that was practically impossible. Luke barely survived on his own and he was the best swordsman in 300 years, and he didn't even feel half as powerful as this boy.

Chiron trotted around the porch, into the infirmary at the back of the Big House and I followed, helping him lay the boy down on one of the beds. He didn't even stir, just flop so limply, he almost looked dead.

"Watch him," Chiron told me. "I'll care for Grover."

"Why can't one of the Apollo kids do it?" I argued, following him to the door. "Their father is the god of healing, not mine."

"The less people know about this boy, the better," he answered seriously. "It's important Annabeth."

I could see by his face and the way he was almost pleading that it was. Didn't mean I had to like it though.

He nodded his gratitude to me and galloped off, leaving me alone with the unconscious kid. I glared at him, expecting him to wake already. Instead, he began to drool, a sliver of it running down his face.

Oh my gods, that's gross, I thought, feeling revolted.

I hovered over his bed and wondered how you wake an unconscious kid. Strangely, it's in none of the Greek Myths. But I really wanted him to wake. The quicker he woke, the quicker my nursing duties were over. I bit my lip in thought then slapped him in the face, on the side without the drool of course. He didn't even stir.

I remembered watching some show when I was little about water waking some one. Grabbing a glass, I upturned it on his face, water splashing every where. His body seemed to soak it up like a sponge, but still he didn't stir.

I sighed and resigned myself to being a nurse. Knowing he'd be hungry when he woke, (all boys are) I got some nectar for him. I guessed I'd find out whether or not he was actually a demigod when he had some. With nothing else to do, I just had to sit back and wait until he woke.

I had to wait a long long time. Several times he seemed to wake but fell unconscious again almost immediately. He was an interesting sleeper though. Drool constantly ran down his chin and he talked, a lot. Most of it was "don't kill me", "stupid animals", and "Mom no!" But I also could snippets of other things such as references to a Mrs Dodds and a pen-sword and other random phrases. There was also a repeated "Grover's a goat, Grover's a goat."

For a kid that radiated that much power, he looked surprising unimpressive. With nothing else to do, I could study him closely. He wasn't too tall, maybe a few centimetres shorter than myself, and thin. But he wasn't the sort of thin that made you looked scrawny, more like an athletic thin. The sort of thin that left room to bulk up.

His black hair was ruffled, but it looked like it would be like that normally, like nothing could tame it. It stuck out in points and I swept it to one side, just for laughs. His face was oval-shaped and he had a normal skin colour, not too pale and not tanned either, sort of in the middle. His nose was straight and average-looking, as was his eyebrows and chin.

Looking at him, I had to admit that he was kinda cute, in a scruffy way. But something in me was repulsed by him, something deep inside. I didn't know what it was that was making me feel that way. I didn't even know the kid. But as hard as I tried to push away the negative feelings, they wouldn't go away.

After a while, I decided I couldn't wait any longer and started spoon feeding him the ambrosia. It was difficult because of all the drool coming out of his mouth and I was constantly wiping it off his chin, smirking as I did so. It was like feeding a baby, but without all the squealing and moving about.

Suddenly I saw his eyes open, looking up at me in confusion. I was about to yell for Chiron to tell him he was awake, but then I realised something. This could be my chance to find something out. He could know something if he was truly the one.

"What will happen at the summer solstice?" I whispered to him quickly.

"What?" he croaked, looking dazed. His sea-green eyes were glassy with exhaustion and confusion.

I looked around, making sure no one was nearby to overhear me.

"What's going on!" I urged, wanting to shake what information he knew out of him. "What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, looking about to faint again. "I don't..."

There came a knocking at the door and I felt myself stiffen as I realised who it was. I cut the boy off by shoving more ambrosia into his mouth and turned just as Chiron trotted in. His eyes were immediately on the boy, who, I saw with relief, was unconscious again.

"How is he?" Chiron asked, turning to me.

"Asleep," I answered. "He drools a lot".

"Has he woken?" He sounded slightly suspicious.

"A few times," I admitted. "But then he fell straight asleep after."

Chiron watched me for a moment before nodding.

"Go and get some rest," he told me gently. "You've been awake too long. I will take over."

I nodded although I felt a bit uneasy. I was halfway out of the door when Chiron called me back.

"Annabeth? You wanted to know what was making that roaring?"

I paused by the doorway and looked back. "Yeah?"

Chiron was standing by the boy's bedside, looking down at him. He had a sorrowful look on his face. It almost looked like Chiron was at the kid's funeral.

"It was the Minotaur," he said, not looking at me.

My mouth gaped so wide, it probably was close touching the floor. The Minotaur? No way.

"That's impossible," I croaked, my voice hoarse.

"Not for him," Chiron said. I had a feeling that he knew exactly who the boy was, but I didn't bother ask. He wouldn't tell me any way.

My mind reeling, I stumbled back to my cabin and clambered into my bed. I fell asleep nearly as soon as my head hit the pillow.

And of course, I got demigod dreams.