σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I Play Capture the Flag Again

Theo: I don't know, fucking Kronos?

Percy: He can't be that powerful already. Can he?

The last time we'd seen Kronos, he'd been in tiny pieces. Well... we hadn't actually seen him. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan—God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, which is like the gods' bottomless recycling bin for their enemies. Two summers ago, Kronos had tricked us to the very edge of the pit and almost pulled us in. Then last summer, on board Luke's demon cruise ship, we'd seen a golden coffin, where Luke claimed he was summoning the Titan Lord out of the abyss, bit by bit, every time someone new joined their cause. Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but I didn't see how he could physically overcome Artemis if he was still like a pile of evil bark mulch.

Grover: I don't know. I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it's weird, you two having a nightmare the same night as Zoe. It's almost like—

Percy & Theo: They're connected.

Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. Pop! She turned into a Scotch pine and he kissed the trunk at top speed.

Grover: Ah, love.

Theo: I have to talk to Zoe.

Grover: Um, before you do...

Grover took something out of his coat pocket. It was a threefold display like a travel brochure.

Grover: Remember what Percy said—about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us.

Theo: Scouting us?

He gave me the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff, chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like: HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!

Grover: I found it in Annabeth's backpack.

Theo's face contorted into anger when he read the brochure, and he quickly got up and stormed off.

Percy: Theo? Where are you going?

Theo didn't respond as he stormed off.

Percy: What's his problem now?

Grover: I guess he figured out what those meant.

Percy: Which is...?

Grover: Well, it seems to me... maybe Annabeth was thinking about joining the Hunters.

Theo's POV

FUCKING FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK! FUCK THE HUNTERS! AND FUCK MY MOTHER!

I wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time. The rest of the day I tried to keep busy, but I was worried sick about Annabeth. I went to javelin-throwing class, but the Ares camper in charge chewed me out after I got distracted and threw the javelin at the target before he got out of the way. I apologized for the hole in his pants, but he still sent me packing.

After that, I sat in the empty chariot stands and sulked. Down at the archery fields, Chiron was conducting target practice. I knew he'd be the best person to talk to. Maybe he could give me some advice, but something held me back. He might not even tell me the whole truth.