CHANCE | luke castellan

LUKE'S POV

I let go of her hand. I no longer felt her gentle warm hand.

I wasn't strong enough to hold her. I watched her fall.
- SAVE HER! SAVE HER, I'M BEGGING YOU! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! JUST SAVE HER!; I screamed from the bottom of my throat. I yelled at my father. I knew he could hear me. I have never begged him for anything until now.
- Just save her, please.; I repeated as I was on my knees. The rain that started to fall poured down my face. My hair was already wet. I closed my eyes and just repeated the prayers for my father. I begged him to save her. The only thing I've begged him for in the last fifteen years.

He didn't save her. He didn't do the one thing I asked him to do. My father didn't do that. I can't even call him father after this. He could have saved her, but he didn't.

I could not accept her death. I couldn't accept that she was gone. I waited for three days on the cliff, hoping that she would return. I hoped she was still alive.

The return to the camp was very difficult. I entered Dionysus' office. In it were Mr. D and Chiron. They were arguing about something, but stopped when I entered.
- And where is the shield?; Mr. D asked. A tear rolled down my cheek.
-Luke, where is Helen?; Chiron asked worriedly.
- She tried to take the shield from the cliff and the cliff collapsed and Helen... she... she fell together with the shield from the cliff.; I tried to explain, tears pouring from my eyes. The shocks on their faces were indescribable.

- Luke everything is fine, it's not your fault.; Chiron walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. But it is. It was my fault, I couldn't save her, I wasn't strong enough. I promised her that I would protect her and I failed. I couldn't save her, just like I couldn't save Thalia. Now I've lost them both.

How am I going to tell Annabeth she's gone? I can already see her sitting on the bed waiting for Helen, but she will never come back.
How am I going to tell Clarissa that her sister is gone? Clarisse awaits the return of her sister, the sister who will never return.
How am I going to tell Grover and Chris that their friend is gone because of me? How am I going to look at anyone in the camp? It should have been me. I should now be lying dead at the bottom of the canyon. I should have gone to get that stupid shield.

- Luke, it's not your fault.; Chiron said snapping me out of my thoughts.
- I know.; I answered.
- If you want, we will leave you alone to rest.; Mr. D said getting up from his armchair.
- It's okay, I have to do something.; I said.

I headed for Ares' cabin. Clarisse and I never had a good relationship, but I had to tell her. I didn't know how to tell her, I just knew I had to tell her.

-Clarisse, we need to talk.; I said rather rudely as I entered Ares' cabin.
-Hey, greetings to you too.; she rolled her eyes, she does that all the time.
-Clarisse, I don't know how to begin.; I tried to tell her in the most painless way, but I didn't know how.
- Start from the beginning. Actually just start, I don't have all day.; she said annoyed.
- I don't know how to tell you.; I stopped for a moment.
- Just say it, man. I have to go say hi to Helen.; she said getting up from the bed.
- Clarisse... you can't say hello to Helen. Never again.; I said, my voice shaking.
- What are you talking about? Luke what do you mean?; she asked looking at me.
-Helen is gone. She lost her life on a quest.; I broke down and said. She turned pale and sat back on the bed.
- Thanks for the information, you can go now.; she said coldly and looked at the floor.
-Clarisse, I know it's hard for you, but if you need anything, I'm here.; I said trying to comfort her.
- I said you can go.; she said, and I walked out of Ares' cabin. I understood that she wanted to be alone. I can't even imagine what's going through her head right now. She probably just wanted to be alone at this moment. It was hard for me to look her in the eyes and tell her that her sister is gone.

- Luke, Luke! Are you two back?; I heard a voice behind me calling me. It was Annabeth. She ran towards me and hugged me.
- I made a bracelet for you too. It's similar to the one I gave Helen. They're not exactly the same because I couldn't quite remember what Helen's looks like. If you want, I can look at Helena's and fix yours a bit.; I listened carefully as she spoke to me. I didn't want to interrupt her.
- And you know what else happened? Chris set a trap in Hermes' cabin. He put a bucket full of water on the door, so when someone came in, the bucket would fall on his head. He had an argument with Marc, so he made that trap for him. But you know whose head that bucket fell on? You'll never guess. Mr. D entered and a bucket fell on his head. If only you knew how furious he was. That happened yesterday, and Chris is still hiding. He hides under one of the canoes, and we bring him food there.; Annabeth told me what was going on. She was really full of energy. I laughed a little. Everything was fine until she started to turn around and look around.
-Luke where's Helen? I haven't seen her yet. Did she go to Ares' cabin to rest?; she asked. I couldn't tell her. I would break her heart.

-Annabeth, something happened at the quest. We were so close to that shield. We had it. We had it in our hands. But something happened... I managed to get back, but Helen... she didn't make it.; I tried to say it in the easiest possible way. It was so hard to say it, and even harder to accept it.
-Luke what does that mean? ; she asked, her voice shaking and tears streaming down her face.
- Annabeth, I couldn't save her. I tried to save her, but I couldn't.; I said, feeling the tears fall slightly. Annabeth hugged me. She has never hugged me so tightly before. I felt how much she cried. She was crying and I tried to comfort her. I didn't even realize how attached she was to Helen. She probably saw a big sister in her. The same way she saw Thalia, she also saw Helen. And I was the reason why she lost both. She cried for hours in Athena's cabin, and I tried to comfort her. She cried herself to sleep.