Say You'll Remember Me (Lukercy)

Chapter 8

A small, blue flame ignited in the flowers framing her head, quickly spreading over the body. The flames weren't burning, but rather, growing steadily brighter, pulsing with great intensity. The fire flashed bright enough to make the two boys avert their eyes, Percy buried his face in Luke's shoulder, scared of what was happening. When they looked back to where Clarisse was, she was gone. In place of the fallen warrior, was a pine sapling.

"What happened to her Luke?"

"She was honored."

"By Ares?"

"No," he whispered, looking to the tree, "she was honored by Zeus."

~

Three hours later, they arrived at a freight yard just in time to jump on a cargo train bound for Ontario.

"Why are we going all the way to Canada?" Percy asked as they were climbing onto one of the cars.

"Because Perce, in Toronto, we'll find Artemis, and she's going to lead us to Cupid."

On top of the train car, Luke managed to pry open the grain lid. He jumped through and called for Percy.

"I don't know Luke, how far down is it?"

"It's not far Perce, but I can catch you if you need me to."

"Ok, I'm coming down." He hopped down into the darkness and into the arms of the other boy. "Thanks, Luke."

"No problem, Perce," he assure the boy, setting him down on the uneven floor.

"Hey!" A gruff voice shouted at them, "who's in here with me?!"

Luke grabbed the younger boy and pulled him into a corner, both of them drawing their swords. The celestial bronze casting a faint glow. "Perce," he sternly commanded, "there's a lantern in my bag, get it."

"I said," the voice called out again, "who the hell is in my car!?"

"Sir, we don't want any trouble," Luke said, trying to reason with him, "we just needed a ride to Toronto, if you want, we can get in another cart."

"Did you just say Toronto?" the voice cried out, the anger being quickly replaced by exasperation. "I was supposed to jump trains in fucking Kansas City." Percy finally found the lantern and flipped it on. The voice belonged to a short, dirty looking man -perhaps 4 foot 9- who was standing on a large mound of barley, and yelling into the opposite wall.

"Um, sir," Percy said quietly, "we're behind you."

The boys eventually got acquainted with the man -Frank- after he calmed down. Frank was a homeless man from Alberta, who, after losing his sight, also lost his job. They learned that he joined a group of guys bound for Texas, but after realizing how much work it was dealing with a blind man, left him on the train to fend for himself.

Frank was also a drunk, and after downing a whole bottle of cheap scotch, passed out in his corner.

"Well wasn't he an interesting man," Percy whispers, leaning his head on Luke's shoulder. The night air was cooling off in the uninsulated car, and the older boy got the hint and wrapped his arm around Percy. "Luke," he says, turning his head to face the blond, "what happens to demigods when we die?"

Luke had been expecting this question all evening, so he had had time to prepare his response. "Well, in the underworld, there are three sections -four if you count Tartarus, which is where monsters go. The good go to Elysium, which is the equivalent of the Christian's heaven; the average go to Asphodel, which would be like like Purgatory, except it's permanent; and the wicked go to the fields of punishment, which would obviously be -"

"Hell," Percy cuts him off. "Where do you think she went?"

"She died a warriors death Percy," he says with a sigh, "yeah she was an asshole, but she cared about the camp and always did what was right. I'd like to think she's in Elysium with Annabeth and Thalia."

"I hope she is too," he says, tears pooling in his eyes. He hadn't known Clarisse as well as Luke had, and every interaction had been less than pleasant, but to see death, even when no love is lost, would have an effect on anyone. Luke had to remember that Percy had lost his mother less than six weeks prior, the majority of the boy's experience with his new world was defined by death and loss. Luke desperately wished he could tell Percy it wouldn't be like this forever, but what good would lying do? "You never told me what happened to Thalia."

"It's a story for another night, Perce," he said, pain creeping into his voice, "you need to go to sleep, it's late."

After the events of the day, Percy didn't feel the urge to push Luke like he did in Cabin 3, the day had been emotional enough for the both of them. The younger boy leaned further into his embrace, "good night, Luke."

Luke brought his other arm around to rub Percy's shoulder, "good night, Perce."