Part I: The Siege Mentality
Three days.
It had been three days since the "Shadow Council" met, and Camp Half-Blood was becoming unrecognizable.
I stood on the porch of the Big House, looking out over the valley. It was 8:00 AM, but the sky was the color of a bruised plum. The magical weather barrier, which usually kept the camp in perpetual sunny springtime, was now fractured. A cold, unnatural humidity had settled in. It wasn't the fresh humidity of a summer storm; it was the damp, cloying stickiness of a basement that had flooded.
The grass on the commons was turning a sickly yellow-gray. The volleyball court was overgrown with thorny weeds that seemed to grow inches by the hour. Even the air tasted wrong—metallic and stale, like copper pennies.
"It looks like a painting left out in the rain," Silena Beauregard murmured, standing beside me. She was trying to organize a game of capture the flag to keep morale up, but nobody was interested.
"It's the poison," I said, leaning on Thunderclap. The hammer felt heavier these days, or maybe I was just sleeping less. "Thalia's tree is the anchor. As it dies, the reality of the camp unravels."
I looked at the cabins. The Ares cabin had fortified their porch with sandbags (Clarisse's orders before she left, enforced by her brothers). The Demeter cabin was desperately trying to sing to the strawberry plants, but the fruit was rotting on the vine, turning into black sludge.
"Keep them busy, Silena," I said quietly. "If they stop moving, they start thinking. And if they start thinking, they panic."
"What about Tantalus?" she asked, glancing at the open window where the Activity Director was currently building a house of cards.
"Leave him to me," I said. "He's occupied."
Part II: The Mist on the Beach
I walked down to the sound. The beach was the only place that felt somewhat normal, though the waves were choppy and gray.
I needed to clear my head. I walked to the surf line, letting the cold water rush over my boots.
Suddenly, the air in front of me shimmered. Sunlight—real sunlight, not the filtered gray of the camp—caught the spray of a breaking wave. A rainbow formed in the mist.
A drachma flew out of nowhere (or rather, out of the ether) and a voice spoke.
"Oh Goddess, accept our offering."
The mist thickened, solidifying into a window.
I wasn't looking at the beach anymore. I was looking at the wooden deck of a lifeboat bobbing in the open ocean.
Three figures were huddled together.
Percy. Annabeth. Tyson.
They looked rough. Percy's clothes were scorched. Annabeth's hair was a disaster. Tyson was looking at the ocean with a worried expression.
"Percy?" I stepped forward.
The image rippled. Percy looked up. His eyes widened.
"Val!" Percy scrambled closer to the mist. "You got it! I wasn't sure if the Iris Message would go through. The reception out here is terrible."
"I hear you loud and clear," I said, trying to keep the relief out of my voice. "Where are you? You look like you just escaped a blender."
"We escaped a cruise ship," Annabeth corrected, leaning into the frame. She looked pale. "Luke's ship. The Princess Andromeda."
My blood ran cold. "Luke? You saw him?"
"We saw his army," Percy said grimly. "Val, it's not just monsters. He has half-bloods. Kids from camp who ran away. And... we saw the coffin."
"What coffin?"
"Kronos," Percy whispered. "A golden sarcophagus. Luke is trying to reform him. He needs the Fleece to speed it up."
I clenched my fists. The static in my blood spiked, causing the image to fuzz for a second.
"He's gathering pieces," I muttered. "Like a jigsaw puzzle from Tartarus."
"What about camp?" Percy asked urgently. "Is the barrier holding? Is Tantalus... you know?"
I looked over my shoulder.
I saw the gray, dying grass. I saw the Ares kids fighting with the Apollo kids over food rations because the supply truck hadn't arrived. I saw the dark shapes of monsters pacing just beyond the tree line, waiting for nightfall.
I looked back at the mist.
If I told Percy the truth—that the camp was days away from being overrun, that we were starving, that I was barely holding the line—he would panic. He would try to come back. And we needed that Fleece.
"Camp is fine," I lied. I forced a grin onto my face. "Tantalus is an idiot, but we're managing. The strawberries are... a little wilted, but Silena is throwing a party tonight. You know how it is."
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. She studied my face. She saw the dark circles under my eyes. She saw the mud on my armor. She saw the black glove on my left hand.
"Valerius," she warned. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying, Chase," I said smoothly. "I'm the Son of Zeus. I have everything under control. Just get the rug and get back here. I'm bored of scrubbing pots."
Percy seemed to buy it, or maybe he just wanted to believe it. He exhaled, his shoulders dropping.
"Okay," Percy said. "We're heading for the Sea of Monsters. Coordinates 30, 31, 75, 12. We have a ride coming."
"Stay safe, Water Boy," I said. "And Tyson?"
The big Cyclops looked up.
"Make sure they eat," I told him. "Skinny heroes break easy."
Tyson beamed. "I will!"
"Valerius out."
I waved my hand through the mist. The connection severed. The rainbow dissolved into sea spray.
I stood there for a long moment, the smile dropping from my face like a mask.
"Liar," I whispered to myself.
Part III: The Supply Run
I walked back up the hill. The reality of the siege hit me as soon as I passed the volleyball court.
Travis Stoll was waiting for me behind the armory.
"We have a problem," Travis whispered.
"What now?"
"The mortal supply truck," Travis said nervously. "It didn't come. Again. That's three days in a row, Val. We're out of fresh meat. We're low on nectar."
"The monsters," I realized. "They aren't just watching the border. They've set up a blockade on the road. They're cutting off our logistics."
"We have stored rations," Travis said. "Canned beans. Crackers. But the Ares cabin is getting restless. They want steak."
"Tell them to eat MREs or go hunt a deer," I snapped. "We ration everything starting now. Half portions."
"They're going to riot, Val."
"Let them," I said, my hand drifting to my hammer. "If they riot, I'll put them in the arena and tire them out. Just keep the food locked up."
Part IV: The Night of the Shovel
That night, the attack didn't come from the woods. It came from beneath us.
I was on patrol near the cabins, walking with Lee Fletcher. It was 2:00 AM. The fog was so thick you could chew it.
"It's quiet," Lee whispered, his bow drawn. "Too quiet."
"Don't say that," I muttered. "That's a cliché. Clichés get you killed."
Suddenly, the ground beneath the Demeter cabin exploded.
There was no warning. One second, the ground was solid. The next, the floorboards of Cabin Four shattered upward.
"Screeeee!"
Giant, insectoid creatures burst out of the earth. Myrmekes. Giant Ants.
They were the size of German Shepherds, with armored orange shells and mandibles that could snap steel. There were dozens of them, pouring out of a tunnel they had dug right under the magical barrier.
"Alarm!" I roared. "Cabin Four! Evacuate!"
The Demeter kids were screaming, scrambling out of their bunks as the ants swarmed their cabin, snapping at bedding and furniture.
I charged into the doorway.
"Hey! Ugly!"
I swung Thunderclap. I didn't use the piston; I needed speed. I smashed the lead ant in the head. Its shell cracked with a sound like a gunshot, spraying green ichor.
"Get them out!" I yelled to Lee. "I'll plug the hole!"
I waded into the cabin. It was a nightmare. The ants were everywhere, crawling up the walls.
I switched to my left hand.
I grabbed an ant by its antenna. My Styx glove flared. The necrotic energy surged. The ant shriveled instantly, curling into a dry husk.
I threw it at another ant.
"Back!" I yelled, blasting a short arc of lightning from my right hand. The blue flash illuminated the room, revealing the hole in the floor. It was a tunnel, dark and deep.
I needed to seal it.
"Beckendorf!" I shouted out the window. "I need fire! Greek Fire!"
A minute later, Beckendorf arrived with a jar of glowing green liquid.
"Clear the room!" I ordered.
I grabbed a bunk bed—solid wood—and threw it over the hole. It wouldn't hold them for long. The mandibles were already chewing through the mattress.
"Fire in the hole!"
I smashed the jar of Greek Fire against the floorboards and kicked the burning mess into the tunnel.
WHOOSH.
Green flames roared down the shaft. The screeching of the ants turned into high-pitched squeals of agony. The smell of burning chitin was hideous.
I slammed the door shut and leaned against it, panting.
Part V: The Realization
The camp gathered outside. They looked terrified. The sanctuary of the cabins had been breached.
"They're digging," Annabeth's voice echoed in my head. They're smart.
Tantalus came running up, wearing bunny slippers. "What is the meaning of this? A bonfire? In a cabin?"
"Ants," I said, sliding down the doorframe to sit on the porch. "Tunnelers. They bypassed the barrier."
"Nonsense!" Tantalus yelled. "You set this fire! You're trying to incite panic!"
I looked at him. I was too tired to argue. I was covered in green ant guts and soot.
"Look at the hole, Tantalus," I said softly.
I looked at the campers. They were looking at me, not Tantalus. They were waiting for orders.
"Beckendorf," I said, standing up. "Pour concrete into that tunnel. Seal it. Then check every other cabin foundation. Use the sonar sensors."
"On it," Beckendorf said.
"Lee," I turned to the archer. "Double the watch. If the ground moves, shoot it."
"Valerius!" Tantalus sputtered. "I give the orders here!"
I stepped close to him. I towered over him. My blue eyes were dim, but the static was still there, humming dangerously.
"Then give an order that saves lives," I whispered. "Or get out of my way."
I walked away toward the woods.
I needed to find the source. If they were tunneling, there had to be a hive entrance nearby.
As I walked into the dark forest, the compass in my pocket spun wildy again.
North. South. East. West.
And then, a new direction.
Down.
I stopped. I looked at the ground beneath my boots.
Kronos wasn't just marching on us. He was undermining us. The rot wasn't just in the trees; it was in the foundation.
I gripped my hammer, the metal cold and comforting.
"Keep digging," I snarled at the earth. "I'll be waiting."