What do you say to a reveal like that?
Should I have said that she was wrong?
She wasn't. I could feel it now, once she gave a name to the strangeness I'd been experiencing. The way my body felt awkward. How I fought back at Kronos, blasting away the threads he sent after us. And most of all, the simple fact that I was up and walking after being stabbed and hurled hundreds of miles through the sky.
Should I have asked how it happened?
Simply put, Calypso wouldn't know. She hadn't been there. She hadn't seen what I'd seen. I could guess what might've done it, but at the end of the day that's all it was, a guess.
Annabeth would've known.
The traitorous little thought felt like a stab straight to the brain, and I tried my best to push past it quickly.
Otherwise, I was scared I'd break down.
The only other question I could think of was, why?
This one I could answer, although it didn't make me feel any better. There was no reason. It was simply how things had turned out; blind luck. Only I didn't feel lucky. Not one bit.
Calypso was watching me carefully. "I assumed you realized. I'm sorry I just… I assumed..."
"It's fine." It wasn't, but compared to the fate of the entire world something like accidental immortality wasn't a big deal. Not to me, at least. "I'm still Percy. I'm still me. Nothing's changed."
I couldn't tell which of us I was hoping to convince.
I must've looked unsteady, because Calypso rose and laid her hand on my shoulder. I stared at it, then at her. She blushed.
"I'm sorry," she said. "You looked like you might fall. Watching over you has become a habit."
She didn't pull her hand away. I felt a sense of deja vu. She had said something similar the last time I crash landed with her on the brink of death.
"You've been dragging my unconscious body around for three whole years?" I asked.
Calypso nodded. "Indeed. Although I had some help."
"And you were never tempted to just drop me in a ditch somewhere?"
"Only when you snored," she said.
After a beat of silence, she giggled.
"That was a joke. You never snored, and I would never leave you."
She said it warmly, but I couldn't help but jerk away. Her hand slipped from my shoulder. She looked confused, then the realization settled in.
We were both thinking the same thing. I already left her once.
"I didn't mean it that way," she said.
"I know."
"I don't blame you," she said. "And… I heard about Annabeth."
Just her name was enough for the scene to replay in my head, her spinning away as Kronos tore her off-course. Except now it was accompanied by the horrors from my dream, that deadly landing illustrated in far too much gratuitous detail.
Calypso saw me getting further away, sinking into my thoughts, and grabbed my hand.
"Don't get distracted," she said firmly. "It won't help anyone, least of all yourself. Instead, come with me. If you're awake, you should be introduced to the others."
I shook my head, shaking off memories like cobwebs.
"...Others?"
-
Calypso led us through hallways and down a set of worn-out steps. Once or twice she had to stop and double back. Wherever we were, she was only a little bit more familiar with it than I was.
It was definitely a school. A poster for the baseball club called students "Swoops". Based on the art, that was some kind of a bird. The buildings were nice, with lots of glass, but it was clear nobody was doing housework. Dust and grime was collected on every out of the way surface. The school color must've been red. I spotted it on just about every poster and logo we passed, always against a black background.
The theme only got more intense when we stepped outside.
Calypso led me toward what must have been the football field. I couldn't be sure, because it had seen much better days. One field goal lay turned over on its side, knocked clean out of the ground, while the other was missing entirely. The artificial turf was dyed an obnoxious red color, but it was mixed with spots of green where real grass had grown through. Massive bleachers rose up by each side line, except one was missing a chunk 40 feet wide and twenty pews tall, as if a passing drakon had taken a bite out just for fun.
An array of tents and canopies had been set up on the field. A quick count said there were at least fifty, probably more. They were set up in a horseshoe-shape that made me nostalgic for the cabins at camp. Before I could get mired down in memories, a voice shouted, "It's Calypso!"
Somebody sprinted toward us. Slowly, because their little legs could only cover so much ground. As they came closer I made out a little boy, one with vibrant orange hair and a gap between his front teeth.
He came barreling toward us, so eager that he almost collided with Calypso's knees after pumping the brakes too late. He slid to a stop, black bits of rubber spraying up behind his heels.
"Calypso! Calypso!" he said.
Calypso released her grip on my hand, kneeling down to put herself at eye-level. "Yes, Mikey? What is it?"
"I saw a raccoon!" he said. "And a bird. It was this big." he cupped his hands in a cute bowl-shape that told us absolutely nothing. "And it had a red head. Annie said it looked like me, but I don't think so."
"That wasn't very nice of her," Calypso said.
Mikey nodded. "Uh-huh. And I also saw a coyote. It was skinny, but I liked it because it looked smart."
"But no snakes?" Calypso asked.
"No." Mikey frowned, thinking hard. "No," he said again, "I didn't see any snakes. And I wouldn't have missed one. Not when you asked me to keep lookout."
"I believe you." Calypso ruffled his hair. She stood, taking my hand in hers again to introduce me. "Mikey, I'd like you to meet Percy. Say hi to him."
Mikey turned to look at me. He squinted with his mouth still open, which really squashed his teeth together and accentuated the gap between them.
"You're that guy that's always sleeping," he said.
"I'm up now," I told him. "But yeah, that's me."
"The whole world ended," he said. "How'd you sleep through that?"
"You know, I've been thinking the same thing myself."
"If I woke up now, I think I'd wanna sleep more," Mikey said matter-of-factly.
Calypso stepped between us. I guess she thought the conversation was getting dangerous.
"Mikey, run ahead and tell the others we're here, why don't you?" she said.
He squinted at her. "Okay."
He turned and ran off the same way he arrived. We watched him go, giving him a head start so we wouldn't accidentally catch up.
"That kid's got a lot of energy," I observed.
Calypso watched him go. "Doesn't he just?" she said wistfully.
There was something warm in her expression— and I mean really warm, the way I'd look at my mom, or blue pancakes. Whoever it was that we were going to meet really meant something to her, and I didn't think that was limited to just Mikey.
"Come," she said, leading me by the hand once again. "Introductions will not complete themselves."
-
As we pulled closer, and I could really make out details, my first impression of Calypso's backyard tent city wasn't great. Alright, it was pretty bad, actually. The whole place looked more than a little pathetic.
There weren't more tents than I'd counted, but there were more people than I expected. Some were trudging around on their feet, while others lay down in the turf, staring up at passing clouds. By far the majority, though, were the ones sitting by the entrance to tents. Must were hugging their knees, and nearly all of them were staring at the ground. They looked like refugees.
Because they were, I realized.
They also looked defeated.
Because they had been, my brain added.
One or two looked up as we passed, but they quickly looked back down. It seemed Mikey's fiery greeting wasn't the norm, even Calypso was there herself.
It was only when we kept walking, toward the base of the horseshoe, that things started changing.
More people were on their feet. Less eyes were glued to the ground. I even spotted a few people having conversations with each other before we arrived. The deeper we walked the more people stopped to look at us. A few called out greetings, which Calypso returned with a short wave.
They also paid attention to me. I spotted hands pointing when they thought I wasn't looking. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but considering I was basically Sleeping Ugly to them I figured that the least I could do was put up with this much.
Up ahead, Mikey was waving at us.
"I told you they were coming," he said to a woman at his side.
"Look at that," said the woman. "They really are here. I was so sure you were just trying to get out of your job."
Mikey puffed out his cheeks. "Wouldn't do that. I'm the best lookout."
I called her a woman, but the girl couldn't have been much older than me. She was pretty, with tanned skin and eyes that matched her brown hair. What stood out was the way she carried herself. She stood, talked, and even looked us in the eye the same vigor that Mikey showed.
When we approached, she held out her hand.
"I'm Grace," she said. "And you… You're Percy, right?"
I wondered how much Calypso had told them. She must've said at least a little bit. Otherwise, I wasn't sure how you could justify dragging an unconscious guy all the way across the United States.
"That's me," I said.
People were still pointing. In fact, so deep into the camp, it seemed almost everyone was taking notice of me, always with at least a little bit of shock. Whispers were starting all around us.
"Don't mind them, please," Grace said. "They're just surprised is all."
"Yeah, I think I get it," I said.
It felt like everything since I woke up had been nothing but one surprise after another.
"If we knew you were coming, I would've tried to make the place a little more hospitable," she said.
She looked around with her hands on her hips, shaking her head. I couldn't help but ask, "You're in charge of this place?"
She was young for a leader— one of the youngest there, other than Mikey. I couldn't deny that she was more alert than the rest I'd seen though. More alive.
Grace shifted.
"Not technically," she said, smiling softly. "But my friend and I do what we can to keep things going. At some point… I'd be lying if I said the others didn't start listening to us because of it."
"Her friend is Annie," Mikey added. "She's pretty mean."
"And kind of dumb, but she tries her best," Grace said with a smirk.
Mikey looked up at her. "I'll tell her you said that."
"I'll tell her you said she's mean."
"She knows that already," Mikey said. "But she's not dumb."
Grace pushed him away by the head, mussing his hair up in the process and ignorin Mikey's indignant roar. "Fine, you little snitch. Have it your way."
We moved even deeper into the camp, walking with Mikey and Grace. With every step Calypso gripped my hand just a little bit tighter. She was beaming.
Here, clotheslines had been hung between tents, with shirts and socks and much more hanging off to catch the sun's rays. Big barrels had been filled with soapy water, men women and children bending over them cleaning either clothes or parts of their bodies. I smelled food. I couldn't put my finger on what, but even just the scent was pretty nice.
A canopy bigger than any of the others was set up at the back, with long tables facing the camp. Men and women in all white moved under it, tending fires and hauling dishes. Big pots were set up at the front, which was where the smell was coming from. They were filled with some kind of stew.
One girl stood at the very front wielding a ladle like a sword. I wasn't sure she even reached five feet in height, but her blue eyes were dead serious. She had her blond hair tied up in a bun to keep it out of the way. As soon as she came into sight Mikey ran up to her.
"Annie! Annie!"
"Wait your turn, Mikey," said Annie, filling a man's bowl with steaming stew. "We have lines for a reason."
"Grace called you dumb," Mikey said.
"Little bastard actually did it," Grace mumbled next to us.
"Don't mind her. She's projecting." Annie was already filling another bowl. "Did you run over here just to tell me that?"
"No. I followed Calypso."
Annie yelped. She almost dropped her ladle into the pot. "Calypso's here?"
She started hurriedly straightening her apron, even though it was too little too late. Calypso stepped forward, releasing my hand for the first time since we entered the camp.
In the middle of trying to rub a stain out, Annie stopped and looked up.
"Calypso! You, uh, didn't say you were coming out!"
"It wasn't planned," Calypso said. "Annie, I'd like you to meet Percy."
Annie looked at me from head to toe. "Seems you finally woke up."
"Seems like it," I said.
She sighed. "I suppose that means another mouth I'll have to feed."
"Actually," I said, "I think that's one thing you won't have to worry about."
The food smelled good. In this situation, I should be absolutely starving. Yet the idea of actually eating didn't make me feel a thing. Instead, the smell was more appetizing.
I really had become a god. I wasn't burying my head in the sand about it, but it was little moments like this that just made it all feel real. I was craving burned sacrifices. I finally understood, first-hand, why the Olympians were always making us scrape meals into the brazier back at camp.
"Are you planning on leaving?"
Annie's question brought me back down to Earth. She was squinting at me. I got the feeling that a wrong answer would see that ladle of hers flying for my head.
"It's a little more complicated than that," I said. "I'm not going anywhere yet."
"Good. Calypso went through a ton of trouble for you, you know."
"Annie!" Calypso said.
"What? It's true!" said the girl. "Always moving him, keeping him hidden, taking care of him… Even when Rio chased us all the way here you were busy worrying about him."
"That's enough," Calypso said coolly.
Annie's mouth shut with a clack at the sudden change in tone.
"Rio?" I said. "Who's that? Another survivor?"
Nobody would look at me except for Mikey.
"Rio's not one of us," he said. "Rio is—"
"Not something Percy has to worry about," Calypso said pointedly. "He is my problem. I will handle him. As I've said repeatedly."
"Everybody!" Grace suddenly called out. "Come and meet someone!"
The distraction worked. As the workers behind Annie stopped and shuffled over to us, I made a mental note to find out more about this 'Rio' later.
What followed was a barrage of names and handshakes. Other than Mikey and the two girls, I was certain it would take me ages to remember any of these people. There were just too many.
It felt like hours before the line finally thinned out, but it was probably closer to thirty minutes. Finally, as I was hitting my limit, the last person gave their name and stepped away to finish what they'd been doing before.
Only one person hadn't approached us. She stood alone under the far corner of the canopy, chopping some kind of vegetable. She was absolutely gorgeous, somewhere in her early thirties with long dark hair and porcelain skin. That wasn't what caught my eye. She looked even more lifeless than the most checked-out layabouts we'd passed at the entrance to the camp. A light breeze probably could've knocked her over, never to rise again.
I inclined my head in her direction. "Who's that?"
The others followed my gaze. Grace winced, but Annie shot her a look before turning to me.
"That's Aubrey," she said. "She's been with us a long time, but… she's a little bit reclusive."
That seemed like one way of putting it. Even though she was in earshot, Aubrey didn't look up once at the sound of her name, continuing to bring her knife down in rhythmic strokes.
Annie lowered her voice. "I try to keep her involved. She scares me otherwise. I really do think having jobs helps her! Just… not as much as I'd hoped."
Calypso and Grace were both looking at Aubrey sadly. Even Annie quickly returned to stirring stew, as if searching for a distraction.
They'd given up on the woman, I realized. They wouldn't actually throw her out, but none of them expected her to get better. In this new world, maybe that was normal. I was the odd one who hadn't adjusted— the weirdo that slept straight through the apocalypse.
But just because I was the strange one, didn't mean I had to put my head down and keep quiet.
"Aubrey!" I shouted.
It took a full five seconds for her head to tilt toward us, even though I yelled her name as loud as I could.
The others gave me crazy looks, but I wasn't finished.
"My name is Percy Jackson!" I said. "It's nice to meet you! I hope we get along!"
She stared at me for a full ten seconds. Then her gaze drifted back to the cutting board. She resumed her task.
I didn't say anything else. For a start, that was enough.
Calypso and I spent the rest of the day among the tents. Not all of that time was spent showing me off like a shiny new toy, just a lot of it. For a while we played tag with Mikey. Grace showed us where they were keeping the food supplies, and got Calypso to cast a spell that kept bugs away. The rest of the time we just watched people. The camp was more lively than I gave it credit for. There were whole families, groups of friends, and even a few kids as young as Mikey. We messed around until the sun was starting to go down.
It was a good distraction.
Not quite good enough to make me forget the world had ended because I failed to stop it, and that nearly everyone I loved was gone forever. But that would be asking for a lot.
As Calypso and I wandered away from the field, back toward the building that had our rooms, I said, "You really love those people."
She was slow to answer.
"If there's one thing life has taught me," she said, "it's that the worst fate one can face is to be alone."
"I think I get that," I said.
There was one niggling doubt that kept squirming into my head as I watched these people interact. If I closed my eyes, at times, it could feel like I was back at camp. And then I'd remember that camp was gone, along with all those people who filled it with life. What was left?
Just me.
For the first time in hours, Calypso grabbed my hand.
This time she wasn't leading me anywhere, though. The touch was to comfort me; a warm reminder that she was here, next to me.
"You are not alone," she said fervently. "I will not allow you to be."
In the fading light I found myself sucked into her face. I'd thought once before that she was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself, yet in that moment Calypso seemed even more breathtaking than back then. Maybe it was the light playing tricks, but I could've sworn she was leaning in…
I spun away.
Calypso jumped back. "Sorry!" she rambled. "I don't know what I was thinking. After everything, that would be way too soon. So dumb! I should never have… Percy?"
In truth, I was hardly paying attention to her. My eyes were locked on the bleachers nearby, unblinking. "There's something there."
Calypso's eyes widened. "You sense something?"
We were being watched. I was sure of that. I could sense it, but where… There!
My eyes finally picked out what was setting off my senses. On the closest seat, coiled against the silver metal, was a darkly-colored snake with a flat, wide head.
Its cold beady eyes were pointed directly toward us.
As soon as it caught me looking, it slipped off the seat and out of sight. I watched it go, then turned to Calypso.
"What was it?" she asked.
"A snake," I said. "I could've sworn it was watching us."
It was barely noticeable, but Calypso paled.
"Likely just local wildlife," she said. "Nothing to worry about."
She started walking again, moving ahead of me this time. I couldn't tell if that was because of embarrassment, or because she was trying to play off the lie she just told.
I shot another glance at the spot the snake had disappeared before following.
I knew, instinctively, that it had been a water snake. I could just sense as much, the same way things at sea came naturally to me. And I was equally sure, just by a gut feeling, that the snake had only been there to watch us.
Calypso was hiding something. And it was up to me to find out what.
If you enjoy my work, check the link in my profile for more.