Annabeth's Mortal Friends

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Caleb Pierson's POV:

I opened my eyes slowly, squinting at the bright light. Really, waking up in a hospital bed again? How many Percy-Jackson-weirdness related injuries was I going to get?

It smelled like a hospital in here, but it definitely didn't look that way. I went to sit up, but the ache in my side made me groan and lay back down.

"Hey Nico, he's waking up. You might want to go grab Percy and Annabeth." A voice sounded from across the room. A mumbled complaint replied to the voice, which was followed by the opening and closing of a door.

A tall, blond, sun-tanned boy leaned over me, placing a cool washcloth on my forehead. I'd have thought he looked similar to Annabeth if it weren't for their very different eye colors. She had a cool grey shade, while his were light blue. Although, he and Annabeth had different shades of blond hair as well.

"Morning," the boy said, taking his hands away from my face.

"Where am I? What happened?" I asked, taking another look around. A few kids occupied the other beds in the room. One was sleeping peacefully, seemingly uninjured. Another had a large burn up the side of her arm. A third had legs covered in small cuts. Each were dressed in the same orange shirt as the blond boy.

"Welcome to the infirmary. My name's Will, I kind of watch over this place." He flipped the washcloth over, putting the cooler side onto my skin.

"The infirmary?" I echoed.

"Yep. Campers come in here all the time, so don't feel too bad about getting sent in on your first day. You got roughed up pretty bad by that manticore. Percy and Annabeth handled it though, so no need to worry about that. They gave me strict instructions not to feed you ambrosia for whatever reason, so you're going to be a bit more sore than normal." Will took the cloth off of my head, pressing the back of his hand against my forehead as if checking for a fever. "Although, one smack from a monster is plenty for a demigod to handle. You'll be fine."

"Sorry," I began, sitting up straighter. "What did you call me?"

"A demigod?" Will asked, puzzled.

"I'm not a-"

The knock sounded on the outside of the door. At Will's approval, Percy and Annabeth entered, followed by a dark-haired and dark-eyed Italian boy and a man in a wheelchair.

"They're here, Sunshine," the boy said, gesturing toward Percy and Annabeth. "They figured Chiron should come too."

Will raised an eyebrow at the boy, who simply shrugged and hopped up onto one of the empty beds.

The man wheeled himself over to Will, beckoning him down and muttering something to him quietly. Will frowned in concentration. He nodded at whatever the man said, standing up and walking back over to me.

"Sounds like you're all good to go. You're needed elsewhere," Will said, pulling the blankets off of me.

I nodded quietly, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and standing up. My side still ached, but it was bearable. The man in the wheelchair extended his hand toward me, which I accepted.

"My name is Chiron. I'm the activities director here at Camp Half-Blood," he informed me.

"I'm Caleb," I responded, awkwardly shaking his hand.

He let go of me after the brief handshake. "Shall we all head off to the Big House, then? Percy and Annabeth tell me that this matter is of utmost importance, so we'd better be on our way."

The man leaned over to Percy and Annabeth, mumbling something. I craned my neck but just barely made out his words: "-Big Three? He certainly doesn't bear any resemblance."