Death and His Many Friends: Chapter Seven

"You do know you're going to die out there, right?" Clovis said to me while playing with a Rubik's Cube, seemingly oblivious on how to solve the puzzle.

"Maybe." I said to him, trying to mask my fear. I couldn't believe that I had just said that to Percy. I mean, I should've cut him some slack. His girlfriend was gone, probably going to die anyways, and here I am about to fight him in a duel. Ain't that just something.

Alice continued to stare at the rain through a window by the dining room. Ever since we got into the Hypnos cabin, she didn't say a word. Clovis gave me a nudge, and mouthed, 'Go on. See what's bothering her!"

I mouthed back, 'Why don't you, Mr. Counselor?'

Clovis simply rolled his eyes and went back to his puzzle. It was customary that the Hypnos cabin was quiet, for most of its inhabitants simply slept through the whole day, drowning themselves in classical music. I've never been much for classical music, but I guess you could say I found a slight liking to it from my stay in the Hypnos cabin.

I realized that Clovis was right, and that I should ask Alice what was wrong. I stood up, and walked into the dining hall. Denny, one of the younger campers, had her head on the dining table, drooling into a blueberry Pop-Tart. I tried not to make any sound, but I knew that Alice had heard me.

"I still don't know why you did that." she said to me, still staring at the rain.

"I'm sorry, okay." I said to her, "It's just- I lost my temper that time."

"And now you're going to die."

"Well, let's keep our hopes up, shall we?" I said to her, who finally looked at me. She looked exceptionally beatiful to me, but I would never admit it. When we talked, I could feel a sadness in her heart, something that was starting to bother me for quite a while.

"What time is it?" I asked her, for the Hypnos cabin had no time-keeping instruments of any sorts. Punctuality was sort of the cabin's bane. Alice, on the other hand, could sense when it was day or night, a rare characteristic of children of Hypnos.

"It's almost 2:15, Gerard." she said to me. "The duel's at 3:00. You wouldn't want to miss it, or else the Ares campers will beat you to death, literally."

"Ah, it seems that if I bail the Ares campers would eat me alive." I jokingly said to her.

She laughed at my remark, and walked towards me, with tears in her eyes. "Please, Gerard." she said to me. "I don't want you to die out there. I know Percy, he's a nice guy, but he can be ruthless if it's to save a friend. And it seems like you two don't get along very well."

"Don't worry," I told her, "I'll live."

"Alright then," Clovis interrupted us, standing at the doorpost. "you're gonna get creamed out there without the right equipment. We'll take a little stroll to the armoury to find some armour and weapons for ya."

"I have a weapon." I said to him, putting my trust in Charos, which was in my bunk, safe and sound.

"Okay, but you need armour. Even though Riptide is Celestial bronze, it doesn't mean he won't be able to dish out some pain."

"Riptide?" I said to him.

"Yeah, Percy's sword. It's sort of his signature weapon, and he's already mastered it. You, on the other hands, have little to no swordplay abilities."

"I'm working on it." I said to him.

"We should be going then." Alice said to us, wiping the tears out of her eyes.

"Uh, right." Clovis said awkwardly. I still felt a feeling of dread, for that duel with Percy would change everything.