The Lost Hero

It was an obvious trick, but her voice was so compelling, even Jason bought it. The giant said, ―What?‖
and turned like there was an enormous spider on his back.
Jason tackled his legs at just the right moment. The giant lost his balance. Enceladus slammed into the
crater and slid to the bottom. While he tried to rise, Jason put his arms around the giant‘s neck. When
Enceladus struggled to his feet, Jason was riding his shoulders.
―Get off!‖ Enceladus screamed. He tried to grab Jason‘s legs, but Jason scrabbled around, squirming and
climbing over the giant‘s hair.
Father, Jason thought. If I‟ve ever done anything good, anything you approved of, help me now. I offer my
own life—just save my friends.
Suddenly he could smell the metallic scent of a storm. Darkness swallowed the sun. The giant froze,
sensing it too.
Jason yelled to his friends, ―Hit the deck!‖
And every hair on his head stood straight up.
Crack!
Lightning surged through Jason‘s body, straight through Enceladus, and into the ground. The giant‘s back
stiffened, and Jason was thrown clear. When he regained his bearings, he was slipping down the side of the
crater, and the crater was cracking open. The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and
tore apart, and Enceladus‘s legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just
for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.
He fixed Jason with a look of hatred. ―You‘ve won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten
times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with—‖
The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice.
The earth shook. Jason fell toward the rift.
―Grab hold!‖ Leo yelled.
Jason‘s feet were at the edge of the chasm when he grabbed the rope, and Leo and Piper pulled him up.
They stood together, exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground
stopped pulling at their feet.
For now, Gaea was gone.
The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Jason spotted a helicopter—
maybe firefighters or reporters—coming toward them.
All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock
missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Jason figured they would re-form soon enough. Construction
equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.
Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were
now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.
He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. ―Did I do this?‖
Before Jason could reply, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. ―Yeah, you wanted some
hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who‘s the goat, huh?‖
He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.
Leo cracked a smile, and Jason couldn‘t help it—he started to laugh. It probably sounded a little
hysterical, but it was such a relief to be alive, he didn‘t care.
Then a man stood up across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, shellshocked,
like someone who‘d just walked through a nuclear wasteland.
―Piper?‖ he called. His voice cracked. ―Pipes, what—what is—‖
He couldn‘t complete the thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn‘t seem
to know her.
Jason had felt a similar way—that morning at the Grand Canyon, when he woke with no memory. But Mr.
McLean had the opposite problem. He had too many memories, too much trauma his mind just couldn‘t handle.
He was coming apart.
―We need to get him out of here,‖ Jason said.
―Yeah, but how?‖ Leo said. ―He‘s in no shape to walk.‖
Jason glanced up at the helicopter, which was now circling directly overhead. ―Can you make us a
bullhorn or something?‖ he asked Leo. ―Piper has some talking to do.‖
BORROWING THE HELICOPTER WAS EASY.. Getting her dad on board was not.