"Wake up, Thalia."

Thalia rubbed her eyes and yawned sleepily. Keisha, fellow hunter of Artemis, was standing by the bed, arms crossed.

"We've been waiting for two hours. Two damn hours!"

"Geez, Keisha. You think Iwant to wake up this late?"

"Actually -" Keisha looked ready to start cussing and blowing up at Thalia. Then, she uncrossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Just get ready. Lady Artemis will be waiting."

"I'd like to stay at Camp Half-Blood for a while. You guys can leave, but I'll stay here. With my friends."

Keisha glared at Thalia. "Hell if I care. Stay here at this fucking camp, I don't care if you DIE, for hell's sake!"

Then she stormed out of the cabin. Aria, another hunter, edged closer.

"T-thalia, you shouldn't have done that. Keisha has been having temper problems lately."

"I don't care."

"Alright..." Aria twitched. "I'm going to go hit the showers. See you later."

Aria left, leaving Thalia alone. Thalia left a few minutes after, but she wasn't going toward the showers.

She was heading toward Cabin 1, her old home.

~xxx~

A thunderstorm was brewing above the bank-like cabin. Thalia pushed open the door and sighed. There was almost no furniture - a bed and a dresser. Thalia opened one of the doors and found an old photograph. From when she, Luke and Annabeth had been...well, on the run as lone half-bloods.

Luke was smiling, his arm around Thalia's shoulder. There was no scar on his face. His blue eyes glittered with happiness. Next to him, young Annabeth frowned at the camera. Her large, mystical gray eyes seemed like fog. Then...there was Thalia in the picture. She had a faded smile, as if someone had taken an eraser and erased part of it. Her navy blue eyes shined like the sky.

Thalia stared at the picture. Tears of bitterness and sorrow were making their way slowly down her cheek. Why did Luke have to die? If she hadn't been killed, morphed into a pine tree, none of this would have happened. It was her fault. Luke's death and his servitude to Kronos was all her fault. She could have stopped him. Why was life so damn complicated? Everything seemed to be her fault. Especially Luke's death and Percy disappearing.

Luke dying had hit her hard. She tried not to show it, but knew Annabeth probably noticed something wrong. Annabeth was always asking what the problem was - why she was crying. But Thalia didn't answer. She wanted to scream, I loved Luke! That's what's wrong!

Once she had found out Luke was a servant of Kronos, she was devastated. The pain had been too much. And then, battling him. It had been hard for Annabeth, not for Percy and Zoe, and a flat, secret, terrible blow to Thalia.

The memories were too much. Thalia slammed the photo back in the dresser. She wanted to rip it, to shred it...

She grabbed her spear and rushed down to the beach. Maybe, if no one was there, she could just end it by cutting her own head off. Sure enough, no one was there. Thalia raised the spear to her neck, poking the sharp end into it.

"NO!"

Annabeth came hurtling down the beach toward Thalia. Tear tracks glistened on her face, and her hair was messy.

"NO, Thalia!" Annabeth screamed. "I've already lost Percy, and I don't want to lose you! You're my closest friend next to him!"

Thalia pulled the spear away from her throat. Her expression softened.

"Annabeth...you really do care, don't you?"

"OF COURSE,Thalia!"

"Then I won't."

"Won't what?"

"Kill myself."

Annabeth sighed with relief. "Promise?"

"I promise."

And together, they walked back up toward the cabins.