Falling. They were falling? I couldn't tell anymore. I, Annabeth Chase, could die today. I don't want to die, and with my hand in Percy's dying was the last thing on my mind. The longer we dropped into Tartarus, the more sure I felt that we wouldn't, couldn't, see our friends again.
I had failed a lot of people. Leaving my dad and not looking back was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I could get really philosophical right now but chose not to. I had too much to lose, too much to gain, to let Hubris get in my way. I could feel the ground approaching quickly and I realized Percy was unconscious. I felt like we were Romeo and Juliet, committing suicide, to get away from our problems.
In the darkness I felt Percy's hand slacken. I'll admit, I feel like I'm that scared little girl again, back when Thalia and Luke found me. I'm still falling but not for long. I could sense the change in atmosphere. I looked down briefly and immediately regretted it. I saw lava, spirits, and death.
You would think that someone who had laughed in the face of death, literally, wouldn't be afraid but my gut instinct said something important was going to happen during my time in Tartarus, something was going to change.
That's when I really, truly felt guilty, to have put everyone in this situation. I should have remembered the spider webs, should have kept my dagger with me so I could have cut myself free, I should have thought ahead, like a daughter of Athena was supposed to do, I should have planned, had a plan for anything that could have gone wrong so that when I did I would be ready. But no, nothing works out the way we want it to in the world of the gods.