Percy inhaled the salty smell of the ocean as he gazed at the expanse of sea that lay before him. He sifted the fine sand between his fingers, watching it fall back down like a blanket of sand unfurling between his fingers. The sun slowly sank beneath the waves leaving an orange sky.
He allowed the waves to lap his toes as shells were washed ashore. Percy picked a spiral one and rolled it in his palm. He clasped it in his hand and slipped it in his pocket.
He moved away from the shoreline and sat cross legged on a sand dune.
The waves splashed against the rocks and crabs scuttled in and out of the cracks. Sea foam gathered on the edges. Percy lay down gently; the sand giving him a soft bed. The wisps of cloud drifted across the sky with birds flying in and out of them. He felt the sand between his toes.
Percy closed his eyes and a grin spread across his face. He always dreamt about her. He had never forgotten. He remembered her stormy yet beautiful grey eyes, her silky blonde hair that swept across her eyes, and her melodious laugh. Yes. Her laugh. Percy loved her laugh.
Annabeth.
Her name found its way off his lips.
He missed her. He wanted her in his arms again. He wanted to be able to smell her lemon scented hair. Percy wanted to see her. He wanted her with him again. He wanted her as reality, no longer a mirage in his dreams.
The sun sank deeper beneath the waves turning the sky blood red.
She would be here soon.
Annabeth brushed her hair out of her eyes as she stepped onto the beach. The salty smell of the sea reminded her of him.
She had never forgotten him. His piercing green eyes, his black hair, and his smile. She tried in vain to remember his laugh. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember.
Annabeth had thought about him every single day, wondering, hoping, and praying that she would see him again.
Every day in Camp Half-Blood she had visited the Poseidon cabin hoping to see him there again. She wanted to wake up from this horrible reality nightmare.
As the days went by, Annabeth had begun to lose hope of seeing him again. It was too painful. Having a wish that is never fulfilled is painful. Everything without him is painful. People around her tried to comfort her but to no avail.
Annabeth had stopped eating after he disappeared. She had stopped laughing and doing the regular things that she used to do when he was around.
As she stepped onto the beach shoe could see him. She could see him lying there on the sand dune. She took no notice of the soft sand beneath her feet and the beautiful sunset. All she cared about was him. She could see him.
Percy.
She rushed forward, her hair flying in the wind. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was almost there. They would be together again and nothing would change that.
An explosion behind her threw her off her feet and blew sand everywhere. Annabeth shrieked as she fell. She tried to stand up and run. She couldn't. She was pinned in place.
The sun had stopped sinking and the waves moved sluggishly. The sand falling from Percy's fingers stopped in mid-air and the birds' wings beat slowly.
Percy looked up and saw Annabeth crouched on the sand struggling against an unseen force.
He tried to get up and move towards her but he felt like he was walking in oil. He knew this feeling. He remembered experiencing this.
Percy looked up. It was Luke. Percy looked dumbfounded at him. The image of Luke flickered and a man stood there. It was him. Anger exploded inside of him.
Kronos smiled and laughed loathsome laugh, angering Percy even more.
The petrified look on Annabeth's face and Kronos' laugh was the last thing Percy heard and saw before there was a blinding flash.
Percy lowered his hands that were covering his face.
Kronos and Annabeth were gone.