Hot, sticky breath tickles the back of my bare neck. The horrid smell of decay fills my nostrils. My skin tingles at the thought of a fang as sharp as a dagger hovering just inches above my skull. I turn around and gasp at the sight before me. I stare into the dark, black pits that can only be Arachne's eyes, shivering as the terrifying creature slowly moves closer, closer, closer…
Then I watch as deep cracks appear beneath the monster's legs, weaving through the earth until the giant spider and I are encircled in a deadly trap, the ground about to give way at any moment. I wait in silence before a midnight black hole opens up underneath Arachne, and I see her falling down, down, down as her scream pierces the underground air. I tear my eyes away from her pleading expression and notice the hole slowly expanding toward me, showing as little mercy as Arachne's eyes. I try to run, only to find that I am ensnared in a tangle of silk, the other end of the line attached to the monster and her terrorizing fangs. The hole finally opens up beneath me, and I yell as loud as I can during the last few seconds of my life, hoping some miracle will happen so I will miraculously be saved.
But then I am falling, falling, falling…
I jerk awake just before my body smashes against the hard ground of Tartarus, silently crying as I feel a pair of muscular, strong arms wrap around my waist. I catch the faint scent of salty ocean air, and I roll over to see a pair of comforting sea green eyes looking back at my grey ones.
"Annabeth, it's okay. I'm right here. You're safe now. I'm never going to let anything happen to you. Wipe away all the memories of what you just saw because you're completely safe now – "
"Percy! It was her! It was Arachne, and she was about to kill me again! But there was this pit… There was the pit that dropped straight into Tartarus like the one we fell into, and then I fell and – "
"Sh-h-h, calm down, sweetheart. It's okay. Everything is completely fine now. You know why?" Percy asks me softly.
"Why?" I reply, still completely befuddled from being in a deadly underground cave to suddenly awakening in my own apartment in Manhattan with Percy.
"Because I would never let anything as terrible as death itself happen to you. Because as long as you're with me, you're safe. Because I love you so much I couldn't live without you anyway," he whispers in my ear before kissing me on the forehead, lying back down, and pulling me closer, never losing his strong hold around my waist.
I close my eyes and try to fall asleep once more, but I just end up thinking about what happened only a few minutes ago. Typical of a daughter of Athena, right? After letting my thoughts wander a bit, I find myself wondering, Why does it always have to be a nightmare? Why not a dream for once? I mean, I know I'm a demigod and all, but would it kill for me to have a pleasant dream once in a while? Is that too much to ask?
And then it hits me.
Percy's arms wrapped around my waist to comfort me. The kiss he just recently planted on my forehead. His sea green eyes staring into mine with a passionate love so strong that most girls never find it. The beautiful words he just whispered in my ear.
I don't need dreams because…
Because I'm already living in one.
