Heart pounding in her ears, breath like ice and blood like fire, she ran, hand in hand with Percy, racing towards the Doors of Death. Monsters and demons and hell were pursuing them, almost at their heels. Every time Annabeth thought it safe to look back she saw that she and Percy were slowing. But the Doors were less than twenty feet away, and they were going to have to make it. Because that's what they always did- they scraped by and lived to tell the tale.
"Okay," Percy said in between gasps for breath. "We're going to go through. I'll open the Door, you go first and I'll be right behind you, okay, Annabeth?"
She panted and got out a quick "okay" before coughing. Blood spat on her hand. Not a good sign. Annabeth had thought (at the time of the blow to the chest) she would be able to stick it out and be okay. Just a few more feet, she told herself. She snuck a peek back and she could see a hellhound bounding towards her, growling with red eyes.
But she turned back to keep running, and she saw them. The Doors of Death were huge, towering above them, both cold and majestic somehow, intimidating but beautiful. It was a dark wood, mahogany, but had elegant twisting iron curling around the front and sides. A huge metal knob lay on the door- and as they reached it, Percy pulled it and the door swung open, giving her a quick kiss and whispering, "I love you so much. You are my everything," in her ear before Annabeth dashed through first.
And the door slammed shut with a bang, locking with a click.
She turned around, smile on her face and ready to congratulate him on another successful quest. But there was only the door behind her.
Her mind had barely registered Jason, Piper, Leo, Nico, Hazel, and Frank around her, waiting for the couple on the other side. They were wide-eyed, terrified and frozen where they stood. What the hell were they doing?!
Annabeth shrieked at them, barely comprehending what was happening, except for the fact that Percy wasn't there. "HE'S ON THE OTHER SIDE. OPEN THE DOOR, HOW DO YOU OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR I NEED THE DOOR-"
Jason's face fell, his perfect hair and perfect eyes falling flat as Piper wrapped herself around him, tears pouring down her face. Jason tried, "We can't, it's opened from the other side, you can't go back though-"
Annabeth screamed, dry sobs heaving her chest as she pounded the door. She could hear the growls and howls through the thick door and she only broke down further. Her knuckles split from the iron twists, but she paid no attention to the blood dripping off her fingers as she slammed herself against the doors over and over, her screams echoing in the dark Underworld, nothing clear in her head but the fact that he wasn't here. No way here. No way there.
She stopped throwing herself against the Doors, finally grasping the metal and holding it, sobbing, screaming and everything was a blur and when Nico finally came to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her away, she went limp. No more fighting. It was over. Everything was over. Nothing was left for her. There wasn't anything above this world that would have her now.
Nico held her while she heaved, sobbing, yelling at no one in particular except for Percy, the goddamn fucking idiot who decided he was more worthy to die than she. "Why did he leave me? It was always, always, he told me always and forever and we'd love each other and he would be by me and nothing would get to us and he fucking left and he is alone and Ineed him, I need him, I need him…"
She screamed again, coughing violently into her shirt, spattering blood and Nico's dark eyes widened. "Annabeth, we need to get you out of here, you're hurt, it might be fatal-"
"I don't want to leave. I need to be here. He's close. He's close," she cried into his shoulder, clutching at his leather jacket. "Closer than anywhere else."
"Annabeth, you could die, we need to get you to a hospital or somewhere-"
"I want to die, please let me stay here, please, I need him, please, please, please-"
She vaguely heard Nico whispering to Jason, "We need to get her out of here. I don't care if she's kicking and screaming but I'm not losing her too."
"Please leave me here, Nico, please, I can be close behind Percy, we'll see each other, please-"
Strong arms picked her up, wrapped around her middle and another pair of hands hoisted her legs up, lifting her into the air. They were nearly five feet away when she finally realized what they were doing. "You can't fucking take me, no, no, I have to be with to him, I have to be here, PLEASE-" she screamed, sobbing and twisting against their arms, but her strength was gone and she knew it. Nico hit her hard, square in the back of the head, and everything was silent and still and peaceful, if only for that second.