Percy thought that being a demigod meant he would be more prepared for something like this. The world ending? Sure, he'd been through that. He'd seen a lot of things. But they had all been catastrophes kept under strict secret- so as to say, they were a demigod's fight.

Percy had forgotten exactly what mortals were like when they panicked. The shrill chaos, the running, shrieking, paranoia. Families turned on families. Stores were raided. It was disastrous. Manhattan had been awful, and with the Party Ponies involved, Percy had received a pretty good idea of what the streets would look like in the case of actual mortal involvement.

Imagine it on a world-scale.

The first outbreak had been minor. A sewage worker turned cannibalistic- that's what the news report had said. A girl was found with her insides missing- heart, liver, kidney, entire digestive tract- the whole package. When the police finally apprehended the man, they tried to put handcuffs on- and he turned and ripped out a cop's neck on national television. Things got pretty bad after that.

The dead not staying dead became a serious problem. It'd normally be pretty good, right? Your dead aunt waltzing right out of the grave and up your front steps sounds like it makes for a great family reunion. The only problem here would have been that if you opened the door for your dear, dead relative, she would have proceeded to sink her teeth as far into your flesh as she pleased- that is, until she killed you and you rose again with the same bloodlust as her.

As soon as the kids at camp received news, a lot of them left. Most of them to find their families, or to see how bad the outbreak was. Most of them never came back. Other kids took up arms to keep the dead out. Clarisse was among them, and when Percy and Annabeth left camp, the last they saw of her she was pulling a dead grocer off her spear in triumph.

"Wake up, Seaweed brain."

Blonde hair flicked him in the face, and Percy groaned momentarily before remembering 'Yeah, no noise.' The dead outside the window had been particularly worked up when they went to sleep, and he really did not want to alert them. "Awake- I'm awake- Stop hitting me with your hair."

Percy rolled swiftly out from beneath Annabeth's ponytail and sat up, taking in the mildew smell of the cabin they'd found just outside of town, and the chairs piled up by door- handiwork from last night to avoid becoming a late night snack. "What time is it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Early. Did you sleep okay?"

Percy scowled at the dirt floor where he sat. "Not really." He stretched, and winced when he twisted his back. That really hurt. Damn. "You?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, not really."

She stood after a minute, brushing the dirt off her shorts and pulling Percy up when he extended his hand for her to grab. Slinging an old red backpack off the shelf behind her, they removed the chair blockade and stepped towards the city.

The city is more or less how Percy remembers it- minus the lack of people, the boarded up houses, and the complete and overwhelming amount of blood everywhere.

Also, the last time he was here he was not hiding behind a dumpster in a back alley with his girlfriend.

Currently, that said girlfriend had her hand clasped tightly over his mouth, the look in her eyes telling him that if he even dared to speak, she would slit his throat then and there. Not that he was going to. They could hear something shuffling at the mouth of the alley, low groans and moans reverberating around them as it seemingly debated whether or not to enter. Percy really hoped it didn't. There was no back way out of the alley, and he'd dropped Riptide a little ways down the block and it had yet to reappear in his pocket. There was a fairly good chance they would be eaten before they had the chance to fight. Not to mention the fact that even if they did somehow manage to kill it- smashing it's head into the dumpster seemed like a pretty viable option- the noise would most likely draw some of the other undead milling through the streets towards them. So yeah, Percy really hoped it left.

After a good five minutes of absolute dread, it did. The groaning and shuffling eventually faded into the background again, and Annabeth removed her hand from its position on Percy's face.

"That was way too close," She whispered. "This is bad."

"Yeah," He exhaled. "We need to stop trying to kill everything that gets too close."

Annabeth's face went absolutely deadpan. "I'm pretty sure that's just you."

Percy shrugged, and she whacked him upside the head with the palm of her hand. "Whatever." She continued. "We're running low on the little supplies that we have now. We need to stock up before we completely run out."

Percy frowned a little, eyebrows creasing. "Mom's apartment is really close now though. Don't you think we could just-"

"Percy." Annabeth stopped him, sighing as she placed a hand on his. "We have no idea what could happen in between here and your Mom's. We don't know what we'll find there. We need to be ready."

"No- I know that. I mean," He shut his eyes tight. "I just need to know if she's okay."

Annabeth pulled him closer, and hugged him, and Percy breathed out slowly into the crook of her neck. She didn't need to say anything, but she did anyway. "It'll be okay."

"Thanks."

When they start moving again, they're a lot more careful. Percy keeps Riptide drawn, but refrains from running it through the head of every undead he sees. Instead they keep to the shadows, breathing softly and quietly to keep from drawing as much attention as they can. The farther into the city they get, the harder it is to avoid the undead. When the edge of town finally disappears, the streets are practically crawling with them. Annabeth had been right, and the next time she reached into her backpack, the only thing left was a few bits of jerky.

Scowling, she stepped closer the wall as an undead shuffled past her. "There," She hissed to Percy. "Across the street. A McDonalds. We can get something there."

Percy eyed her nervously. "Across the street? Are you completely missing the hordes of dead people hungry for us in between?"

Annabeth glanced to the side, hefting a wrench from the remains of a hardware store behind her. "No. Listen, I have a plan."

Percy hated her plan. He really, really hated her plan.

He groaned slightly as she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves- which he had no idea where she got- and proceeded to drape human organs on him. "Why do I get the intestines?" He questioned, as she arranged them neatly around his neck. He grimaced, trying not to touch them.

Annabeth fixed him with a steely glare. "Do you want to put a liver in your pocket?"

He flushed. "No. No, not really."

"I didn't think so."

She paused, stepping away from Percy, examining him. After a moment, she stepped forward and poured more blood over his shoulder. Percy blanched.

"Alright," She said, tilting her head. "I think we're done."

Percy shuffled nervously, and the intestines swung from his neck. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Oh, no." Annabeth smiled uncomfortably. "But I mean, it might. They do it in the movies."

"They wh-" Percy started, but Annabeth was already pushing him forward with a muffled 'Shh.' He relaxed as much as he could as he stepped into the masses, shuffling in the limp sort of motion that the rest of the dead do. He can hear Annabeth behind him- or who he hopes is Annabeth- and he makes his way towards the brightly painted red doors of the McDonalds. At least, he hopes that's paint. He can't really tell at this point.

Halfway across the street, an undead next to him paused, sniffing the air. It turned towards him, and Percy would have gone rigid would it not have given him away. The undead was a tall man, with high cheekbones and eyes so lifeless that Percy was struck with fear. The skin on one side of his face was completely pulled off, and the rest of his bloodstained teeth were exposed. Percy held his breath as the man leaned in, bending so far over that Percy could clearly see that his spine was broken- breaching both his skin and his shirt and exposed to the air. He hung his head in front of Percy, eyes sliding over to rest on him before leaning away again and shuffling past him. Percy exhaled in relief, and in a few more shuffles was in front of the vacant McDonalds.

He turned slowly to find Annabeth, and almost jumped out of his skin. She's right behind him, but her expression is so dull and empty that had she not hissed at him to get inside he would have thought she'd been bit. Nodding slowly, he pushed the doors open as quietly as possible, shuffling inside. The restaurant was empty, from what he could see- and surprisingly clean, for once.

He straightened, turning to Annabeth. "Do you think there's anything le-"

He stopped. She wasn't looking at him, but instead across the room, at a bar stool in the corner. A thin figure sat perched there, a single pale hand hanging low off the counter as they rested their head on the counter itself. Annabeth dragged her eyes away from the figure, turning to Percy. "Do you think it's-"

Percy's hand reached for Riptide, unwilling to take his eyes off of the figure. His voice is low when he speaks. "I'll see."

Percy picked his way across the tile floor, hand resting lightly on Riptide's cap. As he approached the form on the stool, he frowned. They looked like they were sleeping- and he couldn't see any blood- but their face lay buried under their dark hair and he couldn't tell. When he gets close enough he reaches out and shakes the jacket-clad shoulder.

A muffled groan emits from under the mess of hair and Riptide is unsheathed in a flash- resting at the figure's neck but waiting for any further movement.

The form shifted, and Percy tensed, but after a moment a tired but familiar voice seeped out with a sigh. "Can't a guy take a nap in a McDonalds without having a sword pointed at him?"

Percy dropped his sword arm and gaped. After a minute, he found his voice. "Nico?"