a/n [For Jess (autumn midnights) for February.]

I tried to think clearly, but there was too much chaos around me. Furies and hellhounds, as Grover called them, were screeching and howling. The rapid fluttering of wings was above me, and the pounding footsteps were behind. I forced out a shaking breath before forcing my legs to move faster.

There were four of in total: Annabeth, Luke, Grover, and me. Grover was in the lead, as always, bringing us to Camp Half-Blood, which was for demigods. Annabeth was behind me, and I could hear her panting over all of the other sounds. Lastly, Luke was in the back, even though I knew he could run faster Annabeth and I.

He shouted from the back for us to run faster. Oh, gods, I was trying to. Grover shouted from the front that we were almost there. He was at the top of a hill, looking down the other side, and then back to us. Almost there, I encouraged myself. Four more steps. Three more steps.

I heard a shout below me, and swiveled to look. One of the hellhounds, much farther ahead than the rest, had taken a swipe at Luke's foot. He cursed, then started beating it with his golf club while still attempting to run. Annabeth, seeing Luke's predicament, charged the beast with her dagger. Before she could reach it, Luke stopped her, took her weapon, and killed the hellhound in one smooth motion.

"Come on!" Grover grabbed my arm.

I tried to turn around and finish my journey over the hill, I really did, but I couldn't. The Furies were almost right over our heads. The other hellhounds were advancing quicker after witnessing the death of their kin. It was all too much, and it was my fault. It was my blood that they were after, not my friends, and they shouldn't spill blood along with me.

I turned to the satyr, my protector, and told him, "I can't."

On the other side of the hill, I could see the camp Grover always talked about. The closest building was just down the hill. We could all make it if we ran now, but that would just bring the monsters closer to the camp, closer to more people that could die under my curse. Luke and Annabeth reached us on the top of the hill, wondering why we had stopped moving.

"Go," I whispered, refusing to look at them. I couldn't see their faces because it would break me.

"Thalia—"

"No!" I interrupted Luke. "You go; I'll hold them off."

"We'll fight them together," he tried again.

"They're after me," I argued. "You can make it if you go now."

Annabeth watched me with wide, tear-filled eyes. She was the first to accept my decision. As Grover was trying to reason with me, she reached forward to wrap her arms around me. "I love you," she said.

Luke pulled Annabeth back, and said, "We aren't leaving."

"Please, they're almost here!"

"Luke, Grover," Annabeth whispered, taking each of their hands, "she's right."

Gods bless that little girl. Grover sputtered something unintelligible, but then the three of them walked away. I lifted my eyes up at last, to watch them go, and found Luke staring right at me. My heart sped up even faster. No, that boy wasn't going to make me change my mind. I spun around again, this time to face the oncoming monsters. One of the Furies cackled in delight, which sent chills down my spine. Carefully, I fingered Aegis, and took out my spear. This was it.

Millions of thoughts were running through my mind. I saw my baby brother, my mother's make-up cabinet, and a stupid goat grazing on the side of the road. I heard thunderstorms, Luke's voice, and a crack of lightning. It was nauseating.

Then, I was encased in a shadow. I raised the spear above me and thought of the electrical currents flowing through the air, next to my skin. Lightning shot from the clear blue sky, and a cursing Fury crashed to the ground. I startled at the sound, against my better judgment, and then, before I could do anything, a hellhound leaped from behind me. I crouched to the ground and raised Aegis. Something slammed into my shield, forcing me into a kneeling position. A force above me tried ripping the shield away, so I swung my spear until I hit something. The responding thud was too much for me.

I wanted my friends back at my side where they belonged. They weren't that far off, at least I figured as much. They had probably run for backup. Luke was probably fighting around me right now. I could almost hear him shouting my name.

Resisting the pressure, I tried to stand up to fight. I felt around me for more currents, and found plenty. The air was charged with so many moving bodies and supernatural beings. If I just concentrated hard enough, maybe they would all disintegrate. Instead, something ripped across my stomach, and I screamed.

The effect was surreal. I couldn't feel the pain at first, but my nerve system must have been somehow responding to the wound. I collapsed to the ground once more, vaguely aware of something tugging on my foot. The lightning struck the ground then, a little too late. The chaos surrounding me melted slowly, or maybe that was just the shock.

This time, I was positive I could hear someone calling my name, but it all sounding small and far away. I had enough sense to bring my hand to my abdomen. I tried to feel for the fabric of my shirt, the smoothness of my skin, but I just felt a warm, sticky mess and something that might've been my intestine.

I became aware of small details, like how the grass was still a bit damp from the morning dew, or how my shirt's collar was just a bit too tight. My eyes were closed, though I wasn't sure when that happened. I knew immediately that this time I wasn't going to survive. I had finally reached the extent of my invincibility. I was ready to die.

But something didn't want me to. I felt a pulling sensation in my stomach, and the black of my lids turned a glaring white. It was the strangest thing to do, but I opened my eyes to hide from the bright light. It was darker outside, and the sky was still blue, but every time I blinked it felt as if I was staring directly at the sun. Is this what dying feels like? Warily, I tried to draw my arm back to my stomach, but it was stuck in place.

Before I could marvel at the strange feeling, I blacked out.

I never truly woke up until five years later, but I still felt the strangest things. Sometimes, I felt completely starving, and I wished for nothing more than a hamburger, but other times I was so full I wanted to curl up and die. There were the strangest increases in temperature, but weirdly, I was never cold.

It was at the end of those many years that I felt sick. Not the I-guess-I'm-a-little-more-tired-than-usual kind of sick, but full out I'm-going-to-throw-up-on-everything-that-makes-a-sound sick. It was the oddest combination of a fever, motion sickness, and stomachache. Except instead of just my stomach, it was an everything-ache. I wanted to die, but that didn't make any sense because I was already dead, wasn't I?

The sickness lasted a couple of weeks, and then it was gone in a matter of seconds. That's when my thoughts caught up with me. I was very much awake, and very much deaf, blind, and mute. I wasn't even human, but slowly I was becoming one. Thousands of scenarios raced in my mind, although none of them made sense.

It was a slow transformation. My limbs gained feeling next, and I tried to move them, but to no avail. Next I felt my head, and with it came a pounding headache. The rest of my senses came unhurriedly, taking their sweet time. I wanted to scream. This wasn't supposed to be happening. What even was happening? I was fully awake, but I still couldn't move. Voices had surrounded me, sounding as frantic as I felt.

There was pressure on my forehead, a feeling of skin on mine. It was a touch I didn't know I was craving for until I felt it. There were other people around me, focusing on me. Hands grabbed my shoulders and lifted me up so that I was sitting. Suddenly, I felt perfectly alive. The rest of the data my body needed was there, and it all came in a rush of air. My lips parted. Gratefully, I gasped for breath. The voices around me suddenly formed clear words.

And it was too much all at once. I choked on the fresh in my lungs. My thoughts muddled together and left me confused. I opened my eyes. Maybe if I could see where I was, everything would make sense.

A boy was kneeling in front of me, his arms the ones that held me up. I'd never seen him before in my life, and he looked just as bewildered to see me.

I found my voice, but it didn't sound like mine. "Who—"

"I'm Percy," he said, answering my unasked question. "You're safe now."

Was I not safe before? I tried to remember something, anything, but it was all a blur.

"Strangest dream…" I muttered.

"It's okay."

I looked at the boy—Percy—and recalled something with sudden clarity. The monsters were everywhere, and they overwhelmed me. I was…

"Dying." I gasped slightly.

"No," he said. "You're okay. What's your name?"

That was a question I could answer without doubt.

"I am Thalia. Daughter of Zeus."