Annabeth Chase hurried down a dark alley in Manhattan, listening to the footsteps behind her and to her own racing heart. She knew that they, whoever they were, were getting closer, and she knew that she was getting tired of running. She was itching for another hit, for another high.

There were little nooks and crannies all over the island that she often hid in, and Annabeth all of a sudden found herself pulling the steel door of a back entrance closed. She listened to her heart beat decelerate, gulping in air as fast and deep as her lungs would allow. As soon as she had calmed down, she grabbed the little baggie of blue pills from her jacket pocket. doling out three, she popped them in her mouth and swallowed without water. Annabeth sat down on the floor and waited for the high to kick in.

----

"... found her behind the auditorium,"

"... doesn't look so good."

"... don't you have class, Mr. Jackson?"

Annabeth tried to hang on to the words, concentrating on the voices. She heard three, two younger sounding tones and one gruffer, older. One of the young ones startled.

"oh yeah, I can't be late. Mrs. Dodds is going to kill me if I'm late again. Coming, Grover?"

"He'll follow you in a moment, Mr. Jackson. I would like to speak with him about a test grade first," the older one told him.

Annabeth heard the door open quickly and close, and then heard a sigh of frustration. "Has he had any suspicions?"

The younger one breathed out heavily. "I don't think so. But his scent is getting stronger. And so is hers. She smells more and more evil every day."

Smells more... evil? What the hell? Even though it didn't make sense, she thought she knew what he was talking about. All of those weird things following her ... it made her cringe inwardly just thinking about them.

Before she could ponder this, the older man cleared his throat. "Miss? Your heart rate has picked up, alerting me that you are not unconscious now. Would you like to sit up and open your eyes or keep pretending that you have not heard what you just have?"

Shit. Busted. Annabeth opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. She felt woozy, still high off of the Xanax, but tried to clearly take in the two standing in front of her.

The older one, sitting in a weel-chair, was wrinkled around the eyes and mouth, with out-of-control graying hair and a stern yet amused smile. The one called Grover looked like he couldn't stand up straight, with a ratty old knit hat on his head and an impish smile on his face.

"Uhm. Hi?"

"Hello there, little one," the older man held out his hand. "I am Dr. Brunner. Two of my students found you behind the stage of the auditorium, passed out, and brought you to my office. How are you feeling?" For some reason, the Grover character seemed to think this was his cue to leave, as he quickly but quietly slid through the door.

"Uhm. Fine?" How was she supposed to answer. She realized she was in a room, alone, with a strange old man and she really didn't like it. She stood up, clutching her jacket, and headed around the man and over to the door. But something stopped her.

"What did the kid mean when he said someone smelled evil?" She asked the man, too curious not to ask. He looked confused, as though he weren't sure how to answer her. "I mean, I just kind of understood what he was talking about. Sometimes, when I'm in the city, it just... I get strange feelings. Strange looks, see things i shouldn't."

Mr. Brunner perked up at the answer. He pressed the tips of his fingers together, and looked at her quizzically. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, and then he sighed.

"I think that you are a very special girl."