"Percy, please." I glare at him, but he takes no notice, only hastily stuffing things into a bag.
"Annabeth, listen to me. My father wants me to do this. He's my father. I have to go," he says, holding me close. He kisses my hair. "I'll be back before you know it."
"It's so far..." I whisper into his chest. "I don't want you to go. What if you..."
He gives me an 'oh please' look. "Annabeth, it's water. I'll be fine. My father will protect me." I am not convinced.
He kisses me lightly on top of the head one last time. "Annabeth, if you love me, you'll let me do this!" he cries.
"If you loved me you'd know why I can't let you," I counter, tears running down my face. "I've almost lost you too many times before.
"Oceanus cannot be stopped without help. I'm sorry." He pulls me in, but I turn away.
Cold is the arctic sea
Far are your arms from me
Long will this winter be
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
I learned the song when I was very small, singing in the school choir at age six. I was never very good, but it basically guaranteed friends, which I liked.
Now, though it is eerily similar to where Percy is, and it's been haunting me. Percy is in Frobisher Bay. Far from New York. In the middle of January.
But it's the next line of the song that really scares me:
One more whale, the captain cried
One more whale and we'll beat the ice
But the winter star shone in the sky
The seas were rough and the winds were high
And cold is the arctic sea
Far are your arms from me
Long will this winter be
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
And deep were the crashing waves
That tore our whaler's mast away
Dark are these sunless days
Waiting for the ice to break
And cold is the arctic sea
Long will this winter be
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
And strange is a whaler's fate
To be saved from the raging waves
Only to waste away
Frozen in this lonely grave
Cold is the arctic sea
Far are your arms from me
Long will this winter be
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
Frozen in Frobisher Bay
I know it's irrational to be worried about Percy. He can't drown, I know that. But so many others are on that ship with him: Nico, Grover, Travis, Connor, Katie... and if they all died, but Percy stayed alive, I don't think he could live with himself. And if Percy's unhappy, I'm unhappy.
Gods, they'd better some home safe.
When Percy staggers over the property line, a huge weight is lifted from my shoulders at the sight of him. His hair is sopping wet, his clothes torn and clinging to his body, his eyes tired and grief-ridden, his lips and fingertips blue. But he's alive, and that's all that matters to me. I launch myself on him, flinging my arms around his neck. I don't say anything, I don't have to. My every touch is clear, I love you, my body is saying. I love you.
After a few minutes of clinging to his wet body, I realize that something seems... wrong. Something feels missing. Then I recall, and I get a heavy, dark feeling all through my core. "Where... where are the others?" I say. I'm almost afraid to ask.
Percy sinks to the ground, putting his face in his hands in obvious despair.
"They...we... the ship was sunk byt a few of Oceanus' men. I managed to make it out... but I couldn't... I wasn't strong enough to save the others. It's all my fault they died. I'm a terrible person."
I put my arm around him comfortingly, trying to hide my sorrow and horror. Nico, Grover, Travis, Connor, Katie, so many others... all dead. "Don't say that..." I tell him, not sure what to say.
"Why not?" He says, an angry look on his face. I draw back. Percy has... changed. Well of course, I tell myself. How can anyone stay the same after watching their friends die?
"Well, what could you have done?" I ask, then immediately realize it's the wrong thing to say.
Percy scowls at me, tears in his eyes. "You... you don't understand. You didn't watch... watch them die, crying for help, help you want so desperately to give, but can't."
A few days later, I am looking for him. Chiron has news. Grover was found, barely alive somewhere in northern Canada.
I stumble into the Poseidon cabin, and there's no one there, only a white slip of paper on the door:
I'm sorry.
The guilt was too much.
I love you, Annabeth.
~Perseus Jackson
A suicide note. I flip it over, hoping for more, a 'just kidding' or something...anything that meant he wasn't dead...
I know exactly how he would do it. I run to the cliff by the beach. There he stands, on the very edge. A mask is over his face so that he won't be able to breathe in the water. I run toward him. "Percy,don't... Grover he..." I can't get the words out, I'm crying too hard. Percy steps backward. One more step and he will fall. "He's... he..." I am still crying too much to give the news that will save his life.
He takes the step. "I'm sorry," he mouths. As he falls, I manage to yell.
"He's alive!"
But it's too late. His body has disappeared beneath the rolling, crashing waves. I hold on to the feeble hope that he heard my cry, but at the same time, I know that no one could survive hitting those rocks, not even Poseidon's son. He will die, frozen in the cold Atlantic.
Strange is a sailor's fate
To be saved from the raging waves
Only to waste away
Frozen in a lonely grave.