They sit in silence. No one speaks. No one moves. They are all too shocked to process what has just happened. They stare at the magical T.V screens mounted on the throne room walls. The chaos passing on the screen is only so far away. "So much death". Hades says, as he grips the arm of his throne tightly. "So what does this mean?" Zeus mutters. "It's over. It's all over" Athena interrupts "They have failed". "No." Poseidon replies briskly "They were the chosen ones". "Get over it, you fat old idiot". The arrogant voice of Ares breezes over the room. "Excuse m-"begins Poseidon. "It's war now. There's nothing we can do. It's done. They lost. It's Armageddon now." Ares says in a matter-of-fact tone. He is right. The Giant War is over. And the seven chosen heroes have failed. Olympus will fall.
Annabeth POV
"Percy!" I yell, "Behind this wall!" I grab his hand and pull him towards one of the lesser damaged walls of the mostly destroyed city. We duck as a fire ball shoots over our heads. "Where are the rest?" I ask him. He looks around frantically, as if just realizing what is happening. He shakes his head "I don't know". "We have to get out of here". I say. I look into Percy's eyes, and I know that he doesn't want to leave the fight. He seems to plead with me, just stay and find the others. His eyes flicker away for one moment. "Leo", he says. I know in an instant what he is going to do. "Percy, NO!" I yell, but it is too late. He has already started chasing Leo. "The Seaweed Brain's going to kill himself", I mutter under my breath. "Annabeth!" A feminine voice screams frantically. I turn. Piper is running towards me. I breathe a sigh of relief. I am not going to die alone. She ducks as a spray of blood (that looks horribly green) comes rushing towards her. "I know where to hide" she says as she reaches me. "Where?" I ask. She points downwards. "The caves." She says simply. I start to speak, but she interrupts me, "No time to explain. I'll tell you everything soon." She grabs my hand, and closes her eyes. The ground opens up under our feet. I mean literally, opens up, like a mini earthquake. There is one last moment of feeling the ground under our feet, and then it's gone. And we fall into nothingness.
The impact of a hard surface coming into contact with my feet startles me. So much so, that I almost fall over, but, Piper catches my elbow. I am whacked hard over the arm by a metal device. "Oops. Sorry" Says the owner of the metal wand, Coach Hedge. The metal thing squeaks out a robotic "Annabeth Chase and Piper McLean, identified." Uh, Coach?" I ask, "What is that thing?". "It's a device used to identify people." Piper answers for me. "It's just to make sure everyone is accounted for. And to figure out the total death count". My stomach lurches at "Death Count". I wonder how many people are dead. I hope Percy is still alive. I shouldn't have let him run away again. Coach Hedge scurries away and leaves me alone with Piper. "C'mon", she says "You need to get to the infirmary." I take a look at myself, I am covered in blood and dirt and there seems to be something infectious in my arm. I suddenly feel a wave of exhaustion come over me. "Are you okay?" Piper asks me. "Yeah" I reply "I'm fine". I blink 3 times. "Annie!" a voice says as I topple over onto the floor.