"Jackson." Somebody nudged him.
"Go away," Percy muttered; he was having a nice dream of skating through the streets of New York, occasionally beating the wannabes. The wind felt good on his face and people yelped as he passed them. His heart soared with freedom and pride. He felt his lips curl into a grin but then somebody punched his shoulder lightly again.
"Jackson." The voice was full of venom and annoyance now.
The dream faded into the background and Percy raised his head, scowling slightly. Through blurred vision, he recognized the girl standing in front of him. She had long curly blonde hair which she tied in a ponytail and startling grey eyes. She looked like any other Californian girl out there and she would've been regarded as beautiful if she didn't have a scowl etched on her face as well. She was Annabeth Chase, the smartass in his class.
"Chase," Percy murmured, straightening up. It took a moment for him to remember his bearings. He was in the library and he had fallen asleep on the table while arranging the books. It was his punishment for skipping classes twice that week. The teachers couldn't have picked a more boring exercise. He would've liked it if he was forced to mop the first floor hallway; at least he could move around for his ADHD but arranging books? That was just plain torture for his Dyslexia.
"You drool in your sleep, by the way," Annabeth said in annoyance.
Percy wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth and glared at her. He never liked Annabeth; she was the complete opposite of him. She was hardworking in classes and was praised by her teachers. She was also the Student Class president and liked to spend time in the library. But Percy? He skipped half of his classes and fell asleep in most of them. He liked to skateboard; she liked to debate. He liked to joke around; she liked to take charge. They were fire and ice and it was obvious that she felt the same way about him.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Mr. Brunner told me to keep an eye on you," Annabeth replied coolly, crossing her arms.
"Well, you're doing a fantastic job then," Percy said.
"Whatever. Just hurry up. The librarian's about to close."
Percy was about to respond that he didn't give a shit or two about the librarian but Annabeth had a temper as bad as his. He knew because they've known each other since they were twelve and the bitter feelings between them had never ceased.
He sighed instead. "Fine." He picked up five books and heaved them into his arms. Annabeth returned to her table. As far as he knew, they were the only ones left here. It must've been really late now. They studied in Yancy Academy, a boarding school in New York. Percy wondered what Grover, his best friend, was doing right now. It must've been better than arranging some stupid History books.
He shoved them into the shelves according to their sizes. He would look down into his watch to see how much time had passed. To his dismay, less than ten minutes had just slipped by.
"Could you keep it down there, Jackson?" Annabeth's voice rang out in the silent library.
Percy glanced at the front desk. Of course, the librarian didn't mind the noise she was making. Being president must have her perks then.
"As you wish, Wise Girl," Percy called back. He was immediately shushed by the librarian.
Annabeth stifled her laughter; Percy rolled his eyes.
He returned to his table full of books. Annabeth was two tables in front of him, doing her homework. She glanced up and her stormy grey eyes somehow lightened.
"You know," she said, "Based on your academic status, it seems as if there's nothing but seaweed in your head."
"Are we really going to talk about how smart you are, Wise Girl?" Percy asked in annoyance.
"Yes," Annabeth said, smirking, "Seaweed Brain."
Percy made a face. Annabeth returned to her book, not hiding her delight at shutting him up.
For the next half hour, he kept arranging the books and Annabeth kept reading. Then just as the librarian was about to call it a day, a wailing noise suddenly ran throughout the entire school. Percy dropped the books he was holding and covered his ears. It was loud and greatly annoying. He turned to Annabeth as if she was the one who had caused the fire alarm to go off but she looked as confused as he felt.
"What's going on?" she yelled to the librarian. She looked frustrated. Percy realized that she didn't like the fact that she didn't know what was happening.
The librarian shrugged but she looked worried as well.
"I'll check if it's a drill," she said, giving us both weird looks, "You two stay here."
"What?" Both of us exclaimed at the same time.
"You can't," Annabeth said, "I'm the president."
Percy sighed irritably; Annabeth shot him a withering look. The librarian shook her head and headed out.
The fire alarm was still ringing and Percy slumped down onto a nearby chair, crossing his arms.
"We shouldn't stay here," Annabeth said.
"You heard the old hag," Percy told her, "It could be just a drill."
Annabeth shook her head. "I wasn't informed." Her grey eyes were stormy with thoughts and calculations and Percy decided to let her be. He stood up and walked over to his previous table where his bag was lying. His skateboard was protruding from it. He took it out and ran his fingers across it. It was used frequently and had blue waves etched on the back of it as a design. It was given to him by his father, a guy who had long since left. He had called it Riptide and so Percy took the name as well. It was the only connection he got from the old man.
"Why do you like to skateboard?" Annabeth asked curiously. Percy could hardly hear her.
"Why do you like to read?" Percy asked back; her lips twitched.
"It's a hobby."
"Then it's a hobby for me as well."
She crossed her arms and frowned at him. He didn't say anything, just continued to stare at Riptide.
Then a blood curling shriek pierced the air. It must've been close for it to be heard over the fire alarm. Annabeth froze; her face blanching as Percy shouldered his bag and headed towards the closed door but Annabeth grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Wait!" she hissed, "It could be a serial killer out there!"
"Or it could be a guy who needs our help," Percy retorted.
"Are you really willing to take the risk?" she asked.
"To help those out there? Yeah!"
Annabeth gave him an odd look but he must've looked determined because she sighed and let go.
"Fine," she said and they walked to the door. Percy had barely opened it when somebody stumbled in. He heard Annabeth scream as the smell of blood and vomit tackled his nostrils. His eyes widened in horror when a body collapsed on the floor. He recognized him immediately.
Michael Yew was bleeding from the an unknown wound and his clothes were drenched with so much blood that his uniform couldn't even be seen anymore. His dark hair was matted with vomit and his brown eyes looked dead. His scrunched up features looked dead. He was small as he looked at Percy. His mouth could barely form words and Percy had to drop down to his knees to hear him. His voice was scratchy and grave.
"We're all dead."
