Disclaimer: I don't own pjo or any of the characters

Annabeth regretted her choice the week after she left. Rain hammered the pavement while she ran, her clothes shredded and charred. She didn't know where she was going, anywhere safe, anywhere but home. The piercing roars of the giant black beast and the dragon-like creature were getting closer. Even the thought of them made her feel as if the beast's razor-sharp teeth was once again sinking into her flesh and the dragon's acidic, fiery breath was encasing her, slowly suffocating her. But the fact that she was hurt didn't bother her, it was the fact that her hammer just bounced off the monsters' flesh, as if they were immune to the rock-hard metal. She realised she had been standing still for a minute. The monsters could be there any minute, she thought, before turning into a cobweb-ridden alley (what was up with the cobwebs?) and shuffled into a corner. Spiders scuttled around her. Oh no, not again, she thought, before Arachne's harsh voice appeared again. I am sorry my dear, but another, life changing choice is upon you, once again. What you choose today will affect the course of your entire life. Annabeth tried to run, but it was too late: the monsters had found her.

Up close, Annabeth was actually able to admire the creatures before they killed her: The big mastiff had shaggy black fur and piercing red eyes and the dragon/serpent thing had bluish-green scales and a serpentine head, complete with horns like ram's horns, the tips dripping with acid. Annabeth picked up a rubbish bin lid and got ready to try to defend herself and die heroically. Then, the black mastiff lifted its head, as if sniffing the air. It barked and turned around to face a boy and a girl, the boy wearing a denim jacket and jeans, with sandy blond hair like her father's. His resemblance to her father was jarring but his face threw it away: he had sky blue eyes, unlike her father's grey eyes, and wore a crooked smile which he pulled off well. In his hands were two bronze daggers. The girl had a fierce look in her eyes that screamed danger. In her right hand, was a long bronze spear with what looked like electricity darting around it and in her left hand was a bronze shield, with the face of a terrifying snake-haired woman, Medusa, Annabeth remembered, from Greek mythology. The two kids charged.

She didn't remember much about the battle but she remembered the girl shouting and a lightning bolt coming down and zapping the hound into ash. She then sent to help the boy with the dragon/serpent. She climbed onto the dragon's back and tried jabbing at it's neck with her spear: nothing, not even a cut. The boy tried stabbing at it's chest: nothing yet again. The girl shouted something and the boy nodded, understanding. She grabbed it's neck and pulled it up. He then rolled underneath it and stabbed at the soft spot under its neck. With one final roar, the dragon stopped struggling and disintegrated into a pile of ash. After eating something and drinking from a canteen, they came over to Annabeth, who was still cowering in fear, trying to figure out what just happened. The boy began to talk,

"Hey there, I'm Luke and this is Thalia", he pointed to the girl, who gave a small wave. "Anyway, what's your name?"

"A-Annabeth", she managed. "How did you kill the monsters?"

"Something called celestial bronze", Thalia chimed in. "Nice hammer you have there."

"But why don't you try a real monster-killing weapon", Luke asked, Handing her one of his bronze daggers. In her chest was a warm feeling she hadn't felt in a while: happiness

"Why don't you come with us? Safety in numbers, as they say", he said.

"You aren't taking me back to my family, are you?" She asked hesitantly.

"Why should we? We all come from bad families anyway. We'll all be a family, a better family. One question though, how much do you know about Greek mythology?"

After two months of running, Annabeth couldn't be happier: Luke had just told her about a place where they would actually be safe, where they could live in peace, most of the time, and just have fun. The hard part was getting there though. After 5 hours of searching, they found a forest which 'felt right' according to Luke. If only they knew how dangerous it would be. It started out okay, with them just strolling through the woods, alert, until a booming roar echoed through the forest. They then quickend their pace, Luke glancing nervously behind them every so often. They then came to familiar hill. She then realised it was the same hill from her nightmares, but it felt as if something was missing. What was it? She got the answer pretty quickly. Thunderous footsteps rumbled from behind them. The trees parted, revealing a massive humanoid with one eye: the cyclops.

"Run!" Luke shouted. "RUN!"

She didn't need to ponder that command as her legs took control and she began running up the hill, Luke and Thalia trailing close behind. They came to the Camp Halfblood gate, she didn't hesitate when stepping through. Instantly, a warm feeling spread throughout her body: safety. Luke cam in a second later; Thalia was still a few metres away. The cyclops appeared behind her and Annabeth's eyes widened.

"THALIA!" Luke shouted, his voice laced with distress.

"I'll hold him off", Thalia decided confidently. "Luke, if I don't live, t-take good care of Annabeth." With that, Thalia brought out her spear and shield and charged the cyclops. Things went wrong almost instantly: Thalia slid to the cyclops' side and tried jabbing at it but it just picked her up and slammed her against the ground.

"NO!" Annabeth exclaimed, trying to rush forward but Luke held her back. The cyclops lifted its foot, about to crush Thalia when a bolt of lightning zapped her and the cyclops. When the dust cleared, Annabeth rushed forward, Luke no longer restraining her, but in Thalia's place was a great pine tree, filling the hill and the forest with warmth.

"Thalia! Where are you?" Annabeth pleaded, tears welling in her grey eyes. Luke came and put his arm around her, tears in his blue eyes too.

"Annabeth, it's too late."

Lying in her bed in the Athena cabin, Annabeth reflected over the day's events. But she was pulled out of her thoughts by the scuttling of spiders. Fear built in her chest. No, no, not again, why couldn't the torture be over she thought as she was once again pulled into the world of nightmares.

Well, I see we meet again. You made the right choice two months ago but be warned, you will still suffer before our meeting in the ancient lands Arachne said. Let me just show you what your next challenge will be. Annabeth realised what was happening just when it was too late and she was pulled into a vision. She was in a cavern with a golden coffin in the middle. This time, however, it was open and in it was Luke. His eyes jerked open and he rose out of the coffin and said

"Annabeth, I'm sorry", his voice broken. He raised his sword and just as he brought it down, evil golden light filled the room. She didn't really understand what had just happened but she knew one thing, something that terrified her so much that she wanted to believe she never had the vision: that Luke would betray her.