Hello again. I want to start off by saying: THESE CHAPTERS WILL GET LONGER! I'm just starting out with little short ones for now. Also, sorry NinjaFaerieHermione for the bad ending last time- I couldn't think of a cliffhanger or anything to put there. So, please enjoy and review!
-Grace
Thalia came back with a couple of dead rats just as Percy finished lighting a small fire. For a while they said nothing, just roasted the rats on sticks, and stoked the fire. Then Percy said, "Thalia, no offense or anything, but you seriously expect me to eat this?" "It was all I could find," she said angrily, "and you better eat it! We'll need our energy for tomorrow; I think we're going to reach the top of this cursed mountain!"
After dinner, they put out the fire, and curled up on their bedrolls, using old jackets as blankets. Lying there silently, it was hard for them to imagine that Annabeth could be dead already. Thalia shuddered when she saw in her mind's eye her stepping out on the top of the mountain and seeing Annabeth in chains with some horrible monster guarding her, or even worse, finally reaching the snowy summit of Mount Everest and immediately tripping over Annabeth's skeleton. It still had meat on it, and there were strands of curly blond hair scattered everywhere. Then the monster appeared, an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt stuck in between its two front teeth. Suddenly it bellowed "THALIA, WAKE UP!" extremely loudly. Thalia woke up. It was Percy.
She rubbed her eyes and managed to give him a decently scary glare. "What time is it?" "Like I would know?" Percy said, "Look, remember that giant fox?" "What? Is he back?" Thalia sat up quickly. "No!" Percy sighed. "He crushed my watch." "Oh." Thalia got up and stretched. "Well then, today is the day we reach the top, right? And you're absolutely sure that she'll be here this time?" Percy nodded. "Trust me. West Virginia is one of most highly monster populated states there are. And Rachel told me that Annabeth is here." Thalia grabbed her bow and started walking off into the forest. "Well, okay then. I better go get us some breakfast- and I think I'll take a bath too." She glanced down at her filthy t-shirt and cringed.
As she disappeared into the trees, Thalia could just barely hear Percy groan and start muttering to himself that he would die if he ate any more rats.
Soon enough, Thalia came across a few small squirrels. Well, it would have to do. She notched an arrow, took aim, and was just about to shoot the biggest when she saw something under her foot.
She lowered her bow and bent down. Was that…? Yes, it was. An imprint in the snow. A footprint. That must be Annabeth's. And next to it, what looked somewhat like elephant tracks. Her kidnapper. Thalia stood back up and started following the prints. She had to find Annabeth. Her captor, from the size of the tracks, was huge. And very dangerous. But what could have made those? Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she lay down next to one of the massive dents in the snow. It was almost as tall as her. This isn't a human, Thalia thought, Annabeth was kidnapped by a beast.