Chapter Two: I Get Bad News Even Before Breakfast

oooOOOooo

I had the nightmare again that night.

Looking back, I probably should have picked up on the fact that something was wrong right then and there because usually I only get that dream when bad things are about to happen. Like me going to school and realizing there was a test that I didn't study for, or my mom ran out of ingredients she needs to bake chocolate chip cookies or there's a monster terrorizing camp boundaries and I had to go take care of it.

Demigod dreams aren't like human's dreams. Usually our dreams are visions of the past, present or future, or they hold some sort of warning. They're important. Important, and, more often than not impossible to figure out until you're already done saving the world or dead.

At least that's been my experience so far.

The nightmare is always the same. It started after the Titan War, and I suppose some people might call it signs of post-traumatic-stress-disorder or some other backlash of that time. Personally, I think I would be mentally unbalanced if I didn't have some sort of repercussions from August, but that's just me.

My nightmare takes place on a bridge. The Williamsburg Bridge near Manhattan. I'm in the middle of fighting enemies (a whole army of baddies, monsters and some other demigods) and suddenly I hear someone cry out in pain and surprise from behind me.

Annabeth.

I would know that sound anywhere and for weeks after the war it would haunt me. Honestly it still does today.

Part of me loses it, because when I turn Annabeth collapses and me catching her is the only thing stopping her from hitting the ground. She flinches at the contact and I know that no matter where I touch her it will probably hurt. Yelling threats I slash Riptide (my sword) in a wide arc around us, keeping back everyone who's watching.

Trying to keep her safe.

And Kronos, who has stopped on his mount a ways in front of us says, with the calm voice of my old enemy Luke, "Interesting."

That part is a memory. What comes next is the nightmare.

In real life I whistled for Blackjack, my pegasus, and he came and flew Annabeth to safety. (Or as safe as we could get in the situation.) After that Apollo campers took care of her and helped nurse her back to safety, beating the poison from the blade that had stabbed her.

Stabbed her, when it should have stabbed me. In my one weak spot, a spot on my back. My Achilles Heel.

Thinking back on it, which I try not to do too much, I think maybe Ethan had hit his mark after all. It's just nobody had realized it at the time except, maybe, Kronos.

In the nightmare version of this I catch Annabeth and back up the monsters. I whistle for Blackjack and I see his shadow flying over the bridge.

Until I realize it's actually him, plummeting to the ground, an enemies arrow sticking out of his chest, right where his heart is.

I panic and my vision goes red, but that's not the part where I lose it. I've lost people before, and as much as I love Blackjack, Annabeth is still incoherently moaning in pain in my arms and getting closer to death by the minute.

I still need to save her.

Kronos laughs from where he sits on his horse. "Anymore tricks left to play, Jackson?"

"Let Annabeth go," I shout. "Even in ancient times people were allowed to get their wounded to safety."

Kronos's face contorted, like it did when Luke was trying to break through and gain control, but with a shudder it went back to normal right away. Or what was now normal. The cold, malicious look in cruel golden eyes.

"Ah, but Jackson," his voice was gloating. "I am very happy to point out that we are not in ancient times. This is very much the modern world and I am so looking forward to taking it."

"Over my dead body." I retorted with a growl.

He grinned and nodded his head towards the limp figure in my arms. "How about over hers?"

Annabeth's breathing is getting shallower and I actually hear gurgling from her throat, meaning that there's blood in it.

"Will!" I yell, because I saw him not two minutes earlier and I need to get Annabeth out of here. Without a word the golden haired son of Apollo appears behind me. "Take her," I say through clenched teeth, never taking my eyes off of Kronos and raising my sword to make it clear that any monster who tries to take her is going to die. "Take her and get out of here. Please."

"Sure thing, Percy."

They're both gone and I hear Kronos's words, "After them."

No.

I fight like a whirlwind once more, unaware that I'm growing so tired my feet are starting to drag. Kronos watches as his minions die one by one, his smile slowly falling from his face.

"Percy!" It's Michael Yew's voice and I barely look up. "The bridge!"

Somehow I know what he wants me to do and before anything can stop me I stab Riptide down to it's hilt in the bridge. Cracks appear, I hear dust crumbling and watch as I pull Riptide back as a chasm appears between Kronos and his reinforcements and the campers and me.

I turn and I run, hearing things collapse behind me and not caring.

I grab the nearest camper I can, a boy of 14 named Sam. "Annabeth. Where did Will take her?"

Before he can answer the phone in my pocket rings. It's Silena and she tells me where they are- and that I better come quickly.

I'm running again before she's even hung up.

And then suddenly I'm in the hotel of the camper's headquarters, on the balcony of the room that Will is trying to help Annabeth in.

"Poison on the dagger," she mumbles dazedly, only half-conscious. Her grip tightens when Will applies pressure to the wound. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

Will looks up at me and somehow I know without him saying it. It's in the hopeless look in his eye, written on the horror coming over his face.

"I can't do it," he says tiredly, looking down, unable to meet either of our eyes. "The poison… it's too far into her bloodstream. It must already be in her heart."

It takes me a few moments to process, but when I do my face must really be frightening because Will stumbles back. "Perce…."

"Move," I practically shove him out of the way, not caring when he stumbles. I sink down to my knees beside Annabeth, gripping her hand as tight as she's gripping mine.

Her eyes are sad but unsurprised. "You're cute with that crease between your eyebrows."

I am absolutely bewildered by her words, because she's dying and my heart is pounding and I'm pretty sure she just called me cute.

And despite the sweat coating her face, and the mess of her ponytail, the blood seeping through her shirt which makes me want to cry and punch something all at the same time, I really want to kiss her.

"Annabeth…" I say, because it's only hitting me now that she just saved my life without even realizing it by taking that knife for me, and now she's dying and I can't save hers. We've survived so long together, been through so much and now this happens? "How did you know?" I whisper and realize belatedly that the words are strangled and choked because my throat is growing thick, feeling like it's closing up.

"Know what?" She asks.

Her eyes are searching mine and her breaths are growing weaker so I shake my head. "You saved my life," I said. "You can't die now." I sniff, not caring that I'm very close to crying. "Not when I still owe you."

She smiles weakly. "What else is new?" She asks, before she starts coughing.

I see blood fly from her mouth and my vision goes red and I actually have to gasp from the pain of accepting what I know is happening and what is coming next.

"Percy," she breathes, suddenly looking grey. "It hurts."

My grip tightens when hers slackens marginally. "Don't," I plead. "Please, don't leave me."

"I can't see you anymore…"

"I'm right here," I say. "Listen, I'm holding your hand." I squeeze her fingers. "Feel that?" I ask desperately.

"Percy, I-"

Her voice is dropping and now I am crying and lean closer so I can hear her whisper, "I'll wait for you."

And then she's gone and, when I'm in the middle of screaming in anger, grief and pure rage, I wake up with a start.

oooOOOooo

This time I jolt up in bed, clutching the sheets to my chest. I'm shaking and it only gets worse as I raise my hand to my face, trying to reassure myself for the hundredth time that it's only a dream and Annabeth is in a cabin only yards away. That she is here and safe and unhurt and it was only a dream.

But the farther into the day I get, the more I wonder if I really did wake up or if this is just a new part of the nightmare.

As I'm breathing heavily sitting up in my bed I realize that somebody's knocking at my door.

"Percy? Percy, are you up?"

"Chiron?" I ask in confusion. What is Chiron doing waking me up at, I check my clock, 8:45 in the morning? Everyone at camp knows I don't wake up until 9:30 at the latest unless there's some sort of emergency.

"Percy is Annabeth with you?" The centaur's voice was stern, reprimanding and hopeful through the door all at once.

"What?" Now I am confused and I pull on a t-shirt as I head to the door to pull it open. "No, I told you-"

He interrupts me by stepping inside the cabin, looking around anxiously and seeming to deflate when he finds that there is no curly-haired daughter of Athena to be found.

"Did she have to leave for something?" He asked. "Did she go back home? Did she tell you anything about leaving camp?"

"What are you talking about?" I ask, confused and starting to get worried. "What's happened? Where's Annabeth?"

"You're telling me you don't know?" Chiron asked. "You have no idea where she is?"

"Chiron?" Maybe it's because I just woke up and am half-asleep, but I don't understand what he's saying. I'm pretty sure he just said he doesn't know where Annabeth is and that's impossible because she's at camp, she's here, we're both here for the break. The combination of the weird look in his eyes, the memory of my nightmare and my mom's voice ringing in my ears is making my entire body freeze and go numb. 'I just have a bad feeling…' "Chiron, what is it? Where is Annabeth?"

He releases a breath and lifts his front hooves anxiously, a growing look of concern prominent on his face. "That," he says. "Is a very good question. We don't know. Nobody at camp can find her."

"Is she still asleep?" I ask still asleep?" stupidly, my mind not making sense of his words. "She could still be in her cabin."

"We've checked, Percy," Chiron's voice is gentle and soothing, obviously he can see the slowly rising panic in my eyes and hear it in my voice. "We've checked everywhere. If she's not here with you then… nobody knows where she could be."

I raise my eyes to meet his slowly. "What?" The word is a whisper, a plea for this to not be real. Another dream, just another dream, it has to be.

Chiron suddenly becomes very serious. "But we have drills for this," he says, talking half to himself. "The satyrs will comb the grounds, someone can call her father and anybody else who might have an idea of where she might be. The gods-"

"Mr. D!" I exclaim, because I've forgotten about him and realize he could be a huge help if he felt like it. "Where is he? I'll-"

"Zeus has called a sudden council meeting," Chiron interrupted me. "All of the gods were recalled to Olympus this morning."

Again the news staggers me. "Are you serious?"

"Very." Chiron's face is grim. "Mr. D doesn't know how long they'll be busy but from what he told me he suspects it might be awhile. It is winter after all, and they meet more frequently now than in the summer…" He trails off, but I know what he isn't saying. The only time all of the Olympians are together is generally at the solstice meetings. This is unusual, even for Zeus.

I frown but push the news aside almost immediately. Right now I don't really care what the gods are doing unless it's somehow connected to where Annabeth is.

I feel my stomach tighten as realization washes over me. The unwanted, yet familiar role of leadership is looming closer, I can almost see it, and I hope to all the gods that I don't have to lead this camp again. I do not want to be part of another war.

But if Annabeth is missing, and Mr. D and the gods have all been shut up for some reason….

The feeling in my stomach gets worse and my mom's words come back to me yet again.

"Chiron, send out the satyrs and sound the conch," I tell him as I put on some socks and sneakers. "It's time for a counsellor meeting."