Kay so, I meant to update this every WEEK but things became hectic with grades coming and whatnot so the date was postponed. The first quarter of my school is winding to an end so my next update should be much closer to the near future than this one. If there are any glaring mistakes, it's probably because I rushed through it and only proofread once. I was just super excited to get this out because I am actually pretty happy with it. Events in the story are going to run pretty slowly considering I want to hold off the climax for a later part of the story. BUT, in my story plan every chapter has a significant event that occurs, so you'll never get bored :) Hope you love it, sorry again for the lateness. Enjoy;
I wish I owned these characters and PJATO but sadly, Rick Riordan does.
Chapter 2: Paralyzed
I shuddered as the cold blanket of darkness wrapped around me. My teeth chattered uncontrollably as I pressed my back harder against the cold stone wall. Within the damp underground cell, the air was cold and still. It was suffocating me with its embrace, keeping me paralyzed in fear.
"It's cold," the boy whom I shared my cell with whispered under his breath. I nodded vigorously, even though I knew we were both blind in the darkness.
Thunderous footsteps seemed to create a faux earthquake below me. In the silence, I could hear the squishing sounds of a guard's shoes against the damp dirt floor and the sound of keys jingling against each other. The man gruffly sighed as he felt for the lock and inserted the correct key.
To my surprise, he grabbed my arm and forcibly led me outside of the cell towards an unfamiliar room. One small light bulb lit the hallway and my eyes had trouble adjusting to the artificial light. A polished wooden door stood at the end of a corridor that I had never been taken to before. Within the room at the end of the hallway was a single desk and chair, lit with another singular light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
"I'm sure you're wondering why we brought you here," a male voice with a thick northern accent uttered. He walked out from the shadows, a man who seemed to appear as if he was only a mere young adult of 21, with two husky men guarding his sides. It almost seemed like a scene out of a movie. My body seemed to gain a mind of its own and started to nod. "Athena, your mother, passed onto you something that we desire."
I cleared my dry throat before replying. "Not to rain on your parade or anything, sir, but my mother didn't pass anything onto me. Also, why the heck would you bring me here three weeks ago and choose now to mention to me what you wanted. I don't exactly put your little cells on the same level as a five star hotel." I was finished crying and letting myself become consumed in my own sorrow. I was finally fighting back.
"Sit," the man said as one of his men pulled the chair out from under the desk. "If you just sit down and answer our questions, we won't need to keep you here any longer." I yanked my arm away from the guard who led me here and sauntered towards the rickety wooden chair.
"Ask away, detective," I snapped sarcastically, leaning back into the chair and sitting my feet atop the table.
"Athena Chase, your mother, died a broke woman drowning in debt. A few months after she died, her company Olympus began to profit. All of the money that would have gone to your mother was stored in her inheritable bank account. Before she died, she created a will that bestowed ownership of her billion dollar bank account. We have received Intel that her will was passed on to you," the man explained, waving his arms in the air as he paused for dramatic effect between phrases. I let the information sink in before conjuring a reply.
"Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about," I snarled, rolling my eyes at the man. I saw anger flash across his wild eyes when he realized the game I was playing. If only I had realized that angering the man who kidnapped me was a terrible idea.
"There are two ways we can do this, brat," the man growled, his demeanor entirely changed. "Either you can give me answers or I can force them out of you." He stepped towards me and slapped his hand onto the desk while sending me the most terrifying glare I had ever received. I swear my body had begun shaking.
"I… I'm telling the truth! There was never a will! When my mom died she was already living separately from my dad and I. Maybe my dad has it, but not me," I murmured, shutting my eyes tightly preparing for some sort of punishment.
Instead of the pain I expected, a cold piece of metal landed itself upon my temple. I didn't have to open my eyes to know what it was.
"I'm not afraid to pull the trigger, brat. If you don't know where the will is, is there any special code your mother would use or a place she used to hide things?" My body convulsed as I rapidly scanned my brain for an answer. He pressed the gun harder against my temple.
"My birthday!" I shouted, almost too anxiously. "She uses my birthday- September seventeenth, nineteen ninety five!" The pressure was removed from my temple, causing me to sigh softly in relief.
"We're done for today, but just remember that I am not afraid to shoot," the man commented before pulling me out of the chair and pushing my towards the guard who brought me to the dimly lit room. The man smirked as he pointed his gun at one of the burly men who had previously been guarding him. "You will learn that I have no heart or soul when it comes to business. I only keep the things I need, not the things I want," he spoke. Then he pulled the trigger.
My ears were ringing as I slammed my hand on the snooze button of my alarm clock. Somehow, seven years later, I was still having nightmares about my three months spent underground in captivity. I almost felt lucky that my alarm clock had interrupted the flashback. I stretched my arms above my head, hearing the satisfying pops and crackles of my unwinding muscles. I swung my legs over the side of my bed, hopping off, and started to head towards my bathroom to freshen up for school.
Before I could even start brushing my teeth, I heard a few loud knocks on my bedroom door. My father stumbled in with a smile on his face, carrying a plate full of my favorite breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes with syrup.
"Happy Birthday! Annabeth, you're eighteen- an official adult. I don't want you growing up and leaving me!" I couldn't believe that I had forgotten my own birthday. "At least I still have you for the rest of your senior year," my father said with a small smile. It was strange to see him so worked up, paying me so much attention. Usually I was the last person he wanted to talk to. But, birthdays had always been a pretty big thing in our family, so in his mind he was making up for all the times that he had neglected me by treating me like royalty on my birthday.
"Don't worry, dad, I'm not leaving just yet," I replied, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. Even if he forgot about me sometimes, he was the only family I had left.
The rest of the morning flew by in a cheerful blur. Upon arriving at school, Thalia and some of my other close friends attacked me with happy birthdays and terrible singing. To my surprise, even Percy, a boy I had met about a month ago, also sent me birthday wishes.
"Tonight has to be fantastic," Thalia announced at our lunch table later that afternoon. "Any ideas?"
"Well, I was thinking that we could just go to my house and watch some movies...," I started.
"Let's go clubbing!" Silena, one of my closer friends, shouted eagerly. "It's Friday, most of us are already 18 and I know this really great teen club downtown!"
"Oh my gosh that would be so much fun! I've never been clubbing before," Grover's girlfriend, Juniper squealed.
"I'm really starting to warm up to the watching movies idea," Percy stated.
"Sorry girls but I agree with Perce here. I don't need some creepy guy from a teen club taking my girl away," Charles Beckendorf, who everyone just calls Beckendorf, said while wrapping his arm around Silena, his girlfriend.
I smiled before saying, "looks like you've been overruled girls."
"Not so fast, birthday girl. I agree with these girls, we have to do something special. Clubbing would definitely be fun!" Thalia, the one who was normally unenthusiastic about social events, said.
"Just think about all the cute guys who might be there! It's not like we'll be drinking or anything!" Silena added with more squeals.
"Fine," I muttered. "Clubbing it is." Beck, Percy, and Grover sighed as Juniper, Thalia, and Silena began to plan out the night. Beckendorf whispered something in Percy's ear that caused his face to burn scarlet. I sent him a questioning look, but he dismissed me as if to say it was nothing. Suddenly, the bell rang signifying the end of the lunch period and I headed to my last class period. I felt myself smiling when my mind began to wonder what I would wear tonight.
Is this what happiness feels like?
-LALALALINEBREAK-
"What are your plans for the night, Annabeth? I was thinking that maybe we could all go out for a family dinner…," my dad started to say, following my arrival home from school.
"Sorry dad, my friends and I already made plans. Is it okay if I stay over at Silena's house tonight?" I asked hopefully. Silena planned to take us all back to her house after clubbing since her parents weren't home for the weekend.
My father sighed before replying. "Alright, but we're going to miss you!"
"Don't worry dad, we can go out to dinner another night. Just because it won't be my birthday won't make it any less special." I said this know that things would return to normal in the next few weeks and I would continue to be ignored. My father took my gesture willingly and walked off towards the kitchen, done with his efforts to bond with me for the rest of the year. I felt my heart drop even though I didn't want it to.
Twenty minutes later, I arrived at Silena's house, requested to come early so she could get me ready for tonight. Though I didn't really want a full out makeover, I knew that I had to make tonight memorable. I needed new memories to block out months' worth of corrupt material. Every aspect of my life had become plagued with sick comparisons. Every time I step on a stick, I feel my bones snapping. Whenever someone puts their hand on my shoulder, I tense so tight that nothing could unwind me. Run my body tells me. Maybe that's why I'm so good at running away.
"Tonight is going to be perfect!" Silena spoke confidently, something I wish I could manage to do with as much poise. The minutes slowly passed as she picked out clothes and makeup for me, accepting that I would basically reject 75% of everything she suggested. By nightfall, I was clad in a white tank top, some sort of bodycon skirt, and a cropped leather jacket. I'll spare you the details.
In the blink of an eye, we were on our way. Silena decided that she would take Thalia, Juniper, and I and that the boys would just meet us there. My stomach knotted with anticipation as I lowered myself into her passenger seat. What would happen tonight? My hands subconsciously clenched and unclenched themselves on my lap as Silena started up her sports car.
"Woah Annie, awfully nervous," Thalia commented, eying my hands. "It's just like partying except with more strangers, nothing to worry about!"
"It's not exactly nervousness," I replied carefully. "More like anticipation." The lie tasted sour in my mouth. I was definitely nervous to spend a few hours in the near darkness with strangers. What was I thinking, letting my friends drag me along for this? A wave of calmness washed over me as we arrived and I saw familiar faces a few yards away waiting for us. I smiled as Percy walked over towards the car after Silena parked and opened my door for me. We had fallen into a consistent pattern, Percy and I, one in which it seemed like we had known each other forever. I like the way his name sounds on my tongue, especially when it's paired with mine- Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson.
"Ready to party everyone?" Thalia shouted. Silena, Juniper, and a few other girls excitedly paced through the doors. I stood behind the crowd with the boys, obviously much less ready to party.
"After you, birthday girl," Percy said with a smile, unwinding his arm that had somehow become linked with mine to open the door. He knew how to make me feel special. I liked that.
We were greeted by the sound of pounding bass lines and eardrum-piercing pop music. Everyone paid a two dollar entrance fee before piling through another set of doorways where the music was somehow even louder. I quickly found myself drowning in the sea of bodies, lost without a familiar face in sight. Percy, my protector in his dashing green dress shirt, had disappeared from my side unexpectedly.
"Excuse me," I shouted over the music several times pushing through the crowd of sweaty teenagers and young adults. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed as I felt my heartbeat slow down along with the music. A face, so defined and wrong, only identifiable by a long winding scar, found its way in front of my gaze. It seemed to not have aged since the last time I saw it six years ago. My body was paralyzed a few feet away from him and as hard as I tried, I could not move my gaze away from him.
"You will learn that I have no heart or soul when it comes to business. I only keep the things I need, not the things I want."
My heart completely stopped when he noticed me and started to stride towards me with the confidence I was used to. He looked so much more polished than he previously had, but still seemed so rough and violent.
"Hey darling, like what you see?" After hearing his thick northern accent, I knew it was him. I breathed a sigh of relief when he seemed to not recognize me. He took this sigh the wrong way and smirked. My hand clenched by my side, my body seemingly coming alive again, yearning to punch him senseless. All the pain I had ever experienced in my life had been his fault. I was broken because of him. He deserved to die, right here and now, I decided. But, I couldn't even convince my body to lay a finger on him.
It was the fear- the fear that he had bestowed upon me so many years ago, that of which was coursing through my veins at the very thought of his essence. He was a man, who now probably aged near 30, when I was only a mere child. This day, the one where I aged to a true adult, suddenly became the one where I felt the youngest. I turned around to walk away, or even run, but his cold hand clenched on my arm paralyzing me once again. He forcibly turned me towards him again.
"Don't run away, I won't bite."
"Let go," I forced out, almost trembling from the fear. I felt like closing my eyes, waiting for the blow that usually followed disagreement. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I wasn't someone he could control anymore. I was free, wasn't I?
"Feisty one, aren't you? I like girls who aren't afraid of what they want." A sick smirk returned to his scarred face. I wanted to slap it right off. "Now, let's go have some fun." He gripped my arm harder and began to pull me through the crowd towards the back of the club.
He had brought me to a dark secluded corner, where the wall was cold but his fingertips felt colder as they brushed over my shoulder. His slimy lips climbed up my neck as I stood rigidly still, unable to shove him away. Help, I wanted to scream. Even the strobe lights couldn't illuminate him as he violated my personal space and tried to push off my jacket. I started to tremble upon realizing that he would see the scars. He would know who I was and he would take me away again.
"Get off her!" My heart jumped with happiness as I spotted Percy behind the man's shoulder.
"Percy," I whispered weakly, reaching my arm out as the man backed away.
"I wouldn't suggest challenging me, boy," the man shouted as he turned away from me towards Percy. "I think it would be best if you just went back to your kiddie rides and action figures." I was appalled when the man compared Percy to the likes of a young boy. Percy almost seemed like more of an adult than the man himself with his wild green eyes and jaw clenched tightly. I would delve into how handsome he looked as well, but I don't exactly pin this moment as a good occasion to do so.
"You," Percy whispered as if he had just realized something, staring at the man with great intensity. In the flash of a green strobe light, Percy had pounced onto the man. Before the man collapsed to the floor, he grabbed my arm sending me to the ground with him. Pain shot through my body as my head crashed into the dark tile floor.
The scene began to fade away from me quickly. The last thing saw was Percy throwing a punch into the man's face before I let the darkness that I had always feared consume me, willingly.
Another somewhat dramatic AE event. Yay? So guys, thank you so much for the reviews and stuff! I really appreciate the responses. Remember, when I am just sitting all bored and whatnot, reviews are what inspire me to write out chapters. So if you want more and you want it fast, review! If you have any GOOD questions, I will respond haha. Thanks for reading, forever enjoy...
w/Love, AE :)