Annabeth Hunts for Dogs
The cold weather really just stopped dropping when hit the twenty degree mark. It was almost routine to pick up a jacket and beanie before going anywhere. But the biggest dilemma wasn't the cold anymore. It was who was taking who to the homecoming dance. Of course being Mr. Popularity and all… So far I had a total of… ZERO people asking me out. I ignored that though… I wasn't planning on going anyways. But the second I stepped out of the door I stopped muttering to myself about homecoming… and froze. Literally…. There was an inch of snow on the ground!!
I saw footsteps everywhere, and little snowballs broken up on the ground from earlier fight. And speaking of fight… a snowball came zooming in, and drilled the back of my neck… which sent a big shiver down my spine.
I spun around to face the intruder, and expected to see one of the Stoll brothers ready to chuck another. But there was no sign of anyone… until I heard a giggle from behind the nearest bush. A grin crept up my face… I quietly scooped up a snowball… and flung it at the bush.
I heard a squeal… and another ball came flying back… I tried to catch it, and I ended up with a wet arm.
"Bring it!!" I yelled to myself mostly… The voice laughed… and Annabeth tumbled out of the bushes. W both laughed an took cover from each others snowballs. It had been years since I last had a snowball fight. I was seventeen… done with driver's ed. (But still can't afford a car!) and my eighteenth birthday was creeping up. But I felt twelve again… until the breakfast horn ruined our fun.
I was relaxing in my cabin… fiddling around with a seashell… when it dawned on me I should go say hi to Grover. The clouds were so dark the mid day looked like midnight. Everyone was huddling up in there cabins. No one was even so much as shocked it was so cold anymore.
I kept a safe distance from the big house… walking into the woods. I listened to the tree nymphs in tree form creaking in the cold… and I heard footsteps up ahead… no… HOOF steps. My stomach started giltering… pictures of Grover came flooding through my head… as I tumbled through the clearing. My shoulders relaxed. It was Marsheen… Another satyr.
"Have you seen Grover?" I asked him. He thought for a moment.
"Yeah… He went to the aid of another half-blood in Florida." He answered. "Bye… I have to go find some dry grass." He trotted away… leaving me alone and sad… I really wanted to see Grover!
I shrugged it off and started to head back to camp.
I stepped into the lunch hall… and was met by a wave of excited chatter… almost… agitated.
"What's going on?" I asked Beckendorf… who was in his last year of camp before he went to college. He eyes saddened…
"Um…well… No-no-no one's s-seen Annabeth since breakfast." He looked like I might punch him or something. My heart missed a beat.
"She's probably off in the woods studying… trees…" I said… mostly comforting myself.
But still, a part in the back of my mind was freaking out. I barely touched my noodle soup… and immediately went to Athena cabin.
I pounded the door in… and soon enough, Andrew answered the door.
"Is… huh huh… Annabeth here?" I panted.
"I haven't seen her since this morning…" I wanted to pound his face in his brain and right out of his…
"You might want to check infirmary though…" Well thanks for the input Captain Obvious…I pretty much slammed the door in his face.
Annabeth gets in situations all the time… why was I freaking out about this one?
I charged into the infirmary, busting through every door in 70's cop fashion. Still no Annabeth. My heart starting beating as fast as a jack rabbit hyped up on coffee. I did a sprint of the entire perimeter… analyzing every bush and leave and watching for snow tracks. I slammed my foot in frustration… and realized I was getting close to tears. I pushed them back… and trudged on.
I checked deeper and deeper into the forest with no help at all… I forgot the sad or angry phase… which left me no where to hide except the madness. I charged more like a bull than anything towards camp. My eyes were closed in fury… I let my feet carry me by instinct… I knew it was getting late. The first thing I remembered after my mad rant was pounding through a door. I opened my eyes. I was face-to-face with Chiron… inside of the Big House.
"PERCY!! WHAT HAS GOTTEN IN TO YOU!!" He half screamed. Okay… maybe a little more than half… but anyways, his eyes were bagged and purple… with blood stained pupils. He looked over-agitated… but not over Annabeth.
"A-Annabeth!" I yelled. Just then I heard a whimper of pain. I spun around to the door. Annabeth was covered in blood… dirt… and all wet. Her eyes were wide and unblinking though. I dove over to her gave her a ginormous hug. Once I stood up again, I saw her eyes were still wide with shock… and she was shaking. Not from the cold though…
"Annabeth!? What happened?" She slowly put her head up to me… like she JUST noticed me.
"B-B-Big d-doggie…" She muttered.