Somewhere in Time
Chapter 4- Alone
Wow this took way longer than I expected. I´m sorry. Thank you for all the reviews, they were great! Don´t worry, I plan for a happy ending, but this was just necessary. Seriously don´t worry! Now on with the funeral! I mean, on with the story :( PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!
DISCLAIMER- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Not a single word of it. Thank you.
Somewhere in Time Chapter 4- ALONE.
I didn't have the time to cry further because Artemis arrived pretty quickly, all her maidens behind. She walked up to Thalia and said something I didn't hear. Honestly, I didn't care. Then the goddess strode over to me, her black hair flowing free behind her back, her skin glowing like she'd been bathing in liquid moonlight. She probably had.
"Come, Annabeth. I will see that you get safely to Camp Half-Blood." she held out her hand to me. I didn't take it.
"I won't leave him here." I whispered.
I knew that Artemis would never consent to taking his body back to Camp for proper burial. And personally I wasn't up for going back anyway. I reached for his pocket and pulled out a ballpoint pen, something I would be keeping whether Poseidon liked it or not.
"Of course." she agreed. "My Huntresses know this hero, and so I see no problem whatsoever. I consent to take Perseus Jackson back to his home for the last time." She said as if she were reading my thoughts.
She gestured a few girls to come forward and they carried him over to the silver sleigh, wincing at the thought of having a boy in their midst. Artemis held out her hand once more and this time, I took it. I walked mechanically, not aware of anything else but my feet touching the sand, taking one step at a time. One hope left behind with every step I took, then another, and another, my memories striking me, threatening to break me. The view below was nothing once I was sitting on the sleigh. Of course, the view of moonlight hitting the ocean was beautiful, but it meant nothing to me now. The waves welcomed the light but it disappeared as soon as it touched the water. I thought maybe these were Artemis´s condolences to Poseidon.
Thinking of his father made me think of Tyson. How would he take it? Surely he would cry for days, weeks maybe. He had always looked up to him. But then again, who hadn't? I now realized how lost everyone would feel, knowing that their leader -our leader- was gone. What now? What now? , my mind whispered to me. The wind blew softly, taking away my tears, taking them down, onto the sea where they turned into drops, forever lost in a body of water. I realized I was stroking his hair unthinkingly. His head had been placed on my lap and I was aware of it, but as I looked down, I saw my fingers tangled in his black hair. I pulled them away. I knew, but he would never know. It's like magic just deserted us and deserted Percy and I don't understand why!, I struggled with the voice inside my mind. We lost our best friend, Annabeth. Our leader, our guide. How can we ever understand that? I argued. Great, now I was fighting with myself. My mind, which had always been a shield to me, something I could hide behind, failed me now. It told me things I already knew but I didn't want to hear. Things I didn't want to admit. Things I didn't want to regret.
We descended onto camp grounds, flying past Thalia's tree. A crowd of demigods bottled around the sleigh, looking for Percy. The two Hunters from before lowered him onto the ground and everyone fell silent. I could swear my heartbeat could be heard from miles away. Chiron galloped into view and took in the sight. He ordered the counselors to lead everyone back to their cabins. I could feel their eyes on me, and then they left, murmuring and shaking their heads in grief.
"Lady Artemis-" Chiron began and the goddess nodded.
"I am afraid it's true. The young hero died at Kronos´s hand."
I did my best to tune them out, but some words leaked through. I could hear Thalia whispering to Chiron what had happened, and how. Of course nobody really knew and nobody would ever know the truth because I would keep it to myself, forever.
Chiron seemed to notice me at last, probably by the mention of my name. He approached me slowly probably trying not to scare me. As if that were even possible by now.
"My dear, are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked.
I knew he meant to ask if I was okay physically. Honestly, I'd been better, but it was not so bad. I shook my head, and he nodded.
"You need to rest. I will go through your injuries in the morning." He easily slung me over his back and turned to Thalia and Artemis. "You know you have a home here. Stay for as long as you like." They nodded.
"I must go now, Thalia. But you are allowed to stay here if you'd like. I understand this must be very difficult." Artemis said quietly.
"Thank you, milady. I'll stay here." Thalia informed but her voice quivered.
"Very well. Take care, my sister. I will be back tomorrow. Farewell, Chiron and, Annabeth, my sincere condolences."
And with that she disappeared with her companions. Thalia walked off, probably going to the Arena. She took it out fighting when she was angry and I would've joined her but I didn't think Chiron would let me.
He took me to the Big House, galloping quietly in the night. Mr. D wasn't there; thank the gods, but there were a few people standing in the infirmary. People I recognized all too well around a corpse I didn't have the strength to see. Nico, Grover and Clarisse were all around a cot where a boy lay, dead. They turned as we entered. Nico wouldn't meet my eyes and Grover was beyond soothing. He bleated and sobbed and shook Percy once in a while, as if by force, he would wake up. I wished he would. Nico and Clarisse left without another word to me, and Chiron set me down, sure that I could walk. I looked at Grover and he returned my stare. I was sure that if I watched him any longer, I'd start crying too.
"Annabeth, rest." Chiron attempted to try and make me lay down. I shook my head and kneeled next to Percy's body.
I cried myself to sleep, or should I say, I cried myself to try to sleep. I didn't, I just wept.
It had been a long time since Chiron and Grover had left. They'd ordered me again and again to go back to my cabin and rest, but I did not listen. I was numb with grief. After two hours they'd given up. Grover could not stand the sight of Percy and so he left. A tiny part of my mind wondered where he had gone to.
And so I cried, for five hours I cried into his lifeless body. He got colder every second and where my bare skin touched his, I should've shivered but I didn't feel anything. My upper body rested against his and I was still kneeling. I felt my muscles stretching, but I didn't feel the pain that should've come with that. I prayed to every god and goddess I knew that I was losing consciousness but to my dismay, I wasn't fainting. At some point I must've fallen asleep, though; tired of all the sobbing and wailing, because I felt rays of sunlight on my face and heard the door crack open. I fell down to the floor, startled for I'd dozed off still kneeling, and hit my head on the night desk. I was dazed and confused and groggy. I sat up, rubbing the back of my head, to find Chiron cautiously approaching me. I took in my surroundings and again, the pain hit me like the lash of a whip.
"No," I muttered. I'd been hoping I'd dreamed it.
"I'm sorry, Annabeth, we have to take him."
I scrambled to my feet and stood in front of Percy's body protectively, shaking my head.
"No!" I shrieked and started sobbing as loss took its toll on me. Chiron caught his breath and lowered his gaze. I knew I could not fight him. I was tired and hurt so instead, I just fell onto my knees, sobbing into my hands. He caught me before my face could hit the floor.
"Thalia," he called calmly. My head jerked up at the mention of her name. She walked in slowly, tear stains on her face. As she saw me, her eyes widened the least bit but then went back to normal. She seemed determined to keep on a perfect poker face. Something she was really good at, and so if she'd looked surprised when she'd seen me, well, I must've looked worse than I'd thought.
She helped me up wordlessly and carried half my weight out the door and down the stairs. As we got to the bottom story of the Big House, I noticed we weren't alone. Grover and the counselors from all the cabins were here along with Nico. Beckendorf, Silena, Clarisse, Connor and Travis, Michael Yew (I was surprised to see him as counselor of the Apollo cabin. What had happened to Lee?!), and Katie Gardner were all staring at me. I stiffened a little but Thalia just pulled me along. I heard a few gasps and caught a glimpse of my face as I passed a mirror. My hair was a mess, knotted and twisted. My hairline was sticky with sap and blood from a cut I'd gotten on my scalp. My face was ashen and I had circles under my eyes.
I tried hard. I tried reallyhard to walk, but as I was taking a step, I couldn't even take my own weight –less than half of it actually, as Thalia was practically carrying me- and my knees buckled under me. Thalia had not been expecting this so she lost her grip on me yelling, "Annabeth!" Reproachfully and letting me knock down a vase. It shattered and glass spread everywhere. My eyelids drooped twice and I just lay there on all fours, panting, not bothering to get up. Silena sprang forward and kneeled next to me.
"Sweetie, I-" she tried to comfort me and help me up, but I instantly recoiled from her touch and she pulled her hand back.
"Give me your hand, Annabeth. Silena, watch it with the glass, we don't want you to get hurt too," Thalia ordered Wait, I thought, get hurt too? With the glass? I obediently handed Thalia my arm, she turned it over and I saw a piece of the vase embedded into my palm, blood spurting from the wound. No wonder why the carpet had suddenly felt wet but I didn't care, my hands were already bloody anyway, it was the same.
Thalia took the piece out, and cleaned the dirt. I just stared numbly at nothing in particular.
"Are you hungry, Annabeth?" Katie asked softly. I looked up and stared at her, then shook my head mechanically. Thalia reached for some nectar and tried to make me drink it. Instead, I just ripped a piece of my shirt and bandaged the cut. I heard hooves coming down the stairs and Beckendorf shot up from the couch. He and Thalia shared an understanding look and Beckendorf pulled me up. He started carrying me out of the Big House, ignoring –unlike Silena- my feeble attempts to break free from his iron grip. After a few minutes, I realized he was not letting me go so I stopped moving altogether. He stared down at me for a second, his expression made it clear he was worried I might've fainted. But when he saw I was still alive –too bad- he looked away. It was only when he set me down at the door of my cabin that I realized he wanted my siblings to take care of me.
"No," I protested, "not there."
"You need sleep, Annabeth," he said as calmly as ever.
"Don't you think if I could sleep –or eat or breathe for that matter- I would've done so already!?" My tone was harsh, probably because I felt sleep-deprived. I hadn't eaten more than a piece of toast each day when I had been held captive. As a result, I was thinner and breakable. No food and no water, I nearly died. I might as well have. The point was, it had been nearly a week since I'd had a real meal, and today was my third day without water. Only then did I realize my throat was so dry…
I collapsed and Beckendorf barely caught me. I shivered involuntarily on the ground.
"Chiron!" he yelled as he held me. "Help, anybody!"
I shivered harder and watched Malcolm open the Athena's cabin door. His eyes widened as he saw me. He ran to my side.
"What happened to her?" He asked Beckendorf, concern coloring his voice.
"I don't know, she just collapsed- I'll get Chiron."
And with that, he ran off at top speed. Malcolm, though strong, wasn't able to carry me and was forced to stay with me outside. He looked frightened, but I simply didn't care.
They arrived minutes later. Thalia and Katie got me into bed and wrapped me in blankets. Chiron passed a hand over my head.
"Katie, go to the pavilion. Get her some food and water. Thalia, you go to the infirmary and grab some nectar and bandages from the cabinet. Silena, go fetch Annabeth some clothes. Warm if possible. Malcolm, you are in charge of your cabin in the meantime, so get them to breakfast or archery or anywhere else but here. Everyone else, go and check on the arrangements I told you about earlier."
My friends filed out the cabin and to their errands. I couldn't deny anymore that I wasn't feeling so good and this scared me.
"What's wrong with me?" I whispered. Chiron smiled halfheartedly.
"Nothing serious, dear. Don't worry it's just possible shock. You are just hungry and tired and as soon as we feed you and you take sleep, you will be just fine."
"Just fine…" I repeated. How could I be just fine? I wasn't even in the vicinity of okay. How would he make things better? "But, I'm not hungry." I frowned.
"Your mind is telling you you're not hungry, or in pain, or thirsty. It would've been a serious condition if I hadn't realized now. You are not sick, but-" he sighed, and I could tell he'd been hoping I would just sleep and be quiet. "Sometimes it happens that your brain shies away from painful experiences. Your nervous system doesn't register your body's needs because it risks feeling pain and not just physical pain, but emotional too." He regarded me warily and I flinched.
"So basically it just shuts down. Huh. Well, it beats a mental breakdown for sure." I said sarcastically.
"Annabeth, if you don't take care of yourself you force me and your friends to look after you. Do you truly want that?" He warned. I could tell he was hiding his worry with anger.
"Fine, I'll eat and sleep." I said, resigned. But a thought popped into my head and tears formed in my eyes. "When-?" I couldn't finish but thankfully, he understood.
"This afternoon down at the beach. Don't worry; I will see that you are awake by then."
I wanted to ask more, or cry more, but my friends came in, carrying food and clothes and medicine.
"Here you go." Katie said kindly and she handed me a plate full of eggs and bacon. It surprised me how much she was like Demeter. She was everybody's mom. I smiled weakly and sat up.
"Thanks," I muttered and started eating. The flavor must've been good, but Chiron was right. I didn't actually taste it.
After Chiron decided I was full (two servings later, and I couldn't tell if I'd been fed properly yet or not.), Thalia handed him the nectar I hadn't drank earlier and some fresh gauze along with band-aids and white bandages. They took the sheet of and Chiron started with my hand. Nothing hurt. I felt the pressure, the cloth, and the poking and pulling but not the pain. Thalia made sure I drank slow, small sips. After I was fed and healed, –kind of- Silena showed me some expensive clothes. Pants, a long sleeved blouse, a robe and she also let me borrow some fluffy slippers. All of the items were hot pink. I tried to tell them I had my own clothes but they ignored me and left me alone in the cabin to dress.
When I was done, I pulled the ballpoint pen from my shorts and placed it on my nightstand. Then, I got in bed and pulled the sheets up to my chin. My mind was screaming at me to run, to fight but my body seemed to register tired and sleepy at last. And so I drifted off, into a dreamless, superficial, sleep.
It was still daytime when I woke again, but the rays of sun seemed darker, golden instead of yellow. I rose from bed, and I realized I was aware of everything. My brain seemed sharp again, alert. I looked at my watch; it was five thirty in the afternoon. I heard my door open slowly and a fuzzed Thalia came in. She was dressed in black, as usual, but she had combed her hair and put a blouse on instead of her usual tee shirt and jeans outfit.
"Oh, you're awake. Good. How are you feeling?" She asked me.
"I'm fine." I snapped.
She seemed taken aback by my rude answer because her voice was no more than a whisper.
"Okay, well, everyone is ready. We'll wait for you outside." And with that she left.
I searched through my trunk, hoping I had something decent to wear. Questing and fighting monsters didn't usually come with an ample wardrobe unless you were a daughter of Aphrodite. But then again, they weren't given much to questing. I sighed and turned around. A piece of green fabric caught my eye.
On top of the dresser, a sea-green blouse lay, folded flawlessly. Silena. I made a mental note to thank her and strode over to it, unfolding it carefully. The fabric was light, and wavy, just like the sea. I put it on with a pair of jeans and it hugged my body beautifully. A wave of sadness rolled through me and I wondered where Silena had taken this from. It suddenly occurred to me that maybe she hadn't been the responsible for this blouse, but her own mother. The thought made me want to rip it apart, but I resisted the urge, thinking I might offend the goddess if I did so. I sat on the small chair in front of the dresser and started combing my hair, rocking back and forth. I don't know how long I sat there but after a while I heard the door crack open.
"Annabeth?" Thalia stood at the cabin's entrance, her face unsure. When I didn't answer and just kept brushing my hair, she came in. "Hey, we need to go." She whispered. I shook my head, still not meeting her eyes.
"I don't want to go."
She sighed as if she knew why. It was utterly obvious, but she asked anyway.
"Why not?" Her voice was still soft.
"Because if I go," my voice sounded so dead, I wanted to laugh at the irony. "then it'll mean that Percy's really not coming back. And I don't think I can handle that." I sobbed and shook my head some more.
"Hey, we can all handle it. If Camp sticks together I'm sure we can,"
"He has been there ever since my first quest. I've always had him there and," a few tears escaped my eyes. "I don't know how to go on without him. I mean what now?" I repeated my thoughts from yesterday.
"Annabeth-" Thalia began, trying to put a hand on my shoulder. I shrank back and she lowered her eyes.
"Why didn't he run?" I whispered angrily, "Why didn't he hold on a little longer?"
"He tried-" she started, but I cut her off.
"But he didn't. Why didn't Poseidon do something?!" I was getting madder as thoughts of Percy flashed to my mind.
"You know as well as I do that gods aren't allowed to interfere." She spoke slowly, as if she were trying to choose her wording carefully to stop me from becoming more upset. But I'd reached my limit. I threw my brush down and stood up, crossing the room to grab a tissue.
"Then what the hell good are they?" I exploded. Thunder rumbled but I drowned out the sound, turning my back to Thalia.
"It's okay to be angry." She said gently, trying to soothe me, but I wasn't done yet, I turned to her.
"Oh, I am not angry. I am PISSED OFF!" I yelled. Some part of me knew that this wasn't Thalia's fault but I just needed to get this out. "Don't you understand? He saved the wrong person. He saved me because of his stupid loyalty and he should've saved himself because he was the best- he was- he should've…" I couldn't go on. There was a huge lump in my throat. I just put my face in my hands and cried as Thalia put her arms around me.
"Why did they put us through so much, for it to end this way?" My voice was shrill from all the tears, but my anger melted away, leaving only pain behind. Thalia said nothing and so I knew she had no answer to my somewhat rhetorical question. She too, wondered why.
When she was sure I could walk, she let go of me.
"Come on," she said.
And I followed her out the door.
So there you go, 12 pages! What did you think? Please review!!! Thanks, Anna. :) Chapter five will be up sooner than this one was I hope.
