Hello everybody! I'm back. I actually got back last night, but by then I didn't have enough time to write a chapter that met my standards. So I held off, and I hope this chapter meets your standards as well as mine. I own nothing except my imagination, but please do enjoy this chapter.
Percy's POV
"This is all your fault," she told me, her voice trembling. "You caused the deaths of fifteen campers so far, and maybe more. If their injuries aren't killing them, they'll have you to thank for giving them pain. You destroyed camp, burned it to the ground. All because you couldn't keep your eyes open long enough to notice that two hellhounds were about to break into camp. Percy Jackson, we are through. Don't ever talk to me again."
Annabeth turned on her heel and stalked away. Chiron was frozen, his face showing shock and disbelief. Everything was silent.
I got over the shock first. Hopping up, I ignored everyone and sprinted towards the lake. Diving in, I vented my despair through a mini-hurricane in the water. I stood in the center of the storm, sobbing.
It gets better my boy, a voice seemed to call out to me. Yeah right.
The events that took place next proved that things were not getting better.
After crying my eyes out until tears wouldn't come anymore, and my sobs were all dry, I let the hurricane fade out. Slowly, I fell to the surface of the lake, where I sat there hunched over, just gathering my breath. It was another ten minutes before I was willing to move again.
I walked off the lake, and across the beach to where the sand met the grass. I kept moving. My feet carried me past the destroyed cabins, the charred Big House, and the strawberry fields covered in ash. Eventually, I found myself standing in the pavilion, which had mostly survived the disaster. Sitting down at my father's table, I willed a plate to come to me. Once in front of me, I silently wished for my favorite food, blue cookies. They appeared, just like my mother always made them. A cup of blue coke settled on my right.
I lifted up a cookie, but i couldn't eat. My stomach, although I was hungry, wouldn't take any food. I tried to drink my coke, because it had been over twenty four hours since I'd eaten, but i couldn't get the liquid past my lips before I spit it back out. I felt too terrible to eat or drink anything.
Sighing, I placed both my hands on the table and stared straight in front of me, letting my terrible thoughts drift. Fifteen dead, all because of me. We're they little kids? Did they have friends, family, people that loved them?
Tears brewed up in the corners of my eyes. I tried to blink them away, and that's when I saw something shimmer in the edge of my vision. I turned my head to see it more clearly, and more tears came to my eyes.
It was an angel.
Long blonde hair, curling and shining in the moonlight. Perfect face, perfect body, just beautiful.
"A-Annabeth..." I whispered. My heart broke a bit more just looking at her again.
She didn't sat anything. Her gaze lingered on me for a moment, her eyes narrowed, her posture stiff and rigid. Finally, she turned and walked over to her table. Sitting down, a cup full of amber liquid appeared before.
I stood up slowly, and walked over to her. "Annabeth..."
Silence. Her eyes didn't even move in my direction. They were both locked into the foaming liquid in the mug.
After what seemed like forever, she spoke up. "Eighteen have died."
My breath flew out in a gasp. So many have died all because of one hellhound in the camp.
"How? How did one hellhound cause this much destruction?" I whispered in horror.
"We were all sitting in here, finishing dinner. Leo was showing off to his younger sister by lighting his hands on fire. His table was over there." She pointed to the side of the pavilion that was burned away. "Suddenly, the hellhound burst through the woods and grabbed Leo in its mouth. It must've liked the fire trick.
"With Leo in its mouth, the monster ran out of the pavilion. Before it left, Leo's hand but the table and caught on fire. Nico summoned some skeletons to battle the flames, but they weren't fireproof. They ended up spreading the fire further. By that time, the hellhound was prancing around camp. Leo couldn't get enough focus to turn off his fire, so it stayed on. The flames didn't bother the hound. It just kept running around, Leo's fire spreading to most of the cabins and other buildings.
"Nobody was ready for this though. Most of us had left our weapons in our cabins. With the border intact, why would we need to bring our weapons to dinner? By the time we had reached our cabins to get the weapons, they were all on fire. Some people ran into the burning buildings to see if they could get the weapons, and all those people are in the infirmary for burns. Or they're dead."
Annabeth paused. Her eyes were glistening with tears, still locked onto her beverage.
"Clarisse was one of the brave ones and ran into the Ares cabin. She got her spear, and helped the few with weapons fight the beast. It kept running around though, so it was difficult to hit it. Eventually, Clarisse got onto its back and stabbed it. Then she collasped due to fatigue, all her injuries from the monster, and several terrible burns."
I stood there, paralyzed from horror and guilt. Because I took a nap, this happened. Eighteen dead, and many more injured.
"You're a murderer, Percy. I can't love a murderer."
Am I a murderer? All because of one mistake?
"Annabeth, I-"
"Chiron's looking for you," she interrupted me. Then, my angel walked away from me. Never to return to my open arms, never to be my angel again. Never to love me again.
I'll never be able to love again.
Hold on my boy, that same voice urged. It gets better. I was tempted to tell it to go take a hike (or something containing more swears) but I held it in. Instead, I started to walk towards the burned Big House, where I'd most likely be meeting the old centaur. I had a nice view (sarcasm) of the destroyed camp as I walked along.
