Liberty Or Death Chapter Six

If The Whole World Were Black and White

Annabeth fingered the sword at her side. It glowed in the dim of her cabin, but it didn't glow like normal Celestial Bronze. It looked like a skull that had been illuminated, which, she reminded herself, it practically was. Percy was leaning in the desk chair, flicking the little lever that made it move up and down. Normally, the constant clicking would have irritated her, but now it was almost soothing, like a reminder that he was there.

But she didn't want him to be. She didn't want Percy to have to sit there and watch her recover, oh-so-slowly, if she ever did, while he could get on with his life. Fight a war, be a hero, do something on his own. He was more than capable of it and she felt horrible for holding him back. After all, it was her fault they fell and her fault that he had to poison Akhlys and her fault that everything had happened.

Her ankle twinged painfully and she took in a sharp breath. No injury she'd ever had had bothered her as long as the ones from Tartarus. Her ankle was definitely the worst.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked, hurrying over and joining her on the bed. Annabeth shook her head and sucked back a gasp as another jolt of pain lanced through her.

"Nothing," she said, turning so she could lie against the pillows. Percy mirrored her, grasping her hand gently and tugging her closer.

"Something is wrong," he said easily, planting a soft kiss on her hair. She curled into him, the salty scent that always surrounded him comforting her.

"I'm fine," she insisted, trying to force away the all too real memories. But she couldn't keep them out entirely and flickers of them ran through her mind.

Falling. Her ankle breaking with a horrible crack and then falling again and again and again.

Percy's face as he protected her, green eyes iridescent in the dim as she cowered to the side, unable to do anything at all to help.

Failing. Failing. Failing. You failed, she told herself. You nearly got him killed when he didn't do a thing to deserve any of it.

"Stop," Percy said softly. Annabeth blinked furiously, keeping back the tears. She'd gone and hurt him again, hurt him again and again and eventually, she'd do something there was no recovering from. He'd die and she'd be all alone and the world would end because not in any life could he die, never, he couldn't, but at this rate she'd be the one to kill him. And all she wanted was Percy but she had to protect him. She had to make up for her failure. Failures, one after another so quickly that not a single person could possibly count them all,

He stared at her gently, squeezing her hand and tugging her closer. Annabeth let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and it rattled slightly, the sound of defeat. Percy leaned over and kissed her and gods, that boy would be the death of her.

But all she could do was cling to him desperately as he pulled back, smirking.

"See? You can't think about what happened now, can you?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Annabeth shook her head. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Let's go do something," she offered. Maybe if they went outside, worked, anything, they'd be better. A little bit better. Percy's confidence scared her. He seemed to know exactly what would happen and of course he would, because he was Percy and he still had a brain and some form of logic that didn't lead to getting dumped in the deepest pits of hell, like hers had.

"Alright," he said, taking her hand and standing. Annabeth opened the door quietly, hoping to avoid waking anyone up. Lights peeked around the edge of Leo's door. She could hear quiet voices that sounded like Hazel and Frank from another cabin, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. The engine thumped steadily under her feet and it was all she could do to not run.

Annabeth's nails bit into her palms as the ship rolled gently under her feet. The floor thrummed with life and energy. The sound of the engine seemed to echo in her mind.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

"It's getting louder," Percy whispered. The beat of the pit's heart filled her ears as they started sprinting over the pitted ground. They were running towards the doors, not too far away, she could see them-

"Annabeth!" Percy screamed. His voice faded quickly as she came to a sharp halt at the edge of a cliff. Percy's body lay on the rocks below, like Luke, only he hadn't survived the fall.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

No. No. She couldn't panic. She couldn't. She'd hurt him, she'd hurt Percy, she couldn't panic.

She was going insane and there was absolutely nothing to stop her.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked, leading her towards the stairway. His hand was warm and soothing and his tone even, but she could hear the tension after knowing him for so long.

"Sorry," she whispered back in the darkness. They started climbing the stairs and her ankle flickered with pain. It seemed like the spiral staircase would never end- as if it would just keep going and going and going.

"Sorry for what?" asked Percy after a moment. Annabeth sucked in a sudden breath. They'd be here all night if she tried to explain.

"For getting confused," she said quickly, running her hand up the smooth railing for support. "That's all."

She could smell the sea breeze above them now and she took the last few steps onto the deck. It was a smooth expanse of polished wooden boards and glittering bronze. Several masts stood at attention in a straight, even row. A second stairway led to Leo's helm. Small puffs of smoke jetted from Festus' nostrils as he creaked and clanked to face them.

"Hi, Festus," Annabeth said dully. The dragon's ruby eyes whirled and he went back to staring out over the ocean. Not even the metal dragon wanted to be around her. Two small figures stood at the helm, one holding the wheel, hair whipping in the breeze. The second, Jason, had his sword out. It glittered in a band of moonlight. She didn't know if they'd been spotted yet.

The ocean rocked the ship gently, like a baby's cradle. Had her dad rocked her when she was little? She couldn't remember. She sank down against the rails and Percy seemed to magically appear beside her. Suddenly, he winced and sat bolt upright.

"What's wrong? Percy, what's wrong?" she asked, tracing a hand over his back. The bandages were thick and soft, but they felt damp under her hand. When he didn't answer, she panicked. Everything was wrong, it all was wrong because Percy was never supposed to be hurt and his eyes weren't supposed to be shattered and he wasn't supposed to this thin and for the gods' sakes, the best person in the entire world was never supposed to have to walk through hell.

"Percy!" she said again. No. No, he was okay. He was fine. He was fine, it was her that was insane, she was making all of this up, it was just a dream, a horrible nightmare as a red stain dripped onto the deck and stained her jeans. Percy's eyes closed suddenly and he fell and no, no, she couldn't lose him now, they had so much more, he had so much more-

She felt as if the ship was trembling, like someone had switched the button for an earthquake, but the only thing shaking was her. And why, why had he fallen and why wasn't he awake and why was no one there to help? It was a bad dream, it had to all be a nightmare, but she could smell the sea and hear the engine's thrum and the wind ruffled her hair. Percy trembled with cold as the puddle of blood spread. It looked silvery in the moonlight. Everything looked silvery, like her whole world had gone black and white and the only thing she could see in color were his eyes but they were closed, they'd been closed for so long.