Hey there my lovelies! I'm so sorry that I haven't uploaded in so long, but finals are over and I have more time to write now! Yay! As an apology for not uploading for so long, I'm going to try and post two chapter today. I might post the second one tomorrow, but it will be soon. I promise. As always, please review and enjoy the story!
"Let me through!" I yelled, pushing people aside as I made my way to the front of the crowd.
"Miss, I can't let you- Annabeth?" Jason asked, holding me back from entering the infirmary.
"She was on my ship. I know her. Her name's Silena. I need to see her. I need to be in there with her," I demanded, holding my ground as Jason stared me down. Finally, he relented, realizing I wasn't going to give up until I'd had my way. He let me through and I raced inside the building. I found the operating room and suddenly stopped, standing outside the door. What was I going to do if she made it? Beckendorf loved her, even after finding out about her treachery. And she did come clean. But not in time to save my crew. She's the reason I was forced to enter the storm. But that decision was all on me. I shook my head. What happened if she survived wasn't important now. What mattered was that she survived at all.
I pushed open the door and found Silena laying on the table, covered in cuts and bruises, sporting a giant gash in her abdomen and struggling to breathe. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils shifted to me, breathing getting more erratic as she realized my presence.
"Hey, Silena. It's okay. These doctors are going to help you. You're in good hands," I said, sitting on a stool next to her. I placed my hand on top of hers and gripped mine tightly. I could sense her fear and I placed my free hand on her head, repeating to her that it would be okay.
Will tapped my shoulder and leaned down to whisper to me. "I'm going to start cleaning the wound in her abdomen. Can you keep talking to her to keep her mind off the pain. I can't put her under, she's too unstable," he said. I nodded and he stepped away.
"Hey Silena. Can you tell me what my name is?" I asked her as she shut her eyes from the sting of the disinfectant Will was placing on her wound.
"An-an-annabeth. C-captain Annabeth," she stuttered, gasping for each breath.
"Good. That's good. You remember me. Which means your memory is good. That's good. Look, I know it hurts right now, but you're going to be okay, okay?" Silena nodded in response and I squeezed her hand.
"Annabeth. I-I don't think I'm g-going to make it. I'm s-sorry. This is all my fault. I-I did this. I'm s-sorry. S-so sorry," Silena whispered to me.
"Don't say that. You're going to be fine. You have to be. Live, Silena. Survive this," I said to her. Silena laced her fingers with mine and shook her head, tears leaking from her eyes.
"They say you can tell when you're going to die. You can feel it. I'm feeling it, Annabeth. They can try, but I'm not going to make it," SIlena gasped out in one breath.
"Silena," I started, looking at her sadly.
"No, Annabeth. J-just, before I d-die. T-Tell me. Beckendorf. Is he okay?" Silena asked. I studied her face, noticing her breathing getting shallower and the doctors racing around the room, frantically trying to stop the blood that was gushing from her abdomen.
"Yes, Silena. He's fine. He's waiting in another room. He's been asking for you everyday," I told her. I watched a small smile form on her face as she turned her head to look upwards at the ceiling.
"I'm glad. He's okay. Tell him, tell him this for me please. Beckendorf, I-" her voice drifted off, a final puff of air leaving her mouth as her eyes slid shut. I closed my eyes and looked away. I couldn't stand a third dead friend in one day. It was too much.
"I'm sorry," Will whispered to me, taking off his gloves as the other doctors pulled a sheet over Silena's body. "We did everything we could. The bleeding was too much. I'm surprised she survived so long. Annabeth, I'm going to need you to let go of her hand." I looked down and realized that I was still clutching tightly to her limp hand. No matter how hard I tried to let go, my hand had gone numb.
"I-I can't. I can't feel my hand," I told Will. He gave a sympathetic smile and placed his hands on my frozen one, gently prying it away. I thanked him and then walked out of the room. In my haze, I didn't notice where I was going and bumped into someone on my way out of the infirmary.
"Sorry," I muttered, moving aside.
"It's fine," a familiar voice said. I blinked and then looked up at the owner of the voice. Familiar messy dark hair and striking green eyes stared down at me.
"Percy?" I asked, taking a step back to get a better look at him.
"Hey. Anthea, right?" he asked.
"Actually, it's Annabeth. Anthea's not my real name," I told him, deciding that it was better just to let him know than have him find out I lied from someone else in town.
"Oh. Well, nice to see you again. Any news about the girl?" he asked. I glanced upward, staring at the light on the wall to keep myself from tearing up. "Oh. Oh no. I'm sorry. Did you know her?" he asked, realizing what happened.
"Yeah. Not for long, but she mattered a lot to me," I answered. He patted my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me and then walked on. I headed back to my cabin and took a long warm shower, letting the water run down my body as I scratched absentmindedly at my scabs. Once the water started to turn cold, I shut off the shower and wrapped myself in one of the fluffy towels I'd found in the closet. I was pulling my shirt over my head when I heard the front door open and close.
I grabbed a lamp from the dresser and crept down the hall. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed and I glimpsed a tall shadow making its way towards me. I hid behind a shelf, waiting for the stranger to appear.
As soon as I could see the body in my peripheral vision, I swung the lamp, only to have in be caught by the intruder. I yanked the lamp away and then startled as the face registered in my brain.
"Percy?" I asked, incredulous.
"The one and only. Well, maybe not only. I'm sure there's someone else named Percy out there. It's sort of a common name where I'm from, but not that common. I've never really met anyone na-" he paused when I held up my hand.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, putting the lamp down and crossing my arms over my chest.
"I live here… for the most part," he answered.
"Oh. Well, I guess it was stupid of me to think that I'd have this whole place to myself."
"Yeah. This is the Guest House. So until you, you know, officially move in or whatever, you'll be staying here with me. Like roommates!" he said with a grin.
"Great. Can't wait. How long have you been here? I didn't see any stuff in the other rooms" I asked.
"I come and go. The local stray I guess. I was recently in that town where we met. Then I traveled some more. Now I'm back here again. It's my sort of home. I'll probably be gone in a couple days again."
"Oh. Hey, why were you so interested in that girl earlier?" I asked, wondering what he wanted with Silena.
"I'm the one who found her. I brought her in, like I did for…" he trailed off, looking away and scratching the back of his neck.
"For?" I prompted.
"Uh, lots of people. Kinda what I do. Pull people from the sea. I gotta crash. I'll see you later?" he asked, avoiding my gaze.
"Um, sure," I said, confused at his sudden mood change. He nodded at me and then walked off towards the bedroom opposite mine. I raised an eyebrow after him, wondering at his hasty exit. Probably just tired, but… I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was up.
A knock at the door shook me from my thoughts. I pulled open the door to reveal Hazel, happily bouncing on her toes in excitement.
"Hey. What's got you all excited?" I asked, unable to resist the smile forming on my face at her giddiness.
"We're going shopping!" Hazel squealed. "I'm the only girl on the Council and while I love the other members they're such bores. And everyone else in the town is too respectful to be any fun. I never get to do anything fun!"
"Oh, well sorry to disappoint, but I'm not really big on shopping either," I said, slipping on a pair of sandals and following her down the steps of the porch.
"That's okay. You just have to be with me and give your opinion. I'll tell you everything about the town while we're out," she said, taking my hand and pulling me onto a horse-drawn cart. She nodded at the driver and we took off.
Well that's that. Shopping with Hazel in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed! This story is going to be a long one, and I have the gist planned out, I'm just a little stuck on how to get to the next plot point, so if anyone has any writing tips, please share!
Thanks for reading. I love you all!
