It's been a week since I last updated… sorry for that. I just went on vacation for the weekend to Gull Lake, in Minnesota. I tried waterskiing for the first time, and on my first time trying it, a got up! Yeah… pretty proud of myself there.
~GoGreen52
Chapter 8- Missing
-Jason POV-
My sister. Gone.
It all seemed so surreal for me. I kept on thinking on how Thalia was going to come home, and save me from our mother. I couldn't concept the fact that she wasn't coming home. That she wasn't going to help me with our mother.
It killed me to think of how she was going to go have the time of her life, out in Ireland. She was going to have an escape from reality, which is what she really needed. But she never got there, and now she's never going to come back.
I can't believe my mother didn't even care…
I stopped at the stoplight, since it just hit red the second I got there. It was raining, and I kind of felt like it was for Thalia, and all the others who crashed.
A tear went down my face, and I confusedly wiped it away. I never cry.
I didn't cry when my dad left.
I didn't cry when my mom beat us.
I didn't cry when my mom forgot to pick me up from the park.
I didn't cry… and now I did.
The only reason I could think of was how Thals and I were so close. How we were bro and sis, taking on the world.
I heard a honk of a car, throwing me back into reality. I looked up to see that the light was green, and I pushed off the ground, putting my legs back on the bike and cruising back in the streets of New York. It was pretty late, so there wasn't as many cars as usual on the road, which made it easier for me to ride.
I rode to the precinct, where apparently they held the remains. A chill went down my spine at the thought of Thalia being one of them.
You're big sister… you're idol. Of course you would be upset to see her dead. Anyone with a heart would.
I shrugged it off, trying to keep my mind straight. I mean, the last time I actually cared for someone, they stabbed me in the back. They left me to rot, and I was left with nothing… but my sister.
And now she's gone.
I made my way to the precinct, seeing many other people already there. I knew they were probably families like me, getting the call late at night… I still can't believe that happened to me.
I parked the bike, and hopped off.
Showtime.
-Piper POV-
My best friend. Gone. Just like that.
"We need you to come identify a body..."
Those words rang though my mind, etching it into my brain. I felt like I was dreaming, like I was going to wake up and go to work, see Annabeth, banter over something stupid again, and have a coffee with her.
But deep inside of me I knew it wasn't true.
I took time to get myself together in the car, taking some deep breaths, and thinking of what Annabeth would think of me right now. She'd probably give me a small hug, then get back to being the boss, telling me to suck it up, and how people have it worse somewhere else.
She was sisterly, alright.
I knew that she wouldn't like me being so sad about this. I also knew that she hated seeing people sad; she would always tell me that when she saw people being sad, that she would be sad, too. I had a hard time believing that, considering how she would show very little sympathy for me when I was sad.
But in some twisted way, I was glad she didn't show any sympathy.
It made me feel like she actually bothered to get me in the right direction. She knew about my family life, the very same life that I've worked so hard to keep secret.
She knew about it, and she didn't care. She wouldn't let that get to me, and somehow when she would give me that hug, I knew she was silently telling me, "Don't let them get to you. Prove your parents wrong. You can do this."
For that very same reason, I loved her. She was my rock, my idol.
I took a deep breath, and smiled at what I knew Annabeth would probably tell me if she were here.
"Get in there, Piper. Don't worry about anything, I've got it covered."
I smiled, remembering how many times she had told me that. We'd help each other all the time.
I walked in the crowded precinct; everywhere around me were people crying. Some had tears in their eyes, others had tears streaming down their faces. Others were downright sobbing. I felt alone, like I was invisible, because I wasn't crying. I wasn't sobbing. I wasn't tearing up.
Annabeth wouldn't like that.
I just stood there, not really knowing what to do, when all of the sudden, someone just went and ran into me. I fell forward, expecting to make friends with the floor, but some strong arms caught me.
"Are you alright?"
I looked up to see a blonde-haired god. His eyes were the first thing that caught mine. They were as blue as the sky, immediately making my knees weak just looking at them. He looked like he could be a male model, but the only thing out of place would be the worried expression he wore, and how his eyes seemed to be red, like he had been crying. But then again, weren't we all?
That's when I realized I still hadn't said anything.
"Oh, I'm fine. I guess I should say thank you for catching me before I made friends with the floor," I said, blushing at how stupid I sounded.
"It's nothing. Couldn't let someone like you fall on the floor, now could I?" he asked, leaving me dumbfounded. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He laughed a bit, making me blush red. "I'm Jason."
He held his hand out, a simple and friendly gesture, but the first thing to make me smile since I found out about Annabeth.
"I'm Piper," I announced, shaking his hand. A little spark went up my arm, but I ignored it. But by the look on his face, I knew he felt it too.
He smiled at me, and held onto my hand a second longer than what was needed. But who was complaining?
When he let go, his smile faded, and I noticed him take a glance around at all the other people here. "You here because…" his voice trailed off. But I knew what he was talking about.
"Yeah. They want me to identify my friend," I explained, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to contain myself. I opened them to see Jason, who looked like he knew exactly what I was going through. I'm pretty sure he did, too.
"My sister…" he choked up a bit, and took a shaky breath. "My sister was in that plane crash. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, though."
He looked like was holding the world on his shoulders, and I felt uncomfortable. I mean, here I am, for my friend, and I'm the one who seems to be breaking down. He is here for his sister, and yet he seems to have the strength that I could never have.
"I-I'm sorry you had to catch me and all, but I have to get going…" my voice trailed off, and I looked around, and turned to look at him. I saw that he was about to say something, and not wanting to be stopped, I hurried away, looking back to see his confused, and hurt expression.
Whatever that was, it can wait. I owe Annabeth.
oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
What felt like hours later, I found myself in a morgue, full of bodies. There must have been sixty, since there was that many on the plane itself. Apparently, the Coast Guard was able to get all of the bodies that were there, determining how the blast left everyone on board on parts of the plane.
It seemed pretty far-fetched, but based on how many bodies they had, I had a feeling that they were telling the truth.
Someone was helping me, showing me people who looked like her, but they weren't Annabeth. I will admit I threw up a few times, not able to hold the contents in my stomach down after seeing the dead-ness of these people.
"None of them are her," I repeated, sniffling a bit.
The guy who was helping me, looked at me sympathetically. "I'm going to have to take you to a room, then. It helps narrow down who wasn't found and such… if you know what I mean."
Why isn't she in here? They said I'd have to identify her. I guess the Coast Guard didn't do as good of a job as they thought.
The man ended up bringing me to a room, it was really nice, unlike the circumstances, which I really couldn't get myself to wrap around. It doesn't make any sense. How could her body not be there?
I looked around the room, only to be met with quite a few other people's stares. I looked around in shock, taking in how many people were in there. And the shock that I knew one of them.
I mean, I did fall into him earlier.
"You too?" he asked, pursing his lips into a straight line.
What? No 'How are you?'? What is this?
I just nodded.
I took a seat next to him, smiling sadly at a couple with a child, who was squirming everywhere. My eyes widened as I noticed who the man was- Charles Beckendorf from Myths in the Deep. I never knew he had a wife, though. Well, his wife was beautiful, that's for sure.
There was another couple with a child, but this time I did recognize the woman, Bianca Garcia from Ghost Investigators, and that was probably her husband and child with her.
Besides the famous people, there were two other people in the room with us; one of them was a woman with very, very red hair, wearing footie pajamas and bunny slippers. That's kind of odd… seated next to her was an uncomfortable looking guy who had curly hair and a crazy look on his face. I could tell he thought he was funny, but right now he looked pretty down.
We all were pretty down.
The silence was biting at my bones, and I started to think about what Annabeth would do. That usually gets me out of many situations, probably because whatever Annabeth does is usually bold and daring, which could get extra brownie points and help a lot.
I decided to think like Annabeth. Someone has to.
"Since I think we're going to be in here for a while, I think it would be best if we introduce ourselves. I'm Piper McLean."
I thought Jason was going to back me up, but after a few long seconds, he wasn't the one who decided to speak up and cut me some slack. It was Charles Beckendorf, instead.
"I'm Charles Beckendorf."
His wife spoke up. "I'm Selena, his wife, and this is Adam."
Jason finally decided to talk. "I'm Jason Grace." Smart move, pretty boy.
Bianca smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes, as much as I could tell. "I'm Bianca Garcia, and this is Weston and Alex."
The redhead spoke up, "I'm Rachel Dare, nice to meet you." She sounded kind of dead…
"And I'm Leo Valdez." The curly brunette said. He gave me a small smile, which didn't reach his eyes… pretty much like all the other ones I've gotten here today.
"Wait… we're all here for the same reason, right?" Selena asked, giving her husband a questioning glance.
"Yeah, we're here for the same reason," Jason explained, his voice sounding a bit dull. I looked at him, and saw a look of loss in his eyes.
I'm not even Annabeth's real sister. Jason must be feeling a huge loss right now.
I mean, I'm really, really sad about Annabeth. It's like someone just came and stepped all over my heart, my best friend was dead. She taught me everything, and we both watched out for each other in a job that you're used to being stabbed in the back.
I know Jason must be worse than me, it was his own blood. Annabeth and I… we are like sisters, basically soul-sisters, but being blood-bound sisters… that's where the line stops.
I need to be strong.
Someone has to.
My thoughts were cut off when the door slammed open, the sound echoing in the now silent room.
A woman with long brown hair that was French-braided, wearing a business-suit, stepped in, and all of our eyes were on her. What's she doing here?
"I am Katie Gardener, I'm so sorry for your loss. But now I need to discuss something with all of you. The bodies of Juniper Busche, Annabeth Chase, Nico Di'Angleo, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, and Grover Underwood were never found."
I looked around the room, seeing people sobbing, usually the women, crying, some of the men, and others stone cold. Which just had to be the blondie next to me.
It would help to have some emotion.
I looked back at Katie, who had a conflicted look on her face, and I had a feeling this was the first time she had to do this.
The next words spoken, could have possibly made everyone in the room's heart stop.
I know it happened to me.
"They are missing, but we have reason to believe that they all are still alive."
DUNNNN DUNNNNNN DUUUUUUNNNNNNN!
They know! OMAHGAH!
What do you think about Piper/Jason?
~GoGreen52
