Free-to-be-Wild-Owl - Hello again! Yes Annabeth's crazy mother is Athena. I am skipping out on the step mom and just going with Frederick and Athena as there are so many original characters in this one that I just wanted to keep the mains as simple as possible. Annabeth is...well Annabeth. Smart, calculating and deathly afraid of spiders. More so than the infected! Percy will be around soon enough! In the sequel there will be LOTS of Percy lol. I have a plan!

To everyone else, thanks for the follows, the favorites and views! I keep getting asked in PMs when Percy will show up and to answer your questions...in about 6 or 7 more chapters. I know Annabeth needs her Seaweed Brain but this is a whole new world and things don't work like we want them to sadly.

So now that I got all of that out, read, review and enjoy!

Disclaimer : I do not own Percy Jackson, or any of the content published from Rick Riordan.

Chapter Nine

I ran to the window and looked out at the lawn, officers were all over the place trying to take out the infected.

They moved quickly for being some sort of half dead being and from my perch in the window of my common room and I could tell that they managed to attack a large group of students coming back from class. Girls were lying on the ground screaming as they spilled blood out of their open wounds. Guys were trying to knock the infected out and they would only return to their feet, causing the guys to back away and leave the girls on their own.

I closed my eyes and thanked God we were currently safe in the door room.

Gun shots rang out in the hallway and I turned to see Rebekah shaking on the sofa.

"Is this how the world is going to end?"

I didn't answer her. I simply walked over to her and sat down. "I don't know."

"I have no one Annabeth. I am stuck here in your dorm wearing your clothes because I can't go back home and . . . and . . ."

She finally broke down and I pulled her into a hug.

More gun shots rang out and we both jumped.

"I will get us to Loden and while I can't make things go back the way they were, they will get better."

I didn't want to make that a promise to her but I did want to reassure her.

Rebekah wiped the tears from her face as she pulled away from the hug. "When do we leave?"

"I don't know. We really need to know what is going on outside of the fence. I know the media is controlling things here and we aren't seeing what we should."

"I tried to pull up CNN and things like that on your computer yesterday but the webpages are blocked on your school internet. I tried on my phone as well and none of the news sites will load. This makes me nervous."

I nodded at her and quickly pulled out my phone, first trying CNN and then CSPAN and then Fox News, only to have all of the websites say that they were under maintenance at the moment. Coincidence, I think not. Not now.

I looked down and dialed my mother. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Annabeth! Thank God!"

"Mom, what is going on?"

"You need to get here and you need to get here now!"

"Mom, stop, explain what is going on. We are not being told what is happening within the city. The media is controlling everything, the school has the news websites on block and if I go to them on my phone it says that they are under maintenance."

"YouTube, Annabeth, really, you should use it more often."

"What does that have to do with anything right now?"

"YouTube is your best friend in times like this. There are news channels there by normal everyday people that aren't afraid to tell it like it is. The problem is this is happening all over. People are disappearing and more and more infected are showing up every day."

"Shit."

"Language young lady!"

"Sorry. I don't have my truck mom. I have no way to get to it and I have no clue if it will even start. She's been sitting for a week over at the hospital."

I heard my mother sigh. She was contemplating something that I knew she didn't like.

Suddenly an officer came over the loud speaker of the building and I quickly put my mother on speaker so that she could hear the message better.

"Attention students and faculty of Rice. As you may or may not know, there was a breech in the fence near the Branford building. The fence has been repaired and all infected have been taken care of and removed from the premises. All of those students who have been scratched, bit or harmed in any way by the infected have also been moved to a safe facility outside of the city for observation. If you have any wounds from the infected, please make your way to the Branford infirmary. As of this moment, absolutely no students or faculty will be allowed to leave the campus in any way. We understand that many of you have homes and family outside of the fence, but for the current safety of everyone here at Rice, you are asked to stay until further notice. All faculty must check in at the Simmons Hall by eight this evening. All other students who are currently out of their dorms need to be released and sent back to their buildings now. Each building will be on a set dining schedule and we will let you know what that is here shortly. Thank you for your cooperation during this difficult time."

There was a loud squeal as the office held on to the walkie talkie button to long and then silence.

My mother sighed and mumbled something incoherently under her breath.

"Mom?"

"Sorry. I was just trying to think of how I could get your truck to you but with the way things are going right now, I am not entirely sure that I can now."

"Mother, what on earth do you know that you aren't telling me?" My voice was shaky and panicked and while I didn't want Rebekah to know that I was scared shitless, I knew that I was doing a poor job of hiding it from her.

"Things are falling apart Annabeth. I am honestly surprised that we still have communications at this point."

I sighed sadly and watched as tears streamed down Rebekah's face.

"Your brother made it back from UT last night. He said that some places have no clue what is going on and yet others are completely over run. I don't know what to fully make if this yet but I know that I need you and Grace home . . . your roommates need to get here as well."

"What about everyone else mom. We can't just leave them to die. I know it's going to become a free for all, but shouldn't we be trying to get as many people to Loden as we possibly can?"

"In theory yes, but at the moment with the government involved at your school, it is not a safe option. I know that the second you start spouting off that your mother has a safe haven, they are going to want to investigate and I can't risk the people we have here. I know that sounds horrible and don't you look at me like that Annabeth Chase!"

"Like what?" My face was hard and I know my usually soft gray eyes were more than likely the color of storm clouds right now, something that usually happened when I was angry or upset.

"You know exactly what I mean young lady. I know this news upsets you but think about it. Is it really safe to be talking about this with everything going on there?"

I let out the breath that I didn't realize I was holding and a pregnant pause built between us.

"You're right."

"Whatever you do, don't let anyone know that you are immune right now. I don't think that is safe either. I have been hearing things. I don't want to discuss those things right now but just keep your mouth shut on the topic okay?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I am going to send Malcolm and Adam to you. Text me to the address to the hospital and we will work out a way to get your truck back to you. You are going to need it to drive through fields if roads are blocked."

The information was becoming too much for me and I started to let the tears fall and I sniffled slightly.

"I will get you girls here safely if it's the last thing I do. Do you understand me?"

I nodded, forgetting that she couldn't see me and then answered in a quiet, raspy voice, "Yes. I love you mom."

"I love you too. I will call you back soon."

The line went dead and I was jolted out of my sorrow by a banging on the door. I jumped up and ran across the room and threw myself into the chair to add more weight. I looked through the peep hole to see Sarah and Grace looking around nervously.

I pulled on the arm of the chair and moved it just enough to get the door open and allow them to squeeze in.

Grace threw herself at me and hugged me tightly.

"They are burning the dead bodies on the other side of the building!"

Rebekah and I groaned at Grace's statement and I followed as Grace pulled me back over to the sofa and sat down next to Rebekah.

"This shit is getting out of control. I can't live like this!" Sarah threw her bags on the floor and then ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.

I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles and then jumped up from my spot. I walked over to Sarah's door and knocked lightly, not waiting for her to answer before I opened the door and slipped in and closed it behind me.

"What do you want Chase?"

"I want to know how you are doing."

"How do you think I am doing?"

"I don't know! That is why I came in here in the first place." My tone was highly defensive and I crossed my arms over my chest, staring Sarah down.

My glare only took a matter of seconds to break her down and before I knew it, she was a sobbing mess on her bed.

I let my defenses down and walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed. I carefully moved her hair out of her face and waited for her to calm down enough to talk to me.

Several moments later she sat up and looked at me sadly.

"Kate's mother called. She is finally out of her coma."

"Thank God!" I breathed a sigh of relief, as I spoke and felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders that I didn't realize was there.

"I managed to talk them into taking her to St. Johns in Loden when they say that she can be moved. Her mother thinks that they will be able to leave in two or three days."

"Life will be so much better there for all of them."

"What about us?"

"For us as well. We just have to find a way to get there first."

We sat silently for several moments in a tense air.

Finally I broke the tension, "Is your family going to move to Loden or are you going back to them?"

"It took me a while but they are on their way to Loden now."

Sarah sat up next to me, pulling her pillow into her lap for comfort.

"It's so much worse out there than we know Annabeth."

I furrowed my brows and looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"We are sheltered here. We aren't being shown what is going on out in the world."

"My mother told me we need to look at the YouTube news channels," I interrupted.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Sarah was shaking her head as she pulled out her phone and found her YouTube app.

I watched as she typed in 'local news update of the infected' into the search bar at the top of the app and watched as video after video popped up in the feed.

"There is no way there are this many news updates on this!"

I moved her hand so that it was even between the two of us and I touched the first video.

The screen popped open and a pimple faced boy suddenly appeared up on the screen.

"Hello again unsuspecting people of the Humble area. This is Jason Davis and I just want to give you a quick peek into what is going on for us today."

I watched as he moved through a small house and then stopped in front of a window. The camera shook and the view was twisted for a few moments as he steadied the camera, making sure he and the camera were out of sight of whatever was outside the window.

"Here you have a view of my neighbors that surround us. The white house directly across the street is the house to keep your eye on at the moment."

He went silent again and we watched quietly as the camera rolled for several minutes and then out of nowhere three vans pulled up and the guys in hazmat suits got out and rushed the front door.

"This is the third time this week they have been in the neighborhood."

There was a loud scream and the camera shook slightly. We watched as the guys in hazmats walked out of the house with a small girl in tow.

"NOOOOOO! MOOOOMMY! HELP ME!"

She kicked and screamed as they tried to calm her down without any luck. A young woman who couldn't have been much older than us was suddenly pulled from the home. I could tell she was crying as they dragged her along the sidewalk and to another van.

"Mal, it is okay baby. Just do as they say. Just do as they say baby girl!"

The woman was panicked as they shoved her into the van and the little girl started screaming again.

I clamped a hand over my mouth as I watched, trying to keep myself calm and moments later Jason's face appeared on the screen again.

"This is what I know. Both Mallory and her mother Mandy had the new vaccine that we all know has been the cause of the infection, but they didn't turn. They are immune to the vaccine and this is the third family in this neighborhood to just be ripped out of their homes for not turning."

Jason went silent for a few seconds as he looked back out the window and then dropped back down as he realized someone was watching his house.

"Shit!"

There was a lot of noise and the camera was moving as if he was now running through his house. The camera was steadied on a dresser in what looked like it could be his bedroom and he popped back up in front of the camera once again.

"If you guys do not hear from me in two days, they took me. Stay safe, don't get the vaccine and prepare. Prepare for the end. Gather food, weapons and remember the things that you have seen in the movies and television because from what I have seen so far, they aren't far off on how this crap spreads and how we handle the infected."

And then the screen went black.

"What day was this posted on?"

I pulled Sarah's phone closer to my face so that I could read the small print.

"Yesterday. Look at his other videos. I want to see what he knows."

Sarah pulled the phone away from me and backed out of the current video and went to Jason's channel. She scrolled through his latest videos and randomly clicked on one called 'Infected in Humble'.

The video started with Jason's face filling the screen once again.

"Hello again Humble area! This is why we do not let the kiddies out on their own anymore!"

The camera turned and we were now looking at a small but fairly neat mobile home park. The camera was aimed at a house at the end of the street and we could see three people on the ground. Suddenly the people were closer as the camera zoomed in and I could tell that the people we were looking at were no longer people. I was disgusted and I could feel the bile in my gut rise up to my throat.

"Oh that is disgusting!"

"Yeah, that is what I saw outside the dorm room."

There was a noise on the video, like someone dropped a glass and then suddenly a loud animal like growl filled the video.

"Oh crap man! Run! RUN!"

The infected were now making a beeline straight for Jason and whoever was running with him.

The camera was fairly stable for a few moments while Jason ran, until he turned to show that the infected were moving in on them quick. We then had several minutes of Blair Witch Project style filming as the two boys ran for their lives.

"In the car! Quick get in the car!"

"It's locked!"

"Shit! Go, go, go!"

There was more running as they continued down the street, the blacktop suddenly turned into wheat grass. We could hear the boys panting and loud growls as they pressed on. The camera swung back around and there were now four infected on the boy's tails. The only plus side was that they seemed to be slowing down.

The camera shot back to forward and the boys slowed but only slightly. Out of nowhere, another group of infected stepped out of the tree line to their right and the boys made a hard turn to the left, running back out into the open field.

"We are so screwed man!"

"Just keep running dude!"

The boys fell silent again and all we could hear were their heavy footfalls and breaths as they tried to put more space between themselves and the infected.

"Look, the highway is just past that line of buildings! All we have to do is get to the other side and we can disappear into a group of people."

"That's cold man."

"And I don't want to die!"

Again, more silence as they ran and the camera swung back and forth as Jason pumped his arms to pick up speed.

Soon the field gave way to rocks and dirt and then to asphalt as they made it to the line of buildings. Low growls filled the air and suddenly Jason turned to his right, running along the back of the buildings.

"Quick, turn there!"

There was a grunt and then the camera spun wildly as Jason slid to the ground as she tried to make a quick left turn.

"Leave it!"

"I can't!"

The camera was scooped back up and all we could see were infected gaining on the boys as they moved down the alleyway.

"Don't stop Anthony. Just run. Run toward the direction of my house. We will find a cab when we can!"

Running, so much running. Is this what our lives were about to become?

"Anthony, STOP!"

The camera lifted as Jason opened a car door.

"Get in! Come on they are coming!

The camera was finally stable as Jason settled into the back seat of the cab. The car door finally slammed shut and we could hear Anthony gasping for air.

"Go man! I gave you the address, here's forty! Just get us there!"

The driver nodded and Jason turned the camera back around on him and Anthony.

"As I said before, that is exactly why you don't let the kiddies out to play anymore. There may not be a lot of them right now but there will be soon. If I had to guess . . ."

His speech was broken by the sound of glass breaking and in the spot behind Jason's head was an infected, beating his head on the glass in an attempt to get to them.

"Floor it man! Go, go, go!"

The driver did as he was told and then suddenly slammed on the breaks, causing both of the boys to bounce around in the backseat. In Jason's camera, we caught a glimpse of the infected go flying into the air and then land in the middle of the road, only to get back up moments later.

"Well, that was an adventure and one I personally do not want to repeat, so we will not be getting anymore video outside of the house. This is your warning. Stay safe and prepare."

The video suddenly ended and I noticed that Sarah was on the verge of hyperventilating next to me.

"Hey, calm down."

She nodded at me and tried to slow her breathing but she wasn't having much luck as she scrolled through videos.

"This is happening everywhere Annabeth. Look at this. Paris, London, Tokyo, Dubai, San Francisco, Miami, New York . . ."

I sighed and wished that I would wake from the nightmare that was now our lives but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

We needed a plan of action while I waited for my mother to get back with me on how she was going to get my truck to me. I knew she was right in the fact that we were going to need it to get back to Loden. Sarah's Camaro wasn't going to do us any good in any situation other than speed and Grace's Explorer would be helpful as it could handle some rough terrain but my truck was the only four wheel drive in the group and that was going to be a necessity for real off roading.

"Pack what you can clothes wise. Things for every season and try to keep it to a minimum. There are stores in Loden and if it is as safe as my mother says it is, we can just buy new things when we get there. We will go through everything we have here in the dorm over the next couple of days and try to figure out what we can and cannot use."

Sarah simply nodded at me, a blank expression on her face.

"We will get through this."

"We have to. I am not ready to die yet."

It was my turn to just nod and before I knew it she was pulling me into a hug.

"I'm counting on you Chase."