Chapter Eleven
Annabeth
Tears spill from my eyes like a violent waterfall, my hands tremble like an earthquake, and my whole body aches from the beating I received not too long ago. Percy and I just stare at each other, not knowing what to say or do. I just killed someone. Not just someone, my own uncle.
Bile rises is my throat and I stumble towards the sink in time to let the sick pile in the bucket. My back stings and my bloody wounds feel like they are being stretched and burned. I wipe my mouth once I'm finished throwing up and slowly straighten back up, wincing in pain.
"W-what do I do?" I stutter, staring out at the window ahead of me. I hear Percy move from somewhere behind me.
"Go pack a bag," Percy says firmly.
"What?" I whisper with a shaky voice, even though I heard him clearly.
"Pack a bag and strip out of those clothes and change into something comfortable and warm. Fit as much as you can into the bag, a blanket if possible, any money you may have and food. Don't leave the clothes you have on now here, we'll get rid of them somewhere. I'm going to get some stuff. I'll be back here in five minutes. Be ready to leave," Percy says.
He sounds so calm, so controlled.
"Where are you going?" I ask him.
"With you," he replies. "I'm not leaving you."
"But where will we go?" I cry and turn around to face him.
"I don't know. We'll just… we'll just keep running," he says, his voice cracking a little.
"Okay," I nod, tears blurring my vision. "Okay."
"I'll be back."
He leaves and I stand alone in the kitchen. Well, not alone- with my uncle's body lying lifeless on the cold tile floor. I wobble on my feet as I leave the room and climb the stairs to my bedroom. I grab an old backpack from under my bed and shove in any clothing that fits inside.
I strip out of my jeans, crying out in pain as I pull leggings onto my legs. I slowly manage to put a t-shirt and coat over my back but the pain makes me want to throw up all over again.
I find a thin blanket, one that is small enough to fit in the bag when I roll it up and a sweater that I also squeeze in. Once the bag is nearly full I carry it in my hand, knowing it will be agony carrying it on my back, and bring the clothes I was wearing minutes ago downstairs with me. I find a shopping bag and shove the clothes inside it.
I then go back to the kitchen and search through the cupboards for anything we can eat. I fit a few bags of crisps, three small chocolate bars, an apple and a banana in my bag before it's too full to fit anything else. I dip my hand behind the microwave where I know Ben hides- or hid- a pile of money.
I grab everything there and shove it into my coat pocket before zipping it up so nothing will fall out. I lean against the kitchen counter and catch my breath, though the fact that Ben is dead behind me makes it harder to control my breathing. My loud gasps and pants for air are the only sound that can be heard in the room.
"Ready?" Percy's voice makes me jump out of my skin as I turn to find him standing at the back door in fresh clothes and carrying a huge backpack on his back.
"What about h-his body? And the knifes?" I ask.
"Leave him. We better grab the knifes though," he says. He grabs both weapons and wipes them on his jeans before reaching behind him to put them in his backpack. "Now are you ready?" he asks. I nod. "Let's go."
He holds a hand out to me and I lace my shaky fingers through his before walking out of the kitchen, into the living room and through the front door without looking back at the house that I've been abused in for years. Percy leads me down the same sidewalk that we were standing on when we first met.
I have a feeling we won't be back here for a very long time.
Percy decides that walking through any part of town that is busy would be too risky. Of course, I have a cut on my head; my eyes are red from crying… I look a mess. Someone would be suspicious. Instead, we walk on the edge of town and keep going until the houses disappear behind us and many trees come into view.
Hiding in the countryside will probably be our best option.
I don't know if what we're doing is a good idea. I don't know where we're going, how long we're going to last out here. How long until someone discovers Ben's body? He's meant to be working tomorrow morning and he never calls in sick. I'm sure his boss or another colleague of his will stop in to see why he didn't turn up at work.
It won't be hard to piece together an idea of what happened- a dead body and two missing teenagers. They'll think we murdered him and then ran away, which I guess we did… well, I did. If we get caught on the run then we'll go down for sure.
"Percy," I whisper as a thought pops into my head.
"What?" he says, stopping a few feet ahead of me and turning around.
"What about your mom?" I ask.
"I wrote her a note," is all he says.
"Y-you should go back. You can't leave her alone. She'll think something bad has happened to you. Maybe I should just take myself to the police and reveal all and hope they believe the things he did to me," I say.
"No."
"But-" I start.
"You will not get in trouble for this!He deserves to be dead! He deserved it a long time ago. I wish I had done something sooner. If worse comes to worst then I'll hand myself in," he says.
I don't say another word.
Hours later, we are walking on a very narrow road. If a car wants to pass it has to squeeze past the vehicle coming the other way. Thankfully, the road isn't busy and there are only around five cars going down the road altogether every half hour.
We've been walking for so long my legs feel like jelly. My back is hurting so much I feel faint and dizzy. We haven't eaten or drank anything since we left my house and I know I'll have to sit down and rest or I will pass out. I don't have much energy left.
The road seems to go on forever. There's a small turning ahead though, which leads up to an old farmhouse that looks abandoned. "Should we check it out?" I ask, breathing heavily.
"Yeah. It's getting late. If it's empty we'll crash there until morning," Percy says and we start walking up the path.
As we get closer I notice that the building is made from wood, the colour a dull brown. The windows are closed up and there's graffiti all over the farmhouse. The field surrounding it is overgrown. The long grass comes up to my waist. Percy marches through the grass until he's at the door. He tries the door handle but it won't budge. He knocks a few times but it's obvious no one lives here when no one answers.
"How do we get in?" I ask, watching as Percy goes to the boarded up windows and tries to break the wood off. The wood may be old but it's still quite strong and won't budge.
"We'll see if there's another way in around back," Percy mutters and I follow him around to the other side of the house.
The first thing I see is steps leading to something below ground level. Percy slowly walks down the steps and calls my name once he's at the bottom.
"What?" I call down at him.
"There's a door to a basement. Come on. It's unlocked," he says. I climb down the steps and walk into the dark room of the basement. "I can't see a thing. We'll have to feel around for a staircase. Close the door behind you."
I do as he says and close the door before I reach my arms out. My hands touch something solid; a wall. I keep my hand on the wall and walk around, tripping over a few things here and there. My hands leave the wall and instead land on rough wood that seems to go up diagonally.
"I've found the staircase," I announce and Percy follows my voice. I feel him come up beside me. He takes one of my hands and we climb the steps together, careful to lift our feet high enough so we don't fall. I hold a hand out in front of me and my fingers connect with a door.
I feel for a handle and turn the doorknob when I find one. I push the door open and we step into a dusty hallway. It's lighter than the basement, enough so we can see eachother, but it's still pretty dark. We walk around a little and I'm surprised to see that the place is well furnished. I mean, the items are old and dusty but everything looks safe enough.
My eyes fall on a mirror in the hallway and I dust off the surface so I can see my reflection. I look like a ghost; my face is as white as snow. The blood from the cut on my head has dried up but my head is throbbing like it's been stamped on repeatedly. I remove my coat and turn so I'm facing away from the mirror. I look over my shoulder at my reflection and see that blood has gone through my t-shirt.
"I brought a first-aid kit with me," Percy announces, watching me inspect myself in the mirror. "I think there's something in there that will help stop infection."
I nod and let my eyes leave my reflection and fall on him instead. "I'm exhausted," I complain.
"You can sleep in a minute. Eat first. You need to get something in your stomach," Percy says.
I drop my backpack onto the floor and open it. I take out two bags of crisps and hand one to Percy. He takes them gratefully and we both start munching away. Percy pulls out a bottle of water and we each have a few gulps before we climb the creaky staircase to explore upstairs.
We find a corridor that holds several rooms. Percy opens the first door he sees and sighs once he sees the large bed, covered in a bed sheet that has faded to a horrible orange colour. It's like the bed is calling to us. We walk over and lay down without another word.
I don't attempt to lie on my back and instead settle onto my stomach and turn my head so I'm looking at Percy. He smiles at me, a sad lift of the lips, and reaches out to lace our fingers together. I close my eyes, wanting to cry but feeling too exhausted to even do that.
"We'll be okay," Percy whispers as I start to fall asleep. "I promise that I'll protect you."
That's the last thing I hear him say.
Then, the nightmares start.