Chapter Twenty – By The Throat – Dissenter Camp: 75 - 78
"Bad blood and no holds barred, a warning shot, a sacrifice that we made … All that's golden is never real, and I won't play fair with you this time, all that's golden is never sold, and I'll be thankful when you let go"
- Chvrches, 'By The Throat'
Morning sunlight streamed through a slit in the curtains, causing Annabeth to squint and roll over, noticing in her semi-conscious state that the bed's only occupant was her. She blinked a few times to clear her vision as she became more awake, sitting up before rubbing her eyes dolefully. A yawn sprang to her lips as she gazed unseeingly around the room, searching for the reason she was happily sore all over. After relieving herself, she collapsed back onto the bed, contemplating if her daily routine could be ignored for one day – except of one over eager Aphrodite pupil, fighting clansmen and the minor detail of impending war.
Groaning, Annabeth pushed back up onto her feet at the same time the door handle jiggled. She watched it briefly, wondering what the trouble could be as it swung open, the person responsible coming in backwards to prevent the items in their hands from falling. Perseus turned to face her with a smile, balancing two large ceramic bowls in his hands. He was a little crestfallen to see her out of bed, resting the bowls on the side before fishing the cutlery from his pocket. He smiled sheepishly at her when he finished setting up, gesturing with one hand to the bowls while running his other hand nervously through his hair, lifting his black singlet up slightly to reveal his hip bone over low riding cotton pants.
"We only have fruit for breakfast, I hope that's okay?" he asked, sitting down with her. "I was hoping to surprise you."
"Really?" she asked with raised eyebrows. He nodded with another smile, holding his fingers up while he ducked back out, coming back with two glasses of juice. "What time is it?"
"A little after nine," Perseus called out, hooking the door with his leg to close it. "Here," he said, handing hers over, also depositing a small pill in her palm. She looked at him enquiringly. "It's for, um …" he pointed to her stomach, blushing. Annabeth felt herself grow red too. "You said, you were always careful and last night … well, we didn't stop to think … I didn't know if you had any."
"Ah, no, I don't, thank you," she said, looking down embarrassingly.
"I heard you were supposed to take it with food or juice or … sustenance of any kind," he continued rambling on, growing redder. "So … yeah …"
"Thank you," Annabeth repeated, smiling. Although he was quite fearless against an enemy, he was awfully cute talking about women's issues – a subject awkward to any male. "Where'd you get it from?"
"I knew where Silena kept hers," he answered, fiddling with his fork.
"You didn't tell her, did you?" Annabeth asked hastily, clenching the pill in her hand.
Perseus snorted. "And risk the 'I told you so' speech for the rest of my life? No, I snuck in. Don't worry, she won't notice its missing. It's not hard to get past Silena when she's asleep either. I rearranged her room once when she was asleep, just to see if I could."
"How did that go down?" Annabeth asked with a grin.
"I blamed the Stoll's," said Perseus with a laugh. He rubbed the small stubble growing on his cheek. "I think she ended up decorating their room pink and frilly. I can still hear their cries of outrage. They thought it was for something else they did so I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it to either of them."
"Only if I need to blackmail you," said Annabeth with a wink, taking her pill with a swig of juice.
He had a strange expression on his face as he watched her swallow the pill but it was soon replaced with a smile. They began to eat, Annabeth not really paying attention to the fruit in her bowl as she took her first few pieces. She wished for some bacon or even just an egg or something being ravenous after last night's activities. Perseus frowned as he chewed, lost in thought and then pulled her plate over to him. She was most affronted and was about to protest when she noticed what he was actually doing. She watched him pick out all of the pieces of rockmelon from her bowl and placing them into hiss. Annabeth stared at him, stunned as she accepted her bowl back.
He returned her gaze with a shrug. "You don't like rockmelon, right?"
"Right," she confirmed, continuing to gaze at him after he started eating.
She ate hers slowly, wondering how he knew … could he have paid that much attention to her that he knew her likes and dislikes? Nico's word from their meeting went through her mind as she finished her fruit. He deserves to be happy and he is, with you … if you die, he will too and this time, he won't come back … Annabeth swallowed her last bite heavily. She didn't want to die, she hadn't met anyone that did but she had reached some sort of acceptance about it when she escaped with Perseus but that was when she and Perseus were a very lose sense of friends. She didn't regret having sex with him, just thinking about the events of last night made her shiver with longing, yet it happened in the heat of the moment, without any thought of the implications.
"Annabeth?" Perseus queried, gazing at her from the middle of the room. She focused back on him, giving him an apologetic smile. He had cast their plates on the desk and was waiting for her. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah it's fine," she confirmed. "Just lost inside my head."
"I was just about to ask you if you wanted to take a shower?" he asked, his eyes sparkling, his hand held out for her to take.
Annabeth swallowed as her heart pounded. She wanted to and if she hadn't been thinking about the repercussions she wouldn't hesitate. Did he know what waited for her? She stared into his soft eyes, completely devoid of any negative emotion, only warmth. She took his outstretched hand and he kissed her scarred knuckles, pulling her in tight against his body, grinning. He dipped his head, kissing her forehead, her nose then her lips, lingering. Annabeth went to wind her fingers through his hair when there was a knock at the door.
She sprang apart as the door opened, moving to the desk with the bowls to avoid looking at Perseus and to hide her blush. It was Jason, holding a few pieces of toast in his hand, one stuck in his mouth. He grinned around the piece in greeting, half closing the door while ripping the piece apart in his mouth.
"Morning! Sorry to be a pain so early but Chiron wants you and I to start dividing up duties since the rain has past. I bought toast," he added helpfully, lifting the slices.
"We've already eaten," said Perseus, a little bluntly, causing Annabeth to frown slightly. He breathed out, running his hand through his hair and his demeanour cooled. "I was … it's alright. Ah, can I meet you down there in a few minutes? Don't eat all that toast on me."
Jason with a grin, nodded to Annabeth and left closing the door behind him. Annabeth went to her closest, slightly disappointed she wouldn't have her shower but Jason's visit reminded her of more important matters at hand. Perseus sighed loudly again, stripping off his singlet and flinging onto the bed with more force than necessary. He moved to the bathroom to shower quickly, glancing at Annabeth often, his expression bothersome. Soon enough they were both dressed and ready for their day's activities.
"Is this okay?" Perseus asked her as she attached her knife to her belt.
"What?" she asked confused, looking at him.
"Me, not spending the day with you," he said, stuffing his hands into his pant pockets.
"Oh," she said, taken a back. "You wanted to spend the day with me?"
"Of course," he answered, now looking confused. "I don't want you to think … I'm not …" He rubbed his eyes. "Is that a problem?"
"No, no …"
In truth, Annabeth had always simply gone about things after she had had sex with Luke and even Kevin. Luke left shortly afterwards or sent her away, claiming he didn't want the others seeing her naked or in his bed when they came in to report. Kevin never minded she stayed with him overnight but she slipped out in the early morning and he never tried to insist she remain at his side. Perseus was the only one who wanted to stay with her, wanted, not just her body to use for pleasure but to talk with her, maybe even smile and laugh but Annabeth surmised they would probably just end up arguing. Either way, he didn't want to leave her, or make her feel like he was leaving her. Warmth spread through her heart at his gesture.
Lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't realised how quiet she had become. Perseus looked worried, half reaching towards her but unsure if she would accept his offering hand or not, although that movement brought Annabeth back into reality. She smiled assuredly at him.
"I have actually just thought of something for my training session with Piper today," she said. "Chris and Clarisse offered to train the others to give me a break whenever I wanted it."
"Alright," he said smiling in a relieved sort of way. He took her hand, rubbing his thumb softly across her knuckles. "This shouldn't take too long. We'll probably check the communications while we're at it." He opened the door, letting her leave first, shutting the door as he fell into step with her. "Grant was scouting today so everyone is on alert for that."
"Since when does he offer to scout?" she asked.
"The Hermes' scouts came back with movement reports," Perseus answered, nodding a greeting to a few girls coming up the stairs, with Annabeth doing the same. They descended the stairs slowly, preserving their conversation for as long as possible. "Even camouflaged they haven't been able to get close enough to see what it is. Grant's determined to find it, mostly because it's just outside our boundary line, near those plains we crossed to the south. That's probably why I have to meet with Chiron now, though why they don't want you I don't understand." He stopped in the centre platform of the stairs, facing her with a smile. "Hopefully I'll see you at lunch, until then …" He gave her another soft smile, heading down the stairs while Annabeth crossed towards Piper's room.
Twenty minutes later Annabeth was leading Piper out into the southern patch of trees where it was not as dense but enough for what Annabeth had in mind. Piper's excitement was marred by the alert teacher at her side, who although knew they would be safe close to the mansion, wasn't about to take any chances. Passing through a rare gap in the forest, Annabeth glanced up towards the roof of the mansion, walking backwards to check in with the sniper trained on her with two bright reflective flashes. She got her reply before they moved into the shelter of the trees. Piper's mood quickly evaporated when she realised Annabeth's first exercise.
"You want me to run?" she asked sceptically as soon as Annabeth had dropped and stashed her bag under a tree.
"More than likely we'll be fighting in regions like this," explained Annabeth, stretching her legs. "Close, shadowy and obstacles everywhere. Have you been training your senses?"
"Yeah of course," said Piper indignantly. She then grinned mischievously. "Jason thought it was stupid until I proved him wrong."
"Well this is where we find out." Annabeth rose from her crouch, flicking her legs. "Just run around in a small perimeter, weave through the trees, get a bit of a feel for the ground. I'll come in and give you something to think about every now and then."
Grumbling, Piper started her jog and soon immersed herself in the task, warming up her muscles, responding to the dips and roots the forest had to offer with growing ease. Annabeth herself danced around the trees, slipping in and out, bounding over boulders, diving over exposed roots to roll to a crouch all the while keeping an eye on Piper. She waited in the shadows then darted out to meet her, tapping her on the back as she ran past, disappearing behind her as she cried out in surprise.
Gradually Annabeth gave her more than a friendly tap, moving towards tripping and pushing to emphasis the forces she would encounter in the middle of a raging battle. Piper's reaction time was steadily improving, narrowly succumbing to Annabeth's assault after a brilliant attempt at evasion. She screamed at Annabeth in frustration before laughing tiredly, rising to her feet and setting off at a lighter jog. They continued to run within their small radius, Piper eventually just running in a circle before coming to an abrupt halt, hands on hips, swearing as she wiped the dirt from her face after her last encounter with Annabeth.
"Alright, I think I got it," she panted, falling to the ground. Annabeth stopped, turned around and trotted back, her own face gleaming with sweat. "It's like extreme multi-tasking, I get that but this only shows I am almost sure to get hit in the back right?"
"Well I hope someone will be with you to prevent that," Annabeth said, grabbing their water containers and throwing one to Piper. "You never really needed my tutelage in fighting, Piper. Not in the actual violent sense of the word. You only lack the reactive thinking and knowledge of options that help that process. I'm only here to give you an enemy to focus on."
Piper took small sips of her water, lost in whatever thoughts plagued her mind. They snacked on fruit, Annabeth stabbing her fruit with a small pocket knife, ignoring the rockmelon. Perseus entered her mind, that small shy smile he gave her when she caught him staring, the thoughtful way his brows furrowed when he was thinking, the look of concentration when he ran his hands over her skin, as if trying to store it all to memory. She shook her head, offering her rockmelon to Piper, who took it distractedly.
"When will they strike us?" she asked, finally focusing on Annabeth.
"Hard to say," said Annabeth, scrutinising her piece of fruit before popping it into her mouth. "The only advantage we have is that they don't know our whereabouts, or, our exact number. While Luke is ignorant of that, we have time to prepare."
"Do you miss them? Your people?"
"I haven't really thought about it," admitted Annabeth. "I guess, I do miss some that I would call my friends. They aren't all like Luke, there's many there that just want to survive. They were never considered important to Luke, just fodder."
"Will they still be alive? I only ask because of the reports of the genocide …" She trailed off, not wanting to upset Annabeth further.
Annabeth bowed her head, jaw clenching. "If my friends could stop it, they would. So maybe some …" Annabeth rose to her feet. Wanting to hope was treading dangerous ground and their current conversation was bringing such emotions to the surface. It was becoming harder for her to squash them down and focus on other problems that were priority. "Come, we need to get your spatial awareness firing."
"We should change things up," said Piper grinning. She threw her fabric back at Annabeth, who caught it suspiciously. "It's your turn to look like an idiot while I knock you arse over."
Annabeth chuckled with a slight shake of her head, glancing down at the fabric in her hands. A roll of her eyes and a few deeps breaths later and she was standing blindfolded in the middle of the forest, listening to the sounds that came alive with the absence of her sight. Annabeth walked a few paces, attuning her ears to the ground underfoot. She stopped, slowing her heartbeat in a meditative state, leaving her hands slightly from her side. Piper came from behind at first, missing her target as Annabeth spiralled out of reach, blocking the next kick before Piper disappeared with a curse.
Smiling, Annabeth wandered around, keeping an ear out for Piper while she walked. Her mind was unfocused, returning to the subject Piper had brought up. While her old allies were always in the back of her mind, she hadn't really put much thought towards them and shame riddled her. She was trying to assist the Dissenters with training but maybe she ought to have focused on rescuing those in repression. The reports she managed to hear on their whereabouts were sketchy at best and while they hadn't seen any other acts of genocide, it didn't stop the worry that it continued to happen under Luke's delusions.
Lost in her thoughts, Annabeth stopped, realising she had walked more than she wanted. She knelt and felt the rough, scrunching the leaves and bringing it to her nose to determine its bearer. Not too far away, she deduced but another foreign noise came to her ears. She froze, rising slowly to her feet, breath halted in her quest to distinguish that by passing sound. It was faint, so faint if it wasn't for the breeze brushing against Annabeth's face, it would not have carried to her ears. Attuned as she was, she had forgotten about the hunter pursuing her until the rustle to her left alerted to the second presence in what Annabeth had thought was a desolate part of the forest.
"Piper, stop!" Annabeth instructed, placing her hand out in the direction she heard the rustle. There was a curse and the squelch of damp dirt being dragged apart as Piper skidded to a stop. Annabeth pulled her blindfold away, her head turning towards the sound, eyes narrowed in concentration and ears pricked and alert.
"That is seriously freaky," Piper commented. "How did you know where … What's wrong?" she asked, seeing Annabeth's tense body. She glanced in the direction Annabeth was looking but not understanding what she was supposed to see or hear. "Annabeth?"
Annabeth held up a soft hand to silence her. She closed her eyes, making herself blind to expand her hearing. Shouts, dim to her ear but still there. Annabeth opened her eyes, remembering Perseus mentioning Grant meeting the scouts around the area after their reports. Engrossed in their training, the two girls drifted, moving closer to the parties. A commotion was happening at one of the guard towers and any commotion was a bad sign.
"Go and get Perseus and Jason," Annabeth stated, facing Piper.
"What's going on?" Piper asked in concern, glancing back towards where Annabeth was looking.
"I can here shouts coming from the direction of one of the towers. I'm going to have a look but I need you to get them."
"I should go with you," insisted Piper.
"Perhaps," Annabeth said with a smile. "But Perseus needs to know that something's happening."
"Couldn't they just be shouting at one another to communicate?"
Annabeth shook her head. "No, not when you're at a scout tower. That's like lighting a beacon to anyone lurking around in the forest. Go, Piper, I'll be fine."
Piper nodded, though she looked doubtful, hurrying back towards the compound. Annabeth ran in the direction of the shouts after making sure Piper had truly left. She kept her hand close to her dagger but encountered nothing as she ambled over fallen logs, zipping in and out of the trees whilst keeping her eyes on everything and ears alert to any stray sound. Annabeth had to stop and alter her course several times when she found herself going too far one way but the shouts grew louder and Annabeth could hear the anger and force behind the voices. She quickened her pace until she shot from the trees, winded but only pausing for a minute for her eyes to adjust and see what lay before her.
Her heart went to her throat, her feet propelling her forward before she could even consider what she was seeing. The Dissenters surrounded a captive but hadn't subdued him, for how could they, his bulk matched Tyson's and with every bit of intelligence as he was silent. They were too focused on keeping their captive in their circle, weapons raised, shouting at him to drop whatever was in his hand, threatening, swearing, that Annabeth appearance went unnoticed. She was halfway across the field before hands grabbed her from the side, making her jumping and skid to a sudden stop.
"No Outsider," said Nico quietly, his eyes sympathetic as they travelled to the scene. "Stay clear of this one."
Annabeth stared at him with shock and angered disbelief before violently shrugging his arm away, continuing forward with full determination as the threats grew in volume. Nico made no move to intrude again but watched with her, his expression blank but watchful. She made it within twenty metres of the circle before two huge arms gripped her from behind, urgently pulling her away. She yelled her frustration and squirmed, trying to free herself.
"Annabeth please," came Frank's voice from behind her ear. "This isn't where you want to be."
"No! Let me go!" she screamed at him, causing faces to inspect the newest disturbance, including their prey.
Arron's eyes lit up when they met hers, his face a little worse for wear. He limped towards her, only to be ushered back by guns thrusted towards his face. He looked at her helplessly, his frustration only to be seen through his movements of twitched clenched fists and a snarling mouth when he faced his enemies. Something was gripped tightly in his right hand but Annabeth was too far away to see and her efforts doubled to reach him as the others closed their circle around him.
"No! What are you doing?" she screamed at the closest Dissenter with his back to her.
Tilting his head to his right, Grant regarded her with minimal interest, his face angered and back upon Arron within a minute. "Stay out of this Outsider," he said to her in a hard voice. "This is not your area."
"Not my … Are you kidding me?" she growled at him, struggling as she was drawn backwards by Frank. Arron moved forward again, brandishing the small device in his hand as a threat. The Dissenters drew back slightly wary, their angered shouts, following Grant's lead, reaching a higher level of warning. Annabeth yelled over the top of them, trying desperately to reach and calm Arron. "No! Stop! Arron, please! It's okay, just let them take you!"
Arron's expression went from anger to confusion to betrayal in a matter of seconds. He hesitated, glancing at her, contorting his face into a disbelief question. Annabeth's face screwed up in pain at his own look of betrayal, willing him through her face to understand.
"Get her out of here!" Grant barked, raising his gun higher. Arron shot him a filthy look, his mixture of emotions now directed at him.
Frank increased his effort to heave her away but she dug in her heels, refusing to go. "I can help," she insisted to a deaf Grant and then to Frank, who merely shook his head. She focused her shouted pleas to Arron. She tried to break Frank's grip but his vice-like grip wasn't budging. "Arron, don't! Just put it down! It's okay! Come with us, please, Arron, ah!"
Annabeth cried out in pain when Frank twisted the skin of her arm to better his grip. Arron's head snapped up at the sound, his eyes burning with fury. Annabeth saw the change in his demeanour. Her eyes widened in knowledge, using Frank's lapse and attempts of an apology to burst free from one of his arms but that was almost at the same time Arron went to move forward. Grant, who had seen the change also in his enemy, shot once, hitting Arron directly in the chest before he could even take a step.
Annabeth's body jumped at the sound of the bullet hitting Arron's flesh, almost as if the bullet had pierced her own rib cage. A second of silence fell upon the people in the clearing, the others staring at Grant, who stood still, his gun remaining fixed on Arron, who looked down at his chest and the spreading red in surprise. He met Annabeth's shocked eyes with the same, disbelieved expression, taking a final suck in of breath, blinking as his impending death hit him. His fell to his knees, his weight toppling him sideways towards the ground.
"NO!" Annabeth screamed defiantly.
She freed herself completely of Frank, who know there was little need to provide resistance after he became subdued. Running past Grant she stopped at Arron's side, knowing he was beyond help but not thinking of anything else she could do. She knelt down, placing a hand on his shoulder, gazing sadly down at her old companion, whose chest stilled once she arrived. Her head bowed, her eyes slowly closing as she withheld her tears. She rested on her knees in this state, opening them only when she was sure she wouldn't cry.
Her eyes slid over his frame, coming to rest on his belt, where his gun glinted in its holster, buckled and rendered tame from its lack of use. A question to be answered another time, she thought distantly, as to why he had been captured without even drawing his sidearm. Her eyes left the weapon, moving to his small carving knife at its side. She smiled sadly, remembering him silently carving out animals from small chunks of wood he always carried. A small leather pouch resting on the inside of his hip was bulging slightly. Curious, Annabeth open the pouch, sliding out Arron's last animal figurine and felt her tears return.
She was never close to Arron, she was even intimidated of him for a time but over the weeks of Perseus' imprisonment and their outings she had learned more about the silent, brutal warrior that had come to them. He was caring, in his own way but mostly he was fiercely loyal to whoever he classified as 'his people'. The dark wooden owl was polished and carefully carved to have even the smallest detail in the feathers. It was poised mid-flight, looking ready to swoop down and take its prey with its outstretched talons. There was no doubt that he had carved it for her; a conversation she had instigated that was long forgotten by her but not him. Although the owl wasn't ferociously stubborn, it was wise, smart and could be quite as cunning as a wolf or any other four legged predator.
Her heart studded at Arron's perception about her character and guilt gripped her terribly. He had come for her, and was killed by Grant because of it. She murmured her farewell, rolling him over onto his back. She arranged his hands onto his stomach so he almost looked like he was sleeping, save for the blood that had ran from the corner of his mouth. She had so far blocked out all noise from behind her but it came back to her in sharp pricks. Grant's voice was the most audible, giving out orders to the Dissenters around him. He didn't care about the life he had just taken, moving on to the other issues that faced them. It wasn't until he was taking about removing 'the body' as he snidely put Arron's figure, into the forest without any respect for the fallen that Annabeth felt anger surge through her body. How dare he, how dare he?
Annabeth rose, plucking Arron's gun from his holster. She turned and aimed it directly at Grant's head, her hand steady as her tears blurred her vision. The others drew back in alarm, some even directing their weapons towards her. Grant stood unmoving, his expression hard and impassive with the occasional movement from his clenched jaw.
"He was going to come around," Annabeth told him, her voice coated with her anger and grief.
"I couldn't take the chance," he replied unemotionally.
"You should've given me time," she cried, stepping forward. The others closed in also. Grant stayed immobile, not even moving his hands up in a forfeiting gesture. It only fuelled Annabeth's anger as she stood, the owl clutched tightly in her left hand. "You should've let me convince him to stand down, instead of trying to drag me away."
"He was rigging an explosion with his detonator in hand," Grant explained angrily. "To kill us, which includes you. He isn't your ally anymore, Outsider so stop crying over his damn body because he would sooner put a bullet in your brain when he found out your sway of allegiance. In fact, you should be thanking me for saving your life."
Annabeth's face screwed up in anger as she thrusted the gun closer to his face. She had come to accept Grant's blunt way of handling situations, even chose to ignore it since she had proved herself to be a person he wouldn't want to pick another fight with. However, grief blinded her side of rationality and all of the horrible things he had done to her swept through her subconscious in a furious wave. He had to be stopped once and for all and Annabeth was ready to take his life for it. She took the safety off and clicked a barrel into place as Grant's eyes narrowed, too proud to show his unease. Her finger increased the pressure on the trigger but then Perseus appeared in front of her, blocking Grant from sight.
Perseus stared into her eyes, his own unreadable as he slowly raised his arms towards her. She wanted to look away from him, to focus back on Grant but he wouldn't let her. His green eyes were the colour of algae ridden water; pale but bright, with the sunlight glinting off the tops. He gave every appearance of being calm and unperturbed but his displayed fingers shook slightly and his chest heaved a little more than necessary.
"Give me the gun, Annabeth," he said softly, his right hand reaching further than his left in her direction.
"He killed Arron," she choked out, her voice unsteady.
"Yes," he said simply, taking a small step towards her, all the while having the gun pointed at his head. "You know it was necessary." Annabeth shook her head, not wanting to hear the logic but Perseus continued. "Arron, couldn't be trusted. Not with us."
"But with me …"
"He was a loyal Extradite," Perseus continued, only inches from the gun. "Surrounded and captured by Dissenters he had been taught to despise. There was no way he would've come quietly, not even with you."
"Get out of the way, Jackson," she growled.
"I can't do that Annabeth. Please, lower the gun."
Annabeth wanted him to move, to get away so she could kill Grant. She knew killing him wouldn't bring Arron back but maybe it would ease the guilt that festered at her bleeding heart. She could picture Arron's expression as she called to him, telling him to go with his enemies, as if she was one of them. And was she? She was helping them, was she not? No, it wasn't like that. She was trying to find a scenario that ensured the majority were survivors, not lying on the ground, staring sightlessly above them.
Perseus waited in front of her, frozen in his position, ignoring everyone else but her. Here lay her choice; take her revenge or stay. Arron's death was tragic and possibly unnecessary but why was he different from the countless others that shared his fate? She dropped her gaze, her head tilting to her left, where she could see the body from her peripherals. Was it worth another dead body? Grant she could make an exception, she thought but the repercussions would see everyone in a worse position to Luke's uprising.
Looking back at Perseus, she lowered her arm, flipped the gun over to give him the handle. He accepted the gun, tucking it into his belt. The others around him relaxed and after a few nods and silent instructions they departed to continue neutralising the area. Annabeth turned away and faced Arron, watching his lifeless body, repressing the oncoming wave of emotion that came back as she stared into his face.
"We burn our dead," she said in a flat voice. Perseus had followed her, keeping his distance behind her. He met her gaze steadily, though a hint of concern crossed his features. "I need wood so I can give him a proper funeral. One he would have wanted."
"So you can signal your other friends to blow us up? I don't think so," Grant piped up as he walked past.
Annabeth snarled and rushed towards him, buffeted by Perseus' body that still stood between them.
"Grant enough!" Perseus yelled with authority, struggling to keep Annabeth from ripping out Grant's throat, which she was threatening loudly among other things. "Annabeth, quiet," he growled in her ear.
"You see how she's acting," Grant called over her screams. "No amount of fucking is ever going to change her now, Jackson. She's flipped a switch and will kill us all as soon as you leave her on her own. Someone should tie her up as a precaution."
"No one is being tied up," he shouted angrily, one arm wrapped her ribs while he pointed at other Dissenters. "Go and help the others." Grant scowled but moved at the command, muttering to the others. He faced Annabeth, gripping her by both arms. "Annabeth, Annabeth, come on, stop! Stop!"
"I was wrong. I should've killed him," she fumed, her attempts at getting to him waning.
"Maybe, but you're too emotional to decide anything at the moment," said Perseus as calmly as possible while he tried to catch his breath. Her efforts ceased altogether though his arm still stayed around her. "Come, we'll find some wood and –."
"No," said Annabeth abruptly, pulling away from his embrace. "I … I want to do it alone."
He was taken aback but didn't try and stop her as she walked to the forest alone. Annabeth didn't see Perseus or any other Dissenter over the next hour while she chopped and gathered enough wood for Arron. She looked around after building up the pyre, using her leftover logs as a stretcher to drag Arron's body to his final resting place. She struggled but refused the little help offered; the majority of the occupants still around the area knowing or being told her wishes left her to her task.
The flame struck quick, rising to the tops of the trees that guarded her funeral from prying eyes. She watched, the loose strands of her hair blowing slightly across her face, her eyes dry, the owl resting in the cup of her entwined hands.
"Farewell, brother," she murmured. "Your fight in this life has ended. Keep faith and resolve as your fight will be taken up by another. Rest, knowing what you stood for … will continue in the hearts of your brothers."
It had been a while since Annabeth had recited those words. The last, she recalled, in Arron's presence no less, alongside Will after she had been pulled from the wreckage caused by Leo Valdez. She sighed, knowing she spoke the words no longer with conviction. He deserved better than what he had received, she thought sadly gazing at his burnt body. An ex-Extradite reciting their funeral prayers, alone, without the 'brothers' she preached hardly seemed like the type of blessing it was supposed to be. Her eyes travelled to his final gift in her hands, tracing the ridges and carvings done with the utmost care. He had given her a piece of him and she had given him a grave.
"He made one for me too."
Perseus approached her side without noise. His face was illuminated by the remnants of the pyre, eyes washed out as he stared at the flames. He turned his head, his lips twitching when he caught sight of her enquiring glance. He retrieved a small wooden animal from his pocket, bringing it up into the light. A horse, frozen midstride, head tossed up towards its destination. The wood was pale and weathered; its smoothness apparent when she held it in her hand, and familiar. With a pang she saw it was the one Arron had showed her, when they were out on a mission. Perseus spoke again when she handed it back.
"Gave it to me after the interview with Luke. After a few of his guard shifts I realised he was a mute and when he was on shift I used to talk. Talk about my past, everything. It didn't matter if he heard; he wouldn't tell anyone. He helped me to stay sane by just sitting there, listening to me drab on. It took me a while to notice that he liked listening to my stories. He ended up having the majority of the guard shifts when he wasn't scouting with you. Anyway, when it was known that, I wasn't going to live for much longer he gave me a final gift, as it were. I've kept it with me ever since."
"A horse?" asked Annabeth, her voice quiet.
Perseus smiled. "The stories of my adventures in Poseidon's stables were his favourite." His smile vanished as he gazed at her, his features softening with sympathy. "We were on our way. Nico, sent us a report and then Piper intercepted us on the way out. Said you had heard something and went to investigate. I didn't realise … I wouldn't've condoned … Annabeth …"
He reached out towards her but Annabeth deliberately stepped away, his face upturning to a grimace of pain that he couldn't or wouldn't hide. She glanced at him quickly but then away at the fire, her face betraying her own pain briefly towards the slowly dimming flames as their fuel ebbed away. She didn't want to hear his explanations, his own guilt because he didn't know what the burden of the guilt was. His was only a pale shadow. It was her punishment, to reject his comforting touch and words, to reject him entirely though she longed to collapse into his arms and let her grief pour out of her. She couldn't be overwhelmed by the influx of emotions; she could handle it, she had to.
"Percy!"
Both heads turned to watch Jason run towards them. He was out of breath, eyes wide in shock as he focused on Perseus. Annabeth stood at Perseus' side, her heart starting to pound.
"Percy … They found another Extradite hidden in the shadows of the clearing. I left Piper there so they wouldn't –."
Whatever else he said Annabeth didn't stay to listen. She sprinted to the edge of the clearing Jason had vaguely gestured in between his panted breaths, ignoring Perseus' shout. Blood rushed in her ears, her sole focus on the people she could now see clustered around whoever came with Arron. Was it Will? It had to be surely. An Extradite hidden in the shadows … but why didn't he execute the Dissenters that had captured Arron? He would've got in a few good hits before they regathered and hunted for him too.
Annabeth pushed through the crowd, not caring how rough she was as she fought her way to the centre. Piper was kneeling next to the figure on the ground when Annabeth finally broke through. Piper stood to her feet, at a loss of what to say or do as she blocked the person from view. Annabeth lightly pushed her to the side, falling to her knees from sheer shock at the Extradite lying unconscious in front of her.
"Kevin …" she breathed, staring at him in wondrous dread.
The couple months of her departure hadn't been kind to Kevin, although to another they could argue Annabeth's thinking. The muscle he had lost had been regained plus added on, making him look more like the warrior Luke had envisioned him to be when they caught him. Ginger hands tilted his head to face her, the stubble gently rubbing against the pads of her fingers. He had shorn off the beautiful wavy brown hair to his preferable length, highlighting his pale and shallow face that was marred by a huge bruise covering the left side of his temple. She frowned at the oddity, feeling the hardened lump under soft fingertips.
"He was like that when we found him," Piper murmured, kneeling beside her. "Do you know him?"
Annabeth nodded numbly as Perseus and Jason charged through the people behind her. She didn't look back but she could hear Perseus' sharp intake as he recognised Kevin, demanding answers from a bewildered Hermes scout that had the unlucky fortune of standing beside him. She felt his pulse although she could see the rise and fall of his chest but she had to do something to make sure he was real, and lying in front of her, still alive. She heard Piper rise and talk quietly with Perseus and Jason but Annabeth remained at his side, worried if she left he would be attacked.
She waited, watching Kevin as activity flowed around her. Perseus disbanded the crowd, yelling orders to others that Annabeth didn't bother listening to. She dimly noted that Piper sat back down beside her and Jason stood behind her. Perseus had come around to Kevin's other side, completing his own silent diagnosis before rising and leaving her view. A vehicle grumbled towards them and after a brief explanation Annabeth sat beside Kevin in the car as Jason drove them as quickly as he could towards the mansion.
The Stoll brothers helped Jason and Perseus carry him into Hazel, who was chatting easily with a couple of Apollo students until they were briefed on their new patient. Not having any prejudiced, they all surrounded Kevin once he was designated to a bed. Annabeth hovered anxiously behind the bed, her hand cupping her chin, the other wrapped around her waist. Jason and Piper left quietly but Perseus remained, keeping his distance. Annabeth leapt in alert as Hazel walked towards her, sober looking but not entirely hopeless.
"The concussion is severe but hasn't caused a bleed on the brain which is good," she informed both of them. Annabeth exhaled in relief as Hazel continued. "It might be a while before he wakes though so if you need to do anything –."
"It's okay, I'll wait with him," Annabeth replied immediately, moving to his side, pulling up a chair.
Hazel and the other Apollo students left to continue their discussion and reports. She could feel their eyes on her but her focus was on Kevin, lifeless but at least breathing evenly. She had so many questions which blurred and mixed together until it was a dull, soft scream in her head. The only person who could silence that scream didn't even know she was there, protecting him.
"Annabeth," said Perseus from behind her. She had thought he had left, but she should've known better. He wouldn't leave her, not when he could detect her distress. "Annabeth?" he repeated softly when she didn't acknowledge his first call. "You should come and report everything to Chiron with me."
"I'm staying here," she said.
"Alright. I'll get a couple of guys to stand guard in case –."
"I don't need a guard," she interrupted harshly. "Can't you see he's not in any state to jump up and attack us? Especially me."
"It's been a month, Annabeth," said Perseus carefully. "You don't know if he's changed and after a knock to the head ..."
"He won't hurt me, Perseus," snapped Annabeth, turning and rising sharply to her feet. They stared at each other silently as Annabeth tried to control her anger. Eventually she sat back down on the chair, turning away from him. "Don't you have to see Chiron?" she asked scornfully. "Go on, have your stupid meeting, I'm never allowed to go anyway because it would be such a travesty, that I could plan better than any of you."
There was no reply from Perseus, no sound either as he left. Annabeth shut down her mind, shut down her emotions, placing herself in a mediative state as she watched and waited for Kevin to wake. Silena had come in after a while, claiming Piper had told her about the incident. Annabeth answered her questions snippily, one worded, making it apparent she wasn't in the mood to discuss what had happened to her or Arron. Silena sat until it slowly grew darker from the approaching dusk, leaving quietly like Perseus, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder as she passed.
Darkness slowly descended upon Annabeth, although Hazel turned on the lights, bathing Kevin in a small, warm halo. Annabeth refused to eat; even when her meal was brought in by Hazel she left it untouched. Hazel informed her that Grant and Perseus had argued in Chiron's office about not having someone watch over her or Kevin.
"Grant said you were unstable and shouldn't be left alone. From what Frank said Percy got really riled up, insisting you were fine and that more important issues should be addressed, such as the reason the two of them got so close to the mansion."
Hazel smiled sheepishly, hoping Annabeth would say something smart or roll her eyes as Grant's backward priorities but she ignored the words, her eyes remaining on Kevin's face. Hazel's shoes clicked on the ground, signalling her departure from the room. With no one to interrupt her, her meditation lasted the length of the night, even the early hours of the morning before Hazel came to check on him and his progress. Kevin remained unresponsive so Annabeth continued to wait, her hands circling his, willing him to wake. Hazel asked about breakfast that Annabeth denied. Hazel tried to convince her that starving herself wouldn't help but the reply she received stopped all other inquiries.
The sun was starting to bask Annabeth in its morning glow when she heard a heavier pair of footsteps, followed by another softer set. Hazel walked past the bed towards her office, her eyes gazing towards Annabeth worriedly before ducking through the door and closing it. The second set paused slightly before moving forward and Annabeth knew who Hazel had retrieved to try and talk some sense into her, without appearing to do so.
"Chiron's ordered a few men to investigate the area they were found …" Perseus informed her, coming in and taking a seat at her side. Realising her nod was a distracted one, he sighed lightly, moving closer and softening his voice. "Annabeth, you need to rest."
"I'm fine," she told him automatically, not taking her eyes from Kevin.
"You've been here for a whole day. I can stay here and watch him," he offered. "If he wakes I'll come and get you straight away…"
"I'm going to be here when he wakes up," she stated flatly, retracting her hand, placing her clenched fists on her knees. She could feel his eyes on her face. He sighed lightly, shoulders sagging but his gaze remained on hers. He slid from his chair and knelt at the corner of her chair, his hand on her knee. She wanted to brush it away but didn't.
"Annabeth … look at me, please." His voice was tender and vulnerable, as if his own heart had begun to speak of its concern and worry. She looked at him, his expression reflecting the tone of his voice. She found it hard to look at him, her own heart thudding its painful beat seeing his own so affected. "It's not your fault this happened, nor is it mine. Please, stop punishing both of us." She made a noise in the back of her throat, turning away but he pushed forward, insistent he be heard. His fingers rested under her chin, gently tilting her head to see her. "Talk to me?"
"I can't. Not yet," she admitted softly. His face was sympathetic, his other hand, moving up to find hers, worming his fingers through hers. It was a simple gesture, a comforting one and one that broke part of Annabeth's resolve. She looked down, tears returning and she screwed up her face to prevent them from falling. She took a shaky breath, staring back at him. "I shouldn't be upset, I mean, we weren't that close but … the way he looked at me, when he saw that I was friends and not a captive …"Annabeth reached into her pocket and pulled out her wooden owl, staring at it. "He looked so confused and betrayed but he still tried to come to help me when they held me back. I can't … I don't deserve …"
Unable to continue, to voice the reason behind her guilt, she fell silent, her grip on the owl tightening as she took in a breath. Perseus didn't need to hear her last words. He moved forward and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger for a few seconds. He lent back to give her a comforting smile, his fingers squeezing hers gently.
"No matter how hard you push, I'm going to stand here, beside you, even if there's a bomb and both get blown to oblivion."
He smiled at her, training to show it was a joke but his joke pieced something together in Annabeth's brain. A particular memory that had been turning over in her mind since Arron's death without her knowing. Her face betrayed her shock at her discovery and the smile melted on Perseus' face, replaced with his worry. She leapt from her seat, causing Perseus to do the same, hands reaching timidly towards her.
"Arron always wires two explosive lines!" she cried to his face.
Without waiting for the understanding to hit him, Annabeth turned and fled through the door, taking the back hallways, rushing out into the lobby and shouldering her way out the front doors. Perseus called her name but she had already grabbed the quad being held for Benji and took off towards the clearing. People shouted protests at her that she ignored, gunning the engine as the quad sailed towards her target. She leapt from the bike once she entered the clearing, not even bothering to stop it as she ran to the group of unknowing Dissenters. She heard Perseus call her name from behind, the rumble of the bike interrupting his calls as he skidded to a stop.
"Move!" she screamed at them. They looked up at her bewildered. "There's a second bomb! Move! Run! Get out of the clearing!" Some quick to comprehend began to flee while others just continued to stare as she screamed at them.
"Annabeth! Get away from there!" Perseus' cry was desperate over her own calls and it was the last thing she heard as the clearing lit up with blinding light before the wave of heat and noise barrelled into Annabeth's exposed body. She flew backwards from the impact, eyes closed tightly as she tumbled across the ground, her consciousness blackening into oblivion as the sound thrummed loudly and piercingly into her ears.
The first thing Annabeth registered was the hard ground underneath her left cheek. Her thoughts were incoherent, her mind still blank from the shock of being blown up for the second time by one of Arron's devices. She opened her eyes and the first thing she could focus on was a rock that sat in between her face and her outstretched arm. Her ears were ringing as she blinked slowly a couple of times, rolling onto her back so she could suck in some well needed air. Her gaze went upward but the sky was absent of the usual floating debris after an explosion. There was dust and a lot of it, but no dropping rocks or stones and clumps of ground tearing through the sky.
Annabeth struggled to flip herself back over, trying to get into a position to use her hands to get up to a sitting position. Her arms shook and wobbled, her muscles reacting slowly to her commands. Eventually, after many shorts bursts of movement she managed to flip to her left side, propping her body on her elbow, blinking again to try and clear her head. She saw the small crater where the bomb had been placed and timed to fire which was only a few metres from where she was standing when the marker hit zero. She was a lot further from the bomb Leo Valdez had triggered and she was in a lot worse condition. Apart from the ringing in her ears and the swaying sickness motion in her head caused from her equilibrium shaken to its core (thus the high pitch ringing), she felt relatively unscathed, which confused her.
With another lurch, Annabeth got up into a sitting position, clutching her head and issuing a low groan – a groan that sounded more like a muffled dejected sound. She looked up around her, noticing the flurry of movement from the Dissenters attending to those caught up in the explosion. She watched their mouths move, their heads turning in her direction but she couldn't hear what they were saying at all. If they yelled she could hear a slight sound, deep, reverberating but undistinguishable. She gave her head a light shake, trying to clear her head to no avail.
There was a dull noise and then Perseus slid into her view, his hands gripping her arms, his wide eyes searching her face before scanning her body for injuries, then back to her eyes. His mouth moved, shaped her name and then some other words, words she couldn't hear except for a gurgle of noise. She frowned at his mouth before glancing around, still trying to find her grip on her brain and reality, which was still a little fuzzy. He shook her gently, urging her to look at him. His fingers gently brushed her face, his eyebrows puckered together in worry.
"I'm fine," she told him. "I'm fine, but, my ears, they're ringing."
Perseus nodded, a relieved grin lighting his face. He examined the rest of her head, tilting it sideways gently but so she could still focus on his face without too much trouble. He was looking at the left side of her face when he grimaced.
"What?" asked she, repeating it again when she thought he couldn't hear her.
He held up a hand, before placing a couple of fingers to her face, which she hardly felt, pulling it away and showing her the pads of his fingers, covered in blood. With a start she pressed her own fingers to her ears, not quite believing it until she did it for herself, ending of course in the same result. Panic bubbled to the surface, which must have shown on her face as her eyes travelled to the only sturdy face they could focus on. Perseus grabbed her hands, hiding the blood that stained them, giving her a comforting look, his mouth moving to form some words of encouragement that wouldn't be heard by her. Seeing her confused expression, he moved out of her line of sight before his arm wrapped around her, urging her to lean against him as they waited for help to come.
As the time trickled by, Annabeth could direct her thoughts to the puzzlement of herself being still, well, whole. Her lively state was a mystery, considering she was in the exact zone of detonation. By all physics she should be scattered across the ground in pieces, certainly not sitting against Perseus with her ears ringing and her head pounding. He kept his arm wrapped around her waist, Annabeth thought more to reassure himself she was still there and not just a figment of his imagination. He was calling out orders to the others, though in Annabeth's ears it was all hollowed out noise. She pressed her fingers to her ear, glad to see the blood had stopped oozing from her earholes but again it caused numerous questions. She gazed around with wide eyes, again noting the minimal damage to the ground. Her eyes travelled upward, then to where the detonation was, then to the sky, then it clicked.
She swivelled and tugged on Perseus' sleeve to get his attention before saying, "It was a signalling bomb. Lot of noise, lot of light. Did you hear me?"
Perseus made a bobbed his free hand up and down, asking her to lower her voice. She scowled at him, not realising how loud she was talking. He gave her the thumbs up in understanding, calling to the others. He asked with gestures if she was ready to stand and even if she wasn't she was going to try anyway. She was groggy and her head swam but she stubbornly refused to sit back down. Over the next fifteen minutes, she swayed with Perseus steadily holding her, while her hearing slowly returned to normal and with it coming the pulsating bursts of pain. She clenched her jaw, trying to get a good stance that would keep her from wobbling.
Perseus, no doubt feeling her swaying statue, tried to get her to sit, or even see one of the Apollo guys who had been summoned to check out the victims. She told him no, that the others needed them before her. He didn't accept her insistences, even when she had shooed away the Apollo man when Perseus had spent a few minutes trying to retrieve. He was scowling, arguing with one of them behind her who tried to explain they couldn't help her if she refused their medical attention. Perseus was growling in a voice low enough she couldn't hear. She watched the Apollo student stride past them, smiling with satisfaction at her triumph when something jabbed into the side of her neck. She turned far enough to see a syringe in Perseus' free hand, its contents emptied into her bloodstream.
Annabeth looked to Perseus, angered and betrayed. His gaze was apologetic as it blurred in her eyes. She tried to hold on, even when he picked her up into his arms before her legs gave way. She wanted to glare at him but she was afraid it was just a doleful stare. He ignored her stare as he walked her away from the carnage, talking to others that were just arriving to the scene. Once they were dealt with his eyes went to hers, a half smile on his face, that even in her state she found reluctantly charming. He mouthed something to her and as she was slipping away she thought it was, 'I'm sorry, I had to'.
Coming back into consciousness certainly wasn't as disconcerting as it was for Annabeth the last time. The light was bright as it flooded the infirmary making the ceiling pale and washed out to her eyes. She blinked, wriggling her fingers and toes, happy to be able to hear the crinkle of her movements against the stiff mattress. She clicked her fingers against her ears, making noises with her mouth just to make sure she could hear properly and entertained her hearing for a few minutes, revelling in the ability to hear sounds again.
"Annabeth?" asked a croaky voice beside her.
Kevin was looking at her, still a little dazed from the concussion but awake and alive. Annabeth smiled at him, tears springing to her eyes that she hastily blinked away. His eyes travelled around her and then back to her, looking slightly confused as the grogginess wore off.
"Is this their prison?" he rasped, scrutinising the door and their lack of security.
"No, it's the infirmary," she answered, sliding from the bed. She gasped at the pounding of her head but ignored it as best as she could as she went to his side, taking his searching fingers. "I have so many questions."
Kevin's lips twitched. "Probably as much as I do. I guess I don't need to ask that our current lodgings are because of you and your relationship with them."
Annabeth looked down, her jaw clenching. "They realised I wanted the same thing as they do," she said in a small voice. "I'm not their enemy so I'm not their captive."
"It's alright, Annabeth," he said softly, giving her hand a squeeze. "I had hoped he would take care of you when I heard you had escaped with him." He looked around again. "Where's Arron?"
A lump caught in Annabeth's throat. Her gaze went to Kevin as she shook her head, taking a deep breath. Kevin, though saddened by the news, didn't seem particularly surprised. "He knocked me out," he informed Annabeth. "Luke messed with his head. Convinced him that you were kidnapped and we had to rescue you. Only I suspected that he was sending us on a suicide mission but it fit in well with our plans so I went along, I was just hoping to find you first until Arron got suspicious. When I tried to tell him the truth he got agitated and hit me –."
"Wait, slow down," said Annabeth. Her gaze was inquiring as was her tone. "Whose plan? Kevin, what's going on? You're not allied with Luke and yet he sent you here?"
"I came to find you," was Kevin's answer. "How long have I been lying here?"
"Two days, maybe three. I'm not entirely sure, I've been out of it too but Kevin …"
Kevin shuffled to the edge of the bed, her last words ignored as he cursed. "I might still be able to make it," he muttered to himself. He swung his feet over, getting to his feet, swaying until Annabeth caught and steadied him. He looked at her then, his eyes crystal blue and steady. "Take me to the person who runs this place."
"Chiron? Why?"
"I need to ask for his hospitality. For me and the remaining Extradites."
Hey guys, thanks for your encouragement to continue to update. I'm sorry I haven't been quicker with the chapters but it's hard to keep up with persistent writing with other stuff going on. Twenty chapters, wow. When I first started writing this story I didn't ever think it would be so huge, but to everyone that's kept up with it, you guys are awesome. Keep the comments coming, I always enjoy reading them and try not to get too impatient with me. P.S. This was edited rather hastily so forgive any grammatical errors.