Annabeth kept waiting for the pain to tell her she had been hit, but it never came. She also never heard any of the other men yell out, so she assumed none of them had been hit with bullets. The shots didn't stop though. She looked up and saw Travis and Frank in front of her. She looked to her left and saw Dr. Andropov looking ahead with wide, alert eyes.
On her right Annabeth saw Connor army crawling slowly, but steadily forward until he reached Frank's shoe that he tapped twice. Frank turned and saw Connor who gave Frank a strange hand gesture. Frank nodded slightly and turned his head slightly left to look at Travis who was already looking at him. Frank gave the same hand gesture Connor had and Travis nodded as well.
"Just follow their lead." Percy's voice came in Annabeth's right ear quietly. She turned her head slowly with a questioning look in her eyes.
"Army crawl slowly. Don't make any sudden movements if at all possible. It wasn't us they spotted, but they wouldn't be disappointed if they found us too." Percy said quietly. "Dr. Andropov already knows."
Annabeth looked in front of her and sure enough, Dr. Andropov was army crawling slowly, but surely behind Frank and Travis. Connor was still slightly in front of Annabeth and Percy.
"I'm going ahead of you. Connor's going to be right next to you. We're going to travel in a completely disorganized group once we can speed up. We're not going to risk standing up again though. Save you energy when crawling, though." Percy advised, "Go slowly. If you're faster than Connor, slow down. He's starting when you're level with him. You should start a good twenty seconds after I head out."
Then Percy started crawling very slowly as well. After Annabeth had counted to twenty very slowly in her head, she too began crawly extremely slowly. When she was level with Connor, he began crawling as well, as promised.
After about 20 minutes of agonizingly slow army crawling, Connor must have gotten word over the advanced A2 wire that they could speed up. Connor passed the word on to Annabeth who immediately sped her pace up. Connor did as well, but only enough to keep up with Annabeth. He didn't try to go any faster.
They caught up with the rest of the group that was just beginning to speed up. They fell out of their lines though. Instead of going in pairs, they were just crawling in a bunch with no specific order whatsoever.
"We've got maybe ten minutes to the fence." Annabeth heard Dr. Andropov say quietly.
"Do you think we could make it in less time?" Connor asked.
"If we can all speed up, yes." Dr. Andropov responded.
The response was instantaneous. The men all began crawling in earnest if that made any sense. Annabeth was honestly quite shocked that they had energy to do that. They had been going semi fast enough for Annabeth to get slightly tired and they're still able to speed up with no trouble. She considered herself in shape, but not enough to do that. Dr. Andropov seemed to have thoughts along the same lines. He must have thought they wouldn't actually speed up either. Both of them quickly fell to the end of the group and even there were falling behind.
Percy glanced back and saw them. He turned and said, "Slow it down, guys. Dr. Andropov and Annabeth haven't been to the gym in a while."
Annabeth rolled her eyes, but didn't contradict him. Dr. Andropov seemed to be really trying to catch up to the other men. In doing so, his body was going from complete army crawl to something almost like a bear run. Annabeth opened her mouth to tell him to get down lower, but it was too late.
Dr. Andropov gave a cry of alarm as the last shot of the evening rang out. He was dead before his body hit the ground.
If someone asked Annabeth what happened after Dr. Andropov was shot, she couldn't tell them. She didn't know. She thought she had lost consciousness, but the other men would say otherwise. She knew for a fact that the other men had all survived and she was almost sure that she had as well.
Annabeth was in a bright room. It looked like a hospital room because of all the white walls and ceilings lacking color and character. She tried to turn her head, but she couldn't. Her head must have been strapped against the back of the bed she was on.
"Take it easy," A familiar voice said. Annabeth saw someone's arm reach across her briefly. Her bed rose up allowing her to be in a sitting position.
Thalia was sitting beside her bed. "Hey Annie," Thalia said.
Annabeth looked at Thalia. She looked like she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for a while. Her eyes had dark bags under them and were exceptionally dull. Her body also sagged with fatigue. Annabeth didn't have the strength to tell her off for the nickname.
"How long have I been out?" Annabeth wondered aloud.
"I don't actually know," Thalia answered, "I just got called to stay with you while you recover. Do you know what happened?"
"I can barely remember anything. Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital."
"Wait, where?"
"You're back in the states, Annie."
Annabeth looked at Thalia with wide eyes. "Where are the others?" Annabeth asked frantically.
"Whoa there," Thalia said, starting to rise out of her chair. "You need to calm down, Annabeth."
"Answer my question!" Annabeth said as fiercely as she could manage.
"They went back overseas once they knew you were safely admitted into the hospital," Thalia said with a small sigh of defeat.
"They just left?" Annabeth nearly shouted.
"Quiet down. You've just been taken off the medically induced coma they put you in for shock," Thalia reprimanded. "If the nurses hear you getting all hysterical, they're going to put you right back to sleep and I'm pretty sure you don't really want that."
Annabeth slumped back against her pillows. Thalia was right that she didn't want to be put back in a medically induced coma, but that didn't mean she had to like her situation any more than she did (which wasn't much). She hated being stuck in a hospital while other people went out to do all the work.
"What happened to me, Thalia?" Annabeth asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know. The guys wouldn't tell me."
Annabeth sighed and Thalia said, "I wouldn't worry. They seemed to be pretty happy about something when I came to stay with you."
An idea occurred to Annabeth. She asked, "How long were they here?"
Thalia shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. They barely said anything to me over the phone and when I came, they were distracted. The only thing they really said was that they needed me to stay with you while you recover and they'll fill both of us in when they get back."
Annabeth's heart sank. She was sure that he would remember, but from what Thalia said, it didn't sound like he had. "Hey Thalia?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we?"
"Pensacola, Florida. They didn't want you going back up to New York with just me for company because apparently they don't trust me."
"Who is 'they'?" Annabeth asked.
"Both the hospital and the boys," Thalia responded, rolling her eyes. "I'd probably do a better job bringing you up to New York than those boys would. It's not like I've never done something like that before."
"I think they forget that in reality, you're in your thirties to forties by now. Even I don't know how old you technically are." Annabeth said, lightly chuckling.
"Well, I'll make sure they remember when they get back. That brings up a question. How in Zeus's name did Frank become an admiral after barely any years of service?" Thalia suddenly exclaimed.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow and said, "How should I know? Why don't you ask Hazel or one of the guys? Speaking of the guys, was Nico with the men when you met up with them?"
Thalia thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, at least I didn't see Nico with them. They didn't say anything about him though."
"Were there any other men with them that you didn't recognize?"
Thalia gave Annabeth a strange look but shook her head. "No. The only men that I saw were Percy, the Stolls, Frank and Leo. That's not to say whoever you're talking about wasn't with them, but they certainly weren't hanging around them as if they were one group."
Annabeth nodded. That meant that they could've dropped Jay and Jeff off with Nico. If Daniel was still in picture, he would probably be with Nico as well. She thought about the past events and it sunk in: Dr. Andropov had been shot and killed.
The more Annabeth remembered the more she started hyperventilating. She could barely hear Thalia in the background saying something, but she couldn't decipher it. It was as if her ears were stuffed with wax like Percy's had been when they were thirteen and passing the sirens' island in the Sea of Monsters.
The last thing Annabeth saw was Thalia face hovering above hers with a panicked look.
When Annabeth woke up again, she was in yet another hospital room. She could hear voices talking quietly, but she couldn't open her eyes. It was like they were glued shut. The only reason she knew she was in a hospital room was because she recognized the feel of the uncomfortable single bed.
Annabeth still couldn't open her eyes so she settled for listening to the voices. She was able to recognize Thalia's voice and she was talking to a male. Annabeth didn't recognize the male's voice though. She deduced that it was most likely a doctor or nurse.
"- look that old, but I'm telling you we're cousins."
"I'm sorry, but I can't give that information unless you can prove your relationship or you are on the list of emergency contacts. Right now only one name is on that list with contact information. When you can prove that you are cousins, page me and I'll tell you what I can."
Annabeth heard Thalia stomp her foot on the ground in frustration. She heard quiet footsteps and assumed that the man, who was probably her doctor, walking out of the room. She heard Thalia slump into a chair and the chair scoot back a bit, it's legs scraping against the floor of the room.
Annabeth tried to open her eyes again. That time she was successful and almost wished she wasn't because it was so bright in the room she was in.
"She's awake!" Annabeth heard Thalia exclaim.
Annabeth groaned and weakly said, "Quiet down, would you?"
"Alright. Sorry. Is your head still hurting. The doctor didn't think you'd be awake this early. He said you have at least another day. He wouldn't tell me anything else though." Thalia said resentfully.
"Who's not telling you anything else?" Annabeth asked, acting as if she hadn't heard the end of Thalia's conversation with who Annabeth thought was her doctor.
"Your stupid doctor."
Annabeth smiled. Then a thought came to her. She said, "Wait. My doctor?"
Thalia nodded and said, "Yeah. Your doctor."
"I'm in New York?"
Again Thalia nodded. "He won't tell me any real details, though. Apparently I need to be able to prove a family relation to you or be on your emergency contact list."
Annabeth laughed quietly and Thalia rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I guess I'll have to add your name to my emergency contacts."
"Who's already on the list?"
"I think it's just Percy."
"You don't even have your mother on the list?"
"I don't think so. If it is, I don't think I was the one who added it."
Thalia laughed as she said, "I'm sure she could disguise herself as you and add her name to your emergency contact list. It's not like you two look horribly different now. Just tweak a few features and she'd be you."
Annabeth laughed as well saying, "I think she would like to drop in with Percy and enjoy seeing him panic internally."
"I would've thought that Percy might toughen up against Athena's surprise visits after gaining her approval, as well as being in the military and all." Thalia commented.
Annabeth shook her head fondly as she said, "Percy might like to think he's outgrown my mother's issues with him, but he really hasn't. He also nearly pees his pants every time he answers the door to her. I don't know how he keeps it in when she just teleports in. At least when she knocks, he's got a bit of warning."
Thalia was almost falling off the chair listening to Annabeth describe Percy's reactions when her mother shows up. Annabeth figured Thalia probably knew some of the details already, but Annabeth enjoyed being able to talk about her experiences at home with Percy with Thalia. Even after all the years of barely any contact, Thalia would still be her oldest friend. She was the one that would always seem like an older sister.
"That's too funny," said Thalia.
Annabeth offered a soft smile. She had a faraway look in her eyes. She wasn't reminiscing so much as just vaguely remembering. If she was honest, she was reviewing every part that she could remember being on the mission with Percy. She didn't want to forget something. It was important, but it also drew her closer to Percy. The experiences that they shared seemed special to her even though she didn't know why.
"Hey, Annabeth. You still with me?" Thalia's voice sounded like it was being said from the other end of a long tunnel.
Annabeth felt someone shaking her and turned her head in a daze. She registered Thalia's worried face hovering above hers again, but didn't respond.
"Annabeth, come on! I don't want them to put even more medicine in you. If I have to tell Percy how many times you've blanked out on me since you got back, I'm going to be murdered."
Annabeth shook her head slowly. Thalia backed away and asked, "What happened?"
"I'm not really sure," Annabeth answered. She felt heavy and slow. It seemed to take too much effort to turn her head to Thalia.
"I think you were really close to having another panic attack or something."
"Another?" Annabeth asked.
"Yeah," said Thalia, "You've had them maybe three times since you got back."
"Is that what happens when I pass out?"
"You don't just pass out." Thalia responded with a shudder. "It's not something I really want to describe though. Let's just say that it was scary for me to watch and not know what to do. Normally, it's Artemis who calms the girls down if they panic. I've never seen it be a recurring thing though. It also seems like the recurring thing is going on in a really short period of time."
Annabeth stayed silent. She was still feeling a bit sluggish, but processing the information that Thalia had shared would probably have been difficult even if she had been fully functional. When she did fully understand everything that Thalia had shared, it had her mind racing a thousand miles an hour again.
Annabeth wanted to figure out what was happening to her. If it had some resemblance to panic attacks, then that was probably at least a contributing factor. She wanted to talk it over with Percy and get his opinion. It was strange, but she thought that he had more mortal world problems to deal with and could probably diagnose her issue more accurately than she could form his experience in both the Navy and A2.
"I don't know, Thalia. I think I'll talk it over with Percy," Annabeth finally said.
Thalia regarded Annabeth steadily before asking cautiously, "Do you know when they're coming back?"
Annabeth shook her head sadly. She said, "They didn't really know for sure. They are on a tight schedule though. I don't know how long the entire mission will take though."
Thalia nodded and asked, "Does Percy know about Jr. yet?"
Annabeth nodded fondly. She smiled as she said, "I was able to tell him when we were alone. He wasn't even that mad!"
Thalia gave Annabeth a funny look. "Why would he be mad?" she asked.
Annabeth thought about the question and said, "I don't know. I think I just expected him to be."
"Was he mad at all?" Thalia asked.
Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. "I can't really remember," she said, "It's not all the clear. Everything happened so fast over there. I was only gone for about a week."
Thalia nodded and said, "Yeah. That's what Leo said. He was saying that it was sad that you only got to be with the mission for a week."
"I don't think I even made a week."
"I think he was counting ever since you were found out on the plane."
Annabeth nodded. She could remember some parts of the trip, but her usual knack for detail was not reporting back to her. It was like she could remember the important points, but none of the small, finer details that she was so used to remembering perfectly. It was like the time was incomplete because it wasn't processing correctly in her mind.
"I think you should get some regular rest. Like not medically induced rest. It's probably better for your body, anyways." Thalia suggested.
Annabeth nodded gratefully and slid down slightly in her bed. Thalia hit the button that reclined the top of the bed so Annabeth was completely horizontal by the time she was slipping into her dream scape.
A/N: I've gotten better at budgeting time! I'm making time for updating and at the time of posting this, I've got a quarter of next chapter written already.