Hello Internet!
This is me, just saying thanks reviewers and glad you're reading.
And, also, to DiggySimonsWife2011, you may very well know me. I guess it just depends on, you know, who you are and where you live. Really, who knows. This just shows that Fan Fiction is a good way to make friends with people you don't even know. ;)
So go now, grab some food that will make you fat, and sit down in front of the computer. And READ!
I know I do that. ;D
Read on!
Seriously, it's a really long chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of PJO!
Annabeth
25
"WHOA!" I shout, my arms windmilling backwards. My legs jog backwards, bare feet sticking into some rocks. "Whoa, whoa. Whoa." I bit my tongue, then throw my hand over my chest and feel my heart pound painfully through my shirt. I hunch over, trying to pull air into my lungs. "Gods, that was close." I whisper, standing up and slowly walking back to the edge. I look over it; the sharp rocks scattered here and there, the beach sand making it look innocent and harmless. But it's a fifteen-foot drop and my legs are shaking just looking at it.
But just below there, past the rocks, is the beach. The ocean water swirling at the shore; birds are flying above the camp's borders, the sun is shinning. and there's a nice breeze. Ordinarily, it's a nice day. But, of course, there's a problem with this scene. My eyes locate the large black cloud of smoke thats flying across the beach. Static jolts through the clouds of gas, loud rumbling and wind coming from it's center. Campers are running to the steps that lie a few feet away from me. They are pushing and shoving at each other to climb the stairs first.
Course. Cause no dummy brings weapons to a beach anymore.
"I'm never going to get there fast enough." I say, watching the crowd shoves on the stairs. "It's way too slow." I glance at the smoke, knowing that watching it makes it worse, then back at the stairs. Then my eyes dart to cliff, watching the bottom, and my mind races to a conclusion.
"No! No, I'm not doing that." I say, jumping backwards and pulling my fingers through my hair.
"But I'll never get there in time unless I..." I stamp my foot down into the dirt and begin pacing. "Did I really just do that?" I look down at my foot in disgust then continue pacing.
"Jumping from here is almost like suicide." My voice is tight, my eyes are fighting the instinct to look at the cliff.
"But, really, from the sand and grass at the bottom..." I cock my head to a gesture to the cliff, my hands are balled into fists at my sides. "And it's kinda like a really tall tree. You've jumped out of a eight-foot tall tree before. What's the difference?"
"NO!" I yell, pulling my hands up to my face and shielding my eyes. "There's a big difference! I can't! The height, my weight, the rocks. They all make this... Not an option!" I've stopped pacing now, I'm facing the cliff, hands over my face and my legs stiff. "That's is. No, I'm not doing it. Someone else can." I turn on my heels, walking in the opposite direction away from the beach. "Maybe I can find Percy, talk some sense into him." But before my mind is aware of it, my body is acting.
I've spun around and I'm running straight at the cliff, then tossing myself over the ledge.
Wind ripples pushes past me as I fall, the smell of the water hanging in the air. I turn my head to my right, watching the shocked faces of all my fellow campers as I plummet to the ground. I hear the screams faintly, the gasps of recognition as they realize who I am. They all stop trying to get up the stairs and watch, reaching their arms to catch me. But they are much too far away. I look back down and realize that the ground is much too close. I shoot my legs down, arms going out to slow my descent, and a breathy laugh escapes my lips as I can feel a certain person's stare. I quickly glance at Jacinda, her red hair straight and flowing down her back. Her mouth curls into a smile, but her eyes blare her thoughts out like a bull horn. This chick is crazy! I look at her as I fall, smiling, and I know she sees it.
Now, landing was never my favorite part of jumping out of stuff or falling. I sprained my ankle during my first year at camp from jumping off the Athena cabin roof when I didn't feel like going back inside when they called for dinner. My life lesson: Spaghetti night, not worth the fall. I bit my tongue as I bend my knees, my back leaning forward a bit to keep me balanced. I try to remember the way a large cat jumps out of a tree. Just a guideline to help. But, of course, they have four legs and a bending spine, so I'm back to square one.
And from my previous jumping experience, it's a complete rush until you get to the bottom. I think back on the time when I jumped off the rock wall because I didn't feel like climbing back down. The rock wall is about ten-feet high, which is sorta close to this. The only bad part was Chiron's yelling afterward and pain in my feet from hitting the ground hard. Then I'm cursing myself for not keeping my shoes on. Hitting the hot sand, or the sharp rocks, at this speed with my bare feet will kill.
But before I can think anymore, I'm at the ground. I land on the balls of my feet, my knees bending to absorb the impact, and I wince when my skin rubs across the hot sand. "Ow." I say quietly, slowly rising up and looking at the rock that's a few feet away. "That was close..." I shrug, dusting some sand off my shorts, and I look back at the gaping mouths of my campers on the stairs. Jacinda's smile has faded, leaving her with anger and fear. I give her a smug smile, fighting the urge to laugh in her face, and I quickly remember why I've done all this. I loosen my ankles and take off running for the beach, pulling my knife out of my pocket as I sprint.
Black clouds of smoke swirl around me, covering almost the entire beach in their haze. I quickly dash over to the water, my eyes focused on my shirt, though, as I rashly cut through the fabric. I kneel down by shore and rip the rest of it off, evening out my work. I quickly soak the cloth in the water, watching it soak, then pull it out and wrap it around my mouth and nose. Then I reach up to my hair and pull at the rubber band that holds it back. My fingers twist in the snarls that are stuck to it, and I curse under my breath. I grab my knife again and swiftly cut the band out, along with a few strands of hair. "Crap." I say, staring at one of the curly ends that floated onto my knee. My hair better protect my eyes from some of the smoke for all that trouble. I stand up shakily, biting my lip, then taking off to the clouds.
The smoke. It's consuming. Overwhelming. My arm flies to my mouth until I remember my piece of shirt wrapped over it. I continue to run through the hot gas, though, my arms swinging wildly to clear the air. My skin feels like live wires, energy pulsing through them and making the surface tingly. I scratch anxiously at my arm, then cup my hand around my covered mouth. "Savannah!" I shout, coughing when a bit of smoke sneaks through my cloth. My throat feels like its on fire now, I through my forearm over my mouth and realize that it's red. I pull it up to my eyes, seeing the blood leak through my skin as it burns off. "What is this?" I say, wiping part of it on my remaining shirt. I watch in shock when the blood wells up again and pours out.
"Is it the smoke?" I wonder out loud, looking at the black clouds around me. "Oh my gods," I say, sprinting forward again. "SAVANNAH!" I squeeze my eyes shut to protect my vision more, now thankful that my hair covers my ears. "SAVANNAH!" I yell again, coughing a bit, and running blindly. My knees felt weak, like each step I took was adding a sand bag to lug around.
I hardly aware that I'm on my feet, until I feel sand on my cheek. I open my eyes slowly, surprised that I can still see, and find that I've fallen. My legs have finally given out_
"Savannah!" I say, noticing the shape at the ends of my legs. I know it's her, I can see the familiar brown hair that falls over her face. Even if half of it is singed off. "Oh, my gods." I breathe heavily as I try to pull my self up. I manage to sit, then drag myself over to her and uncover her face.
I scream.
Her face, her once kind and beautiful face looks like my arm. The skin is worn thin in places, blood pouring out and dripping around her in the sand. Her eyes, which I believe to be closed, are see through and blood-shot. Her stomach is shot up at an uncomfortable angle. Her legs twitch at her sides, her arms lay stiff next to her body, gripping something blond...I quickly push Savannah's body aside, revealing a squished and bleeding girl underneath.
Her bursting skin is red, the dark red blood staining her clothes and leaving dark tracks on her skin. I gently pull at an eyelid, exposing bright green eyes that shine like a cats. I can't place who she is, though. I lay a hand over her heart, and sigh with relief when i feel it beat. I pull my hand away, the skin stained with blood, and I decide that I can't stay here. I grab the girl throwing her over my back like a deer, my arms weak, and I grab Savannah's hand and try to pull her with me. But they are heavy, pulling me closer to the ground, trying to get me to lose. "Crap," I cough out, tears pouring out of my eyes. "Where is this smoke coming from?"
I don't know. I regain my grip on Savannah's hands, and continue dragging her deeper into the smoke with the girl still on my back. "Well," I choke out, hoping that saying it out loud will give me an answer. "If it's migrating north," I cock my head towards the northern half of the beach, "then it's leaving the south." I motion to the south, hoping someone can hear me. But I doubt it. "But how far back do we have to go?" I ask Savannah, who is still out cold. "Great, I'm becoming insane." I shake my head and continue dragging her south...
I don't know when, seriously, I've never been good with time anyway, but we finally found a thinning patch of smoke. Which led to the end of it. I blink a couple of times, noticing how deep we are in the woods, then look at the two girls at my feet, resting behind some bushes to keep them concealed. I bend down to them, but I end up collapsing from exhaustion. Neither girl looks any better then before, and we are all still bleeding like we're seeing who can give blood the fastest, but we are out of the smoke. And I guess that's all I can ask for. But, just for reassurance, I reach my hand out to Savannah and the girl's necks, feeling for a heartbeat.
And to my relief, I find steady ones for both girls.
My body protests as I adjust myself to sleep; I wiped and can barely move, so I guess a nap will do no harm. I shut my eyes, knife gripped tightly in my sweaty hands as I drift asleep...
Minutes. Hours. Days. Years. OK, maybe not years, but it was defiantly a long time before I woke up. I let my eyes flutter open, peering up in wonder at the sunlight that sneaks through the leaves of the trees. It's bright and peaceful, the kind of day your average family would wake up to... That is until I remembered why I was here. I sit up straight, hands flying up to my face when I remember that I'm still gripping the knife. The warm celestial bronze blade scrapes the side of my right cheek from my cheek bone to jaw, leaving and open gash that I can feel the blood rush out of.
"Crap, that hurt..." I say, my fingers gently touching the cut, then pressing against it to stop the blood. I frantically look around for the piece of T-Shirt I used to cover my mouth and hold it over my wound. While I press the cloth over the blood, I look at my arm to see the damage.
I almost can't believe it's my arm. The skin is no longer papery thin, or pale, but completely... normal. My eyes find it smooth and clear, no sign of the incident. But, of course, it's not OK. Well, if you look for a quick second, then yes. It's very normal. But, closer examination and pulling up parts of my remaining sleeves, reveal large spots of blood that leak out of my skin. Hole in my skin, gushing blood, and it runs down my arms and leaves a dark red trail. "What the?" I whisper, pressing a free finger to a wound to help it stop. Within seconds, blood leaks out from under it, and when I remove my hand, the skin is stained red.
Then suddenly, I'm unconcerned about myself. I pull away both of my hands from myself, wiping some blood and pus that leaked out of me onto my shorts, then I weakly crawl over to Savannah, who lays behind a large bush in a crumpled potion. Unlike me, though, her wounds are not much better. Even though half of the wounds are closed and gone, her skin is still thin and gray, blood pouring out of the open cuts.
"It's almost like she's..." But I don't dare say it. Just to make sure, though, I think as I reach out my hand and touch Savannah's neck. I hold my hand there, and sigh loudly when I heartbeat registers. "But she's not." I manage to squeeze out. That's when a groan emanates from behind me though. I turn around, not seeing anything, until I remember the blond girl I also save who I hid a few feet away. I lean on a nearby tree to help steady myself as I rise, then I shakily walk over to where I hid her.
Her skin has a gray-ish glow to it, like someone just breathed on her, her body is pale and flat and her cheekbones are hollow now. There are not marks on her body from her bleeding though, but her bones stick out more know and I can see her rib cage under her burned shirt. Speaking of burns, red areas swirl and twist around her body to show where she was burned. She just looks so...
"Dead," I finish out loud, but I know it's a lie. "No, come on. I heard you groan!" I say, voice rising at end. I grab her light shoulders and pull them closer to me, her neck remaining limp though. I pull her chest closer to my ear, listening for the familiar beat of the blood coursing through her. Signs that she's alive.
This time, I am not lucky, because I hear nothing.
Hot tears are pouring down my cheeks now, my fingers touching the girls neck like a pulse will suddenly appear. I shake her a bit, like I'm waiting for her to wake up. "What if..." I say, voice getting caught in my throat. "Ma-Maybe she ju-just died, whi-while I was examining her... I heard her."
And now I'm smacking myself.
I pull at strands of hair that cover my eyes, tears pouring freely along my cheeks. And with the blood falling downward, it's like my wounds are crying too. My nails scratch at the forest floor, my head banging against a tree.
I don't even know why I'm like this. I don't know who the girl is, I don't think I knew her personally. She died, like many campers do every day. But maybe it's because she was so young looking. Or I know her death was painful, since I had experience the smoke first-hand. Or since I blame myself for her death. If I hadn't stopped to think about what to do, if I hadn't been so blind during the smoke, if it was my weakness I showed while I carried both her and Savannah. Or is it that Savannah is breathing now and she isn't. I look at her body, looking at the green eyes that look up at the sky, not really seeing anything.
"I guess," I say, "I shook her eyes open..." I cover my eyes, strange chocking sounds coming from my throat.
"Or, I just opened them, Lady." Oh, great. I think to myself when I hear the words. I'm going crazy now. I cry more, tears washing the grim from my face. "Whoa, Lady, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry I offended you." I shake my head. "I didn't offend you? Then why in the name of Hades are you crying?" I pull my hands away and look at the dead girl in front of me.
I scream.
Loud enough for anyone in New York City to hear me, and since our borders are soundproof that's pretty loud. The girl is sitting up, her green eyes blinking at me like I just took my clothes off and asked her to mamba with me. But, she still looks dead.
"OK, Ok. I get it. You are just a psycho." She concludes, standing up, not even a bit shaky. "That's great. Why is it always the psychos?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I shout, standing up and looking at her. Her hands rest on her hips, her green eyes looking up and down at me. "I am not the psycho! If anyone is, it's you!" I point at her, my tears and fear gone.
"Oh, please." She says, still giving me the I-think-you're-a-crazy-nut-bird-who-needs-to-leave-me-alone-or-they'll-wind-up-with-a-punch-in-the-mouth-and-my-restraining-order look. "You're crazy. You scream and cry for no reason. And now you're stalking me! You're insane!"
"Oh, yeah. I can top that. It's a reason why I scream and cry and why you are the crazy one." She continues to glare at me, urging me to continue on. "YOU'RE DEAD!" She stumbles back a bit, disgust on her face, but her eyes show that she's scared.
"Liar, I'm alive." She says, her voice unconvincing.
"No, you're not."
"Yeah, I am. Dead people, last time I checked, don't talk."
"Oh, yeah? Last time I checked, living people have a heartbeat."
"I do to have a heartbeat!" She screams, stamping her foot down.
"Prove it." I say, acid in my words as I watch her face go pale.
"I know I'm al_"
"Just do it!" I say, grabbing her wrist and then pulling it closer to her chest.
"Ok, fine." She says, defeated. She puts her hand over her heart, and I nod when she taps her chest again. "I can't feel it."
"That's cause you don't have one." I say, now calm. I walk closer to her, laying a hand on her back to feel for the heartbeat. I can't find it.
"But_"
I groan. "I don't know why you're dead and still talking to me, but I need your help." I say, remembering Savannah. "Come on." I motion to the bush where she lays, and she follows me warily. I uncover Savannah and she gasps.
"Savannah!" She screams kneeling to her and I watch her, shocked at her recognition.
"You, you know Savannah?"
"Yeah, of course! Me, Toby, Savannah, and her boyfriend were playing Volleyball when to smoke came..." She stops, a frown forming at her lips. "Huh, that's strange. I can't remember what happened next..."
"Did you pass out? Or, um, in your present state that we can tell, die?" I ask, voice wary of her.
"Sure, I don't know." She waves off the question, staring at Savannah. "Wait, how do you know her?"
"Oh, we're... We're..." There's really no good way to describe me and Savannah's relationship. "Um... Friends?"
"Are you sure?" She asks skeptically.
"No, no I'm not." I say, looking at her earnestly.
"Oh, OK. It sounds... complicated." I nod, my fingers touching a burned piece of hair that lays over Savannah's cheek.
"So," I say, standing up and looking down at Savannah. "What are we going to do. She needs help." I say, wondering why we're sitting here and talking like it's story time in kindergarden.
"Is she even breathing?"
"What's your name?" I ask randomly, "And, yeah. She was a few minutes ago."
She nods a bit, sighing, then looks at me with her green eyes. "Emily, daughter of Hebe."
"Annabeth," I say, smiling. "daughter of Athena."
"Yeah, I think I heard about you... Anyway, we're sure she's alive?" Emily asks, reaching a finger out to poke Savannah's skin.
"Pretty sure. I checked her heart a few minutes ago_"
"There's no pulse no." Emily states, cutting me off, her fingers pressed firmly against Savannah's neck.
"But, but there's got to be one!" I shout, crouching over Savannah and putting my hand over her heart. I wait for the sensation, the pounding of blood under her skin, but nothing comes.
"Hey!" I shout in Savannah's ear, "Wake up!"
"Maybe she's like me, though." Emily says, trying to convince herself. "Like a... zombie." She squeezes out, but I know she doesn't want to believe it.
"Don't think like that," I say, patting her back. "We don't know. You guys might be vampires." I try to smile, but I know it's not convincing.
"Ha ha." She says sarcastically. "I don't want to be that one either."
"Well, unfortunately, you have to be one. It just depends on one thing." I say, Emily gives me a curious look.
"What?"
"Whether you'd rather eat blood or brains."
"Um... Blood." She smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes.
"Emily? You're alive!" We both turn our heads, and I can practically feel my heart being squeezed when I see Savannah looking at me. Alive. Or at least, alive looking.
"Uh, sorta." Emily says, smiling a bit. "Better question is: Are you?"
"Um, yeah. We're talking right now, aren't we?" Savannah gives a sheepish smile, and then she finally notices me. "Oh, my gods, Annabeth!"
"Hey, um, can I take your pulse?" She gives me a weird look, but sticks out her wrist reluctantly. I nod, and press my hand to the place where a pulse should be... "Nothing." I whisper, my heart shattering as I speak to Emily. "Nothing, just like you."
"Um... What are you guys talking about?" Savannah asks, giving us the you-know-something-I-don't-know-and-we're-all-friends-here-so-you-have-to-tell-me-or-else look.
"You start." Emily says.
And I do...
"Got any three's?" Emily asks, looking at Savannah.
"Nah, go fish." She says as Emily pulls another card from the center of the table. I look at Savannah, and I see the confused and I'm-in-denial look cross her face and I know what's coming, "So I'm really_"
"Yes!" Me and Emily say, exasperated.
Ever since we told Savannah about her... condition yesterday, she's been asking repeatedly. Apparently, we've been gone for a week, according to Chiron who was the one who caught us sneaking back into camp. Really, nothing gets past the old goat_I mean horse. But he put us into an empty, and might I add, very old room in the hospital. And if there wasn't the three of us now, I think we'd all be crawling the walls for human contact by now. But it's for the best, we shouldn't leave until we're fully healed. But it's strange, because neither of them look better. They're skin is still dead looking, their eyes lost some of their glow, and they still smell like rotting flesh. But me on the other hand, my heart is beating stronger then ever and my wounds are slowly closing up. Worst part is, we've been wearing the same thing all week cause Chiron can't let us get some spare shirts or something.
"This is boring." We all say at the same time, throwing down our cards.
"Well, what else are we supposed to do?" Savannah asks, running her fingers through her messy and slightly less shiny hair. She opens her mouth again, that expression on her face, "So I'm really_"
"YES!" Emily says, pounding on the window behind her. "Yes, yes, yes! It's true! You're dead! So am I! Join the party!"
"OK, OK, relax_" I start, touching her shoulder.
"I can't! I need to get out of here!" She pound on the window again.
"OK, OK. Shhh." I say, worrying that someone will hear her and discover our hiding spot. "It's OK, no need to_"
A knock at the door stops me, and we all turn our heads and watch the knob twist. I clamp a hand onto Emily's mouth and wrestle her onto the floor. Savannah ducks behind her bed, then crawls under. "Now you've done it." I hiss in Emily's ear, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. I strain my ears to listen to the person, their footsteps sounding multiplied. Oh crap, I think, there's more then one.
"Girls, it's just me. Come on out." I sigh in relief, standing up along with Emily and Savannah. Chiron stands in front of us, his face grim as he turn to shut the door behind him.
"What?" I ask, sitting back down slowly.
"Is something wrong?" Emily asks, fingers tapping lightly on the wooden bed frame.
"Yes, very." He says, his horse legs stumbling back and forth.
"Oh, jeez." I say,biting my lip. "What is it?"
"Queen Hera, er, your mother," he says, gesturing to Savannah, "Has requested to speak with you two." Now he's pointing to Savannah and, guess who? Yes, yours truly, me.
"Why on earth would that witch want to talk to me?" I ask, stunned.
"I think you'll find out soon..." He says, and before I know it, the gods have called me back into their throne room. Well, more like just one god.
Queen Hera stands before us, hands on her hips, wearing a long white chiton and gold armbands. A delicate crown of twisting roses and gold sits on her head; something she defiantly didn't deserve. Her hair is pulled over her shoulder, tumbling down to her waist, and her eyes show anger.
"Annabeth, Savannah." She says coldly, eyeing us.
"Why did you want to talk?" I ask her, and when she looks offended, I bow and use my most proper voice, "Queen Hera."
But at the same time, Savannah blurts out, "Mom! It's so good to see you again!" Savannah holds out her arms, as if to receive a hug, but Hera just laughs. "What? You're my mom. I though I could..." She backs away shyly. Hera becomes serious again, though, and glares at me and Savannah. And I notice that she's eyeing the holes on Savannah's arms. I look at my wounds too, rolling my eyes when they start bleeding again.
"You have got to be kidding me," Queen Hera said, looking at me and Savannah in pure disgust. Rage burned in her eyes, daggers being thrown at me. "There is no possible way I can accept this."
"You're going to have to." I say, crossing my arms over my burned T-shirt, hiding some of the holes. My bleeding arms scream in protest as I move them, dark red liquid dripping out. But I know exactly what she's talking about, and I won't let her say anything negative.
"Of course not! She is infected. I cannot own such trash." Her long gold and white gown waved as she shifted her weight to another foot, arms on her hips. "You were close to being trash too." She says quietly.
"How dare you say that!" I'm shouting it before my mind can process my words. My face feels hot, teeth clenched as I stare at Hera. "You are just as Hephaestus said. You are no queen, you're a monster! Look what you're saying about_"
"Do not defy me!" She yells, ripping her right hand from her body, pointing her hand at me, and then swinging it around.
And I suddenly feel airborne.
THAT WAS SO LONG
It wasn't supposed to be that long, but I got a little carried away..
But thanks for reading anyway. And thanks for the reviews.
Please check out my profile, I often put up teasers (If it's one of those chapters that takes ages for me to finish) and I have a poll up to vote on. Please vote soon, cause I'm going to close it on April 1, 2011. Hear that? APRIL 1ST 2011!
Thanks, bye, night!
~The Experience