"I hear something," Thalia murmured.

Percy stopped short and listened. He heard nothing, which immediately unnerved him. Bianca pulled out her Glock. They were standing in front of an alleyway, complete with laundry lines hanging over their heads and the rickety fire escape. There was a cold draft, one that tickled Percy's spinal cord. He took a deep breathe between gritted teeth and carefully pulled out the Desert Eagle Luke had gave him. He turned the safety off and checked the bullets inside. This was his first time holding a gun but video games had given him some insight.

"I'll check it out," he murmured.

"No, wait," Thalia said, walking carefully until she stood next to him. "What if it's a trap?"

"And what if it's not?"

"Percy, listen to me—" Thalia grabbed his arm. "We don't know what's in there and there might—"

There was a sudden flash of searing light and Percy was stumbling backwards, absolutely blinded by the exposure of it. His hands burned and he was crying out in pain. When he raised his face, he felt terrified of the fact that he couldn't really see anything, just big white spots dancing in front of his eyes. He could hear Thalia falling onto the ground next to him, shrieking.

"Bianca, get Thalia out of here!" Percy shouted, trying to blink away the spots.

He readied his gun and as his vision started to clear, he saw a hooded figure standing in the fire escape, holding what looked like pistol. He wasn't sure if it was a boy or a girl but he was quite sure that this person had shot at them like they were a pack of deer in hunting season.

Percy pulled the trigger for the first time. He felt his arm shake with the first shot and with his ears popping, he forced down the rising panic inside his chest. What if he had really killed the person? Keeping his eyes open and trying to keep his breathing absolutely steady, he watched as the bullet missed the figure by an arm's length away. Swearing, he shot once more, hating the pain in his fingers and the throbbing ache in his eyes. He missed once more and when he tried again, the figure easily dodged the impending bullet.

"Percy!" Thalia yelled and he whipped around to find her now standing a short distance away, rubbing at her eyes frantically. Bianca stood next to her, looking frightened. "Quit it, it's just her."

"Just her?" Percy demanded, scowling. "What the hell do you mean?"

Thalia sighed irritably and then pointed to the person leaning against the fire escape. The darkness covered her face but then she did something Percy didn't think anybody could do. She grabbed the railings, jumped over it and then climbed down the way a cat would, using her arms and legs for support. She easily maneuvered her way down to the ground until she finally landed on her feet.

"Whoa," Percy said, awestruck.

The girl was very pretty with long silky black hair, which she tied in a ponytail and really dark eyes. Her skin was copper-like and she had an upturned nose, making Percy feel like he was standing in front of the president. She was wearing a simple black shirt with black jeans. To his surprise, she was wielding a flare gun in one hand and a crossbow in the other.

"Is she like some version of Lara Croft?" Percy asked, referring to the game Tomb Raider.

"Zoe Nightshade," the girl said, putting down the flare gun and stretching out her hand in a formal way.

"I'd shake your hand but since you were trying to permanently blind me, I'd take my chances," Percy said, "Percy Jackson, by the way."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "I wasn't trying to blind you; I was trying to warn you."

"Yeah, I'm just gonna add that to my bullshit list."

"Percy!" Bianca said.

Thalia pulled him back. His eyes were still stinging but he could see the animosity in the girl's eyes as she faced Zoe.

"Why were you trying to warn us?" she asked.

"Raiders," Zoe answered, jabbing her thumb through the alleyway, "Once you twist around two to three corners, you'll come across a group of them."

"You could've yelled 'Hey, Thalia! It's me, Zoe and there's a freaking group of raiders around the corner!' instead of shooting at us with a flare gun. Jesus, just because it's an apocalypse doesn't mean you can lose your manners." Percy was getting irritated by the second. His hands burned. His face was stinging. His eyes were blurry. Fucking flare gun.

Thalia bit back a smile and elbowed Percy in the ribs. Percy grinned as well. Zoe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Bianca was still standing right behind them but he could feel her tension and unease like a blanket wrapping around him.

"I didn't know him," Zoe said, nodding at Percy, "and I wanted to give him a clear message."

"About what?" Percy said, scowling.

Zoe glared at him. She stepped forward and jabbed a finger against his broad chest. Percy raised his chin, hoping to look strong while trying to keep his face blank of any questions like Who the hell is this girl? And Goddamnit she's touching me and she nearly killed me with a fucking flare gun. The fuck, man.

"If you ever get in my way, I'll kill you myself," Zoe growled.

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. What the hell was up with girls coming up to him and threatening to kill him with freaking flare guns and muddy boots? Did the apocalypse bring about some hidden hatred for men like him? Girls are weird, he thought gloomily.

"Noted," Percy responded coolly.

Next to him, Thalia actually smiled.

"Come on, then," she said to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him away, "We still got work to do. We'll take the longer route instead, go around the raiders and then tiptoe around their freaking asses."

The two of them turned around and Bianca locked eyes with Percy, grinning a sheepish grin. Just as they started to walk away, Zoe said,

"Thalia, wait."

With an exasperated sigh, she turned around, placing her hands on her hips, looking incredibly annoyed.

"Yes?"

"Where are you going?"

"Supplies," Thalia answered.

"I could be of assistance," Zoe said, tilting her head to the side.

"By what, exactly? Are you going to use your fucking flare guns and that crossbow of yours? Arrows will run out. They'll get over the flares. Having you on our side is like having a fucking pencil when you already have a pen."

"Pens run out of ink and pencils are more efficient," Zoe countered, dark eyes flashing with defiance, "and I saved Luke's life once. I might be able to save yours."

Thalia's face paled. Percy looked at her and Zoe, wondering what the two of them had experience together. He wished he knew and he wanted to ask but somehow, he knew that it'd just piss Thalia off. He certainly didn't need anybody getting angry with him when they were in a crucial mission.

"Fine," Thalia spat but even as she said it, she looked frustrated, "You can come but stay ten feet away from me."

"I wouldn't dream of coming any closer to you," Zoe said, giving Thalia a mocking bow,

Percy glanced back at Bianca who looked as confused as he felt.

They started walking again, this time with an even faster pace because the grocery store with all the supplies they needed was a long way from Riverside Park and now that they had taken an even longer route, they'd be held back severely. If they had still been back at the sewers, Annabeth would've only given them eight hours to come back. It had been hard having no permanent fixture in this apocalypse but at least he had it now.

"So," Percy said, glancing over at Zoe who was walking ten paces behind them, "what's the deal between you and her?"

"Oh, you know," Thalia said lightly, "Same old girl stuff."

"What, did she steal Luke or something?"

Thalia shot him a glare. Okay, Luke was definitely not a good topic with her. Bianca stifled a laugh.

"No, she did something worse," Thalia said, "She saved his life."

"Mind sharing us the story?" Bianca asked.

But to Percy, it was obvious that Thalia didn't want to talk about it. Her face tightened considerably and she looked down at her feet as she walked. Percy got a bad vibe just looking at her and it made him turn away.

"Maybe another time, Bianca," Thalia answered, her voice oddly blank.

Percy shared a look with Bianca who only shrugged.

"So…" Percy searched for something to say, anything at all, because the silence made him feel uncomfortable. He thought about the others back at their base and wished that he could've said a proper goodbye. He had promised Nico to protect his sister and if he couldn't keep that promise then damn this hell, he was never going to forgive himself. Thinking about his promise, he remembered Tyson, his orphaned street friend, the guy who confessed that he looked up to Percy like a brother, even though Percy had been the one looking up at him and wished that he could've saved him for the millionth time.

"How did you and Annabeth meet?" Bianca filled in the silence.

Percy looked at her, grateful. Thalia smiled, like Bianca had mentioned a fond memory.

"She ran away from home," Thalia said, "and we found her. We stayed together for a year. I…I was an orphan and Luke hated his parents so we left. We found each other. We were each other's family but then the police found Annabeth and brought her back home. Sounded like her dad never gave up in looking for her." She sounded like she might cry or punch something or do both. Percy was suddenly afraid that she might lose her cool. "But it's great that she's here. It's like a broken piece of your heart reunited with the rest of it."

"That sounds sweet," Bianca said, smiling as well, "You know, me and Nico…we ran away from home as well. Our parents were dead so we were in the streets for a few weeks when this whole apocalypse thing began."

"Yeah." Thalia's eyebrows furrowed, "The zombie thing came out of nowhere, right? One day, everything was just normal and then the next…bam."

"Weird," Percy said, wrinkling his nose, "Guess our lives will never be the same."

Thalia punched hard on the arm. He winced and almost cried out when she laughed.

"Come on, Skater Boy," she said, cracking a grin, "Don't be so fucking pessimistic."

"It's not called being a pessimist," Percy said, shrugging, "It's called being a realist."

"Yeah, as long as you get to sleep in the night."

"Whatever, Thalia."

"Ditto, Percy."

.

They walked up into trouble an hour later.

Percy stumbled back, skinning his palms against the pavement when he fell. His gun skittered from his grasp and he was staggering up to his feet, swearing under his breath when he felt the blood on his hands. He looked around hastily, finding Thalia and Bianca on one corner of the street, behind some overturned cars and Zoe standing where she had been standing all this time, her bow poised and ready.

The street in front of them was filled with zombies, about a dozen of them. The ground was covered with carcass and blood, dried due to exposure of the sun and not good enough cleaning supplies. Percy had stumbled when one lunged for him and now, two of them, with their faces ragged and torn from their very bones and faces. Their limbs were hanging by one portion of tendons and Percy felt sick just looking at them both. He reached for his gun, prayed to the heavens that this thing would be quiet, and shot three bullets into one zombie. It didn't fall and Percy cursed once more, knowing that he should've targeted the head instead. He had wasted three fucking bullets then. He stood up, kicked the second zombie in the knee and punched the first one with lightning speed.

"Thalia," he called, "Might need some help over here!"

"A bit busy, Jackson!" she called back.

Percy grabbed the first zombie's head and slammed it into the pavement. He used his foot to pierce through the skull and the brain, kicking it with enough force that he felt his foot aching with blunt pain. He then turned to the second one, which was now staggering up to his feet, and pointed the Desert Eagle against the forehead, splashing brains and blood. It splattered against his face and he spat quickly. The zombie fell back.

"Okay," Percy murmured, "Okay, okay. Bianca…Thalia…Zoe…zombies…right."

He whipped around and headed straight towards the source of gunshots. Bianca was a great shot, targeting the neck area and the forehead of any impending zombies which came after them. Even though she was great, Zoe was even better, precise as she hit the centre of their faces. Her arrows were running out but she ran forward when each zombie fell, pulling out her bloody weapons and then shooting more. Thalia was just a short distance away from Zoe and was running around, kicking and then shooting but she didn't see the zombie right behind her back, rearing its arm back and reaching for the back of her neck—

"Get down, Thalia!" Percy roared, raising his gun and watching as Thalia whipped around and ducked. He pulled the trigger, praying that he wouldn't miss and felt a satisfying wave of emotion wash over him as the bullet hit the zombie square in the eye. As it stumbled back, Thalia stood up once more and pulled out a small army knife from her belt, slashing the face of the zombie in front of her.

"Man, she's good," he heard Bianca say, who had suddenly appeared next to him.

Percy cracked a grin. He watched as Zoe finished off the last zombie. Thalia's shoulders were shaking and it took Percy a while to realize that she was laughing. She turned towards them, smiling, her face alight with a sort of childish glow that it made Percy want to laugh as well.

"Well, you all weren't half as bad as I thought you'd be," she said.

"You were great, Thalia," Bianca said.

"Yeah, you were, and that's coming from a guy who can't even shoot properly." Percy cleared his throat.

"Practice makes perfect, Percy the prat," Thalia replied in a singsong tone.

Percy shook his head, letting his arms fall against his sides. There was a moment of silence, a moment where they drank in their life and their victory, a moment where the zombies before them seemed like prized trophies, a moment where Percy felt grateful. Then the moment ended and they knew they had to keep on moving. Percy asked for more ammo and Thalia gave it to him. Bianca checked the chamber of her Glock. Zoe wiped off the blood from her arrows, looking momentarily annoyed.

"Let's go," Thalia said, sighing audibly.

Percy kicked one zombie aside and they started walking again, heedless of the person watching them from afar like a sleek cat, to see but not to be seen.

.

Percy found himself standing in front of a medium sized store with all kinds of wacky things inside like sports equipment, food supplies and even some clothes. He knew that they were only here for the food but he had to convince Thalia otherwise. He missed having fresh clothes. His hoodie was already dirtied and bloodied and vomited on. What did a guy have to do just to feel clean? The lights were all burned out and the shelves inside looked touched, like somebody recent had stolen in. Percy felt a prickling sense of unease in his spine and he watched as Thalia reached out and opened the doors.

"Get your weapons ready," she called.

Percy raised the Desert Eagle and locked eyes with Bianca whose trembling fingers gave away her nerves. Zoe cocked her crossbow, aiming for the next possible victim. Percy felt uneasy, like something bad was going to happen and he stepped closer to Bianca just in case.

They went inside. The place smelled rotten somehow and Percy could see rows and rows of food, clothes and even a gaming arcade. Bianca's eyes widened slightly when she saw a pack of cards sitting in display with a dark toy figurine standing next to it. Completely leaving her position, she ventured towards it and gazed at its contents.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Its—" Now she looked embarrassed. She blushed and turned back to the cards, "It's Mythomagic, Nico's favorite card game and it'd be nice to give him a present, right? But it's stupid—we need food, not entertainment and Thalia might get mad and really, Percy, it's stupid, we should just—"

Percy let out a small laugh and placed his hand gently on the glass. He smiled at Bianca.

"Go, take it," he said, "Really, the world is dying and a kid needs his games."

Bianca stared at him for a moment or two before nodding. He looked around and gave her a hammer from a hardware store. They didn't have time to fumble for a key; she could just take what would soon be Nico's and get back to getting the supplies. Thalia was already shoving canned goods into a backpack and Zoe was watching the front door. Bianca took the hammer and then slammed it against the glass.

Immediately, a piercing cry rang through the entire store. Percy ducked instinctively, a memory flashing before his eyes, of him and Annabeth panicking when a fire alarm rang through the school but this wasn't the school, this was the store and he needed to stop the panic welling up in his chest. He raised his head and saw Bianca kneeling in front of him, panic and worry masking her face. He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders and steered her up to her feet.

"What happened?" Thalia demanded.

Percy looked at Bianca and saw that in her hands she held the cards and the figurine.

"Percy, I'm so sorry," she said, looking petrified.

No, Percy should be the one who was sorry. He had given her the hammer and she had activated the alarm and it was because he was reckless and idiotic. He felt stupid because even though the lights weren't flickering with electricity, the alarms would still be on. If Annabeth were here, she'd yell at him for being such a fucking dumbass and now, the zombies were coming to get them and it was his entire fault… He looked at Bianca, speechless because of the weight in his chest, the weight of guilt knowing that he had done this…forsaken all of them…

"Go!" he finally managed to choke out, "Go! I—I'll hold them off. You and Thalia just get the supplies! And—" his voice broke, which was a new thing "—and get some fresh clothes as well. Remember to shoot straight, Bianca."

She looked at him then and her eyes were so big and so sad that Percy felt something twist inside his chest. He'd be damned if she died now and he swore that if she did die, he'd never show his face in front of Nico ever again. He watched as she scrambled to her feet, readying her gun with unsteady fingers before they both heard Zoe yell,

"They're coming!"

"Who set off the alarm?" Thalia demanded yet again, whipping around and glaring at Percy.

Before Percy could speak, Bianca did and her voice was stronger than ever and it hurt Percy to realize that she found her strength in the mistakes she had done. He stood up shakily, watching as Thalia's eyes widened a bit. "You did?" she said.

Bianca's eyes were streaming with tears but she showed Thalia the figurine. "I got this for Nico and I set off the alarm. I'm sorry about that."

Thalia looked like she was about to say something but then Zoe yelled even louder,

"PERCY!"

Percy swore and then turned back to the front doors. Zoe had some sense to barricade it with a plank of wood but now the zombies were here and his ears were ringing as they slammed their white bloodied fists against the glass, screaming and growling for their flesh and blood. Percy's hand immediately went up to his arm, where he had been stabbed with that rusty knife. He remembered the pain and the vomiting and the rapid heartbeat and the persistent fever. He wondered what it was like to go through being a zombie and he wished that he wouldn't be able to find out.

As he headed towards Zoe's side, he reached out and grabbed a crowbar from the department store area. He used his right hand for melee and his left for the gun. If he missed, he could still hit the same way using the bar. If he died then, he'd die fighting.

The alarm suddenly stopped. The silence was filled with the zombie's growls and shrieks.

He stared at the dead faces, hating all of them. He looked at Zoe and said,

"Nice knowing you."

Zoe raised her eyebrows. "Mind you, I intend on surviving."

"And I intend on saving your asses."

She smirked. "You're not so bad, Jackson."

Before Percy could say another word, the front doors shook again. The zombies were getting impatient. Some had already cracked the glass. Fear gripped his throat and made him unable to speak for a moment or two. His heart was pounding. He looked back at Bianca and Thalia who were busy shoving nearly half the store into their bags. He looked back at Zoe.

"Why help us?" he asked, his voice quiet.

She rolled her eyes, smirking at the same time. "Because," she said, "I owe Thalia a debt."

"What did she do? Threaten you with boots?"

"No, she saved my life."

Percy licked his lips and nodded. It seemed like a reasonable thing to do and Zoe Nightshade seemed like a reasonable person. She readied her crossbow and she stood straight, chin held high. Questions popped up in Percy's head. Even though the situation cried out for more serious measures, he couldn't help but voice them out.

"Where'd you get your weapon?" he asked.

"This? My father was a hunter," she answered, "and he taught me how to shoot."

"Well, I hope you shoot straight right now."

"Then I pray that you strike hard and true, Percy Jackson."

He nodded and cocked his gun. He aimed at the nearest zombie against the glass and hoped that he'd really strike hard and true. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting out the breath inside his lungs that seemed to be choking him and opened them once more.

"COME ON!" he screamed.

The glass broke.

A/N: I am so SORRY for this cliffhanger. (I'm not.) Okay. I hope you like this really long chapter, in my opinion and I hope that you won't kill me because of it. So, yeah, I brought Zoe in because well, everybody loves Zoe right. I have heard some interesting theories and some ideas that I've grown to like. I think the next chapter will take a bit longer than the rest because I need to think of what SHOULD happen next. And if it something does happen that you don't like, I will be incredibly sorry (I will, I promise) and if you can't wait that long, I hope that you will find patience in this. Thankyou readers! I love every single one of your reviews and really, you should let other people from Tumblr read my story! The more, the better!

~forbiddenquill a.k.a Mia