Come Home

A/N: Hey guys! :D Guess who's on Spring Break? Yup, ME. :D I'm kinda busy with traveling with my parentos though, so not much updating. :( Sorry. Might be able to update again sometime this week though, after I make a video on Pi.

And a note (in the author's note...shocker): This is not one of those sappy chapters in which Zia realizes home is where the heart is and her heart is with Carter and all. Very different.

Disclaimer: I only own the idea. Characters/magic-y-ness belongs to Rick Riordan.

"I'll be back soon," she promises. Slips into her jacket. Tugs on the ends of the sleeves like she always does. He's always found this adorable.

"Okay," he replies. Winds his arms around her anyway. He doesn't want her to leave, even for a few minutes to go get some things they needed from the grocery store for dinner. He buries his face in her hair, inhaling the familiar scent of cinnamon. "Come back soon. I'll miss you."

She smiles. Leans into him a little. "Carter," she whispers, "it's just the grocery store. It's not going to take long."

He nods. Loosens his hold on her. "I love you," he murmurs.

"And I, you," she whispers, her fingers tracing his lips. He kisses her softly, and she responds for a moment before pulling back. "Really. I'll be back soon."

And she's out the door. Into the dreary, rainy evening.

###

She decides not to take the car – she could use a walk, and its not that far, only a few blocks. Plus, the cool rain feels good on her face as she trudges past an alley.

There's demonic growling. Even with her fast instincts and reflexes, she doesn't have the time to draw her weapons and the monsters leap out of the darkness. That doesn't stop her from trying.

As two unknown creatures land on her, she still tries to grab her staff from the Duat. But in seconds, one tackles her from the side, and she's slammed to the concrete. Head hits the edge of the curb. She groans in pain, and through her blurry mind, she feels pain throughout her body.

She realizes that she's bleeding, from her temple where she hit it, and several places elsewhere on her body where wickedly sharp claws scrape her skin, slicing it open, shredding it even. She tries in vain to throw off the demons. They only scratch her deeper. More painfully. Dig their talons into her flesh. She feels a stinging sensation – not the slicing of claws anymore. She knows she won't live long now. They – whatever 'they' are – are poisoning her. It enters her bloodstream. Her mind goes even more blurry now.

She tries to scream, but a bloody maw clamps over her mouth. She realizes its her blood. Still, the pain wracks her body, and this torment continues.

Finally, sirens sound.

People..., her fuzzy mind manages to think. Even if they're mortals, they might help her. The thoughts make her head throb. Flashing lights she sees through the slits of her eyelids don't help.

The pressure she'd suddenly gotten used to these past few minutes lifts. The monsters are gone now, back into their alley home, or wherever they went to.

"Hey, Jimmy, come here!" a voice called. "Someone's over there! I think they're injured! Holy crap, that's a lot of blood. Call the ambu - "

She didn't even hear the rest of the conversation. Darkness encompassed her, pulling her down into unconsciousness.

###

He's home, on the verge of a mental breakdown. Talking to himself, pacing.

"She'll be fine...maybe she ran into trouble...but she can handle it...she's Zia for the gods' sakes...but a whole half-hour to get basil? This can't be go - " His rambling is interrupted by a ring. The phone. He pounces on it. Grasps the receiver in his sweaty palms. Presses it to his ear. "H-hello?"

He listens for a moment. Face pales. No, it can't be. She's too good of a fighter. Too stubborn to die like that. He feels the world tilt, and sits down, face in his hands. No, no, no. She wasn't supposed to die now. Not now. Not when they'd said they would have a happily ever after, even if it wasn't always happy. She wasn't supposed to die right before they got married.

She wasn't supposed to die. She promised she would come home. But that wouldn't happen. Not now. The loss was crashing down on him, so close to crushing him. She wasn't coming home. Never again.

A/N: Ahem. Yeah, depressing, I know. Not sappy at all. I just randomly got the idea at dinner (well...when my mom dragged me off the laptop to eat) and I came back, wrote it, and yeah. Hope your day is better than Carter's and Zia's! :P

Oh, and I want to address something: There is an anonymous reviewer who keeps reviewing my stories, saying that she's "raped every day" and that my updates will somehow help her. Ooookay then. 1. If you're raped, how the hell will updates on a fanfiction help you? 2. If you're raped, then why are you on the computer? 3. If you're raped, then why not use that internet connection to, oh, I don't know, GET HELP? Of course, this is assuming the "rape" is real...which I highly doubt it is. Because this just honestly makes no sense. And yeah, I am "awesome but I'm suckish". -.-

Just thought I'd clear that up.

Review!

~Different/Tori