Till The End
Chapter 9
Percy POV
"So you literally get nothing?" Annabeth said.
"Uhh..." Percy started.
"Great," Annabeth groaned.
"Sorry," Percy apologized.
"No," Annabeth said. "That just means that we have more to learn. So let's take the problem X plus one equals two. X isn't just the letter 'x'. It acts more like a question mark."
"What do you mean," Percy asked.
Annabeth seemed to bite back a sigh. "It's like asking 'what plus one is two?'."
"Oh," Percy said. "So x equals one?".
"Yeah, you got it!" Annabeth said. She smiled and Percy couldn't help himself but smile back. Annabeth's smile immediately vanished. "Now it's time for you to try the textbook problems.
Percy gulped. This wouldn't be good.
"No way!"
"Yes, way."
"You mean to tell me that you jumped into the ocean when you were five without knowing how to swim because you thought you were half fish?"
"Yup," Percy said. "Jason probably thinks I am."
"Is he dense?" Annabeth asked.
"I'm pretty sure he is, but he claims it could actually be true," Percy replied.
"Are you really that good at swimming?" Annabeth asked.
"Well," Percy started. "I wouldn't know."
"Why not?" Annabeth asked.
"I've never raced anyone," Percy said.
"Not even Jason?" Annabeth asked.
"The one time I convinced him to jump into the pool with me, he almost drowned. He's definitely the world's worst swimmer."
Annabeth giggled. "Why haven't you joined the team?"
Percy paused. "I didn't want to?"
Annabeth looked at him, with a smirk. "No really."
"I really didn't," Percy tried.
"Okay then," Annabeth said.
Percy sighed. It was clear she didn't buy the lie a bit. Stupid smart people for seeing through his lies.
"My stepdad, Gabe," Percy started.
"Who?" Annabeth said.
Percy stopped. The air seemed to chill a bit. Annabeth's friendly grin had been replaced by a cold stare as if she was trying to see through him. Time seemed to slow around him. Chills went down his spine. The friendly girl with whom he had instantly connected, though they were almost polar opposites, now looked ready to kill at a second's notice.
"Gabe Jackson?" Annabeth said with a quiver.
"Gabe Ugliano," Percy corrected.
Annabeth let out a breath. The room seemed to go back to normal.
"Oh," She said. "What about him."
"What about his last name had you so..." Percy found himself unable to finish.
Annabeth glanced at him, before looking away. "There was a man I knew named Gabe and his last name started with a J. But that doesn't matter. So what does your stepdad have to do with swimming?"
"He doesn't let me," Percy said carefully.
Annabeth let out a laugh. "Really, Percy? He doesn't let you? I never thought you were a stickler for the rules."
"I'm not. I don't give a damn about Gabe's 'rules'," Percy replied.
"So just sneak out and do it. Even if he catches you, it's not like he's going to whip you to death," Annabeth said.
Percy snorted.
"What?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing," Percy said. He had half a mind to say 'tell me that after you've met him' but he held it in. "He's a monster. Whips, hits, and abuses me. Happens so often that Jason had to learn to go to first aid classes to treat me every time."
"Tell your mom to divorce the bitch then," Annabeth said.
"I don't tell her about it. She's the only thing that Gabe holds above my head. My mom's the sweetest woman in the world. As long as I keep my mouth shut, he won't do anything to her. And I could never let anything her. She works so hard to send me to schools that accept people like me." Percy said.
"People like you?" Annabeth asked.
"Problem children. ADHD. Dyslexia. Don't learn a single thing cuz they don't understand a single thing. Get picked on for being losers, and get in trouble for defending themselves. That's the reason I wanted to learn math so much. To prove Gabe and everyone else wrong about me." Percy said. "Gabe also controls every part of my life. Doesn't let me do anything extracurricular or social. Wouldn't want our 'little secret' getting out, would he?:
"Tell the police then," Annabeth said.
"How?" Percy asked. "With what evidence? And even with solid evidence, he has mom under constant surveillance by some thugs he hired. The moment I try something...I don't want to think about what will happen to mom."
"Tell your mom about it in secret then," Annabeth suggested. "Call her or something."
"Gabe has mom's phone tapped," Percy said. "He's thought of every option. I'm honestly fine with dealing with it for my mom."
"Hell no!" Annabeth said. "We'll figure out how to fix your problems."
"How?" Percy asked sadly. He had already resigned himself to his sad life.
Annabeth smiled. "If I'm smart enough to teach you math, then I think I'm smart enough to solve all of your problems."
"But why would you help me more than you already had?" Percy asked.
"Because we're friends, dummy," Annabeth said. "And I think you'll be able to help me with my control-freak of a mother."
Percy smiled. "So does that mean that we're friends with benefits?"
"You wish, Jackson," Annabeth said.
Percy's retort was cut off by a bell ringing at the front of the class.
"Your work time is over," Mrs. Dodds said. Somehow, she looked more mad than usual. "Percy Jackson, would you grace us with your knowledge once again by solving this advanced math problem?"
"Uhm," Percy started.
"No saying no," Mrs. Dodds. "This problem counts for 100% of your grade this semester. So if you don't answer it, or answer it wrong you'll get a zero and fail the class. But I'm sure that you'll be fine. With all of the 'meaningful conversation' that you engaged in with Ms. Chase, I'm sure you'll know the answer to it."
Percy chose not to retort and simply walked up to the board while Mrs. Dodds wrote the problem on the board.
Percy glanced at the problem on the board.
Then at Mrs. Dodds.
Then back at the board.
Percy slowly smiled. Annabeth was a magician and no one could convince him otherwise. Percy could just imagine the looks on Mrs. Dodds's and Gabe's faces once he got a hundred for the semester.
Percy wrote down his answer and marched all the way back to his desk without looking at Mrs. Dodds. Before turning and staring at her shocked face to see a sight to remember. Boy, it felt good.
"Wha," Mrs. Dodds started. "How did you?"
"I think that conversing with Ms. Chase might have made me smarter," Percy said smugly.
"That's blasphemous," Mrs. Dodds said. "You must have cheated."
"How?" Percy asked. "By reading your mind for the answers? By telepathically asking Annabeth? Face it: I got a hundred in your class."
The dumbfounded Mrs. Dodds had no chance to respond as the school bell signifying the end of the first period rang shortly thereafter.
Seemingly regaining her composure, Mrs. Dodds wrote down a list of numbers on the wall.
"These pages are your homework for today. Finish them or else you get a zero."
Without another word, the furious Mrs. Dodds stormed out of the classroom.
As the other kids gathered their things and started to make their way out of the class, Percy couldn't help but feel smug.
"You look awfully smug for someone who made his teacher his enemy on the first day," Annabeth said from beside him.
"So?" Percy asked. "I don't have to do anything else this semester. I've already got a hundred."
"But you have to pay attention, or else you won't understand anything next semester." Annabeth finished putting her things in her bag. "Come on, let's go."
Percy looked around the room. Everyone had left the room already. "That was fast," Percy muttered.
"What?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing," Percy said. But something seemed off. Deciding not to think anything of it, Percy grabbed his things and followed Annabeth out of the door.
Something was definitely off. The halls were completely silent and empty.
"Am I forgetting something?" Percy asked. "Like, was the first day supposed to be one period only? And everyone left?"
"Not that I know of," Annabeth said frowning.
"Well, I guess we'll have to go to second period to find out," Percy said.
"Yeah," Annabeth confirmed.
As the pair started off, every step felt worse than the last. The longer they went without seeing anyone, the more uncomfortable Percy felt.
The smoke was the first definite red flag. At first, it looked like a thin layer of fog. Which would have been unusual regularly, but combined with the empty halls almost sent chills up his spine. As the smoke started to thicken, the second red flag came up. The lights. At first, while Percy and Annabeth were distracted by the fog, it was hard to notice. But as the fog thickened, Percy couldn't help but notice how the bright school hallway lights had started to dim. The third, and final, red flag didn't come until a bit later. But the increasing amounts of the first two red flags were enough to make Percy's heartbeat, and pace, increase.
"Is it just me or..."
"No," Annabeth cut him off. "Let's get out of here. There's obviously no one here."
Percy nodded. The smoke was starting to take over the hallways and the lights were just dim enough for him to barely make out Annabeth's face. There was clearly no one there. And no reason to stay there.
Boy. How wrong he was.
The final red flag. It was probably, no-definitely-, scarier than the first two combined. What made it scary? It could have been the footsteps behind them. It could have been the labored, almost inhuman, breathing. Or everything combined. But Percy and Annabeth were sprinting at this point. Trying to find their way out of the maze that was their new high school. He was grabbing her hand. Under any other circumstances, Percy might have blushed or at least felt happy. But now? It was for security. The lights were off by now and the smoke had filled the long corridor that they were running through. The only thing keeping him from freaking out was Annabeth's hand, reminding him that she was there with him. As they continued to run through the corridor, the noises started to get louder. And louder. And louder. As Percy looked back into the distance, there seemed to be something, or someone, running towards them. Percy picked up his pace, pulling Annabeth behind him, trying not to show how frightened he was. His heart was beating faster than any time that Gabe had hit him. His breaths were now heavily labored. The firm hand that had been grasping Annabeth's up to this point was now wildly shaking. Annabeth suddenly pulled him to a stop and Percy looked up, snapping out of his thoughts. A wall was inches away from his face. He was inches away from crashing into it. But, more importantly, they had hit a dead end. His heart pounding, Percy whirled around to face the image of the pursuer. Frighteningly, the man was a lot closer than he had been before. And Percy was able to make out his figure. He was big, with a beer belly, but also looked quite built. He had all black and a ski mask so you couldn't tell how he looked. As Percy glanced at the man's arm, his blood ran cold. A firearm. A real firearm. Percy snapped his gaze to Annabeth who was staring at the man, jaw dropped. Percy was about to say something, but he noticed the most frightening thing at that moment. A red dot was on her chest. In a split second, he made the connection. But Annabeth hadn't. She was still in shock. Percy moved at superhuman speed, leaping at her. As his body made contact with Annabeth, he heard a loud bang.
And then everything went black.
AN: Hey guys! Yup. I'm late again. But this time I have an excuse. Or a good one. I had a run-in with a friend who had Covid and was quarantined during break. That also meant I wasn't able to access the computer that had all of my writing because my family uses it too sometimes. So I couldn't write when I had to write. It sucks and I know I left y'all hanging for a while so starting now, I will put updates on story progress and other stuff on my profile so check it out.
About the story, this is when, pardon my language, shit starts to hit the fan. This was the first major thing that will happen, but towards the middle and end it starts to get a bit dark, and thriller elements start popping up. So we are approaching that which, in my opinion, is when the story gets good. So yay for that! It is getting kind of late now so thank you for reading, following, favoriting, and/or reviewing and review for questions, comments, or just to let me know what you thought (reading reviews spurred me to finish this chapter). So thanks as always, and I'll see y'all next time. - Atomic Rush.