Hey, guys! Just wanted to let you know that these chapters all take place after the main Percy Jackson series. Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo e.t.c. haven't occurred yet.

Anyway, I mainly just wrote this author's note to avoid inevitable future questions.

P.S. I am so sorry that I haven't published in roughly a month, but I tried so hard to make this chapter intriguing. I have big plans for this story. So without giving anything away, lets just say that this chapter is the real beginning of it all.

Hope you enjoy!

*Four Months Earlier*

'Shh, listen.'

'What,' she was suddenly on high alert. 'What do you hear?'

He lifted her head up to his, his signature cheeky half smile playing on his lips.

'Nothing,' he chuckled. 'I hear nothing.'

She smiled knowingly at him, 'That's what peace sounds like, Percy. Lord knows neither of us have ever known it.'

'We're free, Wise Girl. We're finally free from our burden.'

Annabeth gave him a sceptical sideways glance, 'Now, hang on. We are still demigods. Just because I want peace doesn't mean I wanna be bored.'

Percy raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend of three days. 'Seriously!? After everything we've been through, I could use a little boredom.'

'You call this boring?' Annabeth asked as she leaned forward and planted her lips on his.

Percy kissed her back urgently. Annabeth wanted to stop and tell him that they had all the time in the world, but she couldn't bring herself to part with him.

'Oh, yippee,' a voice said sardonically. 'This again.'

Percy and Annabeth jerked apart to see Clarisse glaring daggers at them. But as they stared harder at her, a soft smile began to twitch at the edge of her cracked lips.

'You're both wanted in the Big House,' she paused. 'Chiron's orders.'

'Chiron?' Annabeth questioned incredulously. 'Man, can't they give us a moment of serenity. It's only been three days since we defeated Kronos and Lu-' she stopped, a solemn look creeping over her face. 'Luke,' she said quietly.

Clarisse scoffed annoyedly, 'Yeah, well. Quit living the good life and get down there.'

'Both of us?' Percy chimes in.

Clarisse nodded curtly. Annabeth stood up in a huff, hand-in-hand Percy.

She walked over so that she was right up in Clarisse's face. Despite everything, she still hated the very sight of Clarisse. As far as Annabeth was concerned, she'd helped them in no way other than what was expected of her.

She still didn't forget how Clarisse had bullied Percy and usurped quests that were his by birthright. Not to mention everything she'd done to Annabeth that Percy was very much unaware of.

She whispered in a passive aggressive tone into her ear, accentuating every word, 'Then we better get going, shouldn't we?'

Annabeth sprinted off, letting go of Percy's hand as she did so. Percy stood up groaning and sauntered over to Clarisse.

'She'll forgive you eventually. I just wish one of you would tell me what went on between you and her after the war.'

Clarisse narrowed her eyes, 'It's none of your business, but if you really must know, I was the carrier of bad news and Annabeth didn't like what I had to say.'

Percy looked at her sceptically, 'What news?'

Clarisse inhaled and opened her mouth as if to speak, but was cut off abruptly, 'Are you coming or not, Seaweed Brain?'

'Better hurry, Jackson. Don't want to be seen with the enemy now, do you?'

Percy gave her a sideways glance as he walked away. He heard Clarisse muttering as Percy walked: 'The enemy who saved your butts.'

Percy felt a strange overwhelming sympathy for Clarisse. When the war was upon them, she had done everything right in his opinion, but it still wasn't good enough. Now she was being ostracised for something she said to Annabeth.

He yearned to learn what is was exactly that Clarisse said to get Annabeth so riled up. She'd said it had been bad news. What bad news? What news could possibly be so bad as to drive Annabeth to 'kill the messenger.'

Percy raced to catch up with Annabeth, 'Boy, are you getting faster.'

'Maybe you're getting slower,' Annabeth said without humour in her voice, not looking at him.

'Look, I know you get kinda touchy around Clarisse-'

'That's one word for it,' Annabeth murmured.

Percy continued, 'But just try and give her a break. According to what she's told me, you're upset with her because of some news she delivered. That's preposterous, babe.'

Annabeth made a small grunt deep within her throat, 'It was not her news to tell. Plus, it was the way she said it, she talked about it like it was nothing.' Annabeth was slightly tearing up as she ranted.

'It wasn't fair! She wasn't supposed to know before me. I'm your girlfriend! I'm in love with you! She hates your guts. Chiron should have told me first.'

As much as Percy wanted to stop and elaborate on that 'I'm in love with you' comment, he knew it wasn't the time.

'Wait, wait, wait a second here. Chiron?' He paused. 'What's this got to do with your relationship with me?

Something in the way Annabeth's eyes fell on him with great sadness told him the truth.

'It was about me,' he whispered. 'The bad news was concerning me.'

Annabeth nodded slowly, as if making too big a movement might make Percy explode.

'What was the news?' Percy asked, not fully sure he even wanted to know.

Annabeth kept shaking her head solemnly, 'No, Percy. You shouldn't find out this way.'

'That's my decision,' Percy snapped.

Annabeth jerked her head up in surprise and Percy was appalled at the manner he was using with his girlfriend. But he figured his whole life no one had been straight with him about anything. If he was going to get some real answers, he would have to be assertive.

'Tell me, Annabeth. Tell me.'

Annabeth exhaled softly and gazed into Percy's unfathomably green eyes.

A tiny tear trickled down Annabeth's cheek as she spoke:

'A new prophecy.'

The water wall was magnificent. It rose roughly one-hundred twenty metres into the air, blocking our half the sky.

It was kilometres away, but Annabeth could see it clearly. It was massive in height, but astronomical in width. It stretched as far as the eye could see, seemingly splitting the land in half.

Annabeth exhaled sharply in disbelief. 'Oh, you're alive. You're alive!'

As the wall rose higher- one hundred thirty meters, thirty-five, forty, fifty, Annabeth staggered to her feet.

She knew what it was. It was a message. It was Percy telling her that he was there. He wanted her to come and find him.

It was him, it had to be. There were very few half-bloods on Earth with that kind of power.

Tears threatened Annabeth's eyes. She felt like someone had just restarted her heart.

She could barely walk. Her feet were badly cut and her whole body ached with the effect of the serum. She knew if she didn't rest, there was no way she'd survived the journey.

She prayed that the wall would still be there to guide her when she awoke.

But luckily for her she didn't have to make the decision of whether to rest or not. Before she knew it, she was collapsing to the ground, banging her head on a sharp rock; Annabeth passed out instantly.

Annabeth would have hoped that dreams would evade her, but alas, that wish never comes true:

Annabeth was running. She couldn't stop. Her long legs carried her farther and farther, never allowing her to cease.

She heaved heavy staggered breaths as she struggled to keep her balance on the sloping mountain.

Tears slithered down her cheeks. This was not right. The air was thick and misty, a strange sense of recognition washing over the blonde girl.

She knew this mountain. She recognised it from books. Annabeth had studied it for years, mapping it as best she could without actually travelling there.

This was Mount Olympus. The tallest mountain in Greece, and said to be an entrance to Olympus itself, home of the gods.

What would she be doing here? This was a sacred place.

She knew she should stop immediately. It was blasphemous for a demigod to be near Mount Olympus without permission from above. But for some reason her legs just kept on carrying her forward.

The young demigod ran and ran as if she had a purpose. I am almost there, she kept telling herself. Even though she had no idea where her destination was.

The wind ruffled her long hair as her cheeks blushed red from exertion.

Annabeth knew nothing of the predicament she was in. All she knew was she must not stop running. No matter what!

She puffed ragged breaths, her muscles aching and filing with fluid. Annabeth was pushing her body well beyond its natural limits.

The girl would have to cease soon, or she could run the risk of injuring herself.

But raging winds and a stampede of horses couldn't stop her now.

She was vaguely aware of herself nearing the top. Annabeth looked up into the blinding sun to see how much farther to go. She crashed into a large oak tree as the light disoriented her. In her discombobulated state, she wavered and wobbled when she tried to climb back to her feet.

Annabeth groaned inwardly, stumbling back and forth until she regained her balance.

She resumed her steady pace of running, now aware of a final destination: the summit of Mount Olympus. Something told her that what she was seeking lay there.

With a new overwhelming sense of motivation, Annabeth surged forward as she broke into a ferocious sprint.

She weaved and dodged hanging vines, jumping over fallen branches and tree roots. As she went farther, the mountain terrain mainly consisted of rocky plains, so Annabeth had to constantly watch her step for trip hazards, considering the amazing speed she was travelling at. This was important, she told herself. All this turmoil had a meaning.

Meaning.

It seemed like the only word that didn't have an apparent meaning. Sure, the dictionary defined it adequately. But to Annabeth, nothing had ever had true meaning. Nothing in her life had ever made sense, and she doubted it ever would.

All the chaos, the bloodshed. Why almost everyone she'd ever cared about had to leave her. It all had to be because of something! There had to be a purpose for what Annabeth had endured in this cruel sadistic world she lived in. Everything couldn't just be meaningless.

She knew the answer to everything resided at the peak of this very mountain she was climbing.

She climbed higher and higher until she could no longer see the ground below. A sickening feeling of immense vertigo overtook her and she almost collapsed to the ground again.

Annabeth steadied herself, before continuing her tiresome journey once more.

Only three hundred meters until the top... two hundred fifty... two hundred... one hundred... ten meters. Annabeth slowed to a walk as she approached the towering summit.

Relief and achievement flooded her body. This was it. The answers to the questions she hadn't even dared to ask.

Annabeth lifted her hand to cover her face as a sharp yellow glow illuminated her surroundings. The sun was unusually vibrant up here. With hands on knees, gasping for huge gulps of air, Annabeth gazed around herself.

It wasn't much to look at. She was standing on a jagged, rocky plain. Red rock and dust and fog floated around her, blocking the surely spectacular view. Annabeth had to be very careful not to turn too far to her right, otherwise she would be caught in the excruciatingly garish glow of the sun.

Wildly jerking around in search of something, anything, Annabeth fell to her hands and knees, finally losing her strength. There was nothing there, though, just rock and dust.

This whole journey had been a wild goose chase.

'No,' Annabeth spoke for the first time since she'd discovered her presence on the mountain. 'NO, NO, NO! Please, this has to be it. Don't let me go back empty handed. I have to save him!'

Much like when she'd discovered herself on the mountain, running purposefully, but without an apparent one, she didn't know what was happening. She didn't fully understand what she'd meant in that last statement, but she knew that it was a meaningful one. The poignant nature of what she'd just said made her realise that there must be a reason for this journey. A reason bigger than her that she was not yet aware of. Who was 'him'? Why did he need saving? Annabeth asked these questions repeatedly over in her head, even though she was sure... she already knew the answer.

Annabeth started to sob uncontrollably, finally losing her cool. 'Please,' she said to no one in particular. She raised her head to the sky and cupped her hands. 'Please... Mom?'

No answer.

She lowered her head and hands in defeat.

Crying, she let her entire body rest against the ground in a foetal position. As she fell, her body turned in the direction of the blatant light, exposing her eyes. Annabeth didn't flinch though, nor turn away. This was her punishment, she thought. This was her punishment for not being able to save him. This was her punishment for doing what she was about to do. This whole thing was inevitable in her mind, and nothing was going to change fate- the will of the gods.

But as she stared longer and harder at the ball of light in front of her, she noticed just how unusual it really was. It seemed to be strangely far into the distance. It was tiny, but emitted an astronomical amount of light. Annabeth felt like she could almost reach out and touch in. In bewilderment, the girl actually extended her arm to try and touch it. A sharp wave of agonising pain shot up her whole hand as it collided with something.

Annabeth screamed in horror at the horrific pain. She gasped and yowled as she tried to comprehend the immensity of the unpleasant sensation.

She dared a glance down at her hand and saw that her fingers were swollen, and red as beetroots. Large pustules had formed and were oozing gooey white liquid. Annabeth's index and middle fingers were charred black at the tips.

Annabeth calmed herself, regaining her equilibrium. She focused hard on the sun in front of her and realisation hit like a slap in the face. It wasn't a large sun hovering high in the distance. It was a small insignificant ball of light floating before her.

The girl- still in indescribable pain -gasped in wonder and amusement. She was in perfect awe at the thing before her.

Not even a few moments passed of Annabeth studying the ball, then it started to move.

It floated away from Annabeth slowly and deliberately, almost taunting her.

'Wait!' Annabeth yelled. 'Come back. Show me the way.'

She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the searing pain in her hand telling her to stop. Annabeth followed the ball back down the mountain. The ball moved so effortlessly, she had to jog to keep at its pace.

It proved surprisingly more difficult to run downhill than uphill. Annabeth kept almost tripping over due to her exhaustion.

After what felt like hours of running, the little ball of light finally stopped right in front of a bush. It rested there, giving Annabeth time to catch up.

Annabeth approached the still stationary ball cautiously, not wanting it to fly away again.

'Just stay nice and still.' Annabeth ordered as she drew nearer. 'Why are you here? What are you trying to tell me... show me?'

Annabeth was surprised that the ball wasn't moving as she crept so close, she could touch it again if she wanted to.

Annabeth was sceptical; what was this? Was this a trap?

She held her one good hand above her face, as if expecting some kind of explosion from the minute ball of power.

Then, something spectacular happened. The minuscule ball started to grow larger and larger. It's once tiny form transforming to become a swirling mass of light.

It grew and grew until it fully engulfed Annabeth in its size. She felt herself being tossed and turned about as she fell into the light. She summersaulted through time and space as the vortex transported her to locations unknown.

Annabeth screamed as she landed on what felt like cold hard concrete. She rolled over onto her back with a groan, her face contorting in pain.

'Shit! Thanks,' she spat sarcastically at the ball, before realising that it was no longer there. Annabeth scoffed in disbelief and annoyance. 'Oh, great.'

Despite her frustration, she was eager to find out where the ball of light had transported her. As she sat up, she looked around her and realised that there wasn't much to look at. She was in a small musty dark room with four nondescript brick walls. There was a tiny chair in one corner, tilted so that it managed to tuck underneath an even smaller table. That was the only furniture in the room, apart from a flickering flame atop a thick wooden steak attached to the wall Annabeth was facing.

Annabeth crinkled her eyes in confusion. What was she going to do? She was trapped in a tiny room with seemingly no exit and nothing to lead her in the direction of one. There was nothing on the walls except the torch, no clues to lead her to something.

The girl felt like kicking something but knew it would be unwise considering her physical state. Annabeth forced herself to her feet, grunting furiously as she did so.

Annabeth hobbled around the room, pressing her hands against the walls, the floor, even the ceiling when she managed to jump high enough. Her hand was still aching like a mother, so it made the task exceedingly difficult.

'Ahhhhh,' Annabeth screamed after she was certain she'd push every square inch of the room. There were no exits: no secret doors, no little compartments or slots. Nothing. 'C'mon.' Annabeth could feel hot tears trickling down her face. She wanted to just curl up into a little ball and cry, but she knew it would be of no use to her. Crying never solved anything.

Determined to find a way out, Annabeth wiped her good hand over her face, drying it and decided to take a different approach to finding a way out.

Annabeth backed up against one of the four walls, facing the one parallel to her. Bending over and getting a running start, she rammed her shoulder into the wall opposite.

The wall didn't move, but Annabeth heard a loud crack, and felt it sear up her shoulder into her neck.

She crumpled to the floor with an anguished sob. She'd been in the room for less than three hours, but already she had given up hope of ever making it out.

That's when she saw it.

Atop the ceiling, where before there was nothing, there now lay a single word written in thick red liquid- blood.

The world seemed to be spinning due to the pain Annabeth was experiencing. So that mixed with the dyslexia made it exceedingly hard to make out what the word was saying.

Annabeth scrunched her eyes up as much as she could, focusing on the word in front of her, and eventually, she was able to decipher the script:

θάλασσα

It was Greek. It was the symbol for the word 'sea.' It meant absolutely nothing to Annabeth. It certainly wasn't a clue on how to escape the nightmarish place in which she was stuck.

But for some reason, she no longer cared that she would be stuck there for probably the rest of her life. She felt an overwhelming sense of calm at seeing the word, like everything was right and she had nothing to worry about.

Annabeth just lay there for what felt like eternity, slowly drifting in and out of consciousness. The girl felt like her whole body was aching; there was not an inch of her left untouched by burning agony.

Annabeth could feel her heartbeat slowing to a crawl. Death was creeping upon her. She deliberately heaved heavy breaths, trying to delay the inevitable.

This was her end. Her grimy demise. Her eyes started to flicker shut, her final breath escaping her lips. It seemed to float in the air in slow motion before Annabeth's tear-filled eyes. A mushroom shaped breath of white hot air.

All went black.

Annabeth lay there. She couldn't speak, she couldn't feel, she couldn't move. Annabeth wondered if what she was experiencing was death.

She mentally shook her head. No. It went against every shred of scientific knowledge she'd ever learned. If she was dead, she shouldn't be able to think. Her brain had shut down, right?

Hadn't it?

The silence was driving Annabeth to the brink of insanity. There was nothing to stimulate her. It was like she existed, and yet didn't at the same time.

Then suddenly, Annabeth felt suffocated. She couldn't breath, even though there was no possible way she'd actually need air in her post-death state.

She chocked on her own saliva as she struggled to gasp in air.

Light engulfed her like a large explosion, overwhelming her senses.

Annabeth coughed as she started to regain feeling in her whole body. She felt her hands- crusty and dry, her legs- aching and swollen and her heart- healthy and beating.

That's when those sensations changed significantly. Annabeth felt a warm pleasure spread through her. Her entire body felt rejuvenated. It was like she was a new person.

Annabeth opened her eyes with a gasp. She eyeballed the environment she now found herself in and was shocked. She found that she was lying in the middle of a vast grassy meadow surrounded by acres of forest.

Annabeth whimpered lightly in astonishment. She was ready to end this horrible nightmare.

But something stopped her. She didn't feel an ounce of pain in her body. She gazed at her hand and realised that it was completely healed of any burns- good as new. The same went for the scratches and bruises on her arms and legs.

Surely she must be in Heaven, she thought. Although she knew better. There was no such thing as Heaven. Only Hades and if you were lucky, Elysium.

What startled the young girl the most was what she was wearing. She was dressed in a cotton off-white dress with pink flowers stitched on in a pattern. It was sleeveless and the hemline only reached the top of her thighs, barely concealing her.

Annabeth experienced another welcomed sense of peace and serenity. She sighed and lay back down in the tall grass... and cried.

Despite her surroundings, everything was wrong and messed up. She didn't know why she was there, but she knew that something bad awaited her on the other side.

She sobbed until she had no more tears left to weep; Annabeth sniffled softly.

The crying girl jumped suddenly as a piercing siren filled the air. Annabeth had no clue where the sound was coming from. She was in the middle of nature.

Yet the siren continued, blazing louder and louder with every passing second. She leapt up onto her feet and started running.

Much like Mount Olympus, she didn't know why and she didn't know her destination, she just wanted to get away from that God awful noise.

It hammered away at her head until she couldn't even hear herself think.

She sprinted through the forest, not slowing even once. Annabeth screamed as the blaring sound droned on.

The siren seemed to be in her head. She collapsed to her knees and clasped her hands over her ears, screaming wildly.

'No! Ahhh, stop. STOP! YOU MOTHER FUCKER!'

Annabeth screamed harder as the noise began to morph into words- actual words.

'CHILD OF ATHENA. BEWARE YOUR SURROUNDINGS. TRUST NOT THE ONE YOU LIVE FOR. OPEN THE BOX, FIND THE KEY AND UNLOCK THE TRUTH. IT MAY BE THE DEATH OF YOUR HEART, BUT OTHERWISE... IT'S THE DEATH OF US ALL.'

Annabeth's eyes were watering, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was so discombobulated, she didn't know what to say or do. "Let me out!' she sobbed. 'Please, I don't know what's happening anymore.'

The wind started to pick up, drowning out her voice to a whisper. Hair swirled around her face, blocking her eyes. 'I never asked to be born with godly blood. I never wanted this life for myself. It was thrust at me in a pot of hot iron. It burned me at every step in my journey.' She didn't know who she was talking to, she just knew they were listening. "Help me... save me.'

'FIND THE OAK! IT WILL GUIDE YOU.'

Annabeth gasped, looking up at the sky, from where the voice was seemingly coming. "Oak? What oak?'

Silence.

'No, c'mon. What do you mean Oak? What does that mean?'

When her cries were met with silence once more, her knees buckled and she collapsed in a fit of sobs. 'WHY? WHY? WHY?' Annabeth felt like she'd finally been broken. This was all just too much for one sixteen-year-old girl to handle. After a while, her sobs melded together into one long silent cry.

Annabeth sat in sorrow for a few minutes, wind still howling around her. Suddenly, an extra large gust swept in, blowing her off the ground and straight onto her back with a painful thump. The young girl just stared up at the sky for a few moments, watching the enormous trees tower over her. She noticed how thin the trees were, their slightly off-white colouring and eye-shaped marks and realised they were aspen trees. That was odd, she thought. Aspen trees usually only grew in cold, snowy climates. Here, in a grassy forest, you'd expect to find mainly chestnut, sycamore and... oak.

Annabeth's face morphed into a look of realisation. She knew what she had to do.

Running throughout the forest at full speed- getting serious flashes of deja vu - Annabeth kept her watery eyes peeled for any oak trees. But as time went on, Annabeth started to realise that if indeed an oak tree was what she had to find, it must be the only one in the forest. She didn't see a single oak tree whilst running. She had to find a needle in a haystack. One tree amongst millions. Which might seem like a truly impossible feet, but Annabeth was determined.

After several hours of running (slow jogging for the last hour or so), Annabeth's quest was still not completed. Her lungs felt like they had been strained to their capacity. Not to mention her legs and feet, which, due to her being barefoot, were bloody and scratched from pinecones and thorns.

She sighed deeply, slumping down to the ground. She bumped into a tree behind her she hadn't seen and instead rested against it. "Please,' she panted. 'Weird, cr-creepy,' she stuttered, 'voice in the sky, just give me some sort of- uh, clue.'

Again, met with indifference.

Annabeth closed her eyes and just lay there, leaning against the tree. She just sat there for a few minutes when she was met with another epiphany. Aspen trees aren't nearly large enough to lean against and have full support like this tree was providing. She hadn't turned around when she sat down.

Slowly, she rose to her feet and spun around to face the tree. 'No way...' she marvelled.

Standing in front of her was a thick, tall, magnificent oak tree. It stood proud as if it had been waiting for her. A giddy smile of disbelief covered Annabeth's face. She literally jumped for joy at her discovery. She mentally berated herself for not seeing it before, but the feeling of stupidity quickly vanished once she started circling the tree.

Her smile vanished and instead she stared in awe at the word engraved into the tree on the other side.

παιδί

Another Greek word. But this time Annabeth's brain didn't have time to comprehend. As soon as she laid eyes on the word, the wind picked up so ferociously that she had to cover her eyes. It whistled in her ears, drowning out any sounds of the forest. It swirled and whooshed for what seemed like close to half an hour. Annabeth was still afraid to remove her hands from her eyes in case they dried out.

Eventually, the wind ceased completely. Not a sound could be heard. All was quiet and Annabeth picked up the courage to remove her hands. Light greeted her, burning her already tired eyes. As her eyes adjusted to the new change in light, Annabeth was able to see her surroundings. She was not at all surprised to find that she wasn't in the forest anymore.

But what did surprise her was exactly where she had been transported. The lush green grass, the lake to the north of her, trees surrounding her, cabins lined up in a perfect semi-circle in the middle of the area. Home, she thought.

Camp Half-Blood.

It was dark and musty at camp. It was also completely deserted; not a demigod, satyr, nymph or centaur in sight. Annabeth sighed at the bitter-sweetness of once again being able to roam the grounds of Camp Half-Blood.

Looking down, she noticed that she was dressed in light blue jeans torn at the knees, along with her orange 'Camp Half-Blood' t-shirt. The comfort was unbelievable considering what she'd been forced to wear earlier. She reached up to brush the light soft fabric of the shirt and realised that her beaded necklace was placed around her neck. She recognised the nine beads threaded onto the string. But there was a tenth bead, right in the middle, that befuddled Annabeth. She'd never seen the bead before and couldn't remember being presented with it.

Warily, she raised the bead to eyelevel and stared at it closely. Her heat beat faster and yet stopped at the same time when she saw the picture engraved upon it.

A skull and crossbones.

This bead had only been given to campers once before, centuries ago. It was the bead that symbolised the camp being ridden with death and loss. She dropped the bead immediately and put her hands on her head. Tilting her head to face the sky, she started breathing heavily.

The serenity she'd felt at being back at camp had swiftly vanished. It was replaced with an adrenaline powered frenzy to find even one living creature in the camp.

Annabeth jogged around the camp- not being able to run anymore due to absolute exhaustion -searching in every nook and cranny for anyone who might be hiding or even trapped under something. Now, getting a better look around, it struck her that the camp was in absolute ruins.

It looked alright at first glance, but once you really took a look, you realised that something definitely went down here.

There was blood smeared all over the walls of every cabin, including the Big House. Dried blood flaked away from the grass as Annabeth searched.

The armoury had been raided. Almost all the weapons were gone except for a few measly daggers.

Annabeth reached out and took one of the daggers just in case. In her sixteen years of being a demigod, she'd learnt never leave yourself unarmed, no matter what the situation.

Annabeth shed a small tear when she closely examined the blade. The tip and edge of it was covered in dried blood and the handle was slightly bent, disfiguring it.

But that wasn't what caught Annabeth's eye. Near the top of the dagger, a tiny trident was engraved into the metal.

This had been Percy's.

Just the thought of what could've happened to the blade to make it look this way along with what could've happened to Percy made Annabeth sick to her stomach.

She hastily dropped the dagger, no longer wanting that to be the blade she wielded. Annabeth let out a terse stifled sob before choosing another knife.

It took hours, but she finally searched the entire camp and not a single clue was found to lead her to the answer of her purpose in this new location.

There was only one more place to check... the cabins.

Annabeth decided to go alphabetically, starting with Aphrodite and ending with Zeus.

She went around, checking every cabin, including: Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hera, Hermes and Poseidon.

Nothing.

Strangely, she didn't really care. She didn't lose her cool like she had with all the other locations. She knew that she wouldn't mind staying there forever after all she'd been through. Even if she was alone and surrounding by blood and gruesome mysteries.

Closing her eyes, she tried to fall asleep but found that it eluded her. It was like a barrier keeping her mind from shutting off and allowing rest.

Sighing in anguish and tyranny, she decided to tromp over to the amphitheatre and relax more comfortably, even if sleep wasn't on the table.

But as she trudged over, something caught her eye.

Poseidon cabin.

The cabin she had searched most thoroughly now contained a shocking discovery. Where before it had been passed off as more blood on the walls, Annabeth now realised the blood had taken shape to form words. It was written on the wall above Percy's bed.

This chilled Annabeth to her core, seeing blood so close to where her boyfriend slept at night.

Nevertheless, she took a look. Once again, only one single word was written. But before it came a couple of horizontal diagonal lines. Annabeth furrowed her brow at that.

But her forehead straightened out once she read the word.

Of all the things she'd encountered so far. Burning her hand second-degree, being trapped in a tiny room, having blaring sound tear through her ears, breaking her ankle, snapping her shoulder and neck, this was the most scared she'd ever felt. Fear, terror, panic. Her throat closed up and all her senses seemed to disappear and overwhelm her at once. She couldn't see, she couldn't feel, she couldn't hear.

One word. One word to cause all this.

τέλος

'End.'

*

Annabeth awoke with a ferocious gasp. Her eyes opened so wide she was afraid they would pop out of her skull. Blood oozed down the side of her face from where she'd banged it on the rock.

She sat up, gulping in huge gasps of air. Her eyes watered and she put her head to her knees as everything came flooding back to her.

Luke... serum... Cursed Chains... Percy...

She knew she should be having the relief of 'Oh, it was all just a dream.' But she knew in her heart that her dreams were never just dreams.

Someone was trying to tell her something.

*

Hey, guys! I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in quite some time. But as you can see, this chapter is over twice as long as my usual ones. I have finally mapped out exactly where I want the plot to lead. That having been said, if there is anything at all you want me to incorporate into my story, just let me know and I will try my best.

Remember, this story is for your enjoyment, and I want to make it as enjoyable as possible. All ideas and feedback are welcome.

Don't forget to like, review and recommend.

Until next time!