Percy POV
It was hard to tell which soldier was Annabeth because they were all wearing masks. The drone that Leo was controlling was flying fairly high in the sky to be undetected.
As such, it was hard to get a detailed visual.
However, I realized something was wrong immediately after a ring of soldiers surrounded a blonde-haired soldier, who was now unmasked.
Annabeth was in trouble, so I did the one thing that I had to do.
I went rogue and performed a distraction.
Lake Valor had weapons ready, so I took them and drove towards the east side of the camp. Piper and Jason followed me while Leo and Thalia were in our ears.
The other team members were on the west side of the camp.
"Percy, she's going to be okay. She can handle herself," Jason said firmly.
"I know that she's capable, but you guys need to know that Kronos and Krios won't waste any time in disposing of a traitor. We need a distraction now to save her," I said sharply.
I turned the car and sped into the electric fence.
Piper shrieked as the electric fence broke down and sent vibrations through our van. I didn't care as I drove towards the nearest green generator with full force.
"Everyone, get out," I shouted.
Jason and Piper both opened their doors and threw themselves out of the car. I watched as they rolled against the ground. My attention turned back to the view.
Two terrorist soldiers were run down as the distance closed between my van and the generator. My left hand clutched the driver's door.
I gave the last push before launching myself out of the van.
The impact was hard, and I groaned as my still injured chest pounded against the ground. Gunshots were firing around me as Jason and Piper were giving me cover.
Suddenly, the van drove into a generator.
A loud explosion shook the entire facility. Considering how close I was to the explosion, my body was thrown back.
Smoke surrounded me as a high-pitched whistle entered my ears.
"Gah," I groaned as my hands slapped my ears. The impact of the explosion seriously rocked my body hard.
I stood after a few stumbles, and the smoke started to clear. I felt arms grab me and pull me towards a nearby alleyway. Jason's concerned face came into view.
"Percy, Percy, answer me," he shouted.
His voice sounded quiet even though I knew that he was screaming. However, after a few seconds, my head became normal again.
I could feel the blood in my ears.
"Jason, I'm all right. Where's Piper?" I asked. I looked around our alleyway and noticed that the nearest building was labeled by the #5 in the southeast sector.
"Piper is going to blow another generator. Percy, I have to go with her. Are you okay?" Jason asked again with concern.
I wiped the smoke and blood off of my cheek.
"Yes, Jason, I'm fine. Please go help her with the distractions," I said boldly as I pulled out my earpieces. They were damaged due to the explosion.
"Jason, I need an earpiece," I said.
He easily handed it over before running off. I quickly connected the earpiece to my ear before drawing my gun. I scanned the square layout of the buildings.
Soldiers were all around the field, running frantically with weapons drawn.
"Leo, where is Annabeth?" I asked quickly.
"Percy, thank goodness that you're okay. Your earpiece went out, and that freakin scared us," Leo exclaimed.
"Leo, stop wasting time," Thalia shrieked. "Perce, Annabeth is in the main building close to your location. The building is labeled #1."
Thalia continued talking, but I couldn't hear because a second explosion rocked the lands with a vengeance. I lost my balance from the vibration but caught myself.
I quickly leaned against the wall with my gun in my hands.
While the soldiers were distracted, I ran towards the main building. I steered around the side of the building while shooting a few soldiers that were coming at me. My mind was racing, but my actions were smooth and coordinated.
I was trained to do this job, and I knew how to stay in control and fight.
Two soldiers suddenly tackled me. I quickly rolled over and kicked one soldier as I got up. The other soldier kicked the gun out of my hand.
It didn't matter, though, because I was quick to grab his shoulder and pull him down. My knee struck his head harshly and he crumbled.
I ran towards the main building and smashed the nearest window.
I launched myself into the room. It was a storage closet close to the front of the building. Soldiers were pounding against the door.
My breathing was heavy as my eyes scanned the room.
Then, I saw her.
Wise Girl was laying on the ground with a heavy wooden shelf crushing her right leg. Her blonde hair was spread around her as her hands fidgeted with a fire extinguisher.
"Annabeth," I exclaimed as I rushed over to her. I dropped to my knee as I crouched next to her and embrace her. I was so glad to see her.
Tears sparkled in my eyes as she hugged back.
Gods, she was so beautiful and so strong. She figured this out all on her own.
"Seaweed Brain, I'm stuck. The shelf is too heavy," she said quickly. I immediately went to move the shelf, but Annabeth was right. It was way too heavy to lift off of her.
"Seaweed Brain, move, I'm doing this," Annabeth shouted.
Suddenly, bullets started flying through the closed closet door. They were firing through the door, so we didn't have that much time.
I quickly moved out of the way and fired at the door.
Annabeth placed the fire extinguisher underneath the shelf, next to her leg. Then, she pulled the pin. The extinguisher exploded much more forcefully than it should. Clearly, Wise Girl had manipulated it to be powerful.
Annabeth screamed as she pulled her leg away.
The extinguisher had given just enough leverage for her to break free.
I ran forward and wrapped my arm around her waist. I quickly dragged her behind another shelf as I continued firing at the soldiers coming into the room.
Annabeth was clutching her leg as her face constricted in pain. There was a gnarly and jagged slash across her thigh.
"Wise Girl, shoot at them," I exclaimed as I handed her my gun.
"Seaweed Brain-"
She didn't have time to finish because more soldiers were shouting and running into the room. I was glad that we were covering behind a strong thick shelf.
Annabeth quickly fired and covered us as I crouched next to her right leg.
I quickly pulled off my shirt and wrapped it tightly against her leg. Annabeth shouted in pain as I pulled the shirt into a tight bandage.
It would hold pressure and mitigate pain for now, but she needed medical help.
"Wise Girl, we really have to go now," I said firmly as I pulled her up. Annabeth was easy to carry and hold, and I had experience as well.
We both ran towards the window. I pulled out my second gun and fired at the soldiers running towards us from the outside.
Annabeth struggled to jump out of the window, but she did it.
"All right, we got to go now," I said as I pulled her towards the border.
"No, Percy, we have to help the hostages. There are hundreds of them, and we have to break them out," Annabeth exclaimed.
"I know. That's where we're going," I said firmly.
We ran towards the border where another van was waiting by the broken fence that I had driven through. Thalia was waiting in the driver's seat.
Nico, who was an excellent soldier, was shooting down anyone that came near. The van was bulletproof, but it wasn't people-proof.
"Nico, over here," I shouted.
Nico immediately got into the van, and Thalia drove towards us.
"Percy, watch out," Annabeth shouted as she shoved me. Suddenly, a grenade went off between us, and smoke filled the area.
I was thrown down, and the side of my head hit the ground hard.
Annabeth coughed as she ran towards me on the ground. Gods, I definitely had a concussion, and my head was bleeding and mixing with the dirt.
Thalia helped pull me and Annabeth into the van as Nico fired from his window. There were so many soldiers.
Thalia drove quickly and confidently. She didn't even care about running over any terrorist soldiers, and we drove to the northwest sector.
"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said as she reached forward.
We were both sitting on the floor of the black van. Thalia was driving while Nico was covering us against the dozens of soldiers shooting fairly randomly.
I froze as Annabeth's hand grazed my neck. Her touch felt good even though she was only trying to remove my earpiece.
This was my second earpiece to be destroyed today.
Suddenly, I reached forward. My hand covered the back of her head as I pulled her towards me. My lips crashed into hers.
It was a passionate, heated kiss.
It was quick but effective in sharing all of our pent-up emotions.
Annabeth smiled temporarily as I pulled back. I smiled back before getting back on alert as the van drove into the northwest sector.
Obviously, the terrorists didn't care about their hostages.
More of the soldiers were near the bombs, weapons, and leaders in the other sectors. However, many prisoners were hunched behind Lake Valor's black vans.
Chiron had called for backup immediately upon landing.
So, all of the law enforcement in the area was here to create separation (via their vans) between the hostages and the soldiers.
Literally, there was a line of black vans between the hundreds of prisoners and the soldiers that were trying to fire and kill.
"Everyone, stay calm," Chiron exclaimed through a megaphone.
All of the prisoners looked so scared and tearful, and it nearly broke my heart. Thalia parked the black van, which added to the barrier.
Annabeth and I ran out. I quickly grabbed a little girl just as a grenade went off. I dove to the side with myself on top of the young girl to protect her.
"Hey, you're okay, sweetie," I said as I pulled her up.
She was crying as she clutched onto me. I didn't have a shirt on, but I was wearing a padded vest and an undershirt. I held the little girl tightly as I fired at a nearby soldier.
The same soldier that threw that grenade dropped like a rock.
I ran towards Chiron who was standing on top of a car, trying to calm everyone. However, there were simply too many people.
Hundreds of innocent prisoners were protected by a layer of black bullet-proof vans and about 50-60 law enforcement officers.
"Piper, oh my god, is she okay?" Annabeth asked loudly as she limped towards Jason.
Jason was carrying an unconscious Piper towards us from a few feet away. "Annabeth, so glad you're fine. Piper okay, but she was knocked unconscious from the third explosion."
"Chiron, we have to get out of here," I shouted.
"I know that Percy. We have some secure buses coming down as we speak. Also, the MI6 is on their way as well," Chiron exclaimed.
"They're here," I shouted as I looked in the distance.
From the north, dozens of buses and enforcement trucks with soldiers were driving towards us. They were labeled by MI6, CIA, and other enforcement symbols.
"Annabeth, thank goodness you're all right," a dark-haired girl said as she ran up to and hugged Annabeth.
"Reyna, I'm so glad you're okay as well," Annabeth said.
"Oh my god, Reyna," Jason exclaimed. His expressions turned serious as he stared between his unconscious girlfriend and his ex. This was not the time for that.
The young agent, Reyna, shared a similar reaction.
Sirens blared as the buses busted through the fence.
People were all around us. We were in a pocket of protection thanks to the bulletproof separation that was made between the rest of the camp and the northwest sector.
The buses stopped nearby.
The other enforcement trucks continued driving through the rest of the camp. The bigger picture was, of course, stopping the bombs and weaponry from leaving.
Stopping the apocalypse was the whole point of this mission.
I gently pulled the girl that was in my arms. I looked at her small, innocent face. "Hey, sweetie, the buses will take you to safety. Then, you can find your parents, okay."
She nodded as I let her down.
All of the prisoners were quickly loaded into the buses. It was astonishing how quickly the prisoners had got into the vehicles.
The northwest grounds quickly lowered in its crowd.
A firefight was still happening but to a lesser degree. The terrorists were retreating, and many of them were dead.
I just hoped that we were able to stop the bombs and weaponry that were stored in various locations of the camp from getting out.
"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth acknowledged quietly.
I turned towards her as her hand slipped into mine. I was still clutched my gun in one hand while she was in my other.
I leaned my head against hers. We did it.
For now, we were in the clear.
There were some casualties of both officers and hostages. However, we (specifically Annabeth) managed to save hundreds of innocent victims.
And, according to radio reports, the team was able to stop the bombs and weapons from transporting away. As such, we mitigated the Apocalypse from destroying major cities and killing people around the world.
I turned back to Annabeth as I kissed her forehead.
Her stormy gray looked up at me. Our gazes locked, and our connection seeled. However, I could sense that a grave feeling was still lingering in both of our chests.