As always, these characters do not belong to me.
Chapter Eight
Her head was pounding. That was the first thought Annabeth had as she regained consciousness. Her eyelids felt like lead when she tried to open them, having to blink slowly several times before she was able to keep them open. It was still dark, the shadows of the trees whispering to each other softly. She moaned a little at the continual throbbing of her head, lifting a weak hand to the side of her temple. Bracing with the other hand, she went to rise but was met with resistance.
"Hey," came Percy's soft voice before he came into view. He looked bruised and weary but managed a soft smile when her eyes met his. "Just take it easy for a minute. You got hit pretty hard."
Annabeth must have been tired because she relented. She took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the headache forming. Her stomach roiled a little. "Are you okay?" she croaked.
"A little bruised and embarrassed but I'm fine."
"Being taken by surprise happens to the best of us," she commented. Percy's lips quirked. "Where are the pirates? How much did they take?"
After a pause, he answered grimly. "They took everything."
Annabeth lifted her head a little, wanting to see for herself even though she knew Percy wouldn't lie about something so serious. The camp had been stripped bare, with only the fire dully burning behind them. It was a blow. A heavy one. What were they going to do? Without weapons, supplies and her notes, the mission was all but done. She had broken her promise. She had failed.
Maybe it was the throbbing in her head, maybe it was the knowledge that she had failed Luke or the combination of both that had Annabeth rolling over and emptying the contents of her stomach over the forest floor. Percy soothingly rubbed her back, pulling back the stray strands of her hair. Once she laid back down, he trickled some water into her mouth from a soaked piece of cloth so she could rinse her mouth.
"My book has everything," she told him, defeat and loss plain in her voice. She would've cringed at how she sounded but she didn't have the energy to care. "Everything about the Elites, my plans, the information I've gathered on the Cave, they have it all."
Percy gently wiped her face with the cloth to help soothe her. It felt nice and she felt touch by the gesture. "Your notes are safe, Annabeth," he told her, looking away.
She frowned. "What makes you think that?"
"Because the pirates, when they left, wanted the quickest way out." Percy bowed his head as Annabeth realised which direction they went. "I tried to warn them, but they laughed and went anyway."
Annabeth caught his expression. He looked conflicted. While there was some part of him satisfied that the pirates would meet their comeuppance at the hands of the Gorgons, if the rumours were true and they still had their venom, it would be a painful way to die. But that wasn't all. His whole posture was slumped in a way Annabeth had not seen before. He was, resigned, dejected, his eyes missing the twinkle of mirth that annoyed her often.
"Hey," Annabeth consoled softly. He glanced back towards her. "You tried. I wouldn't have."
Percy nodded distractedly, placing the damp cloth back on her head. Silence surrounded them as Annabeth let her headache dull, every so often meeting his eyes. He smiled a soft, reassuring smile each time, which did comfort her somewhat, but it was still missing that glint that was Percy. It had to be something deeper than their situation that had Percy troubled, but with the dull ache from the head knock, she was struggling to process her thoughts. Though there was one fact that did stick in her mind. No matter what had happened, he had stayed with her, even when most would have bailed in the middle of the night. She really was appreciating Luke's insistence she travel with him.
"Why does this keep happening?" she asked wearily, holding the damp cloth to her head.
Percy grinned wryly. A small glimpse of that twinkle. "I have a theory, but if you are truly your mother's daughter, I don't think you'll accept it."
Annabeth sighed with a frown. "You can't think the Crystal is transmitting magical wavelengths to prevent us reaching it. That's illogical."
"Okay, let's think differently. What do vultures do when they see one of their own with a carcass?"
"Vultures?" Annabeth queried with a raised eyebrow. She humoured him with a sigh. "They would swarm towards to the carcass to make sure they didn't miss out. You're comparing us to vultures?" She made sure he knew she was unimpressed with his analogy.
"Rather a vulture than the carcass it's eating," was Percy's defence. Annabeth shook her head, then winced. He watched her with some sympathy then answered with a better alternative. "Powerful objects are respectfully left alone until someone decides to try their hand. Then no tribe, bandit, or clan can risk the other getting it." It was Percy's turn to shake his head in disappointment before looking back to her. "I'm going to get to our stuff back," he stated. "I wanted to wait until you woke so I could tell you. This area should be secure now and I won't be long –."
"I'm coming with you," Annabeth interjected.
"No. Why risk both our lives? It's better –."
"No!" Annabeth cut in again. "We go together."
They were both glaring at each other, each unrelenting in their position. The stare down only lasted minutes before Annabeth made the move to sit up. Percy lunged forward to steady her when she swayed, her vision fuzzy with the abrupt movement. He sighed heavily while she blinked the stars from her eyes, knocking away his hands so she could get to her shaky feet. Feeling a little chuffed that she managed to remain standing, she gave Percy a pointed look, telling him she was ready to be on the move. He sighed again, standing beside her.
"If you see or hear any sign of movement, get close to the ground and keep your eyes down," he told her. "Gorgons think you're challenging them if you look at them directly."
With nothing but the clothes on their backs, they moved into the territory of the Gorgons. Annabeth, head still a little fuzzy from her knock, could feel her hypervigilance kicking into gear. She could smell the dankness, her ears straining to pick up any sound in the silence while the fire torch in Percy's hand omitted the only light. Shadows watched them, followed them as they trekked deeper into the forest, the undergrowth thick and at times, unpassable.
"Wouldn't the Gorgons have taken our stuff?" asked Annabeth quietly, gazing around.
Percy shook his head. "They have no need for the possessions of their victims. I heard whispers that they strip the bodies and pile up the leftovers together. An offering to their ancestors, or something like that."
They came across their first skeletons not too long afterwards. Varying in decomposition, it was a couple at first, and then a cluster the further in they went. Annabeth shuddered when a spider ran across one of the rib cages, moving a little closer to Percy. There was no telling which direction they were heading or where they had been the further they walked. With the undergrowth so thick it made tracking difficult, adding the semi-darkness they were engulfed in and every tree looking identical, Annabeth was losing some faith in her tracking skills.
Percy, however, seemed to know exactly where they needed to go. He stopped, listened or looked before changing their course, heading left, then right, his eyes alert and pale in the firelight. The smell around them began to change as they walked. The dankness hung around but there was an undercurrent of salty water, and the beginning of rotting flesh. Percy veered them more to the right and Annabeth saw just what the Gorgon's poison did to the human body.
The pirates had made it further than Annabeth expected from Percy's warnings but that didn't save them. Percy held the torch higher, highlighting the scene before them. She could see they had tried to escape, but the attack was quick and took them by surprise. Some had frozen mid-stride, others had fallen, their limbs in crippled and awkward positions, stuck that way for the rest of their shortened lives. Annabeth and Percy walked amongst them, the pirate's eyes seemingly following their progress as piece by piece, they reclaimed their stolen possessions scattered amongst them.
Annabeth had just found her book, searching its pages, sighing in relief that it was still intact when from the corner of her eye she saw Percy jump in fright. She flew across to him in a blink of an eye, ready to fight with her bare hands. The pirate leader had somehow mustered enough strength to grab him around the ankle to get his attention from his fallen position. As the light of the flames fell upon him, Annabeth's stomach lurched. His skin was grey, the veins protruding and blackened with a sickly hue. His eyes were bloodshot, his limbs shaking as they stiffened, a mixture of spit and blood dribbling from his lips as well as a darkened substance slowly running from his nostrils, earlobes and beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.
"Help," the leader rasped out, his eyes wide with desperation.
Percy crouched down beside him. There was sadness in his gaze; sadness and regret. "Once the poison enters your system, there is nothing anyone can do. I'm sorry. I tried to warn you."
The despair and fear on the leader's face had Annabeth feeling some pity. Unable to look at him any longer, she gazed around, doing a head count of the pirates. Several were missing and she doubted it was because they escaped. She stood beside one of the standing statues, recognising him as one of the goons that held her for their leader to assault her. She glared into his face but judging by his cloudy, petrified eyes, he had succumbed to the poison. She happened to lower her gaze, noticing he was missing his weapons belt. She gazed around the other pirates, them too, without weapon belts or their holsters empty.
"Some of our stuff is missing," stated Annabeth with a frown. "Our weapons, coin, theirs as well. I know for a fact that this guy had two thick banded rings on his fingers and they're missing too. Are Gorgons partial to shiny things?"
"Not that I'm aware of," he replied, still crouched beside the fading leader. "They're not fond of outsiders. This must be what I heard. They don't take possessions, just the weapons and valuable items of their victims as the offering."
"That doesn't help us," said Annabeth, trying to pick up a track. "We're going to have to keep searching. We can't leave here without weapons."
Percy nodded, giving the leader one last glance before rising to his feet. Again, Annabeth questioned why he was so deeply affected by the situation and almost growled in frustration when she couldn't find the answer. He and Annabeth followed a crudely made trail, more victims of the Gorgon's wrath strewed out around them. Strands of light were sparse, but there was some light, meaning morning was starting to break through. She had just glanced towards her left when several things happened at once.
She heard Percy breathe in sharply, sounding in pain. Annabeth turned at the noise, only to be slammed in the side where he was and dragged to the ground. She grunted from the impact, a small squeak escaping her lips at the blindside attack as she hit the ground heavily. A hand reached across her mouth, her body pulled against another warm body and braced behind a fallen trunk. Annabeth tried to glare at Percy but couldn't twist around to face him when a loud, high-pitched growl echoed from ahead, making them both jump. Before she could work out what type of animal it was, the cry came again, louder than the first. Annabeth sucked in a breath, hunkering down against the trunk as Percy dowsed his torch, realising it wasn't an animal, but a Gorgon.
As much as Annabeth was curious about the appearance of a Gorgon, she heeded Percy's advice and kept low, her gaze down in front of her instead of craning a look over her shoulder and the trunk. Though she did take Percy's hand from her mouth. The howls had ceased but it was clear from the sounds that something was coming towards them. They weren't footsteps, not exactly, but they had to be. There was a discernible step, but something also sounded like slithering over the ground. They had to be dragging something, Annabeth deduced, but the sound wasn't altogether right. Her heart started to pound.
"So many new friends," a voice said. It was hard to tell whether it was a male or female that belonged to the voice. It was raspy and soft, with a hiss at the end of their words. The sound chilled Annabeth's blood. "They will look lovely in my gardens. Wonder if there are anymore. Smelt like the sea, they did. I miss the sea."
They waited a little longer to be sure the Gorgon had left before rising to their feet. Percy glanced back to the trail, only relaxing when he was sure they were alone once again. His eyes drifted to Annabeth, silently trailing down her body, as if to reassure himself that she was still there with him and unscathed. He took a deep breath, exhaled and then gestured they continued to find their remaining possessions. Annabeth frowned, confused by his actions but didn't want to risk the Gorgon overhearing her questionings if they chose to return.
Percy paused, his silhouette in the limited light not giving Annabeth much to read. He hadn't bothered to re-light his torch and she wasn't about to ask him to do so, considering their recent encounter. He twisted his head back and forth, lifting his chin in the process before following whatever path he had visualised.
"How do you know where to go?" asked Annabeth in a hushed whisper.
"The smell," replied Percy. Annabeth tripped on a stray twig at the revelation, noting along with her surprise how flat Percy sounded. "A traveller that got stuck in here for about a month mentioned the distinguishing, aromas, the Gorgons had. He was adamant he would be able to re-enter, exact revenge and escape without them noticing. He wasn't seen after that."
Silence fell after Percy's tale, it's ending boldened by the few skeletons strayed on their path. Annabeth looked into the gaping eye sockets of one skull to the cracked temple of its companion, wondering if one of them had been the traveller Percy met. There was a stark difference, not just in smell but in the environment as well, Annabeth had already noted those distinguishes but she hadn't considered using that as a directory tool. She made a mental note to never get struck on the head again. She hated having dulled senses.
"I wasn't willing to test his theory unless I had no choice," continued Percy. "But I suppose it has some merits."
While they had only stumbled across the one Gorgon, given the stories of their hatred of other humans, she couldn't see why anyone would willingly enter their territory again. Her eyes fell on Percy's back as she thought this, realising she was travelling with someone who had done exactly that. She had finally worked it out. How he knew where their boundary line was, how he knew what lay in store for them if they entered and why he had tried to warn the pirates. She found herself offering a smile to his back, then wiping it from her face and looking away in slight confusion. It was lucky she tore her gaze away, otherwise she would've missed the glimmer to their left.
"Look," breathed Annabeth, pointing to the glimmer.
She pushed past Percy and moved towards it, her mouth dropping as a small armoury came into view. Swords, lances, spears, daggers, knives, broadswords, bows and quivers were thrown on top of various styles of armour and shields. From leather to polished steel, even silver and gold breastplates and helmets shone dully amongst the pile, all taken from their owners and discarded. Scattered amongst the weapons and armour were coins of a couple of currencies.
Annabeth eyed the coins like a thief, the weapons even more so. She walked towards the pile in a trance, already figuring out how much she could carry and how that would weigh her down and the amount of noise she would make with her full pockets. She spotted her knife on the ground closest to them, snatching it up with a happy sigh. Percy, also noticing his sword, grabbed it, fastening it to his belt.
"We should hurry," he urged, his eyes scanning the surroundings intently. "You find the rest of our stuff and I'll keep watch. If you hear a whistle, find somewhere to hide."
Glancing briefly at the retreating Percy, Annabeth noticed him placing a bracing hand to his temple, his expression one of pain. Frowning, she couldn't recall him being struck. Vowing to ask him about it later, she went to work on finding their belongings. They were easy enough to find being the latest addition. Slipping her smaller knife into her boot, she focused on the pile in front of her before swivelling her head back in the direction Percy left. Coming to a decision, she delved into the pile with barely restrained excitement.
"Here," said Annabeth sometime later to Percy. He raised an eyebrow as he accepted the bundle she thrust towards him, eyeing the bundle she carried curiously. "I'm tired of being ambushed and defenceless," she explained, when he pulled a bracer free to inspect.
When Annabeth had left on her mission, she was aiming for stealth, thereby leaving her Elite armour in her room. After the tumultuous last few weeks travelling with Percy and the small armoury sitting there with no intentions of being used again, how could Annabeth pass on the opportunity. While her selected armour wasn't as flashy or as strong as her Elite one, it was comfortable and would give her the protection she needed if they were going to be continually attacked.
"Probably long overdue," agreed Percy. He gazed down at the armour in his hands, his expression hard to read. Hesitant would be the best way Annabeth could describe it, but why? Did he not trust her?
"Are you okay?"
Rearranging the armour to carry easier, he looked over and gave a lopsided grin. "I'm in deadly Gorgon territory with a woman who may or may not be trying to undress me and disguising it by offering a new outfit, so, of course I am," he answered, getting a hard stare in response. Grin widening at the predicted reaction, he gestured ahead with the dowsed torch. "I think the boundary line is not far that way. We can work our way back to the track."
In a seemingly rather short distance, they had indeed reached the end of the Gorgon's territory. While there was no definitive sign announcing the end of the Gorgon's hunting area, Annabeth could hear the songs of birds in the trees once again, the scents of the forest also returning to her sense of smell instead of death and decay. She couldn't help the sigh that passed her lips when the cool, fresh air kissed her face. Percy also visibly relaxed and they quickened their pace to put more distance between them and the line.
They stopped once they reached a small stream, both foregoing formalities and taking big handfuls of water to drink and wash away the lingering dirt of the Gorgon's. Sitting on the bank, Annabeth's eyes drifted towards the where they had come from, a frown forming as she thought about the proximity of the discarded weapons to the edge of their territory. It was a treasure trove and if Annabeth hadn't been half afraid of the Gorgon's return, she could've sorted through the pile more thoroughly. If it was indeed an offering, why was it so far from their homes? And so close that passers-by could see it and if greedy enough, take what they want. Ah …
"Clever," commented Annabeth, glancing at the invisible boundary line when she realised their tactic. She explained her theory to Percy. "I would've thought they would have one or two of them stationed there to ambush the passers-by."
"They probably would have when they had the numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised if the one that passed us was the last Gorgon left," replied Percy with a quick look back. "Speaking of, let's move a bit further along. As handsome as I would look as a statue, I would rather not become one."
