Zoe's POV:

I can not keep doing this. For the love of Artemis I can not just keep doing this day in and day out. Not to mention that the summer attendees are already showing up. Meaning more annoying demigods and their ridiculous fascination with Percy. Granted it is a rare occurrence of a demigod living as long as he did on his own popping up a few times like a damn chivalrous knight. To vanish. To come back in a coma.

Still it pisses me off the amount of people who wish to see his wellbeing. Not the caring part, that's fine. I just can't seem to get a damn minute to myself. Well, myself and the bonified breathing mummified corpse. The volume of people confessing... things, even though I'm right there, makes me want to lock the door. Of course Chiron didn't allow that to happen because 'It might do Percy some good to hear his peers talk to him.' Sure, I didn't agree, but my demands feel upon death ears.

All this trouble for one man. I say man because his feats are surely impressive adding to the fact that Artemis vouched for him. Perhaps he's the only male I'd consider a man. Though not of my own volition. There is more to being a man than feats of strength. I have still yet to see how he treats a lady. Though I still respect her decision, that doesn't mean I understand why.

The only damn break I get is once a week which just so happens to be today. Usually Sundays. Plus Annabeth has kindly offered her services to give me a little time to myself. That way Percy isn't ever alone. Yet, Annabeth is running late. Not really odd because of what is coming. But, still a little unnerving. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. It's doesn't look like Percy's condition has changed even the slightest.

Other than his body healing at the same pace as a mortal. I never realized how slow that actually is. Imaging how it'd feel being awake through it all is making my skin crawl with some sort of anticipation. It's making me want to get up and move around. To stretch, to run - it really doesn't matter as long as I'm doing something.

Tap*

"Percy?" I turned my head around so fast it'd give a normal person whiplash. I swear I heard something. I scanned the monitors and saw no change. I wrapped my fingers around his wrist checking his pulse my self. It's calm. Another sigh. 'I'm going insane within these four walls.' I tell myself while chuckling humorlessly. There is no need to get worked up nothing.

Annabeth should be arriving any minute now, she always does. She has become quite dependable in that regard. So it wouldn't hurt if I just so happen to leave a tad bit earlier than normal. Plus it's early enough that none or little to none of the campers will be around to bother their dearest guest. Apollo's chariot should be appearing over the horizon any moment now.

The moon and the night, the domain of my patron will stay my favorite for as long as I still breathe. Stars shone as sugar spilt over black marble, glistening against a black canvas. The night sky was such a welcome sight, appearing like magic at each sunset, promising to return as she faded in dawn's first light. There were times in the daytime, under skies of blue, I would think of those faraway stars and how they'd return after the shadows blended into the dark. It reminded me of better times, better days...

Yet, there is little controversy to the splendor of sunrises or sunsets. Dawn brings a sunlight crown, smiling upward at black heavens, feeling how the passing night welcomes her more with each minute and hour. While dusk fades in like an ever present shadow soon enveloping the world in a true sense of space. Like a ghost whisking by so swiftly he's barely noticeable. But unlike a ghost, he makes his presence known with a flash of burning orange as if the sun's overcome by the moons glory.

No harm no foul if I go... *Sigh* I won't. My duty won't allow it.

I sat back down extending my arms over my head while arching my back to stretch them. 'Percy better wake up soon or I swear I'm going to start acting drastically.' I thought. I'm babysitting a coma patient, how ridiculous is that?

"Zoe! Come quick! Annabeth needs you!" A blonde haired teen scurried into the room before leaving with the same urgency. Fletcher I believe his name was.

Damn brat didn't even give me anytime to refuse. The same one you hummed songs occasionally to try and heal Percy. Though nothing compares to the haunting hum that came from Percy. It was as beautiful and eerie as a Siren's song. Quite unforgettable and incomparable to anything I've ever heard. Which is saying quite a bit.

Nonetheless I followed after Apollo's kid running straight towards the cabins. Twelve cabins fit for the twelve Olympians. Yet, as I neared I found Annabeth standing not in front of Athena's cabin, but in front of Artemis's. The cabin I've not set foot in since this little assignment started. "Surprise!" Annabeth hopped with glee gesturing me forward.

"I'm not dragging Percy in there. Even if it means I can stay in there too." I deadpanned.

"That's not what I meant." Annabeth placed her hands on her hips nodding her head inside, "Now come on it took forever to set this up!" She smiled. I walked up nad noticed a faint glimmer of light coming from inside.

"I swear if anyone so much as came near here without my Lady's permission, I will deal with them personally." I threatened.

"There will be none of that here Nightshade." I'd know that reprimand anywhere.

"Artemis!" I walked in as casually as possible. Though it is difficult restraining my glee. I have missed my sisters much. Flowing through the center of the cabin was a glistening miniature creek that sprayed a fine mist over the center of the room. An Iris message. Right in the center is fifteen year old Artemis surrounded by my family. There is only one face that I don't recognize among the group.

"I see that you're doing well." Artemis comments smiling a bit.

"Much better now. Though I must ask, how are things going on your end? The new recruits aren't giving you too much trouble, are they?" Honestly, hearing hearing about their exploits would do wonders to clear my mind.

"Hey!" Thalia pouted.

"No, things as of now have been going swimmingly. Other than a small snag on our latest hunt regarding lack of technique-" Artemis coughed into her hand side eyeing Thalia and the little one beside her causing them to slightly blush, "It turned into quite the incident." Artemis chuckled fondly.

"Oh my gods. She'll never let this go." Thalia mumbled. throwing her head back.

"I must hear of this some time." My smile grows even wider. This must be a good story if Artemis chooses to embarrass the family.

"And you shall. But, I'd like an update." Of course I didn't expect otherwise. Best to get the shop talk out of the way swiftly. I actually prefer it this way.

"As of now, there has been no change to his coma state. His injuries have healed, though appears to be at the rate of a normal mortals. It's strange..."

"What's strange?" Artemis inquires.

"With the help of Apollo's kids and Apollo appearing twice trying to speed the healing process up, Percy should have been healed up weeks ago. But in Apollo's precise words 'It's like his body is rejecting everything we throw at him.' Percy healed on his own."

"Did water work?"

"We tried in small doses, but other than clinging longer to him. That was it." I noticed Thalia furrow her eyebrows and open her mouth shut it just as quickly.

"Is that even possible?" Artemis crosses her arms raising one of her eyebrows.

"It shouldn't be. Though Apollo thinks there is something more at play."

"I see..." Artemis rested her hand on her cheek then shook the thoughts out of her head. That was that. That was the end of the discussion because there was nothing more to say. Flipping the switch from something serious to casual is almost too easy with them.

Chatting with them was a sort of verbal dance, one beautifully chaotic, one that makes you laugh out loud feel your heart switching on. It was banter, I guess, but I lived for it, looked forward to it, and would have spent any amount of time in their company that I could have. We were funny together, not so much with others...we just brought that sense of playfulness out of one another. Our conversation is so much more than words. It is the smiles, the gentle shrugs and the light in our eyes. That we are both elevated by each other's presence is obvious and even the silences are comfortable. They are moments to savor the company of the other and feel that sense of peace that comes from feeling loved and protected, within the arms of friendship. I miss this.

"ZOEE!" Fletcher screamed clearly sprinting at us. I didn't even notice him leaving. "ZZOOEE!" Fletcher shouts again, but sounding distressed.

"Don't you dare cross that threshold!" I let him know over my shoulders arms crossed.

"Percy's gone!"

I didn't even bother saying goodbye as I swiped through the Iris message tearing my way to the Big House. The pounding of feet behind me shown that Fletcher was following. Forcing my way in I first noticed the dreadful state the lobby was in. Shattered pieces of glass here and there, a few drops of blood near them, a couple things out of place or turned over. It looks like someone one was struggling. Most definitely Percy.

I continued passed a downed lamp, a few dropped pictures with broken frames, and turned up carpet in the demolished state of the halls. Then I entered the medical ward. And here I thought the state of the rest of the house was bed. That was nothing compared to this. Immediately I took noticed to the splotch of red on the floor and the post. It still wasn't completely dry so whoever took him, it was recent. The needles hung loosely over the overturned bed. A resounding beep came from the machines from the lack of a connection. There was not one thing in place in all of the room. There was blood on the tips of the needles that should have been inserted in Percy's arm along with hair on the tape. The tube that should have been down his throat also had a twinge of red. Whoever did this was in a rush.

"How in the Hades did this happen!? I couldn't have been gone for more than thirty minutes!" I am pissed. Mostly at myself for not forcing anyone to watch him while I was gone. This is on me for letting this slip past me.

"I don't know! I left like ten minutes after you got to your cabin."

"That is still twenty minutes unaccounted for! Where did you go." My tone wasn't subtle in accusing him.

"My cabin! I'm a councilor after all and had to wake the kids up. I came here as soon as I was able to after checking up on Percy." Fletcher tossed back crossing his arms over his chest standing his ground. I can figure out the truth later. I cannot waste time. A lot can be done in thirty minutes if done right.

"Get Chiron, Annabeth, the Councilors, everyone up!" I ordered taking in every little piece of information from the room. I kneeled down taking a closer inspection of the scuffs on the floor. They appear odd.

"What are you going to do?"

"My job. Let them know what's going on and that no one is allowed to leave, unless cleared by Chiron or myself.. Once I find Percy, I will find out who. Did. This. Got it?" Fletcher didn't look pleased to be ordered around, but nodded his head nonetheless. He rushed out leaving me alone with a quarry full of clues. Except for some damn reason the picture it was building was all wrong.

The signs are all here. Like a wounded animal trapped in a cage, willing to do absolutely anything to leave. Even if wounds become self inflicted. There is nothing to show that Percy wasn't alone. If anything the chaos is similar to that of a bad drunk stumbling his way through his house after a heavy night of drinking. Too out of it to realize what's going on, but conscious enough to flounder.

But that can't possible be true. I was here day in and day out watching, listening, waiting for the day some sort of change occurs. There was nothing. Then what? He just magically sits up right stumbles into every piece of furniture all on his own? I'm not buying it. I can't. I saw him before. I saw his tattered body barely hanging on itself with the scraps of flesh that weren't destroyed. I heard the Siren's lullaby dreadfully hummed to remember the dead. I smelled oozing puss from infected wounds. I felt his bones shift when I made temporary splints. His eyes held no mischief like I remembered. Water avoided him. I saw through him, literally. Crucified with no option to die. So no. I find it impossible he waltzed out of here on his own.

But tracks don't lie.

They can be manipulated. But they can never lie. It's why they are so effective.

So Percy, where did you go?

Everything is leading to the front door. Still odd how no one noticed a gods damned thing. A few dots of blood on the stairs and disturbed grass and dirt right below that. The grass flattened out like something laid down on it with dust from kicked up dirt on top of it all. The dust settled only after Percy got up. Given there is only thirty minutes to work with, it couldn't have been long.

The trail stops here, but I quickly pick it up again just behind the House. Where the strawberry fields are. This is going to be such a pain in the ass. People don't realize just how much of a trail people leave behind if they are not being careful. A pinch in the grass there, a broken vine here, or dirt kicked up. Of course it could be Demeter's or Dionysus's children, but they know better than to hurt such precious agriculture. So they are out. Adding to the fact that it is way to fresh to be them.

Somewhere in the middle of the field his tracks shift right. Directly ninety degrees, it continues through the field and goes right along the farthest side of the stables.

The Pegasus and others are all restless. Even before I got close I heard them whine. It's a very loud noise that carries: a whinny can be heard from three-quarters of a mile away. And it doesn't just happen like in modern digital representations. They tend to make a round of loud and emphatic whinnies in circumstances where horses that are accustomed to being together are separated: if a foal is being weaned from its mother, a horse has been isolated from its herd mates, a stallion is trying to ascertain the presence of other horses nearby, or a certain child of a certain god responsible for creating such creatures has just left them. Yet, I can see that they are all accounted for. So Percy did come through here.

They squeal as I get into their line of sight. This short, high-pitched, obviously displeased sound is accompanied by an angry stomp and a couple swift kicks, and is the horse's way of telling another horse to get lost or move away. Except they aren't kicking at each other. They are staring directly at me. Not favoring my being here. I can't speak horse. But, I know that sound. They are ready for a fight.

I took a few more steps forward. And I heard it. A roar as the particular sound of horses engaged in a fight, not a sound I heard many times, but very distinctive: not quite a whinny, but louder and more sustained than a squeal. It's a deep, throaty, grating sound. "Okay okay, I get it loud and clear." I tried saying to them, but they kept standing on their hind legs ready for a fight. "I'm just trying to find Percy." I should not have said that. They frenzied. Nipping and screaming if I got a little too close.

I don't won't to be anywhere near their mouths or legs, so I backtracked and took a very long and wide circle around them. I found the trail yet again...

Walking towards the southern woods. Or is it crawling?

Damn it.

The woods where dryads live and monsters are stocked. Yes cause that is exactly where I want a hospital patient going. It is a dangerous place, and no one should ever go there unless they were armed or with a companion. Yet, for some gods forsaken reason Percy just had to get all the way over here, and I hate to say it, all by his lonesome. I can't deny it anymore. Everything is painting the picture of a solo escape. However, I refuse to say that's one hundred percent the case until I see him for myself.

Hmm there's blood. Very fresh barely hanging on the tip of green grass. Very very fresh. Only a drop.

After the rain of yesterday I can see the dark mud of the path, yet the pine needles on top were already pale and moving with the breeze. I tilted my head toward the sun, feeling the gentle warmth, noticing how the sky was darker blue the higher I let my eyes wander. In the fresh air my lungs expand as if on automatic refill, and with the rising of my chest comes a sense of calm. As I breathe the image of waves gently rising over wet sands comes to my thoughts, and with them the sound of water and the song of sky-borne birds. I miss this.

I sighed and reverted my attention back to the drop of blood. It has not been washed away, but the rain has made things simpler. His tracks sunk deeper here than the fields. Fortunately or unfortunately the rain didn't get that far.

For a second I close my eyes and imagine I'm out hunting again. For things to go back to normal.

When the first sunrays of the day kiss the heathland, when the oranges and reds melt into blue under the sunlight, that's when the warren empties and the rabbits are out to forage and play. They move slowly, lolloping in their sweet way, nibbling as they go. At the slightest noise they're up on their hind legs, seeing in more directions than I can. Sometimes I watch them for a while, enjoy this art of creation. Just because I need to eat, it doesn't mean I don't love nature. Then I take aim, one arrow, kind and quick, job done. They scatter after that and I don't have the patience to stick around for more. Phoebe keeps telling me to set traps instead, but I like my stake-out ritual, and to be honest, it's something else to watch nature from a vantage point.

I regress back into that pattern, the slightest change on the mud and follow without making a peep. I stop and listen for the slightest change, for a breathing too labored to be normal. For a snap of twigs from something heavy. For a smell that doesn't quite sit right with the scenery.

This bow has been my steady partner all these years, safe at my side. The arrows it launches fly straight and true, always right on target. I would feel less at ease walking these forests without it, I guess some things become a part of you over time. Something in my spine tingles as if something is watching me, sizing me up. A twitch in my ear and I'm certain I don't like whatever's out there. I don't see the target, I feel the entire woods and the target calls to the bow and arrow. I careful withdraw an arrow from my quiver and nock it. I pull back and aim. Directly in front of me. I hear the string tense, the wood bend. Now or never.

"Shoot. I'm not going back." A raspy voice whispered through the brush. The sound as dry as gravel sunbathing in the Valley of the Dead. As hoarse as a mute getting his voice back.

"Perseus?" I call out dropping the tension in my bow. Then putting away the arrow.

"Who?"

Percy's POV:

They're coming. I know it. They are not far behind. I- I don't want to go back. I won't let them take me back. I have to make sure. I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be free. I have to make sure they're okay. They just have to be okay.

I've been chased before by those stronger and in more numbers. I ran fast, then either hid or found refuge. It's all I can do. I escaped every time. Almost every time. But those moments running, my brain on speed-mode, ultra focused on the escape, they stay in my head as if they were filmed in slow motion. They are on my tail, closing the distance much faster than I can expand it, so I changed direction to follow my instincts, to follow some form of familiarity. Even though I'm numb and hurting and forcing everything down. Even though I'm not sure where I'm going. Horses, they're close. I could... I can't. Not without Blackjack... Gods do I miss him.

Green. Green means good, it means fresh. It means home. That's where I have to go. I have to go where it is safe. Everything has began to break apart. First, it was molded together, but now my eyes can see clearer. They can make out the different shades of greenery and sound is no longer as loud. The crunch beneath me feet doesn't want me to shut my ears down for good.

Now that I think of it, I've been chased quite a few times. Every time it was some monster I pissed off or just hungry, man hating huntresses, and one time a French maid. Plenty other times, but those are the most common or memorable. Only once was I in a car, every other time I was running on foot. It's terrifying and all they are thinking about is what? Food? Adrenaline highs with the girls? I can never make sense of the why.

Now is no different. Not my cause or the chase.

I will not be going back.

...Silence.

There's someone here.

I stopped to drag my back into a tree shifting the brush to hide me, after some seconds?- minutes?- of hiding in the undergrowth it occurred to me that I'd never truly been thirsty before. Drinks had always arrived before I knew I wanted one. They were sparkling, cool and flavored, the ice jangled and enticed me to drink. Never once had I drank to quench my discomfort. But now just plain water would be a gods-send. The urge to drink dominated my thoughts. I should stay hidden, someone is out there, but the sensation is quite unbearable.

Not quite as unbearable as the sense someone is aiming to kill me. Call it instinct. But I'm not going back.

"Shoot. I'm not going back." My throat cried out in pain from the slightest effort.

"Perseus?" I know that voice. My brain still hurts enough to remember that much. Must not be that important.

"Who?"

"Percy, are you alone?" She asked me. Definitely a she.

"Can't stop me." I'm going back even if it kills me.

"What are you talking about? Everyone is worried sick about you." She sounded so sure. That's not true. Everyone just wants what I have. Knowledge and whatnot.

"*Scoff* Everyone wants me dead."

"That's not-" She stopped herself.

"See?"

"I'll drag you back myself if I have to." That sounded vaguely like a threat. Her tone shifted.

"Try me."