Hello everyone!
Honestly, I'm really sorry about the lack of updates recently. I've been having a really hard time trying to progress this story and I've decided, after thorough deliberation, that this is the only way I could get to what I want for the plot. Also, it's been difficult trying to write about the characters after The Burning Maze, especially after the "event that should not be named". If you've read the book, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you don't need to worry about it.
Anyways, enough wallowing in self-pity and grief. I hope you enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO
Evelyn called for another meeting.
They sat in the auditorium, waiting with bated breaths for the woman to take the stage. It had been a week since the last broadcast and they all slowly recovered. No riots had occurred at any point and for that, she was grateful. All the participants were terrified of what was to happen to them had they revolted. That did not stop them from bearing grim faces and eating in silence.
Percy was better now. He still lacked his casual humor and quick witty banter but he smiled more often and never failed to shed a tear in the comfort and privacy of their bedroom. Their isolation had begun taking a toll on them, even more so than she anticipated. She loathed the feeling of helplessness she felt every moment of every day.
Still, she was glad for the change in atmosphere. Though the hushed, nervous murmurs of her peers would not normally give her a sense of comfort, it was better than the false happiness they expressed as they lived their day-to-day lives. Percy squeezed her hand lightly, sensing her distress. She returned the gesture before releasing a breath to remain calm.
The Head of the Eden Project seemed agitated as she stepped onto the podium. That was strange as Evelyn was never one to allow her emotions to shine through her expression. She normally wore a façade of nonchalance or sadism, not aggravation or worry. That definitely did not go unnoticed throughout the group of young adults.
Once she had regained everyone's attention, she began speaking. "The war had taken a turn that the Board did not expect." She remained vague in her introduction, not quite appropriately hinting at whatever the aforementioned 'turn' was. The furrow in her eyebrows suggested that it was not simply a problem regarding the budget or the endangerment of the base.
She raised a hand to elicit her authority. More guards in white surrounded them. All concerns were suppressed immediately.
"As you may be all aware, the weapons used in the war are radioactive and dangerous to anyone exposed to it." Collective nods were received in the room. She continued, "These nuclear weapons have been used extensively throughout the past month or so and the radiation levels in the atmosphere are lethal."
The display behind her showed a high percentage of uranium and plutonium from the Fission Bombs exchanged by the countries. "However, what we have not accounted for was the effect of such high doses of radiation to organic matter."
A sinking feeling of dread settled in Annabeth's stomach. Her head whirred with possibilities, all of which she wished were not included in Evelyn Rose's next few statements. Oh, how wrong she was.
"There have been sightings of genetically mutated animals and humans roaming the streets." Annabeth was surprised how matter-of-factly she had stated such a horrifying event. The participants of the project were much too terrified to utter a word of objection.
Of course, it was a possibility. Annabeth had read multiple articles of mutations happening after extensive exposure to sufficient amounts of radiation. After the Nuclear Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, multiple cases of the development of cancer cells and mutations on newborn babies were heard for the decade until this very day.
On the screen showed visceral, shadowy images of gruesome beasts with the bones of their spines exposed and flesh torn. Under normal circumstances, they would have been dead. This was far from normal.
"Can they swim?" One of the younger participants, a girl named Hazel Levesque, inquired with what constituted as a straight, seemingly unaffected expression. Annabeth knew that the woman was just as terrified as everyone else is but refused to give in to her fear.
"We have no research justifying that they can or cannot, thus we are unsure. What we are sure of is that they are natural survivors with primal, animalistic instincts. Each mutant seems to be different from the other, thus no specific plan of action against them had been made as of late." Evelyn folded her hands over her chest, "To ensure your survival, defense training is mandatory for each and every participant and will be given extra priority over other activities."
If this was indeed true, and Annabeth still believed in the possibility that Eden had orchestrated their capture for a social experiment of sorts, then there was no telling how much time left before they were discovered by these…monsters. Monsters that had once been human, innocent and victim to a war they did not want to partake in. Evelyn Rose was right about one thing. They needed to learn to defend themselves, all of them.
"Your training schedules will be projected in the Dining Hall. No changes will be made and complaints will not be entertained." Their captor was grim-faced for but a second before she plastered her toothy grin. "You are all the hope that remains of this world. I, blessed as I am, will do everything in my power to protect all of you from the outside."
She strode off-stage and out of sight, leaving her prisoners to absorb what she had just said.
Annabeth did not want to say that she expected it. Who in the right mind would ever see the fall of humanity coming? She believed that once the war ended, the survivors could rebuild in their stead or they could aid them in creating a better world from the ashes of the old one. Now, she was less convinced of the truth. If the war, the imminent, terminal illnesses, or unleashed psychopaths did not kill what remained of mankind, these mutations will.
She was beginning to believe that Earth was killing off the human race.
Percy was silent as they were escorted back to their suite. He did not utter a word whilst they were in the presence of two guards who essentially acted as the ears of Evelyn Rose. It was safer for them to divulge their concerns once they were in the safety of their bug-free living quarters, courtesy of Leo Valdez.
He sat on the leather sofa, leaning forward, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "If we're all required to fight, Silena will be forced too. Beck won't like that." It was a statement.
Silena Beauregard was nearly two months pregnant. While the women use her as a distraction from their situation, choosing to dote on her than reflect on the intricacies on their detainment, the men find that the inevitable birth of the child was a reason for pursuing the goal that Eden had set for them. The child growing in her womb did not deserve to know a broken world nor should they grow up in a cold, heartless facility.
"Won't Evelyn make an exception? She wanted this to happen. That's the whole point of this bullshit." Annabeth suddenly felt agitated. Though Silena wasn't at the stage of her pregnancy to find the need to limit physical exertion, the facility medic recommended that she not put herself through unnecessary stress. Defense training was definitely under that category. Hell, "unnecessary stress" was an understatement for this entire situation.
"If all of this is true," Percy started, a fury in his tone that she had never witnessed before. "I'd rather take my chances in that hell outside than to stay in this damned place."
They've had this conversation multiple times in the past. What would have happened if they had not been taken? If Eden had chosen someone else, someone willing to participate? The world was filled with fucked up people who believe that the apocalypse is inevitable already, those who have given up their perfectly normal lives to continue as hermits in their bunkers.
Yet, Evelyn did not choose them. Evelyn had taken those who could have prevented the war, placed them on a pedestal to preserve them. They were forced to be used as the foundation of a new age, an age designed by the company that trapped them there. Annabeth was almost sure that if all of them had rebelled against the Project, Eden possessed the technology to make them submit. If the well-timed broadcasts were any indication of their intentions, she had to admit that they were succeeding.
Thus, the days continued as Eden designed them to be. In between her work in the Engineering faction, she trained in self-defense and combat. It had a greater psychological implication than Annabeth had expected. She never once considered the possibility of taking the life of another. Evelyn expects them to kill in order to stay alive and the mere thought of it makes Annabeth want to vomit.
They had no access to the weapons they used in training. It was dangerous to allow nervous young adults to wield knives and guns at any point in time. There was a delicate balance within the facility, one that is dangerously close to tipping over, now more than ever. The ghouls, as they had called them, became an unwanted source of motivation for them to continue. All of them were more concerned for their own survival than for the fate of humanity. Eden used that to their advantage.
Of course, the veterans of combat training aided the single instructor tasked to teach all of them. Percy and Jason already spent the majority of their time in the combat room but more was being demanded of them since Evelyn's announcement. Annabeth could see the toll her mate was taking from this, watching as the most talented of the generation ruthlessly aiming for one another's throats was enough to disturb his fragile state of mind.
She accompanied him in his more frequent visits to Dr. Brunner. If he were to remain sane, he needed to expel all the negative emotions he was encountering. He found it harder to sleep, the nightmares plaguing him after the horrors he's seen. He wasn't alone. She's seen how different people coped with their trauma. Some turned to liquor, others to sex. It wasn't healthy but it was the best they could do.
Percy still refused to touch her. They were both stretched thin. Though they dabbled in more intimate encounters, he never once allowed himself to anything more. She appreciated his self-control, especially when almost all boys have succumbed to their primal urges. If they were ever going to give in to their inhibitions, the time must be appropriate.
She scrunched her nose in disgust as she passed by a couple displaying intimacy in the hallway.
"At this rate, half of the female population will be pregnant by the end of the month," Percy commented humorlessly, stepping in between her and a ravenous male.
Annabeth nodded once, "Do you ever think about it, though?" She queried, eyes locked on the floor instead of meeting his intense gaze. "About us, together like that."
He released a breath, "Of course I do." He replied honestly, taking her hand in his to assure her. "But, you know I won't do it unless you're sure that you want to."
"I don't know, Percy. The girls have been giving me ideas. They say that the best way to deal with the stress is through sex."
The former company heir shrugged, "I disagree. I've found plenty of ways to distract myself from this shitty situation, Wise Girl. None of them include forcing myself on you."
"What if I want it too?" She halted her stride abruptly, heart beating out of her chest.
He shook his head once, "Then we'll talk about it." He replied, pulling her close. She cherished the warmth he exuded, so much more different than the coldness that settled in the facility.
The broadcasts came more often, displaying mutilated corpses and ghouls feeding on struggling victims. The surviving nations decided that, instead of directing their attacks on each other, they will eliminate the common enemy first. Only then will they continue the war. An armistice was proposed by the Swiss but Russia had denied it completely. It seemed that the leader's intention was to truly end the human race.
Since the transmissions were controlled by Evelyn herself, they were not able to tune out the horrified screams of individuals. All they could do was to watch blindly as blood splattered the pavement and fire enveloped the cities. It was only then that Annabeth had grown numb to it. She began feeling detached from the outside world. At that point, everything she ever knew was gone. There was no point feeling compassionate towards strangers.
At this point, what she cherished the most was trapped in the facility with her.
After a particularly rough day, she found herself in the library. She had excused herself early from her duties as the designer of Briares. Well, it was more along the lines of Charles and Leo forcing her to rest instead of burying herself in her work like she usually does. She kept her mind busy instead of allowing it to dwell on her current situation. Otherwise, she'll go insane.
Percy found her there, curled up in the corner of the less frequented section, her arms around her knees as she sobbed openly on George Orwell's Animal Farm. He hadn't touched her. She knew it was one of those moments where she must compose herself before she allowed others to comfort her. Annabeth's pride was the last thing she had going for her.
"I haven't read that book yet." He mused casually once her choked sobs ceased. "I prefer textbooks on marine biology… or anything less political, actually."
She looked up at him with confusion etched in her features. "What?"
"I'm guessing you've read that book a lot." He continued, ignoring her question. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be crying on it midway through chapter five."
Annabeth finally understood what he was doing. She allowed her mind to wander again. It was something that she told herself she would never do anymore. Once she gives herself time to think, she began pondering possibilities. He helped her cope with her losses by giving her a chance to look forward to the future. Every time she dwelled on the past, her misery overwhelms her.
She nodded blankly, allowing him to remove loose strands of blonde her that stuck to her wet cheeks. "Um, I wanted something familiar. Leo said that I should stop looking through the plans for a while. Apparently, I've been making unnecessary changes to Briares' design, some of them are too idealistic for the materials we have here."
"I agree with Leo, Wise Girl." He sighed, leaning his head against the wall. "It's not healthy to bury yourself in your work."
She frowned, "Oh and you drinking your ass off when things are shitty is okay?"
"You know that's not what I meant." He didn't seem offended. "God, since we've been trapped here, we've been such nihilists."
This got a chuckle out of her. That was true. "It would have been more appropriate if I grabbed a Camus or a Sartre instead."
He mumbled something along the lines of "Woe is me." His gaze remained on the ceiling, the plush carpet beneath them did nothing to shield them from the cold. "What did we do wrong to deserve this?"
Annabeth did not reply, choosing to close the book in her hand and trace a finger against the worn spine.
"Evelyn would say that we're lucky we're still alive. Everyone else is dead or dying." He seemed unconvinced, just as she was.
It was true that there were some members of the project who believed that Evelyn Rose was a goddess for choosing them to participate. They weren't many, a small group of five, who fulfilled the whims of their captor with enthusiasm. It was a skewed view on life but if it gave them security, who was she to judge? Whilst Annabeth wasn't particularly fond of her life before the Eden Project, it was better than living for who knows how long in the middle of nowhere.
"You know what." He clapped his hand once, a smile on his lips. "I heard there's cake in the kitchen. Why don't we get some before they finish it all?"
She paused, hesitant. The look in his eyes convinced her. She nodded once, "Yeah. I think that would be nice."
It didn't take long before they learned that the monsters that roamed in the mainland could swim. While ghouls existed where the radiation was most evident, there had been sightings of their presence in countries where not even an ounce of uranium was detected in the atmosphere. When food became scarce, they migrated.
Of course, upon this announcement, everyone panicked. There was a possibility of having creatures that could not be reasoned with attacking their facility. Evelyn assured that she would do everything in her power to make fortifications in their stronghold. While they were against the Eden Project initially, it was their best chance at survival. Annabeth hated herself for even believing what she had just said.
So, when screams erupted from the hallways, she was not surprised in the slightest. She had been sleeping, peacefully for the first time in what seemed like forever. Percy stirred slightly once she bolted upright in her place beside him, expression wild with panic as she jumped off the bed. Her mate nearly fell to the ground upon realizing what had just happened.
A large group of young adults, guards, and staff stood before the main entrance of their facility, still dressed in their sleepwear as they stared at the secured metal doors that locked them in. From Annabeth's position, nearly twenty feet from the doors, she heard the faint thuds from the outside.
Percy dragged her with him, as she was glued to the floor where she stood, heart, leaping out of her chest as the frantic, dull thudding continued. He was searching for his cousins, hoping to find comfort in their small family. After ten minutes of futile searching, they came to a stop in the middle of the crowd of the Project's participants.
Piper had lost her composure, tears of terror streaming down her smooth cheeks. She had not the strength to cling to Jason for the protection that he offered. Instead, her hands lay limp at her sides, eyes wide as possibilities whirred in her head. The boys conferred out of earshot, leaving Annabeth in the presence of her closest companions. Thalia did not think this was the most appropriate time to share her hatred of Evelyn Rose. She was, after all, the only reason they remained safe.
"Will they get in, Annabeth?" A large hand gripped her bicep tightly. She winced in pain, trying but failing to remove herself from the man's grip. Travis Stoll, she remembered him to be, a man full of mischief and humor. He did not seem quite as happy now.
Her fear was evident in her features as she continued to struggle. The fragile balance that hung between them had tipped over. Katie Gardner, Travis' mate, was tugging at the sleeve of his shirt. She seemed panicked and apologetic at the same time.
"Answer me!" The man bellowed when he did not get the reply that he wanted. Annabeth whimpered, terrified. Everything was falling apart so quickly. Where did it go so wrong?
"I don't know!" She sobbed, "Let go of me, please."
Travis' panic worsened. "Of course you know! You're supposed to know!" Oh, how people change in the midst of a crisis.
Thalia had snapped out of her fear-induced stupor to assist with Annabeth's predicament. She had successfully pried Travis Stoll from her and pushed him away, wrapping a hand around Annabeth's shivering form. In any other situation, she would have used what she learned from the self-defense classes her father forced her to attend against him. At that point, she was much too terrified to think logically.
A single second passed before everyone began running.
The stampede of frightened individuals overwhelmed her easily. She was swept off her feet, carried by the wave of people fighting for their own survival. Percy's voice was drowned by screams and sobs. She barely touched the ground and she clung desperately at the shoulders of whoever was beside her in an attempt to remain upright. The moment she fell to the ground, she knew that would be the end of her. She spotted an unfortunate woman on the ground, unconscious after being mercilessly stepped on by her peers. If she was not given medical treatment, she would be dead within minutes. The blood the pooled around her indicated the severity of her wounds.
She spotted her mate barreling down the halls, catching up to the crowd with his hand extended. When she attempted to reach it, she felt herself slipping, legs dragging against the cold tile floor. Her heart leaped in her chest, using what was left of her strength to fix herself higher above the floor. Percy fought his way through the crowd, not afraid to push and shove in his attempt to save her. With inhuman reflexes, he had snatched her with a strong, nearly painful grip. She had never been happier to be back in his arms.
They collapsed on the floor the moment they were reunited, sobs wracking her chest as she clawed at his back. She had long forgotten the fear she had felt at the possibility of monsters lingering beyond the Facility. She was more terrified of what the people she was trapped with were capable of.
He grabbed her face in his hands, examining every facet for injuries. Other than the tears staining her porcelain cheeks and the new-found claustrophobia, she was unharmed.
She watched as the crowd dispersed the farther they went down the hall. Some had stopped to survey the damages, others returned to help the injured. The more ruthless of the group banged against the doors to Evelyn's office, demanding an explanation. Annabeth remained in Percy's arms, exhausted after the events of the day.
They reunited with his cousins shortly after she had the strength to stand again. Her legs were shaking initially but a few careful steps were enough for her to start walking unaccompanied. They were still standing by the doors, wincing every time the metal experienced a hit from the outside.
"Will we die here?" Piper asked, only then regaining her ability to speak. She was hoping for a reassurance, a definite "No, we're not going to die here." Instead, she received unsure looks.
Annabeth avoided her gaze. "I don't know, Pipes." She replied. "I hope not."