Taken

Chapter 18- Door 21

-Annabeth POV-

It's easy to feel alone in the likes of a dark and cold cell. I can hear the sound of water dripping down from the pipes on the ceilings, and the sound of a light pitter patter from above me, making their living in the ceiling.

My eyes have long gotten used to the darkness, but I still could barely see my arms in front of me, the only light in the room coming from the door- now open to see the guards pass by, but the metal bars separating me from my misery and freedom didn't change a thing.

I didn't like being in the light. I didn't like seeing what Luke had done to me. So I stayed in the safety of the dark corner away from the door.

My captors wouldn't be able to see me unless they poke their head in the room and physically make an effort to find me. Not that I care anyway. I was starting to lose all hope of getting out of here.

It wasn't like I could vocalize my plans to anyone, I mean, Jackson had long since left the building. It would be useless to speak out in the open anyway because the guards standing outside the cell would be able to hear me and know what I was planning.

So, either way, I was basically screwed.

I could feel my body start to turn against itself and deteriorate from the lack of nutrients I had been given. Jackson had been gone a few days given the shifts from the guards, and the food rationing has been far less than it was before. I didn't even eat yesterday.

I knew that when Jackson left it was going to get bad, but I didn't know that it would be like this. I expected Luke to make his move on me sooner than what it has been- I mean, now I have been acting like a sitting duck waiting for the next torture session.

Luke seemed to be so pleased at the thought of Jackson leaving, and me staying. I couldn't understand the validity for sending Jackson away. Jackson was the reason why Luke ever kidnapped anyone, including me, and he just ships him off back to his own bed? Yeah, I don't think so.

My heart clenched at the thought of Luke tricking the both of us. What if Jackson hadn't actually been able to go and save Rachel? What if Luke sent Jackson to his death, never to be seen again? I don't know if I would be able to live with myself if that were the case.

As much as I hate to admit it- Percy Jackson is one of the most important people in my life, now.

And if anything were ever to happen to that Seaweed Brain, I don't know what I would be able to do with myself.

It's amazing how one's thought process can change that much in such a short period of time. I had hated Percy Jackson for everything that I perceived him to be, and I didn't bother to get to know him for the person that he was.

I know that he had told me that I changed him, but I don't believe that someone can change in that short of time. They would have to had been that way before, and from what I have heard Jackson tell me about his life, I know I was able to see the real Percy Jackson.

I don't know if he was able to say the same thing about me, though.

If there's anything I regret, it's that I wasn't able to open up more to him as he was able to open up to me. It seems selfish for me to assume that he would just tell me everything while I had been keeping secrets about who I am the whole time he was there.

And now that he's not, I feel like all those secrets are slowly drowning me, leading me down through an endless abyss of no return.

Surely talking to Jackson about my feelings would have felt a lot better than what I am feeling now. Now I just feel lost with no way out.

A feeling in which I know too well.

-Flashback-

Malcolm wasn't waking up. Why wasn't he waking up? He normally wakes up when he's sleeping! But he was never bleeding before…

"Wake up, Malcolm," I begged. "Mommy wants us to come home!"

His chest was still and his face didn't move at all. I tried to slap his cheeks to see if he would open his eyes but they stayed shut… he wasn't going to wake up.

Malcolm wasn't going to wake up.

Tears continued to stream down my face and I started to choke on my sobs. "Ma-Malcolm! Pl-Please wake up!"

My small hands were covering his cheeks, trying to feel for a small twitch of his smile, the soft feeling of his breath, or the warmth of his skin. But I felt nothing. There was nothing.

My mind couldn't put the pieces together- there was no way that Malcolm wasn't going to wake up. He was my older brother… he was my knight in shining armor, he was my best friend, he was everything to me. It wasn't possible for him to never wake up again. He just had to.

But he wasn't going to.

I've never felt loss before. Everything was perfect in my eyes, and every small problem went over my naïve head. But unfortunately there was no way that I was going to be able to not understand this. My brother was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

He was covered in blood, drowning in it, just as I was drowning in the pain.

I looked down and held Malcolm's hands one last time, squeezing them in one last effort to try and get him to wake up. I knew that he would want me to run and escape, but I needed to say goodbye. I somehow knew on some level that I wasn't going to be able to see him ever again.

After trying to stop myself from choking on my sobs, I stood up and ran out of the building. Malcolm had told me where to go before Luke had came and killed him, so I knew where I needed to go.

I was lucky that the guards weren't anywhere in sight and weren't expecting me to be able to figure my way out of the complex, thinking that I was just some sort of weak child. But I wasn't weak. I was never weak. Malcolm taught me that.

My short legs carried me out of the complex and out into the sun. I couldn't see anything for a few seconds, as the sun was blinding coming out from the darkness, but it felt refreshing to feel the sun on my skin and breath fresh air once again.

If only Malcolm would be able to feel this…

I continued on and ran as far as I could for as long as I could, finding myself lost in the middle of nowhere. My small body was getting tired, and I had to stop and sit down as I started to feel myself drift out of consiounceness.

I could vaguely smell the sweet smell of strawberries before I turned to read a sign that said, Dephi's Strawberry Farm.

Then I passed out, and my brother's existence was promptly erased from my mind.

-End Flashback-

Tears were streaming down my face as I remembered my brother. It felt sickening to think that I was probably going to die in the same place that he was even after everything he went through so that I wouldn't have to.

He died so that I could live, and look at where that got me?

I felt as if I was failing him, losing my resolve to live like this. I know that if Malcolm could see me now he would be disappointed in me giving up, but it has been days. Days without any ideas, without any hope, without anything at all.

It has just been me, myself, and the cell wall.

If only Jackson were here… but then he would be forced to face the same things I was going to. He would be forced to face his worse fears, even after going through the labyrinth, and I could never do that to him.

I wouldn't subject anyone to that kind of torture.

I remember when I hated him, when I hated Percy Jackson. He was just so oblivious to everything, and he expected things from everyone. I, apparently, had been the first person to not be what he expected.

-Flashback-

It was my first day attending Goode High School. My mother had been homeschooling me and taking me on her tours with her for as long as could remember, but all the sudden she decided that it would be best for me if I just stayed home and went to public school with all the delinquents.

To be honest, I thought she was kidding at first. But as I walked through the doors of Goode High, I finally accepted that this indeed was not one of my mother's jokes and actually one of her dumb social experiments.

I was sure of it.

The people walking the halls should not have even been called people. Couples were making out against the lockers, the staff walking through oblivious to it all- or merely not caring about what the delinquents were doing, and it was just so loud.

I felt as if I was at a zoo, and the students were the animals who had just been released from captivity.

I decided that it would be best if I just got to my first hour class period and ignored the rest of the student body for as long as I could. I figured, like most animals, that they would not attack without being provoked.

And God, I didn't feel like being attacked.

My desire was short lived as all of the sudden a voice called out, "Hey blondie!"

I slowed down a bit, looking out of the corner of my eye to see what nutcase decided to jump out at me. When I saw nothing that looked out of order, I kept walking and tried to mind my own business until the voice rang out again.

"Hey, new girl! Slow down, would ya?"

I slowly turned around, frowning as I saw a guy with black hair and the most captivating sea green eyes staring at me hungrily. He had more of a lankier build, and I assumed that he was an athlete from the amount of muscle that I could see through his tight tee-shirt.

"What do you want?" I demanded, a little flustered from the sudden act in the limelight.

The boy just smirked and ran a hand through his unruly hair. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to woo me, and had to keep myself from laughing when he started to walk, more like strut, in my direction. It was like one of those hilarious movies that the staff watches.

"Well, first I would like to know your name, Blondie."

I rolled my eyes. "You can call me Chase."

The guy laughed, and reached out to grab a lock of my hair, but I stepped back to avoid him. "Is that some sort of nickname or something, Blondie?"

"Try last name, dumbass."

His green eyes twinkled with amusement. "If we're going by last names, then call me Jackson."

I frowned, shocked at how forward this guy was being. He lightly turned my shoulder and threw his arm around my shoulders so that I was facing the way to my first class. I politely took his arm off of me and stopped in my tracks.

"So, wanna go out with me or what?"

I looked at Jackson with wide eyes. "Uh, no."

The smug look disappeared from his face and shock soon replaced it. "Wait, what?"

"I'm pretty sure you heard me right. I don't want to go out with you, Jackson."

His face turned red as he started to seethe with anger before turning away from me and walking away with what dignity he had left.

-End Flashback-

That was the day that marked the beginning of Jackson and I's reign of hatred for each other. I humiliated him in front of his friends, and for some reason he was never able to get over what happened that day.

But after talking to him, after being able to get to know the real Percy Jackson… I knew that the reasons ran further than just annoyance. It was the baggage that he carried after never knowing his father that hit him in that moment, but I never understood it until now.

I just wish I could apologize to him. I knew that I messed up my relationship with him for probably the rest of my life, but after knowing that the entire time we have been rivals to each other could have been avoided if I didn't embarrass him like I did- I couldn't help but wish he was here.

I needed to let him know that I was sorry, and that it was all my fault.

All of the sudden I heard the sound of creaking from the cell door opening, and two men walked into the cell silently. If I didn't hear the sound of the door, I wouldn't know they were even there- they walked silently and stealthily, as if they were trained to do so.

The two men grabbed me and forcibly dragged me through the hallways of the institution. I was too weak both physically and mentally to fight back and try to figure out where they were taking me. I couldn't really figure out what was going on- the light was hard on my eyes.

I felt them stop and throw me to the ground. I tried to sit up and see what was going on, but everything was so disorienting- the only thing that I could see was "Door 21".

One of the men pushed a few buttons on a lock before the door opened, and the smell that came through was intoxicating. I started to struggle and try to get out of the other man's grasp, but he was too strong and I was too weak. It was pointless.

I was gripped up by my shoulders and forced into a standing position. "Good luck, Chase."

The next thing I knew I was being shoved into the room and the door was slammed behind me. I started to shake, remembering the last time I heard of this place.

A tear leaked from the corner of my eye. This is where I was going to die.