Annabeth- Anchor

I awoke to screaming. A painful, agonising roar, that gripped my heart like a steel trap. Percy.

I jumped from my bunk, and quickly pulled on my weapon sheath, with my knife already hanging from it, and ran out the door, barefoot, whilst my siblings struggled with their shoes.

Campers rushed out from all the cabins in confusion. I made a beeline for the Poseidon cabin, but stopped as I heard another scream. It was a high pitched scream, like from an old horror film. All eyes were cast on the Poseidon cabin as the door burst straight of it's hinges, and flew a good ten metres from the cabin, before stopping flat in the dirt. Pressed up against the door, his eyes wide open, his jaw hanging at an unnatural angle, was Daniel.

I heard a shuddered breath, and my eyes turned back to the Poseidon cabin, where Percy was leaning in the doorway, with riptide in his right hand, and another celestial bronze sword -Dan's sword- in his left. He began to stumble towards us. I ran to meet him, but I came to a halt as I noticed the blood… the golden blood. He had a trail of ichor leading from the cabin, and I quickly noticed the Dan's blade was covered in the stuff.

Dan rolled off the door, and slowly stood up, before screaming as his sword buried itself in the dirt between his legs at lightning speed.

"Come on then," Percy croaked. "If you wanna kill me, you're gonna- you're gonna have to do it in a fair fight." All in all, I'm not sure how 'fair' the fight is. Percy is quickly bleeding out, and can hardly walk, yet he held his sword with an angry determination that made Daniel shiver as he went to pick up his weapon. He yanked it out of the ground, with great effort, and held it in both hands, waiting for the onslaught… but it didn't come.

Percy stumbled forwards, and fell to his knees, a puddle of ichor quickly accumulating around him. He had a gaping hole in his chest, that definitely took out a lung. He was drowning in his own blood. He keeled forwards, onto his hands and knees, and began to cough up ichor. Both Dan and I started towards him.

He broke into a run at Percy, and I went to intercept him.

"You take one more step, I dare you," I growled, and he stopped. Then he dashed to my left, in an attempt to get past me. I grabbed his wrist, and placed a hand on his elbow. He screamed out as I broke his sword arm backwards, then I spun him round, and judo flipped him for good measure. He lay there, blood pooling in his mouth, gurgling in pain, but I was already rushing to my boyfriend.

I held his face in my hands, forcing him to look me in the eye.

"I'm… sorry," he choked out. "I should have… told you sooner."

I didn't know what to say. Tears stung my eyes as his blood pooled around us, soaking into my pants. His eyes fell down, and I followed them. The tip of his index finger was slowly disintegrating into a yellow powder, and it fastened. Soon his whole hand was gone, then his whole arm.

"Annabeth…" I met his eyes once more. "Wait for me… ok? I need you."

I was unable to speak, so I just nodded.

"You're… my… anchor," he managed, before his whole form collapsed into yellow dust. The smell of sulphur filled the air, and I sat there, confused, disorientated and above all… scared.

One of two things happened; either he died permanently, or he was going to reform in tartarus, like monsters do. I wasn't sure which was better, but one thing was clear: Percy was gone. He died. Maybe not permanently, but he died. Dan killed him. I let Percy's remains slip from my hands as I stood, shaking, and turned. My eye's met Chiron's, standing behind the crowd. He knew about Percy. I know he knew, no way he couldn't.

I heard a small grunt as Thalia lifted Dan off his feet, and delivered a strong punch to his gut, before throwing him down to the feet of another girl, Clarisse, who threw him over her shoulder. My vision blurred as tears streamed down my cheeks, and I wiped them away as Piper broke from the crowd and pulled me into a hug.

"Just calm down Annabeth, ok? Calm… Calm…" she cooed softly, putting a generous amount of charmspeak into her voice that brought me down to a semi controlled sob.

1 day, 9 hours and 37 minutes later- I sat across from Chiron on the deck of the big house. I stared at him intently as I picked up my glass, and took a sip at my water.

"Are you going to begin the interrogation now, my dear?"he said.

"Why didn't you tell me about Percy?"

"What makes you think I knew?"

"I know you Chiron. More importantly, you know everything that happens in this camp. It's part of your job."

I looked down at my glass of water, and I noticed that the glass had refilled itself with a fizzing blue liquid. Blue diet coke, Percy's favourite.

"Why didn't you tell me, Chiron?"

"I only found out recently. It wasn't for me to tell."

"Wasn't for you to tell?!"

"I was intending to leave it to Percy. This is a new development for all of us, including him."

"When did this happen?"

"I don't know. I only found out after the game, and I doubt he knew long before that." A long silence followed.

"He's gone, isn't he?" I asked, completely devoid of hope. There is literally no way he can get out. The only reason we got out the first time was because the doors of death were chained down. One day he may leave, the same way monsters do, by re-reforming on earth. But that can be anytime between tomorrow and in the next two hundred years, more likely within the next century. I had to face the fact that I may never see him again.

"Don't lose hope on him yet. He has a way of coming back from the dead, and a way of doing the impossible."

My mind worked, going at a million miles an hour, trying to process a way that he may escape. Yet I found no possible solution, no way he could come back without the best luck in existence.

"Ask Mr. D. He may be able to shed some light on the situation."

1 minute later- I knocked on Dionysus's office door.

"Come in," he said gruffly.

I entered and took a seat at his desk. Much like Chiron's office, this room also served as the god's temporary living quarters whilst he is here at half blood.

"The Athena spawn, that's all I need," he mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear.

I cleared my throat, but he continued to look at his 'all important paperwork.'

"Just one minute," he growled. He continued reading down the piece of paper in front of him. The paper looked to be made of bronze, and it shone in the light of his lamp as he read the words that were glowing off of it.

"Great. Of course now the stupid boy takes a joyride to tartarus, right when I need a good demigod."

"Mr. D, sir!" I practically screamed at him.

He looked up uninterestedly at my outburst.

"Get to the point, and leave," he said, as if my very presence was a waste of his time.

"Is there a way Percy-"

"-can get his lazy butt out of tartarus and help us? Yes."

My mood brightened considerably.

"How? What can I do?"

"Nothing. It all depends on how useless he is. I'll get to the point. He has to become more powerful. Now that the doors are up and about again, he'll either have to wait a couple of decades, or become powerful enough to 'god' his way out. Speaking of out. You. Go. Now," he said, almost too quickly for me to process, and he pointed at the door.

2 hours and 10 minutes later- I sat on the sands of firework beach, watching the ocean. How many times had Percy and I celebrated the 4th of July together here? How many more times had we spent here just for the sake of being alone together? It was a place where I can be alone, just as Percy is right now. It's the not knowing that hurts the most. Has he reformed? Is he in pain? Is he in danger? Will I ever see him again? I let the tears fall from my face, as I imagined Percy looking up at the looming figure of Tartarus, his hand raised, ready to squash my boyfriend like a bug.

I shook the thought from my mind, and stood up. I was about to leave when I saw -standing on the surface of the water- a woman. She sunk beneath the surface, and I peered out, watching for whoever she was to reappear.

She did. A metre from the shore, she materialised out of the water. She had black hair pinned back in a net of pearls, and wore a white gown and a crown of crab claws upon her brow. Amphitrite… I think. No, it was definitely Amphitrite.

She looked me up and down, assessing me. Eventually, she backed out into the water, and disappeared.

What was that about? I wondered.

Exactly two months since Percy's 'death'- I sat on the couch, cradling Percy's one month old sister in my arms. Young Estelle Blofis was fast asleep.

"She's beautiful, Sally."

"Yes… I just wish Per-"

"I know."

Tears stung our eyes as we looked at the infant girl. Percy would have loved her, I thought, before mentally slapping myself in the face. Stop thinking of him the the past tense, Annabeth, I counseled myself.

"He'll be back, Sal. I know it."

"But he won't be the same person who left us. I remember how the two of you had changed when you got back… after all this time, he may not be… Percy, anymore."

"Sally… for all we know, he's still reforming."