Author's Note: A day late again. I'm really not good at this whole schedule thing. Sorry! Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter, and I'm assuming that by now you all already know that I don't own Percy Jackson and am just a fan. As always, thank you all so much for the reviews!
Chapter Ten: Annabeth POV: Demigod Dreams
After hours of flying, we finally arrived at camp. It was well into the evening, at least 7:00 by now, and after the day's events and all of the crying, I was absolutely exhausted, but I knew that the first thing I needed to do was talk to Chiron.
The first thing Chiron did when he saw me was give me a hug and a small square of ambrosia to calm me down, as I had started to cry again. Then we sat down on the couch in the Big House (well, I sat down, he was in his wheelchair) and I explained to him everything that happened.
"Please, Chiron," I sobbed, "Please help me organize a quest to find Percy. He organized a quest to find me once. so I know we can assign a quest to find him. Please!"
Chiron nodded, his eyes lowered in sadness. "Of course, child. Before you were back, Annabeth... Rachel issued a prohecy. I believe she needed to speak with you. She hasn't told anyone else yet."
"Where is she?" I sniffed.
"Last I saw her, she said she was going to take a walk by the beach and to send you down there when you arrived."
I nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Chiron."
I found Rachel right where Chiron had told me I'd find her: down at the beach. Being at the beach reminded me of Percy, and I wished that Rachel had chosen somewhere else to meet me.
"Rachel." She turned at the sound of her name.
"Annabeth, you're here," she said, her eyes filled with sadness. "I knew before you came. I have a prophecy for you. You're going to want to hear it."
Rachel took a deep breath and started. "Three heroines shall follow the trail, through the maze they will prevail, but in the end a battle shall rise, and a friend will see through different eyes."
I swallowed. That didn't sound good. It sounded as if we would be travelling through THE maze, which Percy and I had believed we'd destroyed last year. Apparently not, unless the prophecy meant a different maze, which was highly unlikely. And there was also the part about a friend seeing through different eyes... what was that supposed to mean? I suspected it was something along the lines of someone on our side deciding to join Kronos, but I desperately hoped not.
Suddenly, the exhaustion of the day caught up with me and I collapsed on my knees in the sand. Rachel put her arm around my shoulders and helped me up. "Come on. You need some sleep. We can assign the quest in the morning."
As much as I knew she was right, I was still angry with myself for not leaving right then to find Percy. Every second that went by, Percy was still in danger, and it was more likely that he could be dead. That was my last thought as I slid into my bunk and immediately fell asleep.
I dreamed that I was seven years old again, hiding behind a storage crate in an alley. Luke and Thalia entered the alley and I freaked out, unsure whether they were friends or enemies. Luke stared at me wide-eyed, like he couldn't believe how fierce I was for a seven-year-old. In the end, I joined them, and we ended up laughing about the whole experience.
As soon as Luke made his promise, though, the one he would never keep, the dream changed. I was with Percy, and we were standing in front of the cash register at Sweet on America, the candy shop where his mom used to work. I was chuckling as Percy ordered a large bag of blue candy, for old time's sake. I remembered that day. Percy had shown me around New York and had ended up dragging me into a candy shop. It was a happy memory, at least until the checkout lady turned into Kelli the empousa. I had never met her, but Percy had described her pretty accurately.
"Well, look who we have here," she said.
I reached down for my dagger, but it wasn't there. Percy hesitated for a split second too long. Kelli lunged at him and I screamed.
The dream changed. I was running up Half-Blood Hill with Luke, Thalia, and Grover. There were monsters chasing us.
"GO!" Thalia yelled. "I'll hold them off. Grover, get up the hill!"
Luke picked me up and he and Grover ran up the hill. "NO!" I screamed. "NO! THALIA, NO!" But it was too late. I saw Thalia on the ground, the monster standing over her. She was dying.
"I'm sorry," she muttered weakly. Then something unusual happened. Thalia disappeared, and a beautiful tree appeared in her place.
The tears started falling. Just when I couldn't take it anymore, the dream changed for the final time.
I was standing in the apartment where Percy was trapped. I saw him, sitting there in the chair, tied up like he was before.
Realizing that I was able to move in my dream, I rushed forward with the intent of untying him. How he was going to escape, I had no idea, but I had good intentions. When I was almost at his side, an inhuman voice said, "Not so fast."
A figure moved out of the shadows. A cyclops. I was shaking from head to toe. The last time I had met an evil cyclops, I had been with Percy in the sea of monsters. We had only barely escaped because I tricked it using the same method as Heracles in the old myths. The time before that, I was seven years old and on the run with Thalia and Luke. The cyclops had changed it's voices to mimic Luke and Thalia. I was forced to run through the dark mansion, and I barely found them in time to save them from being eaten. I wasn't eager to see another one.
The cyclops chuckled darkly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said. "You have four days to surrender to Kronos, or the boy dies." He tipped Percy's chair to emphasize his point. Percy groaned, unconscious.
I swallowed hard. In four days it would be August 18th. Percy's 17th birthday.
The dream faded and I woke up in a cold sweat. I sat up abruptly, hitting my head on the bunk above mine. I needed to choose companions and leave as soon as possible.
