This is the replacment chapter 4. Explaination at bottem.

My eyes snapped open and I woke suddenly as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over my head; I realised that I was back at camp again, alone. I looked at my watch. It read 8/23/11 10:02:47pm. My twenty-fifth birthday was less than two hours off.

I've been in the camp's infirmary so many times that I could recognise each room. 'That's strange, if its two hours before my birthday, shouldn't...no please, Gods no!' I sat bolt upright and stared around the room. I was right. Everything was the same, the chair, the window, the door, the mark on the wall that looked suspiciously like blood, everything. It was the room that Luke had been staying in. The whole thing had been a lie, nothing more than my fevered fantasy. I started to sob. It had seemed so real, it felt so real; the near death experience, the love-making, the confession...

He'd mention the time Ethan walked in on us at it, gods, that was one of the best nights of my life. I was twenty-two and it was just before Christmas. The memory just made the pain worse. Gods they couldn't do this to me; it was too cruel and just goes to show that you can never get over somebody you care about. I hugged my knees and heard Chiron coming up the stairs. I didn't care; I didn't care about anything anymore. Nothing he could say or do could change things. I was still going to die and I was still never going to see him again.

I heard him walk/trot over and felt him put his arm round me. I shrugged him off. I don't want anyone but Luke anymore. He was my life and future and both had ended when he died. Chiron knew how I felt and knew what was going to happen in two hours time, just not how much I missed him now.

I went ahead and spoke what was on my mind, I shouldn't have said it but I couldn't keep it hidden for any longer:

"Please just let me die..."

I was woken by heavy footsteps coming down the alley. I instinctively moved my hand to where Atlanta had been. It met empty air. I looked down before fully realising that I was not in her apartment but in a back alley in darkest Tartarus. I grabbed my bag of basics and leapt over the back wall, trying to piece together what had happened. I ran blindly down past some worn out warehouses and darted inside one. Dusty and decrypted just like everywhere else.

Once inside, I collapsed against the wall and sat down. I unzipped the rucksack and pulled out my most treasured item, the only picture of Atlanta I owned. I hadn't looked at it for days. I unfolded it and let my fingertips brush the surface of photographic paper. The glossy coating caused my fingers to stick as they touched the image underneath. It may be the only picture of her that I owned but it showed one of my most treasured memories. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the wall. I blocked out the filth, murk and other thoughts as I struggled to remember that day, having a titan host your body can really mess with head. I vaguely remembered the details...

It was the day before we climbed Mount Tam and completed my quest. I decided to put it off for a bit and enjoy being out of camp, we may never get another opportunity like this. The waves crashed against the cliff base and sent spray flying through the air on the breeze. The ocean was a cross between blue and green and was creating some of the best waves of the year, but for some reason she hadn't been taking advantage of them.

She sat on the top of the cliff looking out over the ocean again; it was something like the third time today. Her red hair was loose and was slowly drying out in the sun. Her long, creamy, legs were bent underneath her and her slender arms rested in her lap and on the grass. Her soft, willowy body wore her black bikini which contrasted with her pale skin tone. I couldn't help but think about how easy it would be to just undo the knots that kept the material against her body and how my hands could then stroke the soft skin underneath and then I'd...I shook my head and caught my arm that was subconsciously moving to her back to untie the knots. 'She's just a really good friend, that's all; we've known each other since we were nine. Beside I've already got a girlfriend back at Camp.' She didn't hear me approach. I sat down next to her trying to keep my hands to myself.

"What are you doing up here?" She looked at me and the sun sparkled in her vivid green eyes. The freckles that were sprinkled across her nose had become darker in the last few weeks due to the Californian sun. Her lips were soft and pink and although she wore no makeup she looked cuter than my girlfriend. She looked back out to sea again. I didn't mind waiting for an answer, I was enjoying the warm sunlight on my bare chest. I smiled as the moisture vanished cooling me down. "Thinking." She said at last.

"About what?" I asked still looking at her elf like face; it was moments like this where I could see her connection to the wild and forests. Her face was angled, her nose finely pointed, eyes slender, lips thin and cheek bones high. Even her ears, which had been pierced three times (one for each year at camp), were pointed slightly at the top. She looked a bit like the wood nymphs at camp, minus the green tinge.

"Stuff." I nodded and put my arm round her, but only as mates. I wasn't sure about it but I thought I saw her blushing as my arm slipped around her shoulders. She rested her head on my shoulder and continued to stare out at a random, empty spot on the horizon...

I had at the time put the thoughts down to my testosterone fuelled mind and didn't realise it at the time that I was crushing on my closest friend but I was and it was little moments like that that kept me going through this dark place...

"Atlanta, you can't say that." I looked up with tears streaming down my face.

"Why can't I? It's my life and I don't want it anymore! I can't live it without him and my life is practically over anyway, so why can't I just die and get it over with?" I spat it in his face and broke down again. They had got my hopes up and let me live out my dreams and then stole the ground beneath my feet.

Even if I got through this I would never be able to get on with my life knowing that I almost had my perfect life with the only man I've ever really loved. Even if I got through this I would still no longer want my life and probably end it anyway.

"Atlanta, do remember anything from before now?" I shook my head. "You collapsed two weeks ago. I thought it was the prophecy coming true early..."

"It wasn't. They've been messing with my head again Chiron. They showed me the life I almost had and then shattered my dreams again." I looked away; I couldn't bear to talk about it.

"Atlanta...if you missed him that much..."

"The thing is I didn't. I had acknowledged his death when this happened. It's just reopening a sore wound."

"I see. If you really want to die, then I won't stop you, just think it through. What will you miss out on, what will you never do...?"

"There's nothing I want to do without him! At least this way I will see him again."

"So you're willing to run the risk?"

"No, because where ever he is I will find him..."

Time has no effect here or anywhere in the underworld, but especially Tartarus. Its forever night and it's like ancient Greece meets the modern world with every era and country in between. So far I've been in the Roman empire, Native American Indian country and I'm in modern day China at the moment, I think...

I still didn't believe that everything that had happened in those twenty-eight days, thirteen hours and forty-five minutes had been conjured out of memories and dreams. I'd had blackouts before but that was the longest and most vivid. I wasn't sure if it was just me who had experienced that black out or Atlanta had as well but I had no way of knowing. I closed my eyes and the images were back but time had moved forward as it usually does. I have yet to see the same scenario twice.

The only thing I could hear other than the traffic below was her. I could hear her crying somewhere in front of me. It was night and the only source of light was from outside so I had no idea where she was. "`Lanta?" She sobbed harder as I fumbled round on the wall for the light switch. The lights clicked on after a few moments. "Lannie babe, are you alright?" She was curled up in the corner hugging her knees and crying. She looked up at me as I went over to crouch by her side. She blinked the tears out of her eyes as she watched me.

"I'm fine Luke." She wiped away the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "You don't look it." She gripped my arm and she started crying again.

"Luke, I can't do this, I just can't, really I-" I got fed up with her complaining. I grabbed her chin and twisted her face round so I could kiss her. She resisted me at first but grew more relaxed as it went on. She wrapped one arm around my neck but the other remained permanently curled around her stomach.

I broke off and pulled her to a stand. Wasn't that long since the last one? Her pregnancy was only just starting to show. Her stomach was only just starting to swell but her boobs had already grown.

"It's all going to be alright Lannie, I promise you." I rubbed her shoulder and smiled at her. She still cradled her bump.

"Why should I believe you?" I got down to her height and wiped her tears away.

"Why'd you say that?"

"All the promises you made you broke. You abused my trust and- and- and-" She broke down again.

"Lannie, you know that it's not like that anymore. Yeah, maybe it was like that at one time but that was a long time ago, babe. You know I wouldn't do that to you, certainly not now, not with you..." I slipped my hand behind her neck and closed my eyes. I pressed my forehead to hers and smiled at her. I pulled back and she smiled at me. I stroked her hair and she smiled through her tear filled eyes. I stood up and held my hand out to her. "Okay now? Do you want to...?" She grabbed my hand and clung on to my arm with a small laugh. Mood swings; symptom of pregnancy. Gods how am I going to cope?

I shook my head; how far I had fallen. From the captain's suite on a cruise ship with my gorgeous and devoted girlfriend to a disused warehouse in Tartarus where I could see the life and family I will never have. A single tear rolled down my scarred cheek...

Time had seemingly slowed down as I waited; waited for the moment I had been dreading for years and only recently accepted. I'd told Chiron everything I'd seen and he'd acted like he understood. He must get this all the time. I remembered something he'd said long ago: 'The life of a hero almost always ends in suffering.' I understood what he meant now.

The full moon shone mournfully through the window illuminating the sombre scene. I sat alone leaning against the far wall after pacing the room in my impatience to get things over with. I was staring at the floor, thinking about what I had decided to do. There was no going back now, I was going to die and that was that. I was thinking about the night Luke had mention when footsteps brought my attention up.

Chiron had returned after iris-messaging my mother about my choice. I had predicted rightly that she would not be happy about my decision and had been taking it out on Chiron for letting me get into that relationship with Luke which had ruled my life for almost ten years; if he had stopped me I probably not have done what I did and would fight what was coming in less than a minute.

He looked pained at the events which were about to unfold even though he had probably been through it all before. I guess it never stops hurting.

I took a deep breath as I felt my heart starting to slow. I looked at my watch: 11:59:48pm. 'Only ten seconds left.' I looked over at Chiron and our eyes met in a knowing agreement, I knew where I'd find him.

I closed my eyes for the last time as I felt a cold and ghostly hand take mine to lead me away from the life I never wanted...

I could hear them coming for me again, the monsters that is. Ever since I ended the war and their chances at world domination they'd wanted to get their revenge. It had been a miracle that they hadn't found me during my fortnight blackout in the alley. Every titan and monster trapped down here that had been involved with the war, minus Prometheus, wanted their revenge on me, even Kâmpe the jailor and, I shuddered at the name, Kronus. Occasionally, I wouldn't be quick enough to escape their wrath and they'd end up 'killing' me. I had found that a celestial bronze sword doesn't work in Tartarus owing to the fact that monsters don't have souls and their essence returns to here. I can manage to dispel them just long enough to escape, usually. My last run in had been with Kelli the empousa. That had not ended well; she blamed me for Atlanta sending her back here a second time and still wanted to get off with me. If they ever met again, I'd certainly run. I shuddered, that encounter really hadn't ended well.

I didn't bother to run. I wasn't like I could die, I'm already dead. I sighed before standing up to face what I'd been running from. I was sure I saw something glowing behind me. I dismissed it, strange things happened round here all the time. I was about to take a step forward to meet my fate again when I heard something, it sounded like my name being called on a summer breeze. It reminded me of the years that I spent with my Mom. I remembered how she used to bake chocolate-chip cookies (or chocolate-chipped charcoal as Annabeth called it) all the time. The whole house smelt of freshly baked cookies every few days. 'Mom I sorry. You always knew this was coming and me trying to escape my fate only brought my fate closer.'

I heard it again and I turned round. I froze. She stood there in front of me, unmoving as if made of stone. Red hair plaited down her back with strands of silvery ribbon and circlet of silver placed on her head, a short white chiton held with silver clasps showed off her long soft legs, slender arms and lithe frame, silver bow and arrows were slung over her back they were the only thing that ruined the noble look and she stood barefoot despite the glass covered floor. Her eyes were the same as they always had been, a vivid emerald green, and were the only thing about her that wasn't washout. Tendrils of white mist hung off her body and evaporated in the humid conditions of the store. The princess of the wild hunt had arrived in the darkest hell-hole in the western civilization. She held out her hand to me and her face remained expressionless. She said my name again without any emotion. Her last act before she spent the rest of eternity in Elysium was to save me; like she always did.

I reached out and took her hand. Her eyes spoke to me through the white light that had been generated by her touch: Come with me...

Prequel (Life After Death is up) and updated regularly. I changed this because it would fit better with that.