Hi everyone! Just one chapter to go!
I was having some trouble getting this chapter written, for two reasons.
One: I was suffering from a huge case of writers-lack-of-time. I'm in highschool, and have lots of homework. Plus I have extracorriculars and a huge(but exciting) side personal project. I honestly don't see how those of you who are in band or sports manage it all.
Two: I have been reading and/or hearing about some amazing stories (both fanfictions and otherwise) that are absolutely amazing. My writer friends are writing three of these (A friend who is also on fanfic, sonicblue99 is writing one, its not up on fan fiction yet, but you should go read her current story if you like Doctor Who. And, my friend Charlotte is writing/has written the other two). All of the stories are fantastic, well written, in depth, with detail and amazing characture development. The authors totally deserve to be told again and again they're fantastic, but hearing about them/ reading them has left me felling rather inadequate.
The solution this came, once again in the form of a trip. I turned this chapter out on a two our flight to Florida for a teacher work day. Hopefully my trend of writing while traveling won't continue, because if it does you won't get the next chapter until winter break, so late December.
One more chapter left! Ahhhhhh!
Annabeth's POV
Getting an unconscious Thalia settled on the couch proved difficult, thanks to the hovering of my extended family. By the time my one of my uncles suggested moving her so we could line the couch with towels, I was ready to break their necks.
As calmly as I could, I sent Percy to retrieve my demigod emergency first aid kit and the ambrosia and nectar from my bathroom, and set Piper (who was one of the least wounded) the task of accessing the others. Then I turned to my family.
"Look," I stated plainly- if a bit aggressively, "We are demigods. We deal with this stuff practically on a daily basis, and all of us have fought in two wars. We are more than capable of taking care of Thalia's injuries, and our own. And, you hovering over our shoulders, telling us- who have been trained to do this- what to do sure as Hades isn't going to help the matter. I recommend removing all of the kids- yes, Bobby, Matthew, that includes you- from the room. If you adults insist on staying in the room, please stay out of the way."
A hushed silence met my speech, but Percy had returned with the supplies so I paid it no heed.
We fell into a rhythm, as we had so many times on the Argo II, treating each others injuries simultaneously. We didn't talk, spare the rare question for whoever we were treating. I dribbled nectar into Thalia's open mouth as Hazel worked on bandaging her midsection.
I knew that my family was still in the room. I could feel their gazes on us. I just hoped they had enough sense to send Bobby, Matthew, and my younger cousins outside. The sheer amount of blood Thalia had lost was terrifying, especially for what we determined to be a rather small stab wound.
Somebody placed a tray of water on the side table beside by my head. I looked up, and to my surprise it was Aunt String-Bean who had brought the water.
"I served as a trama-nurse for several years," she began.
That shocked me. I never would have pegged her as a nurse of any sort. However, the water was actually quite helpful. I swallowed my pride and opened my mouth to thank her, but she held up her hands to stop me.
"I'm not going to tell you what to do; it's quite obvious you have tools and medicine I've never worked with. I just thought you might appreciate some water."
I stared at her for a second, trying to read her expression.
"Thank you," I said, but then Thalia coughed, so I didn't see Aunt String-Bean's reaction.
I helped Thalia sit up, and handed her a glass of water. We all gathered around the couch. Jason perched on an arm by Thalia's feet, Piper on the floor beside him. Hazel was slumped into Frank, and Percy and Leo were helping me pack up the unused supplies.
"What happened?" questioned Jason.
Thalia mumbled something into her glass of water.
"What?" I asked.
"A stupid monster pushed me, I tripped and impaled myself with the stupid bread knife."
We all laughed, relieved it wasn't something worse.
"Who knew bread knives were so dangerous?" exclaimed Percy.
I glanced at my family, and then sighed. My friends shot me some questioning looks, but I just started to pass out the remaining water glasses. Let the interrogation begin.
The questions were to be expected, but annoying just the same. 'Who were the monsters?' 'Why were they attacking us?' 'Do you really do this almost daily?'
The eight of us answered the questions as best we could, but the final question was one I wasn't expecting.
"How do you guys know each other so well? It's obvious from the way you work together that you are close."
"Well," answered Leo, "There are some things you can't do without becoming friends, and flying halfway around the world to fulfill a prophecy and destroy the evil personification of the earth itself is one of them."
I couldn't help it, I laughed. Leo had a funny way of stating it; reminiscent of one of my favorite fictional stories, but what he said was true. I don't know anyone who's gone on a quest and not come back at least friends with the other members of the quest. Especially not one to save the world. Although that may be because the only people I've ever know who have been on a quest to save the world I became very close to.
Soon all of us were laughing, and my family was looking slightly bemused.
My step mother was the one who decided to invite the others to stay the night. We all returned to the dining room, but not for long. We loaded our plates with food, and then spread out across the house.
I ended up I the living room with Percy, Thalia, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Bobby, Matthew, and my cousins. We channel surfed for a while, before deciding on a classic 'Peanuts' cartoon.
I noticed everyone avoided sitting on the couch, and I made a mental note to get Helen a gift card to get it reupholstered for Christmas. The blood spots were quite disturbing.
I lay my head on Percy shoulder, and snuggled into his side. Today had been quite eventful, but it shaped up to be a better Thanksgiving than I thought it would be.
Just a quick llittle postscript: One of Leo's quotes is inspired by one of my favorite quotes in a fantastic (and popular) series. If you can tell me were its from, you'll get a shout out in the next (final!) chapter! Here's the quote:
"Well," answered Leo, "There are some things you can't do without becoming friends, and flying halfway around the world to fulfill a prophecy and destroy the evil personification of the earth itself is one of them."