Chapter 19
Annabeth tried to hold back a cry. What was Percy thinking? What the hell was he doing? She and Grover stayed cowering behind the wall, watching in horror as Percy walked towards the big man. "Medusa," mouthed Grover, not daring to actually speak.
"Ah," said the man, who was obviously Snake. "I remember you. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Leave him alone," Percy repeated firmly, his fists clenched tightly.
"I don't think it's any of your business, little man," said Snake smoothly.
Annabeth couldn't see Percy's face, but she saw him tense, and she could tell that wasn't the first time Snake had called him that.
"What's he done to you?" argued Percy.
Leave, Annabeth wanted to scream. Leave, Percy. But she couldn't help feeling sorry for the boy on the floor, and she knew why Percy was doing this.
"His father owes me quite a bit of money, little man," said Snake idly, as if he hadn't just been beating a kid senseless. "A bit of money that I would like to have."
"That's got nothing to do with him," growled Percy.
"Or with you," said Snake. "So I suggest you get your sorry ass out of here."
"What makes my ass sorry?" retorted Percy.
Annabeth wanted to smack him. Ever heard the word "provoked"? she thought angrily.
"You're gonna be real sorry if you don't get the hell out," said Snake, who was starting to go red in the face.
In the distraction, the boy on the floor had shuffled to the edge of the room. Annabeth studied him. He had dark skin with chocolate brown eyes, and a fuzz of black hair on his head. His face was bleeding, and he seemed to be clutching his ribs.
Annabeth knew she had to help Percy. There was no way he could take on a gang on his own. One glance at Grover, and she knew he was thinking the same thing. They both stepped out from behind the wall, and Annabeth put her hands on her hips.
"Are you sure it won't be you who's sorry?" she said.
Snake let out a low, gravely laugh. "So this is what you brought for back up? These two?"
Grover's jaw clenched. A thick silence hung over them. No one dared to move.
A sudden pandemonium broke out in the room. Grover and Percy idiotically flung themselves at the men standing behind Snake. In the confusion, Annabeth slunk over to the boy on the floor. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something to her, but flinched in pain.
"It's okay," she murmured. He seemed to be older than Annabeth, and maybe even Percy, but she wan't sure. She slipped off her blue sweatshirt and tried to decide where to apply it. The boy's arm was bent at an odd angle, but he was clutching at his ribs. A thin tickle of blood ran out of his mouth. Annabeth used the sleeve of her sweater to wipe off the blood and proceeded to craft a makeshift sling around his arm.
The boy opened his mouth again. His eyes were urgent, if not bloodshot, as if he was trying to warn her of something. "What is it?" she whispered frantically.
The boy pointed at Snake, who was currently trying to drag Percy off of the back of one of his men. "He..." rasped the boy. "He's got...
"What? What does he have?" said Annabeth, who was nearly pleading.
If the boy managed an answer, Annabeth didn't hear it. A large bang echoed through the room. A gun. He's got a gun. She spun around, her throat drier than the Sahara. Relief swelled over her when she saw that both Grover and Percy were standing upright, anger flaming in their eyes. Both of them rushed over to Annabeth in the chaos that the gunshot had wrought.
Percy and Annabeth lifted the boy to his feet and supported him. "Go! That way!" hissed Grover, pointing his crutch towards an opening in the wall. They all hurried towards it, but another gunshot that was practically fired next to them shattered the room. It hadn't hit anyone. Annabeth subconsciously registered the fact that Percy was reaching across the boy's back and grasping her shoulder, but there was no time to dwell on it.
The escaped out the hole and ran as best as they could while carrying a body. "We'll... we'll never outrun them!" panted Annabeth.
Grover's eyes lit up. "In here!" he flung open a door that was located on the side of the alley, right next to the corner. Annabeth wanted to point out that the door would be much too obvious, but she was too exhausted to argue. She and Percy dragged the boy in there behind Grover, who slammed the door shut.
It was an empty warehouse with a single broken LED lightbulb in the middle of the room. They huddled in the darkness, not daring to breathe, as the echoing sound of footsteps clattered down the alley, then faded. Annabeth released her breath.
Grover let out a low whistle. "Talk about the Storm Trooper effect."
"I thought that only happened in movies?" said Percy, who ran a hand through his sweaty hair.
Annabeth turned her attention to the boy, who was now on the floor, his eyes half-closed.
"We've got to get you to a hospital," she murmured, eyeing the cut above his eye.
The boy opened his eyes and attempted to smile, but it turned out more like a grimace. "Nah," he wheezed, trying to sound nonchalant. "I've handled way worse than this."
"Doesn't matter," said Annabeth matter-of-factly. "You've still got to go to a hospital. Your elbow is broken. The infection in that cut is only going to get worse, and I think you've got a skeletal abrasion just there." She pointed to the rib he was clutching,
The boy stared at her. "You really know your stuff." He blinked, and tried to push himself up into a sitting position. "Thanks," he said, addressing Percy. "I would've been dead meat back there without." He held out a hand. "Name's Charles Beckendorf, but everyone just calls me Beckendorf."
Percy shook his hand. "Percy Jackson. This is Grover Underwood, and Annabeth."
Beckendorf raised an eyebrow. "Just Annabeth?"
She shifted uncomfortably. She knew her birth surname, of course, but she had never disclosed it to Percy. What was the need? "Just Annabeth," she confirmed.
Beckendorf started to stand up, but Annabeth sprang up and yelped. "What do you think you're doing? You're hurt!"
"I've gotta get going," admitted Beckendorf. "But thanks, again. All of you."
"But... you're hurt!" Annabeth repeated stupidly.
Beckendorf grinned. "Welcome to New York. Look, how about this: I'm not going to a hospital, but I'll go straight home. My girlfriend, Silena, is a wiz at first aid. She'll fix me up."
Annabeth swallowed. "Promise?"
"Promise," said Beckendorf.
She nodded miserably. "Alright. You're free to go."
Beckendorf left quietly, and Annabeth found herself hoping that he wasn't lying about his girlfriend.
The threesome stumbled wearily out of the warehouse, keeping a sharp eye out for Medusa. After a while, it had become very clear that they had left Blackjack Alley.
"Well," Grover said faintly. "Welcome to Oakland Street."
All down the street, lavish homes lined the sidewalk. They were large, finely decorated, and expensively furbished. Annabeth glanced at her watch. "It's 4:30," she said shakily. "Which one is Zeus's?"
It was obvious that nobody wanted to talk about their near death experience or Beckendorf, but Annabeth still couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone horribly wrong in there. Percy seemed to notice, but he didn't comment on it.
When they got to the front gate of Zeus's house, Percy turned to Grover. "Thanks, man," he said. "We can find it from here."
"Percy," croaked Grover. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-"
"Hey," said Percy. "It's all good. We're out of there, now. No harm done." He clapped a hand on Grover's back. Grover was still trembling.
"You sure?" he said.
Annabeth smiled. "Grover, it's fine. Honestly. I'm actually glad I got to see that part of New York. It makes me feel like I've got it good."
Grover managed a feeble grin. "Alright," he said. "I'll leave you to it."
Grover hobbled off, giving the entrance to Blackjack Alley a wide berth.
Percy put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You okay?" he asked.
Annabeth nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just... What about Beckendorf?"
Percy's eyes clouded. "He'll be fine."
Annabeth didn't question him as he pushed open the gate and strolled up to the door, rapping it sharply. A middle-aged woman opened the door. She was wearing a strange navy blue uniform that looked suspiciously like a janitor's suite. She brandished a mop like it was a sword. Her graying hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the top of her head, and her thin lips were pressed into a scowl. "Whaddya want?" she spat, her Manhattan accent ringing thickly through the air.
"Um... we- we just... we wanted- wanted to, um..." Percy's feeble attempt at introducing himself forced Annabeth to step in front of him and take over.
"We're here to see Mr. Zeus," she said politely.
"You got an appointment?" said the woman doubtfully, shifting the mop from one hand to the other.
"Uh..." Appointment? Percy stiffened, as if he had no clue his dad's old friend was in such high demand. "Yes," replied Annabet cheerily. "We're his 5:00 appointment. It's always good to be early, you know."
The old (and somewhat intimidating) woman still looked a little wary, but she let them inside anyways. "Mr. Zeus's office is up the left staircase, third door on the right. Normally his secretary would escort you, but she's on her dinner break." The woman propped the mop up in her hand menacingly. "And if you steal anything from this house, I will know. I will hunt you down. And you will be sorry."
On that happy note, the woman tromped out of the room.
Annabeth held her breath as she took in the interior of the building. A huge marble staircase was the first thing she saw when she walked into the room. There were hallways on either side of it, leading straight to the back of the building. It split into two and arced out to the left and right, leading into more hallways. She ran her hand delicately along the brass banister.
"Percy," she said softly. "This is what the mansion would have looked like. You know, back before it was abandoned. I can feel it."
Percy smiled slightly. He took her hand and together they followed the grumpy old lady's instructions up the staircase. The hallways held no less finesse then the staircase. There were ancient paintings lining the walls, suits of armor, and old grandfather clocks that clicked rhythmically through the silence.
"Here it is," muttered Percy nervously. He reached his hand up to knock on the door. The second before his fist hit the wood, Annabeth panicked.
"Wait!" she hissed.
Percy froze, his eyes wide. "What?"
"What if he does have a 5:00 appointment? We can't just barge in there and talk to him! We should have called, or given some sort of warning that we were coming, or-"
Annabeth wasn't done with her tirade, but Percy quickly reached up and knocked anyways. Annabeth glared at him, but he shrugged innocently, like he hadn't been aware that she was even speaking.
"Enter," a strong male voice boomed through the door.
Percy flashed her a quick grin before opening the door. Annabeth followed reluctantly. The office was clean and organized. There was no sense of clutter anywhere. This in itself made Annabeth more comfortable. Sure, she lived in a dump of an abandoned mansion, but a guy who took the time to sort things out like this and keep them that way would be less likely to abduct her and Percy and sell them to some foreign country as slaves. Right?
The man behind the desk stood up. Annabeth had a sudden yet strong urge to bow. The man was wearing a business suit and his shaggy brown hair was combed into a professional style. She felt a bit self-conscious about the fact that her jeans were ripped and she was wearing an old tee-shirt (and had nothing to cover it with since she gave away her sweater to Beckendorf). She was sure that her hair was a mess as well. The man that she assumed to be Zeus stood tall and firm. A regal air had settled itself around him. Annabeth was excited. He looked like he could help them.
She was wrong.
The moment he saw the two of them, his eyes flashed. Annabeth could have sworn that she heard a thunder clap in the distance, though the skies had been clear when she was outside just a moment ago. His hands clenched into fists, and his stormy eyes pierced them.
"Get out," he growled, looking directly at Percy. "Get the hell out!"
I was all excited about these chapters, like "Yay, they're longer, more than 2,000 words! And then I see in my inbox: RebelGirl13's favorite story. Chapter 14: 7,893 words. What?
Today's theme song is for Piper and Jason!
As Long As You Love Me by Justin Bieber
I know, a lot of people aren't big Bieber fans (myself included) but you should check out Carly Rose Sonenclare's (no idea how to spell that) version! It's amazing! Special thanks to for this theme song! Got any ideas? Let me know!
Review!
My newest obsession: Newsies! Anyone seen it?
-Rebel