Chapter 21
"The Chair will now hear to Summerville resident Mrs. Sally Jackson's request for an appeal." Punctuating the end of this sentence with a belch, Chairman Gleeson Hedge sat down in his padded chair at the front of the room. As Sally rose (looking appalled at the Chairman's behavior), Percy could see her hands shaking. She was standing in front of the town council, clutching her case in her hands. Percy was sitting in a chair on the side of the room, hoping that she wouldn't screw it up.
"The house on the hill," she began uncertainly. "Has been there for over a hundred years. These town archives will tell you as much." No one said anything. This seemed to annoy Sally, and she drove on, with more conviction. "It belonged to Andrew Jacobson and Tara Rodrigez, as well as Andrew's younger sister Carly, functioning as a summer home. While it is true that Carly was murdered in this house, there is no physical evidence whatsoever that the house is being possessed by some supernatural force. It is a historical figure for this town, and if we knock it down, we knock down some of our past with it." Sally took a deep breath. "This is why I propose an appeal. The house is not just a historical sight, but also a home to many woodland animals. I know personally. You can hear them from my house." This evoked a few chuckles from the council. "If you destroy the mansion, you destroy an entire habitat."
"The house wasn't meant to be a home for assorted wildlife," argued one of the chairmen half-heartedly.
"Not originally, no," said Sally thoughtfully. "But we humans abandoned it. We left it to rot, forgotten and untouched. The animals made a home out of what we discarded, and put new life into it. It may look like an empty old house to all of you, but under the surface it is so, so much more."
A few people applauded, Percy being one of them. He had a feeling that she was talking about more than just the animals. He held his breath, waiting for the council to respond.
Percy winced as Annabeth sucked in a breath. "They said no?" she whispered. "They're going to tear down my mansion?"
Percy put his arm around her shoulders and allowed her to lean against him. She rested her head against his shoulder. "So what am I going to do?" she said tonelessly, as if it was a dream, and she would wake up any second.
"You know, you could always… stay with us," Percy suggested tentatively. "I mean, you're over all the time. Mom and Paul, they could be your foster parents. They totally love you!"
Annabeth stiffened. "I don't know."
"Well, Mom wants you to come stay at our house for the night, anyways. Just until we figure out what's going on."
"'What's going on'?!" said Annabeth sharply. "What's going on is that my life is about to change, in an extremely significant way." She stood up, fire flaming in her blue eyes. "It seems like stuff like this always happens to me. Like there are demons, bloody Furies, circling me in the dark, just waiting for that one moment when I'm at my weakest, and then they strike, and they take everything I care about!"
"Annabeth," said Percy, shocked at the intensity of her tone. "You still have us."
"But don't you get it?" she cried, a lone tear tracing its way down her cheek. "Sooner or later, you'll be gone too. You, your parents, Tyson, I'll lose you, just like I lose everyone. Everything." Annabeth was crying now, tears cascading down her tan skin.
"Annabeth –" Percy moved to get up, but Annabeth lashed out.
"No!" she sobbed. "Stay away from me!"
Percy's mind was working in overdrive. He had never seen Annabeth like this, at her weakest. She looked totally miserable, and that scared Percy, because Annabeth was the strongest person he knew.
"Hey. Hey, listen to me," he said quietly. He gently grabbed her wrists, trying to stop her hands from quaking. "Just listen." Annabeth's crying seemed to slow down gradually, and she didn't try to escape his grip.
"You're not losing us. Any of us, okay?" His hands slipped over her skin so that they were holding her face. He brushed away her tears with his thumbs. "We're never going to leave you."
"Everyone says that," she whispered hoarsely.
"Just believe in me, Annabeth," said Percy desperately. "Believe that I'm never going to leave you, because I'm not. And if anyone tries to take you away from me, I sure as hell won't let them. Alright? You might lose the mansion, but I'm different. I'm always here."
Annabeth stared up into his eyes, almost as if she was searching for something. Percy noticed that their bodies were getting closer. Closer, closer, much too close…
A loud shout sounding from outside made Annabeth jump. Her forehead collided with Percy's nose and he let out a groan. "Sorry," she squeaked. They made their way out of Annabeth's room to the front of the house to see who was making all of the noise. Percy's heart jumped to his throat as he saw through the window a group of people marching up the hill towards Annabeth's house. He recognized them as the villagers. Each one had their fists clenched and a scowl set in their features.
Annabeth took a step back and gripped Percy's hand. "Oh my Gods," she said, horrified.
They were so close that Percy could see their faces. Hazel from the convenience store was there, and so was Octavian. There was Leo, Jason and Piper, as well as all of Percy's teachers from school. "It's the entire village," he said in amazement. The force of this reality shook Percy. He spun around to face Annabeth and gripped her shoulders tightly. "Go hide," he said urgently. "Go up and hide somewhere. Not in your room, just go."
Annabeth's eyes widened. "But Percy, what-"
"Go," he commanded firmly. "I've got a plan."
Annabeth stared at him for a moment like she had never seen him in her life. He expected her to protest and say she would stay with him. He was wrong.
As fast as lightning, Annabeth sprang forward, kissed him firmly on the lips, and then pulled back. "Good luck," she said, and took off swiftly up the stairs.
Percy stared at the space where she had just been standing, dumbfounded. She had kissed him. She had kissed him. A grin broke out on his face. Annabeth had kissed him! Annabeth had kissed him. Him. What was his name again?
Another loud shout jerked Percy back to reality. He raced back into her room and leapt out of the window, sprinting around to greet the villagers in such a way that it made him look like he had come from his own house. A wave of nausea met him when he suddenly came face to face with the villagers. They all stopped at the sight of him as he carefully stopped between the mob and the mansion.
"Um, hey," he said stupidly, raising a hand. "I was just— we were wondering, er, what exactly it was that you were all doing… here."
"Didn't you hear, Percy?" called Leo. "We've come to take the house."
Percy's heart contracted. "Didn't the town council say that they would send a bulldozing team here the day after tomorrow?"
An old man near the front of the crowd let out a harsh laugh. "We ain't waitin' for no lousy Chairman to take down this house. Its reign of terror has lasted long enough."
Cheers from the villagers.
"Yeah, we've all seen it!" cried a woman in a floral print dress. "It's high time that the house burns, and the Ghost Girl with it!"
It's high time that the house burns. For the first time, Percy noticed the dozens of gasoline canteens that they villagers had in tow. "No," he said, realization dawning on him. "No, no!"
The villagers ignored him and proceeded to march towards the mansion. He grabbed his hair with his hands and pulled. Think, Percy. Think. They were going to set fire to the mansion. He couldn't let them burn the house. Annabeth was in there, and with the amount of gasoline they had, she could never escape the flames. Ghost Girl. Annabeth was the Ghost Girl, no doubt about that. But she was his Ghost Girl. He couldn't let her burn. Not after everything he had just promised. Only one option presented itself, staring Percy down in the face. He steeled himself.
Tell the villagers about Annabeth. It wasn't what he wanted to do, but if the alternative option was letting her die, then he knew he had to.
"Wait!" he shouted, waving his arms and racing up the hill behind him. "You can't do this! There's someone in there –" A wave of heat struck Percy and he gasped, instinctively lifting his arms to shield his face. Cheers rang out from the villagers and Percy forced himself to look.
He had decided too late, and it was evident that no one had heard him, anyways. It looked like they had stacked all the gasoline in the first room, and lit a firework, herding everyone away from the house. Right now, he was the closest. The Mansion of Violet Hill was an inferno of flames, and Annabeth, his Annabeth, was trapped inside.
So, who's seen the cover for House of Hades? If you haven't, just type in "House of Hades" on any search engine and you'll find it in the first few results. It made me freak out!
Today's theme song is for Percy and Annabeth! (Honestly, people, they're not the only two characters in the series!)
Ready or Not by Bridgit Mendler
Special thanks to blankslate37 for this theme song! If you've got any suggestions for theme songs, let me know.
Omg guys I found a comic strip on tum-blr of the end of Mark of Athena (you know, everybody's favorite scene (and by favorite I mean heart-stopping tear-educing cliffhanger(LITERALLY HANGING OFF A CLIFF))) and it's so good. Go find it.
-Rebel