Wow. Since you guys went crazy with the reviews, favourites, and alerts (I had thirty emails in my inbox this morning), I decided to update. Be aware, it probably won't continue on this quickly. You guys really like my stuff, don't you? I am very glad. :D
The water was cool around my ankles as I stepped into it. It was a clear blue day, not a cloud in the sky. It was so not mirroring my mood. Thalia stood beside and a little behind me, looking uncertainly down at the salt water that swished around our feet.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "I don't really trust Per—oh, sorry."
I nodded. Thalia and Percy had always clashed, and it was still hard for her to come to terms with the fact that he was missing.
"He did it himself," I said. "I know it works, on me at least."
"Nico?" called Thalia, looking over her shoulder as the breeze coming off of the sea whipped her hair around her neck, like Medusa's. I shivered. I probably shouldn't have thought of that.
Nico was standing barefoot in the sand, eating a cheeseburger. Admittedly, it was around lunch time, but this was serious. He could at least attempt serious. He was the son of the Lord of the Dead! Why was he so damn carefree all of the time?
"Yeah, I'm comin'," he said, cramming the last of the burger in his mouth before swallowing.
He walked over to Thalia, and grabbed her hand. I grabbed Thalia's right hand, and together we walked into the surf.
Rachel had had to stay behind, due to the fact that she was mortal, and therefore more fragile than us, and she had been trying all morning to catch a glimpse of Percy which had resulted in nothing except for a pounding headache
So, she had lain down in the bedroom of a hotel suite she was sharing with us, and we had travelled to the beach. There was barely anyone there where we were, thank goodness, and no one saw us disappear below the water line.
Once underwater, I opened my mouth and inhaled. It was fine. I was breathing water. I looked over at Nico and Thalia beside me. They looked uncertain, and then worried, and then they couldn't take it any longer. Their mouths opened and compressed air blasted out as their lungs took in the water. Nico looked relieved, as Thalia smiled at me and beckoned.
Let's go. The thought sounded through my mind, and I was glad for that connection. We swam down, down to where the sand bar ended and the real ocean began. This was where we waited.
In the morning, after the call had finished, I went into the bathroom. We had a saltwater font there, useful for making calls of the demigod kind.
I threw a drachma in. "O goddess, accept my offering. Please show me..." I took a breath. "Show me Percy Jackson."
The misty spray formed together, flashing different colours before coming together in a dark tableau. Of what I was seeing, I had no idea. The vision twisted and buckled, forming and reforming before finally, the image shook. It shook some more before it showed one finally image, something deep and so dark it was almost black. Then, the mist solidified into a pane of ice, before cracking and breaking apart. I ducked as pieces flew around the room, scoring the walls, floors and cleaving the font in two.
Salt water sprayed the floor around me. I stood and looked at the destroyed bathroom. Whatever that ice was, it wasn't normal. It had sheared through the walls as though it was rice paper, smashing tiles on the floor and travelling through to the beams below. The bathroom creaked ominously as a tile near my foot fell onto the floor below. The door had a couple of large chunks gouged out of it, and through it and into the hallway I could see even more destruction.
Gingerly walked down the stairs, each step creaking as more plaster rained down on my head. Thalia, Nico and Rachel were in the kitchen, Thalia bent over the communication system, Nico rummaging around the in the fridge, and Rachel sitting on the bench with her arms folded.
"It didn't show me anything," I said to them. "It didn't work at all." A tile dropped from the roof behind me, punctuating my remark.
"Well, we need to contact someone," Thalia said, straightening up. "Do you think Percy's dad would help?"
I sat on the bench, absentmindedly combing my fingers through my hair. "Well, I know our parents are distant, but I think they love us. I mean, when... it... happened, mum helped..." I trailed off. That was something I didn't need to think about at the moment.
Thalia nodded, and pulled out a short knife. Crossing to the kitchen sink, she burst the tap with one swipe. Water erupted out of it, separated by a chunk of metal that was lodged in the tap. What resulted was some mist and a few gushes of water.
"Are you ready?" she asked me, handing me a drachma. Rachel turned around, interested.
I nodded uncertainly, and tossed the coin in the makeshift fountain.
"O goddess, accept my offering."
The coin disappeared.
"Show me Poseidon, Lord of the Sea."
The mist shimmered and reformed, showing me underwater. The unearthly green glow lit the scene, coming from torches set next to a throne. In that throne sat Poseidon.
He stared at me.
"Hello, Annabeth," he said, and I steeled myself against the power in his voice.
"Lord Poseidon," I said, bowing respectfully. Thalia and Rachel did the same. Nico closed the fridge.
He smiled, briefly, and then his face was expressionless.
"Sir, do you know what happened... do you know what happened with Percy?" I said, voice breaking at the end.
At this, Poseidon frowned. "No, I thought he was at home with you?"
It was then the last of my control slipped. I suppose I had been betting on Percy being down there with Poseidon for some unknown extended reason. I buckled, as Thalia rushed to support me, and Rachel jumped up uncertainly. I was gasping, the oxygen not being carried to my blood. I felt like I was suffocating and light-headed at the same time.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain across my cheek. While it didn't fully snap me out, it did help. I stopped hyperventilating, and started taking deeper breaths.
We'll find him. It will be okay. We'll find him.
Thalia stood there, hand raised, ready to slap me again. She lowered her hand as I looked back at the Iris message. Poseidon was looking concernedly at me.
"Are you in control?" he asked me.
I nodded again.
"Good, then tell me the story."
I explained.
Poseidon's face got blacker and blacker, and by the end he erupted.
"HOW DARE THEY?" he bellowed, the force making the house shake. "STEAL MY SON, THE HERO OF OLYMPUS? I SHALL MAKE THEM SUFFER!"
The house continued to shake, plaster pouring down like rain. A metal creak sounded somewhere, along with a horrible sound of ripping. The window shattered, and the house started to groan.
Thalia screamed something and threw her knife through the mist. The connection severed, but it was too late. The house gave a final shreik and split in two. Various pieces of furniture and Gods knows what else rained down, and, fearing imminent death, I closed my eyes.
What happened was sudden darkness.
We were sitting in some sort of earthen room, a small circular hole in the top. I could see around, barely, and Thalia, Rachel and Nico were crouched around me. Nico was visibly straining, perspiration evident on his head.
Finally, the rain of debris stopped, and Nico sighed, relaxing. The earth around us crumbled to dust.
We were crouched in the middle of the debris of what was once the house Percy and I shared.
I stared around at the devastation, with disbelieving eyes. Not far from me was the large conch shell that sat on my bedside table, chipped and cracked. A little further away was the bedside table.
"What are we going to do now?" I asked them.
Nico pouted. "Oh, suuuuuure. No thanks to Nico, no, 'Oh, thank you for saving all of our lives, Nico!'" He waved his hand around. "I even lost my sandwich!"
Thalia kissed him. "Thank you," she said. Nico blushed bright red.
I smiled, and then felt guilty for smiling, as though happiness was now outlawed.
"I think we should go to the beach," I said, answering my own question. "Is the car okay?"
"I think so..." Rachel walked over to it, stepping around chunks of what had once been my home.
She wiped the dust off of it, opened the door, and turned the key that was already in the transmission.
The car roared to life, and I let myself feel relief.
"Let's go," I said, as we walked towards the car. I was nearly there when I stopped. Something white glinted out of the dust and other colours. It was my Mac. I picked it up in both arms, about to carry it off when I found something else.
The photo frame was twisted and tarnished, the glass cracked and missing, but the photo was intact. I took it out of the frame, dropping the frame back in the rubble, before heading towards the car.
I hopped in the back, putting the Mac on the seat beside me, and looking at the photo. A tear dripped down my cheek.
"We'll find him," Nico said gently, putting him arm around me. I nodded as Rachel pulled away from the kerb, driving along the street, behind us the last remanent of Percy's and my life together in wreckage.
Wow. That was actually pretty long. Hope you liked it.
The thing with Poseidon is up next.
shine . brightly_!