VIII

PANDA

I opened my eyes to blinding sunlight. I covered them with my hand and sat up. I winced, expecting pain to shoot up my leg, but there was nothing. I looked at my bare leg and the wound was nothing more than a thin white scar that was slowly disappearing. I traced it and I could barely feel it. I smiled, but as soon as my eyes looked up, my heart sank. Spyridon. I bit my lip to hold back the tears that wanted to spill. My nails dug into the dirt and I dared to take a breath. A very shaky one and almost threatened to make me lose my cool.

"I can do this," I whispered to myself as I clutched my stomach and tried to steadily breathe. My heart was throbbing. As if the pain from the cut had travelled up to my core. I focused my gaze on the trees and tried to relax myself. My muscles were cramping and a lump was forming in my throat. I wanted to cry so badly, but no, I couldn't. I wouldn't.

Percy and Nico were still asleep, so I took this chance and grabbed the clothes that had been left for me anonymously. I tiptoed behind a tree and changed into a black V-neck and a pair of black jeans. As I unfolded the jeans, something fell and made a clinging sound as it hit the tree roots. I looked down and my eyes widened. There was a silver chain with a few charms handing from it; one of them being Planaxis. I picked it up and stared at it, as the sun glinted off the necklace.

"No way," I whispered as I stared at it. I clipped it on and it nestled into my neck like it was meant to be there. I put my jeans on, tried to wipe the blood off my boots and slipped those on, sticking the dagger firmly into my boot. There was a small puddle a few feet away, tucked between two bushes. I knelt down and looked into it. I gasped softly when I saw my reflection. It didn't even look like me anymore. My hair was in such a mess, birds could call it a nest. I had circles under my eyes and chapped lips.

I used the water to clean my face, rubbing off any blood that had dried up and crusted itself into my skin. As I tried to untangle my hair with my fingers, I saw a black figure fly overhead. I quickly looked up, but I was swimming in my disappointment when I saw it was just a crow. My eyes turned back to the puddle and when I saw the face staring back, anger boiled inside me. I hated myself. I hated everything I've done. I grunted as I slammed my fist into the puddle to disrupt the image. I leaned forward, both hands digging into the dirt and closed my eyes. People were dying because of me. When they deserved so much better than what they got.

A sound brought me out of my self-loathing. My head snapped up and looked around, but I saw nothing. Maybe it was just another bird. I looked down and I gasped when I saw another person's reflection in the water. She had black hair that reached just above her shoulders; unruly and wild like the look in her icy blue eyes. She wore a black t-shirt that said Green Day and a leather jacket over top. She held a bow in one hand and right on her head, was a silver circlet. Thalia Grace. The girl I had known for years and was closer to than anyone, besides Percy. But she didn't remember me; I could see it in her eyes.

I jumped up and turned to her. Her eyes were slit and her hand was wrapped tightly around her bow; the silver arrows just visible over her shoulder. Her bangs fell into her eyes and she looked deadly.

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't shoot an arrow right through your heart right now," she said firmly, her eyes locked with mine.

"It's not what you think," I said, holding her eyes.

"Oh really? It seems to me like you murdered my father," she said, taking a step towards me. She was now only a few inches away from my face.

"Thalia, you have to listen to me," I said. She froze.

"How do you know my name?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

"If you listen to me—"

"No!" she said, as she pulled up her hand and smacked me across the face so hard I stumbled to the floor. I probably deserved that. She pulled out an arrow from her quiver and notched it into her bow.

"It's time you get a taste of your own medicine," she said, as she pointed the arrow right at me. I could very well protect myself from her, but I couldn't bring myself to take out my weapon even for protection. Not against my best friend. So I ran. An arrow whizzed past me and lodged into a tree. Another one flew by my ear. Her aim was getting terribly better as I ran through the trees. I ran and tripped over Percy. He woke up and quickly stood up and looked around.

"Panda!" he said, as I stood up. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"She—" An arrow fell right between my feet. Percy gasped and spun. Thalia was standing there, another arrow notched in her bow.

"Thalia, put the bow down," Percy ordered, taking a step forward.

"Stay out of this Percy," Thalia said, as she lined up the arrow with my heart.

"Thalia!" Percy yelled. This time, Nico woke up and jumped up when he saw what was going on. He walked backwards, until he was on our side.

"What?!" she snapped, keeping her eyes on me.

"We can explain Thalia, but you need to put the bow down," Percy said, taking another step towards her.

"Percy, she killed my father."

"I know, but the story is so much different from what everyone is saying. Just listen," he said, now lifting his hands in surrender. "Trust me." Thalia looked like she was about to cry, but she lowered her bow.

"Explain, before I change my mind," Thalia said. We got her to sit down and I explained the whole story to her from the moment I had found the map, to the moment Spyridon died. When it had gotten to the part of Ryder's death, Percy and Nico had to fill in the blanks.

"How do I know this is true?" Thalia said, her gaze touching all of us. I pulled out the dagger from my boot and showed it to her.

"Is that—"

"Yes," I answered. She stared at it in disbelief. When I was certain she was convinced, I tucked the dagger away again, out of view. Thalia covered her face with a hand and sighed into it, like she was trying to process everything that was just told. Then she looked at me.

"There's something you're not telling me," she said. "The way you look at me… It's like you know me." I bit my lip, unsure if I should tell her or not, but I relented.

"I was your best friend…" I said sadly. Thalia raised an eyebrow. "I know, I know. You won't believe me unless you have proof," I said, not letting her say anything else, because I figured that's what she would say. Because no one ever believed me.

"You know what the crazy thing is?" she said. "I believe you."

Well, I'm glad you liked last chapter. Let me know about this one! And Percy Waterblue, stop reading my mind. Seriously, it's scary, lol. Thanks for the review :) Hope you enjoyed it!