It be KeeponReadin'! Yeah, yeah, yeah I know I'm a terrible person... on with the disclaimer!
1) I don't own nary a thing by or related to Rick Riordan
2) I'm really super duper sorry for not posting in a while! Forgive me!
3) Thanks to all of you who have bravely gone where no readers have gone before!
4) Also, thanks to you guys who review! You guys are beasts!
5) And now... your featured presentation...
Chapter 5:
Annabeth's mind was racing. She bolted down the stairs and as she stood in the center of the deck. An idea hit her. It was a completely crazy Percy-like idea, but it was worth a try. She held up both her hands and focused every ounce of energy inside her into the boat. The boat fell visibly slower and time itself seemed to stop. Then the boat lurched to a stop in mid-air. Jason ran up the stairs to the main deck with Piper close behind, but Annabeth didn't dare stop whatever she was doing. The pain was unbearable, she had a terrible headache that made her want to lie down and cry. Annabeth gritted her teeth in agony and concentrated all her emotions into the boat and holding it in the air. Annabeth desperately tried to form words, "J-Jason, h-help m-me." Jason looked utterly dumbstruck. Annabeth closed her eyes and focused the remaining energy that kept her standing on a silent prayer. Percy, help me.
As Percy looked at the now suspended in mid-air ship he heard something so familiar it nearly gave him a heart attack. Percy, help me. The message played like a broken record over and over in his head. Before his brain even registered what he was doing he was in an all-out sprint towards the Lake. He dove in and the water circulated around him and then he shot out of the water in a jet stream. All of the water in the Lake thrust him up towards the boat. He placed both his hands on the bottom of the boat and the lake water surged around him and helped him hold up the boat. When he finally had full control over the boat he slowly lowered it back to the Lake. Funny, he thought, boats are a lot lighter than they look. But as soon as he had thought it the boat's full weight came crashing down on him and they once again fell at an alarming rate. Percy let go of the boat and summoned all the water back into the Lake to cushion the boat's fall. Percy hit the water before the boat did, he didn't think the boat would come away unscathed. He knew also that their departure would be delayed because of the necessary repairs that the boat would need. At that point though, Percy didn't really care about the boat. He just wanted Annabeth to be okay. The boat hit the water with a horrendous noise that echoed throughout New Rome. Percy crawled out of the Lake and stood up. He saw the massive cracks in the bottom of the boat and heard people yelling on board. Reyna pushed her way through the on looking crowd and ran up to Percy. He could plainly see her mouth moving and her lips forming syllables, probably telling him he was the biggest idiot in the world and that he had yet again managed to almost get himself killed. But he didn't really care. He returned his gaze back to the boat where he could see some people scrambling around the wreckage. "… Percy, are you even listening to me?" Reyna asked angrily from behind.
"Not really, Reyna. We need to help those people." He said it with such force it almost made Reyna shudder. Percy looked at her eagerly for an answer but his expression turned to impatience then to anger. "If you fell from the sky in a magic boat would you want help?"
"Yes, but…" He cut her off.
"Listen, Reyna, I'm going to go help them. If you want to you can but if you don't, just stay out of my way." Percy looked like he'd rather spit on her than talk to her as he jogged back to the Lake. Once he reached the Lake he realized how exhausted and wore out he was as he began to walk on the surface of the water. Each step hurt and his feet began to feel like they were made of lead. Percy climbed the side of the boat and took in the scene before him. A huge crack ran down the middle of the boat, splintered wood covered every surface, nails and bent boards littered the deck. A kid was attempting to crawl out of the rubble. He realized it was a vaguely familiar girl that had long chocolate brown hair as she struggled under the weight of a heavy board. Percy approached her and lifted the board with ease and heaved it off to the side. He held out his hand to her, "I'm Percy Jackson."
Wow, Piper stood open mouthed, and I thought Jason was hot… When Piper finally came back to the planet she shook his hand and stuttered out, "I-I'm Piper McLean."
Percy scrunched his eyebrows together in thought, "Sounds oddly familiar… anyways, what's the damage? Is anyone hurt?"
"I'm not sure… me and Jason were having an argument below deck when the boat started falling and we ran up to the main deck," Piper scratched her head. Now it was her turn to be confused. "I'm not really sure what happened after that. It's all kind of fuzzy."
"We'd better go check and see if everyone's okay and find the others," He said immediately taking control of the situation. Percy started by climbing the stairway to the helm of the boat. He found a short boy with curly black hair leaning against the railing on the side of the boat for support. He seemed dizzy and like he was trying to regain his balance. Percy approached him and nearly gave the kid a heart attack. "I'm Percy Jackson. Are you okay?"
"Uh, hey, I'm uh," he scratched his head and thought for a minute. "Leo, yeah that's me, Leo Valdez." Then he tried to move from his spot to shake Percy's outstretched hand but fell forward.
Percy caught him underneath the armpits and steadied him. "Whoa there, looks like you've broken something."
"Yeah, my ankle doesn't feel so hot," Leo complained leaning against Percy in an effort to stay upright.
"Don't worry about it, you're in good hands." Percy said patting Leo's back. "By the way, do you remember anything about the crash?"
"Uh, I'm not sure…" He trailed off and looked like he was deep in thought until he snapped his fingers excitedly. "Yeah, I remember circling around this place looking for a spot to land when Annabeth got all panicky and told me to land immediately."
"Annabeth? She's here?" Percy said becoming uninterested in anything but finding her. "Come on, guys we have to find Annabeth… and… Jason?"
"Yeah," Piper and Leo answered in unison.
"Okay, any idea where they might be?" Percy asked but Piper and Leo simply took on blank unknowing expressions and Percy continued to lead the search party through the wreckage. After a couple minutes of checking rooms in the lower deck they heard a deep, muffled moan come from a room. Percy tried opening the door but it was blocked. He told Piper and Leo to stand back as he backed toward the opposite wall of the hallway. He stepped forward and kicked the door off of its hinges, sending it crashing into the inside wall of the room. Percy motioned for Piper and Leo to stay outside as he surveyed the room. His eyes passed over the room twice before he found a hole in the roof and a small pile of wooden debris piled below it. Percy walked towards the pile and heaved pieces of splintered wood and chunks of metal aside until he found the kid who must've been Jason. Jason's head snapped up in alarm and stared into Percy's eyes. Percy held out his hand, "I'm Percy Jackson… your Jason right?"
"Y-yeah," Jason mumbled and took Percy's hand. He was a little wobbly and had a slight headache but nothing serious. He informed Percy that on impact the center of the boat had all but cracked open and the deck foundation had become loose, causing Jason to fall through. He also told him that the last thing he remembered was Annabeth begging him for help.
"So, you stood there and didn't do anything while she was desperately asking you for help?" Percy asked in disbelief. He slightly shook his head and Jason knew it was a rhetorical question; a question that if he answered it would simply be thrown back in his face. Percy was hurt, disgusted, determined, and excited all rolled into one. He walked past Jason not even paying attention to his response if he even had one to give. Percy brushed past the others as well and made it extremely clear what their next objective would be: Find Annabeth.
Ha! Cliffhanger! Man, I suck! Sorry, you guys! Anyways please review and tell me what you think whether it be bad or good!