2,000 reviews… Wow… Thank you all so, so, SO much. I am crying because of how amazing you all are. I feel honored that you even bother to read my House of Hades. And if you don't like it… well, there are hundreds of others.*BigHugsandKisses* Thank you so much! Free cookies for everyone (::) (::) (::)

It's a short chapter because I spent all my time writing my new story, Hell and Silence (please R&R) and on crazy homework. Seriously, what is it about March that makes teacher's just want to give you tons of work?

Sorry for typos and OOCness!

Happy Reading!

Chapter 29

Percy

Okay, so there had been a graveyard with a bunch of his dead demigod friends in it… no biggie.

Percy tried to ignore the fact that they were all behind him, lying underground forever, and the bones that littered the earth above them and the dead bodies and just the fact that he had walked through a graveyard.

He really HATED graveyards.

He had almost left Annabeth behind in the dust as he had hopped over the fence and hurried away from the house and the yard. When he had reluctantly turned around, he had found Annabeth on the ground, trying to get bones off of her.

Now, as they were hurriedly leaving the place, Annabeth stopped. "What is it?" Percy asked, turning towards her. If it had anything to do with the graveyard, he really didn't want to hear it.

"Nothing," Annabeth said. "It's just, I think something moved in the graveyard."

Nope, nope, nope. "Which is an even bigger reason why we should get the heck out here," Percy insisted, and nudged her forward, but she stopped them both as she rested her hand on Percy's shoulder. Why couldn't she just forget about it and leave?

"Shouldn't we go back and see what it is?" she asked. "I mean, what if it is something bad? What if Keto is chasing after us after all? The thing might follow us and attack when we aren't looking."

"Then… let's get a head start!" tried Percy, and tugged on her hand, pulling her forward. She rocked on her boot and moved a few paces, then stopped him. Percy turned to look at her. "What is it now? Let's just leave!"

Annabeth eyed him for a second, sizing him up like she would to a monster. "Are you scared to go back in there?" she asked incredulously. "Oh, come on Percy. You have to be braver than that!"

"Okay, Annabeth, I don't question your fear of spiders, so don't talk to me about graveyards. The only reason I was willing to walk around in there was to find the Doors of Death, but I doubt they are there, so can we leave?" he gestured to vast space away from them, where he wanted to go and fall asleep and take a break from journeying through Tartarus just for a minute.

Annabeth looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Well, you can understand why I don't like spiders, but why in the world would you not like graveyards? I mean, I don't like them, but they don't make me that freaked out. Well, except when I have bones on my clothes."

"Look at it this way Annabeth. There are dead bodies there, and that fact that it might be me one day, under there with rotting and decaying skin and bones creeping through the ground makes me nervous and anxious. It's definitely not my biggest fear, but it's enough to give me a nightmare or two."

He looked back and shivered. Even Where the Lost are Revealed was freaking him out. "This place is crazy. We've both already been possessed and confused here. I don't want to go back. If there's a monster in there, it can come out here and fight us."

Annabeth eventually nodded, and they walked away from the place. Percy didn't dare to look back until they were already over three or four hills and a mile or so away from the place.

He looked at the sky. The green tint was sort of unnerving. It was constantly nighttime and he was just getting tired. Soon, his legs felt like they were going to give out.

He observed the surrounding and upcoming area. Though where he was had nothing on it and was still a barren land, the upcoming lands had transformed into another range of mountains, like the ones that they had driven their car though however long ago.

It was far off, over twenty miles by far. It would take a long time to get there, but he could see the pine trees and rocky ridges. It was the safest place for them to camp and they needed to get going.

Percy pointed ahead. "Let's try to make it over there," he said, and he heard Annabeth groan.

They continued on. Percy started to feel his feet cramp up and his toes curl as they walked and walked. It seemed like they weren't getting any closer after thirty minutes of speed walking.

After two hours, it started to seem a little closer. Percy must've been really bad at judging distance, because they had no idea how long it would take for them to get there. Annabeth looked like she wanted to pass out, and she always had good stamina. It didn't help that they were sometimes going uphill rather than always down.

He sighed. "Do you still think you can do it?" he asked.

"Why not give it a try?" Annabeth asked. "It'll make sleep all the better."

And they did not stop. They continued on and on. Slowly, the mountains seemed to get a little closer. Percy was surprised that no monsters had actually attacked them. They were alone as far as he could tell. The hills got higher and higher and they got slower. Time dragged on. His muscles were sore, and if he was, he couldn't imagine how much Annabeth was hurting with her ribs and ankle and all. Even if they were healing or healed, it still sucked.

He stopped keeping track of time, and finally as his mind was blank, they reached the first line of trees.

Percy and Annabeth stepped over the roots and ventured in a little deep. They only went deep enough that they could barely see the opening of the forest before they collapsed to the ground, totally exhausted.

"Gods, I feel like I just ran a marathon," Percy whispered. He wasn't out of breath, but his entire body hurt.

"My legs feel like jelly," moaned Annabeth. She sat up and pressed her back against one of the tall pines. It stretched into the sky. There were so many of them that they almost blocked out all light from getting to them. They were cast into the shadows, and Percy didn't like not being able to see.

She slung off her bag and rummaged through her stuff. With a flicker, her flashlight turned on and Percy could see her face. "That's better," she said, and set the flashlight down.

Percy's stomach growled. He was hungry, again. It was hard to think about food when you were fighting for your life and trying to save the entire world. He tried to think of what his mom would tell him.

Annabeth heard his stomach. He heard her sigh and something hit his chest. He picked it up and examined it in the little light. He read the words Nature Valley before he had torn it opened and spilled the contents into his mouth. It was stale and gross, but he finished the granola bar in five seconds flat.

"Where'd you get the food from?" he asked once he had stopped inhaling the granola bar.

"Well, I might have taken a few pieces of food from the house. Not all of it was spoiled or expired, and I were hungry." She was talking around her own food. Percy wanted to ask her for some more, but if he ate more, he wouldn't be able to stop.

"You bad girl," he scolded with sarcasm and laughed a little. She laughed quietly with him. He pulled his water bottle out of his pocket and took a long gulp from it, then stuffed it back inside. He needed to save that too.

He heard velcro coming undone, and before he could asked, Annabeth answered his question. "I'm just taking the cast off. It's annoying me and super heavy. I'll sleep without it."

Another light turned on, and Percy arched a brow. "What's that?" he asked.

"My phone," Annabeth answered casually.

"WHAT?!" He jumped over to her and knocked the phone away. She made a sound of protest. "Do you want to attract every monster over to us? I don't! I want to sleep in peace!"

Somehow, Percy had the feeling she was rolling her eyes. "I was only checking the time, Percy. I'm not texting anyone. There's no signal anyway."

Percy sat up away from her, and she grabbed her phone again. "It doesn't say that day," she told him, frowning. "That's weird. It usually does. But it's three o'clock in the morning. I think it's time we took somewhat of a nap before we go on."

"Best idea yet," Percy agreed. Annabeth settled into his arms, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She relaxed a little bit and soon was breathing deeply as sleep overcame her. He couldn't blame her. It was the most she had walked in a while. Maybe when she woke up, her ankle would be healed and she could ditch the stupid cast.

His eyes closed soon after he shut off the flashlight, and he felt his eyes close and muscles relax. His vision behind his lids got darker.

There was a rustle in the leaves and needles around him, like something was coming towards him, but Percy was too far gone to even care.

Review Challenge: What is the weirdest song you have ever heard? For me, I think it may be Yo Ho by Blood on the Dance Floor. That song is so explicit and sort of gross, but I can't help but laugh when I hear it.

Reviews/ideas are loved Remember to check out Hell and Silence!

-BBH