Of all my ideas, jumping out of a moving vehicle was not my smartest.
But it was either that or spend all the rest of my life as a high speed zombie magnet. It had been easy to figure out how to set everything off, but figuring out how to reverse the process while simultaneously trying not to crash at sixty miles per hour? I'm a genius (or so I'm told), not a superhero.
So while the speedometer was still working its way through the double digits, I bailed, leaving the steering wheel locked in place and the accelerator weighed down by the box of tools that I'd confiscated and used to hotwire the car.
I roll, my (unloaded) crossbow clutch to my chest. Even with the long sleeves of Percy's jacket the force of the blow is enough to (metaphorically) light the skin of my forearms on fire. My leg twists. My body is forced into an unnatural position as I roll onto my backpack. Before I can catch my breath, I force myself onto my knees.
There are zombies coming.
I reach, trying to grab as many of the escaped crossbow bolts as I can. I reload. Then I push myself to my feet. Now my knee is burning too, a little sun bursting into life as soon as I put pressure on my right leg. I look up to find Grover and Percy staring at me from the van window.
"Go!" I shout. I wave at them, feeling a little frantic. I did not risk my life so those boys could gape at me. The zombies are closer now. Blocking my view. Pressing my teeth together so hard, I think I might break a few, I head for the alley.
The jacket is sticking to my forearms. The fabric over one of my wrists is getting soaked with blood. I can't just hide it out in a dumpster this time.
My knee doesn't want to bend properly.
Twenty feet in, there's a fire escape. I grab the ladder and pull. Now I have two suns. One in my knee, the other in my wrist. Gotta hurry, the zombies will smell all that blood. I have to dump my backpack, it's that or lose the crossbow. I can only wear one and I can't carry the other and climb. Hands on the ladder. Bend my good leg, use the bad one to keep me upright. Move hands up. I make it to the first level when the zombies round the corner.
Can't stop. Tears are running down my face, but if I let the pain stop me, I'll be dead. At least there are stairs now. I keep climbing.
In zombie movies the zombies are always making these raspy, guttural noises. Nothing intelligible. Nothing human. That's not what these zombies sound like. My blood has them in a frenzy. They flail, filling the alley with their stink. One is actually knocked down and the force of the fall bring her guts spewing out of her.
But the noise.
Screams. Blood-curdling screams. Raw noise forcing itself through their vocals cords as they hunt.
They may not be quiet. They may not be coordinated. But they are deadly. They've made it to the ladder by the time I'm at the second landing. I don't stop, but I try to watch them. Is there enough human thought left for them to climb? A man reaches as high as he can and grasps a rung of the ladder.
And then he pulls.
But it's the wrong way. Instead of pulling himself up, he pulls ineffectually at the ladder, digging his heels into the ground, his butt thrusting out behind him. I let out a wet gasp. He at least, won't be climbing the ladder. More join him. All pulling at the ladder or reaching for me.
At last, I'm at the roof. I haul myself over the edge. Laying on the rooftop, they very thought of doing anything other than crying seems impossible. My body tells me it can't. My eyes won't stop producing water.
Then I hear a metallic screech from below me.
Are they stranding me here? I roll over. I should have grabbed another jacket while we were at the dry cleaners. Crawling, I manage to get in an upright position and peer over the edge. The zombies aren't looking at me anymore. They're focused on the ladder, though I'm guessing they've forgotten why. Several dozen former humans pull at it from different directions. It's wobbling badly. A few more minutes and they've pulled the ladder down.
But it's not food, so eventually they leave it. Some of them are interested in my back pack. They're like hyenas.
I slump against the wall.
I hope Percy and the others got away.
Will they be able to circle back to get me? Or will they assume that I was pulled apart by the zombie horde? If Percy's smart, he'll get everyone out of town. They might be able to make it by nightfall. I'm not much use to them now anyways. Probably'll end up dying of a minor infection.
There's a clothesline with some towels on it. Still not trusting my knee, I crawl to it and pull down a giant fluffy bath towel. It's pink. Salmon, the designer in my mind tells me. I peel off Percy's jacket. The cold bites through my shirt, so I quickly have it held around my shoulders by the top button. There's blood everywhere. I only have two hands, so I have to alternate pressing it to each forearm.
The screams die down to the normal zombie moans. And then the moans start to die off as they (hopefully) follow the rest of their fellows after the car, which I can still hear. Sort of.
I can't have been up there long. Maybe half an hour when I hear another sound.
Voices.
People are talking in the alleyway below. Still crawling, I make it back to the wall.
"Looks like they got somebody," a girl says.
"Yeah." Another girl. I reach for my crossbow.
"Anything useful?" The first girl again.
"Not really. Most of it has been crushed. Besides, we have better at school." A pause. "Unless you happen to be a Yankees fan, Reyna." This is a new voice.
There's a snort.
"I wonder if someone was holed up in Elysium Heights and tried to make a break for it." More pause. "Reyna we'd better go. Whoever made that racket has probably drawn every herd within—"
"Show yourself." First girl again.
Grasping my crossbow in my better hand, I use the other to support myself as I stand. Leaning against the wall, I take aim. The girl in my sights has long, dark hair, pulled into a braid. Dark eyes too. She is wearing a deep, purple cardigan over a white button up blouse with a Peter Pan collar and pleated skirt of the same color. White-knee high socks and black Mary Janes complete her look. She has a spear in her hand. I'm not really worried about that, though.
What I am worried about iss the red head behind her (also in that same outfit), who has a crossbow trained on me. The third girl, who must also have gone to their school, is holding a knife. She had green eyes and dark hair that was a little shaggy. The hair cut is obviously self-inflicted. They're just girls. All of them about my age. But that doesn't change the fact that one of them is aiming at me.
"Hi," I say.
"Hi," says the girl who must be Reyna. "Mind putting that down?"
"Maybe." I jerk my chin at the red head.
"How about you put yours down first?" the red head asks.
"What's your name?" Reyna asks. She holds her hands up. "You're hurt, maybe we can help you. Are you alone?"
I think about my friends. I'm not sure how long I should give them to come find me.
"Yes," I say. Maybe not my best move. But something tells me they're just like me. "I'm Annabeth. Annabeth Chase." I lower my crossbow.
"My name is Reyna Avile Ramirez-Arellano. That's Rachel." She points to the red head. "And that's Piper."
Rachel finally lowers her crossbow.
"Care to come down?" Reyna asks. Do I have a choice? I'll freeze into a zombie-sicle up here.
I sling my crossbow over my shoulder and hoist myself over the wall. If anything, going down the stairs is worse than going up was. I end up sort of hopping and using my arms to bear some of my weight. My forearms feel like my muscles are grinding against sandpaper. Everything burns. I know nightfall is coming and soon. And nobody wants to be on a dark street with zombies on the loose.
It's the final drop that does me in. There's no other way to get to the ground. If my knee wasn't busted up, I could make distance no problem. It's not far. Maybe eight feet. Reyna and Piper do their best to catch me, but my bad foot hits the ground. I have the brief feeling of someone jabbing a lance up through my knee and along the length of my thigh bone. Then I black out.
###
When I wake up, I'm warm for the first time since I had to ditch my flannel shirt.
I open my eyes to so much white, heaven would blush in shame.
"Oh, you're awake. Hey." It's the red headed girl—Rachel.
"Yeah," I say. My tongue kind of feels like someone glued sand to it. Rachel reaches over and retrieves a glass of water from the bedside table.
"Here," she says. "For the pain." There are two white pills in her hand. Pushing myself up, I take them from her. I'm in a room full of beds. All covered in white sheets. Maybe six of them?
"Where am I?"
"St. Hippolyta's School for Girls," Rachel replies. "You kind of passed out."
"Yeah, I remember that part."
"Then we brought you here. You're lucky Reyna's really strong."
"My friends…"
Rachel stands. "I thought you were alone." She takes the glass from my hands and places it back on the table. Taking one of my hands in hers, she turns it over so she can inspect the bandages wrapped up to my elbow.
"I was." I wince. There are places under the bandages where it feels like my skin is pulling itself apart. Whatever Rachel gave me had better work fast. She inspects the other arm. "We got separated when a herd of zombies came through."
"You scraped yourself up pretty bad. Tore up the stitches on one of your cuts," she says. "We'll need to change these tonight."
She leaves me, telling me to rest. Of course, I'm not interested. But there is nothing else for me to do. So, I lean back and close my eyes. My arms go from throbbing to no more pain than an itch. It can't be more than a few minutes later when I hear the door open again.
"Good morning."
When I open my eyes, there is a tall woman standing in front of me. Tall and willowy, with a face that could be as young as twenty or she could be my mom's age.
My mom.
"Good morning," I say, because finding out what this woman wants is the quickest way to get my mind other places.
"Reyna tells me that your name is Annabeth?" She sits on the edge of my bed, hitching up one leg of her silver-gray pantsuit so she can cross her legs comfortably. I nod. She nods once too, the sun glinting off her dark hair, making it glow as bright as the bronze dagger I had. "I'm Diana Eileithyia, headmistress here at St. Hippolyta's."
"Nice to meet you." I take the hand she offers me.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I jumped out of a moving vehicle."
Diana blinks at me.
"Well, that sounds like an interesting story," she says. She crosses her arms and leans back. It's clear enough what she wants from. I tell her the story, from start to finish. Leaving out the crucial detail about where we're going. I'm not sure it that's wise, just yet. Besides, if Percy's smart, he'll be there and at out to sea before I could catch up with them.
"How many people are in your group?"
"Um..." I count in my head. And then I look at her. She sees my wariness.
"I'm just concerned about the safety of my girls. We're secure here, for now, but I don't know anything about your group. Will they come looking for you?"
I swallow.
"I don't think so," I say. "But they'd be no threat to your school."
Just then, Reyna bursts in.
"Ms. Eileithyia, we've got another group."
Diana stands up.
"How many?"
"Ten. Ma'am, they have one of us with them."
"Stay here," the headmistress says and she's out the door.
I give it a minute and a half. Then I'm out of the bed and to the door. I follow them downstairs, fully aware of the fact that I don't have my crossbow or my knife. Reyna said something about a group. But a group of who? Humans? Zombies? My knee aches a little and I wonder if I'm doing permanent damage without knowing it because of the painkillers. When I get to the ground floor, there's a group of girls in a circle.
"Ms. Eileithyia," a new voice says. "I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone had stayed here."
"Not all of us are lucky enough to have parents who live in the city," that was Piper. I glance in the direction her voice had come from. There is a stair case behind the girls on the opposite side of the room. I cross to it.
"I just thought...Please, these are my family and friends. We didn't mean to cause trouble. We just came looking for the weapons."
"That's alright, Hazel. We just have to be careful," Diana says. "Most people still in the city haven't proven to be very...friendly."
I squeeze my way through a few of the girls and head up a few steps. A small girl with dark skin and hair that has been hastily pulled back stands in front of a group of teenagers. My group.
Before I even have the chance to gasp, one of them notices me.
Percy.
"Annabeth?"
Half the group-Thalia, Grover, Juniper, Luke-turn in my direction. Percy's face is frozen. Grover is the first one to move, followed by the others.
"Annabeth!" Thalia cries as she and Grover hug me. I wince as they press against my arms and bad leg. Grover is torn away and another pair of arms wraps around me.
"I knew," Percy says. "I knew you weren't dead."
I pull away.
"You didn't believe I was dead?"
"Never."
He grins and reaches for his back pocket.
And then he places my mom's New York Yankees hat on my head. And it's all I can do not to cry. But I'm smiling too.
"Annabeth?" It's Diana.
"Oh um, these were the friends you were asking me about." I step out from behind my three friends and gesture to rest of the group. "Um, guys this is Diana, she's headmistress here."
The eye rolls tell me that they already know this little bit of information.
Percy steps out from behind me, holding his hand out.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Sorry, to have caused so much trouble," he says. When she takes his hand, he shakes hers firmly. "I'm Percy. Hazel's my cousin." He continues with the rest of the introductions. Reyna still has a sword aimed at Jason's throat, but everyone else is watching us. My group at least had the sense to sheath their weapons. Diana nods as Percy points out each member of the group. Then Percy looks to me and raises an eyebrow. I shrug. It's his decision.
"We were heading upstate to see if there's anywhere safe when we got separated from Annabeth," he says, finally.
Diana nods.
"I see." She looks behind her. "You," she points to me, "And you two." This is directed to Thalia and Percy. "Come to my office."
Percy and Thalia glance at me. I nod. This much I'm sure is safe at least.
I take the hat off and stick it in my back pocket as we head down the hallway. It's not far to the headmistress' office. We file in and she takes a seat. We stand.
"I wish I could give you a place to stay, but I have my girls to think of and the more there are..."
Thalia and I glance at each other.
"My family has resources," Thalia says.
"I'm aware of who you are, Thalia Grace."
Thalia blinks.
"I'm not sure you're father's name is going to be an asset in this new world."
"I understand. I'm just saying that we're not without somewhere to go, ma'am."
Percy glances at her. She shakes her head. It's quick, but I'm sure Diana noticed it too. And I'm sure she's wondering what it was about. Percy steps back.
"We do have a plan, Ms. Eileithyia," she says. "And we don't want to impose. We're not asking for shelter or any kind of supplies. The less you have to go out there, the safer your school will be. We only came because my cousin said that you had a good stock of weapons and there are several of our party who don't have any."
Diana watches her.
"I can't pretend to be a fan of your father," she says. "Or yours." She looks at Percy. I suppress a smile. Percy isn't always his dad's biggest fan either. "But your mother and I went to the same school," she says. She smiles. "This school."
I realize she's talking about me.
"And for her sake, I'll not send your friends out unarmed." Diana glances to the door. "And we have many students who…don't their weapons anymore. Reyna." She must have been just outside the door, because she's inside in an instant. "Take them to the gymnsium, give them what we can spare."
And then we're following Reyna out the door. Reyna takes us up several flights of stairs to the gym. A familiar locker is sitting in a corner, though when we open it the weapons are unfamiliar. She hands us a few weapons.
"Nico," Percy says, handing a sword to Thalia. "And Luke."
A crossbow and quiver for Bianca. A sword for Hazel.
"We found these with you," Reyna says, pulling my knife and crossbow out of a corner. I take them, the weight of the crossbow pulling at my wrist and stretching my skin. I gently lower my arm.
"Thanks."
"Let's go." Thalia adjusts the strap holding her crossbow to her back, picks up Luke's sheathed sword, and heads for the door. When we get to the first floor, the rest of our friends are sitting on the stairs. They are surrounded by girls. Most are asking questions, but I see others, like Rachel, standing at attention nearby. I'm glad no one tried anything. Jason shoots to his feet when we come into view.
"Is everything okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," Thalia says. She hands out her weapons. Percy hands out his. "But we're leaving," she says. A few of our group look disappointed. Even more of the girls show some disappointment. Can't say that I blame them...I'd be disappointed to have Percy, Jason, and Frank leaving too. I must be smiling, because Percy gives me a strange look. I shift and look away.
My leg has become a persistent throb. Obviously, nothing is broken, but it'll probably be sore for a while. The effort of walking normally has drained me. The steps where Nico, Grover and Juniper are sitting beckon to me. I ignore them, not sure I'd be able to get back up.
Thalia gives our group a short version of our meeting with Diana. The others are gathering up their things. I check my back pocket for my Yankees cap. Besides my crossbow and my knife, it's all I have. I don't even have an extra shirt or a jacket. Even Percy's jacket is gone. Guess I won't be returning that to him.
I look at my friends. This is it. This is my everything.
"Are we clear?" Frank asks.
Reyna and Rachel head for the door.
"Hey," Percy says, stepping in front of me. "Are you okay? You looked pretty banged up yesterday."
I shrug.
"They fixed me up pretty good," I say, brandishing my bandages for Percy. I don't want to mention the knee. Knowing Percy, he'd probably insist on carrying me.
So not happening.
He nods. And then he heads for the door with the rest of my friends. Both Reyna and Rachel give him a quick up and down as he follows Thalia and Frank. It shouldn't irritate me. It doesn't irritate me.
Well, maybe a little.
I bring up the rear, only Jason and Grover behind me. The van is (wisely) not it sight. Though I suppose that if the girls of the school needed a vehicle, they could just choose one of the many on the street. The sunlight beats down on us. Looks like today will be warm, I think, right before a wind rips down the street. I shiver.
"Here," Grover says. "We're really going to have to have a conversation about appropriate dress during the winter."
"Well, I wasn't planning on getting attacked by zombies when I went to school a few days ago." But I take the jacket anyways. Maybe I should make collecting jackets my hobby. Though, it's not a very good hobby is I can't hang onto them.
"We've probably got more in the truck."
"We do," Jason says. "Percy had Bianca grab what was in their house."
I smile. Maybe Percy isn't hopeless as a strategist.
"Hey," comes from behind us. "Guys, wait."
We turn.
"Piper?"
She stops in front of me, leaning down for a minute as she catches her breath. She's not in the uniform anymore. Instead, she's wearing dark wash skinny jeans, a long-sleeved tee that's tastefully too big for her and flimsy looking sneakers. A backpack is slung over her shoulder.
"I packed as fast as I could," she says.
Grover and Jason exchange a glance. Then they look at me.
"Okay," I say.
"I'm coming with you."
"Yes, we gather that much." Grover crosses his arms and leasn back a little. The rest of our group is out of sight down an alley. Bianca pops back into view.
"Guys, let's move." Her voice is tense.
I look at Grover.
"Is there room?"
Grover rolls his eyes.
"With eleven teenagers and supplies? Lots of room."
I smack his arm.
"Please, I can't stay there. I feel like a sitting duck."
Sympathy stirs in me. I'm not so sure I'd feel so great holing up in a building for an unknown amount of time. Holding my breath every time a herd passed by. Jason shrugs.
"It's not like one more person is going to make a huge difference," he says. "We can make do.
"I guess you're in."
She hitches her bag up on her shoulder as we round the corner and are greeted by the open doors of the van.
"Took you long enough," Nico grumbles. Thalia is already in the front seat. Percy's standing by the open passenger door, talking with her. When he sees us he steps back, allowing Luke to slide into the passenger seat. I can't say I'm not surprised to see Luke. From the little Thalia and I had time to discuss before the zombies overran the safe zone, she hadn't expected him to be alive. He was in a part of town that was hardest hit. And he lived alone. They hadn't been together when everything spiraled real fast down the Styx.
"Glad to see you made it, Annabeth," he says, waving at me without looking back.
Technically, Luke should have graduated last year. He's a year older than Grover and Thalia, who are seniors. But when his mom got sick last year, he ended up missing so much school that he had to retake his senior year. He had every right to feel pissed about that, but since his mom ended up dying, I don't think he regrets spending so much time with her. I know I wouldn't. And I'm one of the few people who has to be persuaded to stay home from school when I'm sick.
Percy helps Piper into the back of the van without a word. He gives me a look, but when I don't say anything he just holds out his hand to me.
"Do you need help getting in?"
I wiggle my bum knee. The pain is sharp.
"Probably."
"Grover, can you help her?" Percy asks as he climbs in the van. He holds out both hands to me. I step up onto the floor of the van with my good leg and let Percy pull me into the back of the van.
"Thanks," I say.
He leans close.
"I didn't think you'd approve of me carrying you into the van." He winks.
I scoot further in, hoping I'm fast enough that he can't see me blush.
Jason and Grover climb in, closing the doors behind them.
"Thalia, you know the way to my dad's cabin?" Percy asks.
Thalia turns back to him with thumbs up and a grin.
"Then let's head to Montauk."