They were moving fast. The shore was approaching rapidly. Piper felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Her eyes watered, she looked at Percy who seemed unaffected. When, finally, they reached the shore Piper's legs felt like jello. Their wave melted back into the sea. The sun was hot against their faces. Percy squinted through the tree line, "The caves should be somewhere up that way." He pointed into the dense forest. Piper cleared her throat,
"It's about 17 miles north through the forest. The caves are at the base of those mountains." She pointed to the blurry mountain peaks in the distance. Percy regarded her coolly.
"By all means." He stepped to the side gesturing for her to lead. She knew he was still furious with her. He didn't bother hiding it. Piper walked forward, she could feel their eyes on her. They stepped into the trees. Without the sun the air was cool and damp.

The hardest part was maneuvering on the uneven ground. Tree branches, slick leaves and viney plants slowed them down considerably. Percy followed Piper quietly. His eyes trailed along the forest floor. He tried not to let his mind wander, but if course it did. He couldn't help but think of her. He pictured her smile, he could hear her laugh. When Annabeth was truly laughing it was not cute. The side-splitting roar that erupted out of her when they were alone was something Percy would never tire of hearing. His lips twitched at the memory. "There's a spot up ahead we can rest for a bit." Piper's voice jarred Percy from his happy thoughts. His lips curled up in a grimace. He closed his fist tightly. Why did she make it back? What has she ever done to deserve this? Why was she spared? He thought. Noticing the look on Percy's face, Hazel bumped into him playfully.
"A break sounds wonderful. Do you realize how hard it is to keep up with you two? Such long legs." Hazel tried to lighten the mood. Percy smirked at her. She could see his anger drain away.

They stopped in a small clearing. The sun cast rays of light through the canopy above. The ground was covered in a soft moss. Two logs provided seating. Piper pulled water and sandwiches out of her bag. Percy didn't accept any food. He sipped his water as the other two ate.

Finishing their lunch they started up again. Hazel could see the sun starting to set between the trees. By the time they finished setting up camp the sun had disappeared behind the horizon. The only thing fighting off the frigid cold was their small fire. Percy had dragged over a log for them to use as a bench and Hazel was finishing the shelter- a lean-to like structure with tent canvassing to keep out the wind. They huddled together on the log in front of the fire. Piper could see her breath. It had been even colder than this the night she and Annabeth found the caves. The memory made her shiver even harder. Percy was staring directly into the flames. His face was empty, unreadable. Piper had been stealing looks his way all day. She'd been careful not to catch his eye. It was clear he didn't want her here. She couldn't blame him, she was a constant reminder of what he had lost. Even so, she felt she had to be there. She had to look out for him. She wouldn't let what happened to Annabeth happen ever again.

Hazel twitched, a shiver ran up the back of her neck. Without looking away from the fire Percy said, "You feel it too?" Hazel nodded quickly. She swallowed the fear that was crawling up her throat. Every once and awhile there was a tremor in the earth. Something under them was moving. For just a second at a time she could feel it slither beneath their feet. Then it was gone. Every time she felt it, it seemed closer to the surface. Like at any moment it would burst through the ground and swallow them whole.

Piper didn't need to ask what Percy was talking about. The cold feeling in her stomach was quite clear. She pulled at her fingers. The thought of tomorrow made her feel sick. Behind them, there was the snap of a twig. They all jumped, Percy was the first to his feet, riptide drawn. Through the faint glow of Percy's sword, their eyes strained for the danger that had to be lurking in the heavy night shadows. But there was nothing there. No monsters, or murders, a squirrel maybe. They tried to shrug it off but the paranoia continued to grow. "I'll take first watch," Percy said, perching on the log. Piper decided it was best not to argue. She and Hazel climbed into their shelter. They shared the blankets, trying to stay as warm as possible. Piper doubted she would sleep at all. Percy was watching the flames once more. He hadn't recapped his sword and that made Piper feel just safe enough to close her eyes.

Piper was woken up by the sound of something clanging off the trees. She sat up looking around her. She was in the shelter, Percy was lying on his side next to her asleep. Something had slipped into her lap when she sat up, Percy's Jacket. She was shocked, looking at sleeping Percy she noticed how peaceful he looked. He had a blanket pulled up under his chin. His hand was poking out closed around a ball point pen. The air was so cold it made piper's ears ache. She pulled Percy's jacket over her own and carefully, so she wouldn't wake him, stepped out into the early morning light.

Hazel was throwing small gems and stones away from their camp. Every once and awhile they would strike a tree, which was the sound Piper heard. Noticing she was awake Hazel turned to her with an apologetic grin. "Sorry, it's worse when I'm nervous," she explained, chucking a ruby deep into the forest. Once she was finished Hazel joined Piper on the log. Their fire was almost completely gone but with the rising sun, the air was starting to warm up.
"No one woke me up for a watch shift last night," Piper said. Hazel looked at the embers in the fire pit, poking them lightly with a stick.
"Percy didn't ask me to take a turn either." She dragged the stick through the soft ash. "It was a rough night. I woke up a few hours after we went to bed and he wouldn't sleep. I couldn't because of all the movement underground so I sat with him awhile. I think he was afraid to sleep. Afraid he might see her, or not see her…" Hazel trailed off. "He kept dozing off, and eventually I convinced him to at least laydown." They sat quietly and let Percy sleep, gods knows he needed it.

Percy woke up to his heart pounding. Even though it was cold a trail of sweat ran down the back of his neck. He had dreamt he was deep inside the caves, he was paralyzed and was forced to watch as the monsters took turns ripping apart his girlfriend. His stomach flopped. He tried to clear his head but the sound of her screaming… it rung in his ears. He pulled back the blanket and climbed out of the shelter. The air was brisk but not as cold as last night. The sun had risen and was casting faint rays of light through the trees. Piper and Hazel were sitting in front of the dying embers. Hazel was sipping from a bottle of water and Piper was nibbling on a granola bar. They both looked up as she stepped over to them.
"Morning Percy," Hazel said. Percy mumbled a response and sat down next to them. His hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot. He rubbed his hands over his bare arms.
"Oh, here," Piper said, stripping off his jacket and handing it to him. He took it but didn't put it on. "Thanks," Piper said.
"You're welcome," Percy muttered.
"Do you want something to eat? We have granola bars, sandwiches-" Piper was cut off but Percy shaking his head.
"I'm not hungry."
"Not hungry? You haven't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday. You have to eat something," Piper said. Percy chose not to respond. Piper was ready to shove something down his throat when Hazel put a hand on her arm to stop her. Piper followed her gaze to Percy's shaking hands. He was twisting his pen between his fingers, visibly trembling.

The ground shook so strongly that even Piper could feel it. Hazel jumped to her feet looking ready to crawl out of her skin. Piper's heart stopped in her chest, she felt frozen. She knew what they had to do today. Looking to Hazel and Percy she hoped one of them would make the first move. Hazel had the most disgusted look on her face as she ground a chunk of gold back into the ground from where it crept up at her feet. Percy just sat there, seemingly unaffected. He looked up at them, casually got to his feet and said, "Time to go."