Replies:
the second I started reading the Lightning Thief, I knew what you did, awesome chapter btw, though you could've made it just a bit more different from the OG story to help –Omega Alpha Hydra
For all those mystery solvers out there, I'll be leaving you hints or clues throughout the story. And subtle changes from Riordan's canon might also be useful… If you're not into puzzles, just read and enjoy. :P
-Part One: Pressed-
Chapter 5: Annabeth
The last chapter was an apparent success… I don't know if y'all just like time travel or it's just that I finally added a cover picture, but it jumped from 200 total views to 1K+?! Gods dam, you guys made me jump with joy, like seriously. I cannot thank you, you guys enough for reading. :3
But here's something for you to chew on. I present to you a back to back chapter. See you guys at the bottom!
Last time with Annabeth:
Piper screamed. Then I saw what she was staring at.
Silently, we skidded down the wall of the crater, smoking muck sticking to our jeans.
We stumbled near the epicenter, where obvious signs of a recent explosion had taken place.
But what laid amongst the dirt was what caught my attention.
Partially buried, the unmistakable grip of Riptide spiked out from the ground. The blade was bloodied with a dark crimson, steaming hot blood still dripping. Tears of orange fabric littered the ground, among the dust and smoke that filled the air.
But peeked out of the dirt next to the blade, was what caught my eye. A small charred blue box.
A jewelry box. A box for a ring…
I dragged my feet during the last few steps, in anticipation of an ambush.
The forest was silent. Too silent and at peace, as if the forest was holding its breath at what would come of next.
Trembling with expectation, I rummaged the box from the steaming mud.
My hands couldn't stay steady as I held it up to view, and brush some of the debris away.
Happy Anniversary Annabeth! It read.
With dedication, I opened it.
I yelped at what was inside.
Inside, was a ring. It was made of the brightest glimmer of Imperial Gold. On the top, what the most beautiful silver pearl I had ever seen.
A folded note was attached to it.
My fingers trembled as I opened it, revealing Percy's horrid handwriting that was written in Riptide's faded ink.
To the Love of My life, I will have never made it this far without you. -PJ
"Wha–"
Before I know what was happening, the earth began to hum. As if the earth itself had turned into a living machine.
With a shake, the ground began to tilt, and stumble, with Piper and me with it. Through the shaken dirt, a glowing blue triangle revealed itself from through the dust.
The delta.
It grew around us, like an incoming mirage.
There was a snap, and the delta rang with a shriek.
Then, the earth gave way from under us.
I might've whimpered a shriek, as we began to fall, into the depths.
For a split second, reemerging nightmares of my time in Tartarus began to ring in my mind.
Falling down, down, down into the infinite depths for the rest of eternity.
A hell hole that housed the worst, calling to me to return.
You belong here, the souls from the river damned had told me, you deserve punishment as much as any of us. Join us.
The memories of the place horrified me. Even after a month away from the place – I often found myself plagued with nightmares.
That's when I felt a sudden lurch and a strike of pain sprang down from my right arm.
I knew instantly it was dislodged.
What took me longer was to realize that Piper was holding onto me, for dear life. With fright, I stared at the depths below.
The hole itself was a straight shot down, the walls on all sides were slanted earthen stone, that looked on the edge of brutal collapse. Around me, pebbles continued to trickle down, a click clack that sounded like a whirl storm of marbles.
Silently, I prayed the walls would hold out.
Hundreds of feet below, the pile of fallen earth must've hit ground.
Although it was too far to make out clearly, I could faintly make out Riptide's dim glow at the top of what must've been the pile of rubble at the bottom. I estimated the fall was another hundred yards down – easy.
"Annabeth!" Piper squealed, panting "I'm not going to hold on much. Longer…"
I didn't have to look up. I could feel Piper's grasp failing. Her hands were sweating, and I could feel my flailing arm slipping.
I steadied myself taking in my surroundings for something useful. Something I can actually do, to avoid an unwelcoming end.
That's when our savior arrived.
"Piper? Annabeth?" Jason's voice echoed from above.
"Jason?" Piper called back.
"I thought you left for Montreal hours ago!" I yelled up, causing the earth to shake around me. I shut my mouth. Jason floated down to where we were flailing for our lives. Careful not to make more noise, Jason leaned into me and held me onto his shoulder.
It was an awkward hug, but Jason managed to collect the both of us. Slowly, we made our ascent, back towards the surface.
It was slow and painful. My arm continued to throb unimaginably. Jason wasn't accustomed with supporting two other people, but somehow we made it to the top.
When we made our way up, Jason dropped us hard into the mud, before collapsing besides us, panting.
"I – I thought you left f – fo – for Montreal ho – hours ago." I repeated in between breaths, while I stared at the darkening sky.
"Yeah, but I stayed behind a bit to make a few storms along the coast," Jason answered me.
"Percy planted him as a distraction while he set up a little picnic at the fist for the two of you. I was supposed to lead you there," Piper added.
I stared at the sky.
"So where's Percy?" I asked already knowing their answer.
Piper sat up uneasily and frowned. "He was supposed to meet us here…"
Jason nodded not looking at her. "I left him at the fist a while ago. Everything was going as planned."
I tried to get up, before I had to muffle a scream of pain, dimming my vision. Piper panicked and pulled Jason in.
"I think I dislodged her arm. We've got to right it!" Piper told her boyfriend, as my vision started to darken. Spots began to fly around. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but nothing responded except for my pain receptors.
The son of Jupiter shuffled urgently over, still exhausted. Jason looked down at me with an awkward expression before pushing me down still.
Piper shoved my arm back into its socket, and I yelped instinctively before falling into unconsciousness.
LINEBREAKWANTSAWAFFLE
I was falling.
Falling. Falling.
Down. Down into the depths.
The wind whistled in my ears, as I fell. Around me, the air slowly grew hotter and damper, as if I was falling into the throat of a massive dragon.
Someone – Percy – held me close, hugging me tightly in desperation as we both tumbled into the infinite abyss. His lucid black hair ruffled in the air.
I took a breath in.
Percy's sea breeze aura battled to comfort me as the retched odor of rotten eggs – sulfur engulfed me and began to eat its way through my lungs.
I tried not to sob, when I realized where I was. This wasn't real.
This wasn't real. It was a dream. A nightmare.
Just another nightmare.
I've had plenty of these before, I thought.
That still didn't lessen my horrified expression.
I pushed my lips against Percy's ear, thinking of what to say.
"I love you," I uttered, pouring my heart and soul into the words. Those three simple words.
"I love you too, Annie."
I was about to snuggle in, to find peace before a terrifying realization came to me.
Percy never calls me 'Annie.'
His cool aura shifted and I tried to squirm away. His hold only tightened.
Carefully, I reshifted my form, so I could see his face.
Instead of Percy's relaxed smile, I was greeted with Luke's worried frown.
"Are you okay, Annie?" Luke said with worry. Somehow, I heard his words clearly despite the roaring winds.
I struggled to free myself. Luke only held me closer, in a suffocating hold.
"Get away from me!" I screamed at him. Luke looked shocked.
"Woah," he cooed. His face lacked the scar he had retrieved during the scandal with the Hesperides. He looked younger, maybe sixteen and his dark blue eyes warmed her with both care – yet, unease. "Where are you going, Annabeth? Don't worry, I'll protect you. We're family, right?"
Luke smiled coolly, like he never betrayed her.
"No. No! Nooo. This isn't real! Why are you here?!"
Luke looked down at me with pity.
"Are you feeling alright, Annie?" He asked again. He put his hand up towards her head.
"No! No! Get away from me. Get – get away." I slapped him and scrambled to get out of his hold.
Luke held me down. "Annabeth! Calm down, I've got you."
His voice was different.
"No, Luke! Get away from me – you – you –"
"Luke?" he asked in confusion. Then his face slanted with seriousness.
"Annabeth, wake up!" he commanded.
With a struggle, I pushed away from him, and we spiraled into the darkness.
LINEBREAKDIDNTGETHISWAFFLE
I jolted awake in a freezing sweat. My body felt clammy. My vision blurred with taint shrillness.
The world was spinning.
I squirmed, under a tight hold until I realized where I was.
The camp Infirmary. I was in the camp Infirmary.
Safe.
I wasn't falling in towards Tartarus, once more.
Will Solace, the counselor of the Apollo Cabin looked down at me with a kind and sad smile. He was wearing his usual orange camp t-shirt.
"Are you feeling, alright?" he asked me silently. I tried to sit up, but a shock of pain rang down. I looked towards my arm, to see a huge cast in its place.
Will let go of me, and soothed his cheek. Where I had slapped Luke in my dream.
I looked around, taking in all the details around me. I didn't really need to. I knew I was exactly where I was, but analyzing my surroundings always relaxed me.
The other eleven sick beds that often housed injured campers were all empty. The room was deadly silent, except for my own breathing and the tick – tock of the antique grandfather clock that laid across the room. The ceiling fans were off. The walls were bare, except for a few empty shelves and medical cabinets.
The windows were dark. It was night, and outside the wind howled with fury.
Just like in her dream.
"Annabeth?" Will asked me concerned.
I looked at Will dazed before I realized I hadn't answered his question.
"Yea – Yeah, I'm good," I stuttered. Will's expression eased. He handed me a glass of nectar, which began to drink.
When I first tasted the drink – my stomach wanted a revolt. Usually, nectar reminded one of their most cherished memories. Whatever they considered home, and where they felt loved.
Sometimes, Nectar's taste reminded me of buttered popcorn, sitting on the couch with my father watching stupid and pointless romantic comedy movies that we've both become addicted too.
Sometimes – Nectar reminded me of Luke's special ham sandwiches he had used to make for me often while we were on the run.
Other times, the drink of the gods reminded me of a nice home cooked meal from Camp Half-Blood. Happy times filled with laughter, and eating joyfully and carefree (relatively) with my half-siblings.
But this time was a surprise. The taste was bitter and sour. The drink felt granular on my tongue – like I was being force-fed dry sand from the Sahara. The taste was almost as disgusting as liquid fire.
Which sadly, I had experience with.
"Something wrong?" Will asked me, as he must've caught my disgusted expression.
"Aw. It's fine," I said forcing myself to down retched tasting drink.
"You've been asleep for three days," he told me, avoiding my glance.
I stared at him.
"THREE DAYS?!" I screamed at him, almost dropping the glass. My tired voice echoed in the vacant facility.
Will nodded steadily.
He sighed, "Let me get Piper to come here."
He took the glass from my twitching hand and laid it down on the table besides me.
Coincidentally, the Infirmary's landline laid right beside him. Will picked up the line and clicked in the number ten. (Cabin #10 is Aphrodite)
I counted the seconds, using the rhythm of the clock as a guide.
I only counted to five, before Piper picked up.
"Will?" Piper's exhausted voice spilled from the speaker.
"Yeah, it's me. Annabeth's awake."
There was a pause.
"I'll be right there," Piper responded urgently, before the line went dead.
Will looked back at me, silently, before beginning to a checkup.
"Just making sure you ready to hear what you need to hear," Will warned.
I didn't respond.
All I could think was that dream, with me and Luke falling into hell itself.
The psychology part of the story emerges from the depths! Yesh! Now PTSD is a real topic that everyone should keep in mind of. I really should've planned it, so it landed on Veterans' Day – but, oh well. Crappy scheduling on my part.
Anyway, this chapter kinda combined Annabeth's two worse tragedies, as well as other stuff which I shouldn't say unless I want to spoil the story… Thanks to all who are reading, and especially those who've reviewed/followed/favorited! I wouldn't have gotten this far without any of you!
See you all later, and remember to review!
Best Wishes, from a Junior Scribe of Camp Half Blood
~VCRx
(This chapter has not been betaed.)
[Last Edited: 4.18.17]