The apocalypse. I mean it was bound to happen at some point, right? That one day the world would crumble to chaos and anarchy as the weight of constant battle fell upon it.

And with battle, there came death.

Images of all the people Percy had seen- no LET die, flashed across his mind.

Bianca, Zoë, Beckendorf, his breath became quicker and more ragged as he went on. Micheal, Ethan, Silena, Leo, Piper… No. he stopped himself. Piper… that one was too fresh. He didn't dare reopen that wound.

Percy quickly took his thoughts and shoved them in a box deep within his mind. He had felt himself slipping into his thoughts again, and Percy knew he couldn't let that happen. He was the strong one- their leader. And that meant, if he broke down, they rest would see him, their strongest, break, and believe if he couldn't handle it neither could they, even though Percy knew that they could.

'That was a close one,' Percy thought. That near-panic-attack incident wasn't as bad as the others he'd been having recently, but he knew they were getting worse. He knew he couldn't keep up his façade for much longer.

Percy scanned his surroundings once more, partly to make sure nothing was hiding in the woods to attack, and partly to keep his mind off that particular train of thought.

At the moment, Percy was on guard duty with Clarise, who was standing with him at the entrance to the big house, and Jason, who was flying overhead, trying to get a Birds Eye view of the situation, while periodically stopping to rest on the roof.

This whole apocalypse thing had been going on for over a month now, and in just the first few days, we lost both Thalia's tree, AND the campfire, taking away both the camps borders, and the only goddess who cared enough to help us with them.

They lost Piper and Leo to Gaia, if you were wondering how that happened, and Annabeth… well… she was on her way… at least… that's what she told Percy over iris-message four days ago, but he hadn't heard from her since, and he was getting worried.

Annabeth was visiting her family in Boston when the apocalypse started, and she only found out it was happening last week. Normally, it wouldn't take this long to get from Boston to Long Island, but they were demigods, and with the apocalypse especially, there were monsters absolutely EVERYWHERE.

With monsters attacking camp at least once every hour, Percy hadn't had time to sleep or eat, let alone send an Iris-message.

Just two weeks ago, a large group of telhekins broke in and smashed all the magical plates and cups that filled with whatever you were thinking of, in an attempt to weaken us.

And it worked.

The few campers who could use a bow would strike down a deer here and there, and Percy would supply the fresh water, being the son of Poseidon, but it wasn't enough.

Annabeth had been the only thing that kept him going for so long, but now he had no idea where she was, if she was hurt or not, or even if she was alive, and it was torture. Normally he would avoid even thinking her name, but tonight, it seemed, he just couldn't help it.

Percy was shaken from his thoughts by Clarise. Even though they used to be mortal enemies, over the years, they had grown to respect each other, and now, they were good friends.

"Percy," she started.

"Yeah?" He replied, scanning the area for monsters that he may have missed.

"We… we can't hold out much longer. You have to know that, right?" Clarisse stated, and Percy saw the combination of nervousness, worry, fear, and… almost hopelessness in her eyes that reflected his own.

What she was saying was true of course, and he had shared the same worries for a while now, but he had to keep everyone else's spirits high. He couldn't have them know at just how much of a loss they really were.

"Maybe not right now," Percy said, "but help will be coming soon. The hunters, or the party ponies even, and hey! Annabeth should be here soon too, and once she gets here, she'll have a plan like she always does, and we'll put an end to all of this. Okay? So don't worry."

"Yeah… yeah I guess you're right. Thanks." She replied gratefully.

"No problem," Percy said, "why don't you go inside and rest. Me Jason have it covered."

"All right," she said. "But make sure you get some sleep too. You look like you could use some. She called from inside the big house.

Percy sighed. He was glad Clarise felt better about the situation, but no matter how hard he tried, Percy just couldn't convince himself they would make it out of this alive.

He scanned the area, looking for any sign of an attack, and he saw something moving in the bushes. He tried to keep down the panic rising in his chest. Percy could sense at least two dozen figures in the woods, and he knew the camp might not make it out of this one alive.

To be continued…