As the destroyer rocked about on the waves, throwing everyone inside around and sending personal items flying, Percy remembered exactly why he never wanted to serve aboard a destroyer. Aside from the obvious fact that jets couldn't really land on a destroyer, destroyers were also most susceptible to the waves. On an aircraft carrier, he rarely ever had to worry about the waves sending him flying across the galley.

Evidently, a few soldiers and Annabeth weren't accustomed to the sailing life. He'd personally seen Annabeth sprint to the restroom to throw up at least twice. The rest of the rescue party, like him and a few marines, weren't really affected by seasickness. The crew of the destroyer went about their jobs like it was just another day.

Percy sat in the galley, a little far from the group of soldiers and marines. He didn't do it out of some edgy reason or to look cool. No, it was because he wanted to sit near the door in case Annabeth came back. She wanted to sit next to him the whole time so he'd rather sit near the door so when she had to throw up, she could just run out and into the bathroom.

He knew deep down, she was regretting being in such a rush to rescue Luke. Almost everything had been going to plan. She'd managed to get the help of two Arleigh Burke class destroyers and a platoon's worth of men to help her out. She just couldn't get the weather to help her out, which was proven by the storm they'd sailed right into.

He looked over at the group sitting in the middle of the galley, two-thirds of them weren't even coming on the mission, they were just there for backup. Even then, that wasn't all of the backup. The rest of the backup was on the second destroyer.

Percy thought it was nice to know that there was backup in case he or Annabeth needed it but even then, this felt a little extreme to him. He understood Iapetus looked intimidating from the pictures but he really doubted that they'd need this many people to take it down.

During the voyage, Annabeth had been kind enough to tell him a little more about Iapetus or rather, why it earned its name. He thought it was just some random nod towards Greek mythology again and sure enough, he was right. Apparently, Iapetus was a titan and his name meant 'Piercer', which Percy had to admit, fit this particular zombie pretty well.

Percy looked up when he heard the sound of boots clunking against the floor. He smiled politely as Annabeth walked through the door and towards him. She looked miserable, her eyes were pink from throwing up so much over the past hour or so and she was covered in sweat.

"You've really never been on a ship before?" He asked as she sat down next to him.

"No." Her voice was raw and tired, "I usually fly."

He shrugged, "Well, at least we don't have long to go."

Annabeth wiped her forehead clean of sweat. He had no doubt she was exhausted. He felt bad for her, it was only going to get worse.

Ω

Percy wasn't going to lie, he was a little bit nervous, even as he sat back in his seat in the helicopter. He'd never been trained on how to fire out of a helicopter and it wasn't like anyone trained him how to back at camp.

Every once in a while, the helicopter would jerk and scare him a little. He tried to keep his nerves under control but that was easier said than done.

Despite how nervous he was, there was one other person in the helicopter who was more nervous than him. Annabeth sat next to him, constantly checking her rifle over and over again. She made sure she had absolutely everything she would need, he couldn't blame her. She and four soldiers were supposed to drop down and get Luke while he and the helicopter hovered around to try to take down Iapetus.

Percy peered out the window at the other helicopter. The other helicopter was more of a comfort thing. There were two other snipers on the helicopter who'd help him take down Iapetus. Not to mention, there were a few medics on board to help in case anyone got hurt. Annabeth had really thought about everything.

Annabeth nudged his knee with hers, "Get ready, we're close."

"You sure you don't need me down there with you?" He asked.

She shook her head, "No, stay up here and keep Iapetus off of us. I'll try to make this as quick as I can."

It was hard for him not to worry about her. So many things could go wrong once she got off the helicopter. If Iapetus was faster than they thought, there was a chance it could end up killing the entire squad. Then there was the possibility of Luke being dead by the time they got there. There was no guarantee that Iapetus hadn't just broken in and killed him already.

"Alright." He nodded, "I'll try my best."

He looked out over the forests of North Carolina. They were far too deep in infected territory, if they let their guard down, anything could happen. If this was somewhere in South Carolina, maybe he'd feel better but as far as Percy knew, the chances of them getting help were a lot slimmer. There was a reason they had to sail over on a couple of destroyers. He was almost certain most helicopters would run out of fuel and he doubted the few airbases in South Carolina would be happy to help considering they were fighting a full-blown war at the moment.

Percy really wished Annabeth hadn't placed restrictions on what support he could call in. Jets and bombers were out of the question but he couldn't even call in any support from the destroyers. Apparently, she wanted explosive use to a minimum, which meant no missiles, rockets, or bombs.

Percy's heart nearly jumped out of his chest when the co-pilot of the helicopter looked back, "Alright, we're here."

He really needed to stop daydreaming, it'd only felt like five minutes since they'd taken off from the destroyers. He switched his rifle off safe and watched as Annabeth pulled open one of the side doors. The rappel line dropped down as a red light in the helicopter cabin turned green.

Strangely, Percy noticed it was oddly quiet outside of the helicopter, save for the chopping of the helicopter blades. He looked through a window, trying to spot Iapetus anywhere. He had a perfect view of where Luke was holed up in. A small white farmhouse sat in the middle of a clearing. Bits of the roof were gone or chipped, a few windows were shattered. He could see imprints in the grass, like something huge had just come through.

"We're down!" Annabeth called through the radio, "I don't see Iapetus anywhere but make sure you look out for him."

Percy gritted his teeth as he went from either side of the helicopter. He didn't like this, he couldn't see Iapetus and that scared him more than anything. He tried looking for clues of where the monster might've been hiding but he just couldn't see anything. It was like it'd given up and went home or something.

"You guys see anything?" He called up to the pilots.

"Nope, not a thing."

The other helicopter flew a circle, each of the snipers inside clearly looking for the monster as well.

Just as Percy was about to move to the other side, he noticed something. In the woods behind the other helicopter, a tree shook like something had moved past it and accidentally brushed up against it. He shouldered his rifle and looked through the scope, hoping to catch a glimpse of what it was.

Catch a glimpse was exactly what he got. Iapetus burst out of the woods, teeth bared and jagged pointy arms raised. The other helicopter instantly jerked up to gain altitude, the popping sounds of the snipers' rifles piercing the air. He could see the ground around Iapetus shooting up like little geysers.

"Annabeth, we see him!" Percy called into the radio, "Hurry up, we'll keep him distracted as long as we can."

He didn't bother to listen for Annabeth's response. He peered out the helicopter and started taking potshots at Iapetus, growing more and more frustrated as he watched his bullets strike the ground near Iapetus. He was heading straight towards the house, it didn't take a genius to realize why.

"Circle us around!" Percy yelled, "We're too far!"

Thankfully, the pilot didn't argue as he started flying the helicopter closer and in a circle around the monster. Percy nearly smiled as he finally saw one of his bullets strike Iapetus in the shoulder. As expected, blood gushed out of the wound but Iapetus seemed completely unphased. If anything, it just seemed to piss him off even further.

The deep roar coming from Iapetus would've scared even a veteran soldier. Percy just kept on shooting, hoping that one of his shots would finally hit Iapetus right where it counted: his head.

The smell of gunpowder filled the helicopter's cabin, the loud booms from Percy's rifle almost deafening. He was so glad he was wearing hearing protection otherwise he would've gone deaf for sure. He really needed to invest in a suppressor when he got back to camp, he was sure Beckendorf could hook him up.

"We've got Luke!" Annabeth's voice crackled over the radio, "Percy, what's the status on Iapetus."

"Don't come out!" He nearly yelled into the radio, "You come out and you're dead!"

Percy must've put at least 15 bullets into Iapetus. That thing could take a hit, it was still moving like it hadn't been hit at all. In fact, it was currently climbing to the top of the house, ramming its arms into the structure to haul itself up. He was worried the house would collapse once he got to the top.

The other helicopter circled around, its snipers finally having a clear shot on Iapetus. Yet as they fired, they too ran into the same issue as Percy. Their bullets were hitting too low, no headshots were scored. Sure, they could've told their pilot to stop but that was risky. It was better they kept moving, the last thing they needed was for Iapetus to throw a tree at the helicopter and take it down.

The helicopter's engine whined as it continued flying in a circle. If Percy had a machine gun, he would've finished this a long time ago but of course, this helicopter had its machine guns removed after the gunners burnt the barrels out at the beginning of the outbreak. The crew had been waiting months for replacements.

"Come on, go down already." Percy said through gritted teeth, he wasn't sure if he had enough ammo to keep this up.

Each bullet that hit Iapetus seemed to anger it only further. It roared at the helicopter a few times but it didn't make any move to attack. It seemed to know that there were more people inside the house and they were its target.

In the middle of firing, Percy couldn't help but worry about the amount of noise they were making. Any zombies within a three-mile radius had to have heard what was going on. If he and the helicopter didn't get Annabeth and the others out soon, there was a chance they wouldn't be able to get them out at all. If he didn't take out Iapetus by the time the rest of the zombies came then Annabeth along with everyone else down there was as good as dead.

Clearly, he was worried about the wrong thing. His eyes widened as Iapetus looked up and almost seemed to lock eyes with him, its silver eyes taking on what seemed like an analytical gaze.

Percy was only able to scream out a panicked command as Iapetus leapt from the roof and at the helicopter. He fired frantically but the zombie was too fast and too durable. It slammed into his helicopter, spearing the pilot. Blood gushed everywhere, the co-pilot let out a cry as Iapetus's arm grazed him.

"Annabeth, we're—" Percy cut himself off with a pained grunt as the helicopter slammed into the dirt. Everything went black as the ground seemed to fly up at him.

Ω

When Percy came to, his vision was all sorts of messed up. He could barely see straight and his ears rung. He looked up, seeing the wet grass around him. He could hear the other helicopter still flying around and his radio cracking as someone tried to hail him.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice called, "Percy, please respond!"

Percy looked behind himself at the wreckage of the helicopter. He could see the pilot, who was clearly dead as he was slumped over the controls. The co-pilot was alive, he was writhing about in pain in his seat.

That was when Percy realized what happened. He'd been thrown out of the helicopter. That meant—

A roar made Percy's head jerk. His eyes widened as he caught sight of Iapetus. The monster was alive though clearly damaged judging from the glass embedded in its neck and the bullet holes all over its body. It seemed to snarl, exposing its jagged teeth. Yet that wasn't even the worst part.

Iapetus was coming right at him.

Percy rocketed to his feet and turned to sprint at the helicopter. He was closer, which meant he was able to dive in and spin around to shoot at Iapetus. Clearly, he'd underestimated the zombie's speed because by the time he was able to bring his rifle to bear, Iapetus was already lunging at the helicopter.

Metal squealed as one of Iapetus's arms broke through. Percy let out a shout as his leg felt like it'd been ripped open. His vision pulsed for a moment, the pain was so intense it was like he was about to pass out at any moment. He'd never felt pain like this before, this felt like a dozen hot nails being driven into a burning wound with salt.

Iapetus clearly wasn't done, however. He pulled his arm back, pulling Percy back like some sort of demented version of those claw machines with him being the prize. Iapetus peered its head around, its jaw opening wide enough to completely bite him into two.

Instead of getting a mouthful of Percy, Iapetus got a mouthful of bullets as he brought his rifle to bear and practically jerked the trigger, sending bullet after bullet into the monster's gullet. The monster thrashed about before finally going limp after he angled his rifle up and fired a bullet right through one of the silver eyes.

Aside from the co-pilot's pained groans and the alarm system of the helicopter, silence reigned over the battlefield. Percy's breathing was ragged, he tried not to cry out in pain. The monster's arm was still piercing his leg, there was no way he could walk after this. Now that he could look down, he could see just how bad the damage was. Iapetus had speared the right side of his right thigh. His stomach dropped, he was out of action after this for sure.

By now, Percy was certain he was delirious, it sounded like there was more than one helicopter flying overhead. He laid his head back, hoping he'd pass out before he had to feel this pain any longer.

Percy tried to think of something other than the pain but that wasn't going to happen, it took every ounce of willpower he had to not start yelling. He could feel the warm blood trickling down his leg, no doubt staining his uniform. Every small movement introduced a new world of pain into his life, he couldn't imagine how much it was going to hurt trying to pull Iapetus's arm out. He was sure that none of his arteries were pierced so bleeding out was out of the question but he knew for sure that there was some muscle damage there. Whether it was permanent or not, he didn't know.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over, half expecting to see a decaying corpse but instead, he found Annabeth panting. Behind her were her soldiers and some blonde guy who he'd never seen before. Annabeth genuinely looked like she was about to cry, though he wasn't sure why since he was clearly still alive.

"Thank God, you're alive!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"My leg." He groaned.

Annabeth pulled back and surveyed the carnage, she winced when she saw his leg impaled. She pulled out a small medical kit from one of her combat vest's pockets, "Here, I'll give you some morphine for the pain."

Percy nodded and let her roll up his sleeve to administer the medicine. In the meantime, he watched as soldiers opened the co-pilot's door and helped him out. He was lucky, the co-pilot only had a graze in his arm, though it definitely looked pretty gnarly. The pilot's body meanwhile was gently being handled, there was no saving him. The best they could do was take him home to bury him.

Percy looked up when a shadow flew over the wreckage. It turned out he wasn't delirious, there were two helicopters in the air and the other one had already landed on the ground.

Annabeth noticed his gaze, "I called for backup when I saw your chopper go down."

He nodded with a pained smile, "Thanks."

Percy had to admit, he definitely wasn't expecting to be a part of a helicopter crash. In fact, he was certain that he and the helicopter crew had made history, they were probably the first helicopter to get taken down by a zombie. Definitely not something to be proud of.

Annabeth climbed into the cabin and started moving towards his leg, "I'm going to pull the arm out, okay? This is going to hurt but I need to do it if I'm going to pack the wound."

"Alright, I'm ready." He closed his eyes, preparing for the pain.

Clearly, preparing for the pain did nothing because as soon as Annabeth pulled the arm out of his leg, he screamed. He could handle being bitten by bugs, punched by drunken fools, hell, he could handle falling down a hill, but this was just too much. That bony arm felt more like a metal spike.

Then there was the pain of Annabeth packing the wound with gauze. Percy knew she had to do it since it was basic first aid but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He was a little amazed by how effectively she was able to pack the wound, either she'd had practice or she was insanely good at winging it.

Once Annabeth was done, her gloves were soaked in blood. She gave him a smile, "You're going to be okay." She leaned out of the helicopter, "Someone help me carry Percy!"

A few seconds later, the blonde guy from earlier appeared. This must've been Luke, Percy thought. He didn't recognize the guy and he wore a hazmat suit just like Annabeth did when he first met her. Luke had blonde hair just like her but that was about all that they had in common. He was taller than her, had sapphire blue eyes, and just had a face that made Percy want to check if he still had everything in his pockets. However, there was just one glaring flaw in Luke's otherwise handsome features, a horrible scar that started from the bottom of his eye and ran down his cheek. It was like someone had cut him with a knife during a fight.

"I got him." Luke said, pulling Percy out of the wreckage.

Percy had to admit, he had to hand it to Luke, the guy was strong. They were both about the same height and probably around the same weight range yet Luke was picking him up like a sack of flour. Annabeth trailed behind, his rifle in one of her hands while her rifle hung across her body.

As soon as Luke set him down in one of the helicopters, he instantly got hit with a wave of drowsiness. He rolled onto his side, making sure not to roll onto his leg before slowly closing his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Luke smiling down at him with that mischievous smile as the helicopter started to lift off.