A flash of lightning and crack of thunder jostles the unsuspecting.
A smell of copper in the air, and the tip-tap sounds of droplets of rain bounce off the young man's ears.
Noone ever prepares you for this one, specific moment. I mean, how could they? When they themselves were never aware such a circumstance could ever happen to them. They knew of course, no one is that ignorant or naïve, but you just always kind of … hoped. "When do I leave?" I asked. "You'll board flight 381 West bound for La Guardia airport, Queens, New York at approximately 3:30 pm.". I couldn't help but scoff at the cold monotone voice. Thousands of years old, thousands of years of memories, knowledge, experience, and wisdom, all just to culminate into someone who could care so little for a life that changed so many others. The cold English winter air doing nothing to aid in my mood. "When will it end, this road I'm on? Where does it end for everyone who suffers, everyone who sits and waits for the change that would benefit everyone, BUT WILL NEVER ARRIVE!?". I raged for a just a few seconds. No longer than needed for a breeze to blow my very words away, as if to say, "Please don't change for the worse. You'll never forgive yourself." After a moment, the goddess stuck in time simply said this, "I don't know Perseus. You are the closest any of us have come to answering that terrible question. To lose so much, in so soon, I could never fathom such pain. We gods … we have lost much, and experienced much more. However, I pity you. Where we gods have infinite time to heal, to learn, and to overcome such pain, you lack such pleasures. Every pain you experience, would be one brand new wound after another, in the eyes of us immortals." So she pities me… tough shit. "I will say this just once Athena, your actions, but from the myths, and my own personal experiences with the gods, scream to me, they scream that your council is not to be trusted. Our lives are not CURRENCY, NOR NUMERICAL FACTORS TO BE LOOKED DOWN ON!". "One day, you'll learn this, maybe a few more dead daughters will hammer that little detail into your infamous mind." She's incinerated higher beings than him before for less, and yet …she was not compelled to. She had no argument or words of rebuttal in her defense, because even the mighty goddess of Wisdom knew he was right. Perhaps the gods should start treating theyre children as just that, as family, as their children, not as cannon fodder to be thrown at the enemy simply to test theyre weakness or combat proficiency. However, that will have to wait. So, with a bright flash of light, the mighty Athena had disappeared, gone to think heavily on the now sobered seaweed brain man, that had captured her favorite daughter's heart.
Picking up a fist of dirt, my hands shaking with unbridled anguish, and tears invading my vision, I finally relinquish my hold on the soil, and toss it onto her casket. Finally allowing myself to say goodbye, knowing I'll probably not come back, at least, not as the same person she knew me as.
"Annabeth, I'll make things better. Kids won't have to run for their lives just cause they're parents got drunk or horny. The campers will have better lives. Ones we didn't get. I promise you this Annabeth, on the Styx I do promise."
A final crackle of thunder, though those not present would only confuse it with the ongoing storm, would seal the fate of the once happy young man.
With a final tear fallen, and a final prayer given, Percy leaves for his cab to the airport. Leaving behind on the dirt mound, his last connection to her, a purple velvet box, containing a simple, yet ornate ring. A symbol of a past that was robbed of him. A reminder of what more is able to be taken from others. A message, to those that would try to stand in his way. One very clear message: "I'm not holding back anymore. Don't try me."