Jason tossed the dictionary on the table, it skidded across the wood and slowed right in front of Elena. With trembling hands, Elena reached in front of her and picked up the book gingerly.
"What happened to them?" Jason's voice was hard. Elena didn't answer and instead allowed her fingers to trace the spin of the book.
"I haven't seen this since I was a little girl." Her voice was barely audible. She turned a couple pages, eyes sparkling with new tears.
"What happened?" Piper turned towards Jason.
"Broke in, pissed off a ton of police, but we got it. Probably shouldn't go out in public for a while." Leo answered instead, but he didn't look at Piper.
"What happened to Percy and Annabeth?" Jason demanded. Still, Elena provided no answer and instead traced the letters of the book with her eyes. Silence poured over the wooden table, as thick as syrup.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" Jason slammed his hand on the table, clearly running out of patience.
"Stop it Jason! She's trying to help us!" Piper stood in Elena's defense.
"Oh is that what she told you?" Jason finally tore his eyes away from Elena to look at Piper.
"I believe her." Frank said sharply. Silence fell again. Jason's gaze softened as he lowered himself into his seat.
"You're right. We have a deal. I will honor it." Elena set the book down slowly. "What do you want to know?" She looked around the table.
"What do you mean?" Hazel asked as everyone looked around in confusion. "We already asked."
"Well yes, you just asked what happened to them. I mean that could mean a number of things. I could tell you what happened to them in their childhood, their quests, the last war, etc etc." Elena said a matter of factly.
"Well, let's start with the doors, then ask questions from there I guess." Jason seemed to have lost all of his gusto and instead seemed terrified of whatever was about to come out of Elena's mouth. In fact, they all did. All of them sat completely still, trying to ignore how much they were each shaking. Closure. This was good right? They had to know. But none of them could ignore the sinking feeling in their stomachs as it hit them that they might be about to hear about the death of their friends. The plate of food in the middle of the table seemed sickening now.
"Ok then. So after a couple weeks of making their way through Tartarus, they made their ways to the doors." Elena talked as everyone's faces dropped. How was it so difficult already?
"There was a barrier around the doors, to keep monsters out until Tartarus himself deemed them able to pass through to the mortal world. They were able to catch their breaths for a minute in that bubble, however they started to argue about who should close which side. They both wanted to stay and save the other and their fight soon turned physical. In their fight, Percy accidentally injured Annabeth, cut her on the side with his sword." Elena spoke. Piper let out a guttural noise and put her face in her hands.
"Percy was riddled with guilt, but he carried her to the mortal side and closed the Tartarus side. Annabeth managed to move enough to close her side. And that's what happened with the doors." Elena's voice went soft in the end. Jason sat in front of her, white faced. He opened his mouth to speak, then shakily let out a breath and closed it. Around the table there were stares of disbelief.
"He- he stabbed her?" Hazel's voice was fragil.
"He thought he killed her." Elena's voice almost had tears in it. "His guilt..."
"Oh my gods." Leo's eyes swam with horrified tears.
"He thought? Did she live?" Piper's voice shook.
"She laid there for a long time, thinking she was dying, but eventually, I don't know, I guess she decided that she didn't want to die there. She held her skin together and literally dragged herself out of the cave. Mortals are miraculous to me. She managed to get to a near by town and sewed herself up in a gas station bathroom. She stole some antibiotics from a vet and was chased by the police. She has encountered a lot of monsters over the last few weeks, but she is currently hitch hiking her way to Greece, hoping to find you guys there. She's had a really hard time. She's not in the best condition." Elena winced at the pain Annabeth was suffering from but everyone else was hung up on one fact.
"She's alive?" Leo gasped.
Hazel immediately broke down sobbing.
"Thank the gods." Frank cried into the palms of his hands.
"Oh my gods!" Piper yelled, voice breaking off into weeping.
"Where- where is she? We can go get her!" Jason exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Jason Grace, but it would probably be fastest to just meet her in Greece." Elena said sadly.
"What do you mean?" Jason yelled.
"Leave her on her own?" Leo's hand ranked through his hair.
"No we have to find her!" Piper recovered herself enough to say that.
"Annabeth has spent her entire life learning how to hide and move quickly and silently. The only reason she hasn't been caught yet is because of that skill. Trying to find her would just add tons of time to your journey, and you cannot afford more delay." Elena said.
"But you can tell us where she is. Right now." Frank insisted.
"Yes but by the time you get there, she will be in a new place entirely. Believe me. It is like catching a shadow. Meet her in Greece, it is the best option." Elena begged.
"Can't you just go tell her to stay in the same spot until we get there?" Leo asked desperately.
"She cannot stay in the same place for long. She is being hunted by Gaea's army. She is just narrowly avoiding them. Have faith in her. She has her mission and you have yours." Elena looked at all of the them individually. Silence fell again as they all attempted to come to terms with this new information.
"And Percy?" Jason finally spoke. A heavy tension flooded the room. Elena looked apprehensive.
"He's dead, isn't he?" Jason couldn't meet Elena in the eyes.
Elena stayed silent for a long time, then said a simple: "No."
"He's alive?! They're both alive?!" Leo screamed.
Hazel's sobs renewed.
"Yes. He's alive." Elena said quietly.
"Wha-What happened?!" Frank begged.
"He-" Elena lapsed into silence once again. She clearly had no idea how to explain what had happened to the son of Poseidon. Everyone's eyes were on her and she felt the weight of their anguish.
"He closed the doors and the bubble disappeared with them. There were thousands of monsters." Elena's voice remained barely audible. The pain of everyone in the room could be felt through the air.
"They all attacked, but they didn't kill him." Elena swallowed heavily. "They dragged him to the giant's base in the mortal world. They've been torturing him for weeks." Her voice dropped off on the last sentence.
Nobody said a word.
"The things that they've done to him... I know it is a part of our deal, but I can't bring myself to tell you." Elena looked down.
Jason's face was pale. His hands shook on the table as he brought them up to his mouth, covering the bottom half of his face, and closed his eyes tightly. Frank's mouth was open and his eyes wide, he stared in a shocked silence as if he could not comprehend what had just been told to him. Piper's chest heaved up and down with unreleased sobs. Her uneven breaths we unable to be heard over Hazel's loud and unending sobs.
"Where?" Jason finally managed.
"I don't want to tell you." Elena's voice was filled with hopelessness.
"Tell me." Jason's eyes shot up to her's, filled with insane anger.
"It's not worth it Jason. He's going to die any second now. It's not worth going into that death trap." Elena began.
"I don't care. Where. Is. He?" Jason demanded.
"You don't understand, Jason! He is about to die, you can't save him in time! He's been on the brink since yesterday but there is no way he is surviving the rest of today-" Elena was cut off by Jason crossing the table, grabbing the front of her shirt and slamming her into the wall.
"WHERE IS HE?" Jason yelled into her face.
"Jason please!" Piper sobbed.
"He doesn't want to be saved! He doesn't want you to come!" Elena yelled back in his face, refusing to be intimidated.
"What do you mean?" Jason sounded wounded.
"That's why I came here. I heard his cries of pain so I visited him. He asked me to kill him, Jason. Not send you or rescue him, he asked me to kill him. And after what he's been through, I don't blame him. And now he's about to die. Let him be free. Please." Elena shook.
The room stayed still. Frank stood, but still with that frozen horrified look on his face. Piper had one hand on her chest, tears openly streaming down her face. Leo's hand was over his mouth, but it shook. Hazel continues to sob at the table.
"Where is he, Elena?" Jason's voice was shattered beyond repair. He let go of her shirt and stepped back.
"You're an hour away. I'll point out the building on a map." Elena's eyes never lost Jason's. While not wanting to tell, she was held by her deal.
And they set sail to go save Percy Jackson.
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