Lost in Time (Forgotten Daughter part 3)

Not All Wounds Heal

Ali's chest throbbed as she faded back to consciousness. She felt like a giant had stepped on her. Her lungs burned and her ribs creaked with each breath. Breathing was a chore - an excruciating one. What had happened? She didn't remember a whole lot from the trip back to camp, the journey had been a blur of pain, but she was pretty sure her chest never got crushed.

Someone sighed in relief to her right.

She could pin point that sigh in her sleep. She turned her head, not an easy task when her whole body ached, and spotted Chiron sitting in his wheelchair next to her cot. They were in the infirmary.

The centaur smiled warmly at her. "You're awake." He said it more to himself than to Ali, as if he needed to hear himself say it in order to believe it.

"Yeah." She cringed. Her voice was hoarse and speaking just made her chest burn. "Kind of wish I wasn't."

His expression turned dark. "Don't talk like that." The harsh snap to his words made her wonder how close she'd actually come to dying.

The awkward silence that followed was suffocating. Everything grew still - no birds, no insects, no breeze, no pained groans from the other wounded campers. The world just stopped, waiting for one of them to say something.

Ali took a deep breath. "So... how bad was it?" She tried to keep her voice upbeat, but her leg still hurt a lot.

Chiron stared at the injury spiraling up her right leg, unable to meet her gaze. He sighed. "The cuts were... very deep, almost to the bone. The whole thing was infected. Circulation was horrendous." He tore his fingers through his thick hair. "For a moment, they thought they'd have to amputate it."

Ali did her best to keep her cool, as she nodded. "Based on the searing pain, I assume they figured out another way."

"Thankfully, yes." Chiron leaned forward, clasping his hands and bracing his elbows on the knees of his fake legs. "Though it was far from pleasant."

She scoffed, lying her head back against the pillow. "I can tell. What'd they do? Jump on my chest?"

He chuckled. "I'm glad to see you still have your sense of humor."

She sighed, letting the pain envelop her body. "Well, at least something survived."

"I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner." He dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Don't beat yourself up." She took a long breath. "I didn't expect you to find me at all."

He sighed. "Then I suppose we should thank the gods that Annabeth did."
* * *
Ali limped into the arena, not entirely sure what she was going to do there, but not sure where else to go either.

Kane West - the Apollo kid who had been taking care of her - had finally cleared her. Seriously, of all the kids in the Apollo cabin, why had she been assigned to Kane? The guy was her rival and everyone knew it. It had probably been some lame joke. Or someone wanted to see how long it would take for Ali to hit him. Unfortunately, she hadn't had the strength.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the giant hellhound curled up in the middle of the arena. Bumping into its furry leg, she was sure she jumped ten feet in the air when she saw the massive monster.

Word to the wise, jumping with a still-healing leg wound, never a good idea. A wave of pain erupted through Ali's body as she landed, buckling her joints so she collapsed to the ground. She slammed her palms against the hard earth and the stinging rushed up her arms. She couldn't move. It hurt too much.

Suddenly, Annabeth raced into the arena (apparently, Ali had screamed) and calmed the startled monster. Once the massive hellhound was under control, she knelt beside Ali and helped her to her feet. "Sorry, I probably should've warned you about Mrs. O'Leary."

"It has a name." Ali hissed through clenched teeth.

Annabeth smiled awkwardly. "It has an owner."

Ali met Annabeth's gaze in disbelief. Her expression must've been priceless, because Annabeth couldn't contain her laughter.

"Come on." Annabeth urged. "I'll explain everything."
                                     *   *   *
Ali sat on the dock with her right leg dangling in the water. It felt good to soak her cuts in the salty waves of the Long Island Sound. Kane reprimanded her every time he caught her doing it, but it helped. Ali couldn't explain why. It was like Poseidon was healing her or something. She knew it sounded crazy, but she didn't have any other explanations.

Annabeth walked down the dock towards her. "Mind if I join you?"

Ali shook her head and Annabeth sat down. Her eyes looked puffy, like she'd been crying. Ali couldn't blame her. Percy had been gone for almost two weeks. Ali knew how much she cared about him. That was part of the reason she tried not to hang out with him too much, she didn't want people, especially Annabeth, getting the wrong idea.

Ali kicked her leg through the water absentmindedly. "So... what's up?" She regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She was clueless when it came to dealing with people's feelings.

Annabeth drew her knees close to her chest, clearly fighting fresh tears. "Chiron said it's time."

Ali suddenly felt tears rolling down her own cheeks. "No."

Chiron had held off on burning a shroud for Percy in the hopes that he would come back, but... it had been two weeks and people needed closure. Apparently, he'd decided that they couldn't wait any longer. Percy wasn't coming back. 

At a loss of what else to do, Ali dried her tears and opened her arms.

Annabeth collapsed into the hug no longer struggling against the tears. Sobs shook her body.

Ali sat in silence, holding Annabeth close. She didn't need words right now, she needed a rock - someone to be strong so she wouldn't have to be. Ali rested her chin against the top of Annabeth's head and said the only thing she could think of - words she knew wouldn't help, but couldn't stop herself from saying. "I'm sorry."

A/N
Sorry. Wednesdays are another busy day for me and I was having a mini episode of writers block, so... 😅
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it's filler, but... I needed at least one of those in this story right?
I should be able to update tomorrow, but with my pattern this week no promises.
Thanks for all the support. I appreciate you all so much.
Until next time.
-Cheshire