Cursed: Annabeth Chase

Cracked

(Part 3 I guess. I wasn't planning on making a part 2 and I certainly wasn't planning on making a part 3. But people asked. I'm glad everyone likes this.)

Broken

That's what everyone on the island calls her. They're right and she knows it. Annabeth Chase was about as broken as you could get. She was fixed, for a short amount of time. But now she was back to being broken.

Broken

She knew it wasn't ok. Just like she knew stabbing herself wasn't ok all those years ago. But her definition of ok was blurred. Blurred like her eyes from the tears. Blurred like the water that kept bouncing her back.

Broken

She had nightmares every night. She thought they had left her when she died but it seemed death wasn't a relief for her. It was a curse. She would have been happy to die all those years ago, but now she would had loved to wash away all the memories and start over.

Broken

Everything about her was broken. Her smile, her eyes, herself. But it went deeper then that. Her happy mask was cracking. The one thing she thought she would always have. The one thing that kept her sane. And it was breaking too.

Broken

She repeated those words to herself every day. Broken. Broken. Broken. She was broken and she knew it. It seemed normal to her. She was always broken in a way. It wasn't visible when she was 12 but it sure came up when she was 17 and every year after that.

Broken

Annabeth Chase was nothing without Percy. Percy fixed her. She felt whole again with him. But now he was gone. Forced into the portal with all his memories. That made it worse knowing that he remembered her.

Broken

Broken is what she always was and what she always will be. There's no changing fate. Maybe Percy fixed her. But it never stuck. She always fell apart again. The cracks ran too deep to be fixed. She was unfixable. She was cracked.

-----

I swing my legs over the windowsill and stare into the distance. No, not into the distance. I stare at the bright lights of Elysium. Something breaks in the house behind me and I immediately turn to look. Dark shadows move around. I hop off the window and run to the house. No broken windows or picked locks.

I move to the front of the house and kick in the door. There's no furniture or anything. It must not have an owner yet. Footsteps break my train of thought. What? Who's there? The steps stop. I see the outline of a person just beyond reach. I move forward and they move back. I move to the right and so do they. I frown and flick on the lights.

"Silena?" I gasp in amazement. She nods and steps forward. Tears run down my face. I walk towards her and she pulls me into a hug. I burrow my head in her neck as she strokes my hair. Just like old times at camp. Just. Like. Old. Times? Wait, no. This can't be real. I- She- We- Camp- NO! I spring back and point my dagger at her. She seems surprised. I scoff.

"You aren't real. You can't be real. I don't know why you're here. This must be some sick trick from the Gods. So just please go. I-I-I-I don't want you here!" I exclaim. Why would they do this? aren't I in enough pain? My breathing gets heavier and my mind goes into overdrive. I clench and un-clench my hands rapidly. I flinch when she steps closer.

"Annie.....No. I'm real. They sent me. You need me. I'm here to-" She tries to explain. I cut her off.

"Help? Ha. No." My eyes fill with tears and my whole body shakes. Why her? Why would they pretend to be Silena? "Just-just-just LEAVE! I don't want you! You mess everything up!" At this point I'm not sure if I'm talking to her or me.

"Annabeth. You need to breathe. You don't mean that. I'm real. I promise." She says. More tears come and now I'm sobbing. I can't breathe properly. I'm drowning. Memories flash in front of me. I gasp and sink to my knees. My hands shake. The dagger drops. My vision goes blurry. I gasp for air. The world spins beneath me.

Promise. The word seems so foreign. At one time it might have been the simplest thing. A promise to do the dishes or make dinner. But after everything..... A promise is nothing. A promise is just a word. An empty word. A word that means nothing and everything. A promise can't save you or bring people back, but it can make everything feel good. Except for the times it doesn't. I hate promises and everyone who makes them or relies in them or believes in them is a fool.

"Don't. Don't do that. Don't say that. Just leave. I've asked nicely now LEAVE!" I scream. Silena backs up and runs out the door. I curl up into a ball on the cold, hard floor and cry. I tuck my knees under my chin and lace my hands together. Soon I'm laying in a puddle.

----

I blink and sit up. Where am I? What happened- Oh. That. I stand up and walk out the door. There's no point in staying. I walk out to the beach and plop down in the sand. I'm the only one that comes out here. I notice something in the water and pick it up. It's a shard of a mirror. I stare into it and flinch. A girl with wild, bloodshot, terrified eyes stares back at me.

Is this how I look? Like a crazy girl? I clench my eyes shut, and try to stay calm. A sharp pain erupts in my head. My fingers wrap around my hair.  What happened to me? What happened to the Annabeth Chase that would fight for anything? 

The answer comes immediately. She's gone and she took everything with her. I stand up and throw the mirror as far as I can. I turn around and sprint back to my house. I enter through the window. I hate my front door. I put a foot down on the floor. Something crinkles beneath it. It's a letter. I pick it up and open it.

Annabeth Chase. The Gods pity you.

They are willing to give you a fourth chance on earth.

Swim across the lake to Elysium and go to the portal. You may erase your memories and start over. 

This is your last chance to be free. If you don't do it within the hour we will assume you have declined and this option will not be available.

PS: Silena was real

The note isn't signed. I crumble it up and throw it out the window. I don't need their pity. But a new life would be nice. I almost scream. I know I'm going to do it. It's what I've wanted since I got here. I need to do this. I run back to the beach and step into the water. It doesn't bounce me back.

I take another step, then another, and another. Suddenly I'm swimming. I'm actually swimming! I laugh in delight. I'm going to start over! I will finally be free of this miserable death! I reach the middle of the lake and everything comes crashing down.

Something tugs at my ankle. I kick at it and shake my legs. I feel something weighing me down and now I'm not swimming. I'm drowning. I kick and punch but I hit nothing. My head goes under. I shut my mouth and try to conserve my air.

Bubbles surround me and something hits my temple. I blink my eyes open to see blood mixing with the water. I scream. Water goes into my mouth and my thoughts become jumbled. I try to breathe but its just water. ITS ALL WATER!! I'm going out run out of air soon. I feel myself panicking. No, I'm having a panic attack. 

My feet touch the lake floor. I look down and realize there's a weigh attached to my foot. I claw at it but nothing works. I hear something creaking. I look around to see walls being pushed up around me. My eyes widen as I bang on the walls and attempt to push them over. The water gets harder, crushing me so that I'm sitting. The walls feel like they're moving closer. 

I keep pushing and banging on the walls. I try to back up and my foot twists into a hole. I grab it but its stuck. Screams fill my ears. I reach up and cover them but nothing blocks the sound. The walls get closer. The water pushes me down further. The screams get louder. 

My vision goes black. My hands go limp. I close my eyes. It's happening. I'm running out of air. I stop trying to push the walls or swim away. It's not like this can kill me.  I'm already dead.

I hope people enjoyed this. Or didn't enjoy it.