After Camp Half-Blood: The Prequel

20. Moving Forward

Here we go; the beginning of the end.

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Annabeth's P.O.V.

I could hear her calling me. Begging for help. I spun around looking for her; her voice becoming fainter.

"Mama!"

"Hesti!" I called I ran through the nothingness around me; nothing else mattered but finding her. She suddenly appeared bound in the woods normally used for capture the flag. Hesti was deeper in the woods than most campers ventured, only a small distance from the old entrance to the Labyrinth that Percy and I had discovered before the battle against our grandfather, Kronos.

I ran towards her; but my work was slowed by an invisible force pulling me back and fighting to restrain me. Fighting through, I managed to get closer and closer. Then a familiar face sickened my stomach and turned the taste in my mouth to metal, and he held a knife to Hesti's neck.

"No! Please!" I begged and fought harder against the pulling. Luke smiled and the scar across his face contorted into that painfully familiar curve. Luke blinked and his eyes glinted gold as pure as that of King Midas. He wasn't himself.

Looking behind me, I saw a blackened figure pulling me away from the two. I kicked and hit, trying to reach Hesti.

Luke chuckled, drawing my attention back to him. Luke's blade curved up in an arc with a glint of red. My muscles gave out, my heart fell into my stomach, and my lungs emptied in pain of loss and betrayal.

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Percy's P.O.V.

"ANNABETH!" I yelled, but she was dreaming a nightmare. I tried to wake her, but she just kicked and pushed away; I was repeatedly cut and scratched. I let go when she kicked me in the gut, and called Hesti's name into the darkness of the cabin. I winced, struggled to breathe, then realized she was about to fall off the bed. I lunged forward, wrapping her in my arms with my face turned away, trying to pull her away from the edge and restrain her.

She stopped fighting and went limp. I faced her as she stiffened and a scream as petrifying as Medusa's gaze tore through the cabin. My heart broke as she wailed; she curled up grabbing her midsection, still testing the capacity of her lungs.

Pulling her to me, I felt hot tears running down my face.

"Annabeth." I cried into her ear, but she tried pulling away. I shook her awake, finally, with tears on both of our faces. Normally I could handle these nightmares, we had both adapted to helping each other with them after Tartarus, but the mentioning of Hestiani had my mind stunned and worried. I knew how Annabeth felt about her death, and she could be brutal on herself.

I looked into Annabeth's stormy grey eyes. She was looking around, her eyes darting and her face searching for comfort before focusing on me. She shook, as new tears streamed down her rosy cheeks.

"It was a nightmare." I told her meekly, barely keeping myself from full-on breaking down. She collapsed into my lap, so I wrapped her in my arms and dried my face. She cried harder than I had ever seen by anyone, soaking my left shoulder in her pain.

The cabin door flew open and the lights were flung on. I rubbed my eyes enough to see Chiron standing in the doorway only partially hidden by Nico and accompanied by Will, who had his hand on the light switch.

"Annabeth?" Chiron ducked coming into the cabin. She merely nodded in response, her blonde curls bobbed before returning to shaking with the rest of her body. "Another nightmare?" Chiron directed this to me.