𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑨 | percy jackson

A C R O S S

(percy's pov)

With these thoughts on my mind, I got ready for the journey. I prepared my supplies and gathered enough provisions for myself and my team. I got my shield, Riptide, and made sure I had everything I would need. My emotions had somewhat eased down now that I was going to finally start my quest.  I felt strong and resilient and I was ready to do anything in order to make sure y/n and Luke were brought back home safely.  It was time to begin searching for them.

I walked towards my cabin door and felt a wave of relief when I saw Annabeth and Grover. 
"I was hoping I was going to see you guys and get rid of the lingering anxiety. I just hoped we could find y/n and Luke and bring them back untouched and unharmed."

Annabeth had started talking about where y/n was last seen and any clues to help us find what the hell happened to her and why did luke have anything to do with her disappearance.

"So you saw her last night, you took her to her cabin, you said goodnight, and that's it?" she asked

"Yes. I don't recall anything else."

"Why don't you ask her friends, they were most certainly with her that night." Grover said joining in on the conversation.

Annabeth turned to Grover and her face lit up.

"You're right! I saw some of they down by the strawberry fields." She exclaimed

We made our way to the fields and started to look for her friends but we found no one.  We all seemed a little lost and confused as we looked around, trying to figure out where these friends could be.

We kept searching for y/n's friends but we still couldn't find any sign of them. It was as if they were avoiding us or something.  I was starting to get really worried and that was starting to show.  I was beginning to think that y/n's friends knew more than what it seemed.

We became more skeptical by the minute and heard a snap of a branch in the distance. All of us paused for a minute as we heard that snap of a branch.  We all stopped and turned our attention toward that sound, trying to figure out what was making that noise.  We all shared a suspicious gaze and wondered if we were being watched or if there was something or SOMEONE lurking around here somewhere.

The suspicious glare that we all shared told us all we needed to know. That wasn't just some twig that had snapped. Someone was lurking out there in the and just watching us.

The suspicious sounds were starting to make my heart beat a bit faster and my stomach was starting to twist a bit more.  It was obvious that these sounds were human-made or by an intelligent being that could make such noise.  I was starting to get a little bit paranoid by this point and it was starting to effect the way I was acting.  I had my sword ready for a possible attack and I stood very stiffly.

Annabeth put a finger above her lips, she was shushing us up. She pulled out her cap and did the right thing and tried to sneak around the sound.  She was probably the best demigod at stealth and the invisibility was definitely giving her an advantage.  We all just held our breaths and tried to keep a sharp eye out as she tried to sneak around the sound.

Grover and I waited as we heard Annabeth sneaking around the area, making her way closely towards the source of the noise with her invisibility.  The suspense was killing me as I wondered what she could be finding out and what this noise could be.  I didn't have much of clue to what she was going to do but I wanted to trust her with this because she never failed to impress me. This still didn't stop my anxiety and my heart from beating uncontrollably.

After a few minutes of patiently waiting for Annabeth to make a move, we heard her make an audible gasp as she froze at the source.  She was visible once more but she looked absolutely mortified by whatever she had just encountered.  She looked like she had just seen the scariest thing of her life and it was very unsettling to see her reaction.

Grover and I looked and each other and then immediately turned back towards Annabeth as we heard the gasp.  We saw her frozen in fear and we were all filled with a sickening amount of dread as we waited for her to tell us what she had encountered.  She stood there as she seemed to recollect herself and compose herself.  After a few tense seconds she finally spoke.

Annabeth spoke in a hushed voice as she looked at all of us with a worried expression.*
"I can't believe it.."

We were all waiting to hear what she saw and what it was that made her look so frightened.  She took a deep breath in and she looked like she was trying to calm herself down.  She also seem really nervous about telling us what she saw.  Annabeth began her explanation.

"I saw some kind of creature lurking in the bushes; but it wasn't doing just anything, it was eating one of the girls from cabin 10. It was really big and it was watching us from a distance.  I couldn't make out much of the details because it was hiding in a thick bush and also it was really foggy.  But it was definitely a creature of some sort and the smell was horrible. I made out a corpse and even though I was invisible, I think I saw it saw me.  I heard it make a menacing growl before I retreated quickly."

We were all dumbfounded by her explanation but we all knew she was not lying or making this up.  The way she spoke and her facial expressions told us very plainly that this was not something she had made up.  We were all extremely worried by this point and we were now starting to get on high alert.

We all started to wonder the exact same thing. 

How did this monster be able to break through the barrier? It should have been impossible for the creature to do that.  Something had to have let the creature in or allowed it to break through the barrier somehow.  I was starting to be very suspicious of the entire situation and the fact that this creature was lurking around in the woods and watching us was definitely a bit too coincidental.  It was definitely very unlikely that this creature was not involved in the disappearance of Y/n and Luke.

We were trying our best to keep our cool despite the fact that we were all feeling extremely anxious and worried at this point.  We were all trying to stay focused and composed but it was becoming increasingly difficult with every passing moment.  The silence among us was deafening and it was starting to become very uncomfortable and unsettling.

We all came to a realization at once. There had to be a traitor, how else would this thing have gotten into the camp.  I still couldn't believe that someone inside of camp would have been working with them.  The traitor had let this monster inside and we were going to have to figure out who it was.

Annabeth's expression showed complete surprise and shock at the revelation that there was a traitor in camp.  I also saw a lot of worry and anxiety in her face.  I think all of us were very surprised and very worried to find out that there was someone in camp half blood that would betray us.  We were all trying to think of who that traitor might be.

As the discussion went on, Grover remained silent for the most part. That didn't last long until he pointed towards the water. We all looked over at where Grover was pointing and we see something that could've been another clue.  Our hearts all seemed to sink at the sight of it and our throats became dry and tight as we all saw what Grover was referring to.

One of the boats was missing.

We were all left speechless. One of my worst case scenarios had been confirmed. It seemed like Luke and y/n had been kidnapped and taken away on the boat.  We all looked at each other with shocked looks on our faces but we all had the same goal.

Annabeth was the first one to break the silence.
"We need to go after them!  We can't let Luke and y/n be taken away like this!  We need to act now and rescue them before it's too late!"