Wildflowers, Percy Jackson ₁

061, love you boys 321 see ya

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

₊˚࿐࿔ 𖥧‧₊⚘ ❀༉. 𓏲｡

The bridge to Olympus was dissolving. They stepped out of the elevator onto the white marble walkway, and immediately cracks appeared at their feet.

"Jump!" Grover said, which was easy for him since he was part mountain goat.

He sprang to the next slab of stone while theirs tilted sickeningly.

"Gods, I hate heights!" Thalia yelled as she, Percy, and Annabeth leaped.

But Sylvie was in no shape for jumping. She stumbled and yelled, "Percy!"

Percy caught her hand as the pavement fell, crumbling into dust. For a second Sylvie thought she was going to pull them both over. Her feet dangled in the open air. Her hand started to slip until Percy was holding her only by her fingers. Then Annabeth, Gover, and Thalia grabbed Percy's legs, and Percy found extra strength. He was not going to let Sylvie fall.

Percy pulled her up and they lay together trembling on the pavement. Sylvie was quick to notice that they had their arms around each other, even after Sylvie was up and safe. Even after minutes passed and the quiet honed in on their heavy pants. Percy seemed to latch onto this touch, but Sylvie was hit with the reality of everything going around them. She tensed suddenly.

"Um, thanks," she muttered.

"Any time," he said. "For you."

"Keep moving!" Grover tugged Percy's shoulder. He and Sylvie untangled themselves and sprinted across the sky bridge as more stones disintegrated and fell into oblivion. The five made it to the edge of the mountain just as the final section collapsed.

Annabeth looked back at the elevator, which was now completely out of reach—a polished set of metal doors hanging in space, attached to nothing, six hundred stories above Manhattan.

"We're marooned," she said. "On our own."

"What's new?" Sylvie huffed dryly.

"Blah-ha-ha!" Grover said. "The connection between Olympus and America is dissolving. If it fails—"

"The gods won't move on to another country this time," Thalia said. "This will be the end of Olympus. The final end."

They ran through streets. Mansions were burning. Statues had been hacked down. Trees in the parks were blasted to splinters. It looked like someone had attacked the city with a giant Weedwacker—Hey! That was Thalia's nickname for Sylvie.

"Kronos's scythe," Percy said.

Or that.

They followed the winding path toward the palace of the gods. Sylvie didn't remember the road being so long. Maybe Kronos was making time go slower, or maybe it was just pain and dread slowing her down. The whole mountaintop was in ruins—so many beautiful buildings and gardens gone.