Love Against All Odds

Zoe - Olympus Crumbling

The bridge to Olympus was crumbling beneath our feet. As we exited the elevator onto the white marble walkway, cracks began to form, spreading rapidly.

"Jump!" Grover shouted. 

It was easy for him—being part of the mountain goat had perks. He leapt to the next stone slab just as ours tilted dangerously.

"Gods, I hate heights!" Thalia yelled as she and I leapt together, the ground crumbling beneath our feet. Percy was right behind us, but Annabeth, still weakened from everything we had been through, wasn't in any condition to jump. She stumbled, her voice filled with panic as she cried out, "Percy!"

Percy reacted instantly, lunging forward to catch her hand as the pavement beneath them began disintegrating into dust. For a heart-stopping moment, I feared she might pull him over the edge with her. Her legs dangled precariously in midair, her grip slipping until Percy was holding on to her by just her fingertips. The terror in his eyes was apparent, and desperation surged through all of us.

Without thinking, Grover, Thalia, and I rushed to Percy's side, grabbing his legs and anchoring him as best we could. The added strength allowed him to hold on, determination flashing across his face. 

We weren't going to let Annabeth fall. 

With a final effort, Percy hauled Annabeth up, and they collapsed onto the unsteady pavement, both trembling. They were still holding each other tightly.

"Um, thanks," Annabeth muttered, her cheeks flushing.

Percy was flustered and struggled to find his words but managed to garble out, "Uh duh."

Before the awkward moment could stretch, Oskar's voice rang across the widening chasm. "As cute as this moment is, please get out of the way!"

I glanced up to see Oskar, the last of us to jump, standing on the edge of the crumbling walkway. The gap between the two sides was growing rapidly, and even with Oskar's long legs and athleticism, it would be a challenge.

Oskar was tall and lean, with a muscular build honed from years of training. His dark hair was tousled, and his sharp, angular features gave him an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance. His eyes, that piercing shade of blue, were focused and determined as he prepared for the jump.

He took a few steps back, gauging the distance, and then launched himself into the air. His jump was true, his form perfect, and he sailed over the chasm with a grace that belied his size. He landed on the other side with a smooth roll, quickly popping up to his feet with a grin. 

"Easy," he said, flashing a cocky smile.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Oskar was arrogant, no doubt, but I liked that about him—despite my better judgment.

"Let's keep moving!" Grover urged.

We sprinted across the sky bridge, dodging as more stones disintegrated and plummeted into the abyss below. We made it to the mountain's edge just as the final section of the bridge collapsed behind us.

Annabeth looked back at the elevator, now nothing more than a set of polished metal doors hanging precariously in space, six hundred stories above Manhattan. 

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

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

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

We raced through the ruined streets of Olympus. Mansions were burning, statues lay shattered, and the once lush trees in the parks had been reduced to splinters. It looked as though a giant Weedwacker had torn through the city.

"Kronos's scythe," I muttered, the destruction all too familiar.

We followed the winding path toward the palace of the gods. The road seemed longer than I remembered as if Kronos himself was bending time, or maybe it was just the dread slowing me down. The mountaintop was in ruins—beautiful buildings and gardens reduced to rubble.

A few minor gods and nature spirits had tried to stand against Kronos, but their remains were scattered along the path: shattered armour, torn clothing, broken swords, and spears.

Kronos's voice bellowed through the chaos ahead of us: "Brick by brick! That was my promise. Tear it down, BRICK BY BRICK!"

A white marble temple with a gold dome exploded in the distance. The dome shot into the sky like the lid of a teapot, shattering into countless pieces that rained down over the city.

"That was a shrine to Artemis," Thalia growled, her eyes blazing with fury. "He'll pay for that."

We were sprinting under a marble archway, flanked by massive statues of Zeus and Hera, when the entire mountain groaned, rocking sideways like a ship caught in a storm.

"Look out!" Grover yelped. The archway began to crumble. I looked up just in time to see the scowling statue of Hera, easily weighing twenty tons, toppling toward us. Annabeth and I would have been crushed, but Thalia shoved us out of the way, saving us from being flattened.

"Thalia!" Grover cried, his voice filled with panic.

When the dust settled, and the mountain stopped shaking, we found Thalia alive but pinned beneath the statue. We tried desperately to move it, but it would have taken several Cyclopes to lift it. When we attempted to pull her out, she winced in pain.

"I survive all those battles," she grumbled through clenched teeth, "and I get taken down by a stupid chunk of rock!"

"It's Hera," Annabeth growled. "She's had it in for me all year. That statue would've killed me if you hadn't pushed us away."

Thalia grimaced but tried to muster a grin. "Well, don't just stand there! I'll be fine. Go!"

We didn't want to leave her, but Kronos's laughter echoed closer, mingling with the sounds of more buildings exploding.

"We'll be back," I promised her.

"I'm not going anywhere," Thalia groaned.

A massive fireball erupted near the palace gates, lighting up the sky.

"We've got to run," Percy said.

"I don't suppose you mean away," Grover muttered hopefully.

Without answering, we sprinted toward the palace with the others. 

"I was afraid of that," Grover sighed, and with a resigned clip-clop of his hooves, he followed us into the heart of the battle.