Andromeda Jackson

Annabeth

I wake with a start. My dream had been disjointed and weird, but I got the message. Specifically, the message from Hera. Go to the Grand Canyon and find the boy with one shoe. That'll be the answer to my problem. 

That's where I'll find Percy. 

I practically jump out of bed to run to the Poseidon cabin. I need to tell Andy ASAP. 

I burst in with so much force, I startle her awake. She rolls out of bed with an ungraceful "Argh!"

When she gets up, I can't help but roll my eyes. Of course she looks perfect. 

Her long, glossy black hair falls around her shoulders to her waist. Her bright green eyes are big and round and alert. Her oversized blue T-shirt that says Ahoy matey! Is wrinkled but looks great on her. 

She instinctively drew her sword, Quake, that Chiron gave her years ago. It looks just like Percy's sword, Riptide, except that it's thinner and more delicate. Still just as deadly, especially in her hands. 

Looking at her makes my heart ache. She looks so much like Percy that it's not fair. All it does is remind me of how worried I am, and how much I miss him. 

"Is he back?" she asks, though her tone tells me she knows he's not. 

I shake my head. "No, but Hera sent me a vision." 

"Hera?" She spits out the goddess's name like it tastes bad in her mouth. "What does that peacock-loving, cow-queen, life-ruining-"

"She told me that the answer to my problems would be at the Grand Canyon. She told me to look for a guy with one shoe."

Andy's eyes widen. "Percy." 

I nod. "Percy." 

She instantly caps her sword and starts changing her clothes. While she does so, I can't help but think about how different things were when I first met her. She and Percy came to camp together. Up until a couple days ago, they never left each others' sides. You never got one without the other. Now, with Percy gone, she's a mess. Half of her very being is gone. They depended on each other so much, and now they're apart, and Andy clearly doesn't know what to do with herself. 

Not that I've been much better. I finally got Percy to kiss me. We spent four happy months together as a couple, and then boom! He's gone. 

Andy and I have always been close, too. But this desperation to find her brother has made us almost as inseparable as they were. 

Andy has changed a lot since I first met her. She's still short and skinny, but she's more grown. She's actually really pretty, which makes sense. Her brother is super handsome. She still has the same attitude, and she's still pretty immature, but she seems smarter now. She's embraced her love for reading, which is proven by the old, worn copy of The Odyssey that sits on her bedside table. She's also stronger now. Since we've met, we've gone on all kinds of quests together. We retrieved Zeus's lightning bolt, (which she was accused of stealing) we travelled across the Sea of Monsters. We held up the sky. We traveled the labyrinth, and most recently, we fought the Titans in Manhattan. 

It's only been four years, but I feel like I've known her my entire life. She's genuinely one of my best friends. 

"Let's go." she pushes past me out the door and instantly makes a beeline towards the Apollo cabin. 

"We still need a ride-"

"Flying chariot." She tells me. "Already on it."

I curse myself for not having thought of that. "Good idea."