Sedulous | pjo - a. chase x fem o.c

| Chpt 1:9 |

Annabeth's POV

"Oh, man," I said, I looked to see the battle raging on the hill.

I can't believe after everything, we still had even more fighting to do.

I sighed when I saw the bulls and the amount of campers fighting on the hill. But that shouldn't even be possible, not with Thalia's pine tree protecting the camp border.

Thalia.

Whenever I thought of her or the pine tree, I get taken back to that night.

~~~~

"W-we can't just leave you here! I won't let it happen!" I cried.

I knew at this point it was worthless to try to fight and keep up. I couldn't focus, not with all the tears streaming down my face.

"Luke, take Annabeth right now! Grover, lead them to Camp Half-Blood! Go right fucking now, if you guys stay here we'll all die. I'll stay behind with Thalia, I'll try my best to protect her." Mariposa yelled in desperation.

"No, no, no, no, no," I started to panic and shake where I stood.

Luke grabbed my wrist and started to drag me away from them, away from her.

I couldn't just leave them there, my friends. The people who I promised to always be with, the family I would die for.

We are family, Luke said so.

So why was he trying to take me away from them?

I pulled as hard as I could away from Luke and Grover, trying desperately to reach them. I don't even know what I was yelling for. The logic my brain was telling me, told me this was the best choice for survival, that Mari, Thalia, Luke, and Grover were making the smartest choice for us.

But I didn't want to believe it.

I don't want to believe that the only way for us to live is to leave them behind.

I wanted to do anything I could to be with them, with Mari.

"Don't leave me Mari, you promised me!"

"You fucking promised! I-I can't do this without you, I need you, so please, p-please come back to me!" I screamed and yelled, louder than I ever had before. My voice breaking at the end.

I waited.

I wanted to hear her response, I needed to know what she had to say in her last moments.

It seemed that even Luke and Grover stopped momentarily. They didn't want to leave the family they made either.

They were both crying, Luke was looking the other way towards the hill. His shoulders shaking in grief and tears spilling from his red eyes. Grover was beyond distraught, standing as still as ice when he heard my words.

She spoke.

"I know! Just wait for me, I'll be there soon. I promised I'd come back to you." I could hear the confidence in her voice, and I believed her, I really did.