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Twenty-Two | Group B

Chapter twenty-two, in which everything seems to go wrong and Annabeth is left to be the hero and save their poor asses.

Kathy weighed her options, the sheer weight of the decision nearly crushing her internally. As the unofficial leader, it was her job to make sure they all could go home and eat dinner with some answered questions. One wrong step and this entire mission could be blown for all of them, which worried her greatly.

"How about I go and scout ahead," she suggested, although it was really more of a statement than a suggestion if anything. The girl would refuse to let anyone question her order.

Aris immediately protested and surprisingly didn't flinch at the redhead's piercing glare and a kick to the shin from Annabeth. "I think that I should go," he replied cooly.

"Why should you go instead of me?" Kathy insisted, her lip curling up in a snarl. She was equally stubborn to the point where Annabeth felt like ditching the two and going herself. 

He opened this mouth to say something, but he quickly shut it when Annabeth sent yet another flying kick to the shin. Aris was not a person to see reason quickly, but things were quickly solved with shin-kicking, it seemed.

"Let Kathy go," she said slowly, the words filled with a sort of authority that she didn't even know she had.

A very convincing part of him wanted to shove them aside and valiantly go himself, but Aris remained rooted to where he stood. "Fine, whatever." 

Kathy nodded happily, pulling out several weapons to compare them. First was a jagged knife the size of her forearm, which gleamed evilly in the sun's blistering heat. She soon traded it for a slim machete and sheathed the knife with a satisfying whoosh.

Annabeth nearly missed what the girl said next. "Get out of here if I'm not back in five minutes."

So much for emotional goodbyes.

"Oh my god," Annabeth sighed, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She leaned against the ivy wall, staring at the other wall twenty feet away. It too was covered in ivy. Who knows what other secrets were behind all of these walls? There could be anything from ammo to an army of Grievers behind the veil of vines.

"You're obviously worried," Aris said suddenly, squatting in front of her. His eyebrow crinkled in what seemed to be part frustration and anxiety.

"Am not."

He shook his head and cracked a small smile. A small smile was still a smile nonetheless, and Annabeth felt a surge of happiness that she had made him smile.

Her voice went to a dangerous octave. If Aris knew what was good for him, he would shut up or start running for his life. "I will pretend you didn't say that," she said in a haughty voice.

"On the other hand, a good five minutes have passed and our resident Keeper is still not back," he noted, glancing quickly at his watch before frowning. "We should investigate."

Annabeth also confirmed that it had been a dangerously long amount of time since she left, but quickly reminded Aris of her last order. "She told us to leave." 

"I like to think of orders as friendly suggestions," he said all too casually, though everyone and their grandma knew that he wouldn't heed her instructions.

"Touche," Annabeth agreed. "I'll give her another couple minutes before I tear that place up."

And thus they waited. And waited. An additional three minutes had passed. Aris uprooted the weeds growing between the cracks on the floor and flung them at the wall dismally. Annabeth watched him with feigned interest. They both knew of the possibilities — she might be in trouble, dead, or captured. Certainly, they couldn't storm the tunnel blindly.

She tore her eyes away from Aris, who seemed even more anxious than before. "Let's just go in there. We'll just have to be careful."

"Weapons out," he said. Aris whipped out a set of nasty throwing stars (Annabeth doubted that he could throw them very well, however.)

Annabeth selected a simple dagger. It was nothing special, just a long blade of some kind of bronze. "Ladies first," she offered, pointing at the looming tunnel.

He grumbled something rather nasty under his breath but obeyed.

She followed him without hesitation.

Darkness was the first thing she noticed. It seemed to suck all of the light that was at the end of the tunnel. It cloaked Annabeth and she had to admit, it was uncomfortable. She didn't fear the dark. She feared what was in it.

Her hand clutched Aris' (it was rather clammy) and into the dark they ventured.

They wandered in the darkness for what seemed like millennia. All Annabeth knew was that her hand was beginning to get rather sweaty. She wiped it on her cargo pants and tried to find Aris' hand again.

Her hands met cold air. She panicked for a second but quickly regained her composure. "A-Aris?"

No reply. She turned around in a 360, brandishing her dagger threateningly. Whatever was out there wouldn't be too terrified, but she was desperate to find any excuse to fight it.

There were noises of a scuffle a few yards to her left. Slowly Annabeth made her way blindly to where the noises were coming from. It was Aris for sure. She recognized his voice — the other was unfamiliar.

"G-get off of me kid," the voice growled. It was unmistakably male.

There was a small silence as there was more fighting.

"Move it, old man," Aris replied just as threateningly.

"Who do you think you're calling old man?" the voice rasped. "We have your redheaded friend. And your blonde girlfriend will be found soon enough."

At the mention of Annabeth, Aris threw another few punches with a renewed strength. His voice soon grew faint, eventually fading away. Annabeth decided that having a flashlight on was worth the risk of being discovered and proceeded to pull hers out.

The light was dim, but it was enough.

She saw a scientist drag a bloodied, knocked out Aris away. His eyes grew wide in alarm as he realized the light, scrambling to pull him away at a hasty pace.

Annabeth took out a small knife strapped to her chest. She could throw perfectly fine — there was just the risk of it hitting Aris instead of the guy in the lab coat.

She threw it anyways.

The knife missed, echoing as it hit the stone floor with a rattle. When Annabeth looked up again, Aris was gone.