Apocalyptic Love (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Nightfall Reunion

Word Count: 770+

PERCY JACKSON

Percy found Grover a couple hours later. He was huddled up in some tree, one rooted just before the forest thins out.

"Have you seen any of the others?" Percy asks him.

Grover drops down from the tree.

"No....not Thalia, Nico, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank...or even Annabeth!" He panics.
Percy runs a hand through his hair, tugging at it in anger.

"Okay...what about Leo?...he didn't have a partner. I didn't even see him run!" Grover exclaims.
"Don't panic man...he went after us...he was supposed to stick near Thalia but maybe he had to take a detour. We don't know for certain if..."
Percy stops. He hears running coming from behind him.
A twig snaps and leaves rustle.

"Get behind the tree." He whispers to Grover.

Percy's hand hovers over his gun.
He can hear the people getting closer.

"There! Looks it's Percy!"

Percy sighs in relief.
"Jason! Geez man, I thought you were Luke for a second there."

He hugs Jason and slaps his back.

"Good to see you're alive...although you stink." Percy wrinkles his nose and steps back.

"I know, we smell like walkers...but Annabeth was totally right! We walked straight past them and they hardly turned their heads." Piper speaks up, emerging from behind Jason.

She has walker blood smeared over her cheeks, in warrior lines.
Leaves are stuck in her knotty hair but she doesn't seem to care.
Jason's shirt is ripped near the hem, he probably got stuck on a branch or something.
His hair is greased with walker filth. And he does seem to care.

"So is it just us?" Jason asks, looking at the small group in worry.

"So far...but I'm sure others will come."

Jason nods slowly, not fully buying the optimism. Piper shakes her head and speaks up again.

"So what's the plan now? Didn't Annabeth speak to you about the smaller details?"

Percy looks towards the tree line.

"She said something about a small cave-like structure, past the tree line. She told me that although it doesn't look like it, one of the mountains is partially hollowed out."

"So we make for there?" Jason asks.

"Not until the others come." Percy says firmly.

Jason opens his mouth in exasperation.

"Percy you know full well that not everyone made it through the morning. We both heard those screams before you started yelling. And through a gap between my branches, I could see that the guards were firing back at Annabeth. She could have gotten shot man...."

Piper whacks Jason. He shuts up instantly, looking a little guilty.

"We'll wait for the others. I'm sure there will be at least one pair. And Leo was the furthest away from the walkers...so he should be fine."

"If he was the furthest away...then maybe he didn't hear me yelling. Maybe he's still in that tree."

~~

They all sat up high in the tree. Looking each way. Searching for any of the others. Hoping that they might have survived.

"How long are we going to wait?" Grover asks Percy quietly.

"..until nightfall."

Grover nods silently in response.
"Maybe then-" Jason is cut off by Piper.
"I see Thalia!" She whisper-yells.
"What? Where!?"
"Over there! And I think that's Nico behind her. They made it out!" Piper exclaims.

"Okay, only one of us should go down to get them." Percy says.

Jason nods, "I'll go." He says.

"Get them up here with us."
"I'm on it."

~~

"It's almost night Percy." Thalia says.
"We can't wait forever."

The others all turn their attention to him.

"Leo only turned up an hour ago...maybe the others...." Percy puts his head in his hands. He knows the truth, but he doesn't want to accept it.

"We'll wait 5 more minutes Percy." Grover says, "Annabeth knows where our camp will be anyway...if she's alive, she'll find us."

"But what about Frank and Hazel?" Jason asks.

"You heard the screaming....I don't think they made it." Nico says monotone.

"Hang on...if Annabeth is...uh...what do we do then? Isn't she the only one that knows the way?" Leo asks.

"No..she gave Percy and I maps. Just in case, she or either of us died." Thalia answers, "she thinks of everything that girl."

A glum silence settles over the place. Percy silently rocks back and forth, singing a lullaby in his mind.
Thalia fiddles with her knife. Grover gnaws on his finger nails nervously. Jason plays with Piper's hair.

Minutes pass.

"Guys..."
Everyone looks up at the sound of Piper's voice.
"I think that's Frank."

"...But he's alone."
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