The House of Hades

Chapter 9: Annabeth

Hey guys, if you saw in Chapter 3 my list of the POVs I'm using, just know that I'm replacing Frank's POV with Leo's, so the list is now: Jason, Percy, Reyna, Hazel, Annabeth, Leo.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter 9: Annabeth

        When Annabeth woke up, the first thing she saw was an empousae's evil face leering down at her. She yelped and tried to scramble back, but then realized that she was trussed up like a turkey, and couldn't move anything but her head. What was going on?

         Then it all came rushing back. The fall...Tartarus himself....getting dropped onto the rocks. That had hurt. She felt her head, and could feel blood still dripping from the gash there. She turned her head, and there was Percy, lying next to her bound up just as tightly as her. Percy, her sweet, endearing boyfriend who had jumped into Tartarus for her. He too had a wound on his forehead, which was bleeding profusely.

       "It's about time," growled the empousa, "Now get up, we're tired of lugging you two on the chimeras. We're going to make you use your legs now." She walked over to Percy and hit him in the face. His eyes opened, and his face was screwed up in pain.

        "Get up!" the empousae yelled at him, and she cut the bonds around Annabeth and Percy's legs. Annabeth got up gingerly, wincing as the pain in her head increased every time she moved. The other empousa got back onto the chimera.

          "You'd better walk fast, we need to get there as fast as possible," she said roughly to them. Annabeth wondered where "there" meant, and then realized that must mean the Doors of Death. Her heart sank. It was over, then. She and Percy would be taken to the Doors of Death and sacrificed to Gaea. Unless they could escape...

             The empousa hit Annabeth on her head, and she staggered backwards, half-blinded from the pain from her gash.

               "Get going," the empousa snarled. Annabeth and Percy started forward, stumbling every now and then. Annabeth realized that Tartarus looked much different. The wind howled round them, and her surroundings kept changing. One moment it was so dark she couldn't see anything in front of her. The next second a rocky ground appeared at her feet, and looking out in front of her, she could see it stretched out for miles and miles. Next the ground faded away, everything was swirling around, it was surrounding Annabeth, as if she had fallen into a vortex. Faces loomed in front of her, Her mother, her father, Chiron, but their faces were all transfigured by anger, scorn, or pain.

              She glanced at Percy, and he was stumbling forward, his hand held up, as if warding off some terrible creature. Just looking at him, Annabeth knew she couldn't let him die, she had to find some way for at least him to escape. Her mind raced as she walked forward, but they were weaponless and bound up, and Percy certainly wouldn't be able to run hard or fast. Finally, she decided to distract the empousae, and give Percy enough time to get away. She prepared herself to charge at the empousae, but at that moment, a shadow leaped over Annabeth's head, straight at the chimeras. 

                   She whirled around and saw that the attacker was a girl, who looked about her age. She was an incredible fighter, dodging and weaving around the four monsters, and at the same time decapitating one of the empousae with her two hunting knives. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Percy's sword that the empousae had taken from him clatter to the ground, which was once again rocky. She grabbed it, and then rushed over to Percy, who was gazing, transfixed, at the ongoing fight.