Annabeth Chase and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 1 - Somebody that I used to know

I was really blasting through my homework until Luke paid me a surprise visit.

I was at my dad's house in San Fransisco for the school year, now that he and I had made up and my step-mom had became more tolerable. It had been a good few months too, surprisingly. I made friends quickly at my school and was only attacked by monsters once a week. I had had to return to camp twice because of the attacks and because the Athena cabin couldn't run without me, but I always went home later. It was starting to feel like as much of a home as camp did.

Mount Othrys was kinda quiet as well. I'd been keeping an eye on it in between school work and keeping contact with camp and there seemed to be no unusual or monstrous activity to be seen. Occasionally I heard Atlas screaming obscurities when the wind was blowing from the mountain towards my house, but that was like that previously. It was suspicious but also a relief. I had had enough of that place to last me a lifetime.

It was about half way through the school year when Luke turned up. I was home alone, my dad off researching his current project in a university (I wasn't sure whether it was the reason for the French defeat at Agincourt or how the role of tanks ensured  the victory at Hamel in World War 1. He changed ideas so quickly) and my step-mom had taken my step-brothers to a park or something to keep them from destroying everything in the house. I was in my room, smashing through an Ancient History essay on Persian society when there was a subtle tap on my window.

I had my back to the window, so as I swung around to scope out the source of the sound, I nearly had a heart attack to see Luke with his face pressed against the glass, attempting to peer around it to see me at my desk in the corner.

Immediately I snatched up my knife from where it was hidden under a stack of books and swung it round to point at him, making him start with surprise. I didn't know why he was there or even how he knew where I was, but for once, I didn't want to know. I just wanted him gone. He hurt too much to even look at.

For a moment, we both just stood there and stared at each other, neither of us knowing what to do next. He looked like he was trying to say something but I couldn't hear him through the thick glass. I'm not sure if I even wanted to hear what he was trying to say.

I was trying to think of a way to get rid of him without fighting him, for I knew he would easily overpower me, when he suddenly held up a white flag. That made me pause. What could move him to come to me under a truce? One look at his face told me that it was genuine. He looked desperate. It was all over his face.

Something in me softened. Even after everything he had done, I still had feelings for him. I couldn't bear to see him in pain and scared. Besides, if I sent him away without hearing what he had to say, I'd be kicking myself for years after. I had to know what he wanted, even if I didn't like it.

Slowly I opened the window, keeping one eye on him and a tight grip on my knife. Seeing my caution, he backed off a few metres so there was some space between us once the window had opened.

"What do you want, Luke?" I asked immediately, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.

"Just five minutes," he whispered, his voice hoarse and low. "Just hear me out, Annabeth. Please."

I looked at him skeptically. He looked nothing like the Luke I once knew and loved. The old Luke had been strong and brave and confident, his face shining with optimism and he never let me see him afraid or worried. This Luke was completely different. He had a haunted look about him, dark circles cupping his eyes and his hair looked duller. He was thinner too and he seemed to be hunched over as if in pain. And he looked scared, like he was on the run, which he kinda was, and that whoever he was on the run from was right behind him.

Never before had I seen him so scared. He had always been the brave one, the one to lead others in the most hopeless situation. Now he looked like a wreck. And it was killing me to see him so.

"Five minutes," I decided. "But then you leave."

The relief on his face only lasted a moment before the fear was back. Whatever was scaring him was something I did not want to meet.

"I'm going to run away," he told me, looking over his shoulder as if he thought there was going to be somebody listening in. It was lucky that my room faced the back of the house so that he was standing in the backyard and the fences shielded us from nosy neighbors. But fences didn't usually stop monsters. "I can't do this any more. I can't."

My heart flipped. Was he coming back to us? Was he going to fight Kronos with us? For a moment, I felt hope rise in me.

"Come with me, Annabeth," he said, putting as much conviction as he could into his voice. "Run away with me. We can go back to the way we were, back when we met. We can stay away from the gods, live the lives we want to without them constantly looking over our shoulders. We can be free. We can -"

"Are you crazy?" I interrupted, my hope being crushed in an instant. "Why would I run away with you? After everything you've done? No, Luke, I won't abandon camp like you did."

"Annabeth, you don't understand," he pleaded. "Kronos will win. He's going to use me as a stepping stone to take over the world. He will grow more powerful and he will destroy the gods. If I run away now, I can stop that. He needs me, do you understand?"

"Then run away," I said. "Do some good for once."

"But I can't do it alone!" he cried out. "I'm not strong enough. He will find me and bring me back. I need you, Annabeth. I need you to help me. You always made me a better person. You need to help me to do the right thing now. Please, Annabeth, please."

He sounded genuine, but the last time I saw him, he was holding me captive and was using me as bait to kill my friends. He looked different then from how he did now, but I couldn't think of anything but that.

"No, Luke," I decided, stepping away from the window to reinforce my resolve. "There's no way I'd run away with you. I don't want to have anything to do with you. We are enemies, remember?"

"We don't have to be enemies though," he urged. "We can forget any of this ever happened. We can go back to the old days, us against the world. Let them finish this off. We don't have to be apart of it."

"Are you even listening to yourself?" I demanded. "This is our friends that you are talking about, our family. I don't abandon my family."

"I was your family once," he whispered plaintively.

I looked at him harshly. "You were. Once. That changed when you tried to have us all killed. Now you are our enemy, and you'll never be anything but our enemy. Run away if you want to, but I won't join you. Someone has to clean up the mess you've made."

Anger surfaced through the fear and desperation on his face. For a moment I thought he would attack me despite the white flag he still held in one hand, and I gripped my knife tighter. He was unarmed, but that didn't mean much. He was still stronger than me.

"You may as well fight me right now," he told me, seeing the tension in my body, "it's the last chance you'll get it do it."

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

He just shook his head. "Last chance, Annabeth. Come with me now and I'll make sure you stay out of this war. You'll be safe from everyone, including the gods. You'll be free."

"And for the last time, Luke," I said, making my voice as cold as I could. "I will never go with you. Your five minutes is up," I added, seeing that he was opening his mouth to argue.

Before he could say another word, I slammed the window shut and turned away, counting to ten to regain my composure. When I turned back around, he was gone, and I was left standing in my room, alone, with a knife in my hand and wishing I'd been strong enough to kill him.