Annabeth's Mortal Friends and a Seweed Brain.

I Take The Case.

Shila's P.O.V

I was dreaming something weird. I mean,not the 'a-talking-T-shirt-jumps-off-a-cliff-and-a-flying-tortoise-tries-to-eat-my-hair' kind of weird. The 'my-friend-is-running-with-a-flag-and-a-knife-towards-a-lake-and-armed-children-are-cheering-and-they-all-have-cuts-everywhere' kind of weird. 

She was wearing that strange orange T-shirt, and she wasn't the only one. There were, at least, two dozen kids there. Half of them were shouting Annabeth's name or smiling widely and clapping their hands, while the other half was huffing and mumbling things that sounded suspiciously like "Obviously, being daughter of her mother and with Percy watching her back..." and things of that nature. It was weird. I've never seen Annabeth like that before, all happy and laughing and stuff. But that wasn't what was bothering me, no. What was bothering me was that she seemed to have other friends, and she was smiling and laughing with them like she never did with us, and they made jokes about her mother (who, as far as I know, she never talks about with anybody) and she laughed. What was bothering me was the fact that she was somewhere I never went, hanging out with people I've never met, fooling around them like she knew them since ever... Acting like she was home. 

Suddenly, I heard a loud THUMP! , and I sat straight with wide eyes. 

I won't ever let anybody know it, but I was glad when I woke up. It was just a dream. It isn't truth. Annabeth is right here, in this sleeping bag, and...-

Oh, my. 

I got up and looked around. Mark's sleeping bag was empty, and so was Percy's. 'Where the heck are they?', Was the first thing I thought. 'It's...It's God knows what time in the morning! They can't be gone!'. 

Then, I felt the cold wind on my face and arms,and I looked at myself. I was wearing a purple T-shirt and grey leggings to my knees. I was also freezing, so I reached my coat and put my white slippers on. I was about to wake up the others so we could look for Annabeth, Mark and Percy and I could go back to sleep, but a noise came from Annabeth's bedroom and I stopped breathing for seven seconds. My heart skipped two beats, and then, it was the only thing I could hear. 

The sound was familiar, and I didn't know why. I scanned the room, waiting for a monster to come out of nowhere. It was stupid, since monsters aren't real, but I wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. I started walking towards the others, but then I thought 'No, they're just kids, like me, and can't do anything else a grown up can't, so I should wake up her parents'. And I pretty much did. 

-What's going on, Shila? What time is it?- asked Annabeth's dad, who was leaning against the dor frame now. 

-It's Annabeth, sir. And Percy and Mark. They're gone. And I heard a strange sound coming from Annabeth's room. -I don't know what I was expecting him to do. Maybe to tell me to go to bed, that I didn't need to worry, and that it was probably just a book that fell because Annabeth forgot to do her homework and Percy was in the bathroom, and Mark was helping Annabeth reading the text for her or something like that. But no. Obviously, that wouldn't be the case. Mr. Chase opened his eyes wildly and told me to stay in his bedroom. I was so scared I didn't think of what could Frederick do against anything until I saw Mrs. Chase's worried eyes staring at the door. 

I started thinking about thing I could distract myself with. I looked around me. A wall was filled with photographs. I smiled when I saw baby Annabeth with a red dress, playing with Legos and laughing. There was also a picture with Annabeth at about five years, with a big book almost as big as her frown; she was probably trying to read it, but couldn't make the words out. Frederick was helping her, which made me guess it was Mrs. Chase who took the picture. Next to it, I saw a big photo. You could see Annabeth at the age of six or so, with a light blue dress and a death serious face. Behind her, Mrs. Chase was wearing a bride's white dress and forcing a smile. Two babies were sitting at her side, poking Annabeth's arm and pulling Mrs. Chase's dress. I imagine they were Bobby and Matthew, Annabeth's half-sibilings, but they were so young I didn't recognize them at first sight. Then, I stopped seeing Annabeth in any pictures. There were a lot with Bobby and Matthew in them, and Mrs. Chase was there, too. Frederick was in some pictures. But not Annabeth. I didn't see a picture of eight-year-old Annabeth, or ten-year-old Annabeth. I saw a twelve year old Annabeth wearing an orange T-shirt, jean shorts and a Yankees cap in her hand, smiling in a hill full of strawberries. That picture wasn't on the wall. It was on Mr. Chase's nightstand.