Η Κάθριν Χασέ (K.C. Jackson)

Chapter 22

*K.C. POV*

The stoned entrance to the Statue was locked. Perfect start. Not being able to bend water, I broke the glass on the double doors. I warned the others to be careful of broken glass and we entered. The lobby had a figure in the middle, that looked like a torch and toward the back was the 20 stories, 354 steps we would have to climb to reach the top, which was were you could see the view of the Atlantic. Turning back to the group, I left Nico and Rael to fight any monsters who were smart enough to wander into the building. Determined, they talked and agreed on Nico taking the left side and Rael taking the right. I was about to walk up the long stairwell when Nico grabbed my hand.

"K.C., if anything goes wrong, I just want you to know that you are my very best friend. I will always love you and you don't even know how much I appreciate how you brighten up my day."

We embraced. Wiping a tear away, I stammered,

"Thanks Nico. I wouldn't let you down, now would I?"

He chuckled, and turned to go fight for the left side of the building.

Taking a deep breath, Madelyn and

I went to start our climb and to see what the future holds for us.

*Madelyn POV*

Stairs suck. Halfway up, and she was already out of breath. K.C. urged her to come on.

"We can do this, Madelyn. Come on." Her sea green eyes shimmered with light from the small window. She smiled.

"Okay. Let's do this." Taking her friend's hand, she trudged up to the next flight of stone steps.

K.C. was surprisingly calm. She expected her to be freaked out with worry and fear. Or maybe that was just her. After all, she did believe she was mortal for most of her life. K.C. changed that, though. If she had never taken Madelyn from the Sam's store, they never would of found out Manasseh's plan. Never would have been friends. But now, she was ready to fight for what she believed in and K.C. would stand by her.

*Percy POV*

The monsters are starting to swarm the Statue. Riptide was tucked in my pants pocket, itching to get out. I pulled the black, ball point pen from its home and took the cap off. It grew into the Celestial Bronze sword, Anaklusmos. I stared at the trident on the hilt. The sword drew power from the ocean, just like I do. I would feel helpless without it. It is a part of me and to lose it would be like losing Annabeth. Yeah, that serious.

"You really thought you could just run away and succeed?" The voice of Annabeth Chase struck me from behind.

"Umm....no of course not. You were just occupied with battle plans and I just went for a-"

"A walk? With who? Riptide? I swear, you are always on the top of my judo flip list. And don't even give me that "bad decisions make good stories" crap. I know you were trying to do everything on your own again. Bu you have to realize, Percy that I'm here for you. We all are and the sooner you see that, the better of you'll be."

I couldn't bring myself to form any words. To Annabeth though, I didn't need to. She kissed me before I could make a fool of myself trying to find the words.

"How much do you love me, Seaweed Brain?"

"Like hell." Was all I could manage.

*K.C. POV*

Madelyn was slowing every step. Her eyes were drooping and bags under her green eyes were growing. We stopped every 20 steps, to let her rest. But at this rate, we wouldn't make it to the top until sunset. The encouraging words that slipped from my mouth lost their motive. I was getting frustrated on how she was doing so well and now she was giving up and letting go. She needed rest desperately because I was used to training at camp, I was used to long distance running, she wasn't. I couldn't leave her to fight either, if she couldn't even walk up 354 steps, how could she take on an army of monsters? We would just have to keep going. I don't even know what we will find up there. And I'm scared to find out.