Colors [Percabeth]

The Beginning of Endings// Chapter 25

Annabeth

I gasped at the flames that burned into my lungs. Smoke was rising everywhere and it was getting harder to breathe. The waves of flames stood tall and I knew there was no way I was going to make it out alive. Momentarily, I paused. Why did I want to go into those burning flames?

"Annabeth, help me!" A voice called out in the flames and a shriek left my throat. My heart began to pound as I remembered why. "I'm coming, Percy!" I screamed back and dove into the flames. All around me, ashes and burnt wood and pipes fell. The fire licked at my skin; the burning sensation was causing me to go mad, but the need to find Percy kept me hanging onto sanity by a thread.

Looking around, I spotted a body curled up tightly on the floor. The flames were engulfing them, but by the twitch in their body, I could tell they were barely alive. "Percy!" I ran over, coughing and wheezing over how much energy saying a simple name took out of me. "Come on!" I coughed out. "We have to get you out of here." A hand grabbed my wrist tightly and by the sudden calling of my name that was coming from the other side of the room, I knew I messed up. I looked down to find Luke in front of me instead. "I always knew we'd go down together." Despite the flames that were about to end our lives, his smirk caused an icy chill to slither down my spine. As the ceiling came crashing down, Luke pulled me down with him.

"Annie!"

My eyes shot open and I began to gasp for air. Clean air...

My vision cleared up and I found myself staring into the concerned eyes of Piper. I groaned loudly and ran my hand through my hair. "Whatever it was, it was just a dream," she assured me. All I manage was a nod.

I spoke up softly, "How long have I been out?"

"Since after we arrived and you took a shower. I'm glad you got to sleep though, we're going to need it for tomorrow."

I nodded and curled up on the bed. Still feeling Piper's weight on the end of it, I patted the empty spot next to me. She didn't hesitate and curled up beside me. It was silent for a while before she spoke up, "I couldn't sleep alone. I'm scared."

I looked over at her and frowned. "Pipes-"

"Annabeth, I'm terrified. Luke can't kill Percy. He wants you to come save him. But with Jason... Those two have never been able to see eye-to-eye. No doubt Luke's taking an opportunity to get his revenge for all the times Jason's outshined him." She shut her eye tightly and suppressed a sob. I didn't say anything other than pull her into a tight hug. "Hey, listen to me. They're both very much alive and we will rescue them." I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince her or myself.

***

The next morning consisted of going over the plan another million times and training with each other. My legs were knocked out from underneath me and I've hit my head a lot more times than I can count. Leo sighed exasperatedly for the millionth time. "Come on, Annabeth. We can't have you losing focus now." Getting up, I nodded and stretched quickly. "I was just going easy on you, Valdez. Now the fun begins."

He grinned wickedly. "Now we're talking."

We continued to train and push each other's limits for the rest of the day. As night came along, we all freshened up and dressed in dark outfits. As my feet tapped the ground of the van anxiously, I stared at the window. The moon was high in the air tonight and I enjoyed it as much as I could. "I will see another moon after tonight," I whispered to myself. I had to stay positive and determined. There was no other option for me. Next to me, Piper squeezed my shoulder. As Leo parked the van in front of an old building, I hesitated. Nobody moved or spoke. 

"This is it?" I whispered.

"This is it," he confirmed.

I nodded and opened the door. Determination was pumping through my blood and for once, I felt like a confident leader. I nodded over to my teammates who wore the same look in their eyes. "Tonight," I said as I raised my chin, "we end this."