Shattered to Pieces |Percabeth Story |

20

Annabeth

I hear the sound of rattling keys and then aclang as my cell door opens. I look up to find a woman standing beside Detective Harry Dennis. The woman is young and has long, red hair and rosy cheeks. She looks at the Detective. "You can leave," she says and the Detective nods before he locks the cell and walks away.

The woman looks at me and smiles before she sets the box in her hands down onto the floor. "I'm Lisa and I'm a medical examiner. I have been asked to look you over. Is that okay?" she asks.

I nod my head, knowing it would be stupid to refuse. My wounds can be used as evidence that I killed Ben in self-defense. "Yes," I mutter.

"Great!" she replies and then crouches so she can open the box at her feet. She pulls out gloves, cotton swabs, a camera and more expensive-looking equipment. "So, the Detective informed me that you have back wounds? I need you to take your shirt and bra off so I can look them over." She occupies herself by setting up the camera, giving me time to discard my shirt and bra, before she instructs me to sit on the hard cell bed.

I sit silently and close my eyes. I feel her come up behind me before I feel a hand touch my back. I flinch.

"Sorry," Lisa whispers. "These are - um..."

"Are they infected?" I ask.

"Yes. I might have enough medication to treat them but there is a lot of broken skin. I'm going to have to take a picture of this, Annabeth," she informs me.

"I figured," I say.

She grabs the camera and starts taking pictures. I hear manysnaps before she finally rests the camera on the hard bed. "Do the wounds hurt?" she asks me, breaking the silence that had fallen over the room for a few minutes.

"A little. I was in agony when it first happened but I've got used to the pain."

"Did you lose a lot of blood?" she questions.

"I-I didn't really pay attention," I admit. "I was worried about other things."

"Okay, I'm going to treat your wounds and give you medication for the pain. You are extremely pale and I suggest you get a lot of sleep. Once I'm finished fixing you up I'm going to come check on you every few hours."

"Okay," I reply. "Thank you."

She starts to clean my back using hot water and a clean cloth. She wipes the dry blood from my skin and gets rid of the dirt in my wounds before she applies a strong ointment to my broken skin.

She hands me medication and a glass of water and watches me with a careful eye as I swallow the tablet. She smiles at me once I am done and says, "I suggest you leave your shirt off so it doesn't rub against the wounds because that could cause irritation. I will see you in a few hours."

"Thank you for helping me," I say and she smiles at me before she leaves.

I wonder what she is thinking.

Susan Walker

I swallow the last drops of coffee from the paper cup before I throw it onto the seat beside me. I rub my tired eyes once before looking over to the house I am parked in front of.

I dropped Percy off at the station not too long ago and instructed Detective Harry Dennis to interview him again and get as much information about how Ben treated Annabeth as he can.

Now, here I am, completely exhausted but ready to get this task over and done with. It's time to interview Rachel Dare. I sigh and open the car door before I step onto the concrete ground.