Percabeth One-Shots

42. Nightmares

Just incase you guys might think I prefer sad endings. While that might be true, this was originally going to be a lot shorter. But I extended it and it became a happy ending. When you see the ### that is where the story would have originally left off. Thank me later :) (To give you a clue, the original also had the title "Alone")

"Don't scream." Annabeth whispered, clamping her hand over Percy's mouth.

A monster leaned over them, its claws scraping on the red and black rocks they hid behind. Its ears twitched and its eyes scanned over them, looking for movement. It growled as it turned away from them. Percy and Annabeth stayed froze in place while they listened to the creature's footfalls rejoin the others as they soon changed to fading howls as they started to pursue something else.

"We need to find the doors. Now." Percy said, peeking his head over the rocks to make sure the monsters left.

He turned back and looked at Annabeth. She held a hand on her ankle that was still wrapped with spider webs. Red and black dirt covered both of them, Annabeth had rubbed some into her hair to disguise the blonde curls, but it didn't disguise the grey streaks that have returned to both of them.

"We should go." Percy started to stand but fell back again, exhaustion taking over.

"Not now. You need to rest." Annabeth told him. "You can't go on like this. Rest now than we will continue, and I can walk."

"You can't walk on that leg. You need to rest it until we can get to doors and it can be healed."

"Percy-"

"No, don't even say it."

"Percy, you know we might not make it."

"I said don't say it." Percy growled.

Annabeth sighed. "I don't need you to face it, Percy. I just need you to face that you might have to leave me here."

Percy stood slowly. "Maybe you're right." He said, his eyes glazed over.

Annabeth felt like a dagger had just been thrust into her. "What?"

"I should leave you behind. Think about it. It's very likely that only one of us will live to see the doors, and that should be me. I'm the one with power, I'm the one with two working ankles. What have you got Annabeth? You've barely kept standing since we got here. If I stay with you, we both die. I just don't see a purpose in that." He finished and turned away from her. "Good luck Annabeth. You're going to need it." He said and started to walk away.

Annabeth hobbled after him. "Percy, please." She called, but at her words he began to run, leaving her far behind, crippled and alone. Annabeth fell, the broken glass of the ground dug into her skin, but the pain in her cries was worse. How could he just leave her? What had she done to deserve this? She screamed at the loss. She knew those creatures would hear. She even felt them appear around her. But she didn't care.

Even as they tore her apart, Annabeth's scream remained one of loss, the physical pain meant nothing to her. ### (see, I can be nice. I could have stopped here)

"Annabeth." A voice called her through the dark and gnashing jaws. "Annabeth, wake up."

Her shoulder shook and seemed to bring her away from those creatures, back to a reality of softness and the faint smell of a sea breeze.

"Are you okay?" The voice asked.

She turned and gazed into familiar sea green eyes. "Percy..." was all she managed before her voice cracked and tears streamed from her eyes.

"Hey, its okay. I'm here. I'm never going to leave you." He told her, sitting up in the bed next to her and pulling her head to his chest.

Several nights now Annabeth had been trapped in nightmares. Most nights Percy felt her shaking and could wake her. But there were some nights when she didn't shake, when she was frozen by the terror that wrapped inside her. Percy couldn't forgive himself for not knowing, so he made it a habit to wake up in the middle of the night. It sounded odd when he spoke the idea aloud, but he did this by drinking as much water as possible before bed, meaning that he would be woken in the middle of the night by a natural call.