The Demigod Games

Chapter Sixteen

Percy cradled Annabeth in his arms. The daughter of Athena was weak from the bloodbath in the cornucopia. Percy feared that he wouldn't be able to save her, that she would die before his own eyes.

He knew he could never let that happen. His life would fall apart beneath his feet, he would have no will to live anymore, he would have nothing to live for.

Through so many years, Annabeth had been his constant companion, friend, and more recently, girlfriend. Even a week without her was unimaginable. "Annabeth?" Percy whispered, testing to see if she was awake.

The daughter of Athena stirred, and her eyes suddenly shot open. She reached to grab her dagger, but immediately brought it back after feeling an overwhelming amount of pain. "Percy?" Annabeth's voice was weakened and faint.

"I'm right here," Percy assured her, smiling slightly. Annabeth had been sleeping for hours, Percy thought she'd never wake up.

"I need to take off the bandage," Annabeth gestured to the bayonet around her arm.

Percy shook his head. "It just stopped bleeding half an hour ago. You don't want to see that right now, trust me."

Annabeth grunted. "If I don't see it now I won't know how bad it is," she persisted.

Instead of arguing, Percy helped her lie down again in the cave. Her back rested against a rock, propping her body up. "No, you need rest."

"Perce..." Annabeth's faded as her eyelids dropped over her eyes. Sleep came over her in a matter of seconds.

From outside the cave, Percy heard a loud, screeching noise. He glanced back at Annabeth and gauged whether it was safe for him to leave for a few seconds. Letting his own curiosity take over, Percy rose from his dirt seat on the ground and tip-toed to the mouth of the cave.

The next series of events happened so quickly, Percy couldn't even realize what was going on before it was too late.

Thalia stood over Percy's limp body, holding a spear in one hand, high above her head. Her breathing came out on sharp exhales and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Percy," Thalia Grace whispered. But without another glance back, the daughter of Zeus ran into the scorching hot sun.

--

Aelia slumped over in the sand, trying to stop the flow of blood from continuing. Although the pain bit into her, she couldn't get her mind off of the son of Vulcan that died, Damien Flannegan.

She realized that she could have saved him, she was one lunge and dive forward from saving his life. Earlier that year, Damien had in fact saved her from a monster attack, though he didn't know who she was. Aelia felt indebted, but with the son of Vulcan dead, she had no way to repay him.

The guilt overcame her all at once, numbing her from the pain. Tears trailed down her cheeks, the last of the water in her falling to the sand. Her throat dried from the consistant heat.

Aelia was done, done with living. She lost her will to stay alive. She wanted nothing more to die, especially after the son of Athena had distantly attacked her. Aelia had made the decision to trust him, but that one act felt like a betrayal to her.

As the sun grew hotter, Aelia's heart beat grew slower and slower. Her vision began to fade, but before her she saw a shadow, a dark, indistinguishable outline of a person.

Then everything went black.

--

Jason Grace groaned upon waking up from a forced slumber. All he could feel was an intense pain coursing through his temple. The pain was so insistant he could barely feel the burn of the cornucopia on his bare skin.

He glanced down at his torso, which was exposed from a ripped shirt, but otherwise undamaged. The rest of his body appeared to be fine as well. All that really bothered him was the throbbing pain in his skull. Jason then looked up and around at his surroundings.

As he took in the silver outlining and reflected sunlight, he remembered what had happened. That brute, Edward was about to take off Piper's head with a heavy axe, Jason defended her and nearly lost his life in the process. His head was hit with the butt of the axe, causing him to pass out. The son of Mars must have mistakened him as dead, probably one of the biggest mistakes he had ever made in his life. Jason rose to his feet, an almost defiant act though no one could see it.

Anger rose along with him, spreading from his stomach all the way up to his sun burned face. Jason Grace was minorly injured, with no weapons as well as no supplies for survival. But he was more ready than ever for revenge.

Edward was once a boy who Jason might have even called his friend. They fought together against the Titans, they were almost brothers. Jason would have never expected him to turn out as reckless and heartless as he was before him.

Friend or enemy, Jason was ready to take a stand against the son of Mars. No one could get away with such an act.

Jason Grace was destined to die, but a fiery will power covered all of his needs. If only the son of Mars had known, he would have been running for his life.

"I have no water," Jason said to himself as he stared up at the scorching hot sun. He then looked down into the sand, noting the fact that he would have no food source. "I should starve to death." Jason brought his bare hands together, wringing them. "And I have no weapons. Just me and a perfectly healthy guy. He tried to kill Piper and now I'm trying to kill him. Doesn't that scare you to pieces, Eddie?"

--

Leo Valdez crouched on the sand, poking at the unconcious girl with a finger. "Pipes!" he called out. "Come here!"

The daughter of Aphrodite approached the pair, running a hand through her sweat soaked brunnete waves. "Oh my Gods," she muttered under her breath, gasping at the sight of the girl and her blood stained T-Shirt. "Is she alive?"

Leo watched her chest rise and fall evenly. "Barely," Leo concluded. "Help me get her up."

"Wait," Piper stopped in her tracks as she went to grab the girl's arm. She remembered her in the training center, weakly shooting arrows and other weapons. "How do we know if we can trust her?"

"I don't," Leo sighed. "But we can't just let her die out here. That's exactly what they want!"

Piper crossed her arms, refusing to help. "She might kill us!"

"She's wounded," Leo gently lifted her arm where the source of blood appeared to be. It was badly punctured by what appeared to be an arrow. "She won't be able to hurt us."

Piper groaned, her throat dry and her energy running low. "Have it your way Repair boy. I swear if she kills us, I will kill you first."

Leo chuckled, an empty sound of amusement. He cleared his throat, then said hollowly, "That is if we don't die in the process."

--

Maverick glided across the sand with a bounce in his step. He had it easy, he already had all the supplies, all the weapons, and most importantly all the knowledge he would need to win.

The need to live had never been as urgent as it was during the games. Maverick knew what he was capable of and wasn't afraid to assert himself when he needed to. The only real threat to Maverick was the sun, it took away all the moisture and water from the air.

Maverick knew he would be out of water extremely soon. He needed to find a source of water, and fast. But finding a source of water had its complications and risks. The son of Athena knew that a source of water could only equal one thing: The tributes of Mars.