Afterlife Anxiety (Annabeth Fanific)

I Eat Dinner With a Bunch of Dead People

A/N - 3646 words - hope you like it!

Annabeth's POV

I woke up just in time to see Magnus's face hovering over me. I smiled grimly at him. As he saw me wake up, he pulled me out of bed and gave me a huge hug.

"Annabeth, what are you doing here?" he asked excitedly. Then recognition seemed to dawn on his face. "Oh, no..." he whispered, "You're dead."

I nodded sadly at him. I was about to ask him if he could help me get out of Valhalla (because I knew he could, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to meet me) when a loud conch horn sounded. I knew from so many years at camp half blood that it usually meant food, but I couldn't be sure. I was new to Valhalla. The horn could mean bedtime, or bathtime, or even time to jump off a cliff into Tartarus. Fortunately, Magnus explained before I could embarrass myself.

"The horn means dinnertime. There, everything will be worked out." Magnus explained, dragging me out the door and into the hallway. I heard his stomach growl longingly, and I gave him an odd look. He just laughed in response.

We walked into the elevator and pressed the button that said floor 1. But just as the door was about to close, a voice came up from the end of the hallway.

"Wait! Wait for me! One sec, I'm almost there!" the voice said, coming up closer to the elevator.

I looked at Magnus, but he just had an annoyed look on his face as he held the doors open. I chuckled quietly. This must happen often.

The mystery caller stumbled into the elevator, breathing hard. She had frizzy red hair and freckles sprinkled across her nose. All in all, she reminded me of Rachel Dare from back home, minus the paint splatters on her clothes. The girl leaned on one wall of the elevator, trying to catch her breath.

"Hey Magnus, sorry about that." she said, bending down to tie her shoes. She had a faint Irish accent. It suited her.

"No problem. Annabeth, this is Mallory. Mallory, this is Annabeth, our newest hallmate."

Mallory looked up, startled. "Annabeth? As in Annabeth your cousin Chase?"

I smiled. "Yup."

"Wait - but didn't you say your cousin was Greek? What's she doing in a Norse afterlife?" Mallory asked Magnus, a perplexed look on her face, shoelaces forgotten.

"Wouldn't we all like to know," I sighed, leaning against the elevator's metal wall.

Just then, the elevator made a soft ding! sound and the doors burst open. Magnus grabbed my wrist and lead me to the dining hall, it's doors wide open. As I walked in, I gasped in awe.

"Whoa."

"Yeah," Magnus answered.

The hall was huge, bigger than the Olympian's throne room. Long tables filled with dead viking crowded the hall. They were shouting, talking to their friends, and calling out for more mead. I looked up, and saw about a hundred different girls flying around, serving food and drinks. Above the girls was a huge canopy of leaves and branches connected to a huge tree trunk on the ground, small animals skittering about them. I even thought I saw a goat, but I dismissed it as Magnus pulled me to a table where the rest of his friends were sitting.

I sat down, and everyone looked up at me expectantly. Thankfully, Magnus saved me from having to speak.

"So, guys. This is Annabeth Chase, our newest hallmate."

Everyone gasped. The huge guy sitting next to Mallory spoke up. "Annabeth? Your cousin? But isn't she Greek?"

"Yeah," Magnus answered. "From what I can tell, there's been some kind of mix up. But I'm sure everything will be sorted out today."