Survivor (Percy Jackson Crossover) [#Wattys2014]

Chapter Seventeen

Katie Gardener- Demigod

Katie screamed. She screamed for a million reasons that didn't all make sense. She screamed because she didn't remember anything. She screamed because this Travis guy shouldn't exist. She screamed because Connor, the guy she thought was perfect, was dead. She screamed because she watched a girl throw herself off a building. She screamed because everything around her was falling apart.

She screamed because she wanted it to stop. All of it. Just stop.

She screamed curses in English, and in Greek which she wasn't sure how she knew. She only paused when she needed to take a breath.

Travis had tears flooding down his face. He looked identical to Connor. It hurt. It hurt so much.

"I don't know you." She whispered.

She turn and ran out the door.

"KATIE!" Travis's yelled after her. "Gardener!" She stopped listening. All she could hear was the sound of her own breaking heart.

After all this time...Her entire life...every memory...every Saturday afternoon she spent with Connor...every single time her heart beat faster in her chest...

It was all a lie. A simulation to drive her insane.

And it was working.

Sometimes she felt like he was right, she would feel a flicker of remembrance. But then the headache, the pain, reminded her that of Connor, and his sweet smile.

Her shoes hit the asphalt with a pain that jolted her ankle. She found herself in a crowd. Hundreds of people moving in a slow trance like state towards the town borders. Empty eyed. Broken.

"What's going on?" She asked.

People pushed through her. "Nothing left."

"Gone forever."

"Giving up."

Katie felt her throat dry. She looked at them. She felt a wave of hopelessness wash over her. They were right. This was stupid. There wasn't anything here for her.

"Join us."

Connor was gone. She was going crazy. Why couldn't she just let go too?

"Let go."

"Katie!" The voice shocked through her thoughts. She looked around, lost, just lost. Everyone, everything, looked the same. Why did she go on? "Katie! Please stop!"

Panic, she felt like she was drowning. She wasn't getting out. They were going to bring her along. She was going to die. Just like Percy did, just like Connor, just like that Luna girl, just like everyone at Camp Half-Blood.

"Katie!" Someone took her hand, like a surge of energy, He pulled her out. She looked into the face of Travis.

Not Connor.

Travis.

"Katie-" He said, it sent a pain of a dagger through her. A lump in her throat that was impossible to swallow.

"They're going to die, aren't they?" She croaked. "The second they step outside the border?"

Travis didn't need to say anything, He didn't even need to nod. She wanted to hug him, pull him close and keep him there. She wanted to cry, or turn away like this wasn't happening and live blissfully näive.

But she couldn't. There were hundreds of people about to die.

She couldn't just stand and watch. She didn't know most of them, she wasn't a high ranking authority figure they all would stand and look up to. Her memory was in more pieces than a 50,000 piece puzzle.

But she couldn't just watch.

"Katie." Travis said, his voice hiccuping with the cries sealed in his throat. "Katie, I'm so sorry-"

She looked at him, shook her head, and took off through the crowd. Up to the front. Every face was another person. Katie could almost feel every heart beat.

She needed to save them. Save them all.

She stopped suddenly bringing Travis to a stand still, blocking the the front of the mass. Just the two of them, against the world.

"What are you doing?" Katie yelled at them. She was terrified of the answer, though she already knew it. "What are you doing?!"

They walked right by her. Like earlier. Muttering, a sinking drawl to drag her along with them. But she had Travis.

He kept her with him.

"SHUT UP!" Katie's screech echoed across the empty half of the city. "All of you just, SHUT UP!"

They stuttered to a stop, as if for the first time realizing she was there. An anger flared through her, something she couldn't explain. Tears burst forth. And she couldn't stop them.

"You idiots!" Katie screamed. "You imbeciles!"

The group stopped and stared at her. Tears raced down her face, her voice was raw.

"That's it? Your just going to give up?!" She yelled.

"There's nothing left for us!" Someone shouted.

"You blind, pathetic, idiots! You stupid little freaks!" She yelled back. Her anger bit holes into the people. Insults collided like a slap in the face. Shock silenced the crowd.

"Can't you see?! You have everything still! Every thing! Look around you! See everyone here?! You're all freaking survivors! You're all the last! Why did you-any of you- hold on this long of you were going to just give up?!"

The entire place was silent. No one had answer.

"You're strong! You're irreplaceable!" Katie's voice seemed to fill the place. "Wizards! You spit freaking spells out of your wands! You're brave and bold, carrying the weight of magic on your shoulders! Demigods, you're warriors with ancient fighting techniques. History that lives through you, in you, destined for greatness! Humans....You mortals, muggles, you brilliant people with clear minds, you're proof the world has a chance!" Katie looked at the crowd, meeting their eyes. Something alien flickered in their eyes. Something that hadn't been seen in a while.

Hope.

From nearby buildings two people emerged, a girl wearing a silver parka, and a boy in all black. Two boys from the crowd, an auburn haired older boy and a younger one found each other in a hug. An older girl allowed a pale blond haired to lean on her as he saw the sun for the first time in like forever. A guy caught her eye for a second smiling so widely he looked drunk, like he was feeling happiness after being alone in emptiness for far too long.

Katie lowered her voice so she was barely talking over a whisper. "I am not giving up. I am not going to roll over and die. There is something here that you have missed. Percy Jackson saw it. That's why he gave his life for me. Percy's fatal flaw was loyalty... to friends...to family...to people he's never even met! He believed in everyone here." She looked back up at everyone.

She hadn't realized she'd taken Travis's hand until then, but she felt a sense of unity, that this was right. Katie and Travis. Together.

"I'm a survivor." She said, "Now who's with me?"

~Fin~