The Missing . . .

Traveling

                        Word count: 1460

When Blackjack finally landed, they had traveled at least several acres. It was hard to measure and all since, y'know.. Percy sighed, patting the pegasus' neck. "Thanks- you can head back to camp once Leo is off." He said, nodding. Leo hopped off, and Percy watched as he wandered over to the others. The eighteen year old watched as Blackjack flapped his wings, flying off once again. He walked over to Nico, Leo, and Piper. Someone was missing.. "Where's Jason?" Percy asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

The sounds of throwing up came from behind a tree. "He's throwing up-" Piper said, pursing her lips. It was somewhat funny that Jason didn't do well traveling so fast, but it made sense. "Oh, right.." Percy clicked his tongue, glancing around. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes before someone finally spoke. "Well- I think Mrs.O'Leary is tired, so she'll probably sleep." Nico commented, shrugging. The group nodded and as a few minutes passed, Jason finally walked out from behind the tree.

He wiped the salvia off the sides of his mouth, chuckling nervously. "Sorry guys, I got a little sick.." He rubbed the back of his neck for a sense of comfort. Piper laughed softly, nodding. "It's whatever." She gave a small smile so it didn't come off as rude and more friendly.. Percy Jackson bit his lower lip, glancing around. It looked like they were surrounded by trees, but they had landed in a clear patch. "Okay, so.. since we've gone at least  five acres or so, I was thinking that we , could start walking, y'know? Maybe look for a car or taxi.." Percy suggested, cracking his knuckles. "Okay!" Jason agreed with the idea, and the others did as well.  "K- sounds good." He let the others walk ahead before he went over to Mrs.O'Leary. "Hey girl, you can head back to camp. Thank you." Perseus whispered, patting her head before he then ran back over to the rest of the group, walking beside them.

"When I had a dream of Annabeth a little while ago, I saw Annabeth and.. I heard a voice." He shivered, pursing his lips before continuing. "It was masculine- and it almost sounded familiar. I just can't put my finger on it.." Percy Jackson sighed, and two others nodded. "Anyways, at the end of the dream the voice said that they would be headed to Alaska.. So I guess we have to head in that direction." Leo sighed. "The land beyond the gods, of course.. They just had to choose that state!" He muttered, obviously a bit upset. "Leo!" Piper raised her eyebrows at him, as if to give him a warning.. "I- are you sure they're in Alaska?" Piper sighed. The boy nodded, his lips pursed for a moment. "As sure as I'll ever be."

Percy Jackson crossed his arms, and shook his head. "It'll take a while to get there, so we might as well go now." He began walking, making sure the others were following him. Sweeping his charcoal black hair away from his eyes, the eighteen year old stared at his feet as he walked. He missed his girlfriend and just wanted to see her for a second. He shook his head, not wanting to get emotional.. He proceeded to walk along, his bag slung across his shoulders. It would definitely take a while to get to Alaska of course- a week or less if they got lucky. He sighed and walked faster, as if that would get him any farther than they already were.. The group of six has to travel across the country, pretty much. It would take a week or two, if they got lucky. Otherwise, it could take longer if they ran into any trouble which with their luck, would probably happen.

Percy Jackson sighed, his eyebrows raised as he glanced around the forest. He had to check their surroundings every so often because who knows how fast monsters could sneak up on them all.. It was quite a process- trying to stay aware of your surroundings while also being worn out. The son of Poseidon dragged his hand against his forehead- he wasn't sweating, it was just a random action, really. He bit his lip, studying Nico, who walked in front of him. He was slowing down, presumably to walk besides him and the rest. Percy shook his head, and his hair moved slightly. He ruffled his hair and sighed, continuing to walk along the road..

Annabeth's POV:

When she woke up, all Annabeth could see was a bright light, nothing else.. She moved a hand up to shade her eyes; only to realize they were bound together.. 'What the hell?' She thought, struggling in the zip ties. She looked down to where her feet were, and saw that they were in fact, bound together as well.. She whined, in obvious distress. Annabeth hadn't been this much of a wimp before, but now that she had been kidnapped and hadn't been "rescued" yet, she had lost hope.

She found things to be much more terrifying and hopeless. She had lost her true personality and was now just fake, really. She wasn't as tough as she was before..  She barely got to eat, and when she did get fed, it was merely the two pieces of whole wheat bread, and cup of water. She was hungry all the time and was just a piece of flesh and bone; her heart struggling to pump enough blood every day..

Annabeth closed her eyes, sighing deeply. 'I wish this would be a dream..' She thought, as if that would help her out in the slightest. As if someone, or something, had heard her thoughts, she was startled by a raspy voice..

"Oh, but it's not, I'm afraid.." The voice said, obviously faking sympathy.

'What the hell? Who- or- what are you?" The female thought, too tired to speak.

"A.. well I'm an old friend you could say."

'A name could help me out if you're feeling generous.'

"How about this- I'll tell you if you do everything right like a good girl."

Annabeth's face scrunched up at the word, "good girl". She felt nauseated at the two words.

'Don't call me that..'

"Oh! But the funny thing is.. I can do whatever I want with you." They said, chuckling shortly afterwards. Annabeth scowled softly and opened her eyes. There was still a bright light, but it was dimming slightly. She raised her eyebrows, as if she was enticed by the idea of being able to see if there was anything in front of her. Unfortunately, she was still unable to see anything even when it was turned off. It was pitch black and silent.. She didn't feel alone- she knew (and felt) a presence, it felt important, by far.. Annabeth pursed her lips, and sighed..

Percys POV:

The group headed north-west to head to Alaska.. They had planned to go through part of Canada and then get to Alaska that way. It'd be difficult to get through to Canada since they had guards near the border- but Percy figured that they'd last.. They'd do it, somehow anyways.. Percy rubbed his eyes, still walking besides Piper and Leo. The rest were either behind or in front of the three demigods. At this point, they had been walking for a good forty five minutes. They had made a good amount of progress; about 3 miles if you rounded it all up. Soon, they would be in a town that was pretty well known in their state. Everybody had their guard up, and wouldn't let it down until they rested which wouldn't be for a few hours. As they all walked, Percy couldn't help but think of the dangers ahead and all. He wondered what would be in the store for them all and who they would see along the way.. Gods? Goddesses? Who knew for the matter.

It would all come down to one thing though; getting to Annabeth in time.

Hey guys! (: thank you so, so much for reading this chapter and all the others. My writing schedule is so, so off because I've got writers block and school. I've tried my absolute best for this chapter although I know it's still a bit shabby. I've been thinking about some scenarios that will happen, and I think you guys might like it.. It might have to do with some minor gods..(; who knows? Some parts in this are cringe, but oh well! That's the thing about writing, aha. As my birthday is November 5th, I can try and get a quick chapter out, but it'd be sloppy, aha. Anyways.. have an amazing day or night! ❤️