The Half-Blood Project

40- Unthinkable

Percy Jackson

August 1st 

I don't like preparing for war. It's messy, people die and everyone seems to think that slicing each other's heads off is fun. It's not fun and blood is difficult to clean up when you only have a broken soap dispenser and paper towels. 

I wish Kronos would kill me right now because I am not having it with training in the dry summer heat. 

"Everyone, just take an early lunch please." I sigh unhappily and Group C disbands for an early lunch at the dining hall. I cap Riptide but throw it across the lake, it sinks into the water and I just simply want to collapse on the ground. 

"Twins are trying to kill all the newbies aren't they?" Piper strides up to me, her skin is dark against the brightness of the bright green trees that encase us. She has grown out of being frightened of everything, back when I saved her in Carson City. 

"Yes and I don't think I can handle much more of it," I grumble and run a hand through my greasy raven black hair, I haven't showered in days, spent the last weeks trying to find anything, anything at all on Kronos. Tyson has gone down to our father's palace to help with the war effort that rages in the ocean, Grover has been MIA for weeks and Annabeth is cold, distant, and hasn't talked to me in days. 

"She'll come around." Piper looks in the direction where Annabeth is crossed legged on a table, engrossed in an ancient-looking book. 

"Yeah, but when? When I told her that...she's...the one that has to kill him, she just stopped caring about it. She hasn't talked to me in days." 

"Well, you fight Luke in two weeks so get it over with. Besides, you have a couple of combat missions up, who are you going to take with you?" 

I shrug. "I dunno. Maybe Beckendorf or one of the twins. Probably Beckendorf, he's a good hand." 

Piper patted me on the back comfortingly, she was a good friend to lean on in times of need and I was starting to panic as August 18th drew closer and closer. 

I set off down the hill towards Annabeth, her curly hair was tied up in a braid that fell down her shoulder, her skin was sunkissed and those stormy grey eyes seemed more silver than usual like they've been stained by tears. Sitting down across from her I manage for her to look up from her book. 

"What do you want?" She demands quickly and I can see her left-hand drift casually towards the knife strapped to her leg. 

"Whoa!" My hands fly up. "Don't stab me, I just want to talk." 

"You have three minutes." She sighs and her hands clasp together, face pinching into a guarded expression. 

"Stop ignoring me, I know you've been shutting everyone out for days because of our little chat but we have work to do." I stare at her silvery grey eyes and she blinks, for a second I think I crossed a line and she is going to stab me but then she just laughs coldly. 

"Look Percy, just because I haven't been out training like you doesn't mean Im not doing any work. I've been digging up myths, old stories, everything I can to use against Kronos. If you think for a second I'm having second thoughts, you're wrong, all I want is to go back to my crappy normal life after he's dead." She slams the book shut and gives me a nasty hand gesture before storming off. I blink and digest the fact that she has accepted what she has to do. 

It's hard for us to accept fate when we think fate is wrong. 

---

That night I lay awake at the beach, the sand in my hair and feeling the push and pull of the ocean in my gut. I can feel the tides crashing onto the beach, the warmth of the water at my toes, and the idea that monsters are swimming in the dark depths.