Falling Through Portals

Annabeth

Chapter 18

Annabeth silently cried.

Even as the Peace Keepers dragged her down one of the sleek capitol hall ways towards an uncertain fate.

Percy was gone, but she remained. Blood stained and broken, all she could see was Percy's mangled form and shudder. But most of all, the realization that she would never see him again overwhelmed her.

Soldiers and guards had broken down the door to get into the torture chamber. They had found her, sobbing in a pool of his blood. When they realized Percy was gone they dragged her away.

None of that mattered to Annabeth. She didn't care. Oh Percy . . . He was dead. He had to be. If he had fallen from any height there was no way he could have survived. She cursed herself for not getting water and pouring it all over him to heal some of the damage when she had the chance, but even Percy's healing powers could not have saved him.

Percy was dead and it was her hands that killed him.

Tears blurred her vision as she wept.

*******************

Snow was ready to cut out some people's hearts.

He had gone from irritated to furious when he heard about the prisoner. Seneca would dare defy him! Covering up the boy until he had slipped out of their grasp! On top of that, President Snow had Katniss Everdeen showing up the Capitol in the Games. He could hardly hold in his anger.

Snow stared angrily out the window of his office into the rain. His eyebrows pulled into a permanent frown. His office had white walls, floor tiles, and high ceiling. His accents were red and black. Red rugs, white leather couch with red and black pillows, black sprinkled here and there in picture frames. All along the wall opposite his desk was windowless and led to the rest of the building. On the wall were black and white paintings of each district in red frames. The rest of the walls, including the one behind his desk were all windows. But that evening he had all the white drapes pulled except the one directly behind his desk.

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter!" Snow yelled.

Two Peace Keepers dragged the psychotic torturer across his clean floor as dead weight. Her bloodied legs left red smears on his floor. Snow snarled in disgust. They were flanked by two more Peace Keepers and Seneca Crane followed close behind. Snow needed to get rid of him, undermining his authority and taking charge, he needed to go. But he would bide his time.

The two Peace Keepers threw the girl in front of them onto the tile floor. She was sobbing. Her cries were so hard and painful it looked like she wasn't even aware she had been thrown at the ground. Snow frowned.

Over the years of being President he had learned to read people. Snow prided himself on his ability to all but read minds of the people around him. But this girl made no sense. Why would a psychotic torturer be crying? Even if she was upset that her pardon would not be given, she should have been begging not sobbing. It was the sound of a child ripped from their parents or husband as he watched his wife being killed in front of him. He would not hear this kind of sobbing out of fear.

"Mr. President-" Seneca began but Snow lifted his had to silence him without looking back at Seneca. The girl continued crying obliviously.

"Get back to the games now," Snow said, barely able to keep his anger out of his voice. Seneca looked like he wanted to say something but then turned to exit. Snow spoke again, "if you fail me again Seneca you won't have to worry about the games or anything else. That I can promise you." there was a slight pause in Seneca's movements before the door shut behind him.