Lost in Time (Forgotten Daughter part 3)

No Way Out

"No." Ali stared at Annabeth in disbelief. "That's not possible. It's been a week. There's no way... It can't..." Her voice trailed off into incoherent muttering.

"Ali," Annabeth placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Time works differently down here." She drew her knees close to her chest. "When Percy and I found an entrance at camp, it felt like we were in here for five minutes, but outside... it had been two hours."

"No." Ali cradled her face in her hands and shook her head. "No, no, no." A shiver rushed through her body. "This can't be happening."

Annabeth turned so she was sitting on the side of her legs and hugged her friend. "I'm so sorry, Ali."

Ali's mind was swirling too wildly for her to return Annabeth's embrace. There was too much happening, too much information, too much lost. First Percy and now this. She sank into Annabeth's warm hug. She wanted to fall apart, just give up. She couldn't take anymore. But that was what Luke wanted, what Kronos wanted. She couldn't let them win.

Pulling away from Annabeth, she met the daughter of Athena's gaze. "We need to get back to camp. Chiron needs to know."

"He does." Annabeth assured.

Ali shook her head. "I'm not talking about the Labyrinth. There's something else, something worse." As she was about to explain, her injured leg slid on the loose earth and pain thundered through her. She flinched and keeled over, fighting the urge to vomit.

After her initial shock, Annabeth jumped into action. She pulled a canteen from her backpack. Uncapping it, she poured the contents over Ali's wounds.

The liquid burned and Ali realized that it was nectar. Weirdly, the blazing sensation both increased and eased her pain at the same time. It was like being simultaneously submerged in both lava and water. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but Ali knew it would be worth it later.

The final drips from the canteen were the worst, pushing the limits of how much nectar her body could take. They burned five times stronger than the rest of it. One or two of them left raw, blistered skin in their wake.

Annabeth cringed at the sight. "Sorry, I guess I over did it a little."

Ali sucked down a long breath. "It's fine." She tentatively flexed her leg. The pain had significantly decreased. "To be honest, I barely feel the burns." She chuckled at her own joke.

Annabeth tried to smile, but her concern was obvious. "Come on." She offered Ali her hand. "We should get moving."
                                      *   *   *
The nectar had worn off and Ali's leg was screaming at her. The slightest pressure triggered a wave of pain that pulsed through her whole body, forcing her to pause and catch her breath.

Progress was slow as Annabeth half dragged her through the tunnels. They weren't sure where they were going. They just needed an exit. They could figure it out from there.

Annabeth scanned ever inch of the corridors as they trudged slowly through the Labyrinth. It wasn't easy since the tunnels weren't very well lit. There were stretches lost in complete darkness. Soon, the hope of finding an exit waned.

Suddenly, Annabeth stopped. Her eyes lit up. "Stay here for a minute."

Ali leaned against the wall as Annabeth frantically searched the walls and ceiling of the tunnel.

Finally, she froze, holding her breath. Tentatively, she touched the grimy wall. A Greek delta glowed a pale blue and an opening appeared in the ceiling. A rusty old ladder, bolted to the wall was the only way up.

Ali's heart leapt in her chest. Finally. An escape. It had been six months since she'd seen anything beyond the walls of the Labyrinth; six months since she'd felt the sun; six months since she'd seen the real world.

A soft breeze wafted through the hatch to greet them.

Ali closed her eyes as she inhaled the fresh air.

Annabeth touched her shoulder. "Ready?"

Ali met her gaze. "I'm so beyond ready."

Annabeth smiled. "Me too."

They walked over to stand beneath the opening. Annabeth laced her fingers together and bent over.

Ali took a deep breath. "This is gonna hurt." She carefully placed her injured leg into Annabeth's clasped hands.

"One." Annabeth counted. "Two."

Ali steeled herself.

"Three." Annabeth lifted with all her strength, heaving Ali up towards the hole.

Ali suppressed a scream as she grabbed the edge of the exit and pulled herself up. Her muscles burned and her leg throbbed painfully as she dragged herself out of the Labyrinth. She lay on the ground, gulping down long breaths. A laugh slipped out - a happy, disbelieving laugh.

Soon, Annabeth knelt beside her, panting. "We made it."

Ali sat up and examined their surroundings. They were sitting on the grass in the middle of an abandoned park. Stars glittered above and a full moon illuminated the scattered trees and park benches. She looked at Annabeth.

The Daughter of Athena took in every detail of the park before turning to Ali. "Central Park, New York City. We got lucky."

Ali dropped back into the grass, joyful tears springing to her eyes. They were almost home.
* * *
Ali sat on the bus, doing her best to conceal her shredded, bloodied pant leg. Annabeth had wanted to get some new clothes, but they didn't have time. Besides, at this point, Ali's pants were basically fused to her leg from the dried blood and pus. On top of that, her calf was swollen.

When the bus eventually stopped, Annabeth helped her off of the vehicle, holding their backpacks strategically to hide the ugly spiraled wound. As the bus rode away, the girls sized up their next task, climbing Half-blood Hill.

Ali didn't think anything could be more painful than her journey up the hill towards Thalia's tree. Every part of her body hurt. She couldn't take a step without causing a fresh surge of pain.

Finally, they reached the top of the hill and collapsed in the grass. The pain coursing through Ali's body blurred her vision and left her shaken. Annabeth caught her as her arms buckled and she fell. The last thing she saw was a blurry silhouette galloping towards them.

A/N
I'm just going to say it. I hate Mondays. They're super busy. I'm going nonstop for like 12 hours before I finally get to crash. That being said. Sorry for not posting yesterday.
Also, we broke 100 reads. Thank you all for reading this story. Hope you're enjoying it. I appreciate the support.
-Cheshire