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☽ 。・:*˚:✧。 ☽










The smell of the Hudson reeked in Diana's nose so much it made her eyes water. She tucked her hands underneath her arms to warm them but the rest of her body shivered. Grover walked closely next to her looking even worse. His pupils were slitted in terror. They had lost almost everything in the explosion. All their money was in Annabeth's bag, and most of their food was gone. Since Diana had kept her backpack on her, she was the only one with a change of clothes, two granola bars, a first aid kit, some abrosia and nectar, a flashlight, a lighter, and a sleeping bag.

Annabeth led the way through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank. Eventually, Annabeth fell in line with Percy, talking in a soft voice.

"Look, I..." Her voice faltered, "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave." Diana internally smiled but kept her head down pretending she couldn't hear.

"We're a team, right?" He responded.

Annabeth was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."

The thunderstorm that was pouring down on them finally let up. The glow of New York City behind them faded, leaving them in almost total darkness.

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" He asked her.

"No... only short field trips. My dad-" Diana's heart ached.

"The history professor."

"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." Annabeth rushed through her words as if she were afraid somebody might try and stop her. "At camp, you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not." Doubt rattled in her voice.

"You're pretty good with that knife," Percy said.

"You think so?"

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me." Diana grinned.

peace • P. JACKSONWhere stories live. Discover now