Never Again

Chapter 2 - Annabeth

 I rushed to grab him, and stumbled under his weight, tripping on a tree root and cracking my head against a tree. I slid down the tree, Percy in my arms, and I patted his face.

"Percy?" I shook his shoulders, squeezed his hands, pinched him under the arm but nothing woke him up. I began to panic, my fight-or-flight taking hold as adrenaline pumped through my veins. I scooped an arm under his limp knees, my other arm around his shoulders and heaved myself into an upright position. I began to run, up the rest of the hill, my legs and arms screaming in protest at the abuse they'd suffered today, no, the past week, even the past month. I ignored it stubbornly, and crested the hill without even pausing. I sprinted down the far side of the hill, the Big House within my sights, Percy's head lolling terrifyingly against my shoulder. "Come on Percy. Wake up!" I muttered, panting for air. I came barreling into the infirmary and forced myself to slow down. Percy was not the only person that was sick or injured, the infirmary was packed. Healers from the Apollo cabin, and medics from all other cabins rushed around, helping where they could and soothing where they couldn't. I stopped in the centre of the chaos, hunting desperately for a healer who could help, but they all seemed so busy. My eyes caught on the other side of the room, where, horrifyingly, campers were being prepared for their burial shrouds behind a glass partition. I dragged my eyes away from that sight, and stumbled slightly as I began to move through the room. Kayla from the Apollo cabin noticed my plight, and came hurrying over to me. Her face paled as she saw my terrified face and Percy's unresponsive one. She beckoned, wordless, and led me to an empty bed shoved into a corner of the room. "Please," I whispered, before forcing myself to speak up, knowing she would need to know what had happened. "He was helping Will heal Nico, he was giving him energy, and then as we were walking up the hill he just collapsed!" Kayla frowned, and then laid her hand first on his forehead, then pressed her fingertips to his temples, then palm flat on his sternum. Her hands glowed softly, and her eyes slid shut as she sorted through all his injuries to find the one that had caused this. Her frown deepened and she retracted her hand.

"Annabeth, I'm going to be honest with you. I've never met anyone half as broken as Percy is right now. Other than of course, perhaps you, since I can feel your injuries without even touching you." She reached instinctively towards me, then flinched. "That's a nasty concussion you've got there. How'd you get that one?"

"I'm not important right now. Tell me why he won't wake up!" I said, fear getting the best of my self control.

Kayla shook herself. "Yes of course, sorry. What I was saying is, he's incredibly damaged, but there's nothing there that should be causing this level of unconsciousness. Nothing of the usual sort anyway." I stared at her, my frustration palpable in the air between us. She paused, before laying her hands on his ribs, just above his heart. A look of indescribable pain passed over her face, before she sighed and took her hands away. She looked at me with deep sorrow, sorrow deep enough to make me begin to panic. "He's depleted so much of his energy that his body simply doesn't have enough energy to be conscious."

"He'll be alright though, won't he?"

"I- yes. He will be, but Annabeth - I've never felt that much pain in anyone before. He won't heal easily from this."

I realised Kayla probably had no idea the depths of what we'd been through. My head was throbbing, I was exhausted, and I knew if I tried to explain I'd end up sobbing for well over an hour. That story was one I'd recount with Percy, if and only if we both wanted to. I settled for saying "Oh trust me. I know, and I won't be healing well either." I smiled bitterly. "We can help each other out, in that respect at least."

Kayla's eyes flicked downwards, and she seemed lost for words. She paused, told me to stay where I was, then went and fetched a folding chair from some hidden cupboard. "I figure you won't want to leave him for a while... and while you really should be resting, there's just no spare beds here, so this is the best I can do unfortunately." She smiled apologetically and handed me the chair. I thanked her and sat down, my head spinning and aching. I cradled it between my hands, and groaned slightly. I looked up to thank Kayla again, but she was already gone, lost in the chaotic tempest of the infirmary. I leaned back against the wall, my eyes shut tight to try and quell the growing nausea and vertigo that was swirling through my brain. I swallowed, one hand pressed to my stomach, the other to my head. My eyes snapped open when I realised what was about to happen, and before I knew it I was moving, abused muscles protesting at my commands to get up and go. I pushed through the crowded infirmary and into the corridor, before sprinting out the door of the Big House, down the steps and falling to my hands and knees.

I retched violently into Mr. D's dahlias, but nothing came up. I gagged again, feeling something coming, but when I actually began to vomit it was fire. Not the stomach-acid-burning-your-oesophagus kind of fire, but actual, literal fire. A specific kind of fire, in fact, and specialised breed only found in one place: the river Phlegethon. Suddenly I was thrown back into Tartarus; longing for the taste of food that wasn't fire, my throat burning, blisters on my tongue and cheeks from the heat of our only sustenance. Percy beside me, coughing as he struggled to drink the firewater.

Except those were my memories, and Percy wasn't beside me. He was inside, asleep and unaware, unable to wake up. I shuffled and dragged myself back to the stairs where I could sit in a modicum of comfort and nurse my various injuries. My throat and sinuses burned as if firewater lingered on in their passageways, and my head ached worse than ever. Suddenly, I wasn't just sick anymore, I was crying as well. I had no idea how long I sat crouched there, my head resting on my arms which were folded on my knees as I sobbed. I sobbed for so many things, for so many people, but also for myself.

I suddenly felt a cool warmth spreading through my body from my shoulder, like the first breath of a hot summer day as you step out of an air conditioned building. I looked up, swiping the tears off my face hastily, and found Will Solace sitting on a step above me with an empathetic expression on his face, his hand on my shoulder as he glowed softly in the afternoon sun. I was about to protest, to say that there were people who needed his powers more than I did, but then the warmth hit my face, and the fire slid out of my nose and throat, evaporating along with the worst of my headache. I looked up at him in wonder and thanks, and he grinned at me.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" he said, and I nodded, lost for words. "Listen, about Percy..." he paused, but hurried on when he saw the look of absolute panic on my face. "No no no, it's nothing bad don't worry. It's just that we need a bed in the infirmary for a camper who's just come out of surgery, and while Percy's very sick there isn't anything that will help him more than lots of sleep. I was wondering if you'd be happy to take him back to his cabin, and keep an eye on him? I'd drop by twice a day and give you a buzzer for if anything happened, but he really doesn't need to be in the infirmary full time."

I found my voice, then said, "Yeah, of course. His bed's probably more comfortable than the infirmary one's anyway."

Will nodded his agreement with an air of personal experience, and I suddenly wondered how many night shifts had been spent napping on an infirmary bed, waiting for something to happen. "Also, Annabeth, about that concussion, I fixed most of it, and you shouldn't get any more vomiting, but I'd still take it easy for a few days. Stay lying down as much as you can, because gods know the rest of your body needs a break too, and drink plenty of water. I'll bring over some tape too so we can secure that ankle and make sure you don't get any lasting issues." I wondered briefly how he knew I'd broken my ankle, before realising he'd have felt it whenever he was near me. Will Solace was known across camp for having uncommon healing powers, leaving those of his siblings far behind. "I'll find someone to help you carry the stretcher over to the Poseidon cabin," he said, turning to leave. I caught his arm as he stood up and thanked him profusely for everything, but he merely looked abashed and shook my apologies off, going back inside to continue his thankless task of healing the injured and calming the survivors.