νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 3-29: You're not number two (I literally love you to the ends of the earth)

PERCY

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"This way!" Rachel yelled.

"Why should we follow you?" Tempest demanded. "You led us straight into that death trap!"

"It was the way you needed to go," Rachel said. "And so is this. Come on!"

Tempest didn't look happy about it, but she ran along with the rest of us. Rachel seemed to know exactly where she was going. She whipped around corners and didn't even hesitate at crossroads. Once she said, "Duck!" and we all crouched as a huge axe swung over our heads. Then we kept going as if nothing had happened.

I lost track of how many turns we made. We didn't stop to rest until we came to a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns holding up the roof. I stood at the doorway, listening for sounds of pursuit, but I heard nothing. Apparently we'd lost Luke and his minions in the maze.

Then I realized something else: Mrs. O'Leary was gone. I didn't know when she'd disappeared. I didn't know of she'd gotten lost or been overrun by monsters or what. My heart turned to lead. She'd saved our lives, and I hadn't even waited to make sure she was following us.

Ethan collapsed on the floor. "You people are crazy." He pulled off his helmet. His face gleamed with sweat.

"Not you people." I turned to Annabeth, barely containing my anger. She just sobbed and slumped against a wall. "Do you even realize what you did?!"

"I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I- I didn't-"

"You nearly got Tempest killed!" I continued. "She had it. She fucking had him, and you- You just-"

"Stop yelling at me! I- I didn't-" She just stopped talking and broke down into more sobs.

I ran my hands through my hair and breathed out, hoping that breath could expel my anger. Did she realize what she did? Luke was the enemy. He was killing our friends. He was siding with Kronos. He was who we needed to stop invading Camp Half-Blood. Tempest nearly fix all that, but Annabeth completed thwarted her, and allowed her feelings for Luke to cloud her judgement.

I won't say Tempest wasn't brutal. She's been known to show no mercy. She tried to decapitate him the first time. They fought on Mount Othrys the last time. Now, she tried to stab him in the eye with her dagger and then literally stomp his skull in. But I didn't try to think about the brutality of that. She had a last resort that she turned to. She nearly fixed half of our problems with one move, and Annabeth ruined it.

I looked at Tempest. She wouldn't even face Annabeth direction. She had her back turned to her and pretended she didn't hear the sobbing, but she couldn't hide the anger in her face.

She's still here, I told myself, refusing to fixate on the negative. I needed to at least try to find a silver lining. Today's silver lining- Tempest was still here. I stepped forward and hugged her, not really caring that the murder hadn't completely left her eyes. Sure, I've been touchy since she got back, but you can't blame me. I missed her. A lot.

She gently wrapped her arms around me and ruffled my hair like she usually does. "Don't cry too much, Jackson."

"How'd you do it?" I asked, pulling away.