ᴡᴀʀ ᴘɪɢꜱ|ᴘ.ᴊ|①

XXIII

-TRUST NO ONE-

Annabeth knew she had to leave Percy. She just didn't want to. He was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the quest. At Waterland, Percy takes a final breath before his face is encapsulated in gold. Annabeth feels her heart sink. Although Percy can't feel it, she puts a comforting hand on his idle one. And although he can't hear her, she swears to come back for him.

Then, she figures out her playto get Ares' shield.

At the restaurant, a boy stands over the young Orion girl as he gives her chest compressions. Her heart had stopped beating long after she passed out. The inevitable panic attack had been much worse than anyone could have anticipated.

He whispers profanities as time slowly passes. The clock tick, tick, ticks before someone else comes and finds her. Save her, he tells himself. Save her and it'll all be okay. But how could any of it be okay when there's a dead girl in the bathroom stall of a restaurant? Easy, it couldn't be. Even if she lived, even if she took a breath and her heart began to drum again, it wouldn't be okay.

A girl is dead and he found her. He shouldn't even be here right now. He should be nowhere near this place at all. The Orion girl chokes out a cough on the next compression. The boy stumbles to his feet as he lets go of his own shallow breath.

Eva's eyes begin to flutter, head gently swaying side to side as her vision clears. She catches a glimpse of the person who managed to save her: Tall with dark hair. Their jeans rub against the wall, their boots are big and loud as they step away from her. Several steps until they're almost out the door. Her sight flashes with black so quickly before the boy is gone.

When she's able to think clearly, all she can think about is how much she feels like shit right about now. She manages to pull herself up, head spinning as she shrugs her pack off. It hits the floor softly, Eva reaching into the small pocket on the front grabbing a sachet. She whispers the prayer and tosses the coin.

The rainbow and mist appear before her, her golden boy coming into view. Eva hugs her knees to her chest and hopes she doesn't have another panic attack from her next onset of tears. They prick and sting her eyes relentlessly as she tries to gather the right words. They never do come, though.

Luke Castellan could only wish she was okay — safe. "What's going on, pretty girl?" So soothing his voice is. Smooth like butter, warm like a campfire.

He sniffles fill the bathroom and reverberates off the walls. Her hands ball to fists and her nails dig into those old scars. "I'm so tired, Luke," she cries. "I just wanna come home."

"I know. But you have a quest to finish, remember? Three days time and back before sun down on the last," he says. "Just like always."

"No, I can't," her head shakes violently. She takes the note from earlier out of her pocket. "Someone knows about Noah and they're fucking with me."

Luke glances at the side of him. A sense of urgency washes over his expression. "Eva, are you sure you didn't tell anyone else about it? I mean, what are the odds of some rando knowing what really happened to him or what you do outside of camp?" He asks. He's trying to be the level headed on but Eva is fully freaking out. "Did you tell anyone else?"

She shakes her head once more. "No, just you and..." It clicks — who the other person is. Who wrote the note. Who's making her lose her goddamn mind right now. Eva swipes a hand over the mist and gathers her things. She doesn't bother to make herself presentable before leaving the bathroom.