The Revivers

Chapter 14

A/N Yep, I could have put this chapter and the last chapter into one, but I saw a chance for a cliffy and I took it. Keep reading everyone! I promise you will like where the story goes... 

Jason rushed out of the store after me and grabbed my arms just before I started running in the direction they’d taken Percy.

“NO! NOOO!” I shrieked. Tears splashed down into my mouth. At this point, I was too tired to fight them anymore. My knees collapsed, and I sank onto the dusty road in Jason’s arms. “Oh god, Percy… why? Why? Why?” I cried into my hands. I felt Jason hug me tight, and Piper telling me she was sorry. It wasn’t long before Thalia tugged on my arm.

“Annabeth? Annabeth we need to get back inside.” She whispered. I followed her eyes to a mob of about ten zombies all huddled together around something.

Or someone.

“Come on, Annabeth. Get back in—“ A furious screaming interrupted Jason. Hazel burst out of the grocery store, her golden eyes on fire with fury. She lifted her sword high above her head and ran straight towards the mob.

“Hazel STOP!” Thalia yelled, but she was too late. Hazel reached the mob and started hacking. The rest of us stared in shock as within thirty seconds flat, Hazel killed over ten zombies on her own. It was then that I saw exactly whom it was they had been feasting on.

Hazel fell to her knees beside what was left of Frank. I turned my head as she went on all fours and threw up on the ground at the sight.

“Get Annabeth inside, I’ll go get Hazel.” I heard Nico whisper to Thalia. He ran towards the poor girl bawling her eyes out over her lost lover among a sea of dead bodies. I tried not to picture Percy in his position, even though I knew that was probably what he looked like right now.

Oh god. Percy. Percy, Percy, Percy, Percy. MY Percy. Jason nudged me up, so I stood, the tears still falling freely from my eyes. For the first time, I unclenched my fists and a small object fell to the floor with a clink. I looked down at my feet, and stared directly at the ring Percy shoved into my hand just before he…

I bent down slowly, and gently lifted it off of the ground to place it on my finger. Thalia put her arms around me, and took me back inside.

All I wanted to do was kick, and scream, and cry, and yell, and just be angry at Percy for leaving me, and sad for the same reason. I wanted to explode from the pure pressure that lay in my chest.

I didn’t though. I’d let out enough of that. I knew that was the last thing Percy would want me to do. I knew he’d want me to be strong and keep fighting for humanity. So, that’s exactly what I was going to do. I would bury all of those terrible feelings and set them free the moment we had that cure in hand.

Hazel was another matter. She went completely catatonic after witnessing Frank’s torn up flesh. She didn’t even move when we buried him. She just stood there, looking down into the shallow grave where Frank, wrapped up in an old sheet, lay to rest. We were lucky she was so small. Jason hefted her up on his back, and we left. Nobody knew if those zombies would come back, and we weren’t sticking around long to find out. I stayed silent during the walk.

When dusk fell, we took refuge in an old museum surrounded by a large gate. Jason, Nico, and Piper and joked about the first time they had been here and ransacked the place for it’s weapons. Hazel didn’t make a sound.

The six of us fell asleep on some couches in the back offices, which were blocked off from the rest of the museum. Jason and Piper held onto each other while they slept, probably feeling lucky that they were together. Thalia and Nico weren’t quite as showy, but I did notice that they never strayed more than a few feet from each other. I took first watch as Hazel took a seat at a desk and sat with her legs pressed up against her chest.

After about a half an hour, I pulled up a chair next to her and hugged her. Warmth splashed onto my shoulder as her tears soaked into my shirt. We sat together for an hour or so, just crying over our heartbreaks. When another half hour had gone by, Hazel finally fell asleep. She needed a little break from reality just as much as I did.

While she slept, I started thinking again. I thought about Percy. He had the most amazing eyes, and his smile always made me feel spongy inside. A pang of sadness shot it’s way through me as I thought about the last thing he’d told me. Annabeth, I love you.

His death wasn’t fair. He’d been devoured alive by those monsters. His flesh had been torn from his body by those mangled teeth…

Anger started to heat it’s way through me. I clenched my fists and breathed through my teeth to try to push it down, but it continued to bubble up inside of me. Ugh, I needed to hit something…

Everyone was asleep. I stood silently from my seat, and raced outside into the night air. The moon was full, so I had a clear sight of the entire street. Luckily for me, it was just filled with those corpses. I flipped my dagger around in my hand before running towards the one closest to me. I drove the blade down into its neck and spun it around to slice its head off. The others on the street started to realize that something exciting was going on, and were walking forwards.

I ran straight into the center of them and started attacking. I wasn’t even aiming for the heads anymore, I was stabbing, and slicing, and chopping everywhere. For every zombie that fell at my hand, I pictured Percy. For every head that rolled down the street, I said his name. For every body that slumped to the ground, I told myself that it was for Percy. As I chopped my way through the night, I kept on repeating in my head: They killed Percy. They killed Percy. They killed Percy.

When the final zombie fell to the ground, I let out a scream into the grey morning.

When the others came out to the front steps of the museum, they found me sitting huddled on the bottom stair surrounded by over fifty corpses.