Down in Flames - Rewritten Entirely

Chapter 4

The morning after the Summer Solstice, Annabeth found it difficult to wake up. Her eyelids felt heavy and her body was exhausted from dancing until late into the night, but she knew she could not leave her father to run the bakery alone all day. The sun was well into the sky by the time she stepped out of the house and although she felt guilty about sleeping late, she still took her time to enjoy the walk.

The streets of Athens weren't nearly as full as they usually were, but that was normal for the morning after the Solstice festival. Citizens were tired from the late evening and many shops stayed closed until early afternoon. Her father's bakery was not one of them. For Annabeth, though, this was not a problem as it gave her something to do until that evening when dinner rolled around.

With the little kitchen fire lit, Annabeth helped her father make dinner. They sat together at the table and as Annabeth told her father about the festival the evening prior, they watched the sun set behind the neighbouring buildings. Sometime long after the dishes had been washed and the sun had disappeared, Annabeth's father moved into his room for the night and left Annabeth reading by the window. With a lit lantern at her side and a long book in her lap, Annabeth didn't notice the time until her eyes began to droop and she yawned.

Putting her book down, Annabeth stood up with another yawn and reached for her lantern. She left her book sitting on the chair and as she checked the door to ensure it was locked, she stopped and took a deep breath. The night was calm and the silence was peaceful, but eventually, she turned and headed up the stairs where she dressed for bed.

The sounds of people shouting and horse hooves pounding on the cobblestone below woke Annabeth up shortly after she'd gone to sleep. Her lantern was dark and she had no matches, but there was an orange glow coming from just outside her bedroom window.

As she jumped up from her bed, Annabeth grabbed her dressing robe and wrapped it tightly around her waist. She raced to the window, tying her robe closed, and gasped. On the streets below, soldiers dragged families from their homes and tossed torches into the empty homes. As the smaller home fires grew, they turned into one massive fire all along the street. From her bedroom window, Annabeth could almost feel the heat from it.

With her heart in her throat, Annabeth raced out of her room.

"Father!" she shouted, stumbling down the stairs.

The door to her father's room was wide open and when she turned around, she noticed their front door was swung open too. The shouting of soldiers and Athenians was louder from downstairs, but there was no time to panic. She had a sinking suspicion that she knew where her father was.

Jumping out into the street, Annabeth raced past soldiers and ducked under their reaching arms. Her heart pounded in her ears but she didn't stop running.

Down the street, the fire was worse. The soldiers had obviously come from that direction as many buildings were filled with thick flames and families were sobbing on the streets, but Annabeth didn't stop. Even as the heat from a nearby fire threatened to burn her face, she raced onward until she could just barely make out the sight of her father's bakery.

"Father!"

A shadow from inside the bakery appeared and Annabeth's breath hitched in her throat. Darting forward, she stopped just in front of the doorway and shouted again.

"Father!"

"I'm coming," her father echoed back.

Annabeth waited anxiously, toying with the locket around her neck as she stared into the building. She could see her father's figure moving in the building, but she didn't dare enter. The bakery was engulfed by flames and she could see the support beams weakening.

"Hurry," she urged. Her fingernails dug into her palm and finally-finally!-her father stumbled into view. At the sight of what he was carrying though, Annabeth panicked. "Leave it!" she shouted.

"No!" her father yelled back. He swayed as the weight of their money box tipped forward, but he didn't fall. "We need it. It's for you."

"Leave it, father!" Annabeth repeated. Her eyes drifted to the weakening support beam and back down to her father. "The building is going to collapse. You need to leave-"

Before she had even finished her sentence, the roof of the bakery caved in with a loud crash. Annabeth screamed. Sparks flew as the building tumbled in on itself, drowning out the sounds of Annabeth's crying.

* * * * *

Percy had known Octavian wouldn't follow his orders, but that had not prepared him for what unfolded as soon as they arrived in Athens.

Against his better judgement, Percy sent half of his troops with Octavian and directed the other half to follow him. He'd sent Jason with Octavian with the hope that he could somehow keep the general under some semblance of control, but he knew it wouldn't last long.

Racing through the streets of Athens, Percy instructed his troops to allow anyone inside to escape before throwing their torches. Family homes were to be left standing, but local businesses went up in flames. If they followed the council's command, they were to leave nothing standing. However, Percy wasn't going to leave entire families without a home so as they pulled people away from their businesses, he made sure that no torches were thrown into the homes of sleeping families.

They were halfway through the city when Percy finally rode into the first district Octavian had burned. Against Percy's command, houses and businesses alike were in flames. There were people in the streets shouting for their loved ones who were trapped inside and Percy's heart dropped. He'd known sending Octavian out alone was a mistake, but he had hoped the man would at least been honourable. Burning homes without allowing families to escape, however, was nowhere close.

"Take the women and children to safety," Percy shouted at his men. "Help those that are trapped to escape."

If the soldiers were confused by the command, they didn't show it. Dismounting their horses, they rushed to help trapped families leave their homes and ushered them to safety. Unfortunately, there was not a single building nearby that wasn't in flames. The safest place around was the street and even there the heat from the fire was almost too much.

Galloping through the streets, Percy followed Octavian. His troops were nowhere in sight, but Percy knew he had led them down to the shoreline and he couldn't have gotten far.

Soon enough, Percy spotted Octavian's soldiers up ahead. As he rode past, he gave the order for them to fall back and left no room for argument.

"But General Octavian ordered us to leave no home standing," one man argued.

"General Octavian disobeyed direct orders," Percy told him, scowling down at him. "He will be punished as such. Unless you wish the same, you'll fall back."

There were no more arguments after that. Word spread quickly as soldiers rushed out of the city and Percy continued forward, hunting for Octavian before he destroyed half of Athens in a single night. It wasn't until he was nearing the port when he finally found him. With a torch in one hand and a sword in his other, Octavian shouted for his remaining men to finish the job.

"We don't have all night!" he snickered. He reached out and the flames from his torch licked the roof of a small home. Inside, a woman screamed and Octavian grinned wickedly.

Percy dismounted his horse and stumbled into the home. Before the flames reached the inside of the house, he pulled the woman and her child out onto the street. Behind him, the woman's husband stumbled after him and the three huddled together as Percy stepped back.

"Is there anyone else inside?" he asked. The family shook their heads so Percy turned and ran on foot after Octavian. His horse would know to return to the camp if he didn't come back for it, but at the moment, he had a general to hunt down.