Falling Through Portals

Epilogue

Epilogue – Falling Through Portals

​The glint of sunlight off a pitcher of water caught Annabeth's eye.

Could it already be morning?

She abandoned the bandage collection she had been organizing and walked out onto the porch.

​Despite having changed into new clothes only hours before, her skin was hot and sticky from working all night. Even so, with camp clothes on her back and blonde hair in a ponytail Annabeth was finally beginning to feel a little more at home in her own skin.

​She hadn't sat down since Piper forced a bowl of chowder down her throat after she returned to her body. And with so many campers needing medical help, who had the time to sit down?

Under Annabeth's request, (once her rescuer stopped spewing sparks) they carried him on a stretcher to the clinic. Will did his best to clean up his arm. But the man was in such bad shape he wouldn't last until night fall. No matter how much Morphine they pumped into his veins, the man just kept screaming. Eventually, they had to move him into the big house so that the rest of the campers could rest in the clinic. The best they could do is offer him a place to die in peace.

​Annabeth had filled everyone in about what had happened to her, and what she knew about Percy. To her surprise, they were more stunned that she was forced into a hunger games than having nearly been killed by them. Of course, her information regarding her rescuer was very limited. She still had no idea who he was, what he was, or what was wrong with him.

She leaned against the railing and closed her eyes, letting the morning sun shine through her eyelids.

It was so good to be home.

"Annabeth!"

She looked up and spotted little Harley making his way up the hill towards her. Harley had become something of an apprentice to Leo since the last great war. And according to Leo, Harley was a big help always quick to retrieve tools, send messages, and grab him a taco from the dining pavilion when he was working late.

"What is it?" Annabeth hoped her voice didn't sound as tired as she was.

"Two tree nymphs have Leo stuck up in one of their trees and won't let him down! He is threatening to start a forest fire, and they didn't like that."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "I can imagine," she shook her head, "What did he do to get them riled up?"

"Well," Harley stopped just below the porch, "we were using the Stoll's yellow caution tape around the areas in the woods covered in the shards. And the nymphs didn't like the color against their bark and told them to do it somewhere else and-"

Annabeth held up a hand, "Short version, Harley."

"The trees didn't understand how sharp the shards were and so Leo cut a branch with one,"

Annabeth put her face in her hands.

​She hopped down from the porch and followed Harley towards the woods, "Remind me to never let Leo alone in the woods ever again."

​"Oh, he wasn't alone, Jason was there too."

​"Of course, he was."

​The dew on the grass quickly soaked her tennis shoes. With birds singing in the distance and not a cloud in the sky, it was going to be another beautiful day at Camp Half-Blood. If Leo could stop harassing the tree Nymphs.

​Harley was just about to lead her towards the source of the problem when a familiar sound caught her attention.

​Little wisps of hair tickled her face as she glanced around for the origin of the noise.