Just a Lil' bit of Percabeth

7: Dying Is Not Fun (1)

I halted, my breath catching in my throat. Hands shaking with exhaustion, I levelled Riptide so it was aimed directly at the heart of the monster in front of me. The manticore had been fighting us for hours, unable to kill us but determined not to back down. It had cornered us into a cave and was hunting us down, one by one. Finally, Annabeth had come up with a plan- not complex, not fool-proof, and definitely not safe at all. But it was the only plan we had.

From somewhere off to the right, just beyond my field of vision, I heard the 'chink' of a dagger being drawn. That meant Annabeth was in position. Our plan was simple- I would distract the manticore, and Annabeth would stab it from behind. I thought it would work- hopefully.

"I am going to kill you, cockroach." I tried to muster as much venom and insult as possible into my words. "I'm going to run my sword through you and- and- squash you like- a fruit fly!"
I could almost hear Annabeth's eye roll from across the room, even through the sound of muck dripping off the ceiling. No matter how bad my insults were, they were working. The manticore let out a growl and took a step towards me, its glowing eyes narrowing.

"Now, Annabeth!" I yelled, diving aside.

Her drakon bone dagger whistled through the air as it flew straight towards its target... and bounced harmlessly off the manticore's scaly skin. My heart skipped a beat. As is in slow motion, I watched in horror as the manticore whipped around to face Annabeth. Before I could do anything, its tail swooped down- and stabbed her in the chest.

"NO!"

Heart jumping to my throat, I dodged around the manticore and scrambled across the slippery floor towards her, skidding to a halt next to her prone figure. Dropping to my knees, I reached for her hands.

"Annabeth, please, no, stay with me, don't-" I begged, squeezing her hands so hard my knuckles turned white.

Her eyelids flickered. "Percy," she said.

A huge weight lifted off my shoulders. She wasn't dead, not yet anyway. But she was fading fast.

"Shh, Annabeth its ok, you're alright, I'll get you back to camp, the Apollo campers will heal you, you'll be ok," I muttered, stroking her hair.

"Percy." Her hands reached up to cup my face. "It's too late."

It felt like something was breaking inside me. She was dying. My beautiful, amazing Wise Girl was dying. Annabeth's breaths were getting more and more shallow, her beautiful grey eyes fading visibly.

"No..." She couldn't die, she wouldn't. I would never forgive myself if she died. I thought of how she used to call me Seaweed Brain, and how I might never hear her voice again, and how she was dying and it was my fault. A tear tracked down my cheek, tracing a path through the layer of grime and dust on my face and dripping off my jaw.

I didn't know how long I sat there crying, in choking, inhuman sobs as I watched the life drain out of my girlfriend. Helpless. Unable to do anything to help her.

"Percy," Annabeth said suddenly.

"Shh. Don't talk," I whispered through my tears. The least I could do for Annabeth was to make sure she didn't waste her last breaths on me.

"Percy," she repeated, more urgently this time. "Percy, watch out-"

It was too late. I heard it before I felt it. The sting of the manticore, streaking through the air and piercing my chest. Instantly, I was racked with pain, the poison corroding away my insides, and eating away at my life force. I doubled over in pain, dropping Riptide to the ground with a clatter. I reached a hand towards Annabeth. At least we would die together.

Just as our fingers interlocked, my vision blurred and the lights lifted.

***
A/N
Hahahahahaha I killed Percabeth! I'm so evil. Don't worry, there's a happy ending (maybe). There was actually supposed to be a lot more after this but Wattpad ate it so I'm gonna have to rewrite ONE AND A HALF HOURS WORTH OF STUFF. UGH. Anyways I'm just gonna publish this cos I really can't be bothered anymore.

Part 2 is COMING SOON! I HOPE!

~Dreamchaser