Why Did He Have to Go? ~A Piper and Jason Fan-Fiction

Chapter Nineteen

Written by JustColor Megan! She's awesome! Go fan her if you're going to fan me! That chick is awesome! Check out all of her books! I love you, Meg!!!

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I had a feeling I was asleep. I saw flickers of bright golden eyes, the manticore’s laugh, and the St. Louis Arch. None of it made any sense.

When my eyes opened I was alone. There was a chocolate-like taste in my mouth. It must have been nectar. I was freezing even under a heavy blanket. Sweat beaded on my forehead. The room was dark and the whole warship was shaking like crazy.

Before I could try to get up, suddenly I had the feeling of my stomach dropping to my feet. I had felt this before, when Festus had crashed out of the sky.

The Argo II was falling.

As I felt us go down, I clutched my blanket. I ignored the flash of pain in my calf, knee, and stomach.

And then we must have hit the ground, because I fell right off the bed. I could feel bobbing right back up. Disoriented, I tried pulling myself back onto the bed. Instead I just grasped the blanket. The blanket fell on me, completely covering me. I tried to pull off the blanket, instead pulling my hair, so I just gave up and lay in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Someone was smart enough to lift the blanket off my head. I glanced up to see the one and only Annabeth looking at me, confused.

“Hi,” she finally said. “Sorry for the bumpy landing. Leo couldn’t control his ship, so we crashed into the Missouri River.”

“Where are we?” I murmured. My mind was fuzzy since I had just woken up, the whole crash and the confusing flickers in my dream.

“Beats me,” Annabeth replied. She helped me back into the bed. She stuck a straw in my mouth, commanding me to drink. The cool swig of water helped me calm down and my thoughts became more identifiable.

“How long have I been out?” I asked. “I can tell I’ve been out for a while.” My hair was an absolute mess and my clothes were wrinkled.

Annabeth hesitated. “About thirteen hours,” she admitted. “It’s not your fault, though. You are seriously messed up.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said sarcastically. “I don’t need to be reminded that I’m wrapped up.” I wrapped my arms around myself. The thick bandages around my torso felt big and bulky under my shirt.

“Hey.” Annabeth nudged me with her shoulder. “While you were asleep, Reyna had a dream you should hear about.”

“What?” I asked. Though I wasn’t eager to learn that Reyna was still on board, probably talking to Jason, I needed to hear of the dream.

“The manticore,” Annabeth said. “He’s not dead. You killed part of him, Piper, but he’s not dead. He’s hiding in St. Louis, tending to his wounds.”

I stared blankly at my friend. “What? But I was there when Jason killed him!” Even though I was trying hard to fight the truth, I had a feeling Reyna had a dream similar to mine: bright gold eyes, the manticore’s laugh, and the St. Louis Arch.

“I don’t know, Piper.” Annabeth’s gray eyes were worried. “That’s why we haven’t headed to Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood.”

Something swelled inside of my chest. It was like someone was trying to warn me that this wasn’t a good idea. “If the manticore wants to threaten Jason, I’ll kill him,” I promised.

 And that’s when I pushed my legs over the side of the bed. I pushed off the heavy blanket, pulled myself up, and my feet touched the floor.

I was standing for the first time in days. I swayed and I nearly collapsed from a head rush. Annabeth looked ready to surge forward and catch me if I fell. Except I felt perfectly strong, which made me confused.