PJO/HOO One Shots

Riptide (pt. 4)

Recap:
"Annabeth," Thalia repeated. Her voice sounded choked up. "Don't- whatever you do, stay away from Luke."

My mind was weaving theories, piecing together evidence and facts as I tried to come to terms with my worst nightmare. The strange behavior, the gold eyes at the restaurant, the lack of support after my apartment blew up, and... oh gods. He was away on a "work trip" this week.

"I know who Kronos is," I whispered. "Kronos is... Luke. And I think he's about to make his final stand."
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Percy and I had been on edge ever since I'd told him of my suspicions three days ago, but needless to say, we were both helplessly unprepared when it happened.

I growled in frustration as my screen seemed to shake, the graphics getting all jumbled together. The cup of coffee sitting next to my keypad was trembling, brown liquid sloshing over the sides and running down the smooth wood of my desk in messy little rivulets.

"What the hell is happening?" I muttered, clicking my keys even harder and pressing more intensely on my mouse.

I jerked my head up just in time to see one of my awards fly off my desk and impale the opposite wall. I stood up quickly, the realization dawning on me.

Before I could do anything though, before I could shout and warn everyone to evacuate, I was knocked off my feet by the world seemingly tipping sideways.

Everything was happening in a blur; it seemed I had blinked and everything had occurred in that short time.

Another rumble shook the Half Blood Times building, this one even stronger than the last. I scrambled to grip the carpet flooring in my office as best I could to prevent myself from sliding towards my glass windows. That would not have ended prettily for me.

"Annabeth!" Percy half-yelled from across the building.

"In here!" I shouted back, shooting a hand into the air from where I'd fallen on my side behind my desk. I could hear rapid footfalls, and then he was there, hauling me to my feet.

"I have to go," Percy said, his voice grave. "It's time."

"Percy, you can't go, it's sui-"

He cut me off with a chaste kiss, and when he pulled back, there was a strange look in his eyes that I decided I didn't like. It was like he was drinking in the sight of me, as if he knew it would be the last time he got to see it.

"A kiss for good luck." He smirked, but there was a sort of finality in his eyes. "Stay in here!"

Then he was dashing out of the door, tearing his dress shirt off to reveal his uniform and leaving me dumbstruck in my office.

Dazedly, I made my way out the office, only to be struck by the strangest sight I'd ever seen. All over the office, my colleagues were slumped over their desks or curled into the fetal position on the floor. There was Piper, sprawled on the floor, half of her body in the copy room while the lower half of her torso and legs were stretched out in the hallway. She must've been finishing up some copies when this all happened.

"My god," I whispered, whirling around to take in the sight and collapsing against the wall in shock. They were asleep. I allowed myself to look outside, through the large glass windows that covered the front of the building. To my horror, the outside world looked exactly the same. Pedestrians laid on the sidewalk, unaware of the debris right beside them, and etaxis and cars were halted in the streets, as though stuck in a traffic jam.

Then it hit me. Why wasn't I asleep? It seemed as though Percy and I were the only people left on Earth.

My eyes strayed from my sleeping coworkers to Percy's white dress shirt on the ground. I leaned down on shaky legs to pick it up; the creases were still fresh from when I had ironed it this morning. I pressed it to my face (probably an odd thing to be doing in a crisis, but my boyfriend was a superhero who was currently putting his life on the line to save our city and my coworkers were too busy sleeping to judge me), trying to ingrain Percy's scent into my brain.