Lost

9

That night I stayed in the Poseidon cabin instead of the infirmary. I slept better as the sound of water running through the fountain soothed me.

I woke up early, way earlier than planned, so I walked over to the fountain. I fished out a soggy drachma and waited for the fountain to create a light mist.

Then I chucked the drachma through. Instead of disappearing in thin air, it hit the floor and clanked against it.

"Show me Annabeth Chase," I said, although I already knew what would happen. The water flickered into rainbow colors before settling down again.

I retrieved the drachma and chucked it back into the fountain, which caused the water to bubble over.

After trying for what seemed like hours to sleep, a knock at the door alerted me of morning.

"Come in," I said as I sat up.

Grover walked in, wearing pants to cover up his goat legs, fake feet to cover his hooves, and a multicolored rasta cap to cover his horns. A backpack was swung over his shoulder and he was holding another one, presumably for me.

"This is for you," he said as he threw the bag onto my bunk. "It has basic things like a toothbrush, ambrosia, nectar, change of clothes, stuff like that."

My hands reached for the bag. Once I retrieved it I rummaged through it. "Like things for a quest."

He nodded as he walked over to me. "Yeah, you could say so. Although this is not a quest. Chiron made that very clear to me."

"Why isn't it one?" I asked curiously.

"There's been no prophecy. The Oracle hasn't spoken for months," Grover told me. "Chiron must've told you. Anyways, this is more of a 'wellness check' as Chiron put it."

A wellness check for a dead girl...

"What's this?" I asked as I pulled out an envelope from the bag.

Grover sighed. "That's...that's the letter. I thought you would want it, as it was written to you. It wasn't originally in an envelope, we found it under a tree with her necklace laying next to it."

My shaking hands slowly opened the envelope to see a charred piece of paper that looked like it'd been ripped off from something. It was tiny, and full of scorch marks.

And it was in her handwriting. Her perfect, pristine, handwriting. It looked almost as if it's been typed.

I read the message over and over again, practically memorizing it.

'the war isn't over. It's her, Percy. It's A'

What could that possibly mean? It's A? The A was the only messy part of the letter. It was scribbled, like she was writing out a full word but ran out of time.

And the war isn't over? Was one of Gaea's henchmen named A? Or did their name start with an A?

Was it Ares? Artemis? Aphrodite? Athena herself?

Or was she signing her name for me? An A for Annabeth? But why would she say it's A? It sounded like she was referring to the aforementioned 'her.'

"I'll leave you to pack the rest of your things," Grover said as he headed towards the door. "Don't stare at that letter too long, we leave in less than an hour."

Grover headed out, leaving me all alone in my cabin. After reading the letter over one more time, I placed it back in envelope and shoved it into the backpack.

I pulled a few extra camp shirts and jeans from my dresser and placed them carelessly in the bag. Then I packed a few other things before getting dressed and tying Annabeth's camp necklace around my neck.

I slung the backpack over me and headed out for breakfast. Several campers were already staggered out at the tables, including a few I knew.

Breakfast was tasteless as all I could think about was Annabeth. Where was she if she was even alive? And was this whole trip a waste? What if she wasn't even alive?

Then it hit me. There was a way to know her fate. At least if she was alive. And, to my knowledge, it still worked.

My eyes scanned the campers. More had started filling in now, so I stood up and rushed over to the only person I knew could help.

The Hades table was empty, except for Nico, who was staring suspiciously close to the Apollo table.

"Nico," I said, a little to forcefully than what I was aiming for. He jumped, clearly startled. "I need your help."

He frowned at me. "For what? Gods, I didn't even know you were here. What are you doing here, don't you have school?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," I replied. He glared at me. "I need your help. You...you can still sense when people are dead, right?"

"Uh...yes?" Nico asked. "Why? Because you're alive, if that's what you need to know."

"No, Annabeth," I said, my voice nearly breaking. "Is she....a-alive?"

He sighed and frowned angrily. "How have I not thought of that?! With everyone looking? Gods, we're idiots!"

"Is she alive?!" I demanded.

Nico stared at me before nodding briefly. "Yeah, she is. Just barely, though. I would get to her sooner than later."

My heart raced in my chest. She was alive. Barely, but at least she was. She was alive. I could still save her, there was time.

"Where is she?" I asked. "What kind of injuries does she have? Does she have injuries? What do you mean just barely?"

"Percy, I couldn't tell you that," he said. "I have no clue. All I can tell you is that she's alive. Her soul seems weakened, but she's hanging on. I'm....I'm sorry. Excuse me."

Nico got up and started walking towards the Big House, most likely to tell Chiron about Annabeth. 

I instantly ran over to Thalia's pine tree where Grover and I had agreed to meet each other, a new sense of resilience with me.

"She's alive, Grover!" I cried.

"What do you mean? Is she here?" he asked confusedly. He stayed silent as I informed him of my discovery.

"Seriously? My gods, that's genius...." he murmured. "Well, we better get going then. She's out there."

"Yeah, she is," I said while smiling. "And waiting for me."