lacuna [connor stoll]

IV. Second Chances

CHAPTER FOUR: SECOND CHANCES

She collasped on a random couch of the Plaza Hotel.

Connor darted off to get her water, but she laid, unmoving. Her mind was fuzzy, making it hard to focus on anything. Numb tears fell, but she tried to push everything down.

That was, until, an unconscious Annabeth Chase was lugged into the building. Ellie jumped up, heart racing.

"Silena?" Ellie asked, daring to hope.

"She's alive," Silena confirmed, sniffling.

"Thanks, Sil. I'll take her. Go get Percy." Ellie said, patting her on the back. She took the distraction gratefully, putting an arm around Annabeth and dragging her into the empty terrance.

She draped her across a long chair. Silena walked back in, holding a damp cloth. Ellie moved out of the way, letting Silena help. She pulled a thicket blanket over her.

Annabteh's face was pale and beaded with sweat. Even though she was covered in blankets, she shivered.

Will and Percy pushed through a crowd of Athena kids. Will unwrapped Annabeth's bandages to examine the wound. The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green.

"Annabeth . . ." Percy choked up.

"Poison on the dagger," she mumbled. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

Will Solace exhaled with relief. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

Percy grabbed a canteen. Will cleaned out the wound with the godly drink while Percy held Annabeth's hand.

"Ow," Annabeth said. "Ow, ow!" She gripped his fingers so tight they turned purple, but she stayed still, like Will asked. Silena muttered words of encouragement. Will put some silver paste over the wound and hummed words in Ancient Greek—a hymn to Apollo. Then he applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily.

"That should do it," Will said. "But we're going to need some mortal supplies."

He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to one of the Athena guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"

"I would," Travis volunteered.

Will glared at him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."

Nobody disagreed. There was hardly a single demigod who hadn't already been wounded . . . except Percy, who was currently immune to anything.

"Come on, guys," Travis Stoll said. "Let's give Annabeth some space. We've got a drugstore to raid . . . I mean, visit."