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“JASON!” Annabeth Chase screams, and it makes the rocks in the canyon shudder. But she doesn’t notice because she is too busy sprinting towards her friend who cannot see the monster sneaking up behind him. “JASON!”
He turns around, but it is too late. The monster lets out a vile screech and swipes its tail under his feet. She watches in slow motion as he falls to the ground, bouncing from the impact. And tears stream down her cheeks while she watches the monster lunge over him, a disgusting claw hovering at his neck. She is so far away, and he is going to die, and why the fuck is she so faraway. Something passes her peripheral vision but she doesn’t bother to look, her only focus is Jason, Jason, Jason.
“ANNABETH!”
The scream is enough to shatter the world, and it almost does as she is suddenly thrown to the ground, a heavy weight on top of her. She doesn’t even register what brought her down because her head is singing with pain and her vision is blurring into blackness. She can’t go like this. She refuses to go like this. Not while she has so many unknowns still controlling her life. So she shoves the great big hulking thing off her and swallows the nausea gripping her throat. With shaky hands she pushes off the ground, and stands on even shakier legs. But there still lying on the ground, next to already disappearing dust is Jason Grace.
With renewed adrenaline spiking her muscles she hobbles towards him, clutching the gaping wound at her thigh that she doesn’t know how she got. She finally collapses next to him, her knees hitting the ground so hard she has to bite back a scream. But a very real sob chokes her as she realises he isn’t moving.
“Jason,” She shakes his shoulders. Nothing happens. Her mind floods with overwhelming panic and it tastes like acid on her tongue. “Jason, please” She can feel the tears streaking through the dirt on her cheeks.
He stays perfectly still, chest unmoving, eyes closed. She wants to burn the world. She cannot lose another friend. She cannot lose him. The fates, it would seem, have other plans. Because before she can make sure, before she even has time to process the situation she is being flung so far across the canyon he becomes a dot in her vision. With a sickening crunch she hits a boulder and pain explodes at her back. She’ll be lucky if she can walk after this. Her vision swims as she tries to get up, tries to move into a sitting position. And finally the monster comes into view. The best way to describe it is a scorpion. Although this one had decidedly more eyes, two disgustingly lethal tails, and is the size of a truck, at least.
She squeezes her eyes as a fresh wave of pain cascades down her body, and when she opens them again the vile, smiling creature is right in her face.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“Such vulgar words for such a pretty girl.” It clicks. The sound reminds her of typewriters, and nails on a chalkboard. It hurts worse than all her injuries.
“If you’re going to kill me just do it.”
“Are you trying to win the same fate as your friend?” She swears it’s laughing. She wants to rip its tail off and shove it down that hollowed throat.
“It doesn’t matter what happened to me because he is gone.”
“Ah so you loved him then.” It says it like a statement, no question in its horrid voice.
“Of course i loved him,” She glares and it glitters with vehement pain.
“As a friend or a lover?”
The question pierces through her soul like she had turned the dagger she had in her hand towards herself. Like she had plunged it deep and twisted until her insides were a mess of knots and broken fragments and golden promises and forbidden, forbidden, forbidden. The hold on her precious dagger is weak but it is better than nothing. She will end this now. No matter the outcome.
And then she spots almost imperceptible movement from behind the monster. It can’t be. But it is. There getting up, slowly, ever so slowly, is Jason Grace. Every chord in her heart soars and it feels like she’s injected herself with dopamine. Her grey eyes flash with something dangerously close to hope and her body gives her one more flood of adrenaline. The grip on her dagger tightens as she stares the scorpion in its eyes.
“You should never have touched him.” And with that she swipes her blade across one of its legs and relishes in the disgusting squelch as it servers the limb. Before the thing can react she’s moving to the next leg, and the next, and the next. Until it is barely holding itself up on the three remaining ones.
With a scream that echoes against the rocky walls it launches itself at her, trapping her against the rock and it. One of the tails slams against the wall, inches from her abdomen. She doesn’t so much as flinch. Her dagger drives into its skeletal hide. It retaliates by rearing the tails and piercing it into her. Or what would have been her if she hadn’t been yanked by an arm, straight into a hard body.
“You’re alive?” She is breathless.
“Barely,” He grunts, but her hand is on his heart and she can feel it beating and everything is going to be okay.
“Tell me you’re fine.” She demands, uncaring of the monster who is preparing for murder behind them.
“That would be lying to you.” His eyes are so blue, and he is fighting a smile, and he is still so beautiful.
“Then lie to me.”
He rolls his eyes, but it works because a smile tilts his lips and he nods. “I’m okay.”
“Good, let’s kill this bitch.”
They don’t need any more words. He gently turns her around, making sure her back is covered and they stand there like King and Queen, ready to conquer the beast. The monster is charging towards them, twin spikes pointed at them like poisoned arrowheads. With a nod to each other they split off and run along the monster as it barrels towards them. It’s moving too fast to stop, so when they dig their blades into its side and fillet it all the monster can do is screech. It slams into the boulder Annabeth had cracked against but still it doesn’t crumble to dust.
She lets out a scream of frustration. Jason is back at her side in an instant. He doesn’t touch her, but he’s close enough that she can feel the heat radiating off him. His presence makes her heart rate lower. And then she’s looking at his crackling blue eyes and they reflect the same wild, raging, murderous look she’s sure her own have.
‘You okay?” He asks softly, and she doesn’t catch the way his fingers twitch.
“No,” She wants to break down right there. She wants to go home. She wants to be safe.
He brushes a hand to her cheek, and her whole body shudders. “Lie to me. I don’t care what you say, just lie to me.” He says her words back, with a mischievous glint in his eyes and it is enough to undo her.
With a huffed laugh, and a shove at his shoulder she gives him a soft smile. “I’m okay. Now can we kill this thing so we can go home.”
“Anything for you.”
She looks at him, memorizes the strong jaw, and freckled nose, and the floppy blonde hair, and especially those cerulean eyes that never miss anything, even without glasses. “Let’s go home Jase.”
“Lets.” He wraps his arms around her and pulls her to his chest so her head rests against it. She can hear his heartbeat. She is safe.
“It’s coming up behind you. When i say so i want you to dive to your right and get behind it. I’ll distract it from the front while you cut off its tails. I think that’s the only way we’re gonna kill it.”
“What if this is a hydra situation?”
“I guess we’ll have to take that chance. I’m all out of options.”
“I can’t think straight, I think I’m getting delirious from blood loss.” She sighs.
He nods at her thigh, where the stab wound is still weeping into her jeans. “Yea we really should have brought ambrosia.”
“Oh no I was talking about my period, but yea this is bad too.”
He laughs, squeezing her hand and then the plan is in motion.
“HEYO PIPSQUEAK!” Jason yells and Annabeth is already running, holding down the laughter that threatens to bowl her over.
The scorpion is well and truly agitated by his shouting so it doesn’t see her sprinting behind it. Her friend looks absolutely ridiculous waving his arms around, hair flopping everywhere, and shouting obscenities at a monster twenty times his size. She takes a second to watch before focusing on her task.
“Okay, let’s do this!” And then she’s launching herself at the beast, landing directly on one of its tails and sliding down till she’s almost at its back. She feels the moment it knows she’s there because every powerful muscle in its tails go tense and she prepares herself to be flung to her death. But she hears another yell from Jason and the scorpion’s back muscles tense. It is preparing to strike. She has to do this now.
So with a final glance back at the almost comical distraction scene and a prayer up to her mother that she survives this she slams her dagger into its tail, and ignores her blackening vision as the monster screeches in pain. Before it has time to react she’s cutting off its second one. For a second it goes completely still, half severed tails twitching, and she thinks it’s going to slam them both into the canyon walls. But then it does something else, and she wants to cry in relief. The horrible monster crumbles to the floor, ash coating the ground.
Annabeth falls to the dusty floor with nothing underneath her but Jason is there, lifting her up and to him before she can bruise her already torn knees.
“You did it.” His smile is so gentle.
“Not without you.” She returns his joy, “Did you tell the scorpion you hope its mother is disappointed in it?”
His golden cheeks blush bright red but he nods all the same. “Let’s go home Chase.”
She has never heard such beautiful words in her life. “Let’s.”