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“Percy, you’re bleeding,” Annabeth said. Alarm spread through her immediately as her eyes caught the red spot on Percy’s shirt.
“No,” He said, giving her a small smile. “This thing really works, huh?” He gestured at the Golden Fleece in his arms. Before Annabeth could grill him about how he’d been injured, Blackjack whinnied, and Percy turned his attention to him. Annabeth watched as Percy spoke with Blackjack and then convinced Clarisse to take the Fleece back to camp by herself.
“You trust her?” Annabeth asked in surprise, coming to stand next to Percy. They watched Blackjack and Clarisse disappear into the distance.
“To do whatever it takes to save camp? Yes,” Percy said, turning to face Annabeth.
“She helped me when she overheard that Alison was coming for me,” Annabeth said.
“She did? Are you okay?” Percy asked, concern filling his features at hearing she’d been in trouble.
“Yes, Clarisse took most of them out single-handedly. As much as she wanted to succeed in the quest for camp, she risked it to come to my aid first.”
“Yeah, she’s not half-bad,” Percy said, looking out over her shoulder at the water. His eyes had a faraway look that told Annabeth he wasn’t really thinking about Clarisse.
“Hey, you okay?” Annabeth asked, stepping closer to him.
“Yeah, I just…Luke…” Percy said, unable to finish his sentence, but Annabeth had a pretty good idea of what he was trying to say. It was what she’d suspected as soon as she’d seen the blood on Percy’s shirt.
“Luke was the one who stabbed you,” Annabeth said for him.
“Yes…and I know I said that I thought he was beyond saving, but I didn’t think he’d actually…”
“I know,” Annabeth said, putting her hand on his arm. She had guessed that behind Percy’s cold declarations about Luke, he was really hurt by the betrayal of his friend. “But he knew you had the Fleece.” She wasn’t really sure if she was trying to convince Percy or herself that Luke hadn’t been trying to really kill him. Knowing that Luke was conspiring with Kronos against camp and against them was one thing, but his stabbing Percy felt like a line had been crossed, one that he couldn’t come back from.
“Still hurt,” Percy said, and Annabeth knew he didn’t just mean physically.
“I know,” Annabeth said again, squeezing his arm before dropping her hand. “Let’s get back to camp,” She added, because talking about it wouldn’t change Luke’s betrayal, and they still had to save Thalia.
“Okay, Tyson and Grover should’ve-” Percy cut off, and Annabeth’s stomach did a flip as his eyes grew distant a second before he collapsed onto his knees, Riptide clattering to the deck. Annabeth gripped his shoulders to keep him upright, and the situation was so similar to the Chimera venom a year ago that she felt lightheaded herself.
“Percy? Percy, what’s wrong?” Annabeth demanded. He was breathing heavily, and his eyelids were fluttering as he struggled to remain conscious. Annabeth frantically looked around them as she tried to come up with a plan. The ocean wasn’t too far away, so Annabeth just had to make sure Percy was in good enough shape to be able to walk off the ship. The deck was currently empty, but there was no telling where Luke’s people were.
“Don’t think…fully healed…” Percy whispered as he sagged fully against her, his shoulder digging into her hip.
“Whoa, okay, yeah, me neither,” Annabeth said, readjusting her grip. “Do you think you can make it to that tent over there? I need to look at your wound, and I’d rather not do it out in the open.”
“Yeah,” Percy closed his eyes for a few seconds to steel himself. When he opened them back up, there was a determined look on his pale face. He grit his teeth and struggled to his feet, holding onto Annabeth’s arms for support. By the time he was upright, his face had lost all remaining color, and he looked about two seconds away from keeling back over.
“Let’s go,” Annabeth said, wrapping her arm around his back and hurrying him towards the tent. They didn’t have to go far, but it was a struggle all the same. The last time she’d supported his weight, Grover had been helping her, and Percy had been a foot shorter. As soon as they’d made it inside the tent flap, Percy crumbled. Annabeth tried to slow his descent but just barely managed to keep his head from hitting the deck. Her knees stung from the impact as she landed with Percy’s upper half braced against her.
As gently as possible, she lowered him down. His chest was heaving, he was sweating, and his eyes were hazy as he looked up at her. He looked young and vulnerable, and Annabeth wanted to kill Luke for doing this to him.
“Okay, you’re okay, I’m just going to take a look,” Annabeth said, trying to make her voice calm and reassuring. Percy nodded slightly before fixing his gaze on the top of the tent. Annabeth pushed up his shirt to see his wound. His stomach was covered in blood, and the sight of it nearly caused Annabeth to spin into a panic. He’d been stabbed clear through his torso. Luke had run his sword straight through Percy. What had been the purpose if Luke had known Percy would be able to heal himself, other than to simply cause Percy pain?
“Annabeth?” Percy coughed. She looked at his face to find his blue gaze fixed on her. She realized she’d been frozen at the sight of his blood. She quickly used her sleeve to wipe away some of the blood from the wound so she could get a good look at it.
“The wound isn’t bleeding anymore,” Annabeth said as she looked at the scar.
“Why do you sound as if that is a bad thing?” Percy questioned. Annabeth put her hand on his cheek, feeling how cold and clammy his skin was. Then she moved her hand to his neck and felt for his pulse, which was weak.
“I think you are still bleeding internally. The Fleece healed the wound, so you weren’t losing any more blood, but I don’t think it had enough time to fully heal the internal damage. When I woke up here, the Fleece was still over me, so it must take a little bit of time to completely heal wounds.”
“Great, let’s go get it, then,” Percy said, attempting to sit up with a groan. Annabeth lurched forward and put both of her hands on his chest to keep him lying down.
“No, moving will only make it worse.”
“Annabeth, we can’t stay here,” Percy reminded her.
“I know, but…” She trailed off, considering their options. She’d been hoping to be able to fix Percy up enough to get him to the ocean, but internal bleeding wasn’t something she could simply put a bandage on.
“Get me to the railing, I’ll jump over, and the ocean can heal me,” Percy suggested.
“You’re right that the ocean is your best bet, but you aren’t jumping over the railing, seaweed brain. The fall alone could kill you,” Annabeth snapped.
“The arch was further,” He pointed out, and Annabeth wanted to shake him for bringing that up. She didn’t need anything else to remind her of that horrible day.
“The water slowed your fall. I don’t think you are in any shape to do that again.”
“I’m not even sure if it was me the first time,” Percy admitted.
“That just proves my point. Rest for a moment, and then we will make our way down to a lower deck and get you to the ocean safely,” Annabeth said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Last time Percy was on his feet, he hadn’t been able to go ten steps without collapsing.
Annabeth brushed back some of the curls from his cold, sweaty forehead. Percy closed his eyes, but he looked anything but restful. His brows scrunched in pain, and he was still breathing heavily. “Rest,” Annabeth said again, “Don’t move, I’m going to see if I can find you some water.” He needed liquids to replenish the lost blood. Besides, even if it wasn’t natural water, it had to help the son of Poseidon a bit.
“Mhm,” Percy muttered, not moving as she stood up and moved away from him. This, more than anything, let her know how poorly he was feeling. Percy was never one to stand by idly while someone else put themselves at risk, yet he was currently too weak to protest about her leaving to get water.
Annabeth listened for a second before ducking out of the tent. Luckily, the deck was still empty. Annabeth had the sinking feeling that everyone was gone because Luke was heading towards Camp. She quickly moved over to a bar area on the far side of the deck. She thanked the gods when she found a mini fridge that was stocked with water. She grabbed as many as she could carry and hurried back to Percy.
Percy was exactly where she’d left him and didn’t stir as she re-entered and put the water bottles down beside him. “Percy?” She asked. When he didn’t respond immediately, she gently tapped him on the cheek. He blearily blinked open his eyes, and Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief. “You need to drink something,” She said. She opened up a water bottle and put her hand underneath his neck and helped to lift his head up. Percy groaned slightly as the position aggravated his wound. She gave him a second to catch his breath and then held up the water to his lips.
He drank about half the bottle before turning his head slightly away. She eased his head back down and sat back on her heels. Annabeth really wanted to give him more time to rest, but she knew he would only continue to worsen. “Ready?” Annabeth asked, trying to keep her voice light. She stuffed two water bottles into her jacket pockets and then bent down to help Percy up.
“Mhm,” Percy groaned as he struggled to his feet. He swayed where he stood, and Annabeth was afraid he was going to pass out.
“Here, drink a bit more water,” She pulled out a bottle and handed it to him, wrapping her arm around his waist to keep him steady. He put one arm around her shoulders and lifted one shaking hand up to his mouth.
“Okay, let’s go,” he said after a few moments. “I don’t…I don’t think I’m gonna last much longer.” His words sent a chill down Annabeth’s spine. After everything they’d been through, she refused to allow him to die mere miles away from Camp.
“Better get moving, then,” She agreed, tightening her grip on him and guiding them forward. The gangway to the dock was a few levels below them, so Annabeth headed towards the elevator. She’d dropped the spear Clarisse had given her when Percy had first collapsed, and Luke still had her knife. “Percy, can I have Riptide? I’m really hoping we don’t run into anyone, but if we do…” Annabeth gestured towards Percy with her empty hand.” Percy had also dropped Riptide when he’d collapsed, but she knew the sword would’ve returned to his pocket by now.
With a wince, Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out the pen. Annabeth took it, choosing to keep it in pen form for the moment so she didn’t have to carry around a heavy sword in addition to Percy’s weight.
“Your knife?” Percy asked softly as they continued walking.
“I think Luke still has it,” She said. Percy straightened slightly and started patting the pockets of his jacket. “What is it?”
“Your hat,” Percy said with a groan. “It must’ve fallen out of my pocket when I was fighting Luke. I’m sorry, Annabeth.”
“It’s okay,” Annabeth said immediately, not wanting him to see how much the loss of her hat stung. Losing the knife was bad enough, but her mom’s hat hurt worse.
“It’s not, we’ll get them back,” Percy said, managing to sound determined despite the weakness of his voice. He stumbled slightly on the next step, and Annabeth tightened her grip on him.
“Let’s just focus on getting off this ship first,” She said.
They made it to the elevator with no problems, and Annabeth impatiently punched the down button a few times before the doors slid open. She was shocked to see a puddle of blood on the floor. She felt Percy stiffen beside her as he saw the same thing. Annabeth guided him into the elevator and pressed the button for the deck a few stories below, followed by the close door button.
“He stabbed me right as the doors were closing,” Percy said. He pulled away from Annabeth and leaned heavily against one of the walls, staring at the doors as they shut. Annabeth didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t say anything. She’d never been good at comforting people. She just needed to focus on making sure Percy was physically safe, and then she could try to fix the emotional stuff later.
In the silence that followed, Annabeth took a moment to look over Percy. Simply put, he looked terrible. His face had a waxy sheen, and his curls were plastered to his forehead. He was slumped against the wall with one arm wrapped protectively around his stomach.
“Here, drink,” Annabeth said, taking out a water bottle, uncapping it, and holding it out to him. Percy shook his head, shutting his eyes with a grimace. “Percy, you need to stay hydrated.”
“I don’t think I can drink any more,” He admitted.
“Just try, you’ve lost a lot of blood,” Annabeth all but pleaded. Percy opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Annabeth, water isn’t going to replace the blood I’ve lost, at least not this water. And I think if I try to drink it, I’ll just end up throwing it back up.” He said. Annabeth nodded and recapped the water bottle. She didn’t want him to see how helpless it made her feel to not be able to do anything to help him.
The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Annabeth moved back to Percy’s side to support his weight. She could feel him shaking as he pushed off the wall and started walking. They made it out onto the deck before Percy passed out. Annabeth was unable to bear his full weight and ended up crashing down onto the deck with him.
“No, no, no, Percy!” Annabeth said as she extricated herself from the tangle of limbs and flipped him over onto his back. His eyes were closed and his breathing faint. “Percy, c’mon, wake up, we are so close,” Annabeth pleaded as she felt for the pulse point on his neck. It was weak, and it felt like her own heart was pounding to make up for his.
She shook his shoulders and then cradled his face, trying anything to bring him back to consciousness. She looked towards the gangplank that led to the dock. It wasn’t too far away, and Annabeth might be able to drag him to it, but what then? Did she just drop him into the ocean and hope for the best? Even if she jumped in with him, she wasn’t sure if she’d have the strength to pull him out if something went wrong. She didn’t know how automatic his healing abilities were. She didn’t even know if they were guaranteed. Annabeth did know that Poseidon had been radio silent recently, and that might mean that the ocean wouldn’t heal him at all.
He was shivering, so Annabeth grabbed a nearby towel and placed it over him. She tried splashing his face with a little bit of the water, hoping to rouse him enough to get him off the boat. Percy didn't so much as stir, and Annabeth began to feel a hopelessness creeping up on her.
“Wake up, Seaweed Brain,” She pleaded. He was dying, and she had no idea what to do about it. “We are so close.”
“Annabeth?” Grover’s voice startled her. She looked up to see Grover and Tyson running towards her across the deck.
“Grover, Tyson, what are you guys doing here?”
“We were waiting by the ride we secured when Tyson heard you,” Grover explained.
“It sounded like Percy was in trouble,” Tyson said. He kneeled next to his brother, fear coloring his expression as he took in Percy’s state.
“He is. I’ll explain anything, but first we have to get him to the ocean. He’s bleeding internally, and that’s the only thing that will help him.”
In a movement too fast for her to track, Tyson stood up, lifting Percy into his arms. “I’ll take him.” He said before sprinting back towards the gangplank. Annabeth watched him disappear, her thoughts muddled.
“Annabeth,” Grover said, and his tone indicated this wasn’t the first time he’d said her name. She looked up to see him standing next to her, offering his hand. Annabeth took it and allowed him to help her up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I just…thought he was going to die,” Annabeth said shakily. “If you guys hadn’t shown up…”
“But we did,” Grover said, wrapping an arm around Annabeth’s shoulders and guiding her to the gangplank. “And we always will, just like you guys showed up for me.” Annabeth wished it were as simple as that, but she knew it wasn’t. There were always so many things that could go wrong on a quest, and this was a reminder that they were one small step away from disaster at all times.
They made their way down to the dock and sat on the edge of it, near a ladder, waiting for Percy and Tyson. Every second that passed felt like a needle piercing her lungs. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait too long. After a few minutes, Percy’s golden head appeared, followed by Tyson’s darker one. They swam to the ladder and started to climb up it. Annabeth and Grover jumped up and helped Percy over the edge. To Annabeth’s great relief, he didn’t seem to need the assistance.
“Hey,” Percy said with a grin that made Annabeth want to punch him.
“How do you feel?” She asked, taking his wrist to feel his pulse. His skin was surprisingly warm despite the chill of the water, and his pulse was strong beneath her fingers.
“Good, I’m okay, Annabeth,” Percy said softly, his grin fading as he took in the intensity of her expression. Annabeth pushed up his shirt slightly so she could look at his wound. All that remained was a thin, pale scar. She pressed lightly around the area to see if he had any tenderness. After humoring her for a few moments, Percy finally grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his stomach. “I’m healed, fully, I promise.”
He wrapped his arms around her, and she allowed herself to melt into his embrace for a few moments. She savored the strength in his arms and the steady beat of his heart under her ear. He was alive and seemed to be okay. She took a couple of deep breaths and tamped down the panic she’d felt since she’d spotted the blood on his shirt.
Sooner than she would’ve liked, Annabeth stepped out of his arms. She would have time later to deal with the reality of him almost dying, just as she knew he was doing the same when it came to her. They could sort through their emotions later; first things first, they had a camp to save.