I know, I know, it's been forever and I do deserve to be shot. I only hope that those that enjoyed the story thus far might be willing to revisit again! Thanks so much to those who have reviewed, or just enjoyed, my stories in the past, and I wish you further enjoyment for the future!

Chapter 11

I Proceed To Blow Up The Cabin Phone

Despite my efforts to make amends, or even discover which piece of straw I'd used to break the camel's back, Annabeth had already stolen away into her cabin before I'd even discovered which direction she had run off. After encountering her taciturn brothers standing at the cabin door looking like a couple of cement lions in front of a Chinese restaurant, I'd had no choice but to wait and talk to her in the morning.

I staggered back to my cabin and threw myself onto my bed, but not before nearly impaling myself on a broken spear Tyson had accidently left on the floor. Some baby brothers leave box cars, mine leaves mortal weapons.

Even by my standards, I'd had what would be considered both a confusing and an emotionally trying day. So, of course, I'd had a nightmare. It was eerily similar to the last one I'd had.

The befuddling mist had left, but Rachel stood on her rock again, shifting anxiously from one foot to the other and watching the horizon with large, sad eyes. I looked as well from where I sat on my rock, but I could see nothing but lovely gray and blue clouds embracing a dull, nearly cold Sun. While unsettling, surely that was not any more alarming than the several yards of swirling black sea between our pedestals? The waters were strange and dangerous to me, and they had tried to claim me once; I was not going to risk swimming to her without first formulating a plan.

But my brain was muddled and catching on every other thought, as had become the unwelcome norm of the past few days. I sighed, wishing Annabeth was there, and knowing that she was always more than willing to reorient my grasp on reality. I nearly jumped out of skin when a hand placed itself over my own.

Next to me sat Annabeth, looking to me as she had when we'd first met. Her hair was much shorter, its natural bounce forcefully confined in a ponytail. Her limbs were just as strong but a little scrawnier, and her face had an innocent roundness that contrasted with the serious eyes that had always told me what she was feeling, if never what she was thinking. I noticed that I was younger as well, the tops of my ears cold because they were no longer shielded by my hair.

"It's almost time now," she said, squeezing my hand a little tighter. I had no clue what she meant, and yet I could detect the fear in her voice mingling tragically with acceptance. Her eyes were wide but dry, and her posture was relaxed despite whatever horrible thing I now felt was going to happen. The only indication that she felt any justified need for comfort was the way she clutched my hand, and I clutched hers back. I forgot Rachel completely in that moment, for it was just me and Annabeth, as it had been so many times before.

"I've forgotten something, something important," I said to her. I didn't ask what was coming, for I felt certainty inevitableness. But I wanted her to understand the regret and the remorse in my heart that even I couldn't explain.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault," she said. She obviously knew what I was talking about, even if I did not. I didn't speak. I was suddenly unable to.

She was facing the horizon now, and I saw the shadows under her eyes normally adorned by those much older and more careworn. I supposed we looked like kids beaten by the world. Perhaps we always were.

And then it came. Even though I had been watching Annabeth's face, I felt the monstrous wall of water that sent me spinning too quickly and left me feeling crushed and broken. I could still feel Annabeth's fingers in mine, but they were being wrenched away from me with the weight of a thousand worlds. If I didn't do something, I would lose her forever, I knew.

I tried to form a bubble around us as I had when I rescued her from the Sirens. Annabeth needed air, and I believed that the water wouldn't separate or hurt us if I could manage a shield. I bent all my thought on forcing the water away, but it was soon crushing me as if I now supported the sky with my shoulders.

'Dark… Annabeth… hurts.'

'Save Annabeth… it's my fault anyway…'

'…ANNABETH!'

There was a massive explosion. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor, facedown, in Tyson and I's cabin, unhurt but completely overwhelmed. The floor was sopping and covered with remnants of our shattered fountain. I knew that to be because I could feel the roughness of a seastone remnant under my cheek, and it explained the water. It seemed to still be night, and I could see the drachmas glittering on the darkened floor, see curious faces of campers in pajamas peering in through the windows, and I could hear Tyson's surprised shouts for help above me.