Percy and Annabeth Jackson(A Percy Jackson fanfiction)

Chapter 10: Annabeth

Annabeth woke up in woven shackles on her ankles and wrists, writhing in pain as the rough twine grazed her wrists. She was slumped against a wall, in the corner of what looked to be a regular boiler room. There was a rusty water heater and furnace in the corner, and a few black spiders crawling up the dusty bricks made Annabeth flinch. She felt a firy pain in the back of her head, where Arachne had threw her on the ground in- well, wherever she was. Arachne stood in the corner, weaving a tapestry. Once she fully awakened and the aching blur left her eyes, Annabeth gasped so hard it hurt. The tapestry depicted something painful. Something haunting. It was Percy, on his knees at the boundary, eyes not straying from the precise place Arachne and Annabeth had disappeared for the last time. Apollo's daughter Ellie, in an Infirmary uniform, applying an adhesive butterfly closure to a worrying wound on Percy's eyebrow, knelt at his side. His eyes looked solemn, depressed, and defeated. His face was pale, gaunt, and grazed, It broke Annabeth's heart in two. Seeing Percy like this once in Rome had been one time too many, and Annabeth quickly averted her gaze to avoid the horror. This caused a ripping pain, like you would feel in a sudden car accident. Arachne scuttled down from her loom and cackled. "I think it turned out quite nicely. Don't you agree, daughter of Athena?" 

"Please...." Annabeth managed to croak. "Stop this." Arachne cackled more.  

"I don't think you recall, that unfortunate day in Rome, when you made me weave my own trap and sent me to Tartarus in my own craft. You, my darling, are in the wrong." 

Annabeth tried to hold back the flood of tears behind her eyes. "But wasn't pulling us into Tartarus punishment enough? Seeing Percy go through this when I should have been bearing the pain?" 

Arachne laughed in a sickly, evil voice. "Annabeth, I was just getting started." Annabeth could not force away the murderously angry thoughts stirring in her mind. This hag had sent her and her innocent boyfriend through the darkest depths of a man's fears and secrets, pushing them to their limits, and she was only getting started. Words couldn't describe her love for Percy, and words couldn't describe all the horrible things Annabeth wished would happen to this witch. Arachne scuttled into a far corner to start unraveling more silk, and Annabeth studied the room. She would have to pull herself together and get herself out of there. If there was anything in the world that mattered, it was the underwater kiss herself and Percy could only share if alive. It was the salty seawater and fluorescent fish watching in solitude. It was the soft feeling and faint scent of chlorine of Percy's hair as Annabeth ran her fingers through its dark chocolate waves. It was the world shutting off for thirty seconds and erasing everything, every monster, every stress, every trial- and leaving Percy and Annabeth alone. It was Percy's determined gaze and strong, muscle-toned arms around Annabeth's shoulders and holding her back as they stared defiantly in the eyes of the Fates. They had, together, cheated Death many times, and only Zeus knew it wouldn't happen this time. Annabeth had to live long enough to be there for that kiss. That con in the midst of the Underworld. Annabeth and Percy: the couple against all odds. If Fate had kept them together, there had to have been a reason. Annabeth would not go down without a fight. She would not go down. She tried not to cry, as abnormal breathing patterns could activate the senses of her captor. She reached for her dagger, which was still in her sheath. She noticed that there was no outlet, no flood lamp, or no light in the cold, musty  

basement. Her dagger would not attract a glare. She silently, with shaking hands, cut her bonds and sat up straight, keeping her hands in position whenever Arachne looked to simulate captivity and immobility. When she had her chance and Arachne was deep in a weaving trance, Annabeth edged six inches to where a water pipe dripped. There was barely enough water to create an Iris message. Annabeth waited patiently for the water to form a puddle about two inches in diameter, and then quietly placed a drachma from her pocket in the collecting water. She whispered the beginning phrase, thought of Percy, and willed herself to stay quiet when she saw his painfully handsome face. She desperately wanted to gaze into those sea-blue eyes, touch his warm cheek. But she couldn't. She would have to survive watching him through the mirror of mist. She was lucky Tartarus had done something to Arachne's senses, dampening them in some way, so she didn't notice the Iris message taking place. Percy gasped, shaking when he saw Annabeth's face. She couldn't say a word; she stared intently and spoke the word HELP with her eyes. She didn't want Percy to come to her. Oh, what am I saying! Of course Annabeth wanted Percy to come to her, but she remembered what happened to them last time he came to her rescue. Percy blinked his eyes and talked frantically.

"Annabeth! Dear Olympus. Sweetheart, are you okay? Blink once if you're in the States, twice if you're in the Ancient Lands." Annabeth blinked once on a wild guess, and Percy yelled for Jason. Jason rushed to Percy's side, looking troubled, and put his hand to his mouth.  

"Annabeth... where are you? We'll come and get you." he said. Percy glared at him. 

"Idiot, she can't speak. Clearly she is apprehending a very frightening monster and has no idea where she is." Percy said. Annabeth chuckled at Percy's sarcastic demeanor, even in a time of severe crisis. Same old Seaweed Brain. Percy gazed into her sobbing eyes. "Annabeth, we will come and find you. Don't worry. Stay where you are. We will not be separated again. I swear on my life I will get you out of this. Annabeth, I love you." She sobbed faster after he said those last three words. The mist fell, the drachma was gone, and so was Percy.