Find my Seaweed Brain...

May 1st Part 2

For a moment I thought I was dead. Then I saw the light of a torch from the corridor illuminating the figure in front of me. It was Sally.

I sent all of my prayers and thanks to every god I could think of in the few moments I had while Sally cut me loose. Of course though, the brief moments of relief were short lived very quickly replaced by Kampés return.

"SALLY!" I screamed shoving her out the way. That's about as far through my plan as I'd gotten by the time Kampé was at my throat.

"Stupid little owl," she screeched, "you dare try to use this distraction to escape? And with a mortal of all creatures?! You're weaker without the boy than I thought. Although the stench of seawater that lingers upon you is fresher than it is on her." She spat towards Sally. "And she has no demigod stink of her own to dilute it."

She studied me for a few moments while Sally was captured by telkhines. The fear was like a golf ball in my throat, blocking my airways and much to big to swallow. What I needed was another distraction. What I got was a burst pipe.

All kinds of very unsanitary looking water dropped onto her head, covering her in... well, shit. She didn't flinch. She didn't even frown. In fact a rather large smile spread across her face.

"So that's your key to saving the ocean boy? How unconventional, how strange, how utterly amazingly easy to rip away." Her smile wandered down to my belly where my wet clothes clung more to the tiny little bump. It was still barely visible through my abs, but it was clear Kampé had figured it out.

"Of course, that's why you stink of Poseidon scum! And how you managed to explode my boiler room, the filthy creature is feeding you his powers as you feed it" She said it with the same excitement someone might have when winning a board game. This was all a game to her.

Suddenly she grabbed my top and pulled it up to the wire of my bra. I pressed myself further into the wall and squeezed my eyes to keep the tears away. She ran her sharp nail over the bump in a snaking line from top to bottom and a single tear escaped from my eyes. I willed the floodgates to stay closed

"What are you doing-" I managed to get out those words, they sounded more like a squeak though. She looked up at me and grinned before pressing her hand against my stomach.

"You're quite far along aren't you?" She spoke in the tone of a friend who was excited to see the new baby, but her eyes glinted with sick enjoyment. She was gazing into the terror so clearly displayed in my eyes and it made her happy. My fear made her happy.

"Please don't hurt it I need it." I said stronger than before.

"It? Oh this just gets better and better! You don't even slightly want the thing do you? Oh that's positively hilarious!" She pressed her hand further into the bump and I felt a sensation like butterflies inside. My eyes widened and a sob rose into my throat.

It was kicking. The first time it kicked and it was a monsters hand suffocating it. But it's just a cluster of cells? A cluster of cells can't kick can it?

I suddenly moved my hand to my mouth and tears began to stream down my face. She jolted away at the sudden movement and then hissed at me.

The damn finally fully broke and everything I'd been suppressing hit me at once. By now I'm sure a telkhine would have spilt the news to another monster. There was no way to stop Kampé from informing Tartarus that the favourite daughter of Athena was pregnant with the baby of The Great Percy Jackson. Our cluster of cells might as well be gone already. Percy might as well be dead already. I should be dead already.

With every sob another pipe burst, splattering water across the room.

"Stop it!" The monster hissed, "Stop it or I'll hurt your baby" she taunted me even in that moment.

Right at that moment the ceiling collapsed on top of her and after the dust settled Jason stood with his hand out.

"Annabeth take my hand we need to get out of here."

I had already pulled down my shirt to cover my bump, but I stood shocked for long enough that everyone could have seen the tears covering my face.

I didn't hesitate a second time.

"I cant- I can't leave Sally here Grace! Or my dagger." He stood for the moment and I could almost see the cogs turning in his head as he ran the risks.

"Annabeth I'm sorry, Kampé will be up in a second and we've lost the element of surprise. Sally would understand."

Blind. Rage. Everything was red. I picked up a brick and threw it at his face and screamed.

"FINE. DON'T COME WITH ME. I'LL BE DAMNED IF SALLY JACKSON DIES BECAUSE OF ME." I yelled at him before running into the corridor.

That was a mistake. I could feel the broken ends of my bone scraping against each other inside my leg and it was almost totally consuming agony. So I hopped with the support of the wall screaming Sally's name.

A singular Telkhine jumped out from behind a door and bared its teeth at me. I snapped it's neck into two with my hands. I don't remember how, why or even if I attacked it first but I limped onto towards the sounds of a human scream.
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Once I got to the room Sally was in the pain had almost paralysed me, but I grabbed my dagger from the corner of the room and stabbed the two telkhine warriors in the jaw before cutting the chords that Sally was tied up with. Immediately after I collapsed and Sally rushed to pick me up.

Between screams of pain I informed Sally of my surprise rescuers and where I left them. She began to scold me for not leaving her for a second before analysing my physical state and deciding that it wasn't the time.

For a third and final time, the moment we reached Jason and the rest of the rescue team, everything went black.