SANITY; heroes of olympus

05.2

"You're going to be fine." Piper spoke the words like an order. Her tone steadied her breathing and Andy nodded. "Annabeth, ambrosia!"

Annabeth stirred. "Yeah. Yeah, I got it." She ripped through her supply pouch and unwrapped a piece of godly food.

"We have to stop the bleeding." Piper used her dagger to cut fabric from the bottom of her dress. She ripped the cloth into bandages and wrapped the wounds on her back and stomach while Annabeth pushed tiny bites of ambrosia into her mouth, all while Jason watched and waited, pale and feeling nauseous.

Annabeth's fingers trembled. She pushed Andy's hair back from her now clammy forehead, and reached to wipe away tears that...weren't there. The girl was not crying, not showing that this was the most physical pain she had ever been in in her life. The blonde told her sternly, "You need to stop jumping in front of people, okay? You don't need to protect everyone."

But the thing was, and they all knew this, Andy's fatal flaw was a saviour complex. She strived to protect as many people as she could, and would do anything to protect them, even if it meant throwing her life in the way—a human shield.

Andy tried not to close her eyes. Every time she did, Jason would tap her cheek or shake her awake.

"I've bandaged as much as I can," Piper said. "Blood is still soaking through. And the smoke. I don't get that."

"Imperial gold," Annabeth said, her voice wavering. "It's deadly to demigods. It's only a matter of time before—"

"Before my inevitable death?" Andy choked out a sarcastic laugh for her friends' sakes. "Yeah, that's super comforting."

"You'll be alright," Piper insisted. "We've got to get her back to the ship."

Andy tried to swat away their hands when she attempted to sit up. The moment her torso lifted even slightly off the ground, everything turned bright and blurry, and she laid back down with a roll of her eyes. "Oh, shit. This is, like, being on drugs but worse."

"Andy, you've never done drugs before." Annabeth deadpanned, feeling the atmosphere lighten just barely.

"Eh, still."

Annabeth scanned the ruins. The magic veneer had faded, leaving only broken walls and

excavation pits. "We could use the emergency flares, but—"

"No," Jason said. "Leo would blast the top of the hill with Greek fire."

Andy bit her lip. "If you guys helped me, I'm sure I could walk—"

"Absolutely not," Piper objected. "That would take too long." She rummaged in her belt pouch and pulled out a compact mirror. "Annabeth, you know Morse code?"

The blonde nodded her head. "Of course."

"So does Leo." Piper handed her the mirror. "He'll be watching from the ship. Go to the ridge—"

"And flash him!" Annabeth's face reddened. "That came out wrong. But, yeah, good idea."

She ran to the edge of the ruins.

Piper pulled out a flask of nectar and gave Andy a sip. "Hang in there. You are not dying from a stupid body piercing."

Andy grinned weakly. "I've had better piercings." She raised a hand and gestured to her many ear piercings.

Jason laughed with a shake of his head and pressed the back of his hand to her head, feeling for a fever. Her skin, unfortunately, was hotter than it should be, but he forced a small smile onto his face.

"You defeated, like, two hundred enemies," Piper said. "You were scary amazing."

"You act like I did all of the work. Jay did the majority, you know."