Lost Memories

The Sea of Monsters Doesn't Only Have Bad Things

We stumbled down the stairs, running at full speed towards the exit. Annabeth was bouncing in my arms, groaning as each movement jostled her leg, but I knew she was tough enough to handle the pain a little longer. Piper ran ahead of us, leading the way.

We were about to head back to the ship the way we'd come when a dozen empousai appeared in our path, forcing us to go the other way. We ran past the building we'd just come from and ducked into the last intact building.

I pushed open the first door I saw with my back and gently set Annabeth down. Piper ran in behind me and I slammed the door shut behind her. I leaned against it, hoping we would be able to hide for a little bit.

"We should be all right here for a least a minute or two. It'll give us some time to figure out a way back to the ship," I said, kneeling next to Annabeth. "Here," I handed her a square of ambrosia.

Annabeth shoved the entire thing into her mouth, sighing with relief. The minor cuts and bruises began fading, but it would take at least a few hours for her leg to heal. "I know you have questions and we do have answers, but there will be a time to talk about it later," I told her. "Right now we need to get back to the ship safely and get out of the Sea of Monsters. Preferably after I kill Circe."

Annabeth nodded, clutching her leg. "Fine. Where's your ship?"

"It's at the dock," Piper said, sitting next to Annabeth and holding her hand. "Leo and this girl Reyna are waiting for us."

I looked out the window on the other side of the room, seeing the empousai pass us by. They seemed to have moved on to the next building. "Yeah, and we need to get going as soon as possible. The longer we stay here, the more dangerous this place gets."

"I know the best way back to the dock, I saw a shortcut earlier," Piper said.

"Good," I said, leaning down and hefting Annabeth into my arms again. "On my mark, we rush out. You lead the way. Once we get to the dock, you get Annabeth onto the boat while I hold off Circe and any monsters she brings with us."

Piper stood with her handle on the door, waiting for my signal. I glanced out the window and couldn't see any empousai, so I nodded at Piper. She whipped open the door and raced out—I was hot on her heels. Even with Annabeth in my arms, I was able to keep up with her. All the walking around in Roman armor and carrying heavy weapons had paid off.

I didn't pay much attention to what we passed as we ran through the island, except to watch for Circe's minions. I heard hissing behind us and knew that we were being followed, but we kept running.

An empousai jumped in front of Piper, sending her screeching to a halt. I almost ran into her, but I managed to stop in time. I was about to put Annabeth down to take care of the monster, but Piper pulled out her knife and killed her with one strike. I grinned, impressed, before saying, "Good job, now keep moving."

We kept running, weaving through the buildings to cover the distance faster. I could feel Circe's magic behind us and guessed that she along with her empousai were following us.

Finally, we made it to the dock. Leo and Reyna were leaning over the side, gesturing for us to hurry. They both looked relieved to see Annabeth in my arms. They tossed down a rope ladder, but I wouldn't be able to climb it while holding Annabeth. Plus, I could tell Circe was catching up to us and we were still about fifty feet away from the boat.

"Go ahead, I'll hold them off," I told Piper and she stopped, coming back to me.

I gently set Annabeth on her good foot and Piper slipped Annabeth's arm over her shoulder. They slowly began hobbling towards the ship.