Falling Alone

Prologue

(Annabeth's pov)

The pit shook. Percy was the only thing keeping her from falling. He was straining to hold on to a ledge the size of a bookshelf.

"It's ok." She whispered only hoping that he would hear her. "Let me go."

Percy looked down, a fierce determination in his eyes. "Never."

"Guys." A voice called. She strained to see who it was. Jason. He was coming to save them.

Just as Percy slipped Jason grabbed his hand groaning as they jolted down.

Jason struggled using both the winds and his arm to try and pull them up but he was no match for the force of the underworld.

He wouldn't be able to hold on. Not to both of them.

Annabeth shifted. If he could only save one of them, she knew who it had to be. "I love you." If there was one last thing she had to say to him it was this. And she let go.

"Catch her." What?

Before she could process what he had said, she was in the air. A clean snip and the silk tying her down was gone. What had happened?

A pair of arms lifted her up and the last thing she saw was a gleam of gold and a pair of sea green eyes being engulfed by darkness.

No. This wasn't right. It was her that was supposed to fall. Not him. How could this change of events have happened so quickly?

"Let me go." She struggled against whoever was holding her. "Let me go!"

"Annabeth stop." It was Jason. Of course it was. "You're going to make us both fall."

"I don't care." She thrashed, scratching and kicking. She didn't acknowledge when Jason let out a yell of pain when she kneed him in the groin. The only thing that mattered was Percy.

With a burst of speed, they shot out of the pit. It must have been hard to not give into the pull of Tartarus and she certainly wasn't making it any easier for him.

"No!" She hit Jason. "Let me go!" He held her and he started flying up, straining to not give in to the pull of tartarus. She wasn't making it any easier for him. "Drop me." She pleaded hitting him again. "Please." Her voice broke at the end. She couldn't lose Percy. Not again.

He crashed onto the deck of the argo, clearly exhausted. Annabeth tried to run off the side but her ankle was still wounded giving Piper plenty of time to try and stop her. "Get out of my way." She hissed. Why was Piper trying to stop her from getting to Percy? Didn't she care about him?

"You're in no condition to go." She said trying to get her to calm down. "Please, just-"

Annabeth leapt at her trying to rake her nails down Piper's face. "Let me go!" She felt hands grabbing her as she writhed trying to escape. "None of you even care!" she shrieked. "Let me go!"

"Go to sleep." Piper said lacing charmspeak into her words. She struggled harder and a sharp spear of pain shot through her ankle. "Go to sleep."

Piper's voice seemed to engulf her completely. "No... Percy." Her world faded to black.