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He's not going to make it," Annabeth said in a low voice.
"HE can hear you," Percy grumbled, struggling to get up. He pushed himself onto his elbows but after a moment on shaking arms, fell back with a grunt. Grover laid a hand on Percy's forehead.
"He's really warm," he said worriedly before turning back to Annabeth. "We just need to get to the river. A river worked last time."
"Do you see a river around here?" Annabeth demanded, gesturing angrily to the dense forest around them. She lowered her voice, turning away from where Percy lay at the foot of a tree trunk and pulling out their map and stabbing at it. "We are miles from the closest river," she hissed.
Percy pushed himself up again with effort. "We have to keep going."
"You need to rest," Grover said in a worried tone.
"I NEED to get to that river. I can make it."
Grover and Annabeth exchanged a look.
"Don't!" Percy snapped. "Don't look at each other like you have a secret. Or like you're already planning my funeral. The river's what? Four miles? Five?" Percy slowly struggled to his feet. "I can make that. Easy." He swayed a little and Grover grabbed his elbow to steady him.
"Let's go," Percy said with as much authority as he could muster. Grover hesitated then wrapped an arm around his waist as both boys gazed expectantly at Annabeth. After a long staring contest she huffed loudly and rolled her eyes but hoisted her pack as well as Percy's and fell in line behind them.
****
The quest had been going poorly, even before the attack. One thing after another had Percy doubting they were even going to make it to L.A. And then the dog had found them. Dog was maybe the wrong word. This was a hellhound, huge and black, with razor sharp claws and a giant mouth. Percy had thought that Cerberus was the only hellhound in Greek mythology but apparently he was wrong. At least this one had only one head.
Turns out the head hadn't even been the problem though. After a fierce fight, Annabeth threw her dagger at the creature just as it leapt for Grover. Percy pushed his best friend out of the way and the hellhound swiped at Percy, giant claws sinking into the flesh below his knee just before the blade found its mark and the beast turned to black shadow and melted back to the underworld.
And now here they were a few hours later, wandering through a thick forest, miles from any water, with Percy bleeding heavily and infection setting in. The pain was deep and throbbing, even worse than the chimera's sting. Probably because it was killing him much slower, Percy thought glumly. Annabeth had wrapped the wound well but with nothing to clean it and snacks taking precedence over antibiotics when they had packed their bags, the wound was quickly beginning to fester.
Percy had been able to limp along between his friends well enough until the past half hour (or at least well enough to convince them he was okay) when he had suddenly gotten overwhelmingly dizzy. Which led them to stopping for a while, arguing about stopping and setting off again.
Sitting for a bit had given them all a second wind but within a mile Percy was flagging again. When before he had been leaning on Annabeth and Grover, stumbling along between them, now they were doing most of the work to keep him upright. He was finding it increasingly difficult to raise his feet off the ground and kept tripping on roots and rocks. Annabeth and Grover were panting with exertion as they half-dragged him through the woods. And they were leaving a trail of blood behind them.
"How much further?" Grover grunted.
"Let me check," Annabeth said, slowing to a halt. She shifted her hold on Percy and pulled out the map. Grover shifted as well, trying to stretch his aching muscles. Percy was dangling between them, trembling from exhaustion and sweating profusely, his eyelids fluttering as he struggled to stay conscious.
"Still over two miles I think," Annabeth said with a frown. "We can't keep going like this. We need to rest." She glanced down at Percy's bandaged leg, stained red with blood. "And I need to redo that dressing."
Grover glanced anxiously around then jerked his head towards a rocky overhang. "We can make camp over there. Rest for a while."
Annabeth nodded and they both heaved Percy higher on their shoulders, causing him to groan and look around dazedly. "Wha...what's happening?" he slurred, trying to blink away his dizziness.
"We're stopping for a while," Annabeth said firmly, no room for argument in her tone. Percy knew when he was beat and simply nodded weakly as the three of them shuffled off the path. Annabeth and Grover gently lowered Percy to the ground, then flopped down beside him tiredly.
Annabeth allowed herself just a moment to catch her breath before she was rummaging in her pack for more bandages. Grover sat up too and hovered worriedly over Percy, now barely conscious.
When she had found what she needed, Annabeth knelt beside Percy, took a deep breath and slowly started unwinding the bandages, which were completely soaked through. As she got to the end of the strip, the fabric stuck to the jagged wounds, causing Percy to whimper in pain and clutch at Grover's arm. Annabeth hissed in a breath, muttering an apology as she peeled the last of it away to inspect the injury. It was still bleeding sluggishly, as well as oozing something yellow. The skin around it was inflamed, red streaks crawling up and down Percy's leg. She and Grover shared a tense look over his head.
"How's it look?" Percy asked through clenched teeth.
"Not that bad actually," said Grover quickly. "You know, I've seen way worse. In fact, this one time when the camp hosted the summer war games—"
"Grover," Percy said. "You're babbling." He looked at Annabeth. "That bad huh?"
Annabeth looked at the ground, avoiding his gaze. "You'll be fine," she said shortly, before grabbing fresh gauze and beginning to unwind it around her fingers.
****
"He is not going to be fine," Annabeth hissed at Grover where they stood a few yards away from a sleeping Percy. She glanced back at him, wincing as she took in his gray pallor, the sheen of sweat on his skin, the pained crinkle in his forehead as he dozed restlessly.
"We can't wait any longer Annabeth," said Grover, wringing his hands anxiously. "We have to get to the water."
Annabeth nodded, tucking the map away and striding back towards Percy. She knelt down and shook his shoulder gently. He didn't react so she shook him a little harder, then tapped him sharply on the cheek until his eyes cracked open. He looked blearily up at her, confusion in his unfocused gaze. He blinked slowly, as if struggling to recognize her. Then his eyes cleared, awareness dawning and his face relaxing as if to say, oh good, it's you.
"Time to go?" Percy asked, voice rough.
“Yeah,” Annabeth replied softly.
He gave her a small smile, causing her to lean back on her heels. He was looking up at her with such trust, such vulnerability—it made her uncomfortable. She cleared her throat, looking away as she got to her feet. She reached down and held out a hand, avoiding meeting his eye. Grover came up behind her and put his arms under Percy's shoulders and together they heaved him back to his feet. Percy swayed, eyes slipping closed as he fell backwards into Grover then he shook his head and steadied himself with the satyr's support. Annabeth realized she was still holding his hand and dropped it hurriedly. She slung the packs onto her back and stepped closer to Percy so he could put an arm over her shoulder. Grover took the other and they turned back towards the path.
"Ready?" Grover asked him. Percy coughed weakly then nodded, wincing as he put weight on his injured leg. Then he straightened his spine and lifted his head and the three friends set off again.
****
"We're so close Percy. Just a little bit further," Grover murmured. "You can do it Percy, come on." He kept up a breathless string of encouragement as they walked. "It'll all be okay once we get there. You'll see. We just need to get to the river."
Percy was flagging. Annabeth and Grover's worry a few hours ago felt unfounded compared to how poorly he was doing now. His breathing was ragged, pained breath hitching with every shuffling step. His feet were barely leaving the ground and his full weight was on his friends, slowing them down considerably. Annabeth was sweating profusely and Grover was breathing nearly as heavily as Percy as they shuffled along as best they could.
Then things got worse.
Percy's body suddenly sagged as it gave up the fight and he lost consciousness. Grover and Annabeth stumbled at the shift and Annabeth dropped to her knees with a startled cry, dragging the boys down with her, and barely catching Percy before his face hit the ground.
They sat there crumpled in the dirt, breathing heavily for a moment. Grover checked Percy's pulse anxiously, his eyes meeting Annabeth's over the blonde curls. He shook his head slightly, indicating it was bad. Annabeth groaned, hanging her head. This felt hopeless. They were going to fail--her very first quest, and they were going to fail.
Annabeth allowed herself about a minute of despair. Then she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and struggled back to her feet, hauling Percy's unconscious body with her with a grunt. Grover scrambled up beside her, supporting his friend on the other side.
"We can do this Grover," Annabeth said determinedly. "One foot in front of the other. We're almost there."
The two children struggled through the woods with their unconscious friend supported between them, his feet dragging behind him, his head bumping against Annabeth's shoulder with every labored step. Seeing him like this made her heart clench uncomfortably in her chest. She didn't like that feeling. Demigods died every day. Why should this feel any different? It was a tragedy, yes. But it was no big deal to her if this idiot of a forbidden child died. Right?
Suddenly Grover lifted his head, sniffing the air and rousing Annabeth from her introspection.
"I can smell the water!" Grover exclaimed breathlessly. Hope bloomed in Annabeth’s chest, fierce and hot.
"Let's switch positions," she said, her shoulders, neck and back screaming in pain. "I can’t keep this up anymore. And it might be faster."
They maneuvered Percy carefully, Grover grasping beneath his shoulders and Annabeth grabbing under his knees as they lifted him between them. The back of Percy's head bounced against Grover's chest as they took off, shuffling awkwardly but picking up the pace with renewed energy. After a few minutes they burst out of the line of trees and saw across a meadow the sun sparkling off the water of a winding river.
"There it is!" Grover yelled. Annabeth felt a huge wave of relief then glanced down at Percy and stilled. He looked dead already, she thought fearfully. He was white as a sheet and she couldn't actually tell if he was still breathing.
"Grover," Annabeth said urgently, inclining her head downwards. Grover took one look at Percy then with silent agreement they broke into an awkward run, heading for the river.
It felt like it took an eternity to cross the expanse of grass, the river getting tantalizingly closer and closer, the sun shining like jewels on the surface. Thankfully the water was wide and slow moving at the point they had come across and as they reached the bank they ran in without hesitation, water splashing up to their knees then their waists. They slowly lowered Percy into the water, arms wrapped tight around him and waited, breath held.
But nothing seemed to be happening. Percy didn't wake up. He didn't look any better.
"Maybe...we just need to give it a minute," Grover said, unsure.
"This has to work," Annabeth muttered. Then louder. "It has to!"
"Maybe we should pray?" Grover asked hesitatingly.
"My mother would never help a son of Poseidon," Annabeth scoffed bitterly.
"No, TO Poseidon."
Annabeth stared at Grover like he'd grown a second head. "My mother would kill me. It's practically blasphemy! She hates him!"
Grover just stared at her, hugging Percy's limp body to his chest. Annabeth growled angrily and closed her eyes. Grover closed his as well, then as one, they pressed down, slowly pushing Percy under the water. To an outside observer this would have looked crazy (and a lot like murder) but since they had recently discovered Percy could breathe underwater, full immersion seemed like the most logical next step to coincide with their prayers.
Annabeth's anxiety built as she pressed down on Percy's legs, pushing him down into the silty riverbed, the slow current fighting her, his body trying to bob back to the surface. This felt wrong in every way, the opposite of saving him. Worst of all, it didn't seem to be working. She looked at Grover, her own uncertainty mirrored in his eyes.
Then she felt something.
Percy's body gave a small jerk. Had she imagined it? No, there, it happened again. Then he thrashed under her hands. She let go and a moment later Percy burst up out of the water with a gasp, knocking Grover over. Percy stumbled backwards out of the river, panting and looking wildly around before falling onto his butt on the bank. Annabeth and Grover scrambled after him and Annabeth grabbed his leg, hurriedly unwrapping the red-soaked bandage from Percy's wound to find a sticky mess of blood and pus but beneath it smooth, healed skin. She sagged backwards in relief, tears springing to her eyes against her will. Grover's eyes were shining as well as he dove onto Percy, wrapping his arms around his friend and sending them both tumbling back into the river, heads dunking briefly under the water before they came up sputtering.
Percy glanced over at Annabeth and laughed as she rolled her eyes, fighting a smile. Then she surprised him by wading back into the river and throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Percy froze for a moment then sank gratefully into her hug. Grover splashed over and wrapped his arms around both of them nearly sending them all toppling back into the water.
Pulling away, Annabeth surreptitiously swiped at her eyes and cleared her throat.
“I guess you should thank your father, Percy. We prayed to him, can you believe it?”
Percy stared at her in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? I’m thanking YOU. You guys are the ones that bandaged my leg and dragged me through the forest and carried me to the river. You two saved my life.” He stared steadily at Annabeth, his voice dropping slightly. “It was you guys. Not my dad. My friends. Thank you.”
Annabeth shrugged and gave Percy a gentle shove, uncomfortable. Percy just laughed as Grover pulled him into another hug.
“Hey, we better get a move on if we’re gonna make it to LA in time to, ya know, save the world,” Percy said, extricating himself. He picked up Annabeth’s pack, holding it out to her. “Lead the way wise girl.”