Confused

Annabeth POV

The body sunk into the grimy Hudson River.

I didn't have time to see if he resurfaced or not. I didn't have time to even double-check if he was human or not. The zombies swarmed me from all sides. I let go of the railing and slashed my way through the crowd of zombies.

The jeep's engine was roaring with life. The group was waiting for me. Luke was bashing a few zombies with a metal baseball bat. He was trying to clear a way for me. I appreciated his help, but I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that he possibly just killed a man.

That zombie wasn't like the others. He was NOT a zombie.

It had to be a person.

"ANNABETH, Come on," Luke Castellan shouted.

He swung at another fat zombie before shoving him into a group of them to his right. I slashed at a nearby zombie before launching myself into the jeep's trunk. Luke followed just as the jeep started cruising.

Beckendorf was shooting at any zombie that came too close. However, the faster we drove, the more we lost the zombies. Leo was having too much fun steamrolling the undead.

That's right. Leo Valdez is still alive. He stumbled upon our camp a few weeks after I joined. I was surveying the perimeter traps that Charles had set when he drove up in a jeep. The museum was maintaining a radio broadcast of its own, and Leo heard it. He came to the camp seeking refuge, and he quickly became a valuable asset.

I sat in the trunk next to some canned foods. We raided an entire grocery store today, and we filed as much stuff onto the jeep as possible.

Charles and Silena were also sitting now. Jason was in the passenger seat with Leo. Luke was standing and watching the bridge of zombies with a determined expression. Before long, we crossed the bridge and entered Manhattan. The streets of Manhattan are always overflowed with zombies. After all, New York City is one of the most populated cities in the world. The major cities are dangerous to be in.

However, the major cities also have the most resources. There were so many restaurants and stores that we could raid for resources.

The zombies are a nuisance though.

My mind wandered back to the 'zombie.' That man was not a zombie. There was life in his beautiful sea-green eyes. Furthermore, he had grabbed my wrist for several seconds, but he made no motion to bite.

No, that was a human being in zombie disguise. If I have to guess, he bloodied himself with zombies' guts to cross the bridge.

I'm so confused right now.

This could easily be my mind playing tricks. Maybe, he is a zombie, who's just very slow. Yet, he fought them beside me. Ugh, what the hell is going on?

Either way, Luke shot him to save me. Of course, from a distance, Luke probably thought he was a zombie. Well, maybe, he is a zombie, and I'm just being paranoid.

I shook my head before standing up again. The zombies were lazily chasing our jeep around the streets, but Leo was driving pretty fast. Zombies are quite slow, so they weren't even coming near us.

"Luke, what are you thinking?" I asked.

"You put yourself in some real danger, Annabeth. Why would you leave yourself vulnerable on the bridge like that?" he said angrily. Luke cared about me, and that's why he's angry.

"I thought I saw something. It won't happen again," I shrugged.

"It better not happen again. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you," he expressed quietly. His jaw was set with tension.

Something fluttered in my stomach, but I ignored it.

"You shouldn't get attached to people," I whispered. The wind ruffled my hair as Leo turned a corner. We were now driving through central park. In a few minutes, we would reach our destination: the metropolitan museum of art.

That's where we set up a survival camp for about 300 people.

"It's hard not to be attached to you, Annie. I care about you, and it would hurt me if something were to happen to you," Luke said firmly. I didn't know how to respond. He was talking so passionately, yet his words only dazed me.

We live in hell all the time. There's no space for romantic feelings. I refused to go down that avenue. Love makes you weak and vulnerable, and that won't work right now.

I left Luke to his thoughts and returned to Charles and Silena. They were in a committed relationship. While I don't believe in feelings, I'm not going to shy other people from them. I believe they are very happy together.

"We're finally here," Silena exclaimed. They both stood up excitedly as the museum came into view. We were driving to the back entrance.

Large wood and steel spikes were jutting out of the ground. Beckendorf and Leo had set up a perimeter of traps around the camp. Zombies aren't stupid. They don't go around the traps; instead, they walk directly into the spikes and impale themselves. Then, every morning, the guards on shift go and stab their skulls to silence them.

The system works quite well, and it did a great job of protecting our museum.

Leo stopped the truck a few yards from the spikes. Slowly, the back garage door of the museum started sliding up. Several vehicles were inside.

More importantly, the people ran out toward us. Malcolm, Clarisse, and a few others helped move the traps to give us a drivable entry. The other soldiers whacked at any zombie that tried to come close. In a minute, we were inside, and the perimeter was sealed again.

"WOAH. Looks like the jeep took a beating," Clarisse shouted.

"We had a flat tire on the bridge, which is the worst place to have a flat tire. However, we managed to pull through," Luke explained.

"In doing so, we managed to get twinkies," Leo cheered. "Everyone loves twinkies."

The garage door closed behind us. The museum is a huge facility. We were in the garage room, which spanned half a football field. Several trucks, cars, and buses were parked inside. Dim lights illuminated the room and its people.

We all worked together to unload the jeep.

"I'm so glad that you're okay," Piper said to her boyfriend. Jason and she shared a long kiss in front of everyone.

"AHEM," I cleared my throat, forcing them back to work.

"At least, the raid was a success," a booming voice said. Chiron wheeled himself toward us from the hallway. The garage is just the back part of the museum. The real camp is inside. Chiron must've come from there after hearing of our return.

"I suggest that the people on the raid go inside and rest. The other guards can handle the unpacking. You all must've had a long day," Chiron suggested.

Leo didn't think twice. He cheered while running into the museum. I chuckled while walking toward Chiron. I had to look down at his bearded face since he was sitting in a wheelchair. Chiron was at the museum when the zombie apocalypse hit. He worked as head of security. Right off the bat, he bolted the doors and windows on all sides. They only started with 50 people. Some died while others survived. Regardless, the camp has now grown to about 300 survivors.

Chiron created a mini-society here.

"Thanks, Chiron," I expressed. He nodded in a supervisor-like manner.

"Take advantage of the break, Annie," Thalia advised. She strolled next to me and brushed my arm in support.

"Yeah, we'll do the heavy lifting," Connor Stroll whined. Travis laughed along with his brother as Katie scolded them both for being dumb. Nico, Bianca, and a few other guards were helping them with unloading the merchandise from the jeep.

"Everyone has to pitch in," I said firmly. "We brought everything here. The least ya'll can do is bring it inside."

"Yeah. You tell them, Annabeth," Jason exclaimed.

Finally, we left the group to go inside. Luke had already disappeared. Silena and Charles went to the north sector to freshen up. The north sectors, which take about a third of the museum, are designated as living quarters. Several hallways of intricate rooms were placed. Normally, they are exhibits in the museum. We altered the exhibits to become dorm rooms.

The middle sector is where we have some job sections. There's a large cafeteria with a food cafe. Some people here act as chefs and prepare the food. There's also a security and free-space section. An infirmary is also in the middle sector.

The south sector is private. Only authorized personal like myself can go there. It's private for a very good reason.

Jason and I walked through a hallway full of paintings.

"Where are you going, Annabeth?" he asked.

"I want to go say hi to my brothers. They would usually be in the middle sector's game room. That's where I'm headed," I answered.

"Cool. I'm going to the cafeteria. Hopefully, Grover and Juniper have some leftover burritos from lunch," he retorted. I doubted that there was leftover food. The cooks make sure to prepare and serve food adequately. However, there's no hard in trying.

"You might as well just wait for dinner," I advised. Dinner would be served in an hour or two. We had come back pretty late.

Jason and I parted ways at the end of the hallway. He went left toward the cafeteria while I went right to the other exhibits in the museum. I passed through a history exhibit before entering an ancient artwork exhibit. There's a medium-sized room at the end of the exhibit where the boys probably were.

They always come here near the end of the day. "Hey boys, I'm back in case you guys were worried," I exclaimed.

The boys were sitting in front of a tv. The generator and solar power system only operated the necessities of the museum. This includes the heating system during the winter, some security electronics, the kitchen, and bathroom facilities. Everything else is pretty dark in the museum. However, there's a tv here that got operated by the generator.

The kids got lucky about that. Sure, they could only watch stuff that's in the museum's system, but it's better than nothing.

"Annabeth, thank goodness," Matthew and Bobby cheered.

The ten-year-olds rushed toward me and engulfed me in a hug. Somehow, they seemed older than they did yesterday. The world that we live in forces people to grow up quickly.

That's how we all survive.

We have about a dozen kids at the camp. Most of them are older than 8 years old. The youngest people at the camp are a five-year-old boy named Tyson and a six-year-old girl known as Elle. They got along well as the youngest kids here.

"All right, boys, I'm going to freshen up. However, I just wanted to see you guys after coming back. Make sure, you both come to dinner on time," I reprimanded.

My brothers tend to get lost in the museum's exhibits. They always find new things to analyze. It's probably because my dad used to be a professor. He loved museums, and that passion transferred to his sons.

I walked away from the exhibit and walked toward the east sector. As mentioned, the east sector is where the private bedrooms and bathrooms are located.

I ran into Rachel on my way there.

"Sorry, Rachel. I was rushing to get a shower. I didn't see you," I said.

"No, it's my fault, Annabeth. Um, how was the raid? I'm assuming that everything went fine since you all returned," Rachel greeted happily.

"Of course. We all made it back, and we bought stuff with us."

"Awesome," she cheered.

That's the thing about Rachel. She's always in a good mood, and it brings smiles to everyone's faces. Rachel is the de facto therapist at camp. She always talks to people positively and makes them feel better.

You need someone like Rachel in a zombie apocalypse. She also uses the museum's resources to pull activities for the survivors (for example, painting). So many of the famous art pieces have been painted over by the group members.

It's fun though. Hobbies give everyone something to do.

I walked into my bedroom in the east sector. I choose an architecture exhibit on purpose. The room was small, and it housed a replica of the Athena Parthenos. The walls were lined with different paintings and schematics of the greek structure.

I like my room a lot. I grabbed some clothes before heading to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. Beckendorf and Chiron artificially split the large bathroom into two halves. The women are on one side, and the men are on the other.

In a zombie apocalypse, we have time to set things up.

Everyone at camp tries to work together to set up a crude civilization and organization. I'm one of the leaders at camp. People listen to the guards because we protect the facility.

I was hesitant about living here at first. However, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. I created lasting friendships here, and my brothers get to live (somewhat) generally with other people around.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur.

I showered, ate in the cafeteria, hung out with Thalia and Piper, and read a little bit in my room. Overall, the day was hectic, but we got through it. Every day is like that. There's always something happening. It's always a fight for survival.

But, at least, we live safely here.

As I lay in my bed, I stared at the marble ceiling. The museum and its exhibits are beautiful, and I'm so grateful that it has sheltered us.

I sighed before closing my eyes.

Just as sleep crept within me, an image popped into my head.

That young man was not a zombie. His sea-green eyes glowed with life. I still feel his warm grip against my wrist. He saved me today. We fought together. He is human.

I couldn't get him out of my mind.

I know it's stupid and my chances are low, but I hope he's still alive. I hope that I can see him again. Someday.