Heartbreak

Annabeth POV

The parking garage shuddered before silence washed over the room. The whole building was vibrating, and it seemed like it was about to fall. Somehow, hordes of zombies got to the second floor (more so than the first floor).

I frantically turned toward the middle sector's entrance. I expected to see more survivors. Instead, five zombies rushed into the northern hallway.

"ANNABETH," Jason urged while pointing his gun.

I grabbed my knives before the fight ensued. Jason shot two zombies before they even reached us. I stabbed a female zombie before kicking another one toward Jason. He busted his gun against the zombie's temple. I whirled around roughly and hacked the head off of the final zombie.

This is bad news. If zombies are coming out of the middle sector, it means that we are running out of time. A terrible sensation wafted into my gut. I couldn't believe that I have to wait like this.

I hate waiting and not knowing what's going on.

I just hope that Percy is okay, and he'll come back soon.

"We're running out of time, Annabeth. I think that we have to start preparing the survivors for departure," Chiron instructed. His gaze lingered on the corpses on the ground. Almost everyone was waiting on the buses.

No more survivors were coming from within the hospital. the middle sector was now leaking out zombies as well.

"Chiron, I respect your judgment, but Percy and Thalia are still out there," I said quickly. 'We can't leave without them."

"Yeah. Many of our friends didn't come back. My sister is still in there somewhere. We are not leaving anytime soon," Jason said.

Just then, Hazel ran into the northern hallway from the garage. "We can't leave, Chiron. Please. My siblings didn't come back either. I know the odds are against it, but they're still alive. I can somehow feel it in my bones."

Hazel's pleading face was hard to refute, but Chiron is looking at the big picture. There's no way that everyone survived this attack. Moreover, we have about 200 individuals who are still alive waiting to get out of here.

I shook my head while staring at the middle sector's entrance.

I couldn't leave Percy behind even if it was the most logical thing to do. Who knows how many more zombies are on their way here?

"Percy is still out there. We can't leave," I affirmed.

"Annabeth, you are the rational one. The statistics state that they are most likely taken by zombies. However, our best guards are inside, so I believe they can be alive too," Chiron paused. "But, we have 200 helpless individuals who need us to lead them to safety. We can't wait forever, especially out of uncertainty."

"I get that, Chiron, but-"

"The building is also crumbling," Piper cut Jaason off. "I want them to be okay, Jason, but we're all going to die if we don't leave soon."

I stomped my foot in frustration. The reason I'm so infuriated is that Chiron and Piper were making sense. At most, there are only a few people still alive. Percy, Thalia, and Luke are amazing fighters. They can survive against the zombies. However, what if something wrong happened?

What if they were bitten? Or, what if the building collapsed on them? There were so many uncertainties that we can't account for.

A few more zombies grumbled out of the entrance.

Piper aand Hazel backed up and protected Chiron in his wheelchair. It was pretty easy for me and Jason to terminal the three zombies. They started stumbling out of the entrance at an increasing frequency.

Frank, Jason, and I took turns defending the parking garage. The Stolls and Katie were standing guard inside. Hazel and Piper were helping Chiron with situating all the survivors and loading our resources onto the buses. George will be driving one bus. Martha is driving another. A few civilians also volunteered to ride the vehicles as well.

The zombies kept infiltrating the north hallway. We're running out of time. For the safety of everyone, we'd have to leave soon.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," I whispered desperately.

Suddenly, a few more people ran out of the entrance. Jason was about to swing when Frank stopped him quickly. "Stop. They're not zombies," Frank shouted.

My gaze washed over the three individuals covered in dirt. Actually, it wasn't three people, it was four. Hestia coughed violently while clutching the baby against her chest. Estelle was crying and shrieking.

"Oh gods," I gasped.

I rushed forward and took Stella into my arms. A part of me was so scared that something happened to her. I hugged Percy's baby sister with all my might. I hugged her like how I would hug Percy if he was here.

Luke wiped his face while Will readjusted his gun. He fired into the middle sector's entrance and the growling stopped abruptly.

"There are too many zombies back there," Will exclaimed.

"Where's Bianca and Nico?" Hazel blurted out. "They, they were with you in the south sector. Why aren't they here?"

Hazel's eyes shook as she awaited an answer. Luke and Will simply looked at each other while my attention turned to the entrance. Since Stella came back, I was expecting Percy to be right behind the group. However, he never showed up.

"Where's Percy?" I asked boldly.

Hestia gently reached forward and touched my shaking arms. My embrace around Stella steadied while I gazed into her warm eyes. I already knew what she was about to tell me, but I just didn't want to hear it.

"Please."

Hestia shook her head sadly. Our attention flitted to Hazel who was crying into Frank's arms. Jason stalked back into the garage with his hands in fists. Piper quickly followed him. Luke came forward and took a deep breath. His face looked remorseful as he shook his head as well.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth. Percy wanted me to tell you that he wants you and/or Grover to look after Stella. Those were his last words to me," Luke answered.

"But-"

"It's the truth, Annabeth. The building collapsed between us, and Percy, Thalia, and the di Angelo siblings got stuck on the other side," Hestia answered.

"So what? He could still be alive. He could just be trapped," I tried desperately.

I clutched Stella tightly. To be honest, I wanted to cry just like she was. But, I didn't. I'm not going to cry in front of everyone. That's just not who I am. I'm can cry in front of a few people close to me. However, both Thalia and Percy weren't here right now.

Luke gently touched my arm before retracting his hand again. It was a brotherly touch more than anything else. Besides, Luke already assumed Percy's and my relationship.

"Annabeth, after the building collapsed, the last thing we saw was a zombie hunching over Percy's body. Percy was laying on his stomach, and the zombie was right on top of him. The cafeteria was littered with dozens of zombies," Luke explained.

Shock invaded my weakening body. I wanted to throw up and scream at the same time, but my body was frozen instead. My eyes were starting to sting.

Chiron quickly wheeled himself to me.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth, but we need to leave. There's nothing else that we can do. The zombies have taken over our camp and its inhabitants."

He first ordered Luke to drive one of the buses because he knew the route to our next destination. Then, Chiron welcomed Hestia again. I simply stared into Estelle's upset face. This couldn't be happening. The lump in my throat constricted my breathing, and a million emotions wracked my brain.

I pressed my forehead against Stella's small face. I blinked back my tears before walking to Will Solace.

"You think they're dead, don't you?" I asked quietly.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Will said. His eyes were bloodshot since he was close to Nico as well. "I know that you and Percy were quite close. Plus, Thalia was your best friend."

"You didn't answer my question," I repeated.

"The ceiling collapsed, and they were surrounded by zombies. Hestia and Luke saw the whole thing go down."

I nodded before turning away from my friend. I couldn't quite talk to anyone right now. The prospect of losing Percy and Thalia hurt too much. I refocused my attention on the task at hand in order to distract myself.

I took a shallow breath before walking back to the parking garage. Vehicles packed the large room, but I stared at the four buses near the sliding door. Voices were permeating around the buses, and everyone was anxious to leave this place. It was a conflicting situation. No one wanted to leave camp, but we are now in need of a new home now.

I entered the first bus with Stella in my arms. She was leaning her small head against my shoulder in exhaustion. She had cried so much already, and she was probably scared. Not to mention, she was missing her amazing older brother.

"I'm missing him too, Stella. So much," I murmured.

Jason was sitting in the first seat with Piper. Piper was gently stroking Jason's left shoulder as he gazed out of the window. He lost his sister today.

My gaze wandered to Grover and Juniper sitting a few seats back. I walked through the overly crowded bus. Everyone was sitting at least two to a seat. Grover's face washed in relief when he saw Stella with me. Grover and Juniper happily took the baby into their arms, and Juniper already had some food ready.

"I'm so grateful she's okay. Where's Percy?" Grover asked above the noise.

My eyes hook delicately as my gaze flitted away. My shallow breath was enough of an answer. Grover's face fell as water bristled in his eyes. "We'll be leaving soon," I informed him. "Cn you guys keep her safe for now?"

"Of course, Annabeth. I-"

Grover faltered off while choking on his words. Juniper held the baby in her lap while wrapping her arms around her fiance.

I quickly walked away from them. Luke sat in the driver's seat of this bus, and he waited for me to come to the door again. "Are you okay, Annabeth?"

"Chiron wants me and the Stolls to open the garage doors," I answered.

I walked out of the bus. The inner garage doors were rattling against the back walls. everyone came back from the northern wall because too many zombies were infiltrating the north side. We bolted the interior doors.

George and Martha fired their buses. The engines roared to life. Hopefully, a full tank of gas will be enough to make the whole trip. Luke's school bus also roared to life. The final bus was already turned on, and it would be the first bus out of the museum. It was also the strongest bus, driven by another civilian. We need the largest, strongest bus first to barrel through the zombies outside.

Chiron was waiting with the Stolls for me to arrive. The zombies would break into the parking garage very soon. Whether we wanted to or not, we have to leave soon.

"We can open the garage doors," the Stolls said simultaneously.

"Then, I'll help Chiron into the first bus," I expressed. The back door of the strong bus was open, so I pushed Chiron up the steep slope. My raggedy breath wafted against the top of Chiron's head, but I didn't care.

I'm trying so hard not to think of Percy, but I'm failing. For the first time, I'm truly failing at something. It seemed fitting that it was about Percy.

A few stray tears escaped my eyes as I closed the bus's back door.

Chiron was situated near the back of the bus, and I sat in one of the backseats with Katie. We are ready to leave.

Chiron held my hand as sunlight shone through the opening garage doors. A giant mod of zombies were growling in front of us. The bus roared to life and barreled through the zombies and drove into the city. The buildings of New York City blurred as our camp's survival buses raced through the streets.

I looked behind me at the museum. I have lived there for the past several months. I knew I'd have to leave eventually, but I never thought I'd leave people I love behind.

I love my boyfriend, Percy, and my best friend, Thalia.

The museum faded into the background, but the memories of Percy only resurfaced more and more. I sniffled as the dam finally broke. I couldn't stop myself from crying any longer. My head rested on Chiron's shoulder as the storm brewed.

I've felt heartbreak before but never like this.