Sacrifice

Percy POV

My gaze wandered between Luke and the group of zombies. The female zombie in the middle had blonde hair that was tainted light red due to blood and sunlight. She was of average height with a stout personality. The zombie walked with a heavy leftward limp.

While the zombie features masked her personality, I could see the similarity between Luke and the zombie in front of me. The similarities were mild, but they were present.

"Luke, she isn't your mother. She's a zombie," Annabeth said quietly.

"She suffered from schizophrenia. As soon as the zombie apocalypse hit, I ran away for my own survival. I left her thinking it would be too difficult to survive with her," Luke explained. His eyes held so many raw emotions.

"The past is the past. We have to leave."

"Yeah, we all made decisions during the apocalypse that we regret. We've all done things that led to people getting killed out of circumstance," I expressed.

Luke shook his head while staring at his zombified mother.

They were only a few feet away. The male zombies rushed past the female and stumbled toward us. I fired my gun and one of them dropped. Annabeth launched her knife at the other zombie to buy us some more time.

More zombies were starting to flood in from the other streets. They were running into our street from the corners of the block. This isn't going to end well if we don't leave now.

I grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her back.

Luke wasn't budging though. His gaze was frozen on his mother. I couldn't tell what was going on in his head. Hell, if I saw my mother, I probably wouldn't be responsive either. Annabeth's hand felt warm in mine, and I didn't want to lose her again.

"Wise Girl, you have to get back to the vehicle. We have to go," I said quickly.

"But, Luke-"

"He isn't budging. I'm thinking about you right now; then, I'll focus on Luke. Please, I can't think with all these zombies rushing toward you."

I whirled around and jabbed my gun against another zombie. Then, I ducked under another zombie and kicked it in the leg. The zombie crumbled to the ground while I stomped on its head. Body fluid splattered over my black shoes.

Annabeth stared at Luke once again before rushing back. Her responsibilities stretch beyond Luke's breakdown. As a leader, she needs to help the others and the camp. She ordered the vehicles behind us to bypass Luke's car and keep moving. Her strong voice resonated through the street. The other cars and trucks slowly but surely started driving again.

I fought against the zombie swarming around us. Luke's mother had fallen due to the zombie horde pushing at each other.

Luke was simply staring at his mom on the ground.

He wasn't moving or fighting. I was standing guard fighting for both of our survival. About a dozen zombies surrounded us, and more were running into the street.

Fortunately, the others were starting to drive through the street. They barreled through the populations of zombies. I watched as George drove his truck past me, and Annabeth took my white Tesla. I knew she would like the Tesla.

Ugh, Percy. That is not the right thought to be having right now.

I grabbed Luke's sleeve. "HEY LUKE," I shouted. "We have to get going. We are wasting too much time, and a lot of zombies are swarming around us."

"I can't move. I can't leave her again," Luke whispered.

I dropped my empty gun and grabbed a steel baseball bat from Luke's car. I swung at the zombies around us. This seemed endless. I can't fight our way through dozens of zombies on my own. The best option is to leave the area.

I pushed Luke toward the car, trying to get him in the car. The other vehicles and trucks successfully left the port. They barrelled through a lot of zombies, which brought me and Luke some more time. However, the zombies were already starting to recover. Since Luke and I were the only humans left here, they were coming at us.

"STOP. LET GO OF ME," Luke shouted.

It was in this situation that I realized Luke may not be as mentally stable as he comes off.

He's an excellent leader, and he cares about the camp. He fights on the camp's behalf against anything that comes his way. From Luke's perspective, his fight is to create a change in this world. However, Luke is also messed up in teh head due to his upbringing.

I stared at Luke before looking at the staggering zombies.

I could only think of one thing to do, and he wasn't going to like it. I shoved Luke behind the car to protect him, but his gaze was still fixed on his mother.

I grabbed a rifle from his car and took aim.

I use bats and knives a lot because my aim isn't that great. However, I didn't miss my target today. The bullet soared through the air and made its mark.

Luke's zombie mother crumbled to the ground. Its head splattered for final death.

Luke gasped horribly before turning toward me. Anger boiled on his face while his blue eyes turned bloodshot. "You killed her," he hissed. "You shot my mother and killed her."

"She was already dead," I affirmed calmly. "Luke, she's gone."

Luke rushed forward and tackled me to the ground. His hand enclosed into a fist before colliding with my jaw. Gosh, that's going to leave a bruise.

"HEY, SNAP OUT OF IT," I shouted.

I kicked my legs up and rolled us to the side. My steel baseball bat swirled in a circle as I dropped several zombies that had come at me. Luke's arm suddenly wrapped around my neck. My body crumbled as his grip tightened around my throat.

I frantically tapped aand clawed at Luke's arm.

"This isn't you," I croaked.

My brain started to get musty as the air escaped my lungs. I tried gasping for air, but there was no breath reaching my chest. I choked on my own neck as he squeezed my neck. "You killed my mother," he shouted.

My eyes burned with tears, and I officially wasn't breathing anymore.

"Why did you kill her?" Luke cried again. "You're a murderer. You killed her before we could even reconnect."

"She... wasn't... She was,...dead," I tried saying.

No words came out of my mouth. I could see distant zombies rushing toward us again. Luke's car was now several feet away. I felt the life draining from my body, and I knew I had to think fast. Luke wasn't being himself. He was having an episode.

My arm jabbed backward and my rifle banged against Luke's shin.

He screamed in pain, which loosened his grip. I stumbled out of his hold. I couldn't even catch my breath or absorb the satisfaction though. I swung my rife at the zombies around me, trying to distance myself from them.

I fell to the floor while dragging my knees. I dropped my rifle in the process. My breath came out in raggedy coughs before I climbed to my feet again and turned to Luke.

Luke's eyes were trained on me before they looked away.

"I'm sorry," he whispered

Then, Luke ran at me with open arms. However, he didn't come at me. Instead, he ran straight past me and collided with a dozen close zombies. They were only about five feet behind me. They growled while tearing at Luke's body and biting into his skin.

I hadn't been paying attention, considering I was almost choked to death. If it weren't for him, the zombies would've had me.

"LUKE," I shouted. "NO."

The zombies flood around him and tore at him. I ran past the group and entered the driver's seat of Luke's car. I saw them bite him. It's over.

I closed and locked all the doors and windows. The zombies scratched at the metal while I caught my breath in the car. The leather seat felt so firm as I stared out the window. I saw Luke rise from the ground.

My veins were on fire. My heart hammered as I watched him.

His eyes were pure black and blood spurted from his mouth. His mouth opened awkwardly like he was chewing something (maybe, his own blood or another zombie's flesh). I watched as he raised the rifle I had dropped.

I pumped the car's engine as Luke's shot himself in the head.

Luke knew it was over, so he ended his life. Of course, through this altercation, he had also almost killed me as well.

In the end, Luke saved me though.

And, we lost him.

***

"I'm sorry, Wise Girl." I hugged her tightly while her body pressed against mine. My one hand was wrapped around her back while the other was pressing against her head. I brushed her hair before pulling her closer to me. My lips planted a kiss on top of her head.

"How could this happen?" Annabeth cried.

She broke free of my hold before looking at me again. His fingers grazed the bright red bruises on my neck. I winced painfully and retracted from her touch.

The emotions burned my eyes. Luke died right in front of me. Just like our entire relationship, our last exchange was a conflicting one. He had a breakdown after seeing his mother as a zombie. He went crazy and almost killed me.

Then, he killed himself.

"I'm sorry too, Seaweed Brain. I'm glad you're okay though," Annabeth said. She gently put her arms around me while leaning into my embrace again.

I happily accepted her hug. My throat felt so tight, and I could barely speak. My voice was so raspy and broken. However, my emotions were eating at me more than the physical pain. We lost a great asset to our team.

The other guards patted my shoulder while walking into the hotel. After a long day and one death, everyone just wanted to eat and call it a night.

In a panic, Thalia ran in front of me.

Annabeht aand Thalia hugged out the loss of their friend. Luke was very close to Thalai, and they were closer in age too than the rest of us. Plus, Luke was like an older brother figure to Annabeth. They were all quite close, and I felt horrible for what they were dealing with.

I wondered if there was anything else I could've done. Maybe, if I-

"It wasn't your fault, Percy," Thalia said boldly.

"This didn't come out of the blue. It's not a total surprise. Luke has always been a wildcard; he's always been fragile. Seeing his mother sent him over the edge."

Her voice rang out and hushed the entire room. The main lobby only had guards, a few helping civilians, and Chiron.

Everyone dipped their heads out of respect.

Tears sparkled in my eyes. Every breath I took sent a shiver of pain through my neck. Every movement made me wince. I felt like crumbling to the ground. I had almost died today, and Luke sacrificed himself for my survival.

Of course, he was also the reason we were put in that situation.

Annabeth turned to me again and held my hand. She kissed the top of it. She knew me well enough to not say anything right now. Wise Girl is going to let me have my feelings, but she'll also be there for me if I need it.

Besides, I have to be strong for her. Annabeth lost a pseudo-brother today.

"Percy," she acknowledged quietly.

"I'll be okay, Wise Girl. I'm just worried about you. I know that you, Thalia, and Luke were close, and this is going to disrupt so much. I just-"

"Seaweed Brain, just go see your sister, okay?" she asked softly. "I assure you that I'll be okay, but you're not okay."

"Just help yourself get better right now," Annabeth instructed.

Get better. I scratched my throat on my way to Estelle. Nothing felt like it would ever get better. However, just Annabeth's presence helped ease the pain.

Meanwhile, Stella's presence calmed me down.

Annabeth really does understand me in a way different from anyone else She knew exactly what to do and say to make me feel connected to this world. Rather than succumb to emotions and darkness, she acts as an anchor in my life

And, I need that.