Change of Plans (What If)

Prologue
Sweat flowed out of every single pore in his skin, and his knees trembled of the burden. It was far too heavy, too painful for a demigod to bear, and yet he was forced to carry it. They had tricked him into thinking that his beloved mother was suffering under it, and he believed them. How he regretted believing in her heartbreaking pleas, and voluntarily taking the weight of the sky on his shoulders. His hands ached, his muscles burning and his bones slowly cracking, but he couldn’t let go. The sound of footsteps entered his ears, and his bloodshot sea green eyes immediately caught the misty image of the figure. The one he used to call a friend. The figure smiled, seemingly happy with his suffering.

“Y-you monster…” The boy hissed, gritting his teeth in pain. The figure looked even more pleased, and laughed at his suffering. Letting out a blood chilling chuckle, he walked away, leaving the boy under the weight of the sky. A girl appeared in his thought, the one he loved, before the he felt the world melting into darkness.

“Annabeth! Open the door!” A voice yelled, banging on the locked wooden door. The girl ignored it and jumped straight onto her bed. Tears streamed down the face as she started to sob in regret. It should have been her. It should have been her the manticore killed. If only Percy hadn’t pushed her aside, and fell into the seemingly endless cliff with the manticore, she would’ve been dead. And not him, the boy she quietly loved. And now, she couldn’t do a thing to save him, because no prophecy had been made. Chiron had forbidden her from going.

A gush of wind blew from the open window, carrying a piece of paper from the wooden desk that fell on her pillow. A letter from Percy that she had received days ago. She gently opened it and saw his messy handwriting.

''Dear Annabeth, ''

''Don’t forget our plan to run away and hunt Luke down! ''

''-Percy ''

She cried harder, her pillow soaked of tears, and immediately an idea appeared in her mind. She raced towards her wardrobe and grabbed her blue backpack. She stuffed everything she could into it and slowly unlocked the door, looking around for any signs of the campers. Sighing in relief when she saw no one around, she raced for the entrance.

“Annabeth!” A voice yelled. Annabeth turned around, her eyes widened when she saw the girl.

“What are you doing here?” She whispered.

“Hey, you can’t go without the oracle.” Rachel smiled.

“You’re insane.” Annabeth laughed, and they walked towards the border together. Without them knowing, some pairs of eyes were watching their every move.

"Follow them."