Annabeth's POV

"Is there any chance he'll wake up before the antidote won't work any more?"

Will avoided my eyes. "I can't say there is."

We worked on keeping Percy in a stable position for over an hour. The day was nearing to a close, already after nine o'clock. If Percy didn't wake up within the next three hours, he would be stuck as a werewolf for the rest of his immortal life. I didn't know how to administer this cure I had heard so little about, nor did Will. No one could save him except himself.

When there was nothing else to do, Will dumped one last bucket of water over Percy's still body and turned to me. His eyes held all the seriousness of a doctor about to announce a patient's death to their loved ones. "Annabeth, I think the rest of camp deserves to know what's going on."

"Okay, then, go ahead and tell them. I'll wait for you here," I said, somewhat dismissively.

Will didn't move. "I think you need to come with me."

"What, why?" I demanded. "Why can't I wait here?" I knew I sounded like a whiny child, but I didn't care at the moment.

"They deserve to hear it from you, Annabeth. You've been hiding away from everyone since you got back to camp. Don't think people haven't noticed, because everyone has."

I looked away from Will, letting my eyes flit back to the un-moving form of my werewolf boyfriend. "... Fine. But we have to hurry back, okay, Will?" I bit my lip. "I don't want to leave him alone for too long."

Will nodded, managing a small smile for my sake. "Okay. His position is stable, so if we're gone for only five minutes at most, he should be perfectly fine."

Wordlessly, I stood and followed Will from the infirmary. Having just walked through the doors, we didn't hear the monitor begin to beep wildly.

Percy's POV

I was shocked when the darkness started to recede. I thought that I had been awake for the last time and that I'd never see the light of day again. Therefore, when I regained consciousness in another world of pain, I was understandably surprised.

Where am I? I couldn't help but wonder. Last thing I could remember was... Leaving Hestia and Artemis and walking towards Camp Half Blood. Had I made it? Or was I passed out somewhere outside camp? Had the leftover pain just been too much for me to handle?

I peeled back my eyes to catch a glimpse of the world around me. After I was blinded by an extremely bright light, I was able to look around.

I was laying on some kind of bed in a white-walled room. Was I in the camp infirmary? How'd I get here? I had no answer to that, but I did know I was definitely in Camp Half Blood's infirmary.

Trying to sit up in bed, I gained another key piece of information. I was still in the wolf form.

Shit, I swore internally. I had to get the antidote into my system before it was too late. I knew I only had a few hours before the effects were irreversible, and that was hoping that my window of time hadn't already passed.

Oh gods, if I was too late...

I was able to look around the room, taking into account the fact that I was somehow in the Camp Half Blood infirmary. I would have to find out how I got here later. There was no one else in the room or nearby area, that I could tell, so I was forced to rely on myself.

There was a clock on the wall. I squinted, barely making out the numbers since it was so far away. Through slightly blurry eyesight, I could make out that it was about ten o'clock. Maybe a little after, but it was pretty close.

Ten o'clock. But what day was it? How could I know how long I was sleeping? I couldn't.

There was no way to be sure that I hadn't missed my window of time.

I just had to try. If I was too late, this could kill me. Even if I wasn't too late, I could still end up in a burial shroud. But I had to try. I wouldn't be able to look Annabeth in the eye and tell her I just my humanity slip away from me.

Painfully, I lifted my aching body off the thin hospital mattress I had been laying on. I needed to switch forms in order to get the ingredients to this antidote. They were in my human jacket, something I didn't have access to as a wolf.

This final transformation was the hardest I had ever tried to do. My heart was burning and I could feel my body heating up as I attempted to concentrate on my emotions. My fear, my anxiety, my utter love for Annabeth. With much difficulty, I was able to transition back to my human form, hopefully for the last time.

As I laid on the bed, exhausted and burning up, my left hand weaved into my pocket, digging out the vial of blood and the jagged, yellow tooth. Panting, I heaved myself into a sitting position, peeling off my jacket and shirt until I was sitting there half-naked. Then I grasped the tooth tightly in my hand, dipping it into the vial of blood until it was thoroughly coated in the thick substance.

Taking a deep breath to steady my hands and calm my racing heart, I aligned the bloodied tooth above the small of my back, where my Achilles heel used to be and where the wolf had ripped up my back. I exhaled slowly and right before I ran out of breath, I drove the jagged tooth through my skin.

The pain that erupted from the wound was unbelievable. It was worse than anything else I had ever endured. More painful than swimming in the Styx. More strenuous than holding up the sky. More traumatic than any quest I had ever lived to tell about.

Letting the haze that came with a wound swallow me up, I fell face-first onto the hospital bed, my head hanging off at the end where my feet usually lay. The tooth remained buried in my body as I twitched and convulsed alone in the Camp Half Blood infirmary. I thought it was ironic that for once, I was getting my injuries in the infirmary rather than as far as possible from it. However, there was no one here now to make sure I would survive through this.

Part of me wished that Annabeth was here, just so I wouldn't die alone. I missed her so much that there's nothing I wouldn't give to see her one last time. Just once, smiling at me, placing a kiss on my nose or my forehead or even my lips if I could be so lucky.

I knew I wouldn't. The pain kept growing, filling my soul with agony, until I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. I knew it was only a matter of time before I passed out and my body gave up on me. This torture was unlike anything I had ever imagined, and it would take a miracle to keep me alive. I knew all this, but I couldn't help hoping I'd see Annabeth again.
My heart ached at the thought of dying without telling her I love her one last time.

Darkness was all around me, my eyes seeing nothing. After only a moment, my mind began to grow dark as well, overwhelmed by the heat of this intense suffering. It had to have been my imagination, but before I completely lost all sanity and life, I thought I heard someone scream my name.

Notes

I shall try to keep updates pretty regular from now on! Thank you! :)