The Path Of Glory (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

88. The Child Of Ares

Y/N had lots of definitions of not fun. Here's the one that matched the situation: Watch your friend fly a pegasus toward an out-of-control helicopter. If Blackjack had been any less of a fancy flier, Percy would've been chopped to confetti.

Despite the rotor blades' loud throbbing and being on the ground, Y/N could hear Rachel screaming inside. How hadn't she fallen asleep, like the pilot slumped over the controls? That was a good question. The helicopter wobbled toward the side of an office building, pitching back and forth.

"He's never going to make it!" Ethan yelled. "Oh my gods . . . !"

Percy passed so close to the rotors the force of the blades ripped at his hair. He zipped along the side of the helicopter and grabbed the door. Frantically he gestured for Rachel to jump on Blackjack.

If there was one thing you couldn't deny about Rachel, it was her courage. Or her total ignorance of danger. Surely saying she was brave was a better compliment. Anyway, she managed to jump awkwardly onto Blackjack's back, just behind Percy.

That's when things went wrong.

Blackjack's wing slammed against the helicopter. He plummeted straight down with Percy and Rachel on his back, yelling madly as they spiraled toward the ground.

"Hang in there!" Percy yelled at Blackjack.

Blackjack whinnied, almost like someone moaning in pain.

"You can do it!" Percy went on. "Just relax the wing. Extend it and glide."

They fell like a rock—straight toward the pavement three hundred feet below. At the last moment Blackjack extended his wings. Y/N stared, gaping. Then they pulled out of their dive, sailed fifty feet, and tumbled onto the pavement—pegasus over demigod.

Chiron galloped over with his medical pouch and began working on the pegasus.

Y/N didn't really pay any attention to what happened down on the ground. He kept his eyes up, his heart crawled into his throat. The helicopter was only a few seconds away from slamming into the side of the building. It was going to crash. . . .

BOOOOOOM!

The world turned in slow-mo. The helicopter hit the facade of the building, and the glass exploded on impact. Thousands of shattered glass pieces tumbled down to the pavement, along with dust and concrete rubble. A cloud of ash covered Fifth Avenue as a fire started to roar in the building's upper floors. He wished he could stop it from spreading—but this was far from being the only fire raging in Manhattan right now.

He looked down and focused on the moment.

Y/N, Annabeth and Ethan ran toward Percy, Chiron, and Rachel.

Rachel was dressed as if she were on vacation, in beach shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Her hair was tangled and her face was green from the helicopter ride.

"You saved my life," she said to Percy.

"No worries," he said without enthusiasm. "So, what's that message you wanted to deliver?"

Y/N frowned, same as Rachel, who said, "How do you know about that?"

"A dream."

Y/N nodded. He should've known better.

Rachel didn't look surprised, either. She tugged at her beach shorts. They were covered in drawings, which wasn't unusual for her, but these symbols he recognized: Greek letters, pictures from camp beads, sketches of monsters and faces of gods. How could Rachel have known about all of that? She had never been to Olympus or Camp Half-Blood.