The start of the end of the world
••• •- •-•• •-•• -•--
Sally Jackson was having a wonderful birthday. Percy and Annabeth were visiting from New Rome. Her husband, Paul, had used one of his vacation days. The whole family was together, eating out at her favorite hole-in-the-wall Thai joint. It was the kind of warm, homey place that didn’t mind if Percy and Annabeth refused the booth they were led to and requested the table in the corner, right next to the exit, where they could keep their backs to the wall. Little Estelle was in Paul’s lap, gnawing on the lemon slice from his drink and making faces at the taste before stuffing it back in her mouth. Sally sipped her coffee and basked in the domesticity of the moment.
All of her people were whole, safe and in sight. No worrying over the impending doom of a massive war, no fretting when Percy hadn’t called in a few too many days and she wasn’t sure whether he was just running late or if he’d been called on another deadly quest. Just a quiet afternoon with her family and some good food.
Sally might have forgotten, for a moment, about all those quests and late nights if not for the watch on Percy’s wrist and the pen in his pocket that would turn into a shield and sword at a moment's notice.
If not for the extra charms Annabeth wore on her camp necklace—a bone sword, a shield, a dagger and a Yankees cap.
If not for the way that their eyes scanned the restaurant every few minutes—searching for monsters in every shadow.
If not for the deep sadness that filled their eyes when they saw something that reminded them of the ones they lost—once Sally had found Percy in near tears, cradling a stapler in his hands as Estelle looked up at him with concern.
If not for the way she sometimes woke late at night to her son’s tortured screams from the room down the hall. Screams that she couldn’t soothe away with a warm embrace and whispered words of comfort like she could with Estelle—though she tried.
Gods she tried.
Percy and Annabeth were so strong, so brave and so capable. She could only hope that Estelle would be spared the battles that shaped them to be so. Hope that she could protect this child from the horrors that clawed their way into dreams and caused screams that pierced her soul to hear. Hope that this little girl wouldn’t feel the need to carry weapons around wherever she went, to be constantly on guard and scanning for hidden threats, almost expecting something to go wrong.
The truly unfortunate thing was how often they were right, Sally reflected as screams reached their ears from the streets outside. So much for a quiet afternoon.