how stupid you are," Svätopluk snarled at her angrily.
Suddenly, he halted in his steps and turned to face her. "And you shouldn't have come here," he added seriously. "You have no idea what's happening. You're just trying to distract yourself and distract everyone else from what they have to face!" he concluded angrily.
Annabeth flinched slightly at his harsh words, but she didn't respond. Svätopluk turned around and continued walking, leaving her alone with her thoughts in the middle of an empty street.
"I'll bring you home, don't worry," he assured quietly as they reached his car.
"What if it doesn't work?" she whispered. "What happens to you then?"
She was afraid. Very much so. Svätopluk could see it in the way her body shivered in fear. He was glad he hadn't brought her to Camp Half-Blood because there were too many people. If he hadn't had her by his side, his plan of capturing her would definitely have failed. But then he could never hurt her and he couldn't stay by her side either. This whole situation was completely fucked up. It was clear now that they needed someone else. Someone like Luke, for example. He could use the darkness and magic to his advantage, but that wouldn't solve anything. It wasn't fair, he kept saying. It wasn't fair. No matter what he did, he was stuck in an endless loop. Everything was a mess. Why can't I ever win in life?
He took off his jacket and placed it on the back of the seat in the car before putting the keys in his pocket. Before getting into the driver's seat, he turned around to look at Annabeth, only to find her staring down at her shoes sadly. He sighed deeply, then got into the car and started the engine.
"Let's go," he ordered. Without waiting for an answer, he sped off down the road.
Svätopluk drove through the streets, making sure to avoid everything he deemed to be dangerous. As they went further away from the city, the streets were emptier, with only small groups of houses scattered throughout the landscape. At least this way there weren't any witnesses to this encounter between the two demigods.
Soon, the roads got wider and wider, until they became wide enough to drive a truck through, but it was also obvious that these neighborhoods were gradually becoming more isolated. Svätopluk was thankful that he still had a fairly good map with him. The buildings got smaller and less developed, until eventually they stopped altogether.
Svätopluk pulled the car over to the curb in front of one particular building. It seemed to be deserted except for an abandoned car that sat parked outside of the door. As he pulled his hand away from the gearstick, the sound of screeching tires startled him and made him turn towards the entrance of the garage. The noise seemed to be coming from the inside of the car, but he couldn't see anybody. Suddenly, the front passenger door flew open and the person jumped out of the car before he could react.
He was wearing a hoodie and a pair of jeans, but he could recognize that blonde hair anywhere.
"Astrid?" he gasped in disbelief.
Chapter 9
Astrid stared blankly at him. In spite of his words, she couldn't believe that Svätopluk actually came to fetch her. How did he know where she was? She was certain he didn't know her name!
For a moment she tried to comprehend what was happening. It took a second or two for her to process that he was there and that this was real.
"Hey! Are we gonna get outta here or what?"