Sitting in a clearing sipping tea with the love of his life. She smiled at him, showing off the gorgeous features of her face. The sparkling gray eyes, the elegantly tied back blonde hair, and even the famous glow of her expression as though she had an idea stuck in her head.

She raised her cup, toasting to him. He smiled back, envying her beautiful gaze that was full of more wisdom and grace than he would ever had. She was an owl, a nocturnal creature that could break free of the darkest chains and destroy prey through tactics and deception. He was a shark, lurking around to protect himself and the ones he cared most about. Sharp teeth and an intimidating entrance, ripping anybody who dared enter his domain to shreds.

Though, that dream never seemed to last.

He woke up in a jerky motion, sweating profusely and panting horribly. He cursed under his breath and clenched his fist as he remembered the hellish reality they actually had to experience.

The end of the world. He and his girlfriend had managed to escape the city together. One chemical had caused this stupid war among humans. Humans infected turned blood thirsty, feeding on one another not for the hunger but for the joy of tearing flesh apart piece by piece.

"Percy," his girlfriend called, touching his arm. He jumped, nearly slapping her hand away. He let out a shaky breath seeing it was only her. She stood above him, her face dirty and tired. It was still dark, only the middle of the night. "Are you alright?"

He sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Is it my shift yet?" She nodded her head, a worried expression growing on her face. "Alright. Any sign of those walkers yet, Annabeth?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, I didn't see or hear any. I'm pretty sure they were drawn towards the city after we escaped."

Percy nodded his head, leaning back against the trunk of a tree they had camped in. They decided to sleep up in the tree as to not get attacked. Annabeth sat on an adjacent branch, watching around the bottom in case any unwanted visitors arrived or attacked. With a sigh, Percy picked up the baseball bat that he had enhanced with nails and other sharp objects. He gripped the leather grip and looked at the name he'd marked on the bat. In his own scribbly handwriting, he had written with a large black marker "RIPTIDE." It seemed like a pretty cool sounding name, so he just figured he would pick that.

"If you have time to stare at your beloved weapon you have time to guard. I'm tired." Annabeth announced, sitting down on her branch and curling up in a blanket. Percy made sure to double-check her rope would support her in case she had fallen during her sleep. He cut his own with a knife shard and stood up. "Goodnight, Percy. Don't let the undead bite."

Percy simply smirked back. "I wasn't planning on it." Managing a small smile, she shut her stormy grey eyes and drifted off into slumber relatively quickly. She was so peaceful when she slept. Of course, one time before when he tried to wake her up she had totally judo flipped him out of a train car that, luckily, was not in motion. She may have seemed like she was all brain, but she seriously knew how to pull a few muscles when it came down to it. She was like falling snowflakes; sometimes soft and gentle and other times roughly falling down from the sky in a stormy fashion.

He loved that girl with all his heart.

Wiping off dried up drool from the side of his face from his slumber, Percy scoped out the area. So far, it seemed that nobody else was around or at least not close enough to attack. He climbed a bit higher in the tree, getting an even better aerial view of the vast woods around them.

After a long while of waiting with no sign of potential danger nearing them any time soon, Percy flopped down on the branch near Annabeth's legs. He simply gazed at her sleeping form, admiring the tender look on her face as she slept. Her breathing was deep and even, almost like a child. She lay on her side, not stirring very much at all. She was still aside from the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Even in her sleep, she was a perfectionist.

As time flew by, he watched her and began to wonder if they even looked like a couple in times like these. After all, Percy was a rough looking kid with ripped sleeves and a giant weapon that he always wielded in case of an attack. His hair was dark and greasy from natural oils and his skin was dirty. After the whole apocalypse had broken out, there was little ability to take a shower. Until then, Percy and Annabeth had bathed in rivers and streams which, to Annabeth's apparent dismay, were not as refreshing to their hygiene as they had wished. In contrast to him, Annabeth still at least looked presentable. Her hair was still that beautiful blonde color and her eyes still held that prideful spark. She may have been dirty, but she pulled it off as though she still wasn't about to back down. She looked so confident and had a special stride in her step. She was confident and dirty and still absolutely breathtaking to Percy.

He would have thought more, but he was distracted by the sudden sound of somebody at the stump of the tree. Cursing at himself for not paying attention, he carefully looked down to see two figures standing at the tree, panting desperately. "Do you think we lost them?" The girl asked, glancing nervously at the woods around them.

"I hope so." The boy said, following her gaze. "We're running low on food, though. We'll have to find something soon."

"I just hope we don't get caught any time soon." The girl replied, sinking down on her bottom to the roots of the tree. She let out a deep sigh before looking around in her bag. She pulled out a dagger and glanced at her reflection softly. Suddenly, she gasped and looked up, only to see Percy parked in the tree.

Percy looked down at them as the one boy drew a knife. The girl held up her dagger, glaring at him. "Well," Percy began, furrowing his eyebrows. "That's not a very friendly introduction at all. Hey, I'm Percy Jackson, former delinquent student of over eight schools and counting. Nice to meet you."