My body lay broken and contorted on the wet sand, my arms and legs felt like lead and every muscle fibre ached. Just breathing seemed a constant challenge. I opened my eyes to get a better look at my surroundings, big mistake. My vision filled with an all consuming bright white light as the sun burned at my retainers, instinctively I tried to shield my eyes with my hands but my arms refused to cooperate.
The effects of my time in tartarus were already becoming apparent. Over time my eyes had adapted to the dark depths of tartarus and now couldn't stand such brightness.
"Is… is anyone…" I tried in a raspy voice, my throat felt as though it were made of sandpaper and that it may collapse altogether if another syllable left my mouth.
Just to confirm my situation couldn't get any worse i could feel a steady stream of liquid oozing from my left shoulder and at the source a deep pulsating pain. I didn't need to see it to know I bore a deep wound there.
"Percy…. Percy… percy…" I could hear a voice shout my name in the distance
A spark of hope ignited within me.
"Here" I shouted instinctively, suddenly my vocal cords felt as though I'd taken an axe to them. But I didn't care I hadn't escaped tartarus to die on a beach.
"Here" I shouted again and somehow found the energy to lift my hand up and slap the ground, I light splashing filled the air as my hand connected with the thin line of water covering the sand.
"Please don't leave me" I whispered as tears streamed from my eyes as fear began to invade my every thought.
This person could very well decide whether I lived or died and there was nothing I could do about it.
"Percy thank the gods" came a silvery voice above me.
I'd know that voice anywhere, Arya.
I could feel her take my hand in hers as she cupped my cheek with her other. Her touch was incredibly soft as if she'd just placed a pillow beside my head.
"Percy i need to get you help" she said her voice trembling
"No please don't leave me" I managed croakily slightly tightening my grip on her hand, no longer able to hold the waves of fear back. My body was broken, I had no idea where I was and I was all but blind to my surroundings.
"ok, ok I'm not going anywhere" she replied softly stroking my hair back and out of my face
"We need some nectar over here now" she yelled trying her best to hide the panic probably for my sake.
Suddenly my legs went rigid and started shaking uncontrollably, the rest of my body followed suit seconds later. I tried to stop it but my brain was no longer in the driving seat, even coherent thoughts were becoming challenging.
"NECTAR NOW" Arya screamed as she tried to keep me still
"Ayra promise me you'll..." I choked out
"stop it you can't do this to me" she interrupted through sobs
I wanted to continue but a darkness was spreading across my mind and was quickly consuming my every thought and emotion. No matter how hard I tried to hold it back it continued to sweep effortlessly through my consciousness. I could hear a collection of voices above me but I no longer had the capacity to match them with their identity.
The last thing I could remember was a chocolate chip cookie flavoured liquid touching my lips before darkness finally took me.
I woke to the smell of sulphur in the humid air, beads of sweat started to form across my forehead for that smell would haunt me for the rest of my existence. It was the smell of Tartarus. A quick look around confirmed it, a barren wasteland filled with fire and ash stood before me in every direction. It was the field of punishment.
Suddenly a spine chilling shriek shattered the silence.
I didn't waste any time, I ran. I know not very hero like right. But that shriek belonged to a blood harpy, they were in charge of torture and punishment. I'd been on the receiving end of their torturous punishment to many times.
They would start by ripping your nails out if you were lucky, then they would slowly work their way up your limbs dismantling them bone by bone, ligament by ligament. They'd wait until you were begging for death before putting you back together only to repeat the process.
Many went insane after only a couple of sessions with the blood harpies, those that didn't just tried to forget.
I ran as fast as my body would allow but the shrieks kept getting closer. I could hear my blood pounding in my ears and my breaths were frantic and uneven but I didn't dare drop the pace. I glanced back, there was nothing there but I knew better than to trust my eyes. Tartarus itself was deceptive and fooling my eyes would be well within its ability.
Without warning something huge crashed into my back sending me fly forward. I hit the ground hard, I scrambled to my feet but the ground around me had began to spin beneath me. No sooner had i got to my feet a second force smashed into my chest sending me flying 20 or so feet backward.
My back slammed against an unforgiving rock as I hit the ground knocking the air out my lungs I gasped desperately to inflate my lungs. My eyes darted back and forth trying to identify my attacker but there was no one to be seen. I turned over onto my stomach and began crawling. I was an easy target out in the open I needed to find cover fast.
However an abrupt force hit my ribs sending me flying through the air sideway. I did my best to cushion my landing but it still felt as though I'd just driven into a concrete wall.
"157680000… 2628000… 109500… 15642… 3599… 300…" repeated an impossibly deep voice
I stumbled to my feet looking for the point of origin but it was coming from everywhere. I began to run but no matter how far or hard I ran the voice was just as loud and just as clear.
At first I thought the numbers were random but I couldn't help but feel they had some familiarity to them. By now I'd stopped running and slowed to a fast walk as I racked my brain for why the numbers were familiar. Then it clicked.
"157680000 seconds, 2628000 hour, 109500 days… 300 years, it's my time spent in Tartarus" I whispered thinking aloud
Suddenly the deep voice stopped repeating the numbers and there was silence.
" One doesn't stay in Tartarus, one becomes part of Tartarus… there's only one escape from Tartarus" came the voice again
I turned to run but there hovering right in front of me was a celestial bronze sword. Riptide to be precise. I could barely recognise it I hadn't seen it in so long, the furies had taken it on my first day in tartarus.
I backed away slowly but the sword sprang into life and rocked strait for my chest. I divided to the side but the sword adjusted course finding its mark with ease. The blade sunk deep into my chest. I expected pain, and lots of it, but I just felt numb as I landed on the hard ground. I wondered if this was how dying really felt, just numbness. Suddenly a shadowy figure dressed in raggedy black cloth loomed over me and before I even had time to think his foot connected with my head.
My eyes fluttered open still with the image of riptide buried in my chest at the forefront of my mind. The first thing I noticed was the absence of pain. My shoulder still ached and my stomach felt a little queasy but excluding that I felt fine. I sat up slowly and took in my surroundings.
I was lying on a sleeping bag in a clearing in some wood or forest. Around me lay five others and in the centre burned a small fire. On the sleeping bag next to mine lay Arya, her long golden brown hair waving slightly in the wind. A small smile tugged at the side of her flawless white face, she looked so peaceful sleeping.
Suddenly a hand came down on my shoulder making me almost jump out my own skin. I turned around to see Nick crouching down beside me. I'd known Nick the longest, 296 years to be precise. He was a son of Athena and he'd practically kept me alive in the early days of Tartarus. He was slightly taller than me and more muscly to, he had long scruffy blond hair and the signature grey eyes all Athenian children had.
He brought a finger to his mouth then gestured for me to follow. I got to my feet as quietly as I could and followed him away from camp. When we were ten or so meters away from camp he stopped and took a seat up against a large tree.
"so sleeping beauty is finally awake how you feeling" he whispered sarcastically
"I'm touched you find me beautiful" I replied with a grin
"Seriously man you better be better Arya's been a royal pain the ass" Nick taunted
"You mean she's actually worried about my health" I replied flatly
"you survived tartarus mate i think you can cope with a few life threatening injuries" he joked
"Alright stop stalling how long have I been out and where are the others"
"You've been out a week and there are no others we're all that made it" he replied solemnly
His words felt like knives in my heart. There should have been ten of us, that had been the plan all ten of us escape Tartarus.
"who...How" I asked tears threatening my eyes
"We mmm… didn't have as much time as we thought to get to the styx… jack and Amelia stayed behind to buy us the time we needed… then on our second night we were camping outside Columbus Ohio when a fury attacked, Jacob took it down with him" Nick finished, his head bowed slightly in shame
"It's not your fault Nick" I said wiping the tears from my eyes I'd known Jacob, jack and Amelia for decades in Tartarus losing them was like losing a brother or sister and I knew it was the same for Nick we were family.
"my plan out of Tartarus wasn't good enough I killed jack and Amelia" he said picking at the grass beneath him
"you want to blame someone, blame Hades there deaths are on him" I said placing a hand on his shoulder
A deep anger had begun to fester in my stomach at the news, the time we'd spent trapped in tartarus and the fury that had killed Jacob had all been Hades's fault. He was source of all this pain.
"You should go rest we should be at camp half blood by tomorrow" Nick stated standing
"Camp half blood?" I questioned doubtfully, would Dionysus and Chiron really allow 7 escapees ly low there
"it's the most sensible option to us, hopefully your name will have some sway if not we'll let Bella do the negotiation" he replied
Isabella was a daughter of Aphrodite. Like most of her sisters she was very beautiful, she had long blonde hair, a flawless complexion and piercing blue eyes. There was no argument she couldn't win and not just because of her charm-speak, the phrase stubborn as a mule wouldn't do her justice, but she was also patient and funny which made up for her stubbornness.
"Charm-speak won't work on Dionysus" I criticised
"Then we let the Fulcrum brothers have there fun either way we need a good couple of days to rest, and we need access to their armoury" Nick argued
The Fulcrum brothers were both sons or Aries but unlike most of their brothers and sisters they had brains to match the brawn. They were both built like brick houses and although they fought like dogs they could always be relied on to have your back in a fight. Which I'd found out many a time in tartarus.
"Alright camp half blood it is" I conceded and began walking back to camp
"Hey it's good to see you back on you feet" Nick said pulling me in for a manly hug
"Now go get some rest" he continued releasing me
"Alright see you in the morning" I said returning to my sleeping bag
It suddenly occurred to me, how did we have all this camping gear? We'd just risen from tartarus none of us had any money or drachma.
"how did we get all this camping gear" I whispered across camp at Nick
"Flynn has quick hands" Nick replied with a smile taking his seat as look out
Flynn was a son of Hermes, he had a similar build to me and the same dark hair but his eyes were hazel and he was an inch or so shorter. He had a good sense of humour and there was nothing he couldn't steal. Which made me kind of suspicious whenever I was around him, though he was the kind that didn't steal out of greed but for the sport itself which sat better with my conscience.
In our escape out of tartarus he'd been in charge of stealing the key to our cell, he'd taken three sessions with the blood harpies to acquire the key we needed to escape.
It was common knowledge round the group that he had a thing for Isabella, the two had a constant on off relationship which no one but them really understood.
I settled down on my sleeping bag looking up at the stars. It had been three lifetimes since I'd last seen the stars, they were more beautiful than i remembered, millions of them shining across the galaxy they somehow made my problem seem small in the vastness of it all.
In tartarus there were no stars even time doesn't work the same, no one ever ages or dies there, it's a place of eternal punishment, a place of torment, where your fears slowly madden you.
"Hey you" came a silvery voice from beside me
"Sorry did I wake you" I whispered feeling a little guilty turning onto my side to face Arya
"maybe... but we made it percy, we actually made it" she whispered a smile lighting up her face
god did she look pretty when she smiled
"Yeah we did" I whispered losing myself in her hazel doe eyes, in that moment the rest of the world just seem to fade away leaving just me and her in a perfect moment
"Space for another" she whispered finally interrupting the silence gesturing to my sleeping bag
"I dunno it looks like you've put on weight" I replied with a cheeky grin as I shuffled across making space for her
"shut it you or you'll be on the ground" she replied rolling over onto my sleeping bag
"You know you scared the life out of me when we arrived... I thought… I thought you weren't going to wake" she whispered into my chest so quietly I could barely hear it
"i'm not going anywhere" I replied softly wrapping my arms round her and placing a soft kiss on her forehead as she nuzzled her head in the crook in my neck
I let out a large yawn, my eyelids felt like lead and I slowly drifted off into a blissful sleep with Arya in my arms.