House of Hades-
One- Annabeth PoV
We were falling.
The air whipped through my hair so harshly I thought it was going to rip my curls off my head. I tried to scream, but my voice was sucked away, echoing somewhere far above. My body was numb and I couldn't feel anything but the painful tug of spider silk around my ankle and the faint sensation of Percy's hand grasping mine in an iron grip. For not the first time, I was really glad he was wicked strong. I didn't want to know what would happen if he let go.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of happy things. Well for one, I'd tricked Arachne and retrieved the Athena Parthenos, which countless children of Athena had failed to do, so kudos to me and all that, and the rest of the seven were on their way to Greece to fight, along with Nico, who seemed to have a vague idea of what we were supposed to be doing. Before Percy and I had gone over the edge, the two of them had agreed to something. Something about us meeting them on the other side. My brain was fuzzy and blurred, my thoughts sluggish and numb.
Far in the distance I could make out a dim light, that seemed to change colors, shifting from hellish red, sickly green and dark ebony. I swallowed as I once again inhaled the stench of evil that was so strong, I probably could've thrown up, if I could've opened my mouth.
I worried about the impact. We must've been falling for what seemed like forever, shifting in and out of consciousness, and there was no way to tell how long it would be until we hit the rock bottom. Which, if you catch my drift, didn't sound to appealing to me. I briefly recalled reading something somewhere in the Illiad… or maybe it was the Aeneid, that it takes nine days to fall from Olympus to the earth, and nine more to fall to the bottom of Tartarus. I wondered how far we were into the fall. . I could only imagine what state we'd be left in after going splat. I wasn't looking forward to being a pancake.
My thoughts fuzzed up, like an old TV that was static, and I shifted into a dream that made no sense. People I'd known throughout my life floated through my head, and situations that I'd had nightmares about kept replaying. The time that Luke had begged me to run away with him, and I'd slammed the door in his face out of fear of being betrayed a second time. When Percy had disappeared for two weeks and I'd been terrified, believing that he'd died in the volcanic eruption, when I'd cry myself to sleep at night because I thought he was gone. The time that my mom had visited me as Minerva and talked like she had gone cuckoo on the cocoa puffs. Arachne, Mother of Spiders, taunting me, her voice sickly sweet.
You will die, daughter of Athena. You may have tricked me and recovered your mother's statue, but the Mistress will find you. You will watch as your beloved's blood is spilled across the ancient stones, and you will follow, awakening her from her slumber. It isn't over yet.
I let out a silent scream and blacked out.
Did you like it? This is my first fanfiction, so please review, but refrain from completely torching it. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated, because I want to get better. Thanks so much for reading!
-NotsoSugarQueen
