Hopeless.
Percy lay on the ground. Debris and carnage fell around him while havoc wreaked around him. Monsters were everywhere. They had come out of nowhere, attacking them from all angles. They were only ten demigods. They couldn't defeat them. How did they even get into Camp? Percy wasn't quite sure, but he didn't linger too long on the thought. In fact, he didn't linger too long on any thought. He just wanted to give up.
Motionless.
All thoughts in Percy's head came to a halt as soon as he hit the ground. A monster had gotten on his backside. It had slashed him across the shoulder, but not deep enough to do any major damage. Blood leaked onto the ground, staining the grass beneath him. He couldn't move. He didn't want to.
Comatose.
Percy wasn't capable of thought, of motion, of feeling. It was like his whole body just…shut down. If anything, he felt numb. He loved it. It took away the aching in his shoulder, it took away his fear of losing his friends. It took away the sense of impending doom. It was a bit morbid, but in this state, he could breathe. He could relax.
Nothingness.
It was like he was just floating. While the recesses of his mind registered the things like sound, the grass beneath him, Riptide returning to his pocket, the forefront of his conscience could only vaguely see the gray skies above, vaguely feel that sensation of free-falling. He was unconscious of being unconscious. In that instant, he felt peaceful.
Screaming.
Then he heard it. It was barely audible, mumbled and low, like he had a blanket wrapped tight around his head. Then it started to become clearer, his mind finally opening up again. Someone—a girl—was shrieking his name. She was screaming it over and over. It was loud in his ear now.
Awareness.
Suddenly, he felt pressure on his chest. He wanted to look down and figure out what this strange sensation was, but he couldn't move. In the next second, his vision was obscured by a girl. Ah, that's who was screaming his name. She had a few tears in her eyes. She was beautiful. Why was she crying? As he stared at her, and stared…he realized it was Annabeth.
Overload.
All at once, his senses imploded on him. His thoughts started scrambling again, his body felt every sensation, every blade of grass hitting his palm, every pinprick of screaming pain exploding in his shoulder. He took a sharp inhale of air, breathing hard. He blinked rapidly as he took in Annabeth, who was now hugging him to death.
"Don't scare me like that!" she all but yelled at him. Percy watched as she leaned down and kissed him. Then, she scrambled up and started fighting monsters again. Percy turned his head to the side and saw something, something that made his belly flutter and his heart skip a beat. The monsters were decreasing, retreating. They could win.
Ignoring the searing pain across his right side, he took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. He pulled Riptide out, unsheathed it, and rushed up to his feet, ready to take on any monster. That thing he'd seen?
Hope.
Just a short drabble. Hope you liked it!
-Akatsuki Child
