There were millions of noises down here in Tartarus.

You can choose from the uneven breathing of the haunted; the cries of the punished and the cold wind whistling through the creaks between the rocks. The roaring of the freshly risen monsters thundered about the cavern, mingling with the outraged howling of the returning monsters and creating an ear splitting din. Dead trees and bushes that crackled like fire whenever the wind touched them; branches creaking eerily and casting dooming shadows over them.

So many noises… all more terrifying than the last.

And Annabeth was stuck right between them.

She would go crazy if she could. She really would. But something was holding her back.

She glanced worriedly over her shoulder where Percy lay stretched out on the hard stone floor. His shirt and jeans were ripped apart and his hair tousled with dirt. He suffered from several injuries on his back and his limbs- he was covered in them, increasing her worry.

It had been weeks since they walked amongst people; since they had seen sunlight and since they heard nice sounds like birds singing instead of birds being eaten.

Annabeth looked at hell below her.

She had never thought she would end up here.

When she was younger and they were almost pulled into the depths by Luke's flying shoes, she did ask herself what had happened if the cursed shoes had done their job. Of course it was after the quest, as soon as she had caught up sleeping and drinking and being a human again.

She had wondered what it looked like down here and for the first time in her life she regretted to have gained knowledge. She'd do anything to forget how it looked.

How cruel it looked, sounded, smelt, felt and even tasted.

She wanted to shut down her tortured senses and emotions. Stop being afraid, stop wishing to be somewhere else and stop worrying about Percy.

Summing it up, it almost sounded like she wanted to be dead and the really horrifying thing was that Annabeth wasn't even sure anymore if it was worth the immense struggle. Even if they managed to survive and save the world, where was she going to go? Of course New York and everything but where was her life going?

She felt like she was on the fast line to certain damnation with no departure in sight and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't set the brakes.

Suddenly a pair of warm hands wrapped around her shoulders.

"What's going through your head?" Annabeth leaned back, her head rolling on Percy's shoulder.

"The usual."

She felt him chuckle.

"The world is going to end; we're going through hell and then the fact that it will stay like this for our entire life?"

"You know me way too well." She murmured, her eyes lids dropping down.

Percy nuzzled his nose against her ear softly. "Maybe it's my turn now to think about how much everything sucks."

"It's funnier than you let it sound. Especially when you get to the part where you blame everyone but yourself." She mumbled and let Percy carry her to their provisional bed made of holey blankets, Annabeth's backpack and a blue tarp. He was about to return to the guard post at the entry of the cavern, when Annabeth suddenly grabbed his torn t-shirt.

She wasn't desperate or anything, but- scratch that, she was very desperate to feel safe again. "Stay with me?" She asked, her eyes closed.

She knew he was smiling while he lay down right next to her. Annabeth slipped over and put her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso and sneaking her feet between his. Percy let out a happy sigh and started to run his hand through her messy curls.

There were millions of noises in Tartarus, all of them horrifying and something you would never want to hear again, but between these millions of sounds in Tartarus was one thing that Annabeth knew she couldn't live without anymore.

Thump, thump, thump.

Percy's heartbeat.

Edited by ArtemisApollo97

Cover Art by Viria

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