Matters of Life and Death

She fell to the ground, too weak to even stand.

As she tumbled to the ground, she was careful to fall on her side. This would mean her eyes faced away from the attackers. If they thought she was dead, the demigods and monsters would (hopefully) leave her alone.

She could still hear fighting, but it didn't last long. A final scream pierced the air, and the Titan Army disappeared into the forest. She vaguely wondered where they'd go now. Had the Hunters of Artemis hurt them enough to require healing?

Her Hunter instincts screamed at her to rise, to stand and fight those who dared to kill her sisters. If Artemis were here...

Thalia tried to push herself up, to no avail. Maybe she wasn't meant to get up.

The others had insisted they weren't needed in this fight. But Thalia had told them otherwise. They would assist Camp Half-Blood in their victory against Kronos.

Thanks to her leadership, she'd watched all her friends get slaughtered. Because she insisted they had to get involved, their blood lay on her hands.

And all she could do was lay there and take the punishment.

She'd thought she was strong. But in the end, all it took was one stray blow for her to fall forever.

Thalia thought of the wound on her side, and how much blood had gushed out already. She might as well be counted dead. There's no way she'd live through this one.

What happened to them? One minute, she and the Hunters had been on their way to Camp Half-Blood, armed and ready to fight against Kronos. The next, they were trapped in a bloody, vicious mess. A few girls had tried to run the last few miles to the camp and get help, but they'd be too late. They must have faced the entire army themselves, all made up of monsters, traitors...

Friends.

She's seen Luke in the attack. Thalia hadn't been forced to fight him again, but she'd known. Even after several years, it seemed like only yesterday he and herself stood side by side, running towards a better future.

A fresh wave of pain spiked through her body. She tried to listen for voices, for any sign of life. But no sound could penetrate her pounding ears, no sight could shine through her dull eyes. Her life was receding, hiding within itself until it could hurt no more.

Thalia let out a rattling breath, and tried to moan.

I'm going to die today.

She couldn't believe she ever had to face such a thought. After joining the Hunters, she thought'd she'd live forever, untouched by time . The Hunters of Artemis lived forever, unless they die in battle. Which is exactly what was happening here.

Where would she go when her final breath finished? What place in the Underworld did she truly deserve?

Not Elysium. She wasn't a hero.

Not after she left her brother to the wolves. Not after she ran away from family. Not after she let Bianca after she let Luke become the monster he after she forced all of her responsibilities on Percy.

What would have happened if she'd fulfilled the prophecy two years ago? Would the threat have been solved before all these people were lost? Would Kronos be in Tartarus again, never able to return?

Or would she have sentenced the world to death by a titan who knew no bounds? Would Thalia have destroyed Olympus?

So many lost opportunities, so many mistakes...

Why was she even thinking about this? None of it mattered anymore! No matter what she did or didn't do, every story had an ending. Maybe a happy ending just wasn't for her.

Tomorrow would come. Even if it came without her. Artemis would find new Hunters, and the ones who'd retreated might've survived.

Let the living fight this battle. Thalia was done with their problems.

But what about Percy? How could she just leave him like this, with all her worries and cares? The prophecy was heavier than the sky itself, and she's set it on the boy's shoulders without a second thought.

What kind of person did that make her? What did you call someone who ran away from their problems, or passed them on to someone else?

A coward.

Thalia wanted to cry. She'd lived a coward. And now, she would die one.

At least she'd done the right thing, giving this to Percy. He wasn't a coward. He was loyal, and he was brave.

She'd wanted to argue with him, wanted to resist the fact he was more deserving than she was. But in the end, Thalia couldn't help herself. He reminded her of the first Luke she met. Both were kind, both were loyal...

and both were braver than she.

Her pain became less and less intense, slowly replaced by a growing numbness. Her blood would run out soon enough. This wouldn't take long.

All she had to do was wait.

Wait as all her life-blood flowed out one side.

Wait as the pain disappeared, and her limbs grew numb.

Waited as her breath grew slower and slower.

She continued to wait for the final breath. As each one passed, she could've sworn it was getting farther away. The more she breathed, the longer she had to wait for the next. Thalia waited for her view of the Underworld, to pay Charon with all the drachma she had to take her away.

A strange sensation began to creep over her. it felt as though soft fingers were circling, targeting her side wound. What was this? Air?

Water.

What was happening here? She was nowhere near the lake! Was she hallucinating?

Suddenly, a torrent of pain washed through her like a tsunami. Her breathing stopped. She screamed.

As Thalia slipped away, a final thought came to her head:

Percy was the one who'd save them all.

Was it possible he'd save her too?

Percy was too late.

As the other campers filed out to check the others, Percy stood dumbstruck at the sight of Thalia's body.

First Beckendorf, now Thalia. Kronos was going down.

He knelt beside his friend and gripped her warm hand, praying to the gods she had a place in Elysium. She was a hero, and she deserved the best.

Percy gasped when he saw her body move. She was breathing!

Quickly, he felt around for the wound. It wasn't hard to find, exposed on her side facing up. Maybe if she'd fallen the other way, less blood would've poured out.

He grasped for his water canteen, spilling it all over Thalia. Using the water, he tried to clean the wounds and blood the best he could, wishing he could do more to save her.

He used her clothes to bandage her up, watching her eyes close.

A/Ns: Okay, I'm not sure if Thalia's 100% IC in this fic, but I did my best. Even though she's a really strong character, she's also at her weakest moment, so finding a balance between the two was pretty challenging.

Anyhow, this was done for Round Four of the Capture the Flag Competition on PJFC. My prompt was a scenario this time: attack en route to Camp Half Blood or Camp Jupiter. I decided I sucked at action scenes, so just tried to rip my own heart by killing one of my favorite characters. I don't know if I wrote it well enough to work.

Like always, please leave your thoughts in a review. I'm always looking for feedback as well as ways to improve. Thank you to all my friends on PJFC, including my teammate Parapluie Lire, and most specifically Lizzie for creating such a fun competition. Can't believe it's almost over!

Thank you everyone for stopping by to read, and I'll see you on the far side!