Annabeth didn't know how long she had lied there, clutching Percy's cold lifeless body. She had lost all track of time in her despair over losing Percy, and furthermore she had also lost any sort of fire that had been within her. She had given up, accepting that she had lost the fight and that she was more than likely doomed to remain in this darkness forever, or rather until that creature came back to finish her off. At this point, Annabeth figured it would be a mercy. She was helpless and that was the worst feeling to have sitting in your gut. Percy was gone, and she felt that when he died, so did everything else inside of her. Without him… she didn't want to live without him. They were going to be happy, Percy promised! He said he wouldn't ever leave her again…
"This is your deepest darkest nightmare, is it not, Annabeth Chase?"
Annabeth jumped up and opened her eyes, blinking and looking down, still half sitting in a puddle of blood, but Percy had disappeared. "I… what have you done with him?!" She demanded, her eyes feeling sore and puffy from the salt of her tears.
"None of your concern, but have no fear, you shall see him plenty. Alive, maybe not, but you will see him nonetheless-"
"What are you talking about… just… just give him back to me!" She screamed, covered with sticky warm blood that she knew was Percy's.
Annabeth could hear the voice, the voice that had come from the creature before, but she did not see him as she was enveloped in darkness. After a moment of silence, the voice spoke unexpected words to her, "But of course, Miss Chase."
Annabeth gasped and flung her hands up to shield her eyes as a blinding light was cast down upon her, like a giant searchlight. She peeked through her fingers and nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw a silhouette to her right, a familiar figure in fact. "Percy?" She questioned, blinking. Rising slowly, she went to the standing figure, reaching out with her long delicate fingers, but before she could touch him, he turned and she screamed and shrunk back in horror, falling to the cavern floor and scrambling back. It looked like Percy, but it wasn't. His skin was ghostly pale and his eyes sunken with purple bruises beneath; his clothes were the same as she remembered, but there was a hole in his shirt, right in the middle, and through that she could see pink scar tissue, fresh, as if it had just happened and he had gotten a quick fix. But there was no way… he had been dead… she didn't understand…
"Ww-what is this..?" She gasped, staring at him wide-eyed, her body shaking with the shock of seeing Percy in this condition. "Percy, what did they do to you…?"
Then, another form appeared beside Percy, seeming to emerge from the darkness itself. It didn't have a distinct face or body figure for that matter, merely a shadow. It wrapped itself around Percy, a sharp silvery blade emerging from what was probably the shadows hand. "I don't know. What did we do to you, Percy?" The shadow mimicked, a cackle rising and filling Annabeth's ears as she witnessed the shadow press the blade against Percy's neck. Blood soon rose to the surface, oozing in a line down the white of Percy's neck. "Annabeth…!" Percy gasped and for a second Annabeth saw the Percy she remembered…her friend…her love.
"Percy…" And then, he was gone as fast as he had reappeared. The shadow jerked the blade across the soft skin of his neck, opening him up, blood spurting and spotting Annabeth, a scream rising from her throat as she watched Percy fall to the cavern floor, writhing in pain on the ground until he again went still, blood oozing from the cut across his throat.
"GODS!" Annabeth screamed and cast her arms over her eyes as she bent over, dazed and nauseous from what she had just witnessed. "Please… please…!" She begged, wanting a way out, afraid to open her eyes again to what she might find waiting for her. She couldn't take this…
She heard rustling then and her stomach twisted as her mind began thinking on its own of what it could possibly be. "Please…" She whispered again beneath her breath as she started to peek through her arms. "…give me strength." She prayed silently as she parted her arms to see herself once again cast in lights, gods forbid they darkened any detail of Percy's torture from her view. What she saw in front of her was Percy once again, but this time he was sat in a chair and tied, the pain and fright looking real in his sunken eyes, and a new fresh scar apparent across his throat. "Annabeth…" He whispered. The distress sounded real, like he was truly afraid and it tugged at her heart. She couldn't watch this. No more.
"PLEASE!" She screamed, her hands going up to her eyes, fingers trembling out of her control, her heart skittering in her chest. "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"
She heard another rustle and a soft breeze ran over her giving her goose bumps, the hair on the back of her neck rising as she felt what she thought was warm breath against her ear. "I want you to scream…" She jumped and involuntarily looked up from the shelter of her arms long enough to watch as Percy burst into flames, to watch him struggle and wither slowly as the flames ate him alive, his screams constant, drilling into her eardrums along with her own.
Hello there I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Tis getting a little more interesting I think and any questions you have will be answered in chapters to come :3