Guys please please please read the note at the bottom, it's very important.
Jason always looked out for his friends.
He didn't know whether he should count Percy, Frank, and Annabeth as friends yet, as he had not known him as long as the others, but he normally had an impulse to protect people he cared about. Leo, Piper, and Hazel were closest to him among the seven. Sometimes he had to restrain himself from telling them to stay on the ship while he would go out and fight. He knew that they were strong and could defend themselves, but he couldn't bear the thought of them being harmed.
He feared letting them down. He knew that, besides Percy, he was the most powerful demigod on the Argo II. It was a lot of weight on his shoulders. He was okay with being the leader, being used to the Praetor position and all, yet it was pressuring. What if he messed up and they got hurt, or worse?
Thoughts like that pestered him ever since they sailed toward the Roman camp. He shrugged it off, passing it off as nervousness. The heavy feeling in his gut still didn't go away after weeks. Sometimes, while fighting, he'd glance around just to check that everyone was okay.
And if they weren't, he'd try not to drop his sword and dash toward them.
Jason saw this as both an advantage and a disadvantage. The good thing was that it might keep them safe. The bad thing was that it might cost him his life. If anyone asked him if he'd choose himself over his friends, he would be sure of his answer. Without Piper, Leo, or Hazel, or anyone on Argo II (maybe even Coach,) he'd be distraught. Nothing would make him the same.
Maybe it was finding out he had a sister that triggered this trait. He didn't want to lose anyone else. It struck him hard that someday they'll all be gone. During the quest or after it, they would all die. It didn't matter whether it was monsters, some illness, or old age. He didn't want them to go. Sure, maybe he'd be the first or something. But what if he isn't? He'd feel absolutely horrible.
Jason didn't know that horrible felt this bad.
Muffled screams weren't the best wake-up call. He felt like he was swaying, and when he opened his sleepy eyes, his vision went blurry. His head hurt and it felt like it was going to split open. There was roaring in his ears. It sounded like waves crashing on the shore. Maybe his hearing was messed up, too. He rubbed his eyes and squinted, trying to make out at least one thing. It was pitch black. He struggled to get up. His shoulder brushed something hard, and he yelped out in pain. He gripped his arm.
Lights came on and Jason wished that he had never woken up.
There were four, sturdy walls around him. Each was made of plastic, unfortunately clear and see-through. They weren't sound-proof, either, to make it worse. In front of him were figures which looked like Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Percy, and Annabeth.
They were made out of fog, mist curling around their faces like hair. They didn't look like ventii. They looked more solid and there was no electricity in them. Fog Piper dashed through the plastic of the box and touched his arms, poking them hard. Jason winced and sucked in his teeth. Fog Piper giggled and joined the other figures outside. Jason pulled up his sleeves. Scratches and bruises dotted his skin. What had happened before this?
"What are you-"Jason took quick steps toward the wall. "What is this?" he demanded. He dug his hand instinctively in his pocket and expected to find his coin, but nothing was there. He gritted his teeth in frustration. What kind of trick was this?
He walked backwards a little and breathed shallowly; this was going to hurt. He ran and with all the strength he had, crashed his shoulder against the plastic. "Agh!" He shouted. The pain was almost unbearable. It made his vision fog up. Whatever these were, these bruises and scratches were not regular bruises and scratches. A special kind of weapon or something made them. "If-only-I-could-remember!" he grunted, hitting the wall with every word. Jolts of pain shot through his arm.
He closed his eyes and tried to imagine storm clouds dotting the sky. The air grew electric and his ears popped-but that was it. He was either too weak or his powers were just not working.
The fog spirits just floated there, staring curiously. Fog Hazel tittered and made a little whirring sound at Fog Frank. He whirred back. Jason frowned. Suddenly Fog Leo seemed to scold them and remind them of something. Then they all looked at Jason and had the same malicious smiles. It reminded Jason of the time when Real Leo convinced him to roast marshmallows with him using his hands. Something bad was going to happen.
The monsters whirled around and joined each other like a tornado made out of smoke. Their bodies morphed into some kind of scene. Jason was pretty sure that creatures show their prisoner a movie, so this was unexpected. He looked a little harder, making out the shape of- wait. Wait. What were they doing? This can't possibly-
The Fog People had shaped up into normal-colored Piper, She looked so real, like Jason could touch her if she was in the box with him. He took shallow breaths to keep the oxygen level high but he couldn't help but feel dizzy looking at her. He took a gulp of air.
"Jason," Piper smiled sweetly. Her kaleidoscope eyes danced and for a second they were back at Camp Half Blood, laughing and sharing stories. But then something struck her knee. She collapsed on the ground and Jason cried out without realizing it. His hands were flat on the wall, and he shouted, "Piper! Piper!" An arrow stuck out of her leg and her face was pale and full of pain. A silhouette, unidentifiable, stuck a knife through Piper's chest.
Jason never knew he could scream so loud.
Piper changed into Hazel and Hazel changed to Leo and Leo to the others. Blood poured out of their chests and sweat on their backs and faces. Frank, Annabeth, and Percy's image flitted from Leo's. By the time Percy's body was on the ground, his cheeks were streaked with tears. Sweat rolled down his forehead and he tasted salt in his mouth. He didn't know if it was tears or perspiration.
He was making horrible choking sounds in his throat and Thalia, with her bleeding chest, looked up at him. Her hair grew longer and her freckles left, her blue eyes replaced with dark ones. Her hair twined itself into a braid and it was Reyna who was dying.
"Jay-" she gasped, her voice breathy and soft. "-son. Jason." Without another word, Reyna's eyes went blank and before she crashed to the ground, she was Piper again. Jason felt like all his thoughts and reasoning had gone out the window; his undivided attention was on the unmoving body.
"Have you had" A voice rang out in his ears and he flinched at them. He felt broken. Like nothing would repair him. "Enough?"
"Yes," his voice came out in a hoarse whisper. He didn't care who in Pluto it was. He had to get out of here.
"Incapable of doing anything." the voice said in disapproval.
The walls melted into nothing, allowing Jason to go free. He stood for a second or two before walking forward. He stopped before what he hoped were just Fog creatures and stared. His tears have run out, it seemed. He saw her tanned hand clutching something tightly, clasped so hard that her fingers were white at the tips, although it was impossible to have that pressure on something when you are dead. Jason felt terrible-more than terrible- to pry it from her fingers but it looked very important. A stick with an eagle etched on the top. Its eyes were beady. He couldn't help shivering and feeling like Jupiter was watching him and shaking his head at his weakness. He pocketed it before he could examine it closer. He didn't want to be hurt more than this.
Piper-or what he thought was her- dissolved to dust flying in the wind. He watched emptily.
He saw a door materialize a few feet to his right. He walked there slowly, like there was no reason to worry. His hand rested on the knob and it sparked.
"Hang in there, Sparky," he murmured. He twisted the knob and saw total darkness. He took a step forward and let the door close without as much as a creak behind him.
Besides, he thought, it couldn't get any worse than this.
So I'm thinking of ending it here because 7 POVs were all I needed for camp and I could end it in a cliffhanger. I need your opinion whether or not I should continue but the cons are that I have school in 4 days and I am a very slow writer. I have to focus on school and my parents are kinda strict so I need opinions.
But if I do end this here, I want to say thank you so much for all the reviews. I thought this would only get a few, my field being romance, and I'm quite proud of this story.
So review if you want it to continue or not. Thank you guys so much.
~Sandie