Chapter 22

I woke up in that stupid cell I was trapped in with Annabeth. When I tried to sit up, I was pulled back to the floor. Chains were around my hands and feet. Wonderful. I looked around. Nico was chained to the ground next to me. Thalia was chained to the wall. "Nico!" I hissed.

He grunted and opened his eyes. "Whoa," he said, as he looked at the chains around his hand. "The son of Hades doesn't like to be chained!"

"What a surprise! Hades loves to chain people!" I mocked.

"Shut it, Jackson!"

"Both of you shut it," Thalia snapped.

"Thalia," I said. "What happened to you?"

"You already know, don't you? John took my powers," Thalia replied weakly.

"How? Why are you so weak?" Nico asked.

"I don't know how John took my powers. But when he did...it turned me mortal," Thalia told us. "You guys shouldn't have come. Once he has all our powers, he could kill the gods."

"No kidding," Nico muttered.

When I tried reaching for my pocket, the chain held my hand back. I guess, the Demigod Hunters had planned it this time. "Damn, I can't reach Backbiter," I growled.

"Hey, Thalia, when they take our powers...will it hurt?" Nico asked stupidly.

"No! It feels like butterflies in your stomach! YES! It hurts!" Thalia snarled.

I smirked for a moment. Then an idea popped into my head. "Nico, can you summon any undead soldiers or hellhounds or something?" I asked.

Nico tried to and screamed in pain. Lightning sparked through his body. "No..." he groaned.

Well, there went my beautiful plan. Wind blew in from the only window in the cell. Thalia shivered. We were stuck here. When I tried to reach for Backbiter again, the chains zapped me with lightning. I didn't try to reach for it again. My arms we were starting to feel numb. I lost track of time. How many hours had passed? Nico and I were just waiting for someone to come get us.

When the door opened I jumped. Cain glared at me from the doorway. He grabbed Thalia's hair and made her look at him. "How does it feel to be mortal?" Cain asked.

Thalia spit in his face. "Why you little-" Cain raised his hand.

"Don't touch her!" I warned.

Cain looked at me and smiled. He released Thalia's hair and knelt down in front of me. His hand gripped my chin and forced me to look at him. "What can you do about it?" he grinned.

I tried to pull my hand free but I got shocked instead. "I'll kill you one way or another, Cain," I growled.

"Oh, just like you murdered my brother?" Cain scoffed. "You have no idea how hard it is not to take your sword and shove it straight through your head."

"I know the feeling," I said.

Cain growled and grabbed his sword in his belt. He raised it and a voice yelled, "CAIN!"

John Martin stood in the doorway with his hands behind his back. He came into the cell and pointed his left hand at Cain. Lightning shoot out of John's arm and slammed into Cain chest. But it didn't kill him. It only knocked him down and burnt his shirt. "I didn't send you here to kill Mr. Jackson," John said calmly. "I sent you here to get the son of Hades."

Cain stood up slowly. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away."

"Well, don't let it happen again." John turned and started out the door but stopped and looked over his shoulder at Cain. "Or next time it will be you in the body bag."

John was gone. Cain looked at his feet. "Why do you let him push you around?" I asked.

"He could kill me in a second, demigod," Cain said. "Besides, I enjoy wiping your kind from the face of the Earth."

Cain kicked my arm and went over to Nico. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the chains from Nico's wrists and ankles. When Cain backed away, Nico jumped up and punched Cain in the face. Cain flew back and hit the stone wall. Nico tried to run out the door, but Cain pulled out a knife with blue lightning racing through it. He stabbed Nico in the arm and he screamed in pain.

Nico fell to the floor, unconscious. Cain grunted and picked Nico and slung Nico over his shoulder. "I'll be back for you later, Seaweed Brain," Cain grinned.

"I swear, if you hurt Annabeth I'll kill you!" I threatened.

"After John takes your powers, which includes your Achilles spot, you won't be able to do anything," Cain laughed. "Oh, and the daughter of Athena is on my kill list."

At that moment, I didn't care if I died or if John took my powers. Cain was going to kill Annabeth and I couldn't do anything about it. Cain's laughter echoed as he walked down the hallway.

Nico's screams were all around me. It was the most horrible sound I'd ever heard. The screams were endless. Then the screams stopped. Minutes later Nico was brought back into the cell. Smoke rose from his clothes and skin. His eyes were closed. Nico trembled on the ground. John came back to the cell. "You're next Perseus," he smiled.

John extended his arm and a crack appeared in the floor. Two skeleton soldiers rose from the ground. Their eyes were glowing green. John nodded toward me and the skeletons broke the chains and carried me to the machine. After I was strapped in, Cain put IVs in my arms. "I'll all be over soon," Cain laughed.

Cain stepped away from me. I felt the machine power up.

At first, nothing. No pain. No lightning. No anything. Then a spark of blue lightning hit the outside of the ring. Pain exploded from my body. I screamed. It felt like my very soul was being ripped from my body. It felt like I was being killed one cell at a time. My vision was going out. I can barely see John. He looked like he was in a lot of pain too. But that didn't make me feel any better.

Blood poured out of my mouth. It would have felt better to have someone split you open while you're awake. That would have been less painful. I could feel blood coming out of my ears, nose, and mouth. It felt like hours. Desperately, I tried to pull free of the machine. However, it only caused me more pain.

The room was spinning. One second I was looking at Cain the next I was looking at my dad's face. Maybe, I was going to die right here, right now. It was like I was living in my memories. I remembered my tenth birthday. There was a blue birthday cake. All my presents were wrapped in blue paper. Then I was fighting Mrs. Dodds again. Chiron gave me Riptide.

I was back in the car when the Minotaur attacked. I saw my mother "die". Then I killed the Minotaur. Next thing I knew I was meeting Annabeth Chase for the first time.

"You drool in your sleep," Annabeth told me.

Then I was accused of stealing Zeus's lightning bolt. I was standing in the Underworld, talking to Hades. All my memories passed in front of my eyes. Now, I was in the River Styx. Then I was showing Annabeth where my Achilles spot was. Then I saw Luke kill himself for the world.

I watched my dream when I saw Nico running through the forest. Then I was watching when the Demigod Hunters took Annabeth. After that we found her. Luke took over my body and Nico saved me. I remembered everything.

"Just come back, okay?"

"I will, I promise."

I couldn't die, not now. As I floated back into the present, the pain was worse. When would it be over? Suddenly, the machine stopped. The pain was still there but it would go away at some point. Smoke started to rise from my body. My blood drenched my shirt. Someone unlocked me from the machine and I fell to the ground.

That fall hurt more than everything in the world. It was the sign of defeat. They won, I lost. I couldn't believe my powers were gone. I couldn't lift my head so I looked straight ahead. There was a cup of water on the table. Cain knocked it down. "Go on, son of Poseidon; see if you can heal yourself."

The water spread out. I reached my hand out and let in drop into the water. Nothing happened. It didn't make me feel better or heal my wounds. Cain and Jason laughed. The water my hand was in, rose from the ground. John controlled it and splashed it in my face.

My body hurt so bad, I couldn't move. Even breathing hurt. I almost just wanted to end my suffering and die right there. Jason dragged me back to the cell. He didn't bothering chaining me up because I wouldn't be able to move for a while.

Author's Note: Happy 4th of July to every one of my views that lives in the US! I live in the US too...but I'm just updating because today is a holiday in my country. I'll update as soon as I can! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and stuck with the story this long.