PERCY WAS SICK AND TIRED OF BLACKING OUT.
It seemed to have become a habit for him, one that was usually reserved for Jason to have. After all, he had to get back to camp from wherever the Hades he was. He couldn't waste anymore time. He wanted to go back home. He missed his friends and he missed Annabeth and sadly he had a prophecy to bring back too - one he hoped didn't involve him, but come on, when didn't they?
Percy was about to recite it to himself, when he suddenly became dizzy. The world seemed to shake and blurr and then, in an instant, everything faded. All thoughts dissolved.
Percy felt like he was floating. Like nothing was keeping him grounded in the real world, but instead just somewhere in his consciousness. It was a kind of ethereal feeling. All the pain, all the taunts and all the memories had gone.
He felt... calm.
Is this what dreaming was supposed to feel like?
A refuge from when one was awake?
Come to think of it, Percy wasn't really thinking of anything.
He just was.
In an endless space of darkness, of nothingness, he felt comforted and shielded, any thoughts that would have usually been provoked non-existent. It gave him a fulfilled feeling as if he had done his job by just being. As if it didn't matter what he had done, because here he was just an essence, a miracle, a product of two people. And then Percy realized, that he was a miracle by just existing.
But, of course, that didn't last long.
Suddenly, as if ripped out of the most wonderful dream, the beautiful feeling of just being disappeared and Percy was awake again.
Everything crashed onto him, all the pain, all the memories and he felt hopeless again.
"Why does everything always have to hurt?"
Percy sat up and rubbed his eyes. The air around him was humid and moldy and the foul stench made him gag.
"Gods, is Smelly Gabe here?" he muttered.
Why he insisted on using humor to hide how he was crumbling inside, was beyond Percy. It reminded him of how Leo used to do the exact same thing and a pang of pain shot through him. He missed the little Latino, his impossible ADHD and his terrible jokes.
Percy blinked away the tears and took in his surroundings.
It was dark.
Then again, the fact that it was should have been expected. The darkness had seemed to become one of Percy's biggest fears. One, he constantly had to face.
He could literally see nothing and as he tried to feel for walls around him, nothing as well. He got up and reached around more, but still nothing. He started walking, even running through the darkness, but all he had was the cold, hard, stone floor.
Percy started to panic.
He fumbled for Riptide, only to find the sword was gone.
"Fuck."
He stumbled forward again, desperate to find something solid, but he was just met by the horrid smelling air again and fell to his knees. The inevitable ball of panic, that had been building up ever since he had been gone from home, was finally too hard to control and it overcame and consumed him, like a wave washing upon the beach. He crawled around, his breath shortening, scenes starting to flash before his eyes.
Death.
Blood.
Screams.
All the people that had died, all the people he had disappointed.
All, because of the failure, that was him.
Bianca.
Beckendorf.
Silena.
Damasen.
Bob.
Even little Bob made his heart ache.
Leo.
So many more.
Too many to count.
And then... Annabeth?
A battle was raging, but the only thing he could see was her.
Her head lolled to the side, bloody and utterly white. Grey eyes wide open, her once beautiful face almost completely covered in blood and bruises. Her hair burned at the edges and full of grime and dirt. Her right arm was twisted in such an unnatural way, it made Percy feel sick.
And then a dagger, that had caused slashes all across her skin, stuck in between her ribs, buried to the hilt.
She'd already been long dead.
Percy screamed.
He fought for breath, stumbling back from the scene.
"Stop it! Stop it! Fucking leave me alone!"
He stared horrified as Annabeth straightened, her face still looking... dead.
"You did this to me, Percy. You left us, you left me. You could have saved us, but you didn't."
She paused.
"Maybe you never cared. Maybe you will finally find peace in knowing we're dead, because of you. All, because you're too weak, too slow, too useless."
Percy wanted to tear his eyes away, but they were glued to her lifeless ones.
"Goodbye Percy."
He wanted to scramble towards her, call out to her, but he only watched silently, tears streaming down his face, as the scene faded, taking what was left of his resolve with it.
disclaimer: not my characters :( I love them as if they are though; does that count for something?
this was really sad. I love percy jackson so much, it's not normal
did you like this chapter? any criticism? tips? theories?
hoped you enjoyed this!
p.s. the next chappie has a different p.o.v.; any guesses?
-flaminia