VERY DRAMATIC CHAPTER!
I think it's gonna play out different than you guys expect, but I hope you'll enjoy it! A TWIST!
*sinister music* babaBAAAAA!
So, unfortunately, probably no update tomorrow with school and swim, but maybe. I really wanna write next chapter and it's Thanksgiving weekend so, who knows. But, hey, maybe by next week this story could be finished. Crazy right? Gods, if I knew what I was getting myself into when I started this. Honestly I thought this would be one of those things I started but didn't stick with. It's because of YOU GUYS that I stuck with it. So good for you! ;)
My friend got me obsessed with the Vampire Diaries. Darn her. I did not need another show to be obsessed with. I already have Bones (which I skipped today to type, you're very welcome) and Supernatural, and I watched the new show Arrow this week and I'm probs obsessed with that one too. So, yeah. I blame her.
ENOUGH OF THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE NONSENSE!
I'm excited for you to read this, guys! I've had this ending planned out for a while and I'm pretty happy with it.
Well….READ!
(AND REVIEW!)
Disclaimer: …
READ ON!
I've been kicked out of enough Biology classes to know that breathing is supposed to be a mindless, effortless task The brain stem takes care of everything without you even needing to consider the action of breathing.
That wasn't what was happening now. It felt like my brain stem was shutting down, because I had to pull the air in and shove it out. Much mindfulness and effort needed. Despite how hard I was trying, my breathing was erratic and shallow.
I gripped onto Zack's shirt, using him as a lifeline. I couldn't die. Neither of us would be able to bear it.
I felt my resolve steel.
I was not Death's bitch yet.
I called to the water, really reached out to it. I felt it churn around my body and I willed it to my wounds, willed it to apply force and pressure. Willed it to heal.
My dad always told me that summoning the water felt like an uncomfortable tug in his gut. To me, it felt similar to someone painfully yanking on my hair, except, you know, in my gut.
Right then, it felt like someone was carving out my mid-section, and was determined to take it out in as many pieces as possible.
Just a word for the wise and near dying, when Death has a grip on you, its hold is not only as strong as steel, but it's barbed and painful as hell to rip off.
So, there Zack and I were in the water. Me fighting off Death, Zack begging it to leave. I screamed. Zack cried. The water healed. My wounds killed.
A battle of will between me and Death. Not the most fun thing to do. At. All.
But, here's the thing about me. I'm nothing if not relentlessly stubborn to the point of near insanity. Sometimes it just about gets me killed. Sometimes…it saves my damned life.
Ever so slowly I felt the wounds slowly close. It was painful process, like someone cauterizing my wounds. For a while, I just remained still, my muscles tense, my eyes shut, waiting for the last of the searing pain to fade.
"You okay, Silena?"
"I'm alive." I croaked. I cracked my eyes open and looked up at Zack. His face was filled with worry. I managed a weak smile. "Boy, if giving birth is anything like that, I'm never having children."
Zack chuckled, sounding relieved that I had the energy to make a joke. He pushed the soaking wet hair from my face and kissed my forehead.
When he pulled away I checked my wounds. They were closed, but roughly. They could reopen if strained, but I wasn't knocking on Death's door anymore.
Of course, I was about to go back into battle so I wasn't exactly fleeing from it's house either.
I struggled to stand and Zack helped me. People were dying, I couldn't waste anymore time.
I looked up at him. "We need to go."
"Silena, you're still hurt."
I heard thunder roar. "I've been hurt in someway since I was nine. I'll survive."
"Silena…"
"This isn't open for discussion, Zack! People are dying and I'm not gonna stand by and take a time out 'cuz I got an ouchie."
"It almost killed you." He pressed.
"Yeah that happens a lot." I swallowed. I've been injured a lot, but I'd never come that close to Death before. It scared the shit out of me, but I had to keep fighting. This fear ran deeper than just the wounds on my body.
I took a deep breath. "Listen, Zack. I can kill this monster. Me, and me alone. Thalia just went to face it." More thunder grumbled and my throat started to clog. "I can't have her die. I can't. She's like family to me, more so than any of my parent's other friends. I can't let her die." My voice cracked at the end.
Zack looked in my eyes for a while, and the clouds above us flashed and roared. Clouds that gathered a bit more quickly than is common.
Zack kissed me suddenly and passionately. The clouds growled in defiance, and broke open in protest, dousing us even more. The waves seemed to get a little stronger too, as if the ocean was trying to push us apart.
But I didn't dwell on the meanings of that at that moment. Zack was here, with me, kissing me. I had almost died, I had managed not to. I might die soon.
I pushed myself against him and gripped hard on his hair with one hand, pressing his head closer to my own, and pulling myself closer to his. My other hand lay above his heart, noting the stable, if not a little quick, beating. It was a comfort. He was alive. I was alive. We were together.
He pulled away and through the rain I noticed tears. "I can't lose you, Silena." He croaked. "I can't lose you. I don't know how it happened so quick. I don't know. But I am completely in love with you, Silena, and I can't live, I can't exist, without you. It's just incomprehensible." He paused as I felt tears dance on my face with the rain. "But I can't ask you to stay, just like you can't ask me not to protect you. It's who we are. There's no fighting it." He took my hand. "I promise you. One week and we'll be in Alaska."
I nodded. "This ends tonight."
He knew what I was saying.
This wasn't just about this battle. This was about who I was. The broken, isolated, bitter, hurt, judgmental, and scared girl needed closure. She needed to be put to rest.
Yet, it was she who gave me the strength to drop Zack's hand, tilt my head up, and walk towards the shore.
I caught sight of my reflection in the water, but the waves were choppy, so it skewed my image. For a brief moment I looked younger. Happier.
It was her.
Silena.
And she was proud of me.
I was proud of me.
Sometimes I felt like I had multiple personality disorder. I was Silena. The happy, optimistic daughter of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. The girl who strived and tried. The girl who went to school because she knew her mom would have wanted it. The girl who held loyalty above everything else because it was what her father taught her.
I was also Lena. The broken girl who had almost killed herself, but realized she didn't deserve an end so painless. The girl who murdered two people, and never let herself forget it. The girl that led me to steal and lie and hurt others. The girl who locked Silena away.
Then….there was Si. The newborn of the schizophrenia, you could say. I don't know who she is. Maybe both? Maybe neither? I'm not sure.
I used to only accept the name Lena. To be called Silena was considered an insult.
But the thing was…I still am Silena. The Daughter of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. But I'm still Lena, too. The broken, suicidal, guilt-ridden murderer who drowned herself with her own detached emotions.
Si…She was the renaissance of the group. My rebirth after my Black Death known as Lena. I was still figuring out who she was. All I knew was that she was brave. And in hopelessly in love.
So, Si, Silena, Lena. Call me whatever.
They were all me.
I had retrieved my knives and my sword returned to my pocket, of course. It was still pouring, I was still bleeding, but onward I walked, with Zack trailing behind.
At one point the cove jutted out to a point that blocked my view past it. I swallowed and nervously walked around.
I heard an immediately recognizable girl's voice shout. "Get away!"
"Thalia." I muttered.
That's when I started running.
When I rounded the corner I saw her kneeling on the ground, looking up terrified at a guy who's back was to me. He seemed to be completely dry, despite the rain. "Get back!" She shouted. She seemed to be struggling with something. As if it almost pained her to be yelling. "I'm sorry, but I won't let you hurt anyone again!"
"Thals," the man said, sounding no older than a teen. "I'm your friend. You could help me, you know. The two of us, we'd be unstoppable."
Thalia shook her head. "No." She stood and raised her sword.
"I'm sorry you feel that way," the teen said, not sounding all the sorry.
Suddenly Thalia's eye's widened and she fell back to her knees.
And then started screaming.
"Thalia!" I shrieked. She didn't react, it was as if she didn't hear or see me.
But the man did. He turned.
I gasped and stumbled back. I recognized him from the photos, with his sandy hair and scar. My parents didn't talk about him much, but they talked about him enough. They thought he was a hero, but many people thought of him as the villain.
"Luke." I muttered. "H-How?"
That's when I noticed the eyes. They were gold.
'Luke' smiled. "Sorry. Not Luke. Not really."
"Kronos." I said. "Gold eyes."
He considered this. "Technically, no. I am not Kronos himself. He's still doing the tango in Tartarus I'm afraid. Boy, am I glad to be out of there. He has no sense of humor I tell you. And his manners are atrocious."
"Who are you?" I demanded.
Luke/Kronos/it laughed. "It's not obvious? I mean, you don't remember all those lovely chats we had inside your head?" His gaze went to a very confused and scared looking Zack. "Let me tell you, it is a messed up place in there. I don't recommend it as a vacationing spot."
"You? You're the Memory Monster? Anamniseis Teras?"
"It's good to see you again, Silena. It's been a while." I frowned, confused. I'd never seen him in person before. His mouth quirked up. "How old were you, when we met?" My eyes widened.
"No." I whispered.
His smile widened. "Nine, wasn't it?"
I started shaking. Three things ran through my head.
1) My conversation with Thalia about Talos Syndromo. The Memory Monster had to have infected me. One symptom was having nightmares of my past.
2) My conversation with Sarah. How the Memory Monster looked like whatever you feared most. Clearly, Kronos overtaking Luke was what Thalia feared.
3) The night my parents died. I could never clearly remember what the monster looked like, but ever since that night I'd gotten awful memories…of my past.
"No." I shook my head. "No!" I refused to cry in front of this being from hell. So I encouraged the anger. Let it strengthen me. Let it empower me.
Zack grabbed my arm. "Lena what is it?"
The Memory Monster tipped its head. "Yeah, Dolphin. What is it?"
My father's nickname for me broke me. I nearly fell to the ground sobbing but Zack held me. "What is it?" He repeated.
"Yeah, Silena. Tell him about that night." He walked closer, a psychopathic smile on his face. "Tell him about that night in the alley where I killed your parents."
Zack's eyes widened and I choked back another sob. I forced myself to stand. I didn't have time to mourn or grieve. "You killed them. They killed you." Every muscle was tense. "Why aren't you dead?!" I shouted. "They killed you!"
"Ah, well, you should know, my dear Silena, monster don't die."
"Don't call me that." I snapped. "And of course I knew that." During this, Zack was standing beside me, silent but comforting.
"Of course, my mistake, oh wise daughter of Annabeth Chase."
"Don't name her." I growled. "Don't name her as if you didn't end her life. As if you didn't rob her of her life, of her child."
It just chuckled. "Anyway. Well, see, loopholes, what can you do about them? They can be a pain in the ass. Well…for you." He added with a sardonic smile.
"What loophole?" I demanded.
"Well, you should know! Haven't you heard? I can only be killed by one."
"Me."
He smiled tensely. "Yes. You. So, very soon after I had raised from Tartarus I heard this little rumor. As you can imagine, I was concerned for my well-being."
"I'm sure you were." Zack growled.
"Oh, I was." He assured, ignoring the sarcasm. "But I was reckless. Thought I could take you out while you were young and be done with the matter. I didn't exactly count on your parents being famous and nearly unstoppable heroes." He smiled mockingly again, but it turned into a sneer. "Nearly being the operative word."
Frustrated and pained I let out a growl/scream and before I knew what I was doing, I had thrown a knife. There was no hesitation in it, and my accuracy was dead on.
The Memory Monster just caught it, mid-air, two inches from his face. He made a tsking noise. "Reckless. I see we share a similar trait. Now, if you would be so kind, I was telling a story."
No words existed to convey how I felt. So I remained silent.
"Anyway," he continued. "I attack you, but they were quick and skilled. If I had been at my full power, they wouldn't have stood a chance." He paused, appearing aggravated, but it faded and soon the sickening smile was back. "But as I said, I was reckless."
"They turned you to dust. I saw it."
"Well, yes. They did 'kill' me," he used air quotes. "But it lasted, what, four days?"
Four days. My parents died killing a monster that came back four days later.
"How did you get to me? How did you infect me?"
He chuckled, seeming amused by my question. "You don't remember the nightmares prior to that scene in the alley? You don't remember waking up screaming for ten nights straight?"
Honestly, I hadn't until now. It paled in comparison to the fear I felt the night of the alley.
He laughed. "Oh, you honestly don't? How splendid! You see, what you and your parents didn't realize was that I was following you for days before that attack. I may have been reckless, but I wasn't stupid. I had a back-up plan so I could always find you. That's the key. You have to be intelligently reckless." He smiled. "Figure that oxymoron out. It's a mind thinker. After I came back," he continued, "I was smarter. I took my time. I plotted. I think it paid off, don't you?"
Zack chose that moment to be the hero, the idiot.
He shoved me behind him. "Stay away from her!"
The Memory Monster just smiled and tilted its head. I saw Zack's face go slack, and then his eyes widen. The Memory Monster seemed to blur. Thalia stopped screaming, but she seemed too frightened to move. She just lay down gasping.
Zack fell to his knees. "Zack!" I shouted, trying to hold him up.
"Zack!" I heard myself scream. I sounded terrified and in pain.
But I hadn't spoken. I looked back to the memory monster.
It was me now.
A me that was bleeding horribly and was obviously about to die.
"Zack," I watched myself say. "Why couldn't you save me? You said you'd protect me! You said you'd be there for me! You failed me Zack!"
"I'm sorry." Zack said. "I'm so sorry, Silena."
"I'm going to die, Zack. And it's all your fault."
"I'm sorry!" He shouted, obviously sobbing, not realizing it wasn't real.
"Stop it!" I shouted, the real me. "Stop it!"
The fake me turned to face me. "What if I don't want to?"
"This is between us, so let it be." I gripped my sword.
The fake me smiled. "Alright," I said as I walked up to me, looking me, the real me, in the eyes. Soon, she was very close, but I couldn't find the strength to raise my eyes.
"Show me my worst fears. I know exactly what I'm afraid of."
The fake me smiled sweetly. "Oh, I have something different in store for you, Lena."
Something about the way she specifically called me Lena, not Silena as she had the rest of this meeting, chilled me.
But then the familiar ice-cold chill of the Memory Monster hit me.
Then I blacked out.
PPPPPLLLLLEEEEAAASSSSEEEE REAVIEW? WASN'T IT WORTH IT?