Hey, Lazy one here...
All: Thanks for the kind reviews!
GoddessOfArchitecture: I'm actually a architecture student, so i guess i'll be hoping for good grades this sem... and thanks for the kind words :)
Burned Blue Cookie: Percy's powers aren't fully revealed yet, so don't be too quick to assume ;)
Percy's POV
Owwww.
My head… What was that ringing sound?
Ughhh
What happened?
Where am I? ...
I was in Demi-Goode Academy going for the try-outs…
Right… We were falling and…
Oh my god. Last thing I saw was Grover with…
I tried opening my eyes.
UGHHH
I immediately closed them shut, after being momentarily blinded by my surroundings.
I tried opening them again. This time squinting and slowly blinking till my pupils adjusted to the change in light exposure.
Did I get knocked out? How long was I out? Where was I now?
My eyes finally adjusted and I slowly sat up, pushing off pieces of broken debris that were stacked on top of me.
My eyes wandered, looking around just trying to take in the scene around me.
Oh my gods.
It looked like a scene out of a movie… a horror movie.
The once beautifully decorated hall was now in ruins. Everything was destroyed, from the beautiful furnished bleacher seats, to the sound-proof and insulated walls that framed the hall. What was left, were only parts and pieces of it. You could sort of make out what was once there, but not without knowing what it used to look like. That's how bad it looked.
What the hell is going on? Is this seriously a part of the test?
I tried standing up, but immediately fell down. My balance was completely off and it felt like I had just sat through 500 spinning tea-cup rides.
I felt a cold liquid dripping from my left ear. I touched it with my left hand; bringing it in front of me to get a look at what it was.
There was blood coming from my ear. Had my ear drum burst?
Was that the ringing I kept hearing?
Slowly this time, I stood up, grabbing a broken piece of debris for support. My legs were still wobbly and my head seemed to be throbbing, like someone had swung a bat to the back of my head.
Damn Bryan… Bringing back bad memories…
Looking around I tried to see if there were any students who had survived the fall or were still around… Getting a better take on my surroundings, it seemed like we had crashed into a forest of some sort. There were fallen trees and leaves sticking out from everywhere. Rocks and crushed grass, covered by broken railings and parts of the stage littered the once grand hall.
Things were not looking good.
"Grover!?" I shouted, "Grover!? Uh anyone still here?"
Silence. There wasn't anyone around. Was I the only one left? It seemed like when the auditorium had hit the forest, it had exploded and the impact had scattered parts of the hall all over the area. I noticed that there were some large pieces that were missing. There wasn't enough debris here to make up the entire hall.
So that must mean that there may be other sites where there are survivors… and hopefully Grover…
I stumbled through the debris, trying to find a clue or trail that might lead me to another crash site. Making my way through the broken pieces of wood and metal, I continued on, looking for anything that might give me a hint or help me survive in this jungle.
Who knows… there might be wild animals here… Lions… Bears…
Ha!
Who was I kidding, there weren't any bears here… Were there...?
I shook my head and put it aside. Maybe at worst there were some wild boars or mice, but there were no bears here…
After a while, my legs were no longer wobbling and the throbbing in my head had disappeared. I seemed to have my balance back, as I carefully made my way through the wreckage.
Things were getting better already!
As I was fumbling and going through some of the debris, I noticed a black object that was trapped deep, underneath the wreckage. It glistened under the sun, and seemed to be made up of some sort of reflective material.
Huh, could it be a shirt or jacket? What is that?
Gulp
Was it a person?
The thought sort of frightened me. Was that someone underneath all of that?
Urgently, I continued digging and throwing pieces of the wreckage away to get a better look at the black object. It could've been about 3 in the afternoon, as the sun was at its peak. I had started sweating bullets and my shirt was practically falling apart from the crash.
I would have to start looking for some water or food soon and mentally noted it down.
The black object was still trapped under quite a bit of the debris, and it didn't look like I was getting any closer. I had dug myself quite a big hole trying to get to it.
Sitting down on a broken timber beam, I sighed heavily and took another look at my surroundings. The trees and plants around me looked tropical in nature and towered above the greenscape. There were some trees that I recognised, but only because they had been impressioned in my mind during Geography lesson. The Kapok tree grew up to 300 ft. tall and from what I was seeing, there looked to be more than 1 in the forest as they dominated the skyline making it impossible to get a clear view of the sky. Ferns, flowers and bushes decorated the landscape and I couldn't see or make out anything beyond more than 10 ft. away from me. It was so thick and green that if you were wearing a bright red shirt and had walked past, I probably would've missed you.
Thank God it hadn't rained the past few days, or this ordeal would've been much more difficult. I stood back up, determined to finish what I had started. With renewed zeal, I resumed rummaging through the wreckage, getting my footing on the uneven ground while trying to get to the illusive black object.
After about 6 minutes of lifting and throwing rocks and wood with lots of cursing and shouting at the world, I had finally reached the base of the wreckage and could practically touch the black object.
I was about to, but my instincts advised me against it.
I bent down, cautiously, getting a closer look - it seemed to be a large chunk of black material that disappeared further into the fallen wreckage, and there were small marks carved out onto its surface. Were those diamond prints? The material looked flexible enough not to be metal or plastic… however it didn't seem light or thin enough to be a piece of clothing.
What was it?
I had seen it before and it looked really familiar. But I just couldn't seem to put my finger on what it was… It really reminded me of a snake…
It couldn't be… it was way too wide for it to be a snake. It was huge…
The tingling came back with full force, screaming in my head.
I hadn't quite gotten used to it, but I recognised that it occurred only when I was in danger. The tingling seemed to be coming from the right side of my head.
I turned to my right instantly, just in time to see a pair of huge fangs bear down right on me.
SNAAAP
The sound of the huge fangs closing, consuming air made a sick snapping echo, as it barely missed my neck as I jumped backwards almost instinctively.
Oh my god.
I looked forward - a huge black trunk stood in front of me, and attached to the trunk, hovered a 4000 pound black snake, with a venomous looking head. Its evil and beady black eyes eyed me hungrily, as it bobbed back and forth in a sideward motion.
Uhh Holy shit!? That's not a snake, what the fuck is that? Is that a freaking Dinosaur?!
I stood there looking up at the dinosaur, just about ready to shit my pants. It had to be at least 20 ft. high, and to be quite honest, a little bit of pee nearly came out.
The freaking dinosaur continued eyeing my hungrily, as it bobbed sideways, while its forked tongue hissssed in and out. I did not believe that a snake could be that big. I mean, what IN THE HELL?!
Was I dreaming? Yeah… I must be getting delusional from the crash, lack of oxygen, stress… and this… this is just a mirage! Hmm or maybe there's a nightmare kind of mirage. Instead of seeing what you want to see, you see dinosaurs… Huh, ok then. This all makes sense. Hahaha…
I started laughing and giggling to myself. This situation wasn't… no couldn't be real… I was just dreaming!
"Nice try Dinosaur…" I shouted, while I left reason and reality behind, "FUCK YOU DINOSAUR! YEAAAAAA YOU AIN'T NUTHIN' BITCH!"
I started pointing the middle finger at it, and proceeded to doing all the obscene gestures that I could remember or think of.
The snake eyed me cautiously, stunned at my outcry. I nervously watched as it stopped, for a brief moment, before starting to bob its head again. The hissing got louder and louder, as it increased the speed of its bobbing. And before I knew it, it lunged forward, twisting its head, as it's fangs and jaws opened; ready for the kill.
The tingling in my head screamed.
My eyes nearly burst out of their sockets as I saw the upper and lower palate of the snake's jaws headed straight for my face. Time slowed down around me as my vision focused, and honed in on the beast in front of me. I saw the different muscles in its jaw convulsing and tightening, the remains of raw meat stuck to the underside of its fangs, while it's forked tongue shook violently before sheathing back swiftly into it's tongue. I jerked my body backwards just as its fangs bit down on where my face was supposed to be. The shear force from its jaw's closing blew a small burst of wind in my face.
This was real.
It recoiled back slowly, eyeing me carefully without breaking contact. It's tongue hissing continually, as if it were upset that it had to try so hard for its meal.
Not having the time to think of how this is total BULLSHIT, I had to focus down on surviving this thing.
I had dodged it twice, and only because it had been taken by surprise. It probably had underestimated me and thought that I was a dumb bear or something. I slowly shifted backwards, slightly shuffling my feet to avoid any big or sudden movements. My foot hit something. Not wanting to take my eyes off the creature; I used my peripheral vision to see what it was.
I had backed into a huge pile of the wreckage. The debris that I had pulled and rummaged through earlier had now surrounded me and trapped me facing the dinosaur of a snake.
I cursed under my breath. What was I going to do? The beast started bobbing its head again, this time picking up it's pace quicker than the last.
Looking around me, my back was against a huge pile of debris, but to my sides, there was an uneven terrain of wreckage that sloped down like a hill. It wasn't impossible to climb up, but I doubt the beast would let me have enough time to get up there quick enough before I was eaten.
Hmmm…
I didn't have time to come up with another plan… The monster struck out, twisting it's head to the right while unleashing it's jaws at me.
The tingling in my head screamed again, warning me of the incoming danger. Without a second thought, I jumped back on to the debris behind me, and using it like a springboard; jumped up higher while propelling my body and twisted my body away just as it's head lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the sides of its fangs. Twisting my body like a corkscrew, I landed heavily onto a broken piece of timber and some fallen branches...
Ouch
At the same time, the snake had went jaws-first and face second, straight into the pile of debris, with a loud crash as the pile of wreckage fell on top of it.
Ouuuch
Grinning triumphantly, I got up immediately and started climbing the wreckage. I made it to the top in no time, but stopped when I heard the sound of debris hitting the ground.
I turned around.
The snake was trying to wiggle itself out of the wreckage, and by the sound of all the loud hissing, it was really pissed off.
I had to run away now. It wouldn't be long before it got out, and went straight after me.
Move Percy! Move!
I turned to run, but my legs suddenly gave way. I fell to the ground with a loud thump.
I suddenly found it getting harder and harder to breathe. It was like something was choking me and pressing against my lungs…
Arghhhh
I groaned, and found myself gasping for oxygen like a fish out of water…
What was wrong with me?
My ribcage was starting to throb and there seemed to be a fire spreading throughout my body.
I looked down.
Oh god.
A part of my right ribcage was entirely exposed. I could see the muscle and tissue peeking out over my bones. Blood started to spread over my shirt and drip down onto the ground, as a large chunk of my skin was missing. I hadn't felt the pain until now, only after the adrenaline had come down.
Looks like I didn't avoid the snake totally…
Immediately but slowly, I tore of my shirt and slowly wrapped it around the wounded area. I tried holding in the pain, but I just couldn't help it. I screamed out as the cloth tightened around the wound, trying to prevent anymore excessive blood loss. Tears started coming out involuntarily from the pain, as my plain white shirt immediately turned red upon soaking up the blood that I was losing.
I felt light-headed and my body felt like it was made of rusted metal as I got up and continued stumbling forward, deeper into the forest, away from the snake and wreckage behind me. Panting heavily, and running out of energy, I stumbled onto a tree.
After fifteen minutes of stumbling and dragging my feet, I couldn't walk any further.
I had to rest.
I looked behind me as a trail of blood followed me, leading my predator right to me.
No longer having the energy to walk - let alone stand, I leaned back against the tree and slid down slowly onto the grass to sit down.
About ten minutes had gone by, and I still hadn't seen the snake. I was seated there, propped against the bark of the tree, with my legs stretched out and my kicks facing upwards.
I just sat there, breathing slowly; in and out – in and out, waiting for the end to come. I waited there, for what must've been like minutes but seemed like days.
Strangely enough I hadn't given up. I was tired, desperate and exhausted but I still refused to give up.
By now, the sun had fallen, and it was getting darker and darker. I could barely see 2 feet in front of me now, and the only thing I could now rely on was the strange tingling in the back of my head to warn me of danger.
I was dehydrated, tired, cold, starving and dying from blood loss.
After a few hours of sitting and waiting for the end, I had given up trying to stay awake, and was drifting in and out of slumber.
I couldn't keep awake any longer, as my eyes slowly fluttered shut. My subconscious started wandering… and I suddenly found myself in the second grade…
It was one of my fondest, happiest and most precious memories… I was 6 years old and was playing on the beach with my parents. My dad hadn't left us yet, and I was running on the sand barefoot with a big smile on my face.
I could hear the chuckles and laughter of my parents as they shouted out to me to wait for them. But I didn't wait.
I just couldn't wait.
I felt the wind in my hair and against my face, as I rushed down the sand towards the sea. As a young lad, I had always been fond of the sea. I had found it comforting. Some found it intimidating and scary as it made up majority of the world, and yet was totally unknown and unexplored. You couldn't control it and to me, that made so much sense. It was freedom. It came and left as it pleased, and it moved and flowed with nature. But when it had to go against something, it never lost.
Just as I was about to jump into the water, I was picked up and swung around by two large hands. I turned around, surprised, only to look straight into my father's smiling face. We started laughing as we both fell into the water.
The dream usually ended there, but this time it continued…
I was suddenly in the deep parts of the water, as the bottom of the ocean lay beneath me; dark and deep. I had always found comfort in the water; my body just seemed to be at home when I was in it. But this time, I felt myself weighed down. The water wasn't clear, but murky and thick.
Panicking, I looked around for my father. He had fallen in with me. Was he ok?
Dad? Where are you!? PAPA?!
DADDY!
I was beginning to run out of air. My lungs were on fire as I started choking, grasping for air.
But no matter how much I kicked and kicked, I just couldn't seem to reach the surface. I was drowning…
GASPP
I woke up in a cold sweat, jerked awake by the nightmare.
Well… that was new…
What the hell was that…
Trying to calm myself down, I took in a deep breath…
OUCH!
Ok… I winced. I forgot that I was still hurting from the wound. Not gonna do that again…
Looking up, it was now completely dark out, and I couldn't even see my own hands through the thickness. The faint illumination from the covered stars and moon wasn't enough to give me vision.
Craaack ruuuustle; Craaack
I slowly sat up; my eyes suddenly wide open – looking around.
Wait… What was that?
I had definitely heard the sound of a branch breaking and leaves rustling.
It was faint, but something was there. Was the snake back? Did it finally find me? Was it coming to finish what it had started?
My mind was working in overdrive, as I pushed my senses to the limits; trying to identify where it was coming from.
Judging from the noise it was making, it wasn't a bunny or rat that I had seen earlier. It was much heavier. It wasn't heavy enough to be the huge dinosaur of a snake from earlier. Was it human?
The rustling continued getting louder, as the person or thing got nearer and nearer.
Sweat trickled down my head, as I felt the tension from the suspense rising throughout my body.
I had to get up. I couldn't die sitting down. Whatever it was, it was getting closer and closer.
Then, I saw light, a flickering light coming from a torch.
It was glowing like a star, as it shone like a lighthouse to a ship far out at sea.
The person holding the torch was heading right for me.
I tried to stand up, but couldn't as my legs wobbled as I fell back to the ground due to fatigue. I was too hungry and dehydrated to have the strength to stand back up.
Hopelessly I watched as the silhouette neared and closed in towards me, I could feel my body losing the last of its strength.
The pain all over my body was slowly taking over…
The person maneuvered through the forest, moving quickly past the trees and roots sticking out from the ground with ease and agility.
Finally, after what seemed like ages, the silhouette pushed through the thick branches and leaves, and came into full view.
It was a she. She had curly blonde hair and looked… well… to be honest, she looked like a princess. The first thing that I had noticed, were her grey eyes. They were so intense and mesmerising.
Ridiculously, despite my dire situation, I found myself blushing.
It wouldn't be so bad to die now, was the only thing I could think of.
I started losing consciousness from the exhaustion and found my vision blurring and eyelids closing.
She came through the clearing, looking around, and when she spotted me, shouted "I FOUND HIM. OH MY GODS. I FOUND HIM. COME QUICK!"
The last thing I remember was, she running towards me and shouting at me. What did she say? Oh… I can't remember. I looked up at her.
"My name's Annabeth...oh my gods…" I heard her say through the muffled silence that was creeping up on me, "You're going to be alright okay? Just hang in there!"
Everything was blurry and dark. It went silent.
Annabeth huh…
Then I blacked out...
Longest Chapter so far... This one really took quite some time to write. Hope there weren't too many mistakes.
Thanks for reading!
Let me know what you think by reviewing if you want.