Chapter 9:
The Howling
Percy didn't know what he exactly expected.
Maybe for the city to be completely leveled, or maybe to be a battlefield. A massive statue of Zeus wouldn't have surprised him.
What he didn't expect was a silent mass grave.
The city was straight up empty. No living humans, no bodies and so far no monsters either.
There were signs of battle everywhere but they already looked like they belonged to a distant era. It looked just as if every person vanished.
Certain buildings did look like they had been showered in seaweed, others had collapsed entirely but besides a few exceptions the city looked relatively fine.
There were no monsters around. He expected the city to be crawling with them. Instead he found local wildlife slowly bleeding into the city.
He kept the invisibility cap on despite this.
Leo's journal stated that New York, along with every other coast city, had been flooded. There were signs of a flood but it seemed to be mopped up.
Percy glared at the tall building in the skyline; Olympus.
His body was screaming for him to run away and hide but the feelings felt artificial, like it was imposed on him.
He started experiencing this some time ago and noticed it only affected him if he was getting closer to the city hovering over this one. Like a forcefield of negativity made to protect Olympus.
He suspected it to be Aphrodite's doing, considering messing with feelings was her domain. After realizing this feeling wasn't his own he became more resistant to it and it felt now more like an annoying buzz.
Percy managed to find his apartment block a few hours later. Just like everywhere else his city block was lacking any signs of human life.
He was notably closer to Olympus than before. The city in the sky didn't look so divine anymore. Instead it felt alien to him.
A deadly reminder that the gods were watching.
It gave Percy the creeps so he headed inside.
Entering his apartment was becoming a problem when he found the first floor completely flooded. It was simple wielding the water to split for him but glass shards covering the floor were a problem. He was forced to parkour his way over to the stairs where he nearly slipped. because it was dark inside. There was no sound as he walked towards his destination. He barely breathed.
With a deafening screech the door opened.
Nothing.
There was nothing out of the ordinary.
Percy wasn't sure if this was good news or not. He went to his mom's room and checked the drawers.
Multiple pieces of clothing were missing. Percy smiled brightly as he felt the urge to laugh like crazy. Of course his mom would flee with Paul and Estelle the moment that message got out.
It felt as if the world was suddenly a lot brighter.
He quickly raided his personal weapon stash and opened the fridge. Spoiled milk and flesh made him shut it immediately.
That still couldn't spill his mood.
He went through more cabinets and found Paul's bulky flashlight which he immediately strapped to his backpack with a piece of tape.
He tried turning on the tv but the screen remained black. In a burst of rage Percy kicked the device.
knock knock!
A sound came from below him. He stopped dead in his tracks and waited for another sound. It had come from the apartment below his, if he wasn't getting insane that is.
Percy quietly uncapped Riptide and slowly made his wayback to the hallway. He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs. For some reason his footsteps kept echoing on the way down.
The door to the apartment below was half open; a dark gaping mouth.
His sword illuminated just enough of the room to tell him he couldn't see much.
He suppressed a cough as the dusty air was starting to ache.
Percy checked again if the Yankee's cap was on before entering.
The apartment mirrored his own, safe for the dirty furniture and open fridge.
Rats skidded out of sight as he got closer. He appreciated how Sally had been thoughtful enough to lock tbe door to keep the animals out.
Then Percy saw her. A pale girl lying on bed, her eyes closed.
She was...sleeping?
Alarm bells went off inside his mind and he knew he should leave but...
Well, what if she needs help? What if he needs help? When was the last time he saw another person?
She was younger than he was, had blond hair and wore a summer dress.
With his sword in hand he got closer.
"Hey!"
No reaction.
"Hey!" He repeated himself as he lightly shook her.
She started to stir, mumbling something incomprehensible.
"Don't be scared."
She finally woke up and began to sit up straight.
She opened her eyelids, revealing two rotting pits of flesh.
A maggot fell out of her eye socket.
She started to rotate her head and looked straight at Percy.
Percy covered his mouth just in time.
He suppressed a loud cry before backing to the door, sword in hand.
The girl moved out of the bed, revealing a gaping wound in her side. She sniffed the air as she moved around the dark apartment. Bumping into multiple objects.
Percy pushed himself out of the dorway and accidentally touched the door.
A loud screech tore through the apartment as the metal hinges screamed.
The girl stared at Percy and if she had any they would've made eye contact.
She threw her mouth open and unleashed a high pitched cry.
Percy flinched before making his way to the stairs.
Another cry came from the hallway, this time from above.
He ran down the stairs, taking 5 at a time, dark human figures emerged from the flooded floor. They opened their mouths, spitting out murky water and started screaming as well.
Percy just dove past the screaming humanoids.
More screams joined the chorus. A man began to limp out of a room. He was completely covered in bite marks.
One of the figures lashed out at Percy, dirty nails scratched his skin.
He lashed out with his sword and severed the arm in one quick motion.
More figures emerged, all in various states of decay and all screaming like the river Phlegethon.
He clenched his palm and commanded the water to push everyone against the wall.
It cleared a path and he ran the last few inches before being spat out back onto the street into the bright sunlight.
The screaming didn't stop but instead increased in volume. Humans emerged from the building he just left.
More emerged, this time from a shop across the street.
The howling continued and the city came to live.
The previously empty looking buildings responded to the cries with their own. All around him the horrible sound was picked up and spread. A hundred cries became a thousand and a thousand a million.
Every lost soul in this city joined the cry.
Every building was spitting out bodies.
Everything was hell.
And Percy was all on his own.
A/N Just a quick update.
Review dis shiz, pls?
Aight, later.
-CaptainMoonShine-