The House of Hades (Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Annabeth

Annabeth could only process pain. As she spiraled down the never-ending fall, she was only aware of Percy gripping her hand. She could feel death- a deep dark presence that wouldn’t leave her alone. She tumbled through open air, feeling weightless. Her eyes were closed. She was going to hit the ground, and she knew it would hurt.

Tears streamed her face. She began to sob. Someone grabbed her in the air. Percy. He pulled her close and held her as she fell, held her like she was about to snap. As she sobbed into his shirt, she could smell his familiar scent- sea salt. She started crying harder.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. His voice was soft since the howls and roars of Tartarus tuned out his voice.

“You didn’t have to fall with me,” she said. “You could have lived.” Another sob broke free of her chest. She held onto him tighter.

“I was never going to leave you alone again.” Percy sounded upset. “Mars -or Ares- said one day I would have a sacrifice I wouldn’t be able to make. He wasn’t lying.”

That’s when Annabeth opened her eyes. Percy was looking at her intently with a torture expression. The walls around them were like a dusty brown that was tinted with red. The whole place seemed to smell of strong iron- blood. Annabeth tried not to get sick right there.

She looked down and saw the ground a mere hundred yards away. By the speed they were falling, she would become a demigod pancake in a few moments.

“Percy!” she shrieked.

He looked down and cursed in Ancient Greece. Before she could close her eyes, he turned her around so that he would hit the ground and she would be safe, lying across his chest. She screamed, “No!” She pounded on his chest. “I can hit the ground too!”

And they hit the ground. The impact was so great even though Annabeth didn’t hit the ground was so powerful that she momentarily blacked out. She awoke partially hanging off of Percy’s chest.

Percy groaned. His elbow looked wrong- like popped out of place. He had been knocked unconscious and was pale.

“Oh, gods,” Annabeth muttered. She carefully pushed herself off of him, being careful with her broken ankle. The splint was falling off, and she could still see red with pain.

Tartarus had jagged rock walls everywhere she looked. There were tunnels and jagged rocks that looked ready to stab a demigod falling from the sky. Screams and growls came from everywhere. Annabeth’s heart pounded so loud it felt like the roof was coming down on her. It was just a matter of time until a stray monster would come over and rip her and Percy to shreds.

Struggling, Annabeth crawled over to Percy and pushed him under an overhang. Before she could rest for a little, something shiny caught her eye.

She crawled over the rocks, scraping her knees, and picked up her knife, which had fallen into Tartarus. She found her laptop, which had landed safely on her backpack. The bad thing was that her backpack was empty. The things must have fallen out on the fall. She took her things and crawled back to Percy.

He was waking up, his green eyes unfocused, and he said, “Annabeth…?”

She kind of threw herself onto his chest, her ankle flaring in pain, and she began to cry. “Percy, I’m here,” she whispered. “Be careful, I think you broke your elbow.”

As he sat up, she saw wetness on his back. She put her fingers gingerly on his back, only to smell blood.

“Oh, good gods,” she muttered. She lifted his shirt up to reveal several of the pointed rocks stuck to Percy’s back. “Please don’t freak out.”