The House of Hades (Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Annabeth

Annabeth woke up wrapped in silk. It was spider silk. The panic expanded in her throat and she tried to scream. But the silk was wrapped tightly around her mouth. Her lips were pressed together. When her hand tried to grab her knife, she realized her arms were pressed to her sides. Her legs were pressed together. She was straight, as if standing up, but she was on the ground.

Percy lay a few feet from her, also wrapped in silk. His eyes were closed and his skin was a ghostly white, making her almost sob. She wasn’t sure if he was dead or just knocked out. It scared her.

“Well, well, well…” a voice murmured in the darkness. “The sleeper finally opens her eyes. It seems to be almost a miracle.”

It was Arachne. She crawled from the shadows, her spider legs drifting her closer to Annabeth. She was making a humming sound deep in the back of her throat. “You almost got away, Annabeth. But I could never allow you to be free, could I?”

The beating of Annabeth’s heart got faster. It picked up a faster rhythm as she struggled to break her away free. Sweat dripped down her cheeks as she thought of ways to get free. She thought of none.

“Look at your face,” Arachne murmured, a spider leg carefully skimming down Annabeth’s cheek. “I used to be beautiful like this. I used to be attractive.”

There was a scream creeping up Annabeth’s throat. She screamed. Her scream was muffled behind the silk wrapped tightly over her mouth.

“No need to be scared,” Arachne whispered. “It will all end soon.” She walked away and closed her eyes.

Next to Annabeth, Percy’s eyes opened sluggishly. He seemed to just notice he was wrapped like a mummy in spider silk. He tilted his head but it seemed too much for him. A low and muffled groan sounded from him as he inched his head down.

“Are you already weak, son of Poseidon?” Arachne asked, inching her way over to Percy. “You’ll be dead within five minutes, then.”

“No!” Annabeth gasped. Her voice was muffled but Arachne heard it. The spider looked over.

“Annabeth, if he does not survive, neither will you.” Arachne made her way over to a folded piece of silk. Annabeth saw a burst of gold.

“Your spidercuffs,” Annabeth said, a smile pulling onto her lips. “How do they fit? Are they a little too tight?”

Arachne made a hissing noise. “Yes, dear, they were a little snug on me. Thank you for asking.” She made her way so she was right over Annabeth. “Prepare to never wake up, daughter of Athena.”

A scream escaped Annabeth’s lips. Though the silk was pressed tightly over her lips, the sound was loud. Percy’s eyes darted to her face. But it wouldn’t matter. She would be dead before he could do anything.

And then Arachne’s face started to get fuzzy around the edges. Her smug look vanished and she looked up. “Curse you!” she cried. “I thought no god would ever dare to come down here!”

Well, a stern female voice said. I’m not a very important goddess, am I? Not many people know of me, but they know of my husband.

“Curse you,” Arachne muttered as her face vanished in the murky fogginess. “I will have my revenge.”

Finally, the voice muttered. The voice was rich and beautiful. I thought she was really going to end you two there. Sleep now and you will see me when you wake.

Annabeth’s eyes closed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

When Annabeth opened her eyes, she thought she was dead. The filthy and ugly walls of Tartarus weren’t surrounding her. In fact, all she saw was white. She could sense vaguely that it probably wasn’t real; that she couldn’t just vanished from Tartarus.