tartarus and back ⇩

16. It's too easy to give up.

K A I

I'm not sure how long I fell for. Long enough for me to come to terms, to level myself out, and become used to the wind stinging my eyes. Long enough for the air that I was breathing to turn stale, and long enough for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.

My mind was racing. It was obvious that this pit led to Tartarus. There's no way I could survive the fall. Even if I did, how would I deal with all the monsters, and no food?

So I took the time of my fall to come to terms with my death. I'd lived an okay life. I had a few friends, and people that cared about me. Despite all the near-death experiences, this quest had actually been fun.

I know Annabeth would miss me. I was always the person she confided in with her personal issues, like her crush on Luke or when she started her period. She was so incredibly smart and I was glad to be able to call her my best friend.

Clarisse might not show it, but she'd miss me too. She had once told me that she's such a bully because she wanted her father to be proud of her. Once you got through her walls, she was extremely funny.

I hadn't known Grover long, but I knew he was extremely kind. He would miss a stranger's grandmother that died even if he didn't know them.

Percy was a different case. We didn't really bond over anything, but I still saw him as a brother. Hopefully he saw me the same way.

The walls of the pit got more spread out. The air smelled rotten, and it hurt to breathe.

I could tell that finally, I was reaching my end. I passed through a red cloud. The black ground became visible beneath me, and I braved myself for the fatal fall.

I was less than a minute from my demise. I clenched my eyes shut, and recalled my past memories. Maybe this was what they say when your life flashes before your eyes. It doesn't happen during death, you choose to remember more peaceful times.

My mother taking me surfing for the first time, my tiny self crashing into the waves and her just laughing and getting me right back into the board.

Her taking me to the ice cream shop after she had just broken up with her boyfriend.

Finally getting to camp and being greeted by Chiron, who told me why strange things had happened to me my whole life.

My first capture the flag game, where I had successfully taken down Clarisse and she simply congratulated me.

The mini party I'd thrown Clarisse when she got claimed by the war god.

Sitting beside Annabeth in class and talking to her for the first time.

Annabeth sneaking me into the Athena cabin for a sleepover.

My first real conversation with Percy.

Playing hacky sack with my quest crew.

And finally, that last glimpse of my friends before the pit took me.

Surely I was at the bottom of the pit now? Why wasn't I feeling the rush of wind anymore, or the pain of crashing to the ground?

I opened my eyes. The ceiling was so high above me, I couldn't even see it. Large, red cloud stuck out against the gray atmosphere. Mountains and hairy trees dotted the uneven terrain. Somewhere near, the sound of a river was heard.

I looked down and saw that I was floating a foot above the ground, which was covered in what seemed to be shards of broken black glass.

It was as if time was slowing. Almost snail-like, I righthed myself and my feet lowered into the surface. The only problem was I had kicked off my shoes, so the glass poked through my thin socks and sliced my feet.