Annabeth's POV
We were already half dead without Percy.
Will was crying over it, and not even Nyssa could stop him. Even Victor was at the table, sitting pale and smoldering with anger. Jason looked guilty, but he wasn't crying.
"Leave him be."
My head shot up. "We have to save him!"
"He's not going to kill him." Victor said.
"How can you be sure?" Frank asked stiffly.
"He wants to show Percy this whole camp razed to the ground. All your heads on the walls like trophies." he shrugged. "He can't. He wants to torture him as much as he could, and he didn't do it yet." He stood up.
"Excuse me, but I'm going to back."
Frank stood up also. "We can do something!"
"We can do nothing." Victor said flatly.
"But-"
"He'll probably be messing around in his dreams. Percy would be moved around a lot, so we can't find it. It won't work."
Frank was at a loss for words. "Annabeth??"
I took a deep breath.
Be rational Annabeth.
You're Wise Girl.
I nearly laughed at my thoughts.
"Leave it. Tartarus won't kill him."
"Are you giving up on him because he was cold to you?" Leo asked incredulously.
I swallowed. "Leo."
He stared at me. I looked away.
"No. I would never give up on Percy. But... We don't want to waste any lives. Percy will come back alive."
He's my Seaweed Brain.
Leo muttered something and looked down. I sighed and put my head in my hands.
"I know. I know we're all worried and we want Percy by our side, but we can't now. We can't do anything."
I stood up and left the big house, hoping my decision was right.
~
Help.
A voice in my head.
Help me.
It was definately Percy's.
I wanted to scream. Could I help him? I wanted to so bad, if I could get rid of his anguished voice. I grapsed my ears, trying to make the sound go away. But the voice reverberated in my head, and finally ended in a scream. My blood ran cold.
"Annabeth?"
Malcom sat beside me. "Are you okay?"
I nodded slowly.
"Don't worry about Percy. He's Percy Jackson after all."
I sighed and buried my head in my hands. "I don't know."
"You need to go teach archery."
"Yeah." I stood up and grabbed my coat.
He would be okay.
Alive.
~
Percy's POV
I was going crazy.
Maybe because of the blood. Maybe because of Tartarus. Maybe because I was in this really cramped cell.
Well, for some reason, my heart wouldn't stop doing jumping jacks. My lungs felt like uninflated balloons. I took a few deep, shuddering breaths, hoping it would make me feel less dizzy. My head was ringing, probably because of the lack of oxygen and because Tartarus had stepped on it. I felt the deep cut on my arm. It was long, but it was shallow. I curled up in a ball.
The pain.
I wish I had painkillers. It was just too painful- and I knew even Hercules would cry out in this pain.
I screamed, screamed, and screamed in the comfort that nobody would hear me.
~
A hard slap was given to me as a present.
"You know what to do." His voice was low and quiet.
I coughed, wiping the blood from my mouth.
"... I will never stand on your side moron." I hissed. "I'm not that desperate."
His eyes went hard. "You wish to never die."
"I-"
A solid kick to my stomach knocked the breath out of me. I gasped as my vision turned red, and pain coursed through my body. Maybe he had opened an old wound. I coughed, retching, coughing up blood and vomit.
"Clean that up."
Another kick send me toppling in my own vomit. It smelled horrible, and I sat up from it almost immediantly. I was getting lightheaded again. I felt Riptide inside my pocket. If I took it out now... I glanced up at Tartarus.
It would give me a few moments of darkness.
I clicked open Riptide and stabbed my head.
~
It hadn't been long.
I grabbed my head the moment I woke up. It hurt like crazy, and I felt like I would go mad. Blood covered my hands, showing me it wasn't healed completely. Bandages loosely wrapped around my abdomen.
Was that right?
A syringe.
Yes, yes it was right. I madly grasped for it and opened it, sniffing it slightly.
Oh- it was right. The gods had sent a present onto me. With shaking hands, I injected it into my arm. I could almost feel it immediately, bring me peace. I let out a long sigh, feeling my pain be alleviated.
Thank you...
I felt my eyelids getting heavy. I realized I had barely slept. I exhaled and closed my eyes, knowing I'll have to prepare myself for the next session.
~
"You still won't join."
My eyes flickered uneasily at the hot iron, but my mind didn't budge.
"Of course." I spat.
He was quicker than I thought. The hot iron burned into my skin, and I bit my lip so hard it bled.
"Hmm.... No screaming." he mused. A wicked smile covered was what was left the possessed mortal's normal face. The corners of his mouth ripped, and his eyes had widened I was sure his eyelids would rip also. I cringed as the hot iron pressed closer to my cheek.
"I wonder how much you would like it if I messed up this pretty little face of yours."
I gritted my teeth.
I didn't care.
I pressed my cheek onto the hot iron, and everything went white. I could smell the pungent odor of burned flesh. I grasped my cheek, gasping. Tartarus scowled and dropped the iron into a bowl of water.
"Take him away." he snarled.
I was again dragged off to my cell, the burn on my cheek stinging and throbbing. A cyclops pushed me in roughly, jarring my broken rib. Wincing, I scrambled up in a more comfortable position. I saw something shiny on the floor.
Riptide.
The cyclops glanced at me.
Go home. He mouthed. I'm sorry.
He ran off and I stared at him dumbfoundedly.
My pen.
I grabbed it and hid it under my tattered cloak.
Tonight.
My pen would be enough to cut through the bars and chains. I felt much safer with my sword in hand. I felt the burn carefully.
Oh, what was I going to tell Victor?