Victor's POV
Percy tried to sleep.
Tried to.
Right now, he was getting fed by tubes so he wouldn't get dehydrated. I had tried a few painkillers, but it didn't work well enough. With the lights off, my eyes strained to see in the dark. He was sweating buckets, but wasn't vomiting atleast. I sighed and leaned back on the chair.
I was starving.
I would just grab a sandwitch and come back. He would be fine. I sighed and ran out to the cafeteria in no time, breathless. I quickly grabbed a sandwitch and ran back to my dorm. My eyes made out that Percy was sitting up. I paused.
"Should I turn on the lights?"
"Yeah." his voice was hoarse. The lights snapped on and he buried his head between his knees. I sat down on the chair and the smell of eggs filled the room. I quickly covered it. I didn't know it was egg.
"It's alright." he mumbled.
I stood up. "I'll go out and eat-"
"Stay." he cut in quickly. He sighed. "Just stay."
I sat down and set the sandwitch aside.
"Victor, I know you're hungry. It's nearly 3."
"I'm fine."
He looked up at me, his eyes boring into me.
"Eat."
I unwrapped the sandwitch carefully on the other side of the room. I ate quickly, but the smell had already filled the room. I opened the window, letting the cold air in. I placed another blanket around his shoulders.
"I'm sorry."
He didn't say anything. I sighed and my breath fogged in the cold air. He lifted his head and gulped in the cold air, and his head dropped back down limply.
"Percy. Can you lift your head?"
He propped his head upon his knees. He was pale and the sweat on his forehead was cooling quickly. I knelt down beside him and wiped his face.
"You're not feeling nauseous?"
He shook his head as I took his temperature.
"Where does it hurt?"
"... Stomach."
"Does it hurt a lot?"
He nodded slowly. I sighed and sat by him.
"When we go back to camp, do what you want to. Just don't overexert yourself. Sounds good?"
"Yeah."
I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. It was getting too cold, and I was pretty sure the smell had dissapeared. I stood up and went back to the window and shut it tight. I looked back to see Percy standing up. I helped him stand up straight. He tore the tubes off his arm and stumbled to the bathroom. I frowned. He didn't eat anything this morning. I rubbed my face.
His luck.
I wondered how he lived like that.
Now I could understand why he wanted to die.
Euthanasia.
I shook my head hard. No. What was I thinking? No. No. Not that. I was crazy. I went inside the bathroom. He had curled up in a ball, his arms wrapped around his stomach. I helped him up and he leaned heavily on me.
"Victor-" his face contorted in pain.
"Yes. I know."
I felt so bad for him. I wanted to end this cycle, going over and over. I sighed and teleported quickly.
~
I couldn't believe I was still thinking about it.
Atleast Percy was sleeping now.
No pain.
I wondered if it could actually happen without.... Dying.
Maybe I was just being selfish. If he died, he wouldn't have to feel pain anymore. He had done enough for us. But death...
I remembered losing consciousness. I barely remembered Asphodel, but I could remember Alathea's anguished screams in the Fields of Punishment. I remembered the poison dripping into her eyes, bird picking out her insides.
A punishment for murder.
"Please Chaos, I just want to see."
He pursed his lips. "Victor, you will regret it."
"Please."
He sighed and grabbed my arm, whisking me off to the underworld.
Right in front of Alathea.
I stood in horror at her eyes, which were burned out. The skin on her face and where the tears ran out had burned out, showing the underlying muscle and bones. A bird- a vulture picked at her stomach, spitting out the bloody flesh. She reached out, screaming with her voice that used to be so beautiful.
"Victor!"
I stumbled back, and she wailed pitifully as the acid poured down and sizzled on her face. Tears ran down my cheeks and I reached out for her, but Chaos pulled me back, and we reappeared in his office.
"I told you."
~
Percy's POV
I was much better when I woke.
I felt my stomach. It was strangely calm, unlike this morning. Probably because my stomach was empty. Completely. I looked around. I felt a bit hungry now that I wasn't writhing in pain anymore.
Today morning was horrible.
Maybe it was because of the long walk. After patrol, I was pretty sure I would die.
And I'm hungry now...
My stomach growled, and I sighed. I really hated my organs which sucked at being organs. My heart was failing. My liver was ripped. My galbladder damaged. My lungs couldn't get enough oxygen. And my stomach was trying to rip itself out of my body.
Thanks a lot...
I streched and yawned. I stared at the crackers left on the small drawers next to the bed. It was the hospital. I looked at the note.
Eat it if you can.
-Victor
I set the note aside and grabbed the crackers. It tasted bland, but atleast it was filling. I had soon finished all of it. I leaned back and felt my cheek with the burn. It felt odd. It was like the SPQR tattoo, but just a square. It was on the lower cheek and my chin. I closed my eyes. I wished I could go back to sleep again. I was afraid of going back to what it felt like this morning.
Everything was worse in the morning.
Probably because of sleep. Sleeping was my worst fear as it was my best comfort. It was so scary trying to sleep- because of the nightmares. Dreamless sleep was different.
I couldn't feel.
It was a way to pass time without feeling anything.
Nightmares.
Tartarus was chasing me away from my comfort, driving me mad.
He had.
Now it was better. But I couldn't get rid of the fear that had settled deep in my mind.
"You're awake."
I looked up at Victor. He looked a bit shaken up. He threw the wrappers of the crackers away.
"Feeling better?"
I nodded.
"Thats good." he sat down beside me on the bed. He sighed, leaning his head back.
"What are you thinking about?"
He flinched. "Nothing."
I frowned. "Whats so unsettling?"
He rubbed his hair. "I'm just tired."
He stood up and dragged the chair next to the bed.
"Want to IM Annabeth?"
"In these clothes?"
"She know's you're sick idiot."
"... Okay."
He took out a small prism from his pocket and pressed it. It made a big, perfect rainbow. He tossed the drachma in, and the IM shimmered to life. Annabeth was on her bed with Piper, Hazel, and Thaila.
"Hi?"
Their heads shot up when they saw me. Annabeth smiled widely.
"Hi!"
"Where the heck are you?"
"... Hospital."
"You're sick?"
"Are you okay now?"
"Yes, and yes."
Thaila glared at me with her electric blue eyes.
"You should of told us before you left. Annabeth panicked. She was so frantic before Victor showed her the note."
"Thaila."
"She was like where-"
Annabeth clamped her hand over Thaila's mouth.
"You're okay now?"
I nodded. "A lot better." I smiled at Hazel.
"When will you be back?" Piper asked.
"I'm not sure. I need to get the work down here before going back."
Piper smiled. "Annabeth misses you!"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I... I do too."
"That's so sweet!"
"Where's Reyna?" Victor cut in crossly.
Reyna popped in. "Here...."
Victor nodded slowly.
I smiled. "I should cut the connection now."
Thaila nodded and cut through the mist. Victor threw the prism away.
"It's single usage." he explained. He paused.
"Rest. Don't try to move around."
I watched him leave. I wished I could read minds. Then I wouldn't be thinking so much. I sighed and leaned back, closing my eyes.
Perseus.
My eyes shot open.
Not Tartarus.
You missed me?
His voice echoed around the whole place.
No.
A mist. A black mist. It filled the whole place. It wrapped around me, and my skin absorbed the mist. I tried to hold my breath, but it didn't work. Soon, all the black mist had been sucked in. I stared at my arms quizically. Nothing happened. I didn't hear Tartarus's voice anymore. I took a deep breath and exhaled. Nothing wrong. It was just something to scare me. Nothing wrong.
Nothing wrong.
I rubbed my face with both hands. Tartarus.
What had happened?