Not Just Another God ✓

Chapter 26: This is all your fault, Jafar

The title is a really bad attempt at a Starkid reference

TW: d3@th, blood, and a lot of crying

***

"So," Loki said, "here we are."

I glanced at the stairs leading down into the ground, too familiar to a place I had tried to drown out of my thoughts.

Annabeth clutched my hand.

"We can do this," she said, trying to hide the slight tremble in her voice.

"If you don't want to-"

Annabeth shook her head. "We do this together."

"Okay."

I squeezed her hand tighter as Loki faded away into the shadows, a little section of him completely disappearing as he walked further and further down the steps.

Wobbling slightly, Annabeth and I stepped down the first step, which didn't seem to step off any traps, or fall down into a trap hole, so that was good.

We started steadily travelling down the steps, Annabeth still squeezing my hand, as the echoes of our every move bounced off the walls.

"Percy," she said, "I don't have a good feeling about this."

I met her steel gray eyes. "If you don't want to do it, we can go back."

"No, it's not that. Something just seems wrong."

I wanted to reassure her, to tell her everything would be alright, but I didn't dare to speak with the unconvincing shake in my voice, the nightmares threatening to consume me every second econd.

If it was dark before, it suddenly got even darker, and almost thicker, as if the inkyness was trying to form itself into something physical.

We trudged through the tunnel blindly, stumbling a few times as we tripped on the inconsistency of the earth.

Annabeth was forced to let go of my hand, and the only reason I knew she was with me was the loud thumping of her feet beside me. She was walking heavily on purpose.

The oynx colored space around me groaned as the ground started to shake, seeming to dip downwards.

My heart picked up speed, so loud it was shaking my ears.

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth shout in desperation.

I looked around for her, forgetting I couldn't see in the dark. "Annabeth!"

"Percy help!"

I made my voice travel out. "I'm coming!"

Something bumped into me, and I involuntarily took up it's hand, reeling back instantly as I felt the smooth, hard bone of a skeleton.

"Annabeth!" I called again, my voice breaking in pure terror when there was no reply.

"Annabeth! ANNABETH!"

Still no reply. The world seemed to shake as tears streamed down my face.

I couldn't-shouldn't have let Annabeth come.

It was my fault of anything happened to her.

This was all one big mistake.

***

The charcoal color of my surroundings dimmed to a dusky gray as I forced my eyes open, nearly breaking down in tears of relief when I saw Annabeth standing slightly to my front, bruised and shaken up, but okay.