Mortals (A Percy Jackson Story)

Chapter 8

Percy

I woke up strapped to a gurney in an ambulance. My entire world was spinning. Over to my right I saw Annabeth, and to my left was Jason, both sound asleep. At least I hope so. How they fit three gurneys into an ambulance, I don't know. Especially with the two bulky guys sitting in the back as well, staring me down. It sounded like a few more were in the front.

"Hey guys, I know I look good, but could you keep the stares to a minimum please? I have a girlfriend, and you aren't really my type," I said. At least I think I have a girlfriend. I think being kidnapped together kind of brings people together.

"Kid, you shut your mouth or I will cut off your tongue," the one guy said. My vision started swimming. Man, did he have an awesome mustache.

"Clark, geez shut up, I don't want him to wet himself, then I have to clean it up!" the other guy said. He kinda looked like Willie Wonka. I think I'm losing it.

Clark snickered, and in that moment I wanted to punch him in the throat. I hate being made fun of. Now, if only I could figure out which throat was the right one.

"Oh, was that a joke? I couldn't tell, I mean it's not every day you hear someone speaking from their butt. Is that your face? Or did your neck just throw up? Sorry, couldn't help it. One look at you and I started to vomit," I said with a smug smile on my face. I was having a little trouble to keep the slur out of my speech.

Clark's face got all red, and he looked so much like an overgrown tomato that's been dropped on the ground too many times, I laughed. Clark the crab's face got even redder, then he stood up. And I got to see how tall he really was, which was pretty tall.

"Kid, if you weren't reserved for someone else, you would be a grease stain on the floor," Clark said threateningly.

At that moment, the ambulance stopped, and the doors opened. I looked at Jason, who was beginning to wake up and Annabeth, who was staring at me with a horrified look in her eyes. Whoever had opened the doors came in and put blindfolds over our eyes. I felt myself being wheeled somewhere, and that's when I started to freak out. I also hated not having any control. I started flipping around like a fish out of water. All that got me was a blister from the bindings and a slap on the face.

I heard laughing, and all of the sudden the bindings were off, replaced with what felt like shackles. This place has the worst customer service ever.

It sounded as if the shackles went behind me, attaching to someone else, so we were walking in a huge line. We began to walk forward, walking on a path that felt like it was leading downwards. It felt like dirt, and the walls were so close I felt claustrophobic. After what felt like nine years of walking, but in reality was about ten minutes, we stopped.

There was a clanking noise as if a key was being taken out, then a lock turned, and what sounded like a heavy wooden door being opened. We shuffled inside, and the chins were transferred to the wall. It had enough loose that I could sit on the earthen floor, but that was about it. Our blindfolds were taken off, and I studied the room around us.

There were two bulky men who were guarding, I guess. Jason, Annabeth, and I were the only prisoners in the room. It was underground, and in a circular shape. Annabeth was chained to the wall across from me, Jason was between us on the far wall, the door opposite of him.

I watched Clark come in and say to the one guard, "The one with the black hair is mine after G and L, got it?"

He didn't wait for confirmation. He turned on his heel and strode out of the room.  How rude. He didn't even say hi.

The door creaked open once more, and my stomach plummeted. There, standing in the doorway, was Gabe. Him and his huge beer gut. He had a cruel sneer on his face. He stepped in, and the guards stepped out, shutting and locking the door behind them.

Gabe stepped forward, looking at each of us. His eyes lingered on Annabeth, and my blood began to boil. Before I could say anything, he began to speak.

"Well, how nice it is to meet Percy's friends. I'm Percy's dad, Gabe. And I hope you all are prepared. Welcome to the first day of your new life. Now who wants an explanation?" We all stayed silent. "Well, when I first moved here, I needed a poker gang," he was talking as if he was speaking to a baby, "but instead, I found these guys. And they hooked me up. Percy has already seen a sneak peek, haven't you?" I shuddered at the thought. "And now, you all get to see!"

With that, he stood up and began walking towards me. I started thrashing around again, afraid of what he would do. He came over and unhooked the chains on the wall, jerking me behind him. My stomach plummeted into my feet. He dragged me across the floor towards the door, and knocked on it three times. It opened, and a gag was shoved in my mouth. Gabe began dragging me through an endless network of tunnels, until we finally came to a stop in front of a rusty metal door.

He opened it and strode in, pulling me in behind. The door slammed with a loud clang, and a ma much stronger than me came and picked me up as if I weighed nothing. He carried me to a table, where my ankles and wrists were strapped down. I looked around the room made entirely of stainless steel. There were various torture instruments strew along the walls, each one making me feel sicker and sicker.

"See these walls?" Gabe asked, "There soundproof! So no one can hear you scream."

With that, he ripped the gag from my mouth. The man who had carried me had disappeared, and it was just Gabe and I. He smiled evilly.

"Get ready for the first of many appointments with yours truly," he said, and he turned around to pick up something.

When he faced me again, I saw it was a simple pocket knife. He leaned towards me and began to carve something in my chest. I didn't make a single noise, but a few tears slipped down my face. It felt as if someone had shove my chest in a forest fire and used a pebble to smash words into my ribs.

Gabe seemed angry that I hadn't screamed, so he grabbed a blowtorch. He smiled again, and he burned the words he had written on my chest. That time I did scream. It ripped through the air, a scream of pure agony and anguish. I thought he must've burned my heart, I must be dead.

But no, after he finished with the blowtorch, he brought out jumper cables. He grabbed two nails and hammered them into my shoulders. I moaned in pain, my arms tensing with the feel of what was to come.

There was no way to have prepared for what happened. Volts of electricity arced through my body, and I couldn't feel anything. Then he pulled away, and all I felt was pain. I think I was having some sort of seizure, because my entire body would not stop spastically jerking outwards. It felt like I had been shoved in a bucket of acid, and I was slowly burning away to nothing.

He yanked out the nails and unstrapped me. I must've looked pretty bad, because pretty soon I was in a wheelchair being pushed back to our cell. The dumped me out of the chair and re-shackled me, but I couldn't even see.

I think I passed out, because what seemed like minutes later I was being tied to a post in the center of the room that I hadn't even seen. I saw blond hair and immediately identified the boy as Luke.

He began to whip me, each lash a string of fire across my back. I lost count somewhere around 28, and when Luke finished, he rubbed dirt in my new gashes.

A little while later, Clark came in and punched me a bit, then left. I slept until what I guessed was the next morning, when the whole process was repeated. That went on for three days.

I hadn't seen Jason or Annabeth, me being either unconscious or out of the room when they came back from their daily activities. Then, on the fourth day, no one came to get us, and I woke up enough to listen.

We didn't have guards anymore, I guess they thought we were too beat up to even try. And they were right. I couldn't even walk, Jason had a broken leg, and we believe Annabeth may have a severe concussion.

We talked, with great difficulty, and apparently Jason is being tortured by some people that hate his dad. Annabeth dealt with Luke and one of his buddies. After that, we were all too tired to talk, and when I woke up to what I assume was the next morning, Annabeth and Jason were gone, headed off to their "activities."

Tell me what POV to do next!!!! And go check out my Blood of Olympus, because why not? Mama hedgehog, signing off. *salute*