SOLUM DESCENDIT - p.jackson

chapter six

azalea shot up in a panic. her head whipped around and her eyes landed on the bedroom around her. relief flowed through her body, but anxiety quickly overtook that.

she felt like she couldn't breathe, her heart hammering against her chest. her hands shook and her body felt too warm.

had it always been this hard to breathe in her room?

she couldn't stop the tears on her face, their droplets mixing with the heaving coughs that escaped her lips. breath still didn't grace her lungs, making her whole body red from the lack of oxygen.

she forced herself to stand up, watching helplessly as her knees immediately gave out. she crashed to the ground, hands clutching onto her bed in hopes to stabilize herself.

azalea used the bed to her advantage, pulling her shaking legs to a stand. she stumbled out into the hallway, head spinning as she ventured out of her stuffy room and closer to fresh air.

she barely made it down the hallway when suddenly piper swiveled the corner. she slammed into azalea, knocking the unsuspecting girl over.

"sorry!" piper rushed out, offering azalea a hand to stand up. azalea's mind felt fuzzy as she clasped piper's soft hands with her clammy ones. she stood up uneasily, hoping piper couldn't see her distress. "you should probably go up to the deck, we're in trouble."

before azalea could respond, piper rushed down the hallway. the distressed teenager stood frozen in her spot, the idea of breath seemingly foreign to her lungs. she forced herself to inhale before trudging slowly up the stairs, her trembling hands gripping the rail.

when azalea emerged, it took her a moment to process the sights around her. annabeth was at the helm, her hands flying across the controls. azalea wasn't sure that the blonde even knew how to work the ship, but she seemed confident enough that azalea didn't dwell on it.

despite the fact that her head felt like it was spinning, the brunette forced herself to focus on percy. he stood in the middle of the deck, his jaw clenched in concentration. around them, azalea struggled to watch as ropes flew on their own; releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor, and unfurling the sails. simultaneously, annabeth fired the engine.

at the same time that the ear-splitting noise caused from the oars roaring to life rang through the air, azalea couldn't mask her panic anymore. she stumbled around a corner, hiding herself the best she could from everyone else as she leaned against a wall. she slid down the wall, pulling her weak knees to her chest. her hands grasped tightly at her skull, trying to find some way to rid herself of the terrors that haunted her. she toned the noise of eagles above and festus's fire breathing out as she tried to catch a breath.

she didn't know how long she was sat there, but when she heard coach yell "where are they? who do i kill?", she knew she had to get up and help. she pulled her hands away, ignoring the forming headache, and used her gravity powers to pull herself to a stance.

she hoped no once noticed her absence, or the way she still struggled to breathe, as she stepped into the sunlight.

"no killing!" annabeth told coach, whom stood next to hazel.

not far from azalea, piper popped out from the stairwell. "got a iris-message through to jason. kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. he should be- oh! there!"

azalea followed her pointed finger to where she saw a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden roman birds, soaring over the city towards them.

"frank!" hazel exhaled in relief.

leo held onto his feet, and despite their distance, azalea could still hear him screaming and cursing. behind them jason rode the wind.

"never seen jason fly before," percy grumbled. "he looks like a blonde superman."