Percy Alone in Tartarus (On Hiatus)

The Worst Curse You Can Receive Is Loyalty

Percy's POV:

After we got back to the Argo ll, we recounted what Nike told us. About the Poison in Pylos, the Chained God's Heartbeat in Sparta, the Curse of Delos, the Physicians Cure, and that one of us is fated to die.

Annabeth quickly began ruling out the possibilities of who it could be. She said that the people with the highest possibility of dying were me, Hazel, Frank, Leo, and herself. I was glad that Jason and Piper weren't on the list, but when I voiced that thought Annabeth had said that there's always a possibility that they'll die too.

Leave it up to Annabeth to always smash my hopes with her logic.

We also, and I quote from Leo, 'chucked that badboy into the stables with the gag of duct tape.'

All night we can hear Nike screaming stuff like, "FIRST PLACE OR DEATH!" or, "AN A- IS A FAILING GRADE!"

I haven't been able to get any sleep with her screaming. During the night, I'm either on the foredeck keeping watch, or watching the sunrise from my room through the window. I had always loved the sunrise. When I was younger I would even stay up all night just to watch it, but now, the shades of orange, red, and pinkish hues remind me of the pit. But I forced myself through it.

Every time I was able to get even a few minutes of sleep, I would always wake up screaming. My brain often blocked out the dreams after I woke up, therefore letting me know that the dreams were too traumatic and horrific to remember without consequence. It's never happened before, not even after the Second Titan War.

The others aboard the Argo ll always gave me concerned looks on those days but, I didn't want their pity. We were on a mission to save the world again, they can't be worrying about me. Hell, I shouldn't even be on their priority list. Not now, not ever.

"Percy?" Annabeth said, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shook my head then looked up at her, putting on a fake smile. "Yeah?"

She sighed and sat down next to me on my bed. "If there's something wrong, you can always tell me."

She sounded like my mother right then.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine." I replied, staring blankly at the wall.

She sighed again. "Do you think sparring will help?"

I looked up at her. "Huh?" was my very mature response.

She chuckled. "Do you want to spar with me, Seaweed Brain?"

"Oh, uh, uhm, sure?" I said.

She stood up. "Meet you on the deck in a few minutes?"

I nodded. "Sure."

She walked out of the room, her blonde hair flying behind her. I grabbed Riptide, put on my shoes and socks, then went up to the deck.

Annabeth's POV

I have never seen Percy act like this. Normally he's always joking or being goofy for no good reason, but now he's quiet. He doesn't talk as often and when he does it's not in his normal joking manner. He won't talk to anybody about what happened in the pit either, shrugging it off, saying it isn't something we should be worried about and that he's fine. He's obviously not fine.

Not to mention his appearance. His eyes used to be bright and full of joy. He could practically light up a room just by walking in. Now, his eyes are darker, not as playful as before. When he walks into a room, the mood becomes more sullen and depressed. His movements are more stiff, as if he's always waiting for an attack. He always has Riptide in his hands now, as if he'd die if he didn't have his sword nearby. Something's obviously wrong with Percy, and I intend to be the first to find out what it is he's hiding from us.