Sign of the Times

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

Time was flying, unlike the first time I was being crushed by billions of pounds.  Between the flashes of darkness coming from the pain, I watched everything going down.

Artemis was amazing to watch. Well, amazing if I wasn't worried about everyone I care about dying. I don't know if it was time moving quickly or not, but she was flying around the room with graceful speed, slashing with long hunting knives at the titan while Zoe shot arrows at him. She sliced and stabbed, but Atlas was strong and blocked nearly every hit. But she wasn't letting him get on the attack, she was keeping him right where she wanted him. 

Thalia, on the other side of the room, was just as amazing to watch. She dodged Luke's hits. His looked sloppy compared to her perfected ones. Aegis helped her keep Luked contained, the force coming off of her shield in strong waves not even Luke was immune to. She pressed Luke with scary quickness and aggression. Despite the aggression, you could see her holding back a bit.

"Yield!" She yelled at him. She had him backed up toward the edge of the cave, leading to a direct drop-off. He tried to not look scared but his eyes gave him away. "You could never beat me, Luke."

"We'll see about that, old friend," Luke responded, but he must have known deep down that she was right. 

My eyes shot back to the other side of the room when Zoe cried, "No!"

My eyes only caught the aftermath. Zoe was lying unconscious and bloody on the other side of the cave, her body strewn on the ground like a rag doll. Atlas had an arrow in the middle of his forehead like he was a unicorn but was maniacally laughing nonetheless.  Artemis was looking towards Zoe with a distressed look on her face, not making any attempt to move out from under where she lay beneath the titan. 

Zoe was dying. She was dying quickly. It was like her life was slipping through an hourglass then someone came over with a sledgehammer and smashed the whole thing to pieces. 

How do I fix this? How do I save her?  How do I save her and Percy?

If I went over to try and help her, Percy would die. If I stayed, she would die. If I stayed, I would die.

"The first blood in a new war," Atlas said. He turned down to where Artemis was lying beneath him not moving. With one last smile, he stabbed his javelin downward with all of his strength. 

Artemis moved quickly from her dormant state. She grabbed the javelin shaft and pulled backward, kicking the titan, and sending him flying over her. I wanted to be excited, but he was flying right towards me and Percy.

Let go, Artemis's voice rang in my head. And so I did. I let the Titan Lord slam into me and push me out from under the sky. I skidded across the rocks, not even feeling the scapes I knew I got from the rough stone.

The weight of the sky fell onto Atlas's back, nearly making him Flat Stanley 2.0. He struggled to his knees with his hands to the sky. The pure aura of rage he was giving off was strong.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" He bellowed, shaking the mountain. "Not again!"

I wanted to laugh because he sounded like a toddler who got their toy taken away because they hit their sibling with it. But, my body wouldn't allow it. 

My vision went black and the hard rock of the mountain felt a lot more like the comfiest bed ever. I got a flashback to the sleepover I had at Percy's house, the last time I slept in a bed. Comfy, warm, and most importantly, safe. Was I safe right now? No, not really. But a girl can wish.

Then my mind wandered to searching to make sure everyone was alive.

Percy: no longer dying. Weak? Yes. But not dead.