ETERNAL! | percy jackson

chapter ten - percy has a death wish

CHAPTER TEN
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          THEY STOPPED at a waterfall. That sounds nice when you put it that way, but there was no shrubbery or sunlight in sight. Instead, dirty water pooled from rusted pipes on four walls. The water fell down into a dark pit that seemed bottomless.

Briares scooped up some of the murky water and splashed his face. "This put goes straight to Tartarus. I should jump in and save you trouble."

"Don't talk that way," Annabeth said. "You can come back to camp with us. You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody."

"I have nothing to offer," Briares said. "I have lost everything."

"What about your brothers?" Tyson asked. "The other two must stand tall as mountains! We can take you to them."

Briares' face morphed into an intense sadness. "They are no more. They faded."

"What do you mean they faded?" Percy asked. "I thought monsters were immortal, like the gods."

"Percy," Grover said quietly. "Even immortality has limits. Sometimes... sometimes monsters get forgotten and they lose their will to stay immortal."

Estella knew he was talking about Pan. She could only imagine how sad it must be to lose the people you love after thousands of years of knowing them. The pain must've been unbearable.

"I must go," Briares said.

"Kronos's army will invade camp," Tyson said. "We need help."

Briares looked down. "I cannot, Cyclops."

"You are strong."

"Not anymore," Briares said, getting to his feet.

"Hey," Percy said, grabbing Briares by an arm and pulling him to the side. While she couldn't hear his whispers, she knew it was something along the lines of an inspirational speech.

By the end of their conversation, Briare's face was morphed into embarassment, or rather shame. He trudged away, the shadows consuming him. This made Tyson sob.

"It's olay," Grover patted his shoulder.

"It's not okay, goat boy. He was my hero."

Estella walked over to Tyson and joined Grover in patting his arm.

Annabeth stood and put on her backpack. "Let's go, guys. This pit is making me nervous. Let's find a better place to camp for the night."

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          "WE MUST be close to Daedalus's workshop," Annabeth assured, as the five of them settled into a room of marble. It looked old, which is why Annabeth saw it as a good sign. "Get some rest, everybody. We'll keep going in the morning."

"How do we know when it's morning?" Grover asked.

"Just rest," she said.

Out of everyone, Grover found sleep the easiest. He laid comfortably on his pile of hay, while the rest of them couldn't even get into their sleeping bags.

Estella placed her things on the outskirts of the group, hoping to find some alone time for the first time in a while. She saw that Annabeth and Percy were lost in conversation, so solitude would be easy to find. She tucked her knees into her chest and stared into the dark maze, wondering what more awaited them.

She thought about her family. Estella hoped her dad and Stephen were okay in their children's absences. She thought about Althea, hoping that adjusting to camp hadn't been so rough for her.