Percy vs Nico - Percy Jackson

Chapter 11

Nico's POV
Everything was dark and everything was sore, not one part of my body wasn't screeching in pain. I could barely move. Just one twitch from my finger cause jolts of pain to rummage through me. I did however manage to open my eyes, just to be greeted with more darkness, well dimmed light I suppose. I questioned if I was even still alive but all the pain I felt confirmed it. My view wasn't as nice as I was expecting, a black roof with maroon illustrations running along it. It was mesmerising at first until I forgot about my state and tried to sit up, I didn't get an inch of the ground before I succumbed to the pain and nearly fainted. I wondered how long I was going to be like this, I hope not for long because if i'm being honest I didn't really expect laying on the floor for all eternity to be my future.  I kept staring at the roof as it was my only source of entertainment and started to realise that it looked... quite familiar. I fell asleep soon enough, what else is there to do when it feels like there is a literal fire being lit on your stomach.

I was standing up and appeared to be in a field full of tall dead grass. Every turn I would make would just lead me back to the same place, like a maze. There was something off about it, I had been walking for ages and the grass seemed to be lightly gracing my skin. That's when I heard the most inhumane voice speak. 'Nico~' I jolted back facing the sound of the noise, 'Nico~' it continued in a taunting manner. I decided to run, bashing through the grass that was now cutting through my legs. I yelped as I lunged to the floor, my arms immediately giving my legs aid. Blood was dripping and I had no where to go. The sound got closer 'NICO!' the thing was right infront of me. it looked like a grasshopper but it was 10x more big and scarier. It grabbed my feet, I winced at the pain but quickly acted, grabbing onto some roots. The roots didn't hold, I tired the grass, it just slid right through my hands, stacking me like a thousand paper cuts. I was clawing at the dirt now trying anything to release me from the grasshoppers grasp. Then it stopped. Just randomly stopped. Leaving me face down on the floor, my body in pain once more. I flipped myself over and just layer there for a moment to catch my breath, that's when it pounced.

Percy's POV
Me and Annabeth made it back to the camp just in time for lunch. They were serving hamburgers and carrots, it was a weird combination but I was hungry and didn't complain. Okay, I need to complain. The burger bun was dry, so was the beef patty, I mean was it even beef? Who knows! The carrots were alright and overall it was just depressing. I didn't eat most of it. I don't know whether it was because I was sitting alone, it was disgusting, or that I had a lot on my mind. Which was true, I was going to find a way to help Nico wherever he was. I had a feeling he was in the underworld but wasn't quite sure, I needed more time, I needed more answers. I'm not just going to rock up into the underworld without being noticed, and what a waste if he isn't even there. But I wasn't gonna give up. I could see Annabeth glaring at me from the other table. She gave me a cold look and pointed to her tray, and then to me. I shook my head in reply and stood up. I walked over to the fire pit and scraped the rest of my food into the fire. Soon I was accompanied by someone, Annabeth.

"Not hungry?" She asked me scraping her leftovers into the fire, a few sticks of carrot and some lettuce.

"Not really, too much on my mind." I replied. She bit her lip and finished scraping her leftovers. We walked back to the cabins together.

"So, what's on your mind?" She asked me, breaking the silence. I was glad she did because it was started to get awkward.

"uh, I don't really know how to explain it." I tell her, meaning it. "What about you? Anything cross your mind?"

"Well, I just think it's weird you know. It's been days and i'm sure Nico would have come back, right?" I thought about what she said, maybe he didn't want to come back. I mean things for him here were tough already and i'm sure my lashing out wouldn't really add on his reasons for coming back.