Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THIS PLACE was arguably worse than the Princess Andromeda. At least there, there was fresh air. Laurie never thought it could get worse than that godsforsaken cruise ship, yet here she was.
She was slumped against the wall of a cavern, the air stale with sweat, blood, and other unpleasant scents. A huge arena lay in the centre, surrounded by monsters and a couple of demigods, three of which menacingly sat perched atop a stony balcony, overlooking everything with a malicious sense of superiority.
One was a giant by the name of Antaeus. The other was a monster by the name of Luke.
Of course it was him. He was barking orders back and forth over the chaos of the monster crowd, but Laurie couldn't really hear any of it over the roaring sound of blood rushing in her ears.
Sloan had shoved a cube of ambrosia in her mouth the minute he'd lowered her onto the dirty floor, and now knelt in front of her with a first aid kit he'd dug from out of his backpack. It lay on the grimy floor as well, lid popped open as he rummaged through it. Very sanitary.
She probably would've said something if it weren't for the whole trying-not-to-bleed-out thing she had going on.
Her shaking hands clutched tightly onto her side with the stab wound, blood slowly seeping through the gaps between her fingers. Her chest shook with shuddering breaths as she tried to keep calm, her teeth clenched and head leaning back against the jagged stone of the wall.
"Oh my gods, would you drop that look? You act like you're dying," Hayden said as he retrieved a roll of gauze and bandages.
"I'm going to if you don't hurry up," Laurie snapped in response, her teeth gritted together.
Hayden rolled his eyes even though she couldn't see and pulled her hands away before pressing the cotton material against her wound. The pure white material was quickly stained with crimson, soaking up the blood that slowly poured from her abdomen, though the flow was now less consistent thanks to the ambrosia slowly getting to work.
She grimaced as he put pressure to the area, holding back a wince.
"So dramatic," the older boy taunted, clearly enjoying himself far too much. He pressed down a little more, moving his hand slightly to the right.
Laurie inhaled sharply, a fistful of her ripped shirt clutched tightly in her hands. She wanted to bite back but couldn't, as her sides flared with pain both old and new, her memory whirring.
