𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐑𝐇𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

16 - the trauma response is acting up whoops

𓆩ꨄ︎𓆪

TO SAY ELIA WAS NOT EXCITED TO GO BACK INTO THE MAZE WAS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. She would probably rather get hit twenty-two times by a bus than go back down there.

She remembered what it was like in the Labyrinth, alone. The memories slept just behind her eyes, dark and sharp, infiltrating her dreams and her waking thoughts. She could feel her usual confidence being replaced by paranoia, the inherent fear that it would happen again— that she'd get stuck down there.

The blonde felt like she was going crazy most of the time now. Shadows in corners were calling to her, whispering her name with tongues like knives. Every time she turned around, she expected something to jump out at her, and her hand practically lived by her necklace, ready to draw her sword.

Elia understood now why Chris Rodriguez was locked in the basement of the Big House— perhaps they should put her there, too. The terror that lived in her bones now had a weight to it, pushing down on her sanity, which sunk lower and lower every moment.

And when Annabeth pressed her fingertips to the Mark of Daedalus hidden in the storage room of a hotel, everything seemed to go blank.

The metal door swung open, revealing a steep staircase leading down into a long brick tunnel. Elia's stomach dropped and she took a panicked step back, hands tightened into fists.

As she stared at the entrance, the shadows seemed to lengthen, growing bodies and faces and hands, reaching out to her. Another step back, eyes locked on the tunnel.

Her throat was closing up and in a split second, it was like she was in the cavern again, shadows wrapped around her throat. If she felt like this at the mere sight of the maze, how the hell was she going to survive down there?

"Elia?" a voice murmured, warm fingers brushing her arm. Her lips parted, but the words slipped from the tip of her tongue, leaving her with nothing but a choked gasp. The voice spoke again, gently, "Hey, Sunshine, what is it?"

Her head moved back and forth in a mindless shake, the crystalline hue of her eyes marred by the panicked haze slipping over her. Her chest rose and fell quickly and she managed to choke out, "I can't."

Her voice was barely audible, but warm hands found her arms as someone stepped in front of her, peering down at the blonde with worried eyes. "Can't what?" Percy's voice coaxed softly, his fingertips brushing across her bare arms.

Elia swallowed heavily, her eyes unfocused as her head moved back and forth over and over. Her breaths quickened, becoming shallow. Her fists were clenched into fists tight enough for her nails to leave painful indents in the soft flesh of her palms, the sting being the only thing keeping her grounded to any semblance of reality.

Rachel glanced over at the two, brows pulling down in concern as she went to step closer. A hand caught the mortal's wrist, pulling her back. Annabeth mouthed silently 'Let him do it', guiding Rachel to the other side of the room.

Percy's gentle hands held the blonde's shoulders as he bent his knees to level his face with hers. His fingers brushed a strand of hair out of her face, trailing over her cheekbone as they fell back to her arm. "Hey, breathe, baby," he murmured, his eyes soft as he tried to give Elia an encouraging smile. "Just breathe."

Her shoulders shuddered as she forced a breath into her lungs, blinking hard. When she opened her eyes, she shook her head again. "I can't," she repeated, the words sounding more like a silent breath. Her eyes were cloudy, not really looking at anything, but somehow seeing so much. "Not again. The—" she paused, choking on the words like they tasted as bitter as the memories, "the things I saw last time."