The Return of Evil | A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

=26= THINGS ARE GETTING HEATED...LITERALLY

* WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY TRIGGER RAGES, BREAK YOUR FEELS, OR MIGHT MAKE YOU STOP READING THIS STORY ALL TOGETHER. PERCABETH SHIPPERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. *

-IS APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AUDIENCES-

=PERCY'S POV=

In my life, I had experienced a lot of pain. And not just the 'ow, I fell down and scraped my knee' kind of pain. No, I'd gone through all types of pain, including burns, stabs, poisoning-and one of the worst in my opinion- emotional pain. But what I felt at that moment as I slumped down on the platform, was like nothing I'd ever gone through before. Nothing could compare to it.

I felt like my insides were being slowly melted, turning my entire intestine system to agony. My gut felt like it was on fire, and it was everything I could do not to scream. My jaw was clenched tight, and I knew that I couldn't hold out much longer. Already, the world around me was turning darker. The objects around the cave-like room were swimming in my vision, and I was seeing doubles of everything.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I bit my tongue- I wouldn't, couldn't, give them the satisfaction of hearing me scream. But as another wave of nausea rolled over, there was no choice.

It felt good to let it all out, but something else washed over me as I did. I knew that by screaming, I was already showing weakness, showing them that I had already given up. How long had it been since they'd hooked me up? It was impossible to tell. It could have ranged from ten minutes to an hour.

Finally, I sucked in a breath and closed my mouth once more. The fire in my stomach was too much now, he could feel it. I didn't know where it had come from, but one thing was for sure- it hurt like Hades.

Please, I thought. Let the darkness take over. I don't want to go through this anymore.

"You okay?" A voice rang. It sounded muffled, as if someone was speaking through a pillow. The source of it was probably only standing a few meters away, but logical reasoning had been thrown out the window a long time ago. To me, it sounded like they could be standing a kilometer away.

I shifted my gaze to see Lee Fletcher standing in the corner. I tried to glare at him, but moaned at the small effort. "Do I look okay?"

Lee mumbled something incoherent then stared at the floor. After a few minutes, he looked up once more and cleared his throat. "It'll be over soon." Then, as if realizing that he wasn't really explaining anything, he started towards the door. But between here and there, he stopped. He turned, and I swore something in his expression changed. His eyes seemed to hold something almost like guilt. "Wish I could help you, but you know how my situation is."

Almost laughing at his ironic statement, I looked him over. If anything, he was exactly the same as when I had last seen him before he died. Same hair, eyes, lean build- just like most of the other sons of Apollo. I stared at him hard. "You could help me. You just don't want to." I spat, trying to put as much spite into my statement as possible.

"You don't know anything, "Lee said, his tone probably icy enough to impress even Khione. "So if I were you, I would just shut up and deal with losing my powers."

A sudden chill washed over me. Losing my powers? What did he mean by that? Was it possible that this platform-torture machine-thingy was meant for more than just to make you go through excruciating pain?

I shook my head, sending a river of pain rushing through it. "Losing my powers? What-"

"I've said too much." Lee said quickly, indicating that their conversation was over. "You'll just have to find out yourself." He smiled, a shark-toothed grin. "I'm pretty sure you'll notice when this is all over." His face was now only inches from mine. "And the best part is: you'll never get them back."