Artemis {ON HOLD}

Chapter 11

Artemis POV

I woke up with a start. I can't go one fucking sleep without having a nightmare can I? I think, angry and resentful. After sparing with Claire, I went to sleep to try to make my damned headache go away. It only partly worked. My head still hurts, but now its only a dull throbbing in the back of my mind. I lay in bed, pondering what to do. I could annoy people, but I just don't feel like it. Whatever happened to that Delgatto chick? The thought makes me decide that I'm going to go on an adventure to figure out.

I stand up and immediately get a dizzy spell. I stumble, trying to gain my balance. Unfortunately, I fail and trip over my desk chair, sending us both tumbling to the ground with a crash.

"Fanculo!" I hiss in italian. I continue to cuss, switching languages as I go. "¡Estúpido pedazo de mierda!" I go on into Spanish. I continue like that until my door swings open and I see a startled Annabeth.

"Are you alright? I heard something take a tumble and I wanted to make sure that you were ok." She says, her eyes still a bit wide from seeing me on the floor swearing in multiple languages.

I grin, ignoring my dizzy and pounding head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just, ah, wanted to dance with the chair." I fake a pout. "But the chair didn't wanna dance back." I say in a fake childish voice.

Annabeth giggles. "You are strange, aren't you?"

I shrug. "So what if I'm crazy, the best people are." I wink and start to hum a song with lyrics that go with my statement. Before I know it, I'm singing out loud. "I'm nuts, baby I'm mad. The craziest friend that you've ever had. You think I'm psycho you think I'm gone, tell the psychiatrist something is wrong. Over the bend, entirely bonkers, you like me best when I'm off my rocker. Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed. So what if I'm crazy, the best people are?" The song has a bit of a haunting, yet upbeat melody.

Annabeth watches with fascination. "That's..... an interesting song. What is it?" She asks, curious.

I look at her. "Now how the fuck am I supposed to know that?" I ask sarcastically.

Annabeth giggles again. "You must've had an odd taste in music before... you know." She trails off, as if afraid to bring up my amnesia.

I sigh. "Yeah. Before that." I want to joke about it to lighten the mood, but I can't bring myself to do so. It bothers me just as much as it bothers me teammates, if not more. Not knowing my true identity is bad enough, but not knowing my true identity and having the skills I have can be downright terrifying at times. I don't know who I am, where I'm from, who I used to work for, and what I'm even truly capable of. I feel my headache start to grow more painful again and I rub my temples without thinking.

Annabeth plops down next to me and lightly touches my back. I know she means well, but instinct makes me shriek and pull away. My heart was pounding almost as bad as my head. I feel my hands shaking so badly that I can't make them stop. it only takes a few seconds for the tremors to overtake my entire body. I watch as reality fades and before I know it I'm engulfed in a memory or flashback of some sort.

My entire body aches. I look at my arms and legs, which are both bloodied and bruised. I'm standing in a dark room, a single lightbulb hangs from the ceiling. The walls are grey, and have a few smears of dried blood on them. I try to more properly assess my surroundings and conditions, but my mind is foggy and I'm distracted by the pain coursing through my limbs.

Without any warning, I'm struck on the backs of my knees, causing me to fall onto my hands and knees. I glare at the ground, a hiss of pain passing my clenched teeth. My back is hit several times with a hard object and alot of force, which makes me cry out in pain and fall to my elbows. I squeeze my eyes shut and rest my forehead on the cool ground.