Moving On | Percy x Artemis

five

P E R C Y

She is next to me. Her blonde hair is caked in blood, she is covered in cuts and bruises and her eyes are red. My arm is around her, holding her up as we struggle through the heat and the dirt and the darkness.

We are so close to the end, to the doors where we can get out. That's when Tartarus and his army appears.

The battle is long and bloody and I am hurt in so many places it feels like I shouldn't still be alive. But she is still alive beside me and I will fight as long as it takes to make sure she stays that way.

Another giant attacks me and I drag my eyes away from her to fight it.

A scream. That sound is my worst nightmare.

I spin around and catch her as she collapses. A sword is run right through her. There is blood all over my hands. Her blood.

I have never been more terrified in my entire life. I am frantic. I say her name a million times, trying to get an answer. She opens her mouth to say something but it's too much and her eyes go blank. She's limp in my arms. I scream and scream and scream. I shake her and I kiss her and I lie her down on the ground.

I think I see Bob standing over us, protecting us from the raging battle.

My head is spinning and I can't think straight. She can't be dead. Not after everything we've been through. I want to be sick, anger and confusion and pain swirling inside me.

When Bob finally tears me off her I fight with no care for myself. I can hardly see, everything is a blur, but I hack and I kill anything that stands in my way. I no longer care if they destroy me like they destroyed her.

But I survive.

When we open the doors I go back and I get her. I carry her out. I wish I had died.

I wake up, shivering and crying. I can still hear her scream echoing in my head. The darkness around me only reminds me of the hell we went through. I scream into the night. There is no one around to hear me, I am in the middle of nowhere.

I sit up and look up at the sky. The old anger takes hold.

"Can't I at least sleep? Can't I be free of these nightmares?" I yell at the sky, I don't know if I've gone far enough that the gods can no longer see me, but I want them to hear my words. I'm whispering now, my whole body is shaking so hard, from the cold and from the painful memories. "Please, just leave me alone."

Only the gods would be cruel enough to make me relive her death every single time I fell asleep.

I stand up and clench my fists, stopping myself from shaking. I pack up my makeshift camp and sling my backpack over my shoulder.

There is nothing left but to keep moving, praying that one day I will outrun it all. I shove my hands in my pockets and trudge down the road.

I missed having someone I could talk to, someone who might even vaguely understand what I am going through. That used to be Annabeth, and then my Mom. Both of them had been taken from me.

Now I was alone and there was nothing to distract from the hopelessness and despair. 

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author's note

i promise percy and artemis will meet really soon. then it will be really exciting. 

thanks for reading, please vote and comment! 

[ art at the top is by viria ]

xoxo