"Damsel In Distress" Is Not As Easy As It Looks

957 49 29
                                        

"Damsel In Distress" Is Not As Easy As It Looks

"--how will we--"

"Shh! She's waking up!--"

"--gods, I hope she doesn't hate us."

Two familiar voices disturbed the serene darkness that enveloped me. My eyes slowly blinked open and I felt my arms tied behind my back.

I groaned and looked around to see two guilty expressions. Unfortunately, I recognized them. "What? Why would--" My head throbbed and I stopped talking.

"We're so sorry. We had no choice. Gaea, she took--" His voice broke and he sobbed into his brother's shoulder. "Gaea said she would kill her if we didn't bring you to her."

"Wait, Travis. Calm down. Who's her? Where are we? Connor?" I frantically studied the Stoll brothers' faces.

Connor gently pushed his brother away. "We have a sister. Little Chelsea. She's our half-sister, not a demigod. Gaea took her a few days before you came and threatened to kill her if we didn't give you to her. You have to understand, she's defenseless. We couldn't leave her." Tears trailed down both of their cheeks.

My head stopped hurting and I nodded. "Of course I understand. It's something Percy might have done. It's fine. I'll be fine. Take me to Gaea, get your sister, and get out. Don't tell the Camp it was you, you know how Percy will react. Don't say anything about kidnapping me, just care for your sister."

Travis and Connor reluctantly agreed and helped me up. We traveled for about an hour before stopping in front of a cave. "This is where she is." Connor sighed. "We really are sorry Annabeth, we just couldn't leave her. We--"

I cut him off. "Stop. Give me to her, get your sister, and get out. I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

They hung their heads, but shuffled inside the cave with me in front of them. They directed me to the middle of the cave and we waited. Soon, the ground in front of me shifted and grew until the figure of a woman was visible.

"You actually did it." Gaea smiled. "Good."

"Our sister." Connor demanded. "Where is she?"

"Ah, yes. Chelsea. Your sister. Why should she live? She's a worthless mortal. Eventually she will grow up and destroy the Earth, just like the rest of you. Give me a reason why I should give her back to you?"

Travis sniffled. "Our deal. Your promised."

"But did I swear on the River Styx?" Gaea grinned evilly. "No, I did not. Give me a better one, or I will kill her."

"She's never done anything wrong. Please, we did what you asked. Just give us our sister." The Stoll brothers looked so vulnerable. I knew that any thoughts of betrayal I may have had toward them disappeared.

Gaea flinched and seemed to weaken. The ground in front of me shifted again and the small body of a young girl lay limp. "Take her, before I change my mind."

Travis rushed forward and gathered his sister's body in his arms. "Thank you!" He turned to me. He mouthed the words, we're sorry. "Stay strong, Annabeth."

Then he and his brother turned and ran out of the cave, weeping over their rescued sister. I looked back at Gaea and she finally seemed to notice me.

"Well, daughter of Athena. Are you ready to talk? Have a nice little chat?" I stayed silent. "So that's how you're going to play, eh? Fine, have it your way."

Her mud-colored foot filled my vision and I fell unconscious.

~

Ice-cold water drenched my body and I gasped for air as I woke quickly, shivering in my ripped clothes. Light streamed into the dark cavern from a small crack in the ceiling. Each day, every few hours, Gaea came in to try to get me to tell her our defenses and numbers, any secret weapons we might have, Achilles heels, anything to help her beat us easier. Each day, every few hours, I told her nothing. And each time I refused, she beat me and tortured me to the point of death before barely healing me so that I would stay alive, as if she had hope that I would one day cave. Lately, it seemed like all I heard were my own screams. And in the past few days, she had been focusing more on Percy's weaknesses.

I blinked water out of my eyes and saw Gaea standing in front of me. "Let's try this again, shall we?" She grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her. "What is Perseus's vulnerability? I already know his fatal flaw, but where is his mortal point? Tell me! Now!"

I laughed, a crazy laugh that only happens in times like these. "If you think I'm ever going to tell you anything, you're wrong. It won't ever work. You may as well kill me, or send me back so that I 'can watch all of my friends die because I was too selfish.'"

She growled and slapped me, and then performed the same beating I had gotten the past week. She threw me on the floor in disgust, and I curled up into a ball, trying to focus on anything other than the pain. It was too much, and I could tell I would black out soon.

Something clattered to the stone beside me and I looked up. A drachma had fallen from the crack in the ceiling. The light reflected off of the wet stone surface and a faded rainbow formed. I groaned and lowered my head to the ground, waiting for the darkness to come. My eyes closed.

And then shot open. Drachma. Rainbow. I bolted into a seated position--which wasn't a smart idea--and grabbed the drachma. I grimaced as I tossed it into the rainbow. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow. Please accept my offering. Show me Perseus Jackson, or Chaos." The coin sailed into the multicolored air and shimmered.

Percy's face slowly appeared. I almost sobbed. "Percy!" His head spun faster than I could blink and his features morphed into relief.

"Annabeth! Oh, gods. Where are you? You've been gone for almost two weeks!" His words started to slur.

"Percy." I whispered and the pain overtook me, Percy's screaming voice fading into the background.

Too Many MemoriesWhere stories live. Discover now