The Death of Percy Jackson

Percy stared at the ground the floor was paved with stones of the sea bed like the ones in his cabin back home but these we different. They weren't smooth and blue like the ocean in a calm breeze they were coarse, ruff, dry. Dark purple with tiny cracked sea shells inside each one encased, trapped. He coughed and blood spattered over the stones. Antaeus stood over him. 'I will have my revenge, Percy Jackson.' Percy thought to himself I never should have come back here. This was all a mistake. I should have brought Rachel or Annabeth but I didn't want to put them through this again. Percy lay in the dust of the monsters he'd killed. Every single one of them Antaeus followers. He'd killed them all but at the end he was tired, weak and Antaeus had bested him. Beaten him to the ground. 'This time you die and you will never come back. Those who loved you will lose you but at least it's not you losing them. Right? That's your biggest weakness. Losing them. That's why you came alone look for the one thing that could bring him back. For her. But it's not here Your quest was hopeless. You've failed' he taunted, revelling in his victory. He knew Antaeus was right, he come looking for the physicians cure. He wanted to cure Luke. To bring him back, give him the second chance he'd earned. But he had failed there was no trace of the cure anywhere. Nothing. Not in Daedalus' cell or anything. He had to get up but he was dazed, he couldn't move a muscle. He had no hope.

'Now Percy Jackson' his voice loomed ominously over. As he pushed Percy to the wall. A crackling torch above his head, making him sweat from its heat in contrast to the cold air of the cavern. His face in shadow. Antaeus unsheathed his sword, celestial bronze. Scraping against his scabbard. Percy saw its familiar glitter dancing in the light of the flames, but it was no longer reassuring, no longer welcome. He raised it a glee for grin on his face. Annabeth, I'm sorry. I tried. I did. The hopelessness invading his mind. All I wanted to do was make you happy again. A tear fell from his face as he thought of the times he spent with Annabeth and Grover, Rachel, Thalia, Chiron, Nico, Charles and even Blackjack. Then he thought of his mother. Of her at his funeral and his step father, they still had so much to learn about each other. It all wasn't fair he still had so much to do, yet he knew it was still his fault. Finally he heard the swoosh of the blade and Antaeus roar of delight and triumph but at the same time an burst of darkness entered the room. Leaping out of his shadow, towards Antaeus. Everything froze he gain the energy to look up. Above him stood Nico Di Angelo running out of the dark flames. Here to save him? But Nico was still not in time to parry the blade only stop it. As Antaeus brought down the blade it pierced Nico's chest right beneath his collar bone diving straight down to his heart. Everything went silent.

Percy stared in shock at Nico as he hit the ground with a deafening thud. Antaeus stepped back surprised ,drawing the sword out, but before he could react Percy let out a terrifying cry of anguish that sent a shockwave through the dark. The shells in the floor exploded with water. Geysers erupting flooding the cave, flushing Antaeus out, through the corridors of the Labyrinth. When the water subsided all that was left in the room was Percy and Nico. He felt drained but Percy mustered the energy to crawl over to Nico. The shock subsided and tears streamed from his face. 'Why Nico?' His voice croaked as he scooped up Nico's body and held him to his chest. 'Why would you do this it was my fault, I'm the one who should have died!' He was almost screaming. Blood poured out of Nico's body as Percy checked for a pulse it was there but faint. Desperate energy flooded his body as he pulled Nico over his shoulders and stood up. Legs wobbling. Then walked out of the cavern every step shaking. Into a corridor, realising he had no idea where he was. No idea where to go. So he moved forwards. Your too late, he's dead, you failed him, you broke your promise. The thought kept stuck in his mind, burrowing into his brain. Stubbornly he moved forwards, down the corridor, each movement agonising, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He took a left, then a right, then another right? He ran into no traps or monsters. He just kept walking. The Labyrinth was playing with him, trapping him walking him further into madness letting him die of exhaustion and blood loss rather than giving him a quick death, but leaving plenty of time to think about what happened to feel the guilt overcome him.

The silence was immense it weighed on him pushing him down into the ground. All he could hear was his feet pounding the ground and his breathing heavy, echoing in the dark. He felt his pen in his pocket, his sword Anaklusmos. It weighed down on him like everything else. Growing heavier with every foot step. Percy turned again, head down, jaw set but slowly weakening. He felt as if he was just walking round in circles. Looking at the ground he realised it was almost pitch black now. He couldn't see any of the walls of the cavern or if it even had walls. He could barely take another step but he pulled out Riptide and uncapped it. In the dim glow of the celestial bronze blade he saw his own hand, pale and sweaty, he also saw that he was in just another corridor. With dark, smooth, carved walls. He pushed forwards, each step painful but eventually hit a dead end. Percy couldn't carry on he collapsed near the end of the tunnel. Setting Nico down beside him looking over, knowing it was too late but still asking 'Why?' Why would Nico give his life to save him. His eyes began to close, accepting his fate, when he saw on the wall across from him a blue glowing symbol. Delta. The symbol of Daedalus. Was this the Labyrinth signalling to him that he would share the same fate. A circular opening appeared in the roof and everything was flooded with light. A girl with curly blonde hair jumped down. An orange Camp Half Blood T-Shirt on and a bronze dagger at her side. Annabeth? She ran towards him closely followed by a girl with wild, fiery red hair and one with stringy brown hair and a red bandana. Rachel ? Clarisse? Annabeth ran to his side tear forming and falling down her face. Her incredible, beautiful, stormy grey eyes stared into mine. But he could fight no longer, not even for her, and Percy's eyes fluttered close. I'm sorry.