Broken || A Riordan Universe Story

Hazel POV~ "Not For Nothing."

     Here I was. Trapped in a cell. With no sense of time or place. My arms were tied with a chain behind my back. I couldn't see anything, my eyes were no help. The twisted horror filled memories took over my mind.

     I was in a familiar little rowboat. I looked around. The boat was mysteriously moving by itself. There were several chunks of ice in the murky blue water. The sun was setting behind the large mountains, turning the sky blood red. The rocking of the boat made me sick to my core. I was nauseous, and had to push down the urge to barf. I closed my eyes, breathing in and out.

     Once I opened them an island formed straight ahead of me. It was filled with beautiful deep green pine trees that looked like they touched the sky. There was white snow dusting the top of boulders on the ground with a black sand beach. The boat docked on the shore of sand.

     With a start I realized where I was going.

     "No, no, no." I shook my head. "Please, not again! I-I can't!"

     "But you must, young demigod." Croaked the greasy black bird perched upon a pine tree.

     An invisible force was pushing me forward through all the undergrowth and trees. I tried to resist it, but the force was too strong.

     Soon, the Heart of the Earth came into view. The moist heat hit me like a moving train. The air smelled like freshly turned soil. There was moss illuminating the walls. The whole cave was thumping with energy. I kept on getting pushed forward until I saw my old frail mother standing next to the pit.

    "It's too late." Her voice echoed.

     "Mother?" I questioned.

     "What have I done." She sighed with horror. "Oh, Hazel what did I do to you?"

      There stood the terrifying rock spiral in the center of the pit. A body was forming in the middle of it.

     The son of Gaea.

     "I'm sorry, Hazel." She wept, as she fell to her knees. "I'm so sorry."

     I knelt down next to her, wrapping my arms around her cold small body.

     "My eldest child rises," the earth trembled. "The most precious thing in the earth, and you have brought him from the depths, Hazel Levesque. You have made him anew! His awakening cannot he stopped. Only one thing remains-"

     I knew what was coming.

     "-A Sacrifice."

     "Hazel go!" My mother turned to me. "She'll let you live, but you must hurry!"

     "No." I said steadily.

     I summoned all the riches in the earth. I called upon my father. The cavern began to shake.

     "Don't be foolish." Gaea hissed. "You will destroy yourself for nothing!"

     "Not for nothing." I stated.

     I shut my eyes as I summoned the last of my willpower. I heard the fissure explode, as millions of shards pierced skin.

     I screeched out in pain.

     I fell to the ground. The moist earth pulled my body down into its embrace slowly. Until darkness enveloped me.

     When I opened my eyes again I stood in front of a brick rundown house next to a drainage ditch overgrown with weeds. A clump of banana tress drooped in the yard. On the porch was a skinny old man sitting in a rocking chair.

     Sammy.

     "Ah, Hazel." His eyes were fixed on the horizon, "I guess we ran out of time. Well..."

     He sighed.

     Tears were quickly filling up my eyes.

     Out came Esperanza Valdez, holding baby Leo in her arms. She handed the blue blanket to him.

     "Ah, Little Leo." He sighed, "Tell her for me. I hoped I would be alive, but, ay, the curse wouldn't have it! That lady, Doña Callida, she warned me. She said Hazel's great danger would happen in my lifetime. But I promised I would be there for her."

     Tears started to brim Sammy's eyes.

     "You will have to tell her I'm sorry. It's all my fault." He said sadly, while tears ran down his cheeks . "That diamond came with a curse. I never saw her again."

     I wept. My Sammy. My first love thought it was his fault I didn't come back.

     "Oh Sammy," I cried. "No a curse didn't keep me away. I wanted to come back. I died!"

      "I died." I whispered.

     I broke.

     My heart shattered.

     I couldn't stay strong anymore. I fell to my knees, letting myself cry.

     When I blinked away the tears I was greeted with Camp Half-Blood on fire. The orange red flames danced across the cabins. There stood Frank all in the middle of it. My Frank, my sweetheart. In all the chaos, he was a sight for sore eyes. I ran up to him, happiness filling me up. I was grinning from ear to ear. Finally, something good, something pure, something I loved in all of this.

     "Frank!" I sniffed, hugging him. "Frank! I missed you so much."

     He was stiff, unmoving to my embrace.

     "Frank?" I asked.

     He was standing still, his brown eyes were glazed over.

     He pushed me down to the grass, I winced. Frank turned to pull out a glittering sword. He raised it above his head, his eyes were still gazing straight ahead.

     "Good bye Hazel." He said coldly.

     "But-but Frank," I said, tearing up. "You promised."

     He plunged the Sword down. There was a sharp pain in my chest. My eyes shut for the last time, as the darkness swept me away.