Hell is Real

Chapter 10

Percy asked around, finally started asking around. He asked why they don't swim in the lakes, why nobody touches Lake Erie. They always muttered something about the cleanliness or the fish. None met his eyes.

It was the weekend. Everyone he passed, everyone he saw, they all gave him the same answer. When did everyone become the same?

Winter was coming, winter was coming... Why did it bring fear? He heard the sky was blue, but all he ever saw was gray. He couldn't remember seeing anything else. Percy had never seen sunlight in his short, pitiful life. He may die without ever seeing light. Part of him thinks this might be a blessing. You fear what you do not know. You fear everything.

As he made his way to the lake, the gray clouds sunk closer to the earth and the fog seemed to grow thicker. The lake called for him, screamed for him, spoke to him silently.

The beaches of Lake Erie aren't made of sand. He wasn't sure what they were made of, but there's teeth. And fingernails. And sharp objects that embedded themselves in his bare feet and never came out. He stepped on them, used to them, didn't question the pain. Maybe it was there for a reason, maybe he bled there for a reason.

That's what people would tell him, if they ever found him.

The wind started to blow, low and growling. It moved across the waters, brought the fog with it. When he listened closely, he could hear the voices of the ones he saw across the waters, of the waters that forever seemed to yearn for him.

But the waters were freezing, and the air was getting colder. When he dipped a toe into the water, he felt as if every bone in his body decided to freeze at once. He stood there, unable to move, unable to do anything but stare out in front of him.

Eventually, Monday came. He took his foot back, he walked off to school, he wondered how days went by so fast.

The school was the same. Barely anybody was in class. Percy watched the lake and Leo watched his hands, and Nico tried to figure out why the spirits were so angry. Hazel, Hazel yearned for different plants to grow. She was getting sick of apples.

In math, they learned about imaginary numbers. Their teacher shook his head, sighed in sadness whenever he heard the word "imaginary". Luke spoke out, said the words didn't make sense. In a minute, he got a call slip for the office. He never came back, he never existed. He had also become imaginary.

Jason Grace sat on Hazel's right, on the right of The Planter. Percy stared at the lake, Leo stared at his hands, Nico stared at the ceiling. Jason stared out the left side of windows, stared at that fog that came rolling in. There had been stories of Jason, stories of the camping trip he had taken long ago. As Nico's neighbor, Nico watched him frequently from the safety of his home. Watched him, watched him walk on the fog.

Strange, so strange, all so strange.