The Third Camp Trilogy: The Chaotic End

Chapter nine: Carrie

I trudged through the red-tinted darkness of the place, I knew where I was to go, but I just couldn't bring myself to go faster. My feet were already dragging, though it had nothing to do with the setting.

For some reason everytime I came down here I only had trouble breathing at first and breathing once I came back. So after a few minutes I coughed a couple of times and breathed normally.

The biggest challenge in this place was hiding from the monsters, they could always smell me. And once they found me either they killed me (Which luckily never happened) or I would kill them and they would appear five feet away from me, if I was lucky.

I began to have short flashbacks, only images, of the past times I had been here. Of the torture, the pain.

"CCaaaarrrrrrriiiiiiiiieeeee... Mmmmaaarrrrrrtttttiiiiinnnn..."

It echoed all around me, like a low hiss.

"Oh, come on..." I groaned.

"You have returned to the kingdom of Tartarus... You approach the edge of my kingdom, my kingdom of night..."

"Yeah, hi, Nyx." I muttered.

"Stop spoiling my fun!" Nyx hissed angrily.

"Alright, let me make a deal with you. I'll let you whip me one time without your special whip, but as hard as you want. Then you will let me continue."

There was silence. I worried she wouldn't agree to the offer.

"...Alright." Nyx appeared. "Deal."

I knelt in front of her, waiting for the pain.

Know what? Pain isn't a strong enough word for this.

Let's try a different word... Suffering? Agony?

Nope, not one was painful enough.

So, I'll settle for explaining it.

The crack of the whip echoed throughout the casm, ready to strike.

The goddess brought the whip down with all of her might, I fell to the ground. My fresh whip wound, from the last encounter with Nyx, was cut open once more.

It stung like there was no tomorrow, and that was only the beginning, it soon started to spread, and got worse.

But I couldn't give her the satisfaction of yelling in pain or she would get excited and continue whipping me. It was a nasty cycle.

A few moments of silence, and Nyx waiting for me to yell in pain, later, I slowly rose and turned to her.

"See? That wasn't so bad." I spoke through my teeth.

"Fine. Continue. But don't think that this is the last time you will hear from me."

"It never is." I made my way deeper into Tartarus.

In the distance, I could hear something.

Screaming.

But this wasn't a monster or a titan or a god.

This was a human.

This was human screaming, screaming of pain and fear.

And it was female.

I started to trudge-walk as fast as I could, incapable of running.

The screaming got louder.

And louder.

I got faster. I got as close to running as I could.

Then, on her knees...

"Neptuna!"

She was screaming her head off, hands clutched over her ears, eyes clenched shut. Her face was scraped and bloody in many places. Her jeans were shredded, her shirt torn in half, revealing her emaciated ribs and stomach, like she had been starved for months. There were tears streaming down her face, tears of fear and pain.

I panicked. What was wrong? Why was she here? What had happened?

"Oh my gods, Neptuna!" I crouched down next to her, my gut twisting in fear for her.

Neptuna's screaming was destroying the deathly silence of Tartarus, and I couldn't help but think that her screaming was worse than the empty nothingness.

Then the screaming stopped.

Neptuna, still on her knees, hands still clutched over her ears, froze. Her eyes flew wider than plates.

A low, scratchy laugh cut through the darkness and sudden silence.

"Young demigod." Someone boomed.

I jolted up, bow in hand, as Neptuna turned to dust and blew away.

"I have found your weakness." The giant grinned. "Now to destroy you with it."