Struck by Lightning

XXV

The sea was peaceful and the water beneath the surface was still and silent. Schools of fish swam their own way, blissfully unaware of any turmoil or tension in the world above their universe. It was a carefree existence, free from the pain and anguish felt by those whose lives and destinies were dictated by fate itself.

A great impact broke the surface of the water, and the life that lived and existed in the sea hastily moved away as the instigator of the disturbance drifted slowly. Some of the more curious fish and wildlife came to examine the new, unusual specimen, but after a few moments, they had lost their curiosity and patience, swimming away to new horizons as the space around the object became devoid of life. Without anything hindrance, the new object fell, slowly, downward to the bottom of the sea, finding a small gap between rocks to become lodged in.

And so Percy Jackson lay between rocks at the bottom of the quiet, clear water of the Aegean Sea, his eyes closed, his hands without tension, and his mind fully unknowing of the apocalypse that was happening just above him.

Percy awoke suddenly, his first instinct to suck in air. Instead, he inhaled a mouthful of water, and he hastily blew it out in bubbles of air before his rational mind kicked in and he remembered that he could breathe underwater. Calming his beating heart down, Percy warily began to re-orient himself, his eyes blinking as he tried to find his bearings. It was one thing to know that he could be underwater with no problem – it was a different thing to find oneself underwater in the middle of nowhere.

He felt an object on his back, and one hand reached around to feel a hilt. Turning his neck as much as he could, he saw the scabbard of a blade with a sword inside, and he quickly remembered. Percy propelled himself upward, which destroyed the rocks that he had been lodged in, and broke the surface of the water, looking around to see the shining sea. He spun around before he found what he was looking for – it just simply wasn't what he expected.

The island of Lemnos was virtually gone. The rocky beach that he and Kassandra had landed upon – something that felt nearly a lifetime ago considering how sore Percy felt – was dried and hardened, forming into a dark rock that covered most of the island. Lemnos' many trees and foliage were long gone, and nothing except for the central volcano, which itself looked smaller and was differently shaped than before, was the same as it had been. Where there had once been a lush, vibrant island full of life, there was nothing more than a blackened rock covered in magmatic rock.

Percy breathed deeply as he took in his situation. He had initially thought that he had been in the water for a few hours after being flung from island by the volcanic eruption, but it was evident that he had been unconscious for much longer. The lava that had been pouring out onto Lemnos wouldn't have cooled that quickly. Neither would his numerous wounds of varying magnitudes have healed in a matter of hours – Percy could feel his entire body free of any injury that he had sustained over all the time he had been in Ancient Greece, though he felt considerable soreness. He had also grown a considerable amount of facial hair. All of it added up to a substantial amount of time spent underwater. What had he missed when he wasn't awake?

Percy kicked his legs a bit to propel himself upward and leaned backward, lying on the surface of the water as he stared at the clear blue sky above him. For a few minutes, he drifted on peace, letting the soothing water wash over him as he did his best to clear his mind of worries and fears. Eventually, he felt himself calm down, and feeling the weight of the sword on his back, the responsibilities he had to shoulder came flooding back.

On his back was the sword that King Perseus wanted. Now he had to get the sword back to Mycenae. With that singular goal, Percy began to swim. He felt the water empower his limbs, and diving under the surface of the sea, he propelled himself forward at incredible speeds.