We Are Cursed (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 2

Chapter 13 || Percy

Being where Percy was made dying feel peaceful.

He wasn't in darkness like he was when he was dying. No. He was somewhere else. A terrible place that in Greek mythology, was literal hell. Tartarus. Yes, it existed and it never left. The home of monsters. The home of lost hope. The place where no one could survive. Taking deep breaths, he looked around. The pain in his stomach was still there, but he managed to stand up without any hassle.

Voices. They hissed everywhere.

People die everyday, Perseus Jackson...

Monsters die everyday, Perseus Jackson...

We die, you get injured.

Percy looked around only to find the trees. Nothing else. He wasn't even sure if they were trees by the way they were blackened and dripping weird goo that seemed to be sap. But when he watched the "sap" fall on the floor, it sizzled like acid. Immediately, he knew touching the sap wouldn't be wise.

Everyday we will torture you...

You will fight to survive...

No one is here to help you now, 'oh so powerful' Olympian hero...

Even down here in Tartarus, your subconscious can kill us. But we reform. You... you live in pain. Your conscious body and your subconscious body...

The cackles died and Percy looked around once again. There was no sky. It was dark. The rivers only screamed misery and failure. The fiery river to his right only screamed 'death'. His bare feet bled as he took steps forward, the glass cutting through. Suddenly, he felt chills all along his spine. He froze.

"Hello?" he called out. He knew this was stupid. No spy would ever dare do it. But this was Tartarus. No one knew what happened down there because no one had ever been there.

"Perseus Jackson..." a hiss came from the side and the bushes parted to reveal a beautiful woman.

"W-Who are you?" he demanded.

"Oh... I am someone no one has heard of before. They bury me in the years of glory other monsters and villains have attained. But after they hear what I do to you... I will never be forgotten again. I will reign Olympus with Kronos and Gaea. There is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Yes, there is!" Percy roared defiantly. "You and your devilish masters will never win!"

"Brave talk for someone who is about to experience pain."

"You don't know that!" he yelled, trying not to be terrified as the woman stepped closer.

"Such a handsome young boy..." she stroked his face with her pale hands. "It's such a shame I have to torture you. If you weren't on the Olympian side I would be kissing you. Playing with you. Having so much fun! But alas... you're with those crummy Olympians."

"Don't you dare call them crummy!" Percy retorted. "They're my family!"

"Yet they shun you... They didn't come to your aid while you battled the curse of death... How does it feel? Being the one and only person in a millennia to have cheated death and gotten away with it?"

"Uh... bad?" Percy frowned, staring at the girl. "Again, who are you?"

"My name is Mystia. You may have heard of my sister, Medea. She's a lot less worse than I am. I long for the feeling of blood running against my skin. Demigod blood. I haven't had my hands on a demigod since the rise of the Olympians."

"Nice to hear your background story, but--" Percy started, but suddenly, there was a sword at his neck.

"Stop talking, Percy. You know you have to fight me in order to survive. This is a fight for your life."

"I'm not gonna die! The curse doesn't kill me!" Percy protested.

"Oh, you missed it. At the bottom of the page, written in small Greek letters... By the time you reach your 104th day with your curse... you are dead. Judging by how it's been three months... you only have two weeks."

Percy froze at this fact.

"Now get your sword out, boy!" Mystia took her sword out.

He had no choice to comply as Mystia charged at him, her blade gleaming in the dim lighting of the pit of hell. Percy's sword met hers as he tried to ignore the pain in his stomach. He deflected each blow, even landing a hard stab to Mystia's stomach.

"Impressive," Mystia laughed. "You are a lot tougher than I thought! But your poisoned stomach won't let you win. It never goes away. It stays there like a deadly plague. And the worst thing is... your friends don't know the time limit."

The fight continued and Mystia landed a slash to his chest, sending him reeling as blood soaked his shirt. As he became more and more battered, he finally let out a cry of pain when his stomach added to the wounds was just... too much. Way too much. Mystia kicked him hard in the stomach so that he slammed against a tree. As he was winded, Mystia quickly tied his arms up in shackles, leaving him useless as he tried to get out of the chains. No avail.

"Now, now, Percy... Behave!" Mystia said, cupping his cheek in her palm. "We can always play nice for a few moments before the torture starts."

That's when he felt the worse thing that he could ever imagine happen to him. Mystia kissed him. Made out with him. He screamed and Mystia slapped him across the face.

"How dare you scream at my luxurious kiss!" she hissed. "You will pay!"

A sword came down on Percy's body and he screamed in pain. A hard punch to the ribs. It was like Gabe all over again, but with a woman who was strangely attracted to him. He let out another cry of pain. But whatever Percy did, he had to get the word out to his friends. It was mandatory that they knew what to do.

But how was he supposed to get the message out?

As Mystia's whip lashed down onto him, he knew his time was ticking. He had to survive down here. The time limit was the least of his problems at the moment. Staying alive in his subconscious was the main focus.