𝑆 𝑂 𝑁 𝐺 𝐵 𝐼 𝑅 𝐷 - p. jackson

c h a p t e r s e v e n

unedited

c h a p t e r s e v e n
did i look like gwen stacy?

when salem woke next, all she saw was darkness.

after a few heavy moments of blinking, she slowly started to see the walls forming around her. when she sniffed the air, it smelt oddly familiar. for a moment, she sat listening; she heard waves, howling wind, bustling trees, and that's when she realized.

she was back at camp.

but how? salem had assumed she was dead. all she remembered was pain, and then saying what she assumed to be her last words in percy's arms. but here she was, and she didn't feel dead.

the girl attempted to sit up, but felt a weight occupying the space over her torso. she looked down and saw a weighted fleece laying across her stomach, shimmering slightly in the incredibly dim lighting.

using her limited arm strength, salem shrugged it off of herself and onto the space between her legs. when she sat up, pain shot through her spine. salem winced, biting her lip to avoid making a sound.

after a moment, she was ready to sit back down, drape the fleece over herself, and take another nap--but of course, she could never do what she desired most. the fleece, it needed to go onto thalia's tree. as much as salem still needed it, the camp needed it more.

with much pain, she managed to swing her legs off of the bed she was lying on and stand up. with the fleece draped over her hunched shoulders, she began her stumble.

as she began her walk, her mind was screaming at her;
why had nobody waited for her to wake up?

the journey was difficult, filled with much pain that showed with the tears on her face. salem stumbled through the big house until she found herself in the middle of the late-night camp.

if she weren't in tormenting pain, the night breezes would've been peaceful. she stumbled across the grass and through the moonlight, slowly making her way towards the tree.

making it up the hill was the most difficult part. on many occasions the blonde's shaking knees gave out and she stumbled to the ground, leaving her to whimper in pain as she attempted to stand again.

somehow, she had made it up the hill and to the tree. in her last efforts, salem took the fleece and draped it on the lowest branch of the tree.

the moonlight all around her turned from a dull grey to a bright silver, flashing around the tree and illuminating the area. salem attempted to watch its beauty, but as soon as the fleece left her body, so did her strength.

in a last effort to fall slowly, she let herself lean against the tree before crumbling, consciousness leaving her illed form.

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