Decisiveness & Terror// [Percy Jackson OC]//Book 4

{Chapter Twelve}

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"I still feel like I'm haunted/So turn off the lights
Let me sleep for a weak/Cause I'm fucking exhausted"
- Sleep (Julian Lamadrid)

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THE APPLE DOES'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE

ONCE EVERYTHING SETTLED, they all decided to go to sleep. Grover and Percy decided to crash on the couches inside. Annabeth stacked three bedrolls to create a more comfortable sleeping arrangement. Arya and Nico decided to stay on the porch.

She hoped that because of the lack of sleep last night, Kronos would have some sense of pity and leave her alone tonight.

Arya was sorely mistaken.

The nightmares were nothing more than flashes of pictures, but they were bloody, gruesome, and shook her to her core.

"Arya!"

She opened her eyes and was quick to rach up and wipe the tears that were streaming down her face. She sat up and scrambled herself up until she was against the side of the house, she drew her knees up to her chest and attempted to rock herself to give her a sense of comfort. She wanted nothing more than to get the nightmares to stop.

"Ar-Are you okay?"

The voice sounded unsure, as if it wasn't used to speaking those words. She shifted her eyes to see Nico, a look of concern of his face, down on one knee from where he was attempting to wake her up.

Arya stood up fast and looked inside the house, making sure the others were still sleeping, relaxing her shoulders when she saw them all with closed eyes and mouths hung wide open. She ran her hands through her hair and grabbed at the roots, debating for a second to rip it out, in hopes the pain from that would be enough to distract her from the mental pain she was going through with the consistent nightmares.

She went to her pack and grabbed her gauntlets, before practically jumping down the porch steps and out into the farm. She wasn't exactly sure where she was walking to, but her feet were carrying her fast. She didn't even take a pause until she was standing in front of a river. There was anger inside of her, a frustration she had been building up since the nightmares started. She was pacing along the shoreline of the lake until she stopped dead, and with a yell, took water out from the stream and sliced it directly through the nearest tree, causing it to fall down on its side.

She hoped Eurytion wouldn't be mad about that.

"I will always think your powers are cool." Nico called from behind her, he must have followed her. It was only when she looked over at him did she realize she had run off from him, not even bothering to answer his questions.