New camp director (Percy Jackson fanfic)

Its over..

Is there another way to free her? I looked up at her, almost pleadingly.  "Please, is there any other way?" I begged her, but she looked angry, which worried me a bit. It appeared that Gabe was able to see the ghost as well, of course he could, she haunted him. My gun still rested on his lose teeth.

    "No! Shoot him now!" She screamed, which instinctively made me cover my ears, it was a glass breaking pitched scream, and it did break some windows, which confused everyone. It occurred to me she wasn't the friendly ghost she had appeared to be when I spoke to her, no, she just wanted her revenge. Nervously, I pointed the gun at him again, I was scared, terrified actually, this was the moment I had thought about so long, but now that's it's finally here, I can't.

"Who hurt you so bad that you felt like hurting others was the best option?" I asked, staring at Gabe, who in turned only stared at the ghost in anger.

"Ha! Nothing happened to me, you and Sally deserved it." Gabe scoffed, and I shoved the gun down his throat, my hand almost touching his lips, he couldn't talk anymore, I was sick of his voice. My
mind kept switching between 'kill him' and 'this isn't like you' and I was confused and frustrated.

"I'd regret killing you for the rest of the time I'm alive, and maybe even into the afterlife, but I know if I don't I'm also going to regret letting you hurt anyone else. I'm hesitating and I don't know why, maybe I'm just scared of watching the bullet going through and watching the blood continue to fall once  your body collapses." The ghost was getting impatient and it was clear as day, "all these months, thinking about it, smiling at the thought and all I can think now is 'should I?' And 'what if?" My finger started squeezing the trigger, and that's when the ghost lady let out another scream, scaring me one more, what scared me more was the sound of the gun firing.

   The ghost lady was gone, and Mr Docs body slumped, and I saw his blood all over the stand and even the grass a few feet away, it was over. But why didn't I feel better? Tears streamed down my face, and I dropped the gun, shaking. My knees gave out under me and I stared at his body in shock. "What did I do." This phrase probably came out of my mouth a half a million times, and by the time I was finally able to force myself to stand up, it was nearing midnight. Nobody came out of their cabins, most were probably sleeping by now or trying to see what I was doing, I didn't care, I'm a monster.

    It was right there, on the ground, I wouldn't have to deal with the guilt if I just pull the trigger, like I did to him. "I didn't mean to pull it, there was another way." By now the tears couldn't come anymore, mentally, I was gone, and I was going to do something stupid. Untying Mr Docs body, I picked him up and brought him to the trees, laying him on the ground once I felt like I was a safe away distance. Once I was far enough, I grabbed my lighter and lit him on fire, watching as the flames built up and burned his body to almost nothing.

   "What did you do?" The voice surprised me and I turned around, seeing all my friends, staring in horror, watching me stand over a dead man's body. Annabeth looked the most surprised, the man she once loved was a murderer.

   "I wasn't planning to, I wanted to find another way to free the ghost, but she- she just wanted her revenge. She wasn't going to have it any other way." Tears started falling once again, I avoided looking at them entirely. I couldn't handle the fact that I'm a monster now, the same person they all used to love, trust and rely on just killed someone. "The gun was in my hands, and I was angry, I shoved the gun into his mouth, but she screamed, and it scared me because it came out of nowhere and- and" I was a stumbling mess, and I don't know if I'm remembering it properly, I'm in shock, I can't believe I killed him.

"Percy, everyone heard the scream and the shot that followed, it's okay." My head didn't register the voice, hardly even the words, and everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes, I was in the infirmary. "Percy! Your awake! Guys, he's awake!" I heard Annabeth shout, and I bolted up, rubbing my face, what? Where's the scar?

"Oh thank the gods! We thought you wouldn't ever wake up!" Hazel said, hugging me excitedly, and I was confused. It was bright out, everyone looked so energetic, camp was alive once again.

"What, what do you mean?" I asked, my body feeling heavy. Last I remember, I fainted in the forest in the rain.

"You were in a coma since the beginning of last summer, you went to bed and never woke up." Annabeth explained.

"But, I was just in the forest?" I asked, standing up dizzily, I looked in the mirror, I never lost any weight, probably because they had a tube to put food in me, and I wasn't so tired. There was a small line that showed where the mark was, but it was hardly noticeable. Lifting up my shirt, I noticed it was the same with my back and chest.

"What are those marks?" Annabeth asked.

"Was, are, are you sure I was in a coma for over a year?" I asked staring in shock, and she nodded. "No, that's impossible, no, I remember it all, I couldn't have been in a coma." I said, feeling weak, falling to my knees.

"Remember what?" Will asked, bending down, lifting my head and flashing a light in my eyes.

"Everything. Mr Doc, Gabe, the stand." I mumbled, shaking.

"He's going into a panic attack. Whatever happened in his coma is messing with him." Will said to the others as my breathing quickened. "Who's Mr Doc and Gabe? What stand?" He asked and I shook my head, tears falling down my face.

"The whipping stand. Gabe was in Mr Docs body to torment me, I killed him. I killed him. I killed him." I sobbed, rocking myself, nobody could say anything. Will managed to calm me down after a few minutes and questioned me.

"Percy, I need you to explain everything, what happened?" He asked me, bending down to my height, they all looked at me curiously, worriedly.

    "It was all in my head, that's what he did," I gulped, realization dawning over me, that's what he does, because it would be impossible to get through Hades under worldly defences. "I was stupid to believe it, son of a bitch." I grumbled, laying my head on the bed. "He had tormented me, told everyone my deepest secrets, tried to kill me, until I had enough, I killed him." I explained nervously, they'd hate me all over again.

    "What deep secrets?" Annabeth asked, she still loved me? After two years basically, she still loved me?

    "So, so many. Being abused as a kid, self harm, insomnia, suicide attempts, all of it. He had said it in front of everyone before continuing to hit my head against the floor." I rubbed my face, I felt crazy, panicked. "You should all hate me. I had done nothing but lie to you, threaten you, scare you and give you the silent treatment."

    "How did you lie to us? Who did you threaten and scare?" Annabeth asked me, gripping onto my hand, and I held onto hers, she loved me still.

    "I couldn't tell you guys what I was planning, so I told you guys I was taking pills that I had, that I didn't even fucking use, I threatened you if you told anyone about what you found in my cabin, and I terrified Leo." I gulped, which made Leo step forward curiously, pointing at himself as if to clarify we were talking about the same Leo, and I nodded.

    "How?" He asked me, but I looked at my feet.

   "You tried to push me off Mr Doc, or Gabe, I guess it's the same person so whatever name you prefer, I was punching him, screaming, I was angry. You tried to pull me off and I threw you off, but once I realized what I did, I broke down, and held you while I did it. That's when you guys all realized I was going to kill him, I had the gun, I had it put against him, and you were all scared." Thinking about it scared me. "But, I guess none of it was real."