Six Feet Under.

prologue !

PROLOGUE: THE VOID

Layla sat patiently as she waited for Percy's return. The two had been speaking only moments ago, the ocean touching their toes as they sat on a towel, taking a lazy day on their last day at camp.

He promised he'd be back in only a second, wanting to get his girlfriend Annabeth so that the three of them could all hang out. Layla immediately said it was a great idea-she loved hanging out with Percy and Annabeth, despite their excessive PDA.

When Layla noticed the tips of her fingers beginning to create a swirl of shadows, she frowned. She wasn't trying to. And as a daughter of Hades, the shadows didn't bother her, but she had learned control months ago. Why was she losing it now?

Despite her efforts, the shadows grew. Layla watched, wide eyed, as darkness filled her vision. When the darkness finally cleared... Layla was gone.

Percy returned with Annabeth only moments later. His smile faltered upon finding the beach towel empty, Layla nowhere to be seen. Annabeth looked around, "where's Layla? I thought you said she was here."

Percy began to frown, "she was." He replied, "she said she'd wait."

So, the two demigods began to search for their friend. At first, they weren't too concerned. They figured she had run off to play a joke, and would return any second to yell out, 'boo!' before laughing uncontrollably as Percy screams like a girl. (It had happened before.) When the one hour mark hit, they grew worried, wondering where Layla had gone. Then two hours went by... and three... four.

By then, Nico was involved. He had been Iris Messaged after the first hour as Percy asked if he knew where his sister had gone. Nico replied with a slight frown, saying that he had no idea where he was. He grew worried and showed up an hour later, shadow travelling under a nearby tree before he found Percy and Annabeth. The son of Hades grew even more worried upon finding that Layla still hadn't been found.

Eventually, half the camp was on lookout. It wasn't like Layla to leave Camp Half-Blood. It was her home-the only one she had. She wasn't like Nico. She didn't travel around aimlessly, looking for a place to stay. She loved camp, and the people in it. So for her to leave out of the blue was unlike her. Even if she were to leave, she would've told someone.

So, despite their best efforts, Layla could not be found. It was like she had vanished into thin air. However, there wasn't a day that went by where Nico wasn't off looking for her, because he'd be damned if he didn't find his sister.

They searched for a year, and Layla had shown no signs of returning. Nico tried to hide it, but he was clearly distraught. Layla was the only family that he had left... and she was gone-but he never gave up hope. Layla wasn't dead, she couldn't be. Nico would've known if she died.

That's why he never stopped looking. He knew that she was out there somewhere. He knew better than anyone.

But what he didn't know was that Layla had fallen through the darkness, slowly losing herself as she was left in a void. She couldn't tell how long she had spent in the void, but when she finally got out, she was somewhere else.

Layla was stuck in a world that wasn't her own-a world that had been scorched by the sun, leaving a deadly virus to attack the minds of the people living on it. She was taken by a group of soldiers, and brought to a building full of scientists and children much like herself.

She was tested, and found to be immune to the virus, known as the Flare. Then, they started their experiments. Months had passed, feeling endless in the labs she spent most of her time in. She was briefly introduced to a group of kids, and given a number much like they were. She was now known as Subject A14, a name she would not let herself believe was hers.

Just when the labs were getting to be too much for her, Layla forgot everything. The procedure had gone perfectly, and the daughter of Hades was sent up in the box to finally enter the Glade.

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lizzie speaks...

this was very fun to write :)
hope you like it so far