Lost In Memories and Curses (PJO HOO STORY)

CHAPTER 2: WHO NEEDS HANDS WHEN YOU CAN CHUCK A SCREWDRIVER AT THE ELEVATOR

Hazel POV

Note: This is slightly different than the version in The House of Hades

The battle with Clytius had just finished and Hecate had already given me her stupid confusing message. But now? We were just waiting for Percy and Annabeth to come. The rest of the 7 were all standing up here with me, but we were honestly terrified.

What if they didn't make it?

What if we'll never see them again?

I don't think I could ever live with myself if that was the case. God, we were so stupid! How could we have just let them go down there themselves? Annabeth had a twisted ankle and I saw her dagger fly out of her hand. It's not like Percy was in any better shape... he had just finished killing two giants before we found her.

Gods.

I don't know what we would do if they didn't make it out of that elevator.

Clytius was already killed and we cut the chains on our side of the door. We were just waiting for Percy and Annabeth. But we were standing there for 15 minutes already. I could sense the uneasiness building up in the rest of the group. How long could they really stay there? 5 powerful demigods all standing together? We're practically a beacon for more monsters. And we still have our quest to finish...

"Guys, how— um, how long do you think we're going to wait here?" Jason asked, looking down.

"We can't abandon them Jason," I said, starting to get a bit angry. They went down there for us.

"Hazel," Frank said softly, pulling me into a hug. "Jason is right. We can't wait here forever."

"What kind of friends are you!" I cried, spluttering at the tears that started leaking out of my eyes. "They are fighting for their lives down there and if there is even the smallest chance they are alive, we are just going to leave them because it's inconvenient for us?"

Jason and Frank at least had the decency to look down in shame, but I knew they weren't going to let it go. On some level, I knew they were right, but... I didn't want to let go.

Percy and Annabeth were our leaders. We were a mess after they had fallen. Leaving would just be accepting their deaths.

Then all of a sudden, a miracle happened. The dingy little electronic sign above the elevator turned on and it started a downward count from 12.

They were coming!

Gods they were coming!

Or it could be more monsters...

We all waited there, awkwardly staring at the sign as the number got closer and closer to one. They were so close, I could feel it.

And then the elevator stopped. But the doors didn't open.

Black mist started pouring out of the cracks, but Percy and Annabeth were nowhere to be found. What was happening?

Then, all of a sudden, Leo pulled out a screwdriver from his magic toolbelt and chucked it halfway across the area and somehow managed to hit the button.

And out spilled Percy and Annabeth.

Gods.

Their clothes were torn and ripped to shreds, their hair stinged and dirty, their skin covered in wounds and grime. Percy's hair looked a lot longer, and was that stubble on his chin? It had only been 2 weeks!

The 5 of us were in so much shock that none of us could move. Then, all of a sudden, Piper lurched forward, a sob escaping from her lips, and dashed over to Percy and Annabeth, and tried to wake them up. The rest of us broke off from our trance and went to go help Piper. Annabeth was already out cold, probably passed out during the elevator ride. She was covered head to toe in injuries, cuts and burns alike. Her ankle was twisted completely in the wrong direction. I looked over at Percy and, if it was even possible, he looked so much worse.

Percy was still awake, his eyes hazy and unfocused. I stepped forward to help him when his eyes finally locked onto me, but he wasn't really seeing me.

And then he bolted.

He started scrambling backwards in fear, trying to get away from me. He had one hand reaching out for Annabeth, pulling her closer and behind him and his other hand fumbling to find Riptide, his sword.

"Get back!" He screamed at me, finally managing to uncap his pen. "Get back! Get away!"

He started muttering nonsense, trying to put his sword between me and him and himself between me and Annabeth. Gods, he was scared of us. But I didn't think he was even seeing us in the first place.

The others were looking at the two damaged heroes with pain and shock etched in their eyes. What could have happened down there that they now succumbed to this? The two were so madly in love with each other. They deserved the world. They deserved peace. Now? They were terrified of their own friends.

I knelt down in front of the two and dropped my weapon. I raised my empty hands in front of them to prove to them that I was not a threat.

"Percy, I'm Hazel. We're your friends. You're not there anymore. You got out," I told him. I gently stretched out one of my hands to hold his. I suddenly became aware of all the scars that riddled his arms. He held onto my hand for a few minutes before trusting himself to speak.

"Hazel? Is it really you?" he asked. I nodded, waiting for him to come to terms with the fact that he was no longer in Tartarus. "Are you real?"

It broke my heart that he asked that. Jason came and sat down next to me. "We're real Perce. You really got out."

Percy started sobbing, a sight I have never seen before. Percy was our strong leader. No, he is our strong leader. He is my friend, my leader, and my brother.

Tartarus wounded them, but will not break them. Because we will always be there to help them out.