Petrichor| (Paul Atreides x Fem! Percy Jackson)

Chapter One: I play the Game Show of Death (Reprise)

     There were no riddles this time. (thank the gods!)

The concept of the game is still the same; if I lose, I get eaten. And all I have to do is run faster than the bullet train of a worm behind me until it gives up. Will it give up? Who knows.

How did it even get that big? I'm sure if Annabeth were here, she would mention something about critical mass and how an organism that big shouldn't even be possible, especially not in this barren, waterless wasteland devoid of life. Then again, we have fought giants (and Auntie Charybdis, for that matter), so I feel like the laws of physics don't really apply to gods and monsters.

That's not important. What matters right now is not dying.

I dare to spare a glance behind me, only to glimpse two more of those monstrosities now on either side of the first, quickly closing the distance between them and my (apparently) tasty demigod flesh. Great! Just Great! It looks like the 'Sandy Trio Express' has arrived. Next stop: nowhere near me!

They had massive teeth that resembled the blades of a helicopter, if not longer, and they bordered gaping maws that brought to mind black holes with sparks of fire and lightning deep within. When they exhaled, even with them still a good twenty meters away, it felt like I was back at Hephaestus' forge in Mount Saint Helens. Luckily, with how big they were, the worms kept pushing each other off course causing them all to lose ground in their chase.

I guess I should probably explain who I am and how I got here.

My name is Persephone Jackson (but everyone calls me Percy) and I'm a demigod. Poseidon's my dad. Yes, like the Greek god of the sea. Yeah. I know. What in Hades possessed the gods to make such a braindead decision like sending the demigod who fights with water to a place that has NO WATER?! I have no idea either.

Anyway, it should be no surprise that I am here on a quest to save the gods' butts, once again. Where's here? I have no idea. All I know is that I've helped save Olympus at least twice now, so I guess they expect me to come to their rescue every time. Unlike the other times, however, I'm not tasked with simply saving the world and Olympus (you know, the easy stuff); this time I'm responsible for the salvation of the entire universe. Wonderful! (Note the sarcasm)

But I can curse at the gods later because right now my focus needs to be on not dying and coming up with last-resort strategies to kill whichever worm catches her first (which seems likely since they had closed the distance between me and them despite bumping into each other).

Then, to my right, far in the distance, I heard (or rather felt) a deep, rhythmic thumping sound; or was it my heartbeat in my ears? I tried to scan the horizon, saying a silent prayer to the gods that it was not some other monster coming to claim its five-star demigod happy meal. Nothing seemed to stand out as imminently dangerous on the reddish-yellow dunes, so I focused back on the immediate threat nipping at my heels and rippling the ground beneath me sending me stumbling like I was drunk, trying to find my footing.

Then, as if the situation couldn't get any worse, I heard a deep rumbling, reminiscent of the thunderous waves that accompany a thunderstorm or a hurricane. I almost looked into the sky expecting to see an enormous rain cloud when my eyes caught a billow of sand cresting the far dune ahead of me.

"Πουτάνας γιος! (Son of a Bitch!)" I swore emphatically in Greek.

It was a worm like the others, but this one was at least three times the size of the ones chasing me. And I thought Larry, Moe, and Curly were big.

Not wasting a single second, I dug my right hand into the sand, not even attempting to slow my momentum in fear of being eaten, and swung to the right, using my planted hand as a pivot; my bare legs slid across the burning grains as my feet fumbled for purchase on the ever-shifting sands. My feet finally gained enough footing to propel me forward in my new trajectory and away from the gaping maws of the worm that had just swallowed the sand where I had been standing. Apparently, the worm was trying to make one last attempt to munch on me because I didn't see any of the original three worms after that close call.