Fatally Flawed - Percabeth (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter five.

It took Percy a minute to register it all. His senses had been washed out from, well, dying. “Hey!” Percy yelled. It came out more like a groan. No one even turned to look. He took a deep breath, and headed straight for Nico. “Hey!” he yelled, grabbing Nico’s arm and slinging him backward. Nico went flying, crashing into an old wooden table twenty feet back. Percy wasn’t sure how that had happened; he knew he couldn’t be that strong. All Hades broke loose, and everything erupted at once inside of Percy. He wanted to collapse, just lay back down in bed and sleep for a few hours.

“Everyone shut it!” Annabeth appeared, and everyone stopped talking at once. “Unless you are Nico di Angelo or Jason Grace, you are expected back at your cabin now.”

When everyone cleared out, Percy made a mental note to thank Annabeth for showing up. Nico slowly got to his feet, anger turning his face a deep red. “You shouldn’t have done that, Percy. I was doing the exact thing you would be doing if…” he trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

“If what?” Annabeth asked in place of Percy.

Nico didn’t answer, instead he eyed Jason as he lied on the ground, out cold.

“If what, Nico?” Percy asked, his temper rising.

“If you knew why I’m here,” he replied, his voice low. “Jason Grace appeared to my father.” Nico paused, meeting Percy’s eyes with worry. “Jason pleaded on behalf of the Titan’s last night. He wants my dad to join their side…to join his side.”

Everything happened in a blur. Jason was thrown into a room in the basement. It was a lot like a jail cell, and although Camp Half-Blood hardly used it, everyone was glad it was there. Percy knew something was wrong with Jason. He had joined Camp Half-Blood instead of returning to the Roman camp, which was a tell-tell sign, considering Jason’s loyalty resided there.

When everything became chaotic, Annabeth slipped her hand into Percy’s, helping him stay calm. “Maybe it’s the Kronos thing all over again,” she whispered. “What if..he didn’t die. What if he’s doing the same thing to Jason that he did to Luke?”

“We won’t let Jason end up the way Luke did,” Percy murmured back. “I promise.”

“Promise is a big word, Perce,” Annabeth said. Her voice was shallow and eluded. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Percy shook his head, taken back. “I’ll keep this one, Annabeth. Or I’ll die trying.”

Waking up in a cold sweat was the least of Percy’s worries. The way Annabeth talked down to Percy had gutted him. Does she even believe in me anymore? he thought. Geez, I don’t even believe in myself anymore.

He looked out of his window to see a storm approaching. He thought it was strange, considering storms never made it through the dome.  “What in Hades is—” A loud burst of thunder roared, stunning him and cutting his sentence in half.

A loud wail pierced his ears, and Percy fell to his knees in pain. His hands covered his ears, trying desperately to keep the noise out. It played on a loop, it seemed, until eventually his hearing disappeared all-together.

He panicked, screaming his throat raw. No sound traveled. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed. Nothing. Only a small vibration tickling his throat. Percy’s eyes widened in terror. He had one thought that stabbed at his stomach, I’m deaf.

Percy was sitting in the Big House. Annabeth was crying beside him—he wasn’t sure why. Chiron was talking to someone on the phone—Percy couldn’t read his lips. Grover and Tyson sat on the other said of the room, refusing to make eye contact. Something was wrong.

Percy should’ve been more concerned than he was. He had a strange peace about it. Annabeth was holding his hand. “I love you,” he tried to say. He wasn’t sure how it came out, but by the look of sheer horror on his face, he knew it couldn’t have sounded normal.

She cried harder.

“Don’t cry. I’m okay.” Percy was sure it had sounded better this time.

Annabeth shook her head, and met his eyes. “I love you.” He read those words pretty easily from her lips. He smiled at her, and she looked at him like he was sprouting wings.

She looked at him harsher. Pained. She mouthed something—he couldn’t tell what at first. Then he felt all of his insides churn, letting an ache of fear take him over. “It was Kronos.”