Percy Jackson and the Saviors of Tartarus

A Light in the Dark

Percy's POV

A bright flash of something woke me from my fitful sleep.

"Percy," a voice whispered. Something poked my shoulder. "Percy get up." I jumped up, scaring the figure who jumped back a few feet. He put a hand over his heart. "Geez, it always freaks me out when you do that. Anyway, we're going for our run. You coming or what?" I thought for a second.

"Okay. Let me get ready." The man nodded and walked out to the front of the house. The building I'd found turned out to be inhabited by three half-bloods who were in a similar predicament. The house was very small, made only from the few materials that could be found in this hellscape. It had a crude kitchen that had an open fire pit with a grate over it; a living room with two couches and a single window, the glass to grimy to see through; a bathroom with a surprisingly modern toilet and a shower and sink that both sprouted brown, somewhat foul smelling water; and a bedroom with a singular ginormous bed. I slept on the couch against the wall that faced the door, which I appreciated. My experiences had left me suspicious and wary, always ready for the next attack.

The bright flash that had woken me up was the golden sweatshirt and sweatshirt the figure that had woken me up had been wearing. His name was Alex. He said he was 18 and a child of Hectate, which apparent from when I first laid eyes on him. His clothing looked as though it had been weaved by small strands of gold that rippled and shined as he walked. The gold brought out his tanned skin and was a stark contrast to his black hair and shockingly black eyes. They were so dark I was unable to differentiate the pupil from the rest of it. His eyes reminded me of Piper's in a painful way, with shocks of color sometimes shooting through them. The only was difference was that while Piper's eyes were friendly and warm, Alex's sometimes looked threatening or straight up malicious, although I got the feeling he was a good kid. He was the first of us to find and inhabit the house.

He shared the bedroom with the second longest resident, Neo. Neo was younger than both Alex and I, only 16, his short height only making him look younger. He was a cheerful child of Apollo who I'd never seen in anything close to a bad mood. He had curly Leo-esq brown curls, although they were much lighter with very light highlights, no doubt because of his parentage. His eyes were green and freckled with lighter bits that almost seemed to glow and a smattering of freckles across his face.

I began to stretch and a small voice asked, "Is it time already?"

"Yeah," A head of black hair suddenly poked out from underneath a blanket on the couch across from me, and sleepily, the final inhabitant of the house appeared. Her long hair was all over the place, most of it fallen from the ponytail she had had it in. Her slanted brown eyes studied me for a second.

"Do you want to use the bathroom first or can I?" She asked.

"Go ahead." The girl, Jenna, slowly got up, grabbed her clothes from where they were strewn at the end of her makeshift bed, and headed into the bathroom. Jenna was the youngest of us, only being 15, but she was by no means the weakest. She was a daughter of Ares, and although she barely reached by shoulder, she was still very intimidating. She got ready quickly and soon emerged, now wearing a tattered old shirt and jeans that had holes in the knees.

I made my way into the bathroom and looked at myself in the barely reflective mirror. Even in its dull and cloudy surface I could discern how awful I looked. My eyes were hollow and sunken, my mouth twisted in what seemed to be a permanent scowl. I lowered my head and turned on the faucet. It sprayed its typical brown mucky water, which I cleaned and splashed onto my face as a bit of a wake-up. I finished up as quickly as I could, and just as I was about to leave I paused. I could hear hushed voices from what I guessed to be the kitchen. I decided to wait and listen.