Project Demigod (a Percico fanfic)

Chapter 38: If I Should Die Before I Wake

Oh, it's come to my attention that I never mentioned what gun Percy carries after leaving Wales! Haha sorry guys. Percy carries a Smith & Wesson M&P Pro Series C.O.R.E. It's got a great polymer grip handle for fast-moving combat IMO (perfect for his agility). I would've gone with a J-framed gun since they're easier to hold but, the models look funny and I think he'd look more badass with an actual platform-ready firearm.

Happy scrolling! Not short, nevermind lol. There are many symptoms of fear... can you spot them all?

...

"Report."

"Two more have been successfully picked up."

"Heh, and try to guess which one was hiding under his hat."

That's what the Monsters said as they walked down the hall. They were brisk and silent, except for the occasional beep or hissing noise from their gas masks.

Two floors and twenty feet below their combat boots and impious smirks–

"Arghh... H-Hah!"

"N-N... Wh'... No... N-No!"

The sound of sobbing.

"Nico... N-Nico, no... No!"

They were all asleep, but writhing and twisting in pain.

Bianca, Jonathan, and Alexander's small beds were on the left. Patrick, Timmy, and Bobby's tinier ones were on the right. Two more were still empty.

But in the middle, between both sides, was a larger table made of cold steel and starch linen.

It was ready, but the prince wasn't there.

At least... not yet.

...

Sub-basements, location unknown, time unknown

Nico sat on the floor of steel cage, his left hand manacled to one corner. He was cold but he'd stopped shivering an hour ago. Numb and feeling like a dog locked away, the prince curled into himself in one corner and leaned his head back against the bars. They'd put a respirator over his mouth, the same kind the Monsters wore as the bottom half of their gas masks.

He squeezed Percy's flower tight in his hands.

He had no more screams left in his throat, and everything he'd tried went unnoticed or unacknowledged by the Monsters guarding him until they were told to leave. He couldn't get out and their time spent down there was pointless when they could be doing more meaningful things. So they all (except for one on guard at the door) abandoned him... forgot about him... left him to shrivel up without his coat, his guns, and his boots. And when he'd finished yelling until his throat was raw and he kicked and scratched the steel, Nico collapsed and remembered why he was there in the first place.

He then cast a glazed look to his right.

There was a cage sitting beside his and he couldn't tell if it was clean and brand new too. Nico also noticed that it had a giant black cloth covering it, because other than the cross breeze drifting through the room that lifted its ends, it didn't sound like anything was hiding underneath it.

Suddenly a breeze drifted though.

When it traced the part of Nico's cheek that wasn't covered by the black respirator, he felt his heart ache painfully in his ribcage.

He tried to be careful to not squish the flower in his hands as Percy's face floated through his head.

The respirator made everything harder to breathe, but he'd heard that sand was being ground up and drifting through the room to cause pulmonary damage.