The Mark of Athena (Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 36- Piper

Chapter 36

Piper

     After getting stabbed in the stomach, getting the Curse of Gaea, and nearly dying on a daily basis, Piper was done with danger. She was about ready to go to her room, dive into the blankets, and stay there for a thousand years. But of course, she would probably die in the war, she had a battle to fight, and she couldn’t just abandon all her friends.

     Even though she was being like a psychopath, her friends accepted her. She had mood swings, visions, and nightmares, yet her friends were always there. The question was why? She wasn’t sure.

     Exhaustion was weighing down on her. Most of the night she would be awake from waking up from nightmares and she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. So she was in her room, her back on her bed while her legs were leaning against the wall, while her head was nearly hanging off her bed upside down. It was a comfortable position.

     She stared into her knife. Katoptris sent her helpful visions sometimes, but the knife revealed nothing except her own reflection. That wasn’t helpful. She could see all the changes that had happened to her when she was kidnapped. Her face was paler with bags under her eyes. And she was thin, way thinner than she should be. It was depressing.

     Once again her eyes fell on the picture of her dad. She was guilty for not telling him what was going on with her life. She nearly died a few days ago from the spear. Again, she pulled her shirt to reveal the scar. It was a painful memory that she couldn’t get out of her mind. She could remember being inches from death, nearly being pulled into the abyss.

     Okay. Maybe she was crazy.

     Whatever the reason, she kept having a new and repeating dream. It was that she was falling. There was nothing around her except for darkness. She was tumbling through the air, silver light enveloping around her, and that’s when she usually woke up.

     She was crazy.

     She was nodding off in her comfortable position. Sleep was finally pulling her down and she was grateful.

     Her dreams didn’t spare her.

     She was standing in front of the Doors of Death. She froze up, her throat closing around her vocal cords. She couldn’t scream or run. She was like a statue.

     The cliffs were jagged, about two hundred feet above the giant double doors. There were ledges all around the cliffs. The ledges were big enough to hold a giant.

     And then she wasn’t there anymore.

     Now she was in the meadow. She knew this dream. The dream was her friends would die right before her eyes.

     There was Frank, shooting arrows, when suddenly an Earthborn came behind him, grabbed his neck, and snapped Frank’s spine.

     Hazel was lifting jewels from her curse, when the gems suddenly hit her, crushing her to death.

     Leo was shooting fire from his hands when ice froze him and melted. His body wasn’t there anymore.

     Percy was holding Riptide tightly, when the sword was ripped from his hands and stabbed him in the throat.

     Annabeth was glowing silver from the Mark of Athena when she erupted into light.

     And Jason’s death was the worse. Piper could no longer control her body as she brought her knife down on his neck.

     You see, Piper McLean? Gaea asked sleepily. This is how you will come to an end.

     And like every nightmare Piper had, she woke up with a big jerk, causing her to fall backwards off her bed and sprawling on her stomach on the floor. Her knife clattered out of her hand. She sighed, knowing that she would have to get up, but not wanting to stand.