Chapter 12

Percy

Light, frigid, cold, blue eyes as freezing as a glacier stared into mine. I refused to look away. I would face it. I would face death. I was the son of the sea and the sea didn’t like to be restrained. I was going to fight until I died. My captor left the room momentarily, leaving me alone in the tiny white walled room. Riptide was gone though. My captor took it away…somehow blocking its magic, not allowing my weapon to return to me.

I didn’t want to think of her. After all that I have done…I pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind.

I wanted to go home. My eyes wandered tiredly towards the door where I heard footsteps. Moments later, the door sprung open. I saw whips and various torturous devices in his hands. I didn’t struggle. Since I was restrained by celestial bronze, it was pointless to fight it. The bronze shackles blocked my powers and since I didn’t have my sword anymore, I couldn’t do anything to defend myself.

The next thing I knew, Oceanus was next to me and I was screaming. Agony…white, hot, burning agony coursed through my veins. I didn’t even know what he was doing to me. All I felt was the pain. The pain stopped momentarily and I heard someone gasping for air to find that it was me. The floor around me was now red and I had words…words in Greek on my skin. It looked like the blade had been white hot when it had pierced my skin and it somehow been cursed.

My face suddenly felt wet and I coughed and choked, trying to get air into my lungs, only later realizing in shock that water had just been thrown on me. The bronze that restrained me didn’t give me access to my powers. Fear suddenly coursed through me. I had been somewhat afraid of water ever since that time I fell into the muskeg.

I was ripped out of my thoughts as another scream was ripped out of my throat.

I jolted up from my bed in. I was drenched in sweat. The skin on my arms was stinging. I looked down at them to see thin red lines crisscrossing across my flesh. I blinked. They were still red…they weren’t red yesterday.

I shook my head to clear it and heard the trickling sound of the salt water fountain, reminding me where I was. Glancing out the window, I realized that it would be a while until the sun rose. Then, I looked at my alarm clock, realizing that it was only 2:00 AM.

After tossing and turning for a while in my bed, with little success in falling asleep, I decided to go for a walk. I found myself to be walking towards the beach where I sat down on the sand with my feet touching the water.

While sighing, I lay onto my back and stared into the night sky, marveling at all the stars. I didn’t really enjoy being at Camp Half-Blood as I used to. Most of my friends were at Camp Jupiter or dead and Chiron was clearly worried for me. I seemed to be more depressed during the day and I didn’t really crack as many jokes.

I felt like I didn’t have a place here at this camp anymore. All I did now was taught some of the new campers how to fight with a sword. I had no real purpose. I knew another war was coming. The gods were keeping me here. I wanted to get away from this place now. It reminded me of how much death I caused, wherever I went. I remembered when we had the battle here after searching in the Labyrinth.

Castor died in that battle…I didn’t even care to learn his name until he died. I shook my head as my eyes watered. I blinked, trying to keep the tears back.

“So many…so many have lost their lives because of me.” I thought. “I am Poseidon’s ‘wrong doing’.” I remembered when my father said that. It was long ago…but I remembered. I wasn’t supposed to exist. If I wasn’t born, or if I got killed before the titan war started, so many more people would be breathing, living, and walking on this earth right now as they should be.

The faces of Selina, Beckendorf, Zoe, Michel, Lee, Castor, and numerous others passed through my mind. This time, I couldn’t stop the tears. I kept on staring into the sky, searching for a constellation; the Huntress.

I saw her starry face smiling with her bow in her hands with an arrow notched.

“I’m sorry.” I said in a choked whisper as if my dead friends could hear me. My friends could be here, happy, carefree, and together if not for me. I should have died. I should have not existed.

It wasn’t entirely your fault.

It has been a while since the voice had spoken. I had almost forgotten about it.

That bastard Poseidon is the one that sired you and the gods used you and your friends. Your friends are dead because they were pawns of the gods. They bravely fought for the gods and look at their reward. They are now dead.

I know what they were fighting for. They fought for what they believed in. They were not pawns of the gods. I was the one that put them there to defend Olympus.

 I closed my eyes, blocking out the glowing and twinkling white, blue, and red dots in the sky. However, from behind my eye lids, I could still see the silvery light being emitted from the current crescent moon.

But the gods used you to lead them to defend their home for them.

They were fighting Typhon though. My mind argued. The voice remained silent.

I knew it was my fault. I sat up and opened my eyes, looking down at my hands. The blood on my hands was thick. So many fell by my hand…I couldn’t let that happen again. The guilt was over whelming…I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to ask for their forgiveness. I wanted to see my mom.

Without realizing, I had Riptide out and in its sword form.

I looked at the shining blade that was glinting in the moonlight, fascinated. I rolled up my sleeves.  Slowly, as if in a trance, I brought it down onto my skin and started drawing-drawing crimson lines. I felt no pain. There was nothing to feel. I thought that it would get rid of my pain. It did not. I would have to try something else; something else to stop the constant throbbing of my heart. What could stop it?

The sharp end of my blade came to rest at my wrist. It would be so easy to do. It was just one sword stroke away. The coldness of the blade against my wrist felt soothing. I pressed it harder against my skin.

Tiny droplets of blood were starting for form underneath Riptide’s blade. In a quick motion, I moved Riptide’s blade along my skin. I felt my blood starting to pour out.

I smiled. I could finally ask for their forgiveness. The pain would stop. The world started spinning…faster and faster. Then, I felt myself falling into the sand.

With a grin on my face, the darkness was closing in. Before the darkness claimed me, I looked up at the stars and the moon. I didn’t know what it was, but the moon seemed to be getting larger. Then, a sigh of relief escaped my lips as my world went black.