“I’ll prove it to you, Miss Chase.” 

The woman brutally grabbed Percy by his hair, and pulled him to a kneeling position. Percy groaned slightly at the sudden impact, as he stared into the vision on the screen hanging in the air in front of him.

The vision of his dear Annabeth. 

When Annabeth’s stormy grey eyes met the wreckage of her beloved boyfriend, her mouth fell open and she put her hand on her heart, as if preventing it from breaking into pieces. Her eyes scanned through his orange, no, stained with red Camp-Half-Blood T-shirt, and the blood on his cheek was starting to dry. The look of dread and terror on Annabeth’s face was daunting. Everyone seemed to fall into silence, giving a little space for Annabeth and Percy. 

“Is…” Annabeth took in a deep breath to prevent her voice from shaking too much. “Is that your blood?” 

Percy didn’t answer. 

Why did you have to leave? Annabeth thought silently. Someone else could have taken your place, or… you could have stayed here, in camp…

Annabeth clenched her fists and stared at the woman beside Percy. 

“You won’t suffer this in vain, Percy. Trust me. I won’t let you.” 

Percy winced as the woman tugged at his hair even more forcefully back, and now he was close to standing. 

“Stop it!” Poseidon shouted, not noticing that his voice was cracking significantly. Everyone looked at him. From his teary sea-green eyes, it was obvious that he was fighting back the tears that were trying to fall from his eyes. “Stop doing this to him!” 

“What are you going to do?” the woman snickered. “Throw a hurricane at me and killing millions of people while you’re at it?” Her lips crooked into a disturbing smile. “You aren’t that insensitive, Poseidon.”  

Poseidon’s face turned a deep shade of red as his hands gripped the sides of his throne angrily. 

“Don’t you dare…” 

“You won’t get away with this.” Annabeth cut in. “I’ll get you. You won’t get away, I swear.” 

The woman laughed. 

“But Miss Chase, I already have.” 

The woman spun the knife on her fingers for a few seconds and in the blink of an eye, stabbed the blade into another scar on Percy’s back. Percy opened his mouth in pain, but no sound seemed to come out from it. Tears swelled up in his eyes as the blade dug deeper and deeper into his skin. The woman smirked and twisted the blade vigorously, and Percy gasped as he coughed out blood. 

Screams were heard, though, from the Iris-message at the other side of Olympus. It was Annabeth. She was shrieking with her eyes widened in shock and terror, as she staggered and dropped onto the ground beneath her with droplets of tears spilling out from her grey eyes. She kept on repeating Percy’s name over and over again, as she wept in agony. 

The marble ground was already covered in red crimson blood. Percy felt his eyes roll up to the back of his head as he fell unconscious, and as the woman let go of his jet-black hair, his head fell with a thud onto the ground. 

Thalia had already ended the Iris-message during the process. Only the gods were left watching Percy’s torture. Poseidon was staring at the screen struck with horror as the woman wiped her knife on the sleeve of her blouse. 

“There.” she finished, as she adjusted the knife back to her belt. She turned to Poseidon. “Did you enjoy my present?” 

Poseidon gave no answer. None of the gods did. 

Demeter continued crunching loudly on her cereals.

The woman smiled innocently as she tucked a piece of her long black hair behind her ear. 

“Send my greetings to Sally Jackson.” 

The image disappeared.