Gab's PoV

Did I ever mention that I hate heights?

We fell into the pitch black, and I was screaming my head off. My original plan was to try and survive the fall quietly, so we didn't attract the attention of monsters as soon as we landed on the ground. My irrational part of my brain didn't agree. It was the one screaming, "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Eventually, I think I heard Annie scream over my screaming and the howling of the wind, "Would you shut up?! You're blowing out my eardrum!"

I shut my mouth, but we were still falling. I ended up opening my mouth again to try and get more air in my lungs since I was hyperventilating, and I accidentally started screaming again. After about an hour, I finally lost my voice. I squeezed Annie and Nelson's hands and tried not to sob. What felt like a few hours later, the dark tunnel opened up into a larger red cavern. I saw two tiny specks on the ground. They weren't moving. Then I made my second realization in hours.

We really were falling at terminal velocity.

I swallowed my fear and tried my best to get Nelson's attention. "Nelson! NELSON!"

Nelson looked around. His eyes were wide with fear. "WHAT?"

"CAN YOU MAKE ANYTHING GROW TO STOP THE FALL?" I screamed in his ear.

Nelson concentrated. The ground was getting closer and closer. I could see vines growing up from the ground near a river. I really didn't want to know what river that was. The vines grew thicker and quicker, but I knew they wouldn't be thick enough to completely stop us safely. If we survived, it was going to hurt like Hades.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight, bracing for impact. As we landed in the vines, they wrapped us up weakly to try and absorb the shock, but the vines were too brittle in this sulfuric air to stop the fall. They mostly just gave us a soft place to land. Annie screamed out in pain, and I cried out as well. Nelson hit his head on the ground and passed out from the effort of growing the vines and the fall.

I stayed on the ground for a few minutes before I sat up, wincing as I moved my left arm and right leg. I fumbled for my back pack, and pulled out the ambrosia. It was crushed slightly since I fell onto my back. I grabbed a square and handed it to Annie. Then I shoved a second square in my mouth. It tasted like my dad's white rice with pink beans and chorizo. I hadn't had that in so long. My eyes watered a little. I missed home, but I didn't think I was ever going to get that back.

I was finally able to stand and limp over to Nelson. I checked his pulse, and it seemed steady. Then again, I wasn't a child of Apollo, so what did I know about health? I grabbed my canteen of nectar and forced some of it down his throat. I then got up and limped over to the two other unconscious bodies. Nico's hand was intertwined with Will's hand. Both of their eyes were closed, and they were breathing gently. I forced some nectar down their throats too and went to go check on Annie.

Annie was still sitting, and her face was scrunched up in pain. I knelt down next to her and offered her another square of ambrosia. She shook her head and rocked back and forth, griting her teeth. "I think we'll be stuck here for a little while. I broke my right leg and left ankle."

"Yeah. Nelson, Nico, and Will are still unconscious, but I don't know how long we can last on ambrosia and nectar. The only known way so far on how to get through Tartarus is by drinking fire water from the Phlegethon. We'll need to go search for it really soon." I said.

"We need to drink fire water from the phlegm-a-thon? Why is there a race for phlegm down here?" Annie asked.

If only I didn't hurt so much right now, I would be able to facepalm. "Not the phlegm-a-thon, the Phlegethon! The river of fire. It helps... It helps keep monsters and whatever is down here alive... To endure more tortures." Shit, I was starting to not be able to speak.

"Fantastic," Annie muttered. "Where are we now?"

"It's not like we have a map of Tartarus, Annie," I said in exasperation.

"Well how are we supposed to find the stupid river if we don't know where we are, genius?!" Annie retorted.

I took a deep breath. We both didn't mean any of this. We are tired, exhausted, and in desperate need of some hope. Calm down. "I don't know... but we can figure this out... We can do this." I said slowly, forcing a smile.

"Is it starting to get harder to breath for you, or is it just me?" Annie said suddenly, a panicked look crossed her face.

It was getting very difficult to breath. I grabbed the ambrosia bag and gave half of a square to Annie and half for me. "We need to go... Now. Besides, Tartarus seemed like he... he was going to send some monsters very soon."

"Which way do we go?" Annie whispered looking around.

"Down stream I guess," I replied, looking at the river we fell next to.

"What river is that?" Annie asked.

"No idea... and I don't want to find out... If it's not made of fire, don't touch it." Wow that was really backward.

Nelson stirred and shakily got to his feet. I went over to him and helped feed him a piece of ambrosia. "W-where are we?" He asked, slurring his words.

"Tartarus. Stay with me. We need your help." I said.

He shook his head a few times and nodded. Annie helped me pick up Nico since he was smaller, and we put his arms over our shoulders. Nelson picked up Will, and swung one of his arms around my shoulders also, and the other around Nelson's shoulders. Then we struggled our way down stream, praying for anything that might help is survive.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Have a great day!