Chapter Text
~PERCY~
“Remind me again why we are in the middle of forest?” I said, swatting another bug out of my face.
“Leo said he found more materials on this island, and as the ship was attacked-“
“Again,” I cut in.
Annabeth laughed as she continued. “We have to get more celestial bronze to fix it.”
“But why on a random island?”
“These things always end up in strange places,” Hazel said, “it’s close, though. I can feel it, I’m just not sure where.”
I sighed, although to be honest, the forest wasn’t all that bad. The tall trees and the vibrant green vines and bushes were a much needed change of scene from the endless clouds surrounding the Argo II.
Hazel lead us down a new path, trying to find the location of the medal. Annabeth slipped her hand into mine, and my heart jumped. I squeezed her hand and smiled. She smiled back, and I couldn’t help but stare into her sparkling grey eyes. Yeah, this trip was definitely a good idea.
Hazel suddenly came to a stop in front of us. I would have fun into her if Annabeth had not yanked on my arm.
“I don’t understand,” she murmured. “It feels like the celestial bronze is coming from all around.”
I felt Annabeth tense up next to me.
“What wrong?” I asked.
“Something is watching us,” she said, dropping my hand and pulling out her dagger.
I uncapped Riptide, knowing better than to doubt her instincts. Hazel pulled out her sword too, as the trees around us started to ruffle. It started to get darker. I looked up to see vines growing over the break in the trees above us. We all got close with our backs towards each other, weapons at the ready, but nothing seemed to come.
“This doesn’t seem good,” I whispered. Annabeth kicked me in the shin.
“Perseus Jackson... Annabeth Chase... Hazel Levesque...”
A soft, feminine voice rang throughout the forest, not seeming to come from any one spot.
“We are here in peace,” Hazel yelled, “Just let us get what we came for, and we will be on our way.”
A cold laugh echoed around us now. “Do you mean this?”
Dryads melted out of the trees, each brandishing their own celestial bronze weapon, ranging from daggers to spears.
“Yeah, that would be what we are looking for,” I said, “Any chance you give them to us as a gift and we leave without a fight?”
The Dryad closest to me smiled, showing off her pointed teeth. She took a step towards me, twirling her sword, and a hunger for death in her eyes. “Now why would I hand over weapons to the enemy, when Gaea would reward us so well for turning you in?”
Before I could launch into a speech about how Gaea was going to destroy the planet and the world was we know it, including this island, the Dryads attacked.
They were surprisingly vicious. Even as I disarmed them they still persisted, clawing at my skin with their razor sharp nails. For every one I cut down two more took their place, we were being overrun. A spear flew past my leg, but managed to tear a gash in my calf. I stumbled, pain searing through my leg. A dryad jumped straight at my face. I slashed Riptide in an arch towards it, but another dryad caught it with their bare hand.
The dryad knocked me to the ground, and without any hesitation plunged her knife into my side, right under my rib cage.
I must have blacked out, because when I opened my eyes, I was being pulled off the ground by two dryads with painfully tight gripped on my arms. My side was burning. I could feel the knife inside of me. Pain seemed to radiate out of where the knife entered so I could feel it in every part of my body. I struggled against their grip, but I wasn’t strong enough to break free.
My head was yanked up my hair, making the world spin, but through the haze, I saw Annabeth. Her ankle was swollen, and it looked like she was having trouble standing on it. Hazel stood next to her, bleeding from her forehead.
“RUN!” I yelled, as I kicked at the legs of my captors. “Get-“
One of them pushed the knife further into my side, and I immediately vomited, the pain becoming too much. They ripped it out and I went limp. The edges of my vision were getting dark, and I wished I could just black out again so I couldn’t feel this anymore. But then I locked eyes with Annabeth, and I knew I had to hold on. I tried to convey that I was okay, which, of course I wasn’t.
It didn’t matter though, Annabeth and Hazel were surrounded, and by the looks of it, neither was up for another fight.
“Drop your weapons now...” a voice behind me said, “And the boy won’t die.”
Vines sprang out of no where and wrapped around my chest and my throat. I heard my ribs crack as they constructed around me. I couldn’t breathe. I started to struggle again, but I would barely move.
“STOP!” Annabeth screamed. I noticed tears streaming down her eyes, and my heart broke. Hazel dropped her sword behind Annabeth, who quickly followed suit.
The vines stopped constricting, and I was dropped to the ground, gasping for air, but every breath I took burned my throat and caused pain the flare throughout my body.
The girls were dragged into my view and pushed onto the ground. Vines grew around them, binding them to a tree.
“Percy, can you hear me? I’m right here, we’re gonna get out of here.”
A dryad kicked Annabeth in the rib and she grunted, but she didn’t stop looking in my eyes.
“Come on, Seaweed Brain, say something.”
“Anna-“ I started to cough. I could taste blood. My eyes started to flutter shut. I could hear Annabeth and Hazel telling me to stay awake, just hold on until we were rescued, but I was so tired. I could feel my life draining away. The pain started to become more distant.
“Gag the girls.”
The voices went silent. I forced my eyes open. Another vine was wrapped around each girls mouth. Annabeth’s eyes were still on me though, and I just wanted to be next to her. I felt a tear slid down my face. I was struggling to breath, I couldn’t get in enough air.
Suddenly there was rushing around me. There was yelling, but I couldn’t make out the words. A person was at my side, but everything was fuzzy. Someone screamed my name, and my eyes closed for a final time.