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Collections/Challenges: Whumptober 2026, Day 4 (+ 8)
Prompt(s): Shipwreck, Staying Behind | Non-Fatal Drowning, “Don’t. I already know.”
Characters: Jason, Percy, Leo, minor—Calypso, Will, mentioned—Piper
Rating: Teen
Summary: It wasn’t supposed to go like this. It was just a short trip, the bronze wasn’t supposed to break.
Yet knowing that didn’t make their situation any better. The sub was still breaking apart, they were still 200 feet below the surface, and time was very quickly running out.
——————————
Jason was terrified.
Really, Jason couldn’t even believe the situation he’d found himself in. He wanted to go home, get out, pretend this wasn’t happening… Hades, he’d even take redoing his midterms over this.
It had started out as a relaxing day. Leo had apparently built this prototype submarine (why, Jason couldn’t tell you) and wanted two volunteers to test it out with him. Leo was going down himself, obviously, but he’d be spending his time in the engine room making sure it ran smoothly. Thus, he needed someone to steer the ship.
And really, they wouldn’t be going far, just down to 300 feet. Who better to ask than his best friend and the son of the sea god?
Percy had said yes almost instantly, which Jason had fully expected, but he himself was a bit more hesitant. The last time he’d gone underwater with Percy, things hadn’t gone so well for either of them.
Still, that was ages ago. Things should be fine, right? I mean, this was Leo’s machine, not an angry goddess. Really, what could go wrong?
Well, the correct answer would be just about everything. (Apparently building a submarine was in fact incredibly difficult, even for a son of Hephaestus. Who knew?)
The takeoff had been fine. No leaks, gaps, or damage yet. Jason had felt a bit woozy standing on the floor, but Percy and Leo seemed perfectly shipshape and seaworthy. Leo had turned a couple knobs, flipped a switch, cranked a dial to the max, and pressed some shifter forward. Then, to Jason’s displeasure, the sub started moving. Percy had taken control of the reins, and Leo sank away to the back of the boat.
The first hundred feet went by in a blink. The celestial bronze remained steady, glowing faintly, the electrical hum of machinery filling the air. It wasn’t peaceful per se, but Jason was comfortable.
Hitting 200 feet went about the same. Alright, steady. Or at least, it was for a moment.
Once they passed 200 feet something felt off. The hull was almost vibrating, louder groans and creaks filling the air. Jason and Percy had glanced at each other then, slowing the sub to a stop at just around 213 feet.
Percy had turned to him, concern and confusion written all over his face. “Do you think it’s supposed to make that sound?”
Jason only shrugged. He didn’t know why his coffee machine made sounds (or if they were supposed to), why would he know if that was normal or not? “No clue. Leo’s the expert on this stuff and he’s way in the back.”
Another groan pierced the air, louder this time. The next thing they knew Leo was rushing in, face pale. Jason had just opened his mouth to ask “what was that?” but Leo cut him off, eyes manic.
“We need to go.” He snapped. “Back to the surface. I think the ship’s cracking under the pressure.”
Jason felt the colour drain from his face, his heart dropping to his feet, stomach doing somersaults like it was trying out to be an Olympic athlete. Another harrowing scrape filled the air, like the ship was taunting them. He could hear a hissing now—almost a whistle—similar to a tea kettle on steroids. The kind of thing you hear in movies before the engine explodes.
“Are you sure?” Percy asked, already moving to pull them up. “We’re not—we’re 200 feet deep, Leo, you said this was safe for you guys!”
Leo looked almost offended. “It was supposed to be! I thought the celestial bronze would hold up, it was fine at 130 psi when I did my tests, I don’t understand—“
The ship shook, a deafening boom echoing around them. Jason didn’t even have time to blink before everything went to shit.
One of the metal beams on the roof came crashing down, catching Leo square in the back of the head. Percy abandoned all controls and lunged forward just as the hull broke apart, stopping the water just before it reached them.
“Shit.” Percy said, one hand up as he knelt next to Leo, checking his head to make sure it wasn’t too badly damaged. “Shit shit SHIT. He’s out cold.”
Jason was too busy staring at the wave of water attempting to crush them to respond.
“I have to get him out of here, both of you, fuck—“
“Take him first.” Jason said almost automatically, forcing his gaze to the Latino lying on the floor. He could already see blood pooling in his hair, coating the strands. “I’ll be fine to wait. I think.”
His brain took him back to the underwater vortex he’d made when he dealt with Kymopoleia. He could probably get away with the same thing now—right?
Percy looked hesitant, one hand hovering over Leo’s back. “You sure?” he asked, glancing over at him. “It’s not gonna be easy, the pressure might kill you.”
Jason gulped but nodded anyway, the sub around them groaning with every second they stood there indecisively. “Take him, he’s the main priority right now. I’ll just slow you down. Besides, I can handle waiting a minute. We’re demigods, it shouldn’t be that bad.”
He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince himself or Percy.
Still, the older demigod pursed his lips, scooping Leo up in a bridal carry. “Okay, I’m gonna let the water in as slow as I can. The sub’s gonna break apart anyway, but this way you’ll get used to the pressure for at least a few seconds. Don’t pass out on me, Grace.”
Jason had a wind vortex around him within the next second, but he stayed silent. He wasn’t going to make a promise he couldn’t trust himself to keep.
Percy lowered his hand.
The only way he could explain the feeling of water rushing in—turning the inside of the sub into the open ocean—was like a hydraulic press and an egg breaking all at once. The air around him grew harder and harder, pressing in on him, then in a blink the sub was in pieces, raining down around them as the three remained swimming in the open water.
Well, swimming wasn’t exactly the right word for 2 out of 3 parties. Leo was unconscious and encased in one of Percy’s magic bubbles and Jason had his vortex.
Still. Jason was now 200 feet below the surface in a domain he didn’t belong in, wrapped in nothing but air, and he was terrified.
Jason was so lost in his own thoughts, how the hell they even got here, what led to this, that he hadn’t noticed Percy’s ascent, a trail of bubbles following after him as he sped to the surface, leaving Jason alone. The open water was still, dark, and screamed danger every way he looked.
Now, he’d always imagined the ocean would be quiet, but it was currently far from it. The wind whipping around his body was deafening, trying its hardest to keep him at a normal psi despite the insane pressure doing its best not to. High-pitched squealing, dramatic whooshing—the sound of the wind flying about—was filling his ears, almost painful.
He was exhausted. It felt like every second down here was the equivalent to an hour of physical labour up there. His stamina was reduced to nothing. He was practically hyperventilating in his attempts to keep himself awake. Hell, just making sure the vortex kept operating was almost too difficult.
It hadn’t been more than a few seconds before the pressure inside his tunnel slipped, trying to find an equilibrium between what the water demanded and what Jason’s body could handle. And sure, Jason’s body could handle the change, but his mind immediately felt like mush.
He wasn’t sure if it was the oxygen or what but he was suddenly very dizzy, practically spinning. His brain could hardly string together a coherent thought. He blinked then, a slow realization crossing his mind. He’d heard of something like this before—nitrogen sickness, was it?—common in divers doing rapid ascents or descents, but he never realized how bad it was. What it actually felt like.
Now, Jason wasn’t a drinker, but the only way he could explain the feeling was like downing four vodka sodas all at once. As if that wasn’t bad enough, any shred of common sense or reason had abandoned him. He knew where he was but suddenly he didn’t, staring down at his hands like they weren’t his own. He almost completely forgot about the vortex, struggling to maintain it while his mind started slipping.
He was going to die here, wasn’t he?
Somehow, that was the only coherent thought he had. He was 200 feet below the surface and he was going to die.
His chest felt tight, eyes struggling just to stay open. Everything was slow. Every turn of his head felt like it was lagging, only registering a second later. How long had it even been since Percy left? It felt like forever.
There was a ringing now, loud and grating. He couldn’t feel his hands. He looked out and the open water and almost puked. Was he even upright? He didn’t know anymore. His brain was spinning, violently, and he couldn’t keep up. Every second seemed to get worse, the pressure on his chest increasing, the feeling in his limbs fading, his eyes rolling.
Before he could even properly process what was happening to him, Jason’s eyes blurred, tunnelled—and then nothing.
The vortex disappeared. The pressure hit him square in the chest, harder than the kick of an elephant. The air was forced out of his lungs in rapid bubbles, his body reflexively taking a breath in. Water rushed his lungs and if Jason was awake, he’d surely describe it as painful, lungs spasming from the force. But he wasn’t awake. He was close to dead, and sinking fast.
———————
Percy shot to the surface with a gasp, dragging Leo’s body over to the pier as fast as he could. The campers who’d sent them off—the rest of the seven and a few stragglers—were all immediately up and shouting.
Calypso, to no one’s shock or surprise, was the first one to reach them. She fell to her knees near his head, fingers dancing over the bloodied curls. “What happened?” She demanded, but Percy couldn’t speak. He needed to go back.
He could hear Piper as he was turning away, confused and soft amidst the newfound chaos. “Where’s Jason?”
As he dove back into the water, he could only hope he was right where he left him.
He swam faster than he thought possible, shooting through the water like a missile on a mission. He was heading where the sub had exploded, but by the time he got there, Jason was nowhere to be found.
Percy swore in his mind and immediately shot down. He could sense a form about thirty yards below him, coming up on 300 feet deep. It took him a few seconds to reach it and when he did, his heart nearly stopped.
Jason was unconscious. Not only that, but his mouth was open, and he was descending fast. He grabbed his arm, dragging him close enough that he could hook his hands under his shoulders and over his chest. He just barely remembered to surround his body in a bubble before he shot them to the surface, using the time it took to check for a pulse.
There wasn’t one.
Not even a faint thump.
Percy swore for what must’ve been the millionth time that night and found the surface a second later. Like he did with Leo, he dragged Jason’s body to the pier within moments.
Piper rushed forward but Percy threw a hand up in warning, eyes locked on the demigod below him. His lips were pale, skin ashen and blotchy. Fuck. That wasn’t good.
He used one hand to turn him on his side and the other to force the water out of his lungs. A huge stream poured from his mouth back into the sea, and even when it seemed like it should be done, it wasn’t—it just kept coming. (Percy wanted to say he was shocked by the amount but he really wasn’t.) Though, he could tell that’s when everyone else realized just how serious this was.
Will Solace was by his side before he could even ask for help. There was blood on his hands, so he’d clearly just been taking care of Leo, but Percy wasn’t exactly letting him do the same here. Instead, he was frantically pulling every lesson his mother ever gave on CPR to the forefront of his mind. He scooted over to Jason’s head, hooked his fingers under his jaw and tilted his face up, pinched his nose with his other hand, and gave two rescue breaths. Within the next second he was already starting CPR. Should Will have done it? Probably, but Percy was…—he just, he needed to do it. Will was counting out loud for him though which he appreciated, it gave him a second to actually get his bearings.
About five metres away, Leo was still mostly unconscious on the wood, eyes rolled back and twitching. There was nectar dripping down his cheek so Percy tried not to worry about him too much. Sure, it would take a minute to kick in, but he wasn’t dead and he should be okay. Calypso was also holding a rag to his skull, staunching the bleeding.
…Yet, despite Leo’s condition, her eyes were locked on Jason. Really, every demigod there was. All frozen, watching the three of them with various shades of fear painted on their faces. Percy tried not to think about it, he just needed to keep his arms locked and compressions deep.
“…14, 15, What the hell happened?” Will snapped, bringing Percy back to himself before he quickly resumed his counting.
The son of Poseidon kept going. “The hull couldn’t take the pressure. It—the metal started collapsing in on itself. We barely had enough time to realize what was happening before Leo got knocked out. I mean, Jason told me to take Leo—“
“So you did?” Will snapped. “24, 25…”
“What was I supposed to do? Leo was unconscious!” Percy felt hopeless. Will hit thirty and he stopped, giving him two more rescue breaths, but there was still no response.
He heard someone choke on a sob somewhere on the beach, but frankly he didn’t care. He couldn’t let Jason die. He wouldn’t be the reason Jason died.
“You could’ve taken them both, I mean, leaving him? At that pressure? You know as well as I do that that kills people! 8, 9, 10…”
“I know that!” Percy snapped, glaring at Will. Though really, what was he supposed to do? Stop saving one of his best friends just because he pointed out the obvious? “I know, okay? I had a second to think and I thought—“
“Don’t.” Will snapped, clearly agitated. “I already know what you’re gonna say, so just focus on this. 17, 18…”
Percy fell silent, the guilt clawing at his throat. He should’ve grabbed Jason too. He knew that. But Jason said—god, why did Percy even listen to him? He’s the son of Zeus! He doesn’t know anything about the water pressure. Really, what logic from the sky applies to the ocean?
Will hit thirty again and Percy gave another two breaths, but he was starting to lose hope.
“Come on Jason,” he snapped, angry and guilty and terrified. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t—come on dude.”
He didn’t expect a response, and he didn’t get one either. He couldn’t explain the feeling flooding his body. Anger, guilt, determination. He didn’t have electrical powers, but maybe…
He stopped CPR. Will opened his mouth to say something but Percy put his hands together, raised his fist about 10 inches high, and brought them down onto Jason’s heart with the force of god.
His lip twitched, but nothing happened. Percy did it again, heard a crack, felt bad for about two seconds, and did it a third time. He was getting ready for a fourth when a choking sound filled the room, and Jason’s eyes snapped open.
———————
Waking up was like nothing Jason had ever experienced before.
The first thing Jason noticed was a man hovering over him. Black hair, sea green eyes, a familiar face he couldn’t place. His brain was fried, mush, nothing made sense and he was so utterly confused.
The second thing Jason noticed was that he was in pain. Everything hurt, breathing felt like inhaling glass, and his chest felt like someone had crushed it under a building. He almost wanted to know why, but all thoughts left his brain a second later. He started hacking, rolling onto his side, coughing almost uncontrollably as a mix of sea water and spit dribbled out of his mouth. Every cough made his body convulse, a violent, painful thing that felt closer to being electrocuted. His chest throbbed with every beat of his heart, burned with every breath. He couldn’t feel his fingers, his feet, and he couldn’t stop coughing enough to actually figure out what was going on.
The world was spinning.
He was spinning.
And he was still hacking.
He distantly realized that there was a hand on his back, practically lying on someone’s lap. He couldn’t find it in himself to figure out who it was, all he knew right now was that he was scared and hurt. Why, how, or even who was around him, these were all things he couldn’t place.
It took a while for the coughing to stop, and by then Jason had a few tears falling down his face. He was able to roll onto his back, one hand clutching at his chest, the other scraping at the wooden planks under him. He was shaking. Practically vibrating. His heart was beating so hard he was almost convinced he was having a heart attack. His eyes drifted back to the demigod, his brain desperately trying to wrap itself around why he knew him. It took a second to click—his brain finally realizing who he was—and with that realization, the memories of what happened.
The submarine.
The hull exploding.
Percy taking Leo.
And Jason…
He blinked, sucking in a ragged gasp. Gods—he almost died. Again!
“Hey,” a voice said. Not Percy’s though. Jason forced himself to look over and was entirely surprised to see a blond. His brain fired some neurons and he came to the quick conclusion that it was Will. Huh. How long had he been there? “You doing alright?”
Jason only blinked again. He didn’t think he could answer him even if he tried. Above him, Will and Percy made eye contact, but they were interrupted by a loud groan.
A few metres away, Leo was finally coming to.
Jason turned his head, but immediately gave up on trying to watch, letting his head face the sky as his eyes slipped shut. He couldn’t deal with this right now.
Will was gone instantly, hounding Leo with various concussion questions once he was awake and sitting up. He was conveniently blocking Jason from view, but he knew that wouldn’t last long.
And, like he thought, it only took a second for Leo to abandon any talks of him having a concussion, despite answering yes to every question asked. “Wait—the others, are they okay?”
It looked like Will nodded, but Leo was already scrambling to stand up, bypassing the medic. He wobbled once he got to his feet, eyes landing on Jason soon after. They blew up to the size of saucers (as if his pupils weren’t already) and he stumbled over to them, dropping inelegantly at his side. “Fuck, Jay, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? You’re shaking. Did you—“
“I’m okay.” He choked out, mostly to stop his rambling. His throat felt raw in ways he didn’t know it could, but he tried to keep that hidden. Instead, he went for a smile, but he wasn’t confident it came off the way he intended. “S’okay Leo.”
Next to him Percy was silent, but Jason could imagine his eye twitching. “Your heart stopped. You almost drowned. But sure, you’re fine now.”
Leo winced, but they could both tell the mean tone was meant for Jason. Percy wasn’t blaming Leo, but Jason could tell he was blaming himself.
“Gods, guys, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened—it should’ve been fine! I mean, I calculated everything right—“
Percy shook his head, interrupting the smaller demigod. “We all made it out okay so don’t beat yourself up. Sometimes things just.. don’t go to plan.”
Leo looked hopeless, though it was hard to take him completely seriously when one pupil was bigger than the other and he couldn’t keep himself from swaying. Percy quickly changed the topic. “How’s your head? You were hit pretty bad.”
Leo brought a hand up to his skull like he forgot all about it and the concussion, bringing his blood soaked fingers down to his view with a hiss. “I’ll live.” He grumbled out. “I might have brain damage, but who cares, right? Least I’m alive.” He paused then, still swaying as he locked eyes with Percy. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”
Percy gave a half smile. “Anytime dude, just don’t make it a habit.”
Leo laughed, and Jason finally felt himself relax. The pain had in no way gone down, neither of them were okay, Percy was probably traumatized—but they were all alive.
There wasn’t more than a few seconds of silence before Will was back, stethoscope in hand, demanding Percy scoot back with his eyes. He did, but stayed close enough that he could keep a hand on Jason’s arm.
The son of Apollo started checking his vitals, telling him to breathe in, out, checking his heart rate, making sure there weren’t any abnormal rhythms. One of his brothers stole Leo away to treat his concussion, despite the younger demigods protests, complaints, and insistence that he was fine. Calypso wasn’t too far behind them, hounding him alongside the other camper, worried and slightly pissed that her boyfriend had almost killed himself again.
Jason just did what he was told, Percy’s hand grounding him enough that he didn’t feel the need to keep his eyes open.
Will was yelling at him almost immediately, but Jason just quirked a small smile. It was kinda funny, but his eyes were dam tired, alright? God forbid a man rest after his millionth near-death experience.