𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐖 , percy jackson

﹒౨ৎ﹒aurora and percy played mako mermaids

𝛢𝐹𝑇𝛦𝑅𝐺𝐿𐒆𝑊 , 𝑎𝑐𝘵 𝘰𝑛𝑒

chap eleven

☾

❝A for effort, I guess.❞

The moment Aurora felt the cold breeze on her hair was the moment she blurred. The last thing she remembered was a hand reaching out for her and her not having enough energy to reach out and grab it. It took a few seconds for her to see the ground clearly before she saw nothing but darkness. Not the darkness you see when you close your eyes, not the darkness you see when you're asleep, just . . . a cold, shallow darkness.

Percy felt the last little bit of warmth leave his body the moment he realized Aurora couldn't reach for his hand and she was going to hit the ground. He felt his clothes get wet and noticed that water from the sea had risen up like a tsunami and was going to pull him into the ocean. He took adrenaline into his body and pushed himself forward, grasping the girl's hand the second he felt the water wrap around him.

He pulled her forward into the water, holding her as tightly and close as possible. And the next thing happened within seconds: the tsunami-like wave retracted back into the ocean, and with the force of the water, he felt Aurora leave his arms. He looked around to see her at the bottom of the ocean, her foot stuck under coral and restraining her from floating up. The boy held his breath, panicking as he attempted to swim down and grab her, but had no luck, the waves pulled him back up each time he tried swimming down.

He noticed a small red orb that had seaweed of some sort floating around it. The orb was glowing and was in front of him. "You are frightened. It's all right, Percy. Your father sent me to tell you it's all right. Just breathe," a soothing female voice told Percy. The orb seemed to shine brighter with each syllable said. Percy felt frozen but assumed he had been hallucinating, shaking his head while grunting as he ran out of air in his lungs.

"Your father is here. He's always been here," the voice continued. Percy didn't want to listen; the moment his father was mentioned, he wanted to ignore the voice. He didn't want help. Percy continued trying to swim down as his heartbeat paced faster. He needed air; he couldn't hold his breath any longer.

"It is so hard for him to stand back. To see you struggle. It is so hard for us all. But he's here. And he's so very proud. Trust him. Trust yourself. Just—breathe," the orb insisted, urging Percy to breathe. Percy felt embarrassed to accept his father's help, but the quicker he breathed, the quicker he could help Aurora. The blonde took a deep breath, and surprisingly, it was just like breathing above water. His heart returned to its normal pace as the air gathered in his lungs, and he felt confident enough to speak.

"Save her," he choked out with fear. The glowing orb shone slightly brighter. "I can't do that, Percy." Anger grew in Percy's eyes. "I said save her!" He shouted, the orb floating back in response. "She's Artemis's daughter; I don't know what Artemis will allow your father to do." The boy took a breath, "Please. She won't survive under here."

He couldn't believe he was begging his father to save a girl who hated him, but there he was. The orb didn't respond, but suddenly, the coral over Aurora's foot seemed to unravel, and she slowly rose up beside Percy, an air bubble appearing around her head, and the water she had breathed in seemed to be evaporated by Poseidon, as she had looked like she was breathing normally.

The waves eventually pushed Aurora and Percy to shore, and the orb followed, the waves pushing them onto the sand. Aurora immediately woke up the second her hands met the warm sand, jumping back as she went wide-eyed. "Oh my gods, am I dead?" Her eyes trailed to Percy, and she jumped once again. "No! No! I can't be stuck in the afterlife with you. I'm going to kill myself. Wait, I can't. I'm already dead."