Isabella, Tartarus survivor

I escape Tartarus and... wait, what?

There was silence as we steadily rose higher and higher, punctuated only by the laboured breathing of all three of us. After he had slightly regained his breath, Percy looked at me. "How on earth did you do that?" He asked. I shrugged at him.

"I honestly haven't got a clue." I replied.

"But... the only person I can think of who could do that is..." Annabeth interjected, looking to Percy. They appeared to have a conversation that I couldn't hear.

"Yeah, I know." Percy nodded, his expression a frown of concentration, both for holding the Doors and whatever the hell he and Annabeth were talking about.

The conversation was making me feel uncomfortable. It was about me, but something that I didn't know about myself. And I hated that. I was about to put it to an end with a swift "whatever", when there was an almighty grumbling, grinding sound.

"What was that?" I asked, an edge of fear in my voice. Now that we were behind the Doors, I suddenly felt very on edge. I didn't even know these people. Yes, they'd got me out, but what if they were going to kill me when we reached the top. What if they weren't even real? Like a hallucination that some monster had given me, laughing as I squirmed? My breathing sped up.

"I think," said Percy, looking around, "I think we've reached the top."

The Doors slid open. I gulped in a breath. The first breath of earth air I'd had in over 70 years. It tasted... amazing. For the first time since I could remember, the breath didn't burn my throat. And then everything happened at once.

I saw a face I thought I recognised. I head a girls voice yelling "Percy! Annabeth! Look out!" I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked up, my vision going hazy, then to Percy and Annabeth. Their eyes were wide. There was a cackle, and Percy went unconscious, falling like a puppet with the strings cut. Annabeth followed after him. I just had time to pull at the stick protruding out my chest before I, too, fell forward, and my brain was pulled into a dark abyss.