Kidnapped

21: The Beast

Percy POV

We were running for our lives. We had no idea where we were running, but we were running. I was trying to find another narrow passageway.

The beast dog was getting closer and closer.

"Percy, turning, right," Nico shouted. We took a shark right, which led us into a narrower passage, but it wasn't narrow enough.

Growls and howls erupted from behind us. The dog was pushing its way through narrow passageways. I turned to realize that the dog was bouldering the walls to get closer. It was only about 20 feet behind us now.

Suddenly, I tripped against a vine and fell forward. My head pounded in pain as I hit myself against the concrete wall. My elbows burned from the impact against the ground.

My head spun as I stood up again.

I felt a hard push against my back, which caused me to fall again. I scampered on the ground as the dog stood over me. This dog was bigger and scarier than the dog that was chasing Nico. His teeth were the size of my fingers. Drool poured over my chest and neck as I stared at the black dog above me.

"Percy, oh my god," Nico exclaimed.

I twisted my head to gaze at my friend. He had to leave before the dog got to him too. "Run, Nico, It's pointless," I shouted.

Nico didn't move as his eyes shook with emotions. I turned back to the dog as my hands shot up and pushed against the dog's neck. I was barely holding the dog from biting my head.

The dog's golden eyes shone with hunger and aggression. My arms burned from the pressure from the dog. I was only prolonging my death.

This was it. This is how my life ends, I thought.

Suddenly, immense pain exploded into my stomach. I noticed the dog's paw pressing into my stomach. Blood splurted out of the injury.

I shouted in pain before twisting my body. The torque was enough to flip the dog to the side. His head smashed into the concrete wall, which temporarily dazed the beast. We were in a very narrow tunnel, so it didn't separate us that much. However, it gave me enough leverage to stand up and run.

Fortunately, Nico listened to me and left. I couldn't see him anymore due to the darkness, but I could still hear his echoing footsteps.

I followed in the same direction.

I groaned and yelped as my hands tightly clutched my stomach. The blood flowed down my shirt and pants, and my fingers barely contained the heavy flow. Each step splurted more blood out of my injury.

A loud howl echoed from behind. I didn't dare look behind me because I didn't want to know how close the beast dog was.

After reaching the end of the pathway, I didn't know which way Nico went, so I turned right again. My vision blurred as I leaned against the wall.

Keep going in the same direction, the whispers repeated.

That was the validation I needed to continue. I blinked multiple times to clear my vision before starting to run again. Barks and thundering steps vibrated in my ears. Blood seeped all over my stomach and arms.

I was ready to give up when I saw a tunnel.

Literally, it was a tunnel (not a passageway). A small cave opened along the wall, and I immediately slid into it. I crawled painfully for a few feet.

The beast dog's loud barks echoed through the tunnel. It was scratching the entrance of the tunnel, but it was too large to enter. Honestly, the tunnel wasn't even large enough for me to sit straight.