Who knew you got radio reception in Tartarus?
Percy had been experimenting with the buttons on the control pad of the car and accidently pressed the power button on the radio. Immediately, the car started blasting some song called rolling in the deep. It was so loud that Annabeth started screaming at Percy to shut it down, which he obviously did since she needed to sleep.
Once Annabeth was asleep again, Percy reached over and open up the glove box. Thankfully, the car actually did have a First Aid kit, so Percy snatched that out of there and closed it. He didn't even need to watch where he was driving, because there was nothing in his way.
Tartarus was an empty land with black soil and many hills. There were no monsters roaming the land, and the light was disappearing rapidly. It was only a glow in the distance now, like a setting sun. For miles and miles, Percy could only see the same thing, which was nothing. There was no wall blocking them, no giant boulders, and no creepy gods glaring down at them.
Percy turned on the headlights so he could see the nothing in front of him. After a few more minutes of rock music and driving, he stopped the car. They were far away from where they had landed, so everything should've been safe… or safer than it had been.
He didn't like giving himself unnecessary headaches, but Percy wondered what happened when you killed a monster in Tartarus. Was Arachne really gone, or was she just hidden in some other part of the Underworld?
And where were all of the other monsters and people and Titans? What if Kronos, his old enemy was down here?
Percy stepped out of the car and went to Annabeth's side. The blood had slowed down a lot from what he could tell, and it was starting to clump up and scab. There was a cut on her cheek that ran from her hairline to her jaw. Her clothes were torn and her splint was gone.
Percy never took a First Aid class at camp; he'd only learned the basics (As in, put on a band-aid). He didn't think it was necessary. Just a little bit of nectar and ka-boom, he'd be good to go. Okay, maybe not like that, but something along those lines. And with the curse of Achilles, nothing could've really hurt him. Perhaps emotionally, but not physically.
Percy pushed the thought from his mind. Once Annabeth was well again, they could throw darts at the goddess.
Annabeth's face was a deep red color, like she was struggling to keep breathing. Sweat was beaded across her forehead.
Percy opened up the kit and studied the contents. There was white gauze, rubbing alcohol, medical tape, antibiotic cream, Spiderman band-aids, one of those fake-ice packs, and a bottle of Germ-X.
Percy took out the white gauze and unwrapped the seat cover from Annabeth's torso. She was still out cold. He could barely stand to look at the wound. He wrapped the gauze around her ankle as tight as he could. Annabeth hissed in her sleep.
He tied it off and rubbed some cream on the gash on her face. Her eyes fluttered open. "Percy?" she asked quietly, her voice hoarse.
"I'm here," he told her as he broke the ice pack. It turned cold in his hands. He set it on top of her forehead.
She began to protest, but then she relaxed back into her seat. "Okay, that feels nice," she admitted.
Percy chuckled inside, because he knew Annabeth would pop him in the mouth if he showed her the laughter.
"So," Percy started after a long moment of silence. "What's our plan?"
Annabeth gave him an incredulous look. "Our plan? You're asking me?"
"Well, you are the daughter of Athena, the cleverest demigod in camp," he pointed out.
"Oh yeah, such an honor!" She rolled her eyes. "The plan is to stay alive down in this hellhole. And apparently, we have to go meet Nico at the opposite side of the Doors of Death, if I heard correctly."
Percy nodded. "Do you have any idea where to go?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to make the girl with a rib poking through her skin drive?"
"No, no, I'm just saying-"
"Gods, Percy, you worry too much sometimes. I'll give you directions while you drive."
"No, Annabeth, you should rest. Wait, you don't have that old shield you made, do you?" Percy really liked that shield. It could show a map of where they were and where they needed to go. It had been a big help during the Titan War and some of the other quests they'd been on.
She shook her head no. "And to add to the depressing matter, my knife and laptop and all of that good stuff are gone."
Percy nodded. He had looked for them a little bit before finding the Fiat. Once he had regained consciousness after the fall, he'd immediately started looking for Annabeth. Remembering when during the fall, she hadn't had her backpack anymore, he'd also searched for it too.
But then he'd seen the silver lining. A Toyota from the parking center that'd collapsed, completely fine and ready to be driven.
Well, not completely fine. Pieces of it were hanging everywhere. The windows on the left side were all smashed, and there was a long crack through the windshield. With dents everywhere, it wasn't in the best of shape.
Yet when Percy had gotten inside and turned the key (still in the ignition), it had roared to life, like saying, "I'm only alive for you, ungrateful demigods."
"Well, let's get a move on. The sooner we find these doors, the sooner we get to see the Argo II and the others."
"The sooner we find the doors, the sooner we fight Gaia," added Percy. "We need to get out of here in less than a month, or else we'll stand no chance."
"Thanks, Mr. Look-on-the-good-side, for making that clear," Annabeth said sarcastically.
"That's what I'm here for." Percy kissed Annabeth and then hopped in the car and turned it back on.
Percy soon learned that a black plain of nothing really helped people with ADHD. There was nothing to distract him except for the radio and Annabeth. But Annabeth had changed the station to classical or something (yawn), and then had fallen asleep once more, so Percy was alone to clear his thoughts.
But he had none. The only two things he was thinking were "Get Annabeth proper medical help or some nectar," and "It's so freakin' dark!"
If a monster hadn't attacked Percy, he probably would have fallen asleep from boredom.
Percy heard the flapping before anything else. At first, it was so loud and awkward sounding that he thought there was an airplane flying over them. He even checked the sky roof to see if anything was above them, which didn't help since there were no lights at all.
He brushed it off. It wasn't like he'd ever been here before. Maybe that sound was common in Tartarus. But still, Percy get the feeling that they were being watched.
A few minutes later and the sound got even louder. There was nothing in front of him, but the lights only let him see about twenty meter in front of the car. All of the light from the sky was completely gone.
It was night time. And Percy didn't like the feeling of it.
And then suddenly- WHAM!
He nearly had a heart attack. Something large slammed into the windshield with 10 tonne energy. Okay, maybe not 10 tonne, but the impact sure is huge. The crack got bigger. Percy's head slammed back into the seat, and Annabeth jerked awake with a scream. Her gray eyes were startled and frightened.
Percy tried to regain control of the car. The car was drifting around, and Percy didn't want to even think what would happen if the car flipped.
A giant winged creature was slammed sideways against the car and wasn't moving.
"BRAKE! BRAKE!" Annabeth screamed, but Percy was just staring at the brakes thing, Why aren't you stopping? Percy cursed.
Finally, Percy realized that they weren't going to brake if his foot was still on the gas at 80 miles per hour. He jammed his other foot down on the brake, and they came to a screeching halt. Annabeth and Percy both were thrown forward. It was a miracle that the airbags didn't go off.
Percy jumped out of the car and brought out Riptide, which casted off a glow. He ran to the front of the car and faced the predator.
He heart dropped. The creature rolled off the hood of the car and crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap. The creature had a black coat and black feathers. It was a Pegasus that was spitting image of Blackjack-Percy's own flying horse.
Percy stood still. He wasn't sure whether to attack the Pegasus or flee while it was hurt.
He cleared his throat. "Uh, hello there. What're you doing in Tartarus?" He got a twinge of courage from speaking, so he stepped forward. The creature whined very softly.
Apparently, the winged horse wasn't as hurt as it seemed to be. Once Percy was in arms reach, his head snapped up and he lunged for Percy's hand with his teeth. He narrowly escaped getting his hand bit off.
Idiot mortal, your death will come soon enough, hissed the Pegasus. But it wasn't in the right voice. The voice was Gaia's. Nothing can hold us back. You and the girl will help me rise.
Percy swallowed down a lump of anger. Gaia had possessed a wild Pegasus in attempt to kill them. "We'll never do anything to help you."
It's only a matter of time before you do something stupid that costs your life. And the sooner you and the girl give yourselves up, the less people and creatures will die in your wake.
And then the posessed pegasus head fell back to the ground, blood leaking from his wounds. It shuddered and jerked on the ground, until it became completely still. Percy held his breath and waited for any sign of life.
The creature didn't make another threat. It was dead.
A/N:
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