《The Half-Blood Games | Percabeth》Chapter 26: Sacrifice
Advertisement
We stand there for a few minutes, panting. The lions seem to fade into the distance, and then it's just us, standing, the only sound our ragged breathing and the rapid beating of my heart.
My fingers clutch around my knife's handle, and his around his sword. There's a sombre look on his face, and I'm sure that there's one on mine. We both knew that this was coming, but being here, with the decision facing me, was almost too much to bear.
Only one of us was getting out of here alive. The question was; which one of us?
The people in the Capitol must be over the moon about this. What drama. It was rare that close allyships made it to the end; usually, they'd split up beforehand, and one or both of them would die. Percy and I weren't as lucky.
"Annabeth," his voice cracked.
"Percy," I replied. A tear slipped down my cheek.
Suddenly, Leo was standing in front of me, a knife in his stomach. I reached for him, and his form dissipated around my outstretched hand. It was an illusion, but the pain that shot through me from the memory of him was anything but fake, and the picture of Calypso felt heavy in my pocket.
I'd promised him that I'd win. That I'd deliver his message to Calypso. It had been his dying wish. But could I really kill Percy, or let him kill himself? I didn't know if I'd be strong enough to.
"Let me do it," Percy stated, taking a limping step towards me.
"No!" I protested. "Percy, I can't let you do that."
"You deserve it more than me," he replied, coughing up blood. "You deserve to go home, Annabeth."
"Not any more than you do," I retorted. "You have a family, Percy! A mother and a brother that love you. Think of them!"
Advertisement
"And what about your Aunt, then?" Percy responded. "Do you think that she'd appreciate you dying? Losing both her brother and her daughter to these games?"
"Of course not!" I yelled.
It would destroy her. But going back might just destroy me.
Suddenly, a lion's paw swiped over the edge of the Cornucopia, sinking it's piercing talons into Rachel's corpse and pulling her back over. I jumped back, and Percy had to grab me to stop me from falling over. The sounds of ripping flesh soon filled the air.
He was too close to me now. I could see every aspect of his face; the brightness of his sea-green eyes, the sharpness of his jawline, the cuts and bruises covering his tan skin, everything. There was a vulnerability and a hardness in his appearance, one that made him look far too human.
"Don't do that to your Aunt, Annabeth," he pleaded. "Please."
"And what about your mother and brother, Percy?" I yelled, wrenching myself out of his grip. "Do you want to make her see her son die on live T.V? To see that scene replay in her head for the rest of her life? And your brother, little Tyson. He'll blame himself for your death. You know he will! He'll spend the rest of his life thinking about what would have happened if you hadn't volunteered, if he'd been the one who'd taken your place, whose blood would have been spilt tonight. Do you want to do that to him?"
"You know I don't," Percy replied. There were tears on his cheeks now.
"Then don't do it, Percy," I pleaded. "Let it be me."
"And have to live with myself, knowing that your death was my fault?" he asked, grabbing the sides of my arms, staring me in the eyes. "I'd kill myself within weeks."
Advertisement
"So you wish that guilt on me?" I yelled. "Would you prefer that I was the one who'd hate myself? Who'd wish it had been me?"
"At least you'd have a chance!" Percy screamed. "A chance at a life, a real one. You're a genius, Annabeth. With that much money on your hands... who knows what you could do? You could change the entire world if you wanted to. No one would be able to stop me. But me? I'm just a fisherman's son. What could I do?"
"You're not just anything," I cupped his cheek with my hand. "You're an incredible man, Percy. I'm not any more of a genius than you are. If anyone is going to change the world, it's going to be you."
He smiled sadly. "I love you, Annabeth."
My breath hitched in my throat. Now that those words were said, they couldn't be taken back. They were dangerous and confusing and far too real for the situation we were in.
Without thinking, my mouth opened. "I love you too, Percy."
Surprisingly, I found the words to be true.
He brought his lips down to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around my waist in an effort to pull each other closer. He tasted vaguely of salt and blood, and the taste was far from unwelcome.
The entire world faded. All there was was him. There was nothing else to focus on, to care about. He was all I had.
Before I had enough time to think about it, he let go of my waist and put his hands on my shoulders. I barely even opened my eyes until he pushed.
I took a step back from the force of it, confused. Why had he done that? The answer came to me a few seconds later.
Percy hadn't pushed me with the intention of killing me. He'd done it to kill himself.
There was nothing I could do but watch in horror as he fell off the side of the Cornucopia and into the swarm of lions below. I rushed to the side and leaned over, stretching out my hand for him, not caring that it could be mauled off. He had already disappeared underneath countless golden bodies, his screams of pain echoing around me.
Then there was silence. The lions walked away, leaving behind nothing but a pool of blood on the sand to the sound of a cannon.
Advertisement
Somnium
Something happened to Ria, she was supposed to be dead. Now she is in another world. The world of Somnium. A mysterous place filled with adventure, fantastical beasts, dungeons, heros and magic. But it's not real. It's man made, and there are more people than just Ria here. Trapped or saved? Somnium is broken, it was never finished by it's creators and something is trying to take over, trying to remake and control the world and its people. Ria must make her way in the world, survive it's strange environments, monsters and fight to protect her new world. Because its the only one she has left. (update edit: 7/3/2020) there have been some changes in the chapter order made. Old chapter 3 is gone, chapters have been re-numbered to reflect this. this results in no plot changes as chapter 3 was not following the main character. Other characters shall be released at a later time and more fully fleshed out. - thanks
8 53Moonrise Over the Sky Cities
Living in his sister's mansion in the wealthy West District of Olympus-3, a Sky City, Sander wallows away his days in self-pity, disregarding the grim Earth of 2201 - which has suffered warring mage factions and devastation by monsters from the Chaos Realm.Five years have passed since his daughter died under mysterious circumstances, something he could neither solve, nor get his mind off to the present day. Everything changes, however, when he meets Scarlett - a Lunar Knight who whisks him away from his gloomy life after he discovers that she is battling the Chaos…
8 178The Spirit Games
Bullied at school and neglected by his parents, Tom Fiddle finds himself at his wit's end, until he receives a strange email offering him a job as a cultivation clan's spirit automaton. But what *is* a spirit automaton? After a successful application, he gets an answer to his question: a spirit automaton is an arcane spirit attached to a pocket realm. They can shape this miniature world to their liking and conjure spiritual entities, usually monsters, out of thin air. Their role is to create and administer trial-by-fires. These life and death competitions determine whether a disciple is *chosen* or merely *trash* that deserves to be left by the wayside. Tom's new responsibility will affect the lives of millions of cultivators and shape the future of hundreds of worlds, dozens of galaxies, and eventually, the universe itself. Will Tom use his newfound power to torment others and merely benefit himself? Or will he rewrite the course of history and transform the path of cultivation from a path of blood and destruction, to one of peace and tranquility?
8 94EXO
After climbing the player ranks of Exultation Online, Arlyth finds herself in a graveyard. Dazed and unsure of what happened the day before, she finds out that she can't log out & that she's been reset to level 1 & her race has changed into a Sanguine Elf. All while her UI barely works, she finds that she has a voice implanted in her head, that's in control of her HUD and game controls. Unsure of what to make of her situation she tries to find some answers but is ultimately thwarted by the games AI Controller, unsure of its obsession with her Arlyth trudges on.
8 202The Arcadia Defect
In the not too distant future, the VR world is the playground of the rich and Liz Milner doesn’t belong. Her good friend, Viv, on the other hand, doesn’t care. Why should she? She was born well off unlike Liz. Problem is the rich girl’s existence on the newly launched MMORPG, Age of Arcadia, is jeopardized shortly after she brings her friends from college along with her online. With Viv effectively brain dead and her attacker on the loose, Liz and the rest of her friends are asked by the comatose young woman’s father to investigate. No one else will. Not when the publisher of the game, Eternia Entertainment, is doing the best it can to squelch the spread of rumors by banning anyone who dares speak out. The Arcadia Defect is a gamelit with litrpg elements written for a mature audience. It contains magical action and fantasy adventure along with adult language and situations.
8 115ᴋɪɴɢ ʀᴀꜰᴀᴇʟ
♛ Desire makes slaves out of kings Patience makes kings out of slaves ♛___________EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO READ THIS STORY. Laila Bakhash strives to help people. She has everything she could ask for. A roof to live under, a blessed family, best friends whom are like sisters, but most of all she has her religion. Islam. Rafael Cenzo Rey strives to kill people. He has everything he could ask for. Money and power are like his puppeteers to which he can do anything with. He doesn't care and neither does he forgive. So what could it be that makes him care?Only time will tell.Please give this story a shot. With time I will definitely get better.
8 214