Chương 537: Godless Land by bronzeandsteel (Percy Jackson)
*New update is gonna take awhile to get used to*
Latest update: Part 2 is out
Summary:Percy Jackson is dead, at least that's what he hopes everyone thinks. Years before he made a sacrifice. In his final moments he was plucked from the brink and brought to his new home; Alaska, and reunited with an old friend. But when his old life invades the new, will he return to what was lost? Or stay in this Godless Land. COMPLETE. PARTIALLY REWRITTEN
Link:https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14025168/1/Godless-Land
Word count:165k
Chapters:17
Chapter 1
Percy Jackson was, for a time, not in any way a typical hero.
When one observes the lives of the many Greek or Roman heroes of old, one will come out knowing one thing: Heroes lives are always tragic. They're depressing. Heart breaking. Sad. They always are.
Yet, for a while at least, Percy Jackson experienced none of that. He won. Always.
Somehow someway he found a way to slip past tragedy by the skin of his teeth. He'd skirted past prophecies and deities all without so much as the odd stab wound or arrow, so it seemed only natural that when his luck finally ran out, it crashed through him like Zeus' bolt cutting through the sky. It had it all.
Tragedy? Plenty of that, death tends to lend itself to the subject.
Depression? For a while, before the end a stint in Tartarus brought that forth as well.
Heart break? A girl with storm grey eyes assured him of that.
When his fall came, it was hard, brutal even. But, in his last moments, he was saved. Why?
Because the gods work in mysterious ways.
Even the ones he didn't know about.
Godless Land, Chapter 1
Percy
"The giants will take their stand at Naples." A girl says while standing over the war table of the Argo II "All signs point to it, and all monster activity has been headed that way for weeks."
Her name is Reyna. She's a born leader, confident and powerful. Thick black hair surrounds her face and pokes out from beneath her helmet. Her onyx eyes bore into the map laid out in front if her as she studies the crude figurines on the table and their positions on the map, plotting out strategies in her mind.
Surrounding her are the seven, the proper heroes of this quest. She knows she's not the hero of this story, but doesn't care, she has a job to do as praetor and, damned be the consequences, she's going to do it. On her left are Leo, Piper, and Jason. They stand with assuredness in their eyes. Jason rolls a coin between his fingers, Piper runs her hand over a sheathed dagger, Leo fiddles with a machine in his hands. On her right are Frank, Hazel, and Annabeth. Frank and hazel stare at the map, fear clear in both their eyes. They're new to all this, young half-bloods wrapped up in a war they don't want by a prophecy they don't understand. Annabeth doesn't even look like she's paying attention, instead she keeps looking at the head of the table. It's obvious to anyone that guilt is on her face.
Reyna doesn't know it yet, but this war will be her last. Not because she dies, no that doesn't happen in this battle. It's because, as far as she knows, someone else does.
She looks up across the table at the man who leads them.
Percy Jackson. He doesn't look the same. Ever since Tartarus, he hasn't looked the same at all. His eyes are hollow, cheeks sunken, skin pale. He looks like a ghost of the hero who brought pride back to new Rome. Most of all he refuses to look at Annabeth, whose hands tightly grip the table as she shoots glances at Percy. He doesn't notice, or if he does, he doesn't care. Reyna can practically hear the ringing in his ears. She can see his eyes subtly shift from side to side as if he sees something that isn't real.
What he saw shouldn't have been real. A man with blonde hair, tan skin, a scar on the right side of the face. A man with golden eyes.
He stares at the table, the world around him a blur, sounds around him a murmur. He doesn't register his name being called.
"Percy! Percy can you hear me?!"
He does, but he ignores her.
Beep
Beep
Beep
Percy's hand came crashing down on his alarm clock. He ran his hand over his eyes and picked the clock up off his bedside table.
7:00 A.M.
He sighed and rolled out of his bed, planting his feet on the floor and sitting up, giving a half assed stretch as his back cracked, rubbing the exhaustion out of his eyes as he did. He checked the window, and took note of the sun coming up. Morning, he thought to himself, We'll see if it's a good one.
He stood up and stretched, properly this time, feeling the aches in his bones from years of battles crackle through his body, before walking over to his bathroom. He stepped in and ran the water in his sink, stinking his hand under the flow. It was freshwater, naturally. From a reservoir at the top of the mountain. It tasted clean and pure, free of godly influence as he splashed it over his face, washing the tiredness and morning grime off him.
Still doesn't compare to the sea he thought to himself, but shook the thought from his mind as he reminded himself why he wouldn't touch sea water again.
He ran his shower, cranking the heat up as he waited for the water to warm. As it heated up, he took off his clothes and stared at himself in the mirror.
Scars.
There were so many, too many to count. They covered his body like an old strip of leather, dragged over a ranch for years on end. There were little ones, scattered over his arms from the dozens of arrows he'd felt, and bigger ones, covering his chest and shoulders, made from the slashing of swords and monster claws being dragged across his skin. But that wasn't what he focused on. No, he focused on the biggest one he had. The long, crooked wound that stretched over his stomach, just under his sternum. It was long and thin, with scar tissue on either side as it ran up an angled line on his stomach. He hated it, and he hated the exit wound it had left on his back even more. He hated all it represented in his life.
He stood there for a moment, running his hand over the wound as the room filled with steam.
Steam.
Heat.
Tartarus. It was always hot, and humid, no matter where they went, how far they strayed from the rivers. She pulled him along behind her, practically in hysterics as she dragged him across the jagged, barren wastes.
"I saw him Percy! I know I did." She told him.
He grabbed her wrist, stopping her in place. She was tired, delirious. Her eyes were wild and the water from the river was clearly having an effect on her mind. "Annabeth, he's not here. You know that." He tried to convince her.
She yanked her hand from his grip, tears welling in her eyes.
"You don't know that! He's here Percy, I know I saw him!"
She turned and kept marching, with Percy desperately trying to follow her.
"Annabeth please!" He begged, but she would not listen.
He snapped his eyes open. Another flashback. He sighed, and reached for his cabinet, grabbing a bottle of pills from behind his mirror and popping one in his mouth. The doctor had told him that, eventually, the pills would stop helping, but it had a certain placebo effect on his mind whenever he took one, an effect that he always used to get him through the morning, until he could get busy and fill his free mind with tasks.
He grabbed his bathroom cup and knocked back a glass of water, swallowing the pill and letting a soft hiss out through his teeth. He kept his eyes closed, taking in a deep breath as he felt the water wash down his throat. He stepped in the shower and took in the feeling of the water on his body.
He really did enjoy the feeling. The feeling of water, running down his chest and over his back. He missed swimming, the feeling of being surrounded by water, having it rush over his head as his arms pulled him through the waves. He missed being under the waves too, in an air bubble, sharing a kiss.
"I can't love you."
He shook the thoughts from his head and stepped out of the shower.
He made his way over to the sink, letting his powers dry his body off in an instant as he slipped on his boxers. He grabbed his tooth brush and brushed his teeth, aggressively getting the taste of last night (alcohol) out of his mouth. As he brushed his mind began to wander. To older days, better times. Then to worse times.
To her.
He rubbed his face and spat the paste into the sink, before grabbing a glass and gargling some water. He spat it out and took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. Frankly, he barely recognized the man he saw.
It didn't get any easier. Seeing himself, anyway. Despite what he'd done to change his appearance (namely a tattoo of pine trees that ran up his left forearm and, at one point, a very embarrassing mullet) he still couldn't shake that extremely instantly recognizable Percy look. His eyes were different. They were still the same, but different. Blank of expression and dark with emotion, they told a story he didn't like to remember. His hair, that he used to let flow wildly, was slicked back on his head, and tucked behind his ears, usually covered up by a wide cowboy hat. His face was now covered in stubble and he had let himself grow a slight mustache. If his mom were still around she'd probably say he was starting to look like dad. Like Percy always told himself, whenever he did look at his reflection, Percy barely recognized the man he saw. It was less as a want, though, and more as a necessity. He needed to look as unrecognizable as possible.
Just in case.
He rubbed his cheeks, felling the stubble graze across his hand, as he forced a smile in the mirror. He didn't know why he did that. Mostly it was just to see what it looked like on his face, with the mustache, and partially because he really missed the old Percy sometimes. Especially around this time of year.
He sighed and stepped out of his bathroom, heading over to his closet. He opened it and tugged the little string that hung from the ceiling, illuminating his uniform with a faint glow. He took it out and put it on, buttoning up his shirt and tucking it into his pants before he grabbed his badge and clipped it to his shirt, running his thumb over the familiar letters as he did.
"Sheriff's Deputy, P. Jackson."
Wasn't really what he'd planned on doing with his life but, then again, he hadn't planned a lot of things. He looped his belt around his waist. Walkie talkie, handcuffs, radio, bear spray. No pistol though. Even if this town was violent, which it wasn't, Percy wouldn't need one.
And he knew everyone there knew that.
He slipped on his coat, a thick leather bomber that Nico would probably have swooned at and slipped on his hat, a wide brimmed cowboy hat with a badge sitting over the brim. He grabbed his door handle, pushing it open as he stepped out. He smiled pretty much as soon as the sun hit his face and he got a look at the view from his mountain side cabin's patio.
Alaska was beautiful. Even with the monsters who, very early on, had learned to leave him the fuck alone, it was a beautiful place. The way the hills rolled over the horizon covered in thousands of trees, the way the dozens of creeks and streams gurgled through the forests, even the glum fog that was always, always present in his town, he loved it all. The last time he'd been here he'd been too busy on a quest to truly appreciate it. He grimaced at the memory and reminded himself why he'd never let that happen again.
He jogged down his gravel driveway and got in his truck, an old sea green Ford ranger, and turned it on. He ran his hands over the wheel as his truck heated up and shot a glance over his shoulder at the rifle sitting on the rack over his cab window.
It was a simple lever action Winchester repeater. Could've been 100 years old for all he knew and it didn't exactly come with an owners manual when he'd gotten it from the weapons shop. It had a flat black metal body and a faded walnut stock, with a simple front post and rear notch style sight. The barrel had simple engravings along it and on the butt of the gun were the initials "T.C..". He often wondered who T.C. was. Tom Cruise? Toni Collette? Who knew.
He popped open his glove compartment to check and make sure his ammo was still there, and it was. One box of regular bullets, one box of celestial bronze ones. It comforted him knowing he'd only fired 3 celestial bronze bullets, but had gone through at least 10 packs of regular shots, whether it be target practice or dealing with wildlife.
Then again, riptide still sat in his pocket. On the rare occasion some monster wandered in he usually liked to avoid gunfire.
He shifted into drive. It was a quick drive to town, maybe a minute or two weaving through the trees before the bridge came into view over the horizon, along with the sign that hung over it.
Hammer Falls, Alaska.
Home. Percy's home.
He pulled into the town and turned a right, pretty well immediately pulling up to the police station. He parked and hopped out of his car, jogging up the steps and walking into the station. He shot a smile at the receptionist, a blonde girl with shockingly blue eyes.
"Morning Freya." He said, giving her a tip of his hat. "How was your service yesterday?"
"Fine enough." She answered, not looking up from her paperwork, "Might've been a bit nicer if you'd actually came this week though."
He froze as he was turning away from her and slowly spun back on his heels. "Hey come on now." He said "You know how I feel about gods, and the idea of worshipping them."
"Yes, I know how you feel about them. I just hoped that this place might've changed your mind by now." She replied, looking up at him with a mock frown, "Are you coming to my and Erik's party tonight?"
"That was tonight?" He asked, taking a peek in his office.
She let out an exasperated breath. "Yes, tonight, July 14th. I'll take that as an indication you aren't coming?"
"Probably not." He admitted, running his hand over the back of his head.
She frowned. This was at least the fourth time in the last few months he'd said no. Truthfully, she invited him partially for him, and partially for a few of her rather... desperate friends. There were plenty of girls in town that very openly wanted Percy Jackson, but somehow he'd always found a way to politely decline. Freya had asked him once about it and he'd said something about "bad experiences with blondes", which their town was frankly full of, and wouldn't discuss further.
He cleared his throat. "Any calls?"
Freya sighed. "Yeah, two, from her." She replied.
Percy let out a breath from his nose. "What did she say?" He asked her.
"Same old same old. Kept saying she 'found it this time' and 'she's gonna get you both out'." Freya shook her head. "She doesn't hate it here THAT much, does she?"
Percy let out a grim smile, "I don't know anymore." He answered, before spinning back on his heels to the door.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Freya yelled at him, "You just got here! Plus the sheriff's not in yet, what if we get a call?"
He turned over his shoulder as he opened the door, "1, I'm going to get breakfast, 2, the sheriff's probably already up on the mountain, and 3, when do we ever get calls? If we get something serious radio me, or I'm sure you can handle it. I've seen you with a gun, you know. You're a better shot than me." He shot her a grin as she stood up, hands on her hips and frowning at him. He slipped out the door and started the short walk across town.
He really did love this place.
Hammer Falls was a small town, probably no more than 50 buildings in the whole thing, but it was just so... homey. The town sat at the base of a mountain and the mouth of a lake, both of which lent themselves to the fishing and forestry industries the town survived off of. Most people who lived in town had done so for a while, raising their kids in the apartments above their shops, that occupied ancient buildings that most home inspectors would faint at. There were others, though, Lumberjacks and introverts who lived farther up the mountain in cabins like the one Percy had. Life was simple, roads were two lanes, no one fought, everyone knew each other. For a boy who grew up in New York City this place felt like it wasn't real.
He strode through town, giving soft smiles and quick handshakes to people as he did. He may not have been here long, five years if he remembered correctly, but he'd gotten to know people quickly, especially when he'd met the sheriff and became deputy.
"You're so likeable, boy. It's like you've got magic in your blood!" He'd said.
Percy had wanted to tell him it was Poseidon's, but he bit his tongue.
As he passed by a light post he noticed something he hadn't before. Greek. The Greek symbol for Omega, carved into the post. The carving was deep, and fresh, and had to have been done recently. He frowned, running his thumb over it. If it weren't for his Greek tuned mind, he wouldn't even have noticed it, but he did. He turned away, figuring it was just some graffiti done by a bored teenager.
He walked up to his favorite spot, and took in the hand painted sign that hung over it's entrance.
"Auntie Astrid's Diner"
He stepped in and moved swiftly to the booth. Easing into a stool. Astrid's was a nice place, a classic 50's style diner. 1 simple floor with a row of booths against the window and a counter against the back wall. The floor had checkered black and white tiles and the walls were a lovely dark brown, covered in pictures of the town that looked old as sin. Usually it was packed in the evenings after school got out. In the mornings, not so much.
"What'll it be today, sugar. The usual?" A voice called to him from down the counter.
Percy smiled as the Astrid herself walked up. She was, if anything, a very striking woman. She was short, if only slightly so, with long thick grey hair that she usually threw up in a bun. She had soft hands and delicate fingers, with a slim body that had aged like wine. Her eyes, like most people in town, were a shade of blue that seemed almost impossible. Her outfit usually consisted of an oversized knit sweater and denim jeans, with a pair of ancient looking leather boots on her feet. She was a woman's woman, someone who radiated the motherly energy that only a woman who had 6 children and 13 grandchildren could. This lent itself to her earned reputation of the information center of the town. If anyone knew anything, Astrid knew everything, is what they said, so it was only natural for Percy to usually come to her first thing every morning.
"You know it, auntie." He replied. She smiled, enjoying the fact that after however many years he had finally felt comfortable enough to call her the name everyone else in town did. She could still remember the first day he came in, stammering over his words, notebook in hand asking about a "Stolen wicker basket" and how he kept calling her "Mrs Haffsbjørn". That had been an interesting introduction.
She smiled at him and wrote down an order for him, handing it to the cook through the hole in the wall. She grabbed him a glass and poured him a coffee.
"So." He began, "Any new updates in regards to the town?" He asked, drumming his fingers on the table. "Any robberies? Maybe an arson? Oh, perhaps a hostage situation?" He asked.
She chuckled and shook her head at his jokes.
"Sweetie, you really do need to stop watching action movies." She replied, leaning against the counter. "Let's see, Duane Erikson sprained his ankle falling out of his family's fir tree."
"Sounds exciting." Percy replied.
She raised her eyebrows. "Lena and Joseph are apparently planning on moving away together, but don't tell her father." She said with a wink.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Percy replied.
"Liv came in asking about you this morning. Sounds like she was looking for a date." Astrid said, wiggling her eyebrows. Percy blushed.
"You know how I am with that, auntie." He replied, "Come on now, it's Friday morning, there's gotta be something going on."
She tapped her finger on her chin. "Oh, right, almost forgot the most important one. James Levinson said he saw a bunch of girls out in the woods."
Percy frowned, "James Levinson, doesn't he live even further south than me? What was he doing here?"
"No clue." Astrid answered with a shrug, "Probably buying more bullets to put into that poor old pine tree on his land. Either way, he came in here and made quite the fuss about it." She continued.
"Oh really?" Percy asked, raising his coffee to his lips, "Why's that?"
Astrid pursed her lips, "Well, he told me, and I frankly don't believe a word of this, that they all had bows and arrows."
Percy froze. The coffee cup hanging right in front of his face. His jaw went tight and his chest clenched. Panic shot through him like a bolt of lightning. No, he thought, not here. His mind raced to calm him, to try and find a justification for this. It couldn't be them, it shouldn't be them.
He put his mug down and leaned in close. "Astrid, this is very important. I need to know. Did Duane mention what color they were wearing?" Percy asked, gripping the counter.
Astrid frowned in concern at the young man. In all the years he'd spent in this town it was very rare that she'd ever seen him like this. "He did." She replied.
He leaned in closer. "Were they wearing... silver?" He asked, his eyes wild with thought.
"No." She replied, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "He said they had on all black. "Like some weird ninjas", I believe was the quote."
Percy nodded, running a nervous hand over his face. "Astrid, if possible, can we just keep this between us?" He asked her. She smiled and laid her hand on his. She'd never seen him so freaked out before and wondered what was the cause.
"I will. So long as you promise me this isn't something dangerous."
He looked her in the eyes. "I promise." He said, making an internal note to keep track of how many young girls were in town and if any of them went missing. Just in case.
She smiled and turned to grab his food for him, placing it down in front of him. Blue pancakes. Almost as good as the original. He grinned and dived right in, devouring them as quickly as he could. He enjoyed the look on Astrid's face, which seemed to be a mix of shock, horror, and mild amusement. He finished them in probably thirty seconds flat and leaned back, knocking back his coffee and putting cash on the table, tipping her 20 bucks.
She smiled at his gesture. "You know you don't have to do that Percy." She said, but he shook his head.
"No Astrid, if you knew how happy my taste buds were right now, you'd know I do." He put his coffee mug back down on the table. "I don't know what I'd do without this place."
She smiled and took his plate from him, taking it to the back with her. "Maybe you'd learn to cook."
He grinned at her as he heard the door open behind him. He frowned, no one ever came in to Astrid's this early. Hell, she'd even told him he was the only reason the sign said 8-8 and not 9-8. He meant to turn around but then heard the familiar sound of boots on the tile of Astrid's restaurant. The sturdy, constant stomp of confidence that dented it's way into his mind. He let out a small sigh as the girl plopped down next to him.
She still looked, well, just as beautiful as she always had. Her light olive skin, dark onyx eyes, and dark brown hair all flowed around her. She had on her leather boots, and her cargo pants, and her silver jacket, with her hair tied up in a ponytail. In her hair, though she didn't need it anymore, she still wore a silver circlet. She angrily spread a map over the counter and gave him a glare.
"I've been looking for you." She said, "I found it, I know it."
Percy sighed and looked up at the girl. For some reason, when their eyes met, he felt his heart flutter a bit, but he pushed that aside.
"Alright..." He replied, standing up to face her properly.
"Where are we going this time, Zoe?"
It was late afternoon, with the sun barely dipping into the horizon when they eventually left.
Despite Zoe's insistence, Percy was very firm that he could not just abandon his town at 9 a.m. on a Friday, and that they could wait for night.
They drove in silence, as the headlights illuminated the gloomy road. Not that that was foreign at all to Percy when Zoe Nightshade was in his truck. They would often speak to each other while he drove, but never when she was convinced she'd found a way out. He couldn't help but steal glances at her as she sat in silence with her arms crossed, staring out the window in front if them as he followed her map.
She looked different. Mind you, he'd met her for a very short time when they were 14, but she still looked different. Aging had been kind to her. When he'd known her back then she was what he'd describe as a cute girl, but now? Frankly, she was gorgeous. Thick full lips, with a beautiful face. Her hair, when she let it down, flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall. If she really wanted it, she could've had any man in town, but naturally being an ex-hunter, she didn't want any of them. Although, that being said, she'd calmed down a lot since her "touch me and I'll castrate you" days.
She was the one who had introduced him to this place, all those years ago. He remembered waking up on a beach, covered in seawater, a torn orange t-shirt on his chest and a broken blade at his side. He spat up a mouthful of blood and seawater and looked up at her, half expecting Leo or Piper to be standing over him, only to see her onyx eyes studying him as she looked him up and down on the beach.
"Zoe?" He'd croaked, as he tried to sit up.
"So this isn't the stars." She'd told him, "Or you wouldn't be here."
Her words had stung at the time, but he'd never been able to tell her that.
It wasn't too long after he'd shown up in her little paradise that she realized it wasn't the paradise she thought it was. After that her goal became clear. Get out. Get out of town, by any means necessary.
She knew she had to, somehow, someway, but every time she tried to leave she'd just end up right back where she started. It was complicated, and hard to explain, but the town, it... well, it wasn't normal, to say the least.
These memories and thoughts rattled off in his head as he drove, his thumbs drumming on the steering wheel. He had been shooting glances her way the whole ride as they drove out last his house, down south to the town's limits. She glanced in his direction and caught one of his stares.
"What?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Nothing. Just... wondering why this is "it" this time." He answered. At this point he only really did this to entertain her. He'd accepted a long time ago that this was his home, that for whatever reason it was where he was meant to be. For her though, not so much. Of course it didn't really help that he could leave the town's limits and she couldn't. He'd always guessed it was because he hadn't really died before whatever deity brought him here had snatched him up, but he digressed. That wasn't important right now, and was a touchy subject whenever brought up.
"This is it because I said it is." She shot back, crossing her arms.
He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, alright Zoe. Easy. Don't need to go for my throat, here."
"Oh I'm not going for your throat, Percy." She said, before turning to him, and leaning in a bit with a smile. "But I could if you want."
He sighed, realizing she still didn't really understand modern humour. Or maybe...
"Was that supposed to be flirting?" He asked, shooting her a smirk.
She scowled and turned back to the road. "The day I flirt with you, Perseus, is the day I give up on this mortal realm." She replied, easing back into her seat.
Percy sighed as they turned off the main road, onto a dirt path. They were a ways away now, probably a good 20 minutes from the town.
Also 5 minutes from the Levinson ranch he'd thought to himself, but he pushed the thought from his mind.
They pulled down a hill and had shown up at a small lake when she finally spoke. "Stop the car, Percy."
He did and she pretty much immediately hopped out. The lake she'd brought them to was pretty big. It stretched out a good 300 feet in front of them, trailing off far out of sight on either side. Pine trees lined the shore opposite their beach and a simple plot of sand stood directly before them. But, just like any other beach in this town, a thick fog covered the water. It happened at every beach, regardless of climate or season or weather, fog always sat on bodies of water. It was a simple, basic beach, and yet... something was off. He smelled the air, letting the scent of the water pass into his his lungs. He let out a deep exhale, figuring it out.
"Zoe." He began, "This lake, it leads to the ocean."
"I know." She replied. Her eyes were firm as she looked over the water.
"Zoe, what exactly is the plan here." Percy asked, as he looked incredulously the girl in front of him.
"Simple." She said. "This lake, it leads to the Ocean. The ocean is the real world." She stretched, cracking her knuckles above her head as she dropped into a squat, stretching her thighs.
He looked at her, jaw tightened into a firm line. "Alright, so what? There's plenty of lakes that lead to the ocean around here."
She smiled to herself, "But not like this one. I've been testing, Percy. Tying life jackets that I stole from an out of town visitor to rope and floating them across. When I pull the rope back, they're gone." She said, as if that was supposed to change anything.
Percy threw his arms up in confusion. "So what?" He asked.
"Every other lake I've done this at, the lifejackets never make it across. The rope goes out, a fog rolls in, the rope comes back, as if something sends it back. This is the only one, Percy, the only one that's different." She said, before looking across the water with a confident smile. "This is the way out, I'm sure of it."
She went to take a step forward before Percy's arm shot up to stop her. She scowled at him.
"Move Perseus." She demanded.
"No, Zoe." He replied, keeping his hand up.
"Percy, I'm warning you."
"No Zoe, I'm warning you." He shot back, eyes flaring up with anger. "You don't know what this lake is, why it's acting differently. You couldn't possibly know." He told her.
She shook her head, stepping to the side to go around him. "I don't care. I have to try, now move Perseus."
He side stepped back in front of her, blocking her oath again.
"No, Zoe, you listen to me and you listen good. It's -5 out today, and that water is freezing fresh water. Not only does that mean it's gonna make you go hypothermic, but it's gonna be harder to float in without any salt to accommodate for buoyancy, and on top of that-."
"I don't care, Perseus." She replied, "I've made my decision. I'm going."
He let out a frustrated groan. If there was one thing Zoe was it was stubborn. "Could you at least have brought a boat from town? Maybe a raft, or a canoe? Anything to keep you out of the freezing water?" He asked.
She shook her head and crossed her arms. "I don't know what in that town I can trust, we still don't know who or what's got me trapped here. For all I know everything in that town is cursed, and it'll bring me back here if I try to take it with me." She replied, gesturing to her outfit. "This is what I showed up in, and what I'll leave in."
Percy put his hand on his face, pinching the bridge if his nose.
"And you couldn't bring an out of town life jacket?" He asked.
She shrugged with a smile. "I used them all in my tests."
He shook his head. "I don't approve of this."
She pushed past him. "I never asked for your approval, Percy." She said, "But I'll be more than happy if you come find me when I'm free."
"You know I won't leave." He answered her. She gave him a look, one he almost couldn't read due to her flawless poker face, but he knew her too well by now.
Disappointment.
She walked to the beach and started forward out to the water and Percy followed. He stopped at the shore, though. He knew better than to touch the water, than to step foot back in his father's domain. She started walking, wading into the water. He watched the way she stiffened up, almost immediately as the waves touched her bare skin. Her arms went up high, Percy could see pretty easily that her breathing had become shaky. He paced back and forth on the beach, watching her as she continued into the water. She turned around, giving him a look.
He couldn't quite tell what it meant, or what she was trying to say with it, but it felt like goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
"Is that it then?" She asks him, her grey eyes peering up at him through blonde curls, "All you have to say is goodbye."
He stands in front of her, tucked into a corner of the Argo II, far away from the others.
"Yeah." He snaps back, "It is."
She looks back down, back at her feet. "That wasn't me." She insists, "Seaweed brain, that wasn't-"
"Don't you say that." He hisses through his teeth, rage filled tears welling in his eyes as he chokes down a sob. "Don't you ever fucking call me that again."
She steps back at his words, tears welling in her own eyes. She can't say anything, what's there to say anyways? He's right.
"Percy, I love you..." She pleads, reaching out to him.
He turns away, his eyes floating across her face as he does. She can see he's crying.
"I don't care." He says, spitting the words out like they're poison in his mouth. "I fell into hell for you, to protect you, and when we get down there, what do you do?"
He turns back to her, but she doesn't respond. Her head is hanging and tears are falling from her face. He turns back to his door, opening it, before looking over his head to say a few final words.
"He made me watch. When... when you and him..." His words fail him, and he hangs his head.
"I don't care how this war ends, I don't ever want to see you again, daughter of Athena."
He walks in his room, slamming the door in her face.
The tears stream down his face, harder now as he slumps to the floor. He sobs. It hurts too much.
It hurts
It hurts
It hurts.
Percy unclenched his hand as he felt himself slip back into the land of the living. He took a deep breath as he tried to remember why he was here.
Zoe. Doing something stupid.
Shaking his head he looked out over the water, half expecting he'd see her finally free on the other side of the lake. He'd shoot her a wave and a smile and he'd drive over, finding a bridge or something, and join her. They'd hug and celebrate. They'd drive south and they'd...
Nothing. They'd do nothing. He shook the thought from his head as reality crept back into his mind. She wasn't on the other side of the water. She wasn't on his side either. She was nowhere to be seen.
His stomach dropped. He considered for a moment that she might've actually escaped, that she was right the whole time.
Then he saw her floating on her back in the lake.
He didn't realize he was in the water until it was too late. He dragged his arms through the water, swimming with all the strength he could, hoping if he didn't use his powers it wouldn't attract attention, or if that didn't work, being in Alaska would keep his fathers eyes off him.
It didn't.
The second he touched the water he felt it. He could practically feel the surge of consciousness trace up the body of water from the ocean itself. It raced through the waves, slamming into his mind in the form of a familiar voice, his father's voice.
Percy?
He gritted his teeth, letting his powers propel him to Zoe. No point in hiding it now he thought to himself.
He grabbed her. Her lips were blue and she was shivering and if it weren't for her stupid jacket having an air bubble in it she'd have been under the water by now. She let out a shaky breath as Percy grabbed her, and turned back to the shore.
"Just hold on, Zoe " He whispered to her as he propelled himself back to land, trying to ignore the voice in his mind.
Percy? Where have you been? I've missed you, I've been so worried for you. I thought you were gone, son.
Percy gritted his teeth harder as he propelled himself back to land, trying to push as hard as he cod, but the voice wouldn't stop.
Percy, you need to come back. Your friends, they miss you. I miss you, son. Please-
The voice cut off the second Percy left the water. He wanted to lay on the beach and laugh, freed from that one sided conversation, but he couldn't even think about that right now.
He grabbed Zoe's head, feeling the skin on her forehead. She was freezing, and shivering terribly. Her eyes were closed and her teeth kept chattering. Her lips were a pale blue. Percy put his hand on her chest, flicking his other hand out and shooting the water off both their bodies and clothes, drying them both instantly. He picked her up bridal style, carrying her back to his truck. He got in the truck, pushing her into her seat, and turned the heat up as high as it would go.
He couldn't have been seated for more than a few minutes, but it felt like hours as he watched her breathing steady, her shivering lessen, and her lips regain their color. She awoke with a scream, thrashing in her seat as she did. She brought her hands up to her throat, running her hands over it. She turned to Percy, who was glaring at her.
"So... it didn't work?" She asked.
He kept his glare pointed directly into her eyes as he shook his head as slowly as possible.
She sighed. "I got so close." She whispered "I could feel it. I could feel the real world. I was almost free."
"No you weren't." Percy said, a scowl across his face. "You barely made it halfway before your body went into shock."
"No." She pressed. "I saw it... I saw the other shore, I felt my fingers scrape it."
Percy sighed and put his forehead on the steering wheel. "It must've been a trick by the lake. Maybe it's cursed, or something."
Zoe looked like she'd just been shot. Her gaze went dark as she stared at his dashboard. "It didn't work..." She whispered.
"It didn't work." He confirmed.
She gritted her teeth. "Then why didn't you let me die."
Percy snapped his gaze at her. "What?" He said
She felt hot tears tickle her cheeks. "Let me die then, Percy. Perhaps death will end this imprisonment."
Percy lightly scoffed "Imprisonment... you didn't complain when Artemis went to put you in the stars, and when you thought this was the stars it wasn't so bad then." Now it was her turn to snap a stare in his direction.
"That's different. The stars are an honor, this is a curse." She spat.
He glared at his steering wheel. "No, it's not." He growled.
"To you, maybe," Zoe continued, "but I wish to return to the real world, I wish-"
"For what?" Percy snapped, looking at her. "To be the gods plaything again? To be strung along by them? Get dragged into prophecies and be forced into war? Don't forget how your life ended last time, Zoe." He said, anger dripping from his tone.
She scowled. "Thou do not make those decisions for me, Perseus. Thou-" She caught herself, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "You," She said, emphasizing the word, "Do not control me."
"If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead." He shot back.
"I'd have preferred that to this." She replied in a huff, crossing her arms.
"No, you don't mean that, I know you don't, and I am not letting you die." He said, his voice firm.
"Why not?" She asked.
"Because!" He exclaimed.
"Because why?" She demanded.
He slammed his fist on the dashboard.
"Because you're all I've fucking got!"
She stopped, her gaze shifting from anger to a kind of curiosity. She'd never seen him like this, so worried, so concerned, but at the same time so frustrated.
"What do you mean." She asked.
He huffed a deep breath.
"Those people in that town, they may care about me, I may call them my family..." He turned back to her.
"But they don't know me. They don't know who I am, or what I've done. You do, and I filled in the gaps you missed. I'm not going to try to convince a bunch of mortals that not only am I half God, but I saved the world. Twice." He said, before pointing a finger at her.
"If I lose you, then it's just me." He pointed the same finger his head.
"And this. I already gave up all I had to stay here, the least you could do is keep breathing." He said.
He settled into his seat, feeling his throat tighten. That had been stewing for a while. He looked back at Zoe.
Her eyes were unreadable, unmoving. She just stared at Percy as if calculating her next move.
Her next move was a sharp slap across his face.
He grunted and brought his hand up to his cheek. He turned back to look at her, his face a mix of frustration and exhaustion.
"Feel better?" He asked her.
She crossed her arms and faced back towards the window. Percy could tell she was trying to hide a smile.
" A little."
He leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. "Good. Thank you for not punching me."
Her smile grew a bit. "You're welcome."
He let out a breath. "I'm taking you home now." He said, as he drove the car back up the dirt path. She looked out the window, thinking about his words.
You're all I've fucking got!
She didn't know why, but when he'd said that it had made her feel... warm inside. She didn't know what to make of it. These thoughts she was having right now, towards Percy, they weren't foreign to her mind. She'd been dragging him along in these escape attempts for years at this point and he'd never once refused, even if he didn't agree with it. He was looking out for her, keeping her safe in case something like this happened to her, watching over her. She looked back at him, his face had softened again as he drove. She looked at his firm jaw, and rough but gentle hands. She thought about the way his eyes glimmered slightly whenever they met hers. She thought about how he always helped her, always. Even if it was inconvenient to him, even if she was actively trying to escape this town. She felt her face heat up as his words echoed in her mind again.
You're all I've fucking got!
She was pulled from her thoughts as something slammed over the hood of his truck and stumbled into the woods. Percy shrieked in surprise, a noise that made Zoe let out a slight laugh, and sent a glare her way.
"Give me a break." He said, putting the car in park.
"What're you doing?" Zoe asked, as he grabbed the rifle off his cab and opened his glove compartment, grabbing a fistful of bullets.
"What? I'm still a cop. " He said, as he opened the door. "Last thing I need is a hit and run charge."
"Yeah but, what if that's something... else. You know, godless land and all that?" She asked.
He pondered this for a second and then reached back over and grabbed a fistful of celestial bronze bullets too, jamming them in another pocket.
"Stay in the truck." He told her as he stepped out, grabbing a flashlight from under his seat.
She made a face. "I am perfectly capable of defending-"
"Yes " He said, cutting her off as he loaded bullets into his gun. "But you also almost froze to death, so please stay in the warm car." He said.
She scowled at him. "Fine." She said.
He loaded the last shell and cocked his rifle, giving her a smile.
"Thank you, I mean it , I really do."
She crossed her arms, her gaze softening a bit.
"Just hurry up."
He turned away and jogged into the forest, his flashlight illuminating the path in front of him as he walked. He caught the blood trail pretty quick, following the spatters of crimson that stained the odd leaf. He rounded a massive redwood stump and found his culprit. It was a deer, a massive stag by the looks of it. The poor thing was laying on it's side, wheezing for life.
Percy had seen this before, it would be dead within the minute.
He crouched next to the animal, laying his rifle across his legs as he ran a soft hand over it's face.
"What did this to you?" He asked, as he shone the flashlight over the beast's body.
He froze.
His heart sank.
He couldn't breathe, or speak for that matter. All he could do was stare at the arrow lodged in the animals chest.
The silver arrow.
He sprung to his feet almost immediately. He clutched his rifle, clipping his flashlight to it as he swung around the forest. He did a full 360, looking around as he did. Checking for anything.
Movement.
Noise.
Anything at all.
He confirmed his surroundings and turned back to the stag. He couldn't shoot it. No, if they were close all that would do is bring attention. He instead took the chance to pull the arrow out of its body. With the arrow out the wound bleed freely. The stag died within seconds.
Percy examined the arrow, making sure he was sure. He ran his thumb over it, feeling the a symbol on the shaft. A crescent moon.
"Fuck." He hissed under his breath.
He stuck the arrow in the ground and stomped it, burying it under the earth. He did one last look around before he stormed back to the truck.
Zoe was still there, drumming her fingers in the dashboard.
"Find anything?" She asked.
"No." He lied, as he pulled forward. "Must've gotten away."
He had turned up the street and out of view just as a group of young girls crossed into the street. They slinked out of the woods, having barely caught the sound of the truck leaving as they did. They moved with grace, silently walking across the road. They were wearing black robes, magical garments marked in the magic of Hecate, meant to keep them safe in their travels through Alaska. But under that, they had their silver suits.
They were led by two, one glowed ever so slightly, her auburn hair glistening in the moonlight, the other a punk with blue eyes and short, choppy black hair.
They were hunting. Hunting for half bloods.
Link:https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14025168/1/Godless-Land
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