First Place

Guess what? My story that I recently wrote for a contest has been chosen as first place! It's called Losing Your Will and it was written for a contest called The Prompts. It's a rather interesting and amazing contest because it's both fun and it keeps you on your toes. It keeps your mind awake and fresh. Two people on Fanfiction came up with this idea, and basically they give out a prompt about every month with specific guidelines, and your job is to create a story from it. It can be any fandom, which is the nice part because it's open to the whole Fanfiction world. It's a great contest, and more information on it and official guidelines can be found here.

I've also decided to post the story that I wrote. Here it is.

Losing Your Will

Percy's POV
"This is it."

I stared at Nico, who was standing a couple steps ahead of me. His black, slightly greased hair was hanging low over his face, hiding his eyes, as he stared down into the black abyss. I took a deep breath and crept up beside him, trudging in the thick sand. My eyes finally lay on the treacherous water that rushed through the Underworld: the River Styx.

It was a crazy idea, a fatal idea if done incorrectly, but then again, Nico was starting to become famous for those.

I swallowed nervously as I stared at the polluted, black water swishing and rushing around. A few McDonald's bags popped out of the water for a brief moment before being sucked under again.

Even though I was the son of Poseidon, and therefore I could control water and use it to my will, I knew that I wouldn't be able to do that with this water. This was ancient water, godly and powerful. I could feel its greatness, but how, I didn't know. It was like last year when we were at the ranch, and I had been able to feel the water in the sand when I had to clean out those horrid stables.

No, I was on my own with this one.

I turned to the thirteen year old boy beside me. "Are you sure this will work?"

He opened his mouth and hesitated, a brief flash of fear and horror apparent on his face. In that moment, I saw the boy who was Bianca's little brother, the one who played Mythomagic. But then just as quickly, it was replaced with the hardened Nico di Angelo, the one who wore all black and held a grudge or two.

"Yes," he finally answered firmly. He paused. "It's going to hurt," he muttered. "It'll feel like your skin is on fire, and you'll want to die, but you have to remember your good memories and hold on to them. Once you're in there, they'll be the only thing keeping you tied to the shore."

We had already talked about this before all of this started happening. When he had first told me about his plan, I had denied it profusely. However, though I still feared the idea, it was our only option. Luke…Kronos was getting closer by the minute. Pretty soon, he would be on Manhattan.

I nodded stiffly and then stepped up to the river's edge, the water just missing the tips of my shoes. I took a deep breath, lifted my foot, and stepped in.

As soon as I touched the water, the burning fire seared up throughout my body, climbing up my legs and stomach to my head, cutting off my senses. I vaguely felt my legs give out, and barely heard the muffled,

"Percy!" come from Nico.

Now, I was completely capsized.

As the fire crawled through me, feeling like it was turning my body inside out, I realized I couldn't breathe under this water…or, whatever this was. This was no ordinary water.

However, my lack of breathing abilities wasn't my concern right now. I didn't even notice the absent of air as I let out a muffled scream. The fire crawled down my throat now, getting thoroughly into my system.

I could feel the water tugging at me, trying to whisk me away from the shore. For some reason, this triggered my memory, and I remembered exactly why I was here.

With major difficulty, I tried to conjure up good memories, the ones I would always keep with me. I remembered, through the hazy mist in my head, my first year at camp when I had met Annabeth. She said I drooled in my sleep.

Another one…a few years ago when I met Thalia…Annabeth had said we would be either best friends or worst enemies. Turns out we were both.

Oh, and then there was Mt. St. Helens last year. Annabeth…had kissed me. It had been warm and…full of fear. Fear that I wasn't going to live.

Suddenly, I felt a bit stronger. It seemed that the fire had subsided a bit. But then, without warning, another memory appeared. A bad one.

It was when we were in the Labyrinth, and I had told Annabeth about Luke. She wouldn't believe me. Even after seeing him as Kronos, she wouldn't believe that he had really left. I felt…anger, and frustration. It made me upset that she still loved him (that word was bitter to me at the time—still is) when he had tried to kill her.

The pain came full force again. The tide got stronger. More horrible, angry memories flooded my head. As they replayed over and over, I felt the hopelessness start to invade my senses.

What was the point? Kronos was getting stronger by the second. Each time a demigod or monster joined him, he became more powerful. He's a Titan for gods' sake! How am I supposed to beat him? It was…impossible…

"Seaweed Brain!"

My head cleared instantly with that familiar tone. The fire subsided almost completely. I searched through the smoky curtain for that familiar face.

And there she was with her blonde curls, her gray eyes that caught me every time, and her tan complexion. I couldn't help smiling (albeit stupidly), but she gave me a stern look instead.

"You can't give up, Percy," she spoke, her voice almost a whisper. It was angry, and I felt instantly horrible, knowing it was my fault that she was upset.

I wanted to speak, to tell her I was sorry and that I would try, just for her, but it was impossible.

"If you don't hurry up, you're going to die!" she all but screamed, her eyes welling with tears. "You have to imagine a lifeline connecting you to the shore! Do it quick and get back!"

After saying this, she disappeared, and suddenly I knew what to do. I imagined a small spot on my lower back, one that would be almost impossible to hit with my armor on. I imagined a rope connecting me to the shore back to Nico, willing it to pull me out.

All the while, Annabeth was on my mind, her eyes daring me to give up, her mouth set in a frown and her brows furrowed. But I wouldn't give up. I would show her.

And then, it was over.

I burst out of the water, landing on the dry, hot shore, the sand sticking to my legs. My body felt like lead as I gasped for air, the burning finally subsiding completely until I was left with a heavy set of lungs.

"Percy!" Nico shouted, running over. He collapsed next to me, staring at me with wild, fearful eyes. "Are you alright?"

Breathing hard, I stammered, "Y-yeah…I think so…"

Nico swallowed hard, staring at me. I sat up, getting a quick little dizzy spell. I looked over at Nico, who was still staring.

"The Curse of Achilles…" he mumbled, his eyes getting a faraway look. He then pierced his eyes on me.

"You know…" he said as we sat in an awed silence. "You should have died."

I swallowed hard, noticing that my body felt stronger, more energetic. I could feel the power sifting through my veins. I didn't say anything. I avoided his gaze, staring instead at the black river.

He was right, though. I shouldn't have lived. But somehow, I had. I now had the Curse of Achilles.

"Come on," Nico said, breaking my thoughts. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me up. "We have to leave before the guards come."

I nodded, my legs shaking slightly. I gave one last look at the river, feeling a slight twitter in my stomach.

The only reason I had survived was because of Annabeth.
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And that's it! If you read it, thanks for doing so!