A/N:

*coughs* ahem!

*draws out speech notes*

Ladies and gentlemen...and everyone in between..., having decided to join this great association of dreamers aka also known as fanfiction dot net , I've also ventured to flounder in the murky waters of fanfic writing, and have therefore penned my first one based on the Demigod books of the Great Rick Riordan (may he live forever). Any halfhearted prodding with a stick will be profusely appreciated. Please don't stick my head in the water.

Also, a very hearty congratulations to all those who succeeded in boarding the 2016 bus. We deserve it. Running after a bus is no mean feat. And a moment of silence for those who weren't so lucky.

*skips through several notes* yes, right. I'd like to say a big thank you to my beta who convinced me that It'sWorthAShot ;p! You rock!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series. That honor goes to Rick Riordan (may he live forever).

Chapter 1

ANGIE

Angie hadn't thought today would be anything more than ordinary. But that was before they'd gotten trapped in a tunnel.

They'd gone on a family tour to Alcatraz Island at Francisco Bay. It was supposed to have been Angel Island but somehow Mitch had booked the wrong tickets. But that was okay, Alcatraz was actually more interesting than she'd thought. Everything was going great – until Bree started getting restless.

"This is so boring," she sighed again, staring up at the ceiling, shifting from one foot to the other.

Then ten seconds later, "I'm STAR-ving..."

A guy next to her shot her an irritated glare. She stuck her tongue out at him defiantly.

That was her sister. She could be a typical bratty half pint sometimes. Today she was wearing her favorite t-shirt that had a huge neon peace sign plastered on it, jeans and sneakers. She'd refused to wear a jacket to the island.

Angie cocked an eyebrow at her. "You just ate like thirty minutes ago. Relax, it will be over before you know it." Bree's ADHD made her acting up very annoying to bear.

She put on her headphones again, drowning out her Bree's whining with the audio tour as she looked up at the cells in B-Block.

"Most of the new inmates in Alcatraz were assigned to blocks B and C where there were about three hundred and sixty six cells in all. Each inmate..."

Frequently, she took pictures with her 1980's vintage camera. It had been her dad's when he was in college and it still worked. Now it was one of her (many) obsessive passions. She'd even named it Flash, because the camera flash kept going off like an accidental discharge.

Bree tugged at her jacket sleeve and she lifted off the headphones a bit. "Where's Mitch?"

Mitch was supposed to be their chaperon as the 'adult' one. But he'd obviously gone off on his own somewhere.

"Do you need something? The headphones are for the tour, you know." Angie jutted her chin at the headphones hanging round Bree's neck which she hadn't bothered to put on.

"Not interested. This place is depressing." She muttered sullenly.

Angie sighed. She knew Bree had wanted the tour to Angel Island. This was just a way of blowing steam. Still she supposed it was true, Alcatraz Penitentiary main cell block and it's metal chicken coops and catwalks weren't exactly a cheery sight especially for someone like Bree.

"Alright" she surrendered, " Just a few more pictures and then we'll go somewhere else".

Bree gave her the salute, and Angie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

She and her sister were pretty close. Despite the occasional bouts of childishness, Bree was pretty mature for a ten year old. She and Mitch on the other hand...well, not so much. But then again, she hadn't seen him in a while, since he'd just finished from a boarding high school in Ridgecrest.

She took several pictures of the upper floors and catwalks. She wasn't sure how many she'd be able to develop successfully. She wasn't really good at that. The audio tour was still going on about prison timetables and guard rotation.

"Okay, let's..."

She turned around and paused. The hallway was empty. Bree was gone.

...

She found Bree in the D-Block section after some worried searching. She'd not been there yet; it didn't seem like anybody had been there yet either. The interior was empty and semi-dark; a few fluorescent bulbs were shining white-blue light overhead, giving the place a creepy glow.

Bree was leaning against the wall with her head peeking out around the bend. Definitely spying on something.

"Bree! What are you-?"

"Shhh!" Bree turned to her sharply with a finger on her lips. "They came out of a hole in the wall," she whispered, eyes gleaming with excitement "A secret passage! The big guy- he bent the bars!"

What? What on earth was she talking about?!

"Great. Bree, c'mon, let's go." Angie tugged Bree's shoulder, but was roughly shaken off.

"Wait! Do you hear that?"

Humoring her, Angie bent to listen. Then she heard it. Sobbing. And... hissing? Not exactly hissing but something like a snake trying to speak through a sore throat. Her stomach did that funny, sinking feeling. What is going on?

She should have left then, grabbed Bree and hightailed it out of there like her hair was on fire. But did she listen to her instinct? Nooo She just had to do the thing that got every nosy civilian killed by the FBI in movies. She leant in to see.

Four figures – by the lights, she could see they were wearing orange t-shirts – were crouching in the shadows down in the courtyard. Probably doing the same thing she and Bree were doing – though obviously, none of them were crying; they were talking. One was a girl with her hair up in a ponytail and next to her was a boy holding-

Her eyes bugged out. "Wha-? Is that a sword?"

No, it couldn't be. But the bronze light glowing off it like a reflective sticker made it unmistakable. A sword. Made of bronze. Awesome. Who knew real swords even existed these days?

"Maybe they're actors? You know… acting?" Bree suggested.

Well, that would explain it… maybe something Medieval like...

Someone grabbed her shoulder.

And she whirled around, hands flying to her head, ready to blurt something like 'my wife and children'-

"Mitch," she sighed in relief.

"Mhmm," he grunted, squinting irritably as he adjusted the glasses she'd succeeded in knocking off his face earlier.

Then he frowned. "What on earth are you-?"

"Shh, keep your voice down!"

"-guys doing here!" he continued at a lower volume. "I've been looking all over for you."

"We're watching some actors, Mitch. Hey, they're moving. I'm gonna follow," Bree said, her leg already hovering in mid-air.

Angie grabbed her shirt neck, "Now wait a min-"

Something huge, smelly and fast swooped low over them and they ducked. The thing was gone before she could raise her head again. But the smell still lingered. A burning, sulfurous stench. Her eyes watered.

"What was that?" Mitch wheezed, adjusting his glasses again as they scrambled back to their feet.

Angie remembered the hissing she'd heard. "Probably a large… bat?"

Mitch's expression was doubtful, but he nodded anyway. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Wait! We haven't checked out the secret passage!" Bree whisper-shouted.

Mitch stopped. And face-palmed.

"The actors used it to get in here. Guys, I'm not kidding, I'll show you!"

Still think they're actors? Well she had her own theories, and she was ready to see if they were valid or not.

She followed Bree and Mitch followed her, muttering something about Disney and brainwashing.

Bree led them across the courtyard. As they walked, she could hear the secre- uh… actors talking quietly on the second floor behind them.

She stopped at a cell at the end row. "See?"

Angie did a double take. Whoa! The metal bars had been wrenched apart from the center – it looked like they'd been laid a smack-down by Dwayne Johnson. Beside her, Mitch's eyes widened at the sight of the large boulder obviously blocking an entrance on the inner wall of the cell. He fiddled nervously with his glasses and peered inside.

"Interesting," they both murmured at the same time.

Fascinated, the three of them filed into the cell, Mitch avoiding the bars like he thought they had teeth.

Bree set her shoulder against one side of the boulder and shoved, causing it to grate an inch or so to the left. She glanced up gleefully."It's moving! Come help me!"

Angie and Mitch exchanged looks – the former, reluctant but curious, the latter, uneasy – but they moved to help anyway. In a minute, between the three of them, they succeeded in budging away the stone to reveal-

"A tunnel!" Angie exclaimed. Her suspicions might just be right.

"Yes, Angie, we can see that," Mitch grumbled, studying the big, black hole like it was microscopic.

Smart aleck.

"Well, what have we got here, Sherlock Holmes?"

"I'm not sure." He shrugged, pretending not to notice her sarcasm. "Alcatraz had a number of old tunnels back then before it was made into a maximum security prison. They didn't really go anywhere but they were sealed off with cement...you know, just in case."

"Just the entrances or…?" She asked, glancing away from the tunnel long enough to see Mitch take out his phone and switch on the torchlight. He shrugged again, then folded his long body at the waist and climbed in.

"Hey! You're not going in there, are you?" Not without me!

"No, I'm just gonna see if I can roll it over." He deadpanned, flashing the torch around the sides as he kneeled and examined the rough floor - like a true scientist.

He crawled in deeper and Angie made a decision. Carefully avoiding the slight step up into the tunnel, she slid inside and inched after him. Mitch let out an exasperated sigh and turned back.

"No, Angie! Don't come in here. It's not safe. I'm just gonna look around the edges a little bit then get out." He said, flashing the torch steadily in her eyes, making her retreat a bit and shield her eyes.

"Urgh. Who are you, Indiana Jones?" She snapped irritably, but began to back out, only to collide with Bree, who had followed close behind her.

Mitch groaned. "Bree! That goes for you too. Both of you, out! I mean it!"

" But-"

Suddenly there was a commotion from outside – an animal scream, the slap of running feet on concrete, yelling.

And the tunnel sealed shut like a Venus Fly Trap.