(A/N) Hello everybody! Welcome to the next chapter of Chained!(woo hoo!) Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this chapter and hopefully you guys will continue to read this story till it's conclusion. Also, thank you guys for following and liking this story and please, please, please leave reviews! It will help me get chapters out faster. Also pm me if you have ideas and don't feel like leaving a review! Anyway, enough of my blabbing. Without further ado, Chapter 2!
Last time: "Anyway, Kronos wishes to see you so come on, up and at 'em." I looked at her as a feeling of dread spread through my body and settled somewhere above my navel. I replied, trying to keep the fear out of my voice, but my voice shook as I spoke, "What does he need?" She laughed and shook her head and replied with the words he was hoping that she wouldn't say, " He told me to get you for some more bonding time".
Now: *ONE WEEK EARLIER* We open on a scenic view of the Oakland Hills in California. The sunrise is just starting to break over the crest of the eastern hills. In a valley that is unseen to the naked eye, lies a camp. That camp is Camp Jupiter. Zooming in, we can see a river and aqueducts. A section of the camp is designated to living quarters. In one of the cabins, a boy with blonde hair lies on his cot, sweat drenching his clothes and bedsheets. He thrashes around and jumps awake, his startling blue eyes filled with panic. He looks around his cabin, greedily gulping air into his lungs. The panic starts to drain out of his eyes replaced by worry as he whispers one simple word to no one in particular, "Percy". On the other side of the United States, on the bank of the Long Island Sound, another camp similar to Camp Jupiter was hidden in the foliage. In the camp, lots of kids fill the mess hall as it's mid-morning with the sun already beating down upon the bright, green grass. A lone girl, about 17 or 18, is away from all the other campers. She is standing outside a cabin, marked with an owl on the top of the doorframe, talking to a older woman that looks very much like herself. The woman, like the girl, has blonde curls and beautiful grey eyes. They are in a hushed and hurried conversation, the girl looks like she has been crying heavily for several minutes. The older woman was showing the girl a holographic clip of a boy with black hair and a girl with red hair. They are kissing in some sort of lake, surrounded by an air bubble. The older woman says a few words to the girl, pats her back, and flashes away. The girl, crying furiously, runs inside the cabin and slams the door.
*PRESENT DAY*
ANNABETH POV
It has been one week. One week since the "incident". Since he left me for that broad. My name is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, the goddess wisdom and battle strategy. I used to have a boyfriend, Perseus Jackson, my love. At least, he was until a week ago when we were on a date and he told me he was getting from something from his cabin and was never seen again. When my mom Athena told me that he cheated and ran away, I didn't believe her. I told her that she was a liar. But then she showed me the clip of him and the girl kissing, IN THE DAMN LAKE. That was our kiss...no, I told myself I wouldn't cry anymore. I have to move on. But something does feel fishy about all this but evidence doesn't lie, right? Anyway, I have stuff to do today, can't waste time thinking about Percy. I take a shower and get dressed and exit the cabin. It's a sunny and warm day but not too hot. I head to the mess hall, saying hi to various campers along the way. The topic of Percy is a touchy subject here at camp. Half the campers hate him for leaving and for cheating and the other half thinks it's a trick and that we should be out looking for him. Several fights have broken out over the course of this week. One between the Hunters and Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter. Thalia and the Hunters put her in the hospital wing for 3 days because Katie said Percy was a snake. You see, every single Hunter believes that Percy is innocent and they have been searching for him since they found out he was missing. I refuse to pick sides in the whole thing because i'm confused myself. I hadn't even realized that I had arrived at the mess hall until I heard Chiron calling my name from the other side of the room. I made my way to him and looked up at his weathered face. He looked at me with a sad look before saying, "How are you, my child?" How was I feeling? Sad? Angry? " Exhausted" I replied, looking down at the floor as I said it. Chiron took a moment to reply, "You are thinking about him aren't you?" I felt the tears fall to the floor as I replied with a shaky voice, "Yeah, he is the only thing I think about". Chiron patted my back with a few tears also threatening to spill from his eyes, "You know my stance on the subject, we should be out there looking for him, you should be out there". I looked at him with disbelief, "Chiron, you know I can't do that. I can't waste my time looking for him, I have duties here at camp". Chiron's face had changed into a weird expression, like he had expected me to say those words. He spoke with a strained voice, like he almost couldn't say it, "There is trickery here Annabeth. And even though you and half the camp have given up on Percy, I'm determined to bring him home". I felt a pang in my chest, like guilt had pierced my heart but it was replaced with rage. "Given up on him?" My voice was a dangerously low whisper, "He gave up on me, on us Chiron. And although there may be something fishy about the whole thing, how dare you say that to me!" Chiron obviously realized his mistake as he stuttered with his next words, "No...t..th...that". But before he could finish what he was saying, I stormed away. I walked with an aura of rage, or at least that's what it seemed like as everyone avoided me as I power walked, not even aware of where I was headed. After sometime, I had arrived at Zeus' Fist, a rock formation in the middle of the forest. I sat down on a rock and even against all my wishes, I started to cry.
In Olympus, in a room of the side of the throne room, Athena was having a conversation with a hooded man through IM. Unbeknownst to both Athena and the hooded man, a figure lurked in the shadows, watching the meeting. That figure was Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. He had shadow-traveled out of an intense battle and had misjudged it by a longshot. As he made to leave before he got caught, he caught one word from the conversation, Percy. Against better judgement, he stayed and started to record the meeting. When he thought he had heard enough, he looked one last time at the IM and saw the hooded figure take off his hood and the man under the hood was the titan of the east, Hyperion, free from his prison in Central Park and very angry.
