I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long! I went on vacation and then I had super busy week so yeah… plus I was completely engrossed in a book that is a part of the House of Night series and they are ridiculously addictive! Now, here's the tenth chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 10: Swords, Shields… and Pie

Elizabeth's POV

For the thousandth time, I yelled. I was in a cellar with a wooden door that must have been made of English Oak because it wouldn't budge. Then again, I was completely exhausted, I hadn't eaten in forever, and I was sore, so it made sense that I couldn't do anything. I heard a yell down the hall and wished I could see what or who it was. I heard another scream and a whimper. What could I do though? I couldn't even rescue myself, so how would I rescue the person or thing in trouble? A door slammed shut and my door opened. A massive Cyclopes with two front teeth stood in front of me grinning rather stupidly. He shoved a plate at me and shut the door. I didn't touch the food because I simply didn't trust the Cyclopes. Can you blame me?

It really sucked being down here because there was nothing to do. Unlike most demigods (and by most I mean 99.99% of demigods), I didn't have dyslexia or ADHD and that is really rare. There is one about every hundred years or so. I stood up and paced back and forth until my legs got tired. Then I leaned back and daydreamed. Was it even day time? There were no windows so I had no clue of telling what time of day it was. I yelled when a sudden pain in my stomach happened and was just about to open my eyes when my door splintered open.

"Are you okay, Miss?" A voice asked. I opened my eyes and saw a boy, no older than ten years old staring at me with bright gray eyes and blonde hair.

"Yeah, who are you?"

"My name is Andrew DiNozzo." Andrew said.

"Can I call you Andy? It's easier than Andrew."

"Yeah, go ahead. Come on, let's get out of here!" Andy urged. I stood up, staggered, and then we fled out of the room. I was really hoping that we wouldn't run into any Cyclopes because I was in no condition to fight. We ran and I could see that Andy was limping severely but I didn't have time to ask what happened because we could see our freedom at the end of the hall. Light came from the crack under the door and I could taste the fresh air compared to this stuffy air we were currently in. We were literally ten feet from the door when a Cyclopes stood in front of us, blocking our way.

"You're not going anywhere." The Cyclopes said. We were instantly surrounded. The biggest of them all came towards is with a baseball bat; Andy whimpered.

Luke's POV

Has anyone ever told you that demigod dreams suck? No? Well, I'm telling you now! They are worse than pickles… and I seriously hate pickles! This dream was similar to the ones I had been having ever since Elizabeth had been kidnapped.

I was in a dank cellar and the room was horribly lit. A shadow caught my eye and I turned to see a boy, probably around ten, running silently through the hall; I followed him. He was limping severely but he kept running. I heard a yell that I immediately recognized as Elizabeth's. Both of us stopped in out tracks. The boy, who was obviously scared to death, whirled around and ran to a door. He rammed into it with all his might and the door gave way. He crawled over the debris and towards a curled up figure, obviously female, in the corner. The boy lifted her and the girl, while not limping, I could tell was exhausted. That's when I saw the girl clearly. It was Elizabeth. She looked okay for the most part but she was deathly pale and had dark circles under her eyes. Elizabeth staggered, regained her footing, and the two of them fled. I followed them down a hall, up a flight of stairs, and another hall; I could see the extra burst of speed Elizabeth gave herself when the door to her freedom came in view. I could practically hear her whooping silently with delight. Our delight was short-lived. A Cyclopes stepped in front of them and they were quickly surrounded. The biggest Cyclopes, with a baseball bat in hand, stepped forward and I heard the young boy whimper. Elizabeth stepped in front of the boy. The Cyclopes swung the bat towards her and I yelled for her.

"Luke! Wake up! We're stopping for the night." Fi said.

"Okay." I mumbled. I got out of the van, found out that we were in North Carolina, and followed Fi and Will to a room. We entered it. There were two beds and a full length couch. Two of us would take the beds while one slept on the couch, which I volunteered for the couch.

"You sure Luke?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I answered. Will shrugged and plopped down on the bed. He was asleep instantly. I knew he was exhausted. He hadn't stopped driving for practically two days straight. He had stayed awake by drinking cup after cup after cup of coffee. Fi and I would have offered to drive but neither of us was old enough. Fi sat down on the bed and turned to me.

"So what were you dreaming about?" She inquired quietly.

"Elizabeth. I saw her trying to escape with another person. They were stopped and… and I think she was hit with a baseball bat." I spoke quietly. Fi paled and closed her eyes.

"Gods, I hope she's okay." Fi murmured.

"Me too… me too," I said. Fi leaned back against her pillows and soon was asleep. I was the only one awake. I sat there on the couch, deep in thought and a sudden spark of genius happened. I could create an empathy link! I focused on Elizabeth. Hopefully she was asleep because it worked better if one or both of you was asleep. I concentrated until I thought my head would explode from the pressure I was putting on it until suddenly the pain went away and Elizabeth was in front of me.

She was back in a cellar and she looked even worse than my last dream.

"Elizabeth?" I asked. Her eyes flew open at the sound of my voice and her voice cracked when she said, "Luke?"

"Hey, you're okay?"

"You came for me!" She shouted. She attempted to move towards me but gasped in pain and crumpled to the floor.

"Elizabeth!" I yelled.

"I'm okay. I think it's just a broken rib," She replied.

"You don't look okay at all. What happened?" I questioned gravely. Elizabeth grimaced.

"I don't really remember. All I remember is Andy and I were almost able to escape, we were surrounded by Cyclopes, and one was going to hit Andy with the bat so I stood in front of Andy and got hit instead. Try to avoid letting a Cyclopes hit you with a bat, just for future reference," Elizabeth tried to laugh but shut her eyes in pain.

"Will, Fi, and I are on our way there. Do you know where you are?"

"No, I haven't got a clue. All I know is we are somewhere underground. Luke? How am I talking to you?"

"It's an empathy link. I c-"

"Luke! Break it immediately!" She exclaimed suddenly.

"Why?"

"Because if I die, then you die! I don't want that to happen!" Elizabeth cried.

"Don't even say that Elizabeth. I- I don't want to live without you," I said quietly. Elizabeth looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.

"Luke, please don't say that."

"Why not? Is it a crime?" I asked. "Elizabeth, you're my best friend so forget about it. I'm not breaking it until I see you again. And I WILL see you again, I promise."

"The gods will hold you to that promise Luke."

"I know, and I know I will succeed, that's why I said it."

"You always were stubborn." Elizabeth smiled in amusement.

"Look who's talking." I countered. Elizabeth grinned. A bang came from the hallway and Elizabeth's smiling face disappeared.

"Luke, get out of here now. They're coming."

"I will see you again. I promise."

The last thing I saw was Elizabeth looking at me sadly and then the door opening, shedding light in the dark enclosure, blinding me.

I woke up sweating. Looking at the clock next to me, I saw it was four in the morning. I had been asleep for six hours. It had felt like six minutes. I leaned back and closed my eyes. I fell into a fitful sleep with the images of Elizabeth floating around in my mind. I woke up to the sound of a shower. I opened my eyes to find Will in a clean shirt, a different pair of jeans, and him flipping through the TV channels.

"Hey Luke," He said.

"Morning," I replied. Fi came out in a pair of jeans and an Aeropostale tee shirt with her ring that turns into a bow (by twisting it) on her middle finger.

"Your turn Luke," Fi nodded to the bathroom. I stood up, grabbed a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and went to take a shower. It was refreshing to take a shower and I was reenergized. I was going to find Elizabeth. I walked out and the three of us got in the car. I took the front this time while Fi took the back. Will decided we should eat something before we headed to South Carolina. We stopped at an IHOP, also known as the International House of Pancakes. I pigged out on a hamburger and some French fries, same as Will. Fi had a chicken salad and we gave her hell about it. She didn't enjoy our teasing, but we did. Some really ugly women came in the restaurant and one stared at me directly in the eye. The look made a shiver go down my spine. They were monsters, I was sure of it.

"Will, Fi, we need to get out of here. There are monsters over there." I informed them. Will nodded slightly and ordered the waiter to bring the check. Unfortunately, the monsters were already coming over to us. The middle one grinned and a tongue that was obviously not human's snaked out. I shuddered.

"Demigods, you shall die." The one on the right said quietly. I glanced down at my table where I had some horse radish sauce that was way too runny. I picked it up and threw it in her face. Will threw down some cash on the table and we bolted for the door. One of them jumped in front of us. Will grabbed Fi from running straight into it. What we needed was a distraction… and I had the perfect idea.

"FOOD FIGHT!" I yelled, grabbing a pie off of a startled waiter's tray and threw it at the monster. She screeched and we grabbed more food, throwing it at the monsters. All the little kids joined in and I saw one of the monster's get hit in the head by another piece of pie. By the looks of it, pie is a very deadly projectile. Will, Fi and I ran to the door and hopped in Will's truck. Will proceeded to tear out of that parking lot with smoke rising off of the pavement from the friction. In five minutes, the food fight was far behind us.

"Luke, I'm not sure if I should be mad at you or if I should be thanking you." Will said.

"Go with the latter one please and thank you." I replied with a grin. Incredibly, none of us had gotten a piece of food on us.

"Let's just get to Atlanta." Fi declared. The thought of Elizabeth sobered us all up and we went silent. I closed my eyes and went to sleep.

Will's POV

The drive to Atlanta was really, really long but it took us a lesser amount of time because I was driving like Hades himself was after me. We reached Atlanta just as the sun was setting.

I parked my car in a restaurant parking lot and we got out.

"Where do we start looking for her?" Fi asked. Luke had his eyes shut and I was about to ask him what the hell he was doing when his eyes flew open.

"She's being held in the basement of The Rochester Hotel." Luke said immediately.

"How do you know?" I inquired.

"I just do! Come on! It's down the street!" Luke raced off with Fi and me trailing behind him. We reached the hotel and stood there. I took out my sword with a flip of my special coin, Luke uncapped his sword, and Fi twisted her ring so that her bow and her arrows appeared.

"Let's go get Elizabeth." I declared… and we headed into the abandoned hotel.