XII – Jason

The woman led us into a large room. It was dimly lit, with tatty sofas lined against the walls. An old coffee table stood in the centre. Leo and I sat down.

The woman smiled at us warmly before asking, "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

I nodded. Leo shot me a pained look and then nodded too. What was that for?

"I'll just go and make some. Make yourselves at home, dears."

As soon as the woman was out of sight, Leo turned to me.

"We should leave."

"What?"

I couldn't understand why Leo was so desperate to leave. The woman was lovely!

"We aren't safe here, Jason," Leo told me, his voice grave. "There's something strange about that woman."

"Leo, I don't know what you're talking about. She's been wonderful to us. Don't be so ungrateful!"

"She's blinded you, Jason! Don't you see? Everything about her is weird. Why couldn't she just hand us food instead of inviting us in? Why are no poor people here? Does this place look like a homeless shelter to you?"

I stood up, anger erupting like a volcano inside of me. I marched up to Leo, but before I could do anything else, the woman shouted.

"Leo, could you come and help me? The machine isn't working!" The woman called, in a voice like wind chimes.

Leo stood up. Glaring at me, he strode into the other room.

I waited for ages, but Leo didn't return. Where was he? And, wait a second, how did that woman know that he was good at mechanics? Leo was right. Something was fishy about this place.

I stood up. I couldn't hear anything. Weird. It didn't sound like hot chocolate was being made.

I hurried through the door that Leo had gone through. I looked around. I was in a kitchen, all right, but I was alone. There was no hot chocolate machine.

Suddenly, somebody screamed.

It wasn't a playful scream, or a small scream. It was a loud shriek of agony.

Leo!

I listened carefully. It was coming from my right side.

I glanced around. There was a glass door in front of me. I peered through it.

Leo was lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. His face was drained of colour, and his eyes were unfocused. A large rope held him there, cutting into his flesh.

My heart stopped beating as I realised that Leo wasn't alone.

The woman towered above him, brandishing a sharp knife.

My heart stopped beating. This was all my fault. Leo had forewarned me that this place wasn't safe, and I hadn't believed him.

I had to make it right.

What should I do? If I went in there, I would get caught, too. I decided to make a run for it, and try to find Annabeth and Piper. They could help me safe him.

I didn't have much time.

Sweat drenching my face, I sprinted through the shelter.

I wrenched open the front door, and raced outside.

My legs ached. I paused for a second in the street, catching my breath.

A hard hand clamped down on my shoulder.

"Going somewhere?"

Author's note: Sorry about the wait! I had exams. I should be able to update much quicker now. Please review and tell me what you think :)

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