Okay, so you want the truth?

I ditched the battle-armor about half-way through the tunnel. I mean, it was really hard to sneak through an underground labyrinth of death when it sounded like your clothes needed oil. I kind of felt like the tin-man from The Wizard of Oz in it anyway.

It was almost as if I wanted to have a brain all of a sudden... or was it a heart he needed? Ir was he the one that Dorothy carried the whole way—no, wait, that was her dog, the one named after salad dressing. Than what was I looking for? A lung, maybe?

I caught myself. Of course, I was one of the lucky few half-bloods who didn't have to live with ADHD or dyslexia. But still, my mind wandered off all the time.

Who's brilliant idea had it been to split up, anyway? Hadn't Scooby- Doo taught us anything? Splitting up only resulted in chaos... and that Wilma needed to get contacts.

It was dark and cold in the tunnels. I was wearing my last change of clothes—khaki shorts and a white T-shirt, and was regretting it. I wished I'd brought something black—that way it would've been harder to see me. But, alas...

It was almost like a cave—which it pretty much was, except I don't recall Yogi having armed forces in his cave...

But I honestly couldn't see anything. It was like when the electricity goes off at midnight, and you have those creepy thoughts about how the killer from the horror movie you'd watched before you went to bed had cut the phone lines and shut off your power so you'd be the next victim. 'Cept I was feeling the cave wall and hoping I wouldn't run into any freaky Titan monsters that would scare me to the point I wet myself.

I stopped cold all of a sudden. I could hear voices from Zeus-only-knows where. I could tell they were voices, though. They were very faint. My eyes focused in on a dim light that I could see now. Flames danced on the cave roof and the floors and walls.

The voices were clearer now—it was the voice of a woman arguing with a man. She seemed more angry than he did, however. Sweat began to trail down my face, and my heart-rate picked up. I'd managed to get past a few guards unnoticed, I'd even stabbed one in the back with his own knife... long story. But, I didn't know what to do now. There was more light in this part of the tunnel than any others, and it sounded like there were people with power.

"—ran into them in an airport in Vegas! They were on their way here! You'd be a fool not to protect the fleece."

My blood ran cold when I realized who the woman's voice belonged to.

"What were you doing in Vegas, Hecate?" the man's snide voice said. "You know you have a gambling problem."

"I do not!" she snapped. "One more comment like that, and I'll turn you into a pine cone!"

I was standing outside what seemed to be the room the light was coming from, my body pressed against the outside wall, listening in. My hand went to the pencil in my pocket, just in case.

"I've told you a thousand times," the man continued. I could hear him moving around the room. "There's nothing for you to worry about, the fleece is guarded 'round the clock."

"I've seen the guards you're using," Hecate told him, using a tone as if he were a pathetic little rat. "Two of the scrawniest demi-gods I've seen. A three-year old could get past them. And who do you use when they're off-duty? A chimpanzee? I demand you upgrade your security."

"Oh," the man sounded offended. "You demand? What grounds allow you to do that?!"

"The grounds that I'm a goddess, and you are but a mere in-breed immortal son of Atlas."

"A minor goddess, need I mind you. Not powerful nor near important enough to have her own throne on Olympus."

Hecate slammed her fist on a table or something—I couldn't' see what they were doing. "How dare you!"

"No, Lady Hecate!" the son of Atlas replied. "How dare you! You come to my fortress in which I have been chosen to protect by Kronos himself, and you start making demands like your the bloody queen of England!"

"I'm just trying to protect the fleece!" Hecate shouted. "In which you seem to have no interest in whatsoever!"

"I have plenty of interest in the relic! I just don't see the need in placing more protection on it against two teenagers who have probably been killed by something already. Which brings me to an interesting question—why didn't you kill them in Nevada, Lady Hecate?" Upon asking his last question, his voice calmed from angry, to a mocking tone.

"The boy called in his mother," Hecate said with daggers in her voice. "I swear, when I see that pepped-up bleach-blonde midget again, I'm going to kill her with a spell I haven't used in a thousand years." she paused. "Which reminds me, what if he calls in his mother again? Surely your two guards can't hold their own to a goddess, no matter how insane she may be."

I was getting a little ticked that she kept dissing my mother. I mean, sure, she had her flaws, but, at least she didn't look like a 50-year old former-biker and chain-smoker.

Before the son of Atlas could answer, Hecate spoke up again. "And I can't even imagine what it would be like if the girl's mother finally decided she'd take responsibility for her failure and claim the little monster."

"Who is the girl's mother?"

I leaned in closer, my heart was pounding faster. Would Hecate really say Tristen's Olympian parent's name? Would I be able to finally tell Tristen who she is?

"Why, her mother is—" Hecate began, but her voice was drowned out.

"Hey!" A teenager screamed from across the cave, and instantly, I took off in a run. "Stop! Identify yourself!"

I could hear their feet pounding the floor behind me, and I chanced a look. They were passing where I had just been standing, and the light hit their faces. There were two of them, a boy and a girl, the girl a little taller than the boy, both wearing leather armor and wielding a sword.

I suddenly tripped. I don't know why. I just.. tripped. I scrambled to my feet and realized that if I ran, they'd catch me. My only hope was to fight. By this time, Hecate and the burly son of Atlas were making their way into the hallway to see what the commotion was about.

The boy charged me, as my spear was still expanding into its true form, but, I could see where his blow was headed, and I dodged it, sparks flew from the stone wall as the sword struck it. He went for a second blow, and this time, I was ready, and I parried the blow and returned it with the butt of my spear, jabbing him in the nose.

He writhed back in pain, and the girl approached me, slow and steady, holding her sword extended to level with my head. But there was something about it... it was glowing a brilliant purple glow. Just looking at it made me feel all fuzzy and warm—like I was high.

I was distracted for too long. She whipped the sword and screamed a word in Greek, and I fell to the floor. I couldn't move at all—couldn't do anything voluntary. I could only breathe... but just barely.

I couldn't feel their touch as they lifted me, the girl by the arms and the boy by the legs, and dragged me into the room that Hecate and the fortress commander led them into.

Luckily, I was numb all over, and couldn't feel the pain as they dropped me to the floor. Hecate stood over me, and smiled her greasy, yellow smile.

"Jake, how lovely to see you," she teased.

I tried to say something sarcastic, like, too bad I can't say the same. But I couldn't' move my lips. I got a good look at the two guards that had beaten me so easily, one was a girl, she seemed Hispanic with long, black hair—she was the one with the glowing sword. The other was a pale kid with glasses and jet-black hair.

Hecate looked at them as well. "I thought you two were supposed to be guarding the fleece?" she hissed.

"So we took a coffee break," the girl said. "Chill, mom."

Mom? Who in their right mind would reproduce with Hecate?

"Don't talk to me like that," Hecate demanded, she looked back down at me with a satisfied smile. "What did you use on him?"

"Just a minor immobilization spell. It should wear off in a while..." She explained.

Hecate snapped, and suddenly, I could feel the cold cave floor pressed against my body, and I could Hecate's hot breath on my face—which was not at all pleasant.

"Jake," Hecate said with false heartiness. "Have a seat." she picked me up by the shoulders, and slammed me into a seat at a small round table—which was the only thing in the cave-room besides the four chairs. "Don't move."

I looked around the room. It was lit by small brazers and torches set in a decorative tone. But, other than that, it looked like a cave. A boring, simple cave.

"Who's this clown?" the girl asked.

Hecate made sure that the big bald son of Atlas guy was paying attention. "This, is Jake, son of the goddess of luck, and the wannabe retriever of the Golden Fleece." She turned her attention to me. "So, where's your girlfriend?"

There was a silence.

"You're not even going to snap at me for calling her your girlfriend?"

I was too caught up to tell her that this time it was true. I was trying to think of something to say. Like, where to tell her Tristen was. This time—and only this time, was I lucky my mouth was a couple seconds ahead of my brain.

"She's dead." I said. My own voice sounded hoarse to even me.

"Dead?" Hecate said with disbelief. "I highly doubt that. She was the good fighter."

I ignored that extremely rude comment. "It's true. We were attacked by the Eyrmanthian boar in San Fransisco. We tried to jump to a trolley for safety, but it was raining, and Tristen slipped and fell into the streets, right in front of the boar, and he dragged her off..."

Hecate stared at me for a long time, having taken a seat herself. She was probably trying to tell if I was lying or not. Finally, she looked over where the two teenage guards were standing.

"You, freakish boy with the glasses, give the order to start an immediate search on a blue-haired girl." Hecate ordered.

"Hey!" the commander said. "I give the orders around here. But, yeah, do what she said..." And the boy scurried out of the room.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" I asked.

He leaned in from across the table. "I am the guardian of the Titans, the fist of fury, the watchful eye of Kronos, the Fortress keeper and Olympian smasher, son of Atlas, Joe."

I raised an eyebrow. "Joe?"

"Yeah." He growled. "Joe, you got a problem with it?"

"No," I told him, not at all intimidated. "I just thought it'd be something more... ancient and majestic."

"Yeah? Well you thought wrong, ballerina." He said.

"So, Joe, what punishment do you think best suits Jake?" Hecate asked.

"I dunno'." Joe said. "What has he done?"

"Humiliated me." Hecate told him.

"Ah... well for that, he deserves a pat of the back."

Joe and Hecate suddenly seemed to lose focus, before Hecate could respond. And suddenly, they fell limp to the floor. I looked to see the girl's sword leveled to the table we were sitting at. I sat there, stunned.

"You gonna' just sit there?" she asked. "You want the Fleece or not?"

I stood, still shocked. She gestured with her head towards a doorway that lead out. "It's down that corridor, in the last room. It should still be unguarded. I don't know why my mom didn't make us go back..."

"Um... thanks. Why are you doing this?" I asked.

She looked down at her mom with her big, brown eyes. "This is what she gets for making me quit school, for making me leave my home, my friends, and my dad that actually cared, all to train me how to use attack magic and make me stand next to a piece of cloth magic. Now go. I don't know how long this will last."

She didn't need to tell me again. I took off down the hallways she'd told me to go down. It was barely lit, but I could see where it molded from a hallway, into a giant room that didn't need lighting from the fire—it was already lit by the fleece.

It was just as I remembered. A beautiful piece of golden luminescent cloth that lit up the dark. Just looking at it filled me with hope, and joy, and all the things that I shouldn't feel in a life-or-death situation like this. It sat on a podium that looked as if it were made of the rock from the cave itself, draped over it like a blanket.

I saw a backpack that must've belonged to one of the guards, and yanked it up. I knew not to touch the Fleece with my hands, so I pressed the bag up against the rock and let it slide in, and zipped it up. And the light turned to dark.

And just like in the horror movie I mentioned earlier, as soon as it was dark, I heard the gunshot.