Chapter 21

I was standing back in John's castle. The lab was clean and there was a huge machine sitting on the left side of the room. It looked like something out of a Sci-Fy movie. The machine almost looked like a...ring, I guess. Below the ring was a bunch of computers and tech stuff like that. In the ring, there was what looked like something to hold hands and feet. Suddenly a door opened. A couple of Demigod Hunters came in, two of them carrying Thalia. They lifted her up in the machine and strapped her hands and feet in. Five Demigod Hunters were at the controls. John and Cain came in to the room. John stood in front of the ring. Mark pushed a table to John. Then John laid down on the table and Mark strapped him in.

A scientist hit a red button and blue lightning shimmered through the ring. Jason put IVs in John's arms. The IVs came from the ring. Suddenly Thalia screamed in pain. The lightning was traveling through her body. It flickered under her skin. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. "She's unstable!" Jason shouted.

"Don't let her die on us now!" John yelled.

Jason hit a bunch of buttons. "Stable," he sighed.

I looked at John. He groaned in pain. I could see the lightning through the IVs. What the hell was happening? Thalia was still screaming in pain. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?" she screamed.

John was crying out now too. His body was thrashing around violently. I looked at his eyes. They had rolled back into his head. My head shot toward Thalia again. She was desperately trying to pull free of the machine. Tears poured down her cheeks. But they weren't tears, like water tears. No, they were tears of blood. It wasn't only her eyes that had blood coming out of them, she sounded like she was almost choking on blood in her mouth. Blood ran down the sides of her mouth.

Then everything stopped. John's eyes were closed. Steam came off his body. Thalia hung limp in the ring. Jason and Mark rushed over to John. Cain stood motionless in the doorway. "John!" Mark shouted.

John grunted and opened his eyes. "D-Did it work?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jason said and unstrapped John from the table.

John sat up and got off the table. Scientists unstrapped Thalia from the ring. She fell and hit the ground hard. But she didn't seem to feel. Was she alive? "What about the girl?" John growled.

Mark knelt down and felt Thalia's pulse, "Alive."

"How do you feel, John?" Cain asked.

"I feel great," John grinned.

He extended his hand. There was a clap of thunder and lightning shot out of John's hand. It slammed into Mark. Mark hit the back wall and slid to the ground. My heart stopped. Thalia had shot lightning at me before, but I'm sure that was nothing compared to what John just did. Cain ran over to Mark."He's dead," Cain stammered.

Oh my gods. John had found a way to take demigod powers. There was no telling what he could do if...it hit me like a ton of bricks. John's plan; why he had wanted Thalia, Nico, and I so badly. He wanted to take our powers and use them for his own selfish needs. Lightning flickered in John's eyes. "I think it worked rather well," John smiled. "Wouldn't you say Perseus Jackson?" John looked right at me and shot a lightning bolt at me.

"Percy!" a voice called.

I opened my eyes to see Annabeth looking at me with concern. Her hands were holding my face. Sweat dripped off my forehead. "Sorry," I said and grabbed her wrists.

"What was the dream about this time?" Annabeth sighed.

I was about to tell her, then I noticed Nico wasn't there. "Where's Nico?" I demanded.

"H-He just went to go get a drink," Annabeth said. "Why? What's wrong?"

"I can't explain now." I stood up. "But I have to find Nico before they do."

I dashed out of the room. A nurse was still cleaning up the water and I stopped to ask her where Nico was. "Excuse me, but have you seen a boy, black hair, probably wearing a black shirt with a skull on it. He's this tall." I showed her how tall he would be.

"Nope, sorry, hun." she shook her head.

I continued to run down the hallway. Gods, I hoped that hadn't found him. "Nico!" I yelled.

I crashed into someone when I quickly glanced in a room. "Ow!" Nico yelped.

"Nico! Thanks gods they didn't get you," I said.

"What are you talking about, Jackson?" Nico asked me.

When we got back to the room, I told Annabeth and Nico everything. About how John had taken Thalia's powers and how he somehow knew I was there. "So what you're saying is, John wants to take the powers of the children of the Big Three's powers and use them to destroy the gods?" Nico said.

"Yeah," I nodded. "There's no telling what he could do with that kind of power. I saw him kill Mark with one hit. And Thalia...I'm not sure if she'll be alive when and if we ever find her."

Annabeth bit her lip. I knew it was hard for her to hear that Thalia might already be dead. "We have to go get her," Annabeth said.

I looked at Nico. "What?" he asked.

"How would you like to Shadow Travel again?" I smiled.

He frowned. "I hate Shadow Traveling! It always makes me feel like I have a hangover!"

"Please, Nico?" Annabeth asked in a sweet voice.

Nico's face turned bright red. "S-Sure."

"Great. I'm going to use the bathroom down the hall," I told them.

As I walked down the hall, a hand touched my shoulder. I whipped around only to find Annabeth. "You scared the shit out of me," I growled. "If you're going to ask me, if you can go with us, the answer is no."

"But why?" Annabeth protested.

"Because of that wound," I hissed. "I don't want you to get hurt anymore."

She put her hand on the side of my face. "Percy, please?" she asked in a small voice.

I gripped her wrist. "No. Annabeth, please don't ask me again."

Annabeth pursed her lips. I wrapped her into a hug and we kissed passionately for a few seconds. I broke the kiss and pressed my forehead to Annabeth's. "Just come back, okay?" she closed her eyes.

"I will, I promise," I told her.

I let go of her and started walking toward the bathroom. When I got there I locked the door behind me. I flipped the sink on and threw a coin in the water. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering," I chanted.

An image of Chiron appeared. "Percy! Thank gods it's you!" Chiron said.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?" I demanded.

"Percy, I'm sorry..." Chiron's voice trailed off.

"Sorry? About what?" I asked.

"Some campers...didn't make it."

"What? Who?"

"The bombs started going off after Mr. Chase dropped the your friends off. We had just started helping Connor with his wounds. The first bombs went off. All the campers raced out of the camp but...Connor didn't make it."

My heart sank. "What about the others?"

"Travis is wounded but alive. Percy, you'll have to tell Annabeth...Malcolm didn't make it either. Katie Garner and Jake Mason died because they were standing right next to a bomb when it went off. They didn't feel any pain; the shock would have killed them instantly." Chiron said in a sad voice.

I hung my head. It was my fault they were dead. It was my fault Travis didn't have a brother anymore. It was my fault for ever trusting Tom and Josh, because of me Annabeth lost her brother. It was my fault Katie and Jake were killed in the explosion. If I hadn't sent them on that plane they would still be alive. "What about Grover and the others?" I asked.

"They escaped with minor wounds. How are Thalia, Nico and Annabeth?"

"The Demigod Hunters took Thalia. I know why they want Thalia, Nico and I. John wants our powers. I saw him steal Thalia's powers then kill a guy named Mark. I think he's going to use our powers to somehow destroy the gods."

"Yes. You are probably right. In that case, I want you to be on guard, be aware of the people around you. We can't rist you or Nico being captured."

"Chiron, they have Thalia. From what I saw, she looks like she could dead any second," I said. "Nico and I are going after her."

"No!" Chiron snarled. "If you go back there, you'll be playing right into John's hands. They took Thalia because they knew you and Nico would come after her. It's a trap."

"I know that," I snapped. "But I will not stand by and let Thalia die."

"Is Annabeth coming with you?" Chiron asked.

"I told her she couldn't because she isn't completely healed yet," I said.

"Percy, it might be a good idea to take Annabeth," Chiron told me. "If you and Nico get your powers taken, you're going to be weak. So Annabeth could help you if that happens."

"Yeah, or she could get killed."

Chiron knew he couldn't convince me. "Well, just make sure you kill John. We don't want him killing anymore demigods than he already has."

"I'll try," I said and waved my hand through the image and it faded.

"Alright, Nico, you ready to go?" I asked.

"Sadly, yes."

"Just keep in mind you can't rest when we get there," I told him. "I'll need your help to find Thalia." I turned to Annabeth. "I'll see you in a little bit, with Thalia," I smiled.

Annabeth smiled weakly and gave me a hug. "Keep your promise," she said as she pulled away from me.

"I will." I grabbed the sleeve of Nico's jacket and then I was surrounded by darkness. Strange noises were all around me. My face felt like it was going to be torn off. Then I saw a light. Nico and I were standing in front of the castle. Cold wind blew in my face. Before we even opened the door, hands grabbed us.. Someone hit with a cub in the back of my head. It must of had that stupid blue lightning because I felt it and blacked out.