Hi, friends. So here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long! Hopefully, this monster of a chapter would make up for lost time. We are getting very close to the end here. This whole chapter was going to be way bigger but hey, things change. The end is near.
So I'd kinda like to address the reviews. While I greatly appreciate them and adore to read them, I really dislike the reviews pressuring me to update sooner. I get that I left the story on a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger was intentional, my absence was not. I am a full-time college student. This story is my hobby, not my job. It just really annoys me when I get a notification almost daily asking me to update this story. You guys will have to trust me when I say that I will finish this story. I have the ending planned and it will happen. Please stop demanding for updates.
I will respond to a few in particular that were constructive criticism:
To guest suggesting I include BoO references: personally, I don't see how BoO would be incorporated into the story. With the way it is going to play out, it's just...not really relevant? I mean, it's relevant to Percy and Annabeth's story, but it's not relevant to THIS story. Besides, BoO was a terrible book, in my opinion. If I made BoO references, it would be my adjustments to the book and my own personal headcanons of how things really should have turned out. I was very disappointed with that book.
auraofcalm: yeah, tbh, I'm not proud of my villains. You are right. I developed them as I later wrote chapters in this story, so I couldn't introduce them earlier. If I could have introduced them earlier, they would be better developed as real characters and not so cartoonishly evil. That's the one thing I would change in this story. But, also, the villains were never a primary focus in the story. This story was about Emma and Percy. The scientists just happen to be there to threaten them haha. I hope that these baddies won't be the reason to turn you away from the story. I'd rather it be the actual story to turn you away than some minor characters.
Without further ado,
Bright white lights shone mercilessly into Emma's eyes and over her mermaid form. Her eyelids ached for squinting so much, trying to make out the figures beyond the lights. Two people wore face masks and white coats that reflected the lights harshly as they hovered over her. The sedative had worn off Emma and her entire skin and every scale stung horribly from the sanitation process.
The scientists had now moved onto the physical. Emma was pinned to a frigid steel table with cuffs digging into her wrists and the base of her tail. Not only was the blonde drenched in sweat from the lights and the pain of being plucked at, but sprinkler heads hung below the lights over the mermaid. Every two minutes-Emma counted each passing second-the scientists would step back and sprinklers would spray a mist of water over her entire figure.
When Emma was moved from her tank, although her muscles were heavy and unmoving, she tried to take in as much of her surroundings as possible. Her blue eyes studied every feature she could find. Outside of the room didn't look much different than it did inside. The walls were all white and blank. There were, however, room numbers and arrows to different numbered corridors. There was no way to tell what was behind the closed doors so the numbers were practically meaningless to her.
Two agonizing minutes had finally passed again. The scientists looming over took a step back and Emma stole the fleeting moment and craned her neck to look at her surroundings. Blank walls. There was a person in a white coat on each side of her. Blank cabinets. Directly across from her was a long, table that she guessed was a giant computer board with another person in a white coat standing behind it and punching buttons. Blank tiled floor. The mist sprayed and Emma had to squeeze her eyes shut. She jerked her upper half of her body, desperate to be free from the torturous experiments. A sharp pain jolted her in each wrist when she strained against them, so sharp she cried out as if someone took a knife to her flesh. She swallowed a sob and the scientists rejoined her side chuckling.
"You're making it far harder on yourself by resisting, dear," Dr. Swanson's muffled voice goaded from Emma's right. Emma lowered her head back against the table and held her breath.
"Hand me a scalpel, will you?" Dr. Finely asked Swanson. He swapped his tweezers for a shiny, sharp scalpel that had Emma's blood run cold.
"What? No!" she cried out. She thrashed her body again and felt the stabbings in her wrists. Her fingers curled and uncurled wildly as best as she could, trying to will her element to appear in any shape or form. No magic happened.
"We need to sedate her again." Swanson placed rubber gloved hands on Emma's shoulder and ribcage to still her and Finley brought the knife to her bare abdomen. A shriek ripped from her throat as the metal tore her flesh.
"One 'Siren's Song,'" Percy announced as his head and Annabeth's broke the surface of the ocean. Their bodies floated next to the large yacht gliding over the waves. "Wow, this is way out from shore."
"Because they're trying to get away with Emma. Question is, why her? And her friends?" Annabeth mused.
"We're about to find out. Whoever kidnapped her is in serious trouble." Annabeth noticed Percy glowered darkly when they were under the water. He grumbled the whole way about how angry he was at Emma's kidnapper and how he was going to make them pay. She knew that underneath all that anger and hostility, the demigod was worried sick.
"Let me up first," Annabeth commanded.
"No, I'll go first."
"I got my cap. I'll scope out the place and then tell you when it's safe to come up, got it?" Percy rolled his eyes.
"Just be careful, okay?"
"Always, Seaweed Brain."
Reluctantly, Percy summoned the water to lift Annabeth up the ship's hull. She reached forward and grabbed the deck's railing and peered over cautiously. The deck was empty and she signaled a thumbs up to her boyfriend. The water lifted Annabeth higher and she pulled herself fully onto the deck of the ship.
Immediately, the daughter of Athena dropped to her knees, unzipped her backpack, and drew her Yankees cap. She secured it over her head and an instant later, her figure seemingly vanished. Now that she was invisible, Annabeth jogged along the shiny floors and tried to take in as much of her surroundings as possible. It seemed like there was an endless number of identical doors.
When she rounded a corner, it didn't look any different than the way she had come from. There was a pair of males donned in white lab coats deep in conversation strolling straight towards Annabeth. They didn't see Annabeth, not that she expected them to, and silently side-stepped around the pair when they passed her. Her scrutinizing gaze followed them and they disappeared behind one of the doors.
Instead of following behind the men, Annabeth went back to the railing she climbed over. Percy was where she left him in the water, but he looked prepared to take down Kronos's army. Annabeth lifted her cap off her head and waved him up.
Not a second later, Percy had propelled himself with a column of water over the railing and landed with a loud thud at Annabeth's side. As he straightened himself, he pulled his pen from his pocket and uncapped it, transforming into his Celestial Bronze sword.
"Shh!" she shushed. "We have to split up."
"What? No way!" he protested.
"This place is too big, Percy. We'll just have to split up and we'll meet up on the main deck up there," Annabeth pointed to the open deck space above.
"And what do I do if I run into somebody?"
"Try to snag a lab coat and pretend to be a scientist. Or a doctor. I saw a couple just a few minutes ago."
"What kind of place is this? Why would Emma be here?"
"I don't know. But we'll find her, Percy. She's around here somewhere. We'll get her and get out," Annabeth reassured. Percy nodded. He leaned forward and briefly pressed his lips to Annabeth. She returned his kiss only for a moment before breaking and stepping away.
"I'll see you soon, 'kay?" Percy said. Annabeth smiled and pulled the cap over her head, turning invisible once more.
"'Kay."
The demigods went in separate directions. Percy decided to cap Riptide, even though the Mist would have disguised it. After scanning his surroundings, he found the depressing stairwell to the upper levels of the ship and made his ascent. He pushed open the first door he saw after the first flight of stairs and stumbled into sunlight once again.
On the second deck level, Percy didn't have a chance to explore. He barely took his first steps and he heard an angry voice yell from down the hall, "hey!"
Percy didn't want to turn around. He didn't want to see the irritated, and perhaps slightly disappointed, adult heading his way. He's had enough of that from high school alone. Very slowly, his neck twisted around and he saw exactly what he expected. Only, this adult was dressed in a lab coat like Annabeth had described. Percy couldn't help but throw his hands up in frustration.
"Well, shit."
When Emma was taken, Cleo resurfaced in her tank and it felt as though she was being stabbed in the chest when she was carried out. Tears flowed from her eyes and she looked at Rikki, who had herself propped up against the fake rock in her tank.
"They're going to cut her open," the brunette sobbed. "They're going to hurt her so bad."
Rikki closed her eyes and tried to keep her breakfast from visiting her. Her skin and scales still stung but nothing compared to the hateful feelings that were building inside her. She hated this. She hated how vulnerable she was, how trapped, how weak and defenseless. She hated how someone as sweet as Cleo was experiencing this. She hated how someone as innocent as Emma was getting cut open by a bunch of doctors for the sake of having research. She hated that terrible things were being done to her and her friends and she was entirely powerless to stop it.
After an hour-which felt like an eternity to Cleo and Rikki-the security guards did something peculiar. It was weird enough that they circled the tanks for as long as they have without taking a break. Rikki and Cleo had gotten so used to them that they didn't realize how strange it was until they stopped.
Altogether, Sharp, Stone, and Pond stopped in their tracks. They looked around and Rikki wondered what they could possibly be looking for because there was absolutely nothing in this room but whiteness and tanks. All three of them took a moment to sniff the air before looking at each other, their expressions unfazed and as blank as the walls.
"There's demigods here," Sharp announced. Without saying another word or even so much as glancing at the two mermaids, the trio briskly left the room. Rikki and Cleo's features were puzzled and they looked at each other in bewilderment.
"What was that about?" Rikki asked the brunette. Cleo shook her head slowly and uncertainly. Demigods. She just heard that word before. That's what Percy would be, right? Half god, half human. But what does Percy have to do with anything? What does demigods have to do with anything?
"I don't know-but it can't be good."
Annabeth remained on the first level. She silently made her way around the deck and scanned for anything unusual, since the walls were blank and all the doors were identical, save for numbered signs and staircase signs. She did come across large letters hanging on the wall between two doors reading, "The L.A.I.U.S. Project."
She arched an eyebrow.
"There is nothing on 'Siren's Song,'" Lewis announced. He and Ash sat at a table inside the JuiceNet cafe while Zane paced impatiently behind them. Lewis had before him a laptop, which he typed as much as he could to pull any information possible on the supposed yacht that held the mermaids captive.
"There has to be something," Ash protested. Lewis shook his head and continued scrolling through his searches.
"Nada."
"Goddammit, Lewis!" Zane growled.
"Hey, he's trying!" Ash snapped in Lewis's defense. "I don't suppose you got any other bright ideas, huh?"
"We're going to accomplish nothing if we keep arguing," Lewis reminded. "Zane, is there anything you remember?"
"I told you everything. I got the phone call, they were looking for my dad for an investment, I met up with them and they attacked me before getting on a big yacht and on their way into the open ocean," Zane explained.
"Who called you? Do you remember their name?" Lewis asked. Zane rubbed his chin in thought.
"It was a woman," he moved his hand to the back of his neck. "Doctor. Swanson. She was old. Brownish hair in a bun. Wore a pantsuit. Two big guys followed behind her. I think her first name was Cecelia."
Lewis began typing on the keyboard again and remained silent. Zane and Ash watched the blond intensely, waiting for him to announce that he's figured out where the girls are and how to rescue them, but Lewis did no such thing and remained focused on the screen.
"Well? Anything?" Ash pleaded.
"Mmmm…" came Lewis's reply, as he was deep in thought. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Aha! I found something!"
"What is it?"
"Dr. Cecelia Swanson is the vice president of the L.A.I.U.S. Project-"
"The what project?"
"Laius. L-A-I-U-S. But where have I heard that name before?" he paused. "Dr. Denman worked for them!"
"What?!" Zane cried. Ash furrowed his brow.
"Who's Dr. Denman?"
"Long story," Zane and Lewis said in unison.
"The L.A.I.U.S. Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping marine life," Lewis read from the screen. "However, it is banned in fifty-two countries for fraud, abuse, and creating illegal technologies."
"What?"
"So, basically, this organization is supposed to be non-profit, but it's not. They perform unethical experiments on marine animals, rather than actually helping them. On top of it all, they've been making illegal weapons."
"So, basically, the girls are in very serious danger?" Ash asked. Lewis nodded reluctantly and Zane threw his head back in frustration.
"Are they banned here?" Zane asked.
"Yeah, looks like it."
"Okay, so they've been kidnapped by the L.A.I.U.S. Project and they're on a boat called the Siren's Song," Ash said slowly. "Any way of using this information and finding them?"
Lewis finally looked up from his screen to look at Ash sadly. He swallowed. "Not a clue."
It was difficult to expect anything when one is aboard a big boat that is holding teenage girls captive for no apparent reason. Annabeth refused to say her assumptions, fearing that she would upset Percy and or that she would be right. In this instance, she did not want to be right. Annabeth knew that Emma is a perfectly normal, bright girl. As were Cleo and Rikki. What could people possibly want with three teenage girls? And where were they taking them? They were obviously getting shipped off somewhere and Annabeth's best, and most hated, guess was that the three girls were going to be sold into human trafficking.
The blonde tried to keep moving as quickly and quietly as possible to find them. When she entered a certain room and flipped on the switch, the daughter of Athena didn't know how to react at the sight.
It appeared to be a lab empty of people. Judging by the equipment and supplies that littered the room, it had to be a place where things were built or assembled or something of the sort. There were all kinds of strange technologies. Fishing nets of all different shapes, sizes, and colors hung on the walls. There were long sticks also hanging on the wall with loops at the end, the kind that go around an animal's neck at the zoo to restrain them.
Annabeth approached the countertop and found a metal ring the size of a basketball resting upon it. Unsure of what it actually was, she picked it up and examined it closely. Suddenly, the ring was activated and it sprung from Annabeth's hands, opening into a W-shape. It dropped to the floor and Annabeth leapt back. The ring closed itself, sliding slightly against the smooth tile, and then sparks began to fly from it. Annabeth, startled, stumbled backwards. She quietly waited for the electricity to stop flying from the metal object before taking a step closer towards it. However, just as the shocking ceased, two spikes shot out from the inside of the ring.
After a moment of nothing else happening, Annabeth pulled out her dagger and knelt beside the strange metal ring. With her dagger, she poked the device cautiously.
"Alright, I know what this looks like. Just some random guy like me-clearly not an Australian-walking around this very clean place," Percy chatted, keeping his voice nonchalant. "But it's not what it looks like. I'm actually, uh, here...for a tour?"
The two scientists exchanged unconvinced looks. The taller one said to the other, "call for security."
The shorter scientist nodded and walked away, leaving Percy with the taller scientist.
"Aw, c'mon, man. You don't need to call security, do you?" Percy complained. "I'm just an ordinary guy after all. Can't we just work things out?"
"How did you get on this ship? We made extra procedures to make sure there weren't any stowaways. Where could you have hidden yourself when we departed?" he demanded. Percy rubbed the back of his neck.
"I, uh, took a boat here, sir," hey, if the guy wasn't going to believe him, Percy may as well just run with it? "My boat is around here somewhere…" Percy looked around and leaned over the edge of the railing. He tried to crane his neck to see any sign of Annabeth on the lower deck but it was impossible. "I think my boat's gone! It must have drifted away! Oh well. I guess I'll just have to stay here with you guys then. Or you'll have to take me all the way back to shore. In the meantime, how 'bout that tour?"
"Enough games, kid," the scientist lashed out and seized Percy's wrist. Before the man could do more, Percy's free hand swung a powerful fist into the scientist's face. The man was sent back reeling, his hands releasing Percy and flying to his nose as he howled in pain. Percy swiftly grabbed one of his arms, pinned it behind his back, and used his free hand to secure it around his neck as he shoved the scientist against the white wall.
"Where's Emma Gilbert?" the demigod hissed. "Where is she?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Percy adjusted his grip and bent the man's arm into a more painful position. The grunt from the scientist confirmed such.
"Enough games," Percy repeated. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You don't want to do the hard way, now do you? I'm going to ask you again-where's Emma?"
The man remained silent. Percy pursed his lips impatiently and then pushed against his arm a little bit further. The scientist let out a yell. If Percy persisted anymore, he was going to snap the arm.
"Lab A! She's in Lab A!"
"Why is she in there?"
Suddenly, something whizzed past the back of Percy's head. Percy blinked, unsure of what it was, and released his hold on the scientist. He looked at where the object had landed and spotted a spike driven into the shiny wood of the deck. The demigod's shoulders sagged at the familiarity of the spike.
"Thank goodness you're finally here!" the scientist ran in the opposite direction. Sharp and Pond both stood at the opposite end of the deck.
When the scientist neared, both the man and the woman's bodies shifted and changed. Their heads remained the same, but everything below transformed into lion-like features. The male had a distinct scorpion's tail with a spike identical to the one shot at Percy.
The scientist skidded to a halt in his tracks, his body freezing at the sight of the two's transformation into monsters.
"Wha-what-what are you-" before he could sputter more, the manticore seized his throat with a large paw-like hand, claws digging into his flesh. In the next instant, the scientist was thrown over the railing.
"It's been a long time since I've had a demigod," the manticore growled.
"They're the perfect dessert," the sphinx added gruffly.
"Really?" Percy groaned as he uncapped Riptide.
The daughter of wisdom made her way deeper into the ship. Annabeth was getting impatient and attempting every door she could for any clue to where Percy's cousin and her friends could be. However, some doors were locked, some were just supply closets, a cargo bay, and one lead to a boiler room.
Annabeth tried a door handle but it didn't budge, locked. Her shoulders slumped and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. Another dead end. Next to the door on the wall was a softly, red glowing pad for swipe access to get into the room. If this door required a key card or identification to get into, it had to be important; which meant Annabeth had to get in there.
A man with his gaze locked onto a packet of papers in his hands turned down the hallway. The blonde's movements stilled from where she stood, watching him carefully. He didn't see her, not that he would anyway with her invisibility cap on. Hanging from his hip attached to his belt was an ID card. She smiled. The gods were on her side today.
As soon as the man walked passed her, engrossed in his paperwork, her hand lashed out and swiped his badge off him. The motion was swift, silent, and fluid and if the man felt it, he didn't show it and continued on his way. He disappeared around a corner.
Annabeth raised the badge to the access pad and it beeped. The light on the pad turned green and there was a click of a door unlocking. The ID badge was discarded on the floor as if the man had dropped it and Annabeth tiptoed inside quietly and carefully closed the door. When she turned back around, her grey eyes widened and her mouth fell open.
The room was just as white and blank as all the others. It was empty of people and equipment. There was a drain in the middle of the floor. However, inside the room were three large tanks from the floor to the ceiling entirely filled with water. It appeared as though the tanks went through the ceiling into the floor above but Annabeth couldn't see beyond it. All she could see were two large, golden, scaly tails unlike any other fish she's ever seen floating vertically near the top. The third tank appeared to be empty, as far as Annabeth could tell.
Annabeth removed her cap and approached the tanks curiously. She peered upward to see the upper half of the fish and surprised to see that neither one of the tails had an upper half of fish but of humans. Mermaids. Their faces were too difficult to make out. Was Percy aware that there were mermaids aboard this ship?
One of the mermaids flinched and moved. Annabeth was positive she was spotted. The mermaid slipped her head under the water and drifted to where Annabeth stood. A brunette. A brunette with widening doe eyes and pink lips. Annabeth instantly recognized the mermaid's face.
"Cleo?!" Annabeth gasped.
"Annabeth?" Cleo mouthed, her mouth falling open only to be covered by a hand. Annabeth rushed to put her hands up on the glass.
"You're a mermaid?! This whole time?! How did you get in there?!" she demanded. Cleo's hand dropped and she gave a pleading look to Annabeth as she started to hit her palms against the glass. Nothing happened and before Annabeth could question more, Cleo floated to the surface.
"Rikki! Rikki!" Cleo started knocking her knuckles against her glass after surfacing, desperate to obtain the other mermaid's attention. Rikki looked up and furrowed her brows at the brunette.
"What?"
"Annabeth!" Cleo called.
"What?" Rikki brought a hand to her ear, unable to hear or understand Cleo.
"Annabeth's here! She's here!" Cleo yelled loudly and then pointed downward. Rikki had a puzzled expression but went under the water and noticed a person in the room below. Cleo did the same. Annabeth looked over her shoulder and locked gazes with Rikki, alarm immediately spreading across both blondes' features.
"Annabeth?" Rikki mouthed. "What are you doing here?"
"Rikki?!" Annabeth cried. She looked between the two mermaids looking at her desperately as if she was their last and only hope. Annabeth's mind was reeling. Everything started to make sense all of a sudden. But dozens of more questions entered her mind all at the same time. "You're both mermaids? If Cleo and Rikki are mermaids then does that mean-"
Suddenly, a distant roar ripped through the air, silencing Annabeth. Cleo and Rikki exchanged confused yet frightened expressions.
"What was that?" Rikki mouthed. Cleo's eyes resembled a deer in headlights and her lips formed a tight line.
"Oh gods, really?" the demigod groaned. "Please don't be what I think it is."
She turned her face back to the trapped mermaids. There was something out there-a monster, and judging by the roar, a hungry one. It was one that Annabeth knew well-a manticore. First mermaids on a boat and now a manticore? What's next?
"Where's Emma?" she demanded. Cleo and Rikki shrugged worriedly. Annabeth sighed.
The tanks were practically seamless with no sign of a door or a way to open them. Annabeth guessed the way to get mermaids in and out of the tank were on the floor above, the second level of the ship. Did she have time to search a whole second floor to find where Rikki and Cleo were being held? What if the monster barged into here and ate them while Annabeth was looking? They're trapped and completely defenseless.
Annabeth slid her backpack off her shoulders and started fishing through it. There had to be something in there-her dagger, maybe-that was strong enough. Her dagger seemed like her best option. There wasn't time for anything else.
"Okay, you guys, this is going to be rough. Very...very...rough...I'm going to get you guys out of here," Annabeth announced to the pair. Rikki and Cleo glanced at each other uncertainly. Annabeth swallowed. She was about to get very wet.
Annabeth gripped her dagger with two hands and swung it powerfully against the glass of Cleo's tank. The glass was scratched. Annabeth swung again and a crack began to form. A third swing and the crack was enlarged but the tank did not break yet.
Cleo's eyes widened in realization. She raised a hand to stop Annabeth before she could swing a fourth time and motioned her to step back. Annabeth hesitantly did so and once she took a step back, Cleo twisted herself and slammed her tail as hard as she could against the line in the glass. The crack grew to spread outwards all across the glass and a water spout began to form. With another powerful flick of her tail, the tank shattered.
Water and shards of glass flew everywhere. Annabeth shielded her head with her arms. Cleo's form was sucked out of the gaping hole of the tank with the water and she flopped onto the tile and fragments.
"Ow!" Cleo screeched in pain as skin and scales scraped against sharp shards of glass. She bit back another cry as she started to brush the pieces off her elbows and prop herself upright without injecting any more broken glass into her flesh. Annabeth was quick to Cleo's side but the mermaid waved her off with a bleeding hand.
"You have to get Rikki out!" Cleo insisted. Annabeth nodded and straightened herself to face Rikki. The process was repeated but as soon as Rikki was lying next to Cleo on the broken glass, alarms began to blare from above.
"Okay, so...you're not...stuck like that, right? Can you walk on two legs?" Annabeth asked as she started to use her feet to sweep as much glass away from the girls as possible. Once most of the tile was clear, Annbaeth began to pluck pieces from the mermaids' tresses.
Rikki sat up and nodded before raising both of her scraped arms. Her fingers began to curl into her palms and suddenly the room was filled with steam. Annabeth looked around, fully alert, and her grip tightened around her dagger's hilt. Cleo and Rikki looked fairly calm about the sudden steam-as calm as a couple of mermaids can be in this situation.
Cautiously, the demigod backed away from the other two and approached the door. There was still a manticore out there and possibly other people. As carefully as she had when she first entered the room, Annabeth opened the door and poked her head out and scanned the hallway. To her left, the coast was clear. To her right, was the manticore. It was several meters away and sniffing around but when he lifted his head, his beady eyes caught sight of Annabeth before she could retreat.
There was a snarl and then a slam. The manticore's ugly man face snarled and charged at Annabeth, who immediately slammed the door shut and pressed her back against it.
"What was that?" Cleo demanded.
"Well...uh...that depends…" Annabeth huffed. Suddenly, there was a loud scrape along the door from directly behind Annabeth. Annabeth winced.
"On what?" Cleo returned. The manticore clawed at the door relentlessly.
"Getting legs anytime soon would be great!" Annabeth hissed.
"Just...another...second…" Rikki gritted her teeth as both her hands shook from being in such a tight fist. Finally, Cleo and Rikki's orange tails transformed into legs. Immediately, they jumped to their feet and at the sight of the two standing, Annabeth let out a sigh of relief.
Without warning, the manticore slammed its full weight against the door. Annabeth shouted in shock, stumbling forward as the door and manticore came crashing down behind her.
"Whoa!" The manticore had its golden lion body sprawled over the collapsed door. Cleo and Rikki quickly backed away, Rikki grabbing Annabeth by the arm and pulling her further away.
"What is that...thing?" Cleo questioned frantically.
"You can see the manticore?" the demigod asked.
"Duh! Unless it's supposed to be invisible, it's doing a very bad job," Rikki quipped. Three sets of eyes followed the manticore as he pushed himself up with two very large paws.
"I think I'd rather go in the tank…" Cleo whispered. He towered the doorway as he stood properly on his two hind legs. His heterochromatic irises latched onto the three girls backing away carefully to the back wall of the room. He licked his lips hungrily.
"I'll distract him. When I say so, you make a run for it out the door. Don't stop. And don't look back, got it?" Annabeth whispered. The two mermaids nodded.
Their backs hit the wall. The manticore lowered himself onto four legs and very slowly moved towards them. Annabeth took one brave step forward. One moment, the manticore was lowering himself. The next, he pounced across the room, claws and fangs glistening, all pointed to the female demigod. She slashed her dagger at the manticore in his pounce, knocking him down. He swiped a paw at her with an angry growl, which she countered with a block with her dagger. Cleo and Rikki quickly rushed to the side of the room, away from the battle.
The manticore detected their movement, as his brown and blue eyes flickered in their direction. Annabeth caught his eye movement and swung her dagger across his snout.
"Go now!" Annabeth urged over the howl of the manticore. Rikki grabbed Cleo by the wrist and pulled her over the fallen door, out into the corridor. The manticore lunged at Annabeth in fury, which she ducked and rolled out of the way.
"What about Annabeth?" Cleo asked Rikki as they ran down the hallway.
"She told us to run so we're running! She's got a dagger, we don't have anything," Rikki assured.
"We got powers! Maybe we can help!" Cleo pointed out. Rikki looked over her shoulder behind Cleo-prompting Cleo to follow her gaze-the hallway was empty save for an open doorway. Annabeth came thundering out the open doorway. The manticore was not much farther behind her.
"Keep going! Hurry!" Annabeth insisted. Cleo gasped and Rikki tugged her wrist harder.
Something whizzed past Rikki's head, prompting her to cry out and duck her head, but did not slow in her pace. A thorn larger than her hand was lodged in the wall at eye level. Several more were fired, each one missing a girl's head and landing either in the white walls or tiled floor. The hallway ended with a door that opened to a narrow stairwell. The mermaids halted, much to Annabeth's displeasure.
"Let me try something," Cleo offered as Annabeth neared.
Annabeth opened her mouth to protest as she joined Cleo's side but Cleo raised her hand out in front of her, fingers curved into her familiar hand gesture. The manticore came barrelling towards the trio but Cleo squared her shoulders and summoned the largest gust of wind she could muster. Wind blew powerfully from her palm and hit the monster like a truck. The gale sent the manticore flying backwards with his claws raking against the tiles until his back crashed into the opposite end of the corridor.
"Wow," Annabeth breathed. Questions started buzzing in her brain. "We have to hurry and find Emma and Percy. Come on!"
In silent agreement, the three girls were quick to ascend the stairwell and put as much distance between them and the monster as possible.
Sooooooo! I hope you guys liked this chapter? It was fun to write but I never think I can write anything good. I hope you guys aren't disappointed. Please hang in there! We are in the final stretch now! I promise!
As always, please R&R!
-Spiz