Percy POV
"Surprisingly, this food isn't bad," Leo commented. He had taken a bite of mashed potatoes as soon as he received his tray.
Fourteen trays were on a metal shelf in the middle of the cafeteria. A note had informed us that three meals would be served each day to sustain us. Leo was correct that the food was all right. I expected worse in a prisoner situation.
"Gods, this stuff is disgusting. How could you say that?" Rachel asked dramatically. She spit the chicken out onto her plate. Drew mimicked her with a gag response.
"This is the only food we're getting besides the snacks in the room. I think that we should eat it whether it's good or not," Jason expressed calmly.
About half of us had come to the cafeteria because we were hungry. The cafeteria had two round tables to sit at, and we were situated at one table.
I quietly continued to eat my food as I looked around. I had already analyzed each room in Sector 3, but I couldn't find an escape. The only way out seemed to be the steel doors that locked us in this hallway.
The cafeteria was large but mostly empty. There were two tables with seven chairs each and a metal shelf for the trays. I noticed that the cafeteria doors would automatically close a half hour before each meal. They'd open again five minutes later with the trays set up.
That meant that there had to be a way out via the cafeteria, but I couldn't see anything substantial.
"Guys, they said that we'd have more phases. It's been over a day since we got here, and I'm getting really anxious," Hazel said quietly.
I nodded. So was I.
"Why do you want to participate in their sick games?" Rachel asked. She was simply picking at her food much to my annoyance.
"Because I want to get out of here," Hazel shot back. "You heard the boss lady. If we want to get out, we have to pass the tests."
"It's naive for you to think that you'll survive the tests," Drew said slyly.
She emphasized the word, you'll as if trying to insult Hazel. And, it had its intended effect. I watched as Hazel's face fell, and she quietened.
"Don't listen to her, Hazel. We'll get through this," I said firmly.
My voice has risen to warn Rachel and Drew to not push their limits. Rachel sighed before nodding. However, Drew simply twirled her hair and batted her eyes at me. I rolled my eyes before focusing on my lunch.
"Thanks, Percy," Hazel said in a grateful tone.
"I have a question," Jason started. "Did any of us know each other before coming here or were we all randomly selected?"
"Leo and I both attend NYU," Hazel said softly. "We didn't know each other though."
"You both are from New York. So am I," I acknowledged.
"Do you think that all of us are from New York? It would make sense that they kidnapped random students off the street," Leo suggested.
"I'm not a student though," I commented.
I was far from a student. I held two part-time jobs, and I spent way too much time at the hospital. Because of my life, I didn't have the time or interest to partake in school.
"Piper's from Washington, and I study in California," Jason said.
"And, I live in Philadelphia with my friends. We were getting prepared for the baby's arrival in a few months" Thalia joined. She rubbed her pregnant belly as a far-away expression entered her eyes. I could tell that even though she was having a baby (which was an amazing thing), it was complicated.
Rachel stood up suddenly. "I don't understand why we're all talking about this. Our bigger concern should be getting out of here. Not getting to know one another," Rachel snapped.
She walked away, and her food was left on the table. Drew sighed before grabbing the chicken sandwich off of her tray.
"Thalia, if you need some extra food, it's here now," I offered hesitantly. Jason and Hazel nodded supportively.
"Thank you, guys. Luna will greatly appreciate it," Thalia expressed with a smile.
The rest of lunch passed by with light conversation. I realized quickly that everyone was as on-edge as I was. No one knew what to expect of phase 2.
...
Sirens interrupted my nap. I sat straight up in bed and banged my head against the ceiling. Gods, I hate bunk beds.
"What's going on?" I asked.
Everyone was in the room, and we were all confused. I gently jumped off the bed and onto the floor. Everyone was standing up now to listen to the speaker system that was buzzing. "Commence Phase 2."
A loud buzz blasted through the speakers before silence followed.
Then, the tv screen that was on the far wall illuminated. Then, a single number flashed onto the white screen. 75°F.
"What's happening?" Piper said loudly. No one had an answer.
Suddenly, the temperature jumped ten units: 82°F. Within a matter of a few seconds, it jumped again to 86°F.
"Guys, it's the heater system. It's getting hotter in here. Oh, gods, the vents are literally burning up already," Leo explained. He was kneeling near the vent and touching the metal grate.
"Wait, hold on, hold on-"
"They're trying to burn us alive," Luke growled, interrupting Piper. Screams and shouts erupted throughout the room. This was so unfair and dangerous.
93°F, the TV flashed in red.
"Everyone, shut up," Annabeth shouted. She had everyone's attention as she stood in the middle of the room. "For Elysium, this is a game. If they started the torture, then they also placed a mechanism to stop it. We have to solve the puzzle together."
"Everyone split up and look for clues," she ordered calmly. I greatly admired Annabeth for her strong voice and leadership aura.
My gaze lingered on her for a few more moments before snapping back to reality. Mostly everyone was helping, but some people were still in shock.
"Get up and help. No one gets a free pass," Luke barked madly.
He was throwing his sheets and pillows off of the bed to find something. Everyone followed suit and started destroying the beds in search of anything.
98°F. I huffed as I took off my gray shirt that Elysium provided. Now, I was wearing a black undershirt and pants similar to everyone else. Gods, it was hot in here.
I rushed over to the snack shelves and looked on the shelves. However, there was nothing. I wasn't sure if I should open all the bags and check inside. I was running out of ideas. Some of the girls were already checking the locker room and bathroom.
"Guys, I found something," Jason shouted. "Check inside your pillowcases."
I rushed over towards Jason to see what he found. My pillowcase was empty. Jason set the note down on the table in the middle of the room. Pretty soon, everyone surrounded the table to see the clues.
Six slips of paper. Six words.
102°F.
"Guys, it's really getting hot in here. I'm sweating profusely," Ethan grumbled. He took off his shirt and tossed the dripping shirt aside.
"It's a sentence scrambler. We need to make a logical sentence," Piper suggested. "Yes, absolutely," Thalia affirmed.
The girls immediately hunched over the table. They had enough brains there, so I stepped back. This had to be a multi-faceted puzzle. Otherwise, we'd have too many people doing nothing.
Then, I noticed Nico staring at the water fountain.
"Did you find something?" I asked.
"The water is warm. It's actually disgusting," Nico said with a straight face. I stared at Nico's hand, which was feeling the water that was sprouting from the fountain. The water looked weird. I grabbed a clear cup and filled some water.
"The water's green," I whispered. "It wasn't like that before."
"Percy, the color is so subtle. How did you notice that?" Nico asked quietly. I barely heard his voice over the noise of everyone else trying to figure out a logical sentence.
"I spend a lot of time around water. Look, the change in color means something. Nico, you're fantastic for finding this. Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.
Nico simply shrugged before turning away. His cheeks were slightly red as he averted my gaze and set distance between us.
I sighed before looking around the room. I may not be the smartest guy, but I trusted my instincts. This green water was going to reveal something for sure.
"Guys, we got it," Annabeth said boldly. "The sentence is... The green bleeds from east wall."
"What the hell does that mean?" Jason asked in frustration.
"Um, guys, it's possible that we are missing some words. Maybe, we could keep looking," Hazel said quietly.
"We've looked at everything," Luke snapped.
Almost immediately, an argument started in the middle of the room, but I had no intention of partaking. A few others had separated and were looking for more clues.
I stared at the east wall that spanned 20 yards before returning my attention to the green liquid in my cup. Annabeth walked over as I contemplated my idea.
"Percy, what are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm about to make this wall bleed," I said firmly.
I reached out and protectively pulled Annabeth away from the wall. I had no clue what was going to happen. Then, I threw the water on the wall.
Activity paused as everyone turned towards me and Annabeth.
"The water is sticking to certain parts of the wall," Annabeth exclaimed. She went over and got more water before splashing the wall more evenly. Others helped until the wall was covered and the message was received.
A loud buzzer exploded through the speakers. 110°F.
Everyone stared at the east wall that read, Heat denatur3s proteins, and proteins are essential for the biolog1cal functioning of organisms. This includes humans as well. Prolonged exposure to heat will not only cause loss of funct1on but also death.
"Well, that's great to know," Will commented with a frown.
"The message is 311," Thalia stated. I looked at her in confusion because I didn't understand. "Guys, three of the letters are replaced by numbers, and I believe that this number correlates with a lock or-"
"It marks one of the locked lockers," Drew expressed.
"That's right. It's a combination lock, so we need a sequence of 3 numbers, which are probably hidden somewhere," Annabeth expressed.
We walked towards the locker room where Ethan was testing locker #311.
Everone was searching and trying to help. Ethan was looking in the empty lockers in hopes of finding any numbers. Annabeth and I searched the bathroom. We searched the sinks and the stalls for any numerical values.
I wiped the sweat off my forehead. My skin felt so warm like I was having a fever. Annabeth was panting heavily due to the heat.
"You're a natural leader," I said as I looked inside a toilet.
"Thanks, Percy. You're not too bad yourself. You have a way of alleviating tensions within the group. You're nice and friendly," Annabeth expressed easily.
I paused and looked at Annabeth. She was searching the stall doors for anything. Even though we were dripping with sweat, I noticed her pretty hair and powerful gray eyes. There were a lot of attractive qualities about her, and it was easy to see them.
Annabeth went to the next stall as I searched the showers. The shower curtains were plain and empty, and nothing was on the walls.
Gods, this felt hopeless.
"I found a number," Ethan exclaimed excitedly.
I started to walk back to the lockers before Annabeth stopped me. She pointed towards the toilet. On the underside of the toilet seat, a number was engraved: 34.
"We got one too," Annabeth shouted back.
Ethan found the number, 25, stitched into the wall of locker #210. The lockers were weird because they weren't arranged in any numerical order. In reality, there were only about thirty lockers in this room (most of which were locked).
"Good work, Ethan," I said as I patted his shoulder.
"Percy and Annabeth, we found the third number," Piper exclaimed as she rushed over. I stood at the locker room doorway and looked at the TV: 118°F.
"Oh gods, my skin is tingling," Drew said irritably. It made sense considering she had the palest skin of us all. Her body wasn't used to the sun or heat. Everyone looked flushed and exhausted because of the heat. Sweat was dripping everywhere.
They all were waiting in the dorm room as Piper came forth.
"Anyway, the third number is 46," Piper informed.
The others were anxiously waiting in the dorm room for us to crack the locker combination. I was in the doorway connecting the two rooms with Piper. Annabeth was standing a little closer to Ethan who was inputting various combinations into the lock.
Annabeth was giving him various combinations of the three numbers to try since we didn't know the order.
"122°F," Leo informed. "We're reaching human threshold very quickly."
Suddenly, the locker clicked.
Piper's and my attention snapped towards Ethan, who started to open the locker. Then, a faint beeping started and increased in frequency within a second.
"ETHAN," Annabeth shouted.
I stared in horror as the locker exploded outwards. The boisterous explosion rang in my ears and smoke engulfed us. Ethan's body was flung back and crashed against the wall.
Annabeth's body collided into mine (due to the impact), but I caught her. I pulled her and Piper out of the locker room. We coughed horribly as the smoke and ash choked us.
"Annabeth, are you okay?" I asked as I held her face.
She nodded even though her eyes were still wild and shocked. I held her close to me before coughing again and swatting the smoke away. We were crouched on our knees, trying to breathe normally again.
Several pairs of hands and arms helped Annabeth, Piper, and me. "We're okay," I said in between treacherous coughs.
"Ethan, oh my god," Will said urgently.
I turned to see Will freeze in the locker room doorway. A sinking feeling settled into my stomach as the visual of Ethan smashing into the wall replayed in my mind.
125 degrees.
...