Percy POV

128 degrees.

"Are you guys okay?" Thalia asked as she rubbed her stomach. I was still wheezing from all the smoke that I inhaled during the explosion.

"Does anyone have some water?" I asked hopefully.

"No, there isn't any water. The water was tainted, remember," Jason said. He came forward and patted my back before pulling me up. "Glad that you're okay, bro."

I looked at Jason in surprise. We didn't know each other for that long, and we didn't know each other that well either. Regardless, I could tell that we shared a mutual connection. Jason was a good guy, and we could definitely be good friends.

"Yeah, me too. Um, how's Ethan?" I asked.

I was sitting on a nearby bed with Annabeth and Piper. Jason and Thalia were trying to make sure that we were okay. After all, we were in the locker room when the bomb went off. Everyone else was crowded around the locker room doorway.

"HE's DEAD," Luke affirmed roughly.

Then, Luke came out and kicked the couch in frustration.

Silence filled the room. Some people went into the locker room and gently pulled Ethan out of the debris. Ethan's physical appearance was clouded with ash and dirt. Frank and Will carried his lifeless body and set it on the ground near the door.

My throat dried as I stared at everyone's expressions. This was awful. Someone actually died right in front of us.

"Guys, Elysium did this on purpose. It could've been anyone," Thalia expressed. "Whoever opened that locker was doomed unless we missed a clue beforehand."

"It's possible or they simply don't care if we live or die," Hazel said quietly. "We are a source of entertainment after all."

Everyone remained silent as a hard truth fell upon us. All of us were just pawns in a game that Elysium was managing. However, none of us wanted to die.

Annabeth stood up. I grabbed her hand without thinking. She looked at our intertwined fingers before looking at my face. "I'm all right, Percy."

Suddenly, a loud buzzer rang through the speakers, jolting everyone back to reality. "Critical temperatures," the monotone voice repeated. "Critical temperatures."

132 degrees.

"Okay, everyone, I have no interest in joining Ethan in the land of the dead. We need to get back to solving this room," Luke snapped.

He rushed over to the locker room, where we were sure the next clue hid.

Annabeth's hand slipped out of mine as she walked towards Ethan's body. She gently crouched next to him. I followed her with a few others. The rest of them followed Luke into the locker room to find the next clue and/or solve the puzzle.

"I'm so sorry, Ethan," Annabeth whispered. She reached forward and closed Ethan's eyes out of respect. I nodded at Annabeth's actions.

Her tone was different. It was sad and appropriate, but there was something more. It felt as though she was somehow personally connected to the situation. She felt truly sorry about the situation that we were stuck in.

However, it wasn't her fault. We were all victims here.

"All right, we found something," Luke barked. "Someone needs to figure this out because we came up empty."

Luke came out of the locker room with the others in tow. The group met up near the central table. Luke was holding an ashen piece of paper.

"Can you read us the clue?" Thalia asked as she sat down.

Everyone could see that the pregnancy was taking a great toll on her, especially during these puzzles when the heat was choking us from all around. It was so hot in this room, and I was actively suffering. I couldn't imagine her condition.

"It's not in English. It looks like some foreign language. Maybe Chinese," Drew said.

"Well, can you read it?" Piper asked.

Drew's eyes snapped and fixated on Piper. "I'm sorry but just because I have Asian characteristics doesn't mean that I can read Chinese. That's extremely rude," she snapped.

Piper's face fell. "Drew, I didn't mean anything like that. I just thought that it could be a possibility for you to know Mandarin."

"Really? Sounds to me that you're just racist," Drew said back.

"Guys, stop it. Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere," I expressed abruptly. Everyone turned towards me. Annabeth and Jason nodded at my outburst. "Does anyone know how to read the note?"

"I can try," Frank said softly.

Everyone turned towards the big Asian guy. Frank generally stayed in the background because he didn't talk as much. He helped out and everything, but he was also shy and quiet.

Luke gave Frank the paper to which Frank squinted.

"Try to hurry, Frank, because it's getting very hot in here," Hazel said supportively.

Everyone's faces were flushed and drained but also still hopeful. I tried to focus on reality and ignore the negative thoughts in my head. I also repressed the fact that a dead Ethan was laying a few yards away.

"Elysium wouldn't give us a dead-end situation. If they gave us a clue in some language, then they know that it would apply to at least one of us," Annabeth proposed.

"Yeah, since this is a game for them, that would make sense," Jason affirmed.

"Whatever. Frank, hurry up, and tell us the clue," Luke commanded. Gods, I really didn't like Luke. Sure, he was trying to survive, but his personality was rude and upsetting.

Frank shifted uncomfortably at being the center of attention.

"The note translates: Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are molecules that help restructure bad proteins. They are biological solutions to proteins that have been disorganized due to rising temperatures. To pass this phase, find this room's HSP."

Frank paused as the note ended.

"Frank, are there any abnormalities in the scripture? The message is pretty self-explanatory, but it doesn't reveal the location of the HSP," Jason said.

"No, the message is all that's of value," Frank confirmed.

Everyone groaned in frustration before splitting up again to find this HSP. No one knew exactly what we were looking for. Biology was never my strong suit. I was assuming that we needed to find a button of some sort.

I sighed as I sat down on my bed. It was too hot, and I was struggling to function. My vision was getting blurry, and things were spinning. Sweat was dripping from every part of me.

"Percy, if you still have any smoke in you, cough it up right now," Will expressed. He had taken off his shirt and was holding the first aid kit.

"No, I'm fine, I think," I said quickly. "Will, you're a biomedicine person. Does that note mean anything special to you?"

"No, not really. It's just a fact from your typical biochemistry textbook," Will explained. "Heat shock proteins are an organism's defense against protein denaturation caused by changes in temperature. They use energy to fix protein structures."

Will faltered off his explanation. His eyes showed that knowledge and intuition were racing around in his mind.

"Yeah, all of that means nothing to me. I didn't go to college," I commented slyly.

Will chuckled as his eyes widened. Whatever thoughts were running through his head had given him an idea.

"Guys, I've got an idea. Temperature changes are detectable. Cells have specialized molecules to detect changing stimuli. A room has a-"

"Thermostat," Hazel said quickly. She smiled as Will nodded.

They both rushed over to the TV, which was recording the current temperature. Nico joined them as the trio looked for any buttons on the flat screen.

Annabeth and Piper were with Luke near the room's main thermostat. The thermostat was a small, cream-colored box that had a small screen to indicate the temperature. But, there weren't any buttons.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream erupted from the lockers.

Drew ran out of the locker in a panic, and Rachel quickly followed behind her. Rachel was trying to calm her down but epically failing.

"AHH. WE"RE ALL GOING TO DIE IN HERE," Drew screeched. She was frantically pacing around the room while scratching her arms and fidgeting with her hair.

"Drew, Drew, calm down. Please, calm down. Everything's okay," Rachel tried.

"NOTHING's OKAY," Drew snapped. "We're in a freaking human toaster oven. My skin is literally burning and melting off. We're going to die."

"WE'RE NOT DYING," Rachel shouted firmly.

She reached forward and wrapped her arms around a very delicate Drew Tanaka. She held her tightly and kept whispering words of support.

My eyes wandered towards Rachel, who was currently helping a fellow group member. Her words were helping me too. While Rachel was a rich, pampered kid, I could see that she had a genuine heart. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was complex and emotional, but I liked her truer qualities very much.

Hazel, Will, and Nico had joined Annabeth, Luke, and Piper near the thermostat. They were trying to break the thermostat box.

I rubbed my forehead while taking deep breaths. The heat was too much, and mysterious throat and lungs were burning. Will was right. I still had some smoke and ash in my chest, but I needed fresher, cooler air to cough it all up.

"Percy, can I sit here?" Thalia asked.

"Yeah, of course," I said. I noticed that Thalia was panting very hard as she sat down. Her hand was massaging her pregnant belly.

I used my pillow to fan her to which she smiled in approval. She tried to refuse at first, but I helped her nonetheless. She was pregnant, and the baby deserved better. For some reason, I felt very close to Thalia. She was like an older sister.

Rachel managed to calm Drew, and they were sitting on the couch. Rachel wasn't the smartest or fiercest, but she was able to help the group emotionally. I really admired her ability to support the team.

"Gods, this is hopeless. The thermostat is solid," Luke shouted. He shook his hands, which were red from trying to pry the thermostat open.

Suddenly, I got an idea.

"Jason, use a brick or something. From the bomb debris," I said. My voice faltered off as my eyes met Ethan's dead body again.

Jason worked quickly to get a brick and got to the thermostat. "Everyone stand back," he shouted before launching the brick at the cream box on the wall. It took several attempts before the box splintered, revealing a single green button inside.

135 degrees.

Everyone's gaze fixated on the green button. However, no one wanted to be the one to press it. After all, look what happened to Ethan. It could be another trap.

"I'll do it," Annabeth affirmed.

I wanted to protest, but I knew that her mind was set. Annabeth nodded at everyone in the room. Her gaze lingered on mine before she faced the thermostat.

After a few seconds of breathing, she firmly pressed the green button.

Thalia yelped as a buzzer rang loudly.

"Congratulations, subjects, for passing phase 2. Watching your performance was quite admirable. You will notice that the door is now unlocked. Please make your way to the cafeteria for refreshments and ice," a woman's voice expressed.

"Guys, we gotta get out of this furnace," Jason said firmly.

We followed him out of the bedroom and towards the cafeteria. The cool air in the hallway was enough to lift our spirits, but the group was still a mess.

A dozen security guards were already waiting in the hallway. We didn't dare confront them. They all had their taser weapons drawn, and they seemed ready to attack. We walked in single-file to the cafeteria where food, water, and ice were set up on the silver shelf.

The cafeteria doors closed and locked behind us. I internally panicked about another game starting. Everyone tensed for a few seconds.

"Guys, um, are were sure that we're in the clear?" Rachel asked nervously.

"No, we can't be sure of anything while at Elysium," Annabeth stated firmly. I completely believed her as did everyone else.

...