Percy POV
"Okay, guys, just because I know about you guys doesn't mean that I want to see all this," I exclaimed in frustration.
They had been smooching for the past hour. I was in the pool room to kill time, but Jason and Piper decided to join me because the pool area was empty.
Luke was in the weight-training room alone. The boys were hanging out in the cafeteria while the girls were in the dorm room. Jason and Piper wanted to spend time together, so they came here. Lucky me.
"Percy, try to understand, we barely spend any time together because we're all confined in a closed area," Piper said quietly.
"Besides, you're supposed to have my back, man," Jason commented.
I sighed as I dried my hair with a towel. "Well, since I have your back, I'm going to tell you guys to separate because people are coming over," I said slyly.
They immediately distanced themselves on the bench as Hazel, Will, and Nico walked by. Nico sat several feet away. As I said, he was a shy, quiet guy. Hazel and Will were debating about something and wanted more opinions.
I pulled a shirt on before sitting on the bench next to Jason. I nudged him to stop being so suspicious-looking. Gods, Jason was not subtle at all.
"Guys, what's going on?" Piper asked, quickly adjusting.
Will started talking first. "Okay, so I'm being practical here. I really feel bad for what happened to Ethan, but I'm saying that we could use his bed and bag of resources."
"And, I'm saying that it's not appropriate," Hazel stated firmly.
I still got sad thinking about Ethan. He hadn't done anything wrong, and he didn't deserve to die. It was also scary that anyone could've been opening the locker with the bomb.
I sighed as I looked around.
Each of us got five pairs of clothes: a black shirt and black pants. Plus, we received three pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes. Furthermore, we each got a toiletry bag. Then, of course, we had our own bunk bed as well.
"I honestly don't know what to say. I could see both sides of the argument. However, I'd like to think that Ethan would want us to do anything we need to survive," Piper said firmly.
"However, we don't need Ethan's materials right now," Jason added.
Will and Hazel listened intently. They seemed to be thinking the same thing as they turned towards each other.
"Okay, how about, if we need them, we'll use them," Hazel stated. Will nodded with a smile, and I smiled in response.
To be honest, simple conflicts were arising between group members every day. Some people were better at handling interpersonal arguments than others. Everyone was a bit on edge since phase 2. It's been five days.
"GUYS, THEY'RE COMING," Rachel shrieked. She ran into the pool area and immediately slammed the doors closed.
What the hell?
Everyone jumped into action and ran towards Rachel. She was desperately trying to keep the door closed, but security guards were pounding against it. Jason and I collided against the door to keep it shut.
"Rachel, what's happening?" Hazel asked. I could hear the fear in her voice.
"They barged into the dorm room and started injecting everyone with the paralytic. I ran before they could get me," Rachel wheezed.
The security guards pounded against the door, nearly knocking Jason and me to the floor. Everyone pushed against the door to keep them out. However, the forces against the door were getting stronger and stronger.
"Guys, we can't hold it for much longer," I shouted.
"Then, we run," Will exclaimed.
He pulled away from the door. The loss of support was enough to weaken our human barrier. The next pound blasted us back.
I scampered away from the door as the security guards barged into the room. Hazel shrieked as a guard injected her in the next with a green serum. Nico and Will were easily captured, but Rachel and I quickly ran around the pool to the far side of the room.
"Jason," I shouted as he dropped to the floor with Piper.
At least, six guards chased Rachel and me as we ran along the far side of the pool. I knocked boxes and pool equipment over to try and trip them, which somewhat worked, but it wasn't a permanent solution.
Then, Rachel tripped and crashed on the floor.
"Rachel," I shouted. I quickly grabbed her arms to help her up, but the guards had already approached. They grabbed her legs and injected her calf.
"Don't fight it," a guard exclaimed deeply.
He pounced on me and knocked us both to the ground. He was a big security guard. His hand raised, and he brought it down on my chest. However, I caught his arm before he could inject me.
"Give up, kid," he spat through his mask.
I looked to the side and saw the other guards carrying my friends away. All of them looked dead, but I knew that they were just paralyzed. These guys were here to take us to the next phase. To the next game.
My legs kicked up into the guard's groin (man's natural weak spot).
He huffed and fell to the side. I quickly kicked the man into the swimming pool before leaping to my feet again.
I didn't know why I was running. It was useless. However, I wasn't simply going to surrender. I was a fighter, and I wanted to show Elysium who I was.
Another guard bouldered towards me, but I punched him into the pool too.
I ran behind the beach table and started an odd, high-stakes game of tag. If the guard ran right, I would run left and vice versa. We've all played this game at some point.
"Putting up a fight is useless, kid," his voice boomed.
My gaze shifted to behind him. A few guards were coming out of an entrance next to two Olympics posters in the Northeast corner of the pool area. They ran towards me with guns in hand.
However, my eyes were fixated on the dark passageway. There was a hidden door. Literally, the wall opened up to reveal a passage.
I ran again as the guards overtook the beach table.
She's a runner, She's a track star, She gon' run away when it gets hard. Ugh, my stupid brain was actually singing a song right now.
There were too many of them, and I knew that I'd be caught soon. As if on cue, a sharp pain pierced into the back of my neck.
I crumbled to the floor.
Paralysis came first before darkness took over.
...
I gasped as the blindfold was removed from my face. The cold air ruffles through my arms. It was too chilly to only be wearing a t-shirt.
The security guards surrounded the group with guns raised. Everyone seemed to be all right as they adjusted to the light. However, I was more interested in our surroundings. We were in a large field that was bordered by a tall, electrified fence.
The fence was behind us and it stretched forwards into the woods. As such, we only had one way to go and that was into the forest.
"Welcome to phase 3," a loud voice boomed.
Our attention turned towards the man in white. He was in simple white pants and a white shirt, but a huge grimace was on his face. The guards were instinctually protecting him. He was younger than the bosses that we encountered originally. However, it was obvious that he was also in charge.
"What is this place?" Luke asked angrily.
"Isn't it obvious? You are in a giant strip of land. Don't waste your time thinking that you could run away. The fence stretches for miles, but it creates an enclosed route. There's no escape," he said while laughing evilly.
"What the hell do you want from us?" Annabeth asked.
"Watch your mouth, girl," he spat.
"To answer your question, you're here to race. All of you have exactly three hours to cover 8.5 miles of distance," the boss affirmed.
"What if we don't listen to you? I'm not competing against my friends," Jason said firmly.
"Then, you die," the boss said boldly. "If anyone doesn't finish this race, then, they are killed. Simple and easy. And, if all of you finish the race, then, the last person will be punished."
Everyone in our group shifted uncomfortably. This man was menacing. He had a burning fire in his eyes.
"What's the punishment?" Annabeth asked.
"If all of you finish the race, the last person to finish will starve for five days. That is, Elysium won't provide food to the loser for five whole days," the boss laughed.
That was awful. I had no idea how someone could be so cruel. My eyes wandered to the forest. There were 8.5 miles of a straight strip of land. We had to cover it in 3 hours. The pace wasn't that bad, but I could only imagine what we were up against.
I looked at Thalia, who was frowning. She would have the hardest time with this challenge. After all, she was carrying a baby in her belly. Pregnant women had trouble walking without it being a timed race.
The security guards walked in an organized fashion to the boss. They made a circle around the boss and pointed their guns at us.
The boss smiled cruelly before motioning his hands at the sky. Suddenly, a ghosted light appeared in the sky and set a timer. The countdown was made of red smoke in the sky, and it defied all laws of physics.
"It's a projection of an electromagnetic field," Leo whispered. "It's most likely a projection from the electric fence."
"YOUR TIME STARTS NOW," the boss boomed.
Suddenly, a loud buzzer rang through the air, and the countdown started. Everyone jumped into action and started briskly walking through the field. Walking into the woods.
Luke ran and disappeared way before us.
"Thalia, are you okay?" I asked as I walked next to her. We were all walking at a fast pace, and most of us separated into smaller groups.
However, Luke, Nico, and Will were the only ones that greatly progressed ahead of us. The forest was thick with trees. Leaves and branches surrounded us and slowed us down.
"I'm scared, Percy. I'm really scared. I don't know if I can cover this challenge. It's too difficult for me," she said sadly.
"Thalia, we can do this," Annabeth affirmed.
"Yeah, we all can pass this challenge," Jason said firmly. Piper was walking next to him, and we were walking together.
Rachel and Drew were jogging ahead of us, and in a few minutes, we lost sight of them. I wanted to run as well to gain distance, but I knew that Thalia couldn't run.
And, we had to stick together.
After a half-hour of walking, the forest became even denser. The cold temperature was grueling because we didn't have any jackets or anything. Plus, it was a cloudy day.
We lost sight of Hazel, Frank, and Leo. They were an interesting trio, who didn't belong with each other. Leo and Frank practically hated each other. Yet, they worked.
Annabeth broke the tension during our journey.
"Guys, this pace is pretty good. All we have to do is continue like this. Thalia, don't worry. We're all going to get through this," Annabeth expressed.
That was true. If we continued like this, everyone would pass this challenge. However, that meant that one of us would starve for five days. That was a fact that we were all thinking but not saying aloud.
An hour passed by with no challenge.
However, I could see that Thalia was struggling. Honestly, this was difficult without any added weight. Even though she was keeping up with us, she kept stretching her legs and panting profusely.
Finally, the forest opened up onto a stone field. Shit.
We froze in horror. We were glad for a break from the forest. However, this was way worse. A rapid river was blocking our path.
"Dam it," Piper snapped in annoyance.
"Yeah, we have a dam problem," I whispered in disbelief.
...