Percy POV

"I deserve this, Percy. I knew the information because I designed that room," Annabeth expressed shamefully.

My mind froze in shock. I had no words.

While I knew that Annabeth was involved with Elysium in some way, I had no clue that she helped them. She literally designed an entire phase for this sick establishment. I was sure that this phase would've also had dire consequences if we hadn't escaped.

I simply stared at her guilty face before looking around. I recovered quickly since everyone moved closer to help Annabeth. Will came back with the first aid kit.

I gently pushed Annabeth off of me, and she leaned against the wall. Her eyes locked onto mine, but I turned away. I couldn't meet her eyes because I didn't want to reveal my conflicting feelings. Annabeth didn't seem like a cruel person, and yet she helped them.

I actually couldn't believe what she told me.

I stood up and unclenched my hands. Thalia looked at me warily before turning back to Annabeth. Will was currently applying cream to her burn.

Annabeth winced in pain with each touch. Her look, however, wouldn't leave my face. I couldn't quite look at her though.

"Seaweed Brain, please, look at me?" she said tensely.

The others' attention turned to me in surprise. I blanked under everyone's gaze before asking, "Will, she'll be okay, right?"

"Um, yeah, Percy. The door burned her palm and fingers, but it's not life-threatening. Her hand will heal in a few weeks," Will explained much to everyone's relief.

"Percy-"

"What do you want me to say?" I snapped as I interrupted Annabeth. She visibly gulped as her gaze intensified on me.

Everyone looked at me with disappointment and disapproval.

"Percy, what the hell? Why would you snap at her? She risked her life to get us out of the cafeteria. I know that you're emotional, but calm down," Jason scolded.

"I need some space," I said firmly.

Before anyone could stop me, I walked away.

I ran into the restroom and paused in front of the restroom mirrors. I turned on the sink before staring at my reflection. The bathroom stalls were behind me. My eyes were red, and I had a great impulse to punch the mirror.

Annabeth Chase. I trusted her so much. I trusted her with my life, yet she was partly responsible for why I was here. It didn't make any sense.

I watched my mother die without being able to hold her hand. I almost died several times while here. The prospect that it was her fault was too much to handle. I trusted her that much, yet she didn't even tell me. She hadn't trusted me enough.

"Honestly, I'm conflicted about you returning, Jackson," Luke's voice exclaimed.

I turned my head to watch him enter the bathroom. I could see the smirk in his eyes as he went to the sink next to mine. He started washing his hands.

"Save the bull shit, Luke. You purposefully stayed out of the cafeteria today. You knew what was coming. Moreover, you didn't want us to pass. If you did, you wouldn't have blocked Thalia from bringing the clues to us," I snapped.

He smirked even more. "You're not as dumb as you look."

"You have a habit of underestimating people, Luke. I don't," I expressed.

"So, you know what I'm capable of? I doubt it. You have no idea what I'm doing here. This is a game, Jackson. A game only has one winner. In our case, one survivor. You can't blame me for trying to eliminate the competition."

"That's sick," I snapped. "You're no different than Elysium."

"You're right," Luke said firmly.

With that, he rinsed his hands and walked away. I wanted to punch him as well. Honestly, I just wanted to punch something.

I was quite destabilized by Annabeth's admission. The truth hurt like a dagger. Honestly, I knew that she was connected to Elysium somehow. Regardless, her confession affected me a lot. I didn't know why I was so startled when I was already expecting something like this.

I looked at my reflection one last time before shutting off the water.

I was determined to find out more. I needed the full truth before I went insane. I didn't want to lose Annabeth to half-assed truths.

Annabeth was sitting on her bed. Everyone was calming down after the last phase. I started walking towards Annabeth with determination. However, my commitment to Wise Girl faded as Rachel came in front of me.

"Percy, I'm so glad that you're okay," Rachel expressed.

I happily accepted her warm embrace. Honestly, I was glad that Rachel was here. Her hug was quite welcome, especially in the situation that I was in.

Her head rested against my chest as her arms wrapped around my back. Annabeth looked up and locked gazes with mine.

I looked down and rested my chin against Rachel's shoulder.

"I'm glad that you're here, Rachel. We both lost people, but at least, we're still here. Honestly, I don't know who to trust right now," I whispered into her ear.

Rachel pulled away and kissed my cheek. My expressions softened as my eyes met her pure, light green ones. I smiled warmly.

"Yeah, everyone has secrets, but I trust you. As such, I'm here for you," Rachel whispered.

Rachel trusts me, and she always treated me with that level of respect and warmth. It made me feel close to her. It made me feel important. At that moment, I didn't want to leave her, but I also knew that she hadn't eaten lunch yet.

"Rachel, I believe that the cafeteria is safe now. You should go eat something. We didn't mess up the food that much," I expressed regretfully. She nodded with a smile.

I watched as she walked out of the room before turning towards Annabeth. However, she wasn't there anymore.

I sighed before settling on my bed.

I wanted to find Annabeth, but something held me back. I believed that Annabeth was a good person, but I felt betrayed. I had asked her so many times to tell me the truth, and she rejected me every single time. Annabeth didn't tell me anything until she was forced to (until she was caught with too much information).

Now, I didn't know how to approach her.

I wasn't going to tell anyone. I didn't want anyone to hate or turn against Annabeth.

However, I was tired of always approaching her. If Annabeth had something to tell me, she'd do it herself because I was done. Annabeth wasn't the only one with pride. I was done chasing after her and begging her for more.

I deserved more than that.

I deserve someone who treats me as if they trust me.

...

The next two days passed by in utter boredom. I barely interacted with Annabeth, and she didn't approach me either. Instead, I spent a lot of my time with Rachel.

Rachel was a nice choice and offered a good change in scenery. She was interesting. Her hobbies were unique, and she was a phenomenal artist. Even though we didn't have paint, she made brown paint using water and some tree nuts. After that, she started a mural on the bedroom wall.

Moreover, Rachel was a safe and healthy choice.

We didn't do anything romantic, but I could imagine myself being more with her. Regardless of that, we had become very close.

And, Annabeth and I only grew apart.

Everyone else treated her the same, and they were utterly confused about why I was evading her. Jason and Thalia tried talking to me about it, but I avoided their questions.

Anyway, as I was saying, it was so boring here.

Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for not having life-or-death situations, but there wasn't much to do. I suppose even Elysium felt the lack of excitement.

Jason and I were walking towards the cafeteria for breakfast when we saw the 'presents' laying on one of the dining tables. Specifically, there were 12 items.

I immediately recognized one of them: The Animals of the Sea Encyclopedia.

Jason and I paused at the door. Jason instinctually held the door for a few minutes to stop it from closing or something. However, nothing seemed to be happening. Elysium just brought a bunch of stuff for us to have while staying here.

I owned a copy of The Animals of the Sea Encyclopedia. It was a book that I sometimes looked at while I was bored. I shakily picked up the book and turned the cover page. My breath caught as I stared at my handwritten name.

Specifically, Elysium brought our own stuff here.

Jason picked up a football. There was a signature on it that he clearly recognized. Jason held the football close to his chest as a sad spark entered his eyes.

"Are you okay, Jason?" I asked quietly.

"I was the quarterback of my high school football team. I also play football in college. I got this ball signed by Hermes during an NFL game," Jason explained.

"Bro, I didn't know that you played football. Is Hermes your favorite quarterback?" I asked lightly.

"Yeah, he currently plays for the Seattle Seahawks, which is my favorite team ever since watching my very first football game."

"That's cool, Jason. Do you think that all this stuff belongs to the others?" I asked.

"I think so. We both have our possessions here. It's safe to assume that the other ten items belong to the others. I'm gonna go get them," Jason said. He quickly retreated to call everyone else.

I looked at the assortment of items on the table. It ranged from books to gadgets to toys. However, I noticed that there were no electronic items that could send a signal. There were electrical and battery-operated toys/gadgets but nothing that could transmit.

Pretty soon, everyone walked into the cafeteria.

I guessed that the guitar was Thalia's before she even took it. It was a black rockstar guitar that matched her punk personality.

Rachel picked up her paint pallet and brushes and excitedly showed everyone. Seeing her bright excitement in our dark circumstances made me smile.

Everyone grabbed their items in relief.

While Elysium was awful, giving us some of our prized possessions showed character. I wondered what they were planing as a result.

I looked up to find Annabeth sitting quietly at the other table. A diary was sitting in front of her. Her hands were slowly turning the pages of her book. I guess that we both received books of some sort.

I watched with intrigue as Annabeth's actions froze. Her gaze locked onto something on the page before she quickly slammed the diary shut. Annabeth quickly stood and walked out of the room with the diary in hand.

I wondered what more she was hiding from everyone. Or, maybe, her diary held personal things in them. Ugh, don't defend her lack of trust in people, my mind screamed.

"Hey, Perce, how about some football?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, sure. The pool room has a raised ceiling, so we can play there. I'm going to put my encyclopedia on my bed first, though," I expressed.

I quickly entered the bedroom and hid my book under my pillow. Annabeth was reading frantically scrolling through her diary while sitting on her bed. She was nestled in the shadow under the bunk bed above her.

I shook my head before leaving to find Jason.

Honestly, I understood why Jason was a quarterback. His throw was very good, and he could easily launch the football over the 25m swimming pool.

We were hanging out in the pool room and enjoying our items.

Rachel started painting on the back of an Olympics poster. Rachel had allowed Hazel to use her paints as well, so Hazel was also painting some flowers. Hazel was fairly talented, but I was blown away by Rachel's talents.

Her seascape was coming along quite nicely.

Everyone seemed to be in lighter spirits for once. Somehow, this seemed like a positive sign for us. However, Elysium provided this stuff.

As such, I had no faith in good times. If anything, I felt even more unsettled.

Gods, what was gonna happen next?

...