Percy POV
"Seaweed Brain, you're okay. You're more in shock than anything else," Annabeth whispered.
"We don't have much time. Where's the drug?"
I absent-mindedly took the pill out of my pocket. Annabeth took the drug and gazed at it.
"Percy, this is the best chance to make our move. They'll believe that you died because of the dog. This is the best opportunity to 'kill' you." Nico used air quotes around kill because the drug shouldn't kill me. That's what we hoped.
"I don't want to die," I whispered as I shook my head.
"Seaweed Brain, you can save us. It's the only plan that we have, but this is your decision," Annabeth expressed calmly.
I gazed into her beautiful gray eyes. They were sparkling with passion and tears. I wanted to save her. I wanted to save them all. Also, I wanted the chance to live with Annabeth in the real world. I didn't want to be a pawn for Elysium's experiment or entertainment anymore.
I took the Somnus pill into my hand. I couldn't let anyone down when I can do something to help them. I have to try.
I stared at the black gel-like pill in my hand.
My sea-green eyes watered at the possibility of death. I could take this drug and simply not wake up. Honestly, this was the most likely scenario.
Regardless, there weren't any more options for getting out of Elysium. The black pill glistened to the sunlight as I gazed at it. Annabeth and Nico were crowding around me to block any camera from getting our exchange.
I slowly raised the pill towards my mouth.
Suddenly, Annabeth grabbed my wrist. I looked into her beautiful gray eyes, which were fierce but emotional.
"Percy," she whispered.
Without hesitation, she leaned forward and pressed her lips into mine. At that moment, I lost all sensations and perceptions. I was no longer inthe labyrinth. I was floating in the clouds where only Annabeth and I existed.
My mouth moved against hers as the kiss deepened. The emotions and feelings deepened as well while the pain and hopelessness dissipated. I was slowly falling in love with her, and I realized it during our first kiss.
Annabeth broke the kiss first. Her forehead leaned against mine as I caught my breath. She wasn't breathing that heavily since she wasn't injured, but I was.
My sea-green eyes locked onto her stormy gray ones. A light smile graced her beautiful face as her thumb rubbed my cheek.
"You'll be okay, Seaweed Brain. Just come back to me."
"I will, Wise Girl. I promise," I whispered.
I leaned forward and kissed her again. This was a quick but passionate kiss. I absorbed as much love, warmth, and comfort as I possibly could in the kiss.
Finally, I leaned back. The pill was heavy in my hand while gazing at Nico and Annabeth. Nico was flushing slightly, but he still maintained eye contact. I nodded at them both before lifting the pill to my mouth again.
This time, Annabeth didn't stop me. A small, dirty part of me wanted her to stop me again as she did before. But, she didn't.
I popped the pill into my mouth and bit down on the capsule.
A thick liquid spilled out of the capsule and invaded my taste buds. The Somnus drug was very bitter and rancid. It smelled bad, and it tasted worse.
Despite my hunger, this drug tasted like moldy blue cheese. Unfortunately, I've had moldy blue cheese when I was younger. I was obsessed with anything blue, and I stupidly assumed that blue cheese would make me blue.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. And then, my head spun. Annabeth and Nico tilted to the side. Actually, it was my body that fell to the side. Wise Girl was the last thought in my mind before everything evaporated.
My body went limp, and my mind blanked.
My eyes closed, and I couldn't open them again. I couldn't hear anything either. Darkness consumed every inch of my body and soul.
...
I woke up to darkness. Because my surroundings were pitch black, I wasn't even sure that I was awake or alive. However, my eyes felt as if they were open.
I couldn't hear anything either. It was completely silent and serene.
My sense of touch came back next. I was laying on something hard; it felt like metal. The atmosphere was very cold, and there wasn't much circulation. The air was thick and toxic.
I wish my sense of smell didn't come back. The atmosphere was rancid. I wanted to vomit, and I probably would have if I still wasn't paralyzed. My muscles were tight, and I couldn't move them because of the lingering effects of Somnus.
It took several minutes for my mind to clear and my body to free itself.
I breathed deeply as I sat up. I was still in shock that I wasn't dead. While I hoped for the best, I was confident that I'd be dead.
My head banged against a hard surface.
I groaned as pain seeped into my head and abdomen. My stomach felt taught and rigid from my previous injury. I cursed as I swung my legs over the ledge.
I wasn't sleeping on a bed; I was on a metal shelf. It took me a few seconds to stop my head from spinning. My body still felt very weighted.
My hands felt around the shelves until I found a wall. Then, I spent several minutes trying to find a light switch in this relatively large room.
I sighed in relief when my fingers fumbled against the switches.
The room was medium-sized, which emphasized my disorientation beforehand. While it was dark, I didn't notice the racks of bodies on the shelves. This wasn't an ordinary room, it was a freaking morgue. That also explained why it was so cold and why it was so smelly.
My eyes locked on a body a few feet away from me. Drew. Her body was pale (practically blue), but at least her eyes were closed. She looked at peace. I genuinely hoped and believed that Drew and Ethan were in a better place than I was.
There were other bodies too. Honestly, almost half of the shelves were filled with bodies (some older and paler than others).
Suddenly, a click resonated through the room. My gaze darted towards the locked door. Shit.
I immediately ducked behind a shelf. The bodies of two men were hiding me. Two guards and two scientists in white lab coats walked into the room. The guards were male and covered in the standard black uniform. The brunette scientists were male and female. Both of them wore glasses and the man had a briefcase in hand.
"Collect what you need, Doctors," the guard informed.
"What is the name of the subject who recently expired?" the female asked. She had a neutral expression as she wore her medical gloves.
"Perseus Jackson. He passed due to abdominal hemorrhage," the man informed. Inside his briefcase, there were silver syringes and vials.
I sunk deeper behind the shelf. Fortunately, the guards and scientists weren't looking around the room. Clearly, this was a secure part of Elysium. They didn't suspect anything yet, but they certainly would very soon.
"Here is the syringe, Doctor. I have the vials prepped for whenever you're ready." The man gave the woman a large syringe. They were trying to collect blood.
"All right, where is the subject?" the woman asked.
"Shelf 12, bench 2," a guard said absentmindedly. The guards were standing near the door, and they weren't paying that much attention.
"There is nobody in that location. Are you wasting my time?" the woman affirmed.
The guards immediately walked towards where I formerly slept. Suddenly, all hell broke loose as they scattered slowly. All four of them searched the shelves closely. I hitched a breath before crawling towards a table in the corner.
I ducked underneath the table, which was covered by a white sheet. Various surgical instruments were on the table, but I didn't care for those. I practically stopped breathing as the guards searched the room.
As the minutes passed, they became wilder and louder.
I could hear the nervousness and anxiety in their voices before they all rushed out. I didn't know what to do.
My hiding spot was good, but I couldn't stay under the table forever. This wouldn't help anyone. I risked overdose to save everyone, but no one was here to save me.
Or so, I thought.
I wondered if there were cameras in the room. They'd easily find me, I realized. Security footage is the first thing that I would go to if you couldn't find a body.
"Percy," a whispered interrupted my thoughts. "Perseus."
I barely recognized her voice considering that I've only heard it a couple of times. Regardless, I trusted that voice. After all, I was following her plan using the drug that she provided.
I quietly crawled out from under the table and stood in front of Reyna.
The dark-haired female had her gun in her hands. However, she wasn't pointing it at me. She was defending me from anyone that could barge into the door.
"Reyna, what is the plan now? They know that I'm gone," I said firmly.
"Well, they also know that I'm a spy. We're both in trouble, Percy, so we need to hide right now," Reyna ordered. She was a natural leader. Her voice was strong and powerful (probably due to her experience).
"Where? This place is littered with cameras."
"I managed to cut the security by hacking a virus into their firewall. It's my safeguard. However, we only face an hour or two at the most," Reyna said. She started walking out of the room, and I briskly follower her.
She was the definition of a spy. I simply followed her as she navigated through the halls. She chose the smaller hallways, and she kept us in the shadows. While I had no clue where we were going, I followed her regardless.
Then, we got into a dark hallway. We quickly ran through the hall, and I almost fell over from the sudden turn. I was still disoriented, so I was grateful that Reyna was here.
"Percy," Reyna whispered harshly.
Her hand closed around my shirt and yanked me back. I crouched on the ground as a few guards walked through the hallway in front of us. That was too close.
Then, we went in the direction that they came from.
"Do you recognize the area?" Reyna asked quietly. We were walking quickly, and of course, I had no idea where we were.
"This is the hallway system behind the pool and cafeteria. We call this the shadow of Sector 3, and it's where all the background activities happen."
"Why is it very empty?" I asked. I would expect the backstage area to be filled with commotion, but it was the exact opposite.
"Everyone came back from the Labyrinth a few hours ago. You were only 'dead' for about 8 hours, Percy," Reyna explained. "The next phase is is in the dorm room on the opposite side of Sector 3, so these hallways will remain empty for a while."
"When is the next phase?" I asked suddenly.
"Not for a few days-"
"I want to save everyone before that. I don't want anyone else to get hurt or die. The Labyrinth was hellish, and several people got seriously injured," I said firmly.
Finally, we reached our destination.
We were in the hallway leading to the secret doors of the pool room. I had spent so many hours studying the other side of this hallway. We almost escaped into this hallway as well (thanks to Leo's engineering skills). Now, here I was.
My gaze was fixed on the security panel on the steel elevator-like doors. Leo had fried that panel a few days ago.
"Do you know the code to those doors?" I asked.
"No, unfortunately, I don't. However, I have a plan," Reyna said. "Don't worry, Percy, both of our objectives are the same here."
Our destination was a storage closet in the same hallway. Reyna locked the closet behind us before picking up a small lantern off the ground. The first thing I noticed was that the shelves and supplies made the closet very crowded. It was dirty as well.
More importantly, two additional individuals were waiting for us there. They were twins. Reyna nodded towards them before grabbing a drink.
While I scanned the older twins, my stomach churned for food and water.
"Rest up, Percy. We are safe here for the most part. You also went a few days without food, so please take this pasta," the slightly shorter twin said.
The twins and Reyna comfortably sat down on the floor. The other twin grabbed a laptop and started typing away.
"I'm Connor, and this is my brother, Travis. We're NSA operatives, and Reyna smuggled us in a few days ago. Unfortunately, she got caught, and we're in hiding," Connor explained.
Travis had a smile on his face as he chatted with someone. My eyes narrowed. I don't understand how you could smile in this situation.
I grabbed a bowl of pasta and followed suit.
"Don't mind, Travis. He's just chatting with Katie, who works in the NSA. They're coordinating an escape," Connor said. "They're also dating," he muttered slyly. Travis elbowed his brother before continuing his work.
Of course, I was being a hypocrite. I was in Elysium, yet I managed to smile as well. My friends made me smile, and Annabeth made me smile. She made me feel happy and warm despite being in hell.
I missed my friends and Annabeth a lot. I was scared for them and myself. I didn't want to let anyone down.
During our dinner, they explained everything to me.
The government's official plan was risky, and it felt impossible. However, considering how dangerous Elysium was, this was necessary.
...