Chapter 1: What happened?

I had Katoptris in hand when I battled monsters with Percy. He was having more luck with the monsters than me. All I could do is defend myself, barely.

My knife wasn't good enough for Hellhounds. They were too big and Percy was getting tired, I could see it in his eyes. A hellhound lunged forward, and Percy struck it down.

"Pipes, we should run back," Percy said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "Let's hurry before more come out."

We ran as fast as we could. Percy was tired, but he ran like a madman. I wished I could, I needed to catch up. I can't be left behind for the better good. I need to catch up, but I can't just charmspeak the wind to push me or charmspeak the water. I'm not Jason or Percy.

"Percy!" I tried to yell, but he didn't hear me. He usually pays attention to his friends.

We kept running through the forest, ducking under branches, jumping over logs, trying to stay alive, but being a demi-god isn't easy. The worst part is that the morning dew was making the ground wet, so I slipped every five minutes.

Percy made it to camp, while I stumbled. I hit a rock as I fell downhill. And I heard Jason's voice and then Percy's. It seems like they were arguing, but I couldn't be sure. Their voices faded and my head ached. I tried to sit up to examine my surroundings, but a wave of nausea made me sit back down. I must have a concussion or something. It felt like I just broke my ankle again, but instead, the pain is in my head.

I looked for Katoptris, but my knife must be uphill. I hope it didn't go far, so Percy or Jason or someone will find me. I don't want to sit here and get eaten by Hellhounds or some other monster.

SNAP!

A tree fell. I jumped out of my skin when I heard it. I knew something was close. I had to get up, but if I move from where I fell, no one will find me.

ROAR!

Alright, I'm getting out of here. I tried to stand back up, but another wave of nausea washed over me. I sat back down. I have to get back up, I thought to myself. I scanned for anything that could be helpful and all I found was trees, brush, and dirt. I looked at the hill and saw some tree roots growing out from the wet dirt.

I used the biggest root I could find as support to help me up to my feet. As another wave of nausea and my vision spotted, I continued to stand, using the hill as support. I looked up the hill and realized there was no way I'm getting back that way. I walked along the hill until I ran out of the hill to use. I hobbled between trees, trying to find my way back. I wished I had Katoptris, I could probably see what everyone was doing, hopefully trying to find me.

I trudged on, finding ways to get up, but no luck. All that I know is that I'm getting lost and the air isn't getting any warmer. I only had a sweater, thinking Percy and I would only be out for 20 minutes, an hour tops, but I was wrong. The wind blew right through my sweater and made me rub my arms, but the funny thing was, I couldn't really feel the cold, I was mainly in pain, limping and stumbling throughout this bloody forest.

The more I walked more I realized that I probably twisted my ankle or something. My ankle started to hurt, like when I broke it back when Festus crashed Jason, I, and Leo at a Cyclops car factory. It made sense, I didn't break it, but the pain grew, it was almost unbearable. I kept walking, I need to find camp before I freeze or die because of some head injury.

I started to run when I realized I was stuck in a trench. I had to get out, but one thing was, where did this end? It seemed like it was leading me in circles, but that was hard to tell since everything looked the same in the forest. How was I supposed to find my way out? I'm not Annabeth and certainly not Jason, who could just fly and go back. I don't dare to climb a tree, I don't trust how sturdy the branches are or how graceful I was.

My head was pounding by the time I reached another big tree. When can I go back to my cabin? I just want to go back, but it seems the Fates are playing tricks on me. They want me to die a slow horrible death, just for amusement, which wasn't funny a bit. This forest seemed to also be playing tricks because I swore I already walked to this tree at least 50 times. And has this rock always been here? Why were things starting to repeat?

I kept walking, noticing small details, the big tree was the same every time I walked by it, the rock had the same amount of moss and morning dew on it, and my footprints weren't showing up every time I came by these places.

Why was the forest playing tricks? Can't I just have a normal get-lost-people-find situation, not get-lost-stay-lost. I just wanted to be back at camp doing something other than suffering. I'd rather climb the lava wall than wander this forest, trying to find my way back. I want to be with Jason and be sitting together, cuddling.

I walked around for another for what seemed like hours and I started to slow down, which wasn't what I wanted to do. I wanted to keep going, but my head was throbbing, my throat was dry, and my legs ached. I wanted to stop and sleep, but that wasn't an option. I have to keep going, I need to find camp. I can't die out here. That isn't an option.

I walked another few feet before I stumbled and fell. I collapsed and hit the ground. It hurt, but it also felt nice. I wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep, but I shouldn't.

You know you want to, a voice said.

No, I don't, is what I wanted to shout back, but my body had other plans. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.