Chapter 2

Percy P.O.V.

=-Day Five-=

It had been three days since I had been taken, or so it seemed. Lyra had given me all of her information and had begun spreading the word of revolution. Sadly, more and more half bloods were brought in as time passed. But out of all of the new arrivals, there were no children of Athena as far as I could tell. I was unbelievably happy Annabeth wasn't taken, though also upset because she was who I wanted to see the most. She was the one we needed to stage an escape, she could come up with a perfect, flawless escape plan. All I had to go on were the spy movies I've watched. And I figured folding a paper crane wouldn't get us very far in terms of escaping.

What I was able to notice was the absence of magical creatures like satyrs and nymphs. That gave me some feeling of hope. That maybe the people who took us weren't as powerful as they seemed. I guess the spirits were harder to catch Than a bunch of kids hiding in plain sight.

~•~

"What I don't get, is why the mist doesn't effect them," stated an angry Michael Yew, who had been brought in a day prior. He ferociously looked between our group. Since I had arrived, myself and Lyra had been searching for allies, which currently included Michael Yew, Katie Gardner, Travis and the recently abducted Connor Stoll, Pollux, Chris Rodriguez, and Jake Mason. Lyra was part of our group, but she usually dropped in randomly. Like during the discussion in Free Hour. Often, she didn't even seem like she was paying attention, dropping information about the institution randomly. Michael Yew scowled defensively whenever Lyra came to the meetings. My guess was he didn't like the fact she could invade his mind.

"Maybe their clear sighted?" suggested Katie. The others shook their head before she even finished speaking.

"They can't all be clear sighted. Just having Rachel and my mom in the same city is rare." I said.

"Jones and Smith could be the only clear sighted? The others could be told something like we're aliens trying to invade the world and destroy it as we know it?" Lyra proposed.

Michael and Chris rolled their eyes. They had not taken to Lyra's conspiracy theory, quirky personality. The strange propositions combined to the mind reading had permanently put them at odds. I nodded and started branching off the idea.

"That actually makes sense," I admitted. The two glared at me. "Not the alien part. That's absurd, but the two clear sighted and interpreting the vision and everything. Dr. Calder has to be clear sighted, too. She read my file saying I was the son of the sea god." I turned to Lyra. "Could you look into their mind and check it out."

"I don't read minds," she replied pointedly, like calling it mind reading was offensive.

"You said you could hear my thoughts, when I playing ball."

Lyra was already shaking her head. "You mean when you lunged after an imaginary ball? I told you I could sense and comprehend movement. Besides I already tried doing it to blue hands and couldn't get anything. But glimpsing into the guards head..." She grinned deviously. "Let's just say I gleaned interesting facts from their peanut brains."

"Like?" Michael prodded. As much as he didn't like her, he wanted to get out of the prison as soon as possible.

"No location or anything like that, but I do know that Jones and Smith are just the foot soldiers waiting for orders." She shrugged and continued drawing on her arm. She liked to do that when we had Free Hour, her arms lined with weird symbols and drawings. "What about the gods? Shouldn't they have intervened by now? It's been going on for a month now, demigods being snatched in the middle of the night."

All of the faces slipped into sadness and fury.

"Maybe they're trying," Katie said numbly. No one responded. They didn't have the heart to admit the gods had forgotten their promise only a month after it was made.

But we had no time to dwell on another broken promise from the gods. Our group had to disperse when a buzzer beeped, signaling the end of free time. We were herded out of the reck room, which was the same as every other room but with pens and cards, and into the bland halls. We were herded through the halls and split into groups and different classrooms based on date of arrival.

After a few days, I got used to the order of things. Breakfast, then bedroom for an uncountable amount of time, lunch, free hour, classroom, dinner. And somewhere in there was a randomly appointed doctor's checkup.

The classroom was a little different from the other rooms. The walls were still white, but on the back wall was a double sided mirror, confirmed by Lyra's mind-wanderings—what she insisted on calling her mind reading ability—and the front was an ever-changing unknown. This time it was quite large, almost like a plane hanger with miscellaneous objects blocking the end of the gym, preventing any size estimation. It reminded me of the warehouse from that show I saw once, the one with magic artifacts. The thirty of us were assigned places at the end the room generally facing the heavily muscled, navy seal teacher. He was in his mid forties, shaved, rock-shaped head, and no tolerance for disobedience or talking. In Hal's book, we were supposed to stand at attention and listen.

Since I was a known troublemaker, my place was in the middle and front row. Close enough to see the veins popping out of his bulging biceps—lets just say too close for comfort. Today, he came in with his usually roughness and glared at us.

"Attention!" He had the stupid routine of making us salute him. He gave a curt nod and "allowed" us to relax. Each day, he taught us drills, orders and how to follow them, and discipline. Basically, follow his orders or get pummeled. "Today, we will be doing something new." He paused and let a maniacal smile spread across his block jaw. "Today, we will be doing survival games. Fail to survive means you fight in the ring. Got it?" It was rhetorical.

"Mismatch, step up!"

Lyra stepped forward with a death glare.

Instead of remembering our names, Hal had attributed personalities or physical qualities as nicknames. Lyra was Mismatch for her eyes. Katie was Buttercup cause she was a flower that was squash-able. I was Emerald due to my sea green eyes, but I was also the only one he bothered to learn a last name for, probably to keep a close eye on.

"You're gonna start us off with being the first of your side. Emerald, you are the first up for yours. See that course? You beat the person across from you and get a point. Team with the highest amount of points survive." He pointed to the obstacle course in front of us then pushed Lyra and me in front of a white line. Everyone else lined up behind us, ready for a sprint. He blew his whistle.

As much as I had taken a liking to Lyra, here, you were for your team and yourself only. Even though I had only been there for a few days, I had already fought in the ring and didn't want to go back there again. I put everything I could into that first sprint to the beginning obstacle.

The first obstacle was a twenty foot climbing wall, the grips three centimeter slats between the boards. Without shoes it hurt, but it was easier to fit your toes in and get more leverage. I pulled myself up managed to climb it in good time. Lyra was right next to me and frowned. I knew we were racing each other and that she was probably more nimble than I. So instead of turning around and climbing down that way, I dropped and rolled, jarring my feet a bit, but I sprinted off from a crouch.

The second obstacle didn't seem hard until I got a staff to the midriff. Holes in the ground and makeshift walls revealed to have quarter staffs in them that struck out randomly. I took one step to the left and tried again. My unprotected foot was crushed by one a centimeter thick. If it weren't for the curse of Achilles, I wouldn't have been able to walk. Turns out, I could still feel some things, and it hurt like hell. Even without someone walking, the sticks flew out and struck empty places. I glanced back in time to see Lyra roll into a run. She didn't have the patience to climb down either, I guess.

She took one look at the obstacle and began navigating the minefield. I watched awestruck as she gracefully danced out of the reach of every striking staff. It was like she knew where the staffs were going to strike before they appeared. She managed to reach the end within seconds without once being struck. To rub it in, Lyra waved and blew a kiss at the other side.

Growling angrily and antagonized, I tried again, this time following closely to what Lyra had done, and after what felt like an attack from a hive of angry killer bees, I passed through undefeated. Why couldn't the curse work on pain too, I thought sorely. I shook off the stinging and focused on the task. I didn't want to be in the ring. Failing here had a worse punishment than a punishment in school. And instead of detention, we were forced into the ring, a tournament of the strongest. Demigods fought each other, no rules, and it ends only when the other person could not physically fight back.

Duck, now!

I ducked and the last of the evil sticks of death swung at my throat. I swore, thinking I had passed all of the sticks. I was already down a separate hallway, and again there was still staffs attacking me? If I had gotten hit by that, and I didn't have the curse, that could have seriously caused damage. I wasn't an expert in anatomy, but I was pretty sure a straight, powerful hit to the jugular could deprive someone of oxygen long enough to loose consciousness. I growled and dug my nails in as I thought of Coach Hal's sneering laugh. He wanted people to get hit by that. He wanted them to get hurt.

Breathe. Breathe, I forced myself to breathe and to catch up to Lyra. I couldn't lose just because of anger. Not let down the others because I can't let go. But I didn't have to worry for too long as she was actually waiting for me by the end of the hall.

She smiled sympathetically and pushed open the last door, observing the open space before us with an irritated expression. The floor had vanished and reappeared fifty feet below. The sides of the room were equally as far away with no ledge to climb across. The only way to reach the end of the exercise was through ropes and bars that hung precariously from the ceiling. They were spread far apart and looked nasty and difficult. One mistake could be brutal.

I sucked in a breath then ran to the edge, leaping off the edge with as much power as I could muster. I sailed through the air until I managed to grasp a rope and bar, the rope hook between my arms and side. The bar rattled from my impact but held steady. I grunted while securing my legs on the bar then proceeding to tie the rope around my waist. I didn't care how difficult the rope made it to advance, i wasn't about to fall fifty feet to save a few seconds. Now secure, I regained my hand grip on the monkey bars and swung my legs, propelling me to the next bar about a foot away. I looked around, searching for my next move, but there were no more ropes or bars close enough to reach. One hand after the other, I swung to face the bar I had just left.

"I could swear that was closer before." The bar I had left a minute before now seemed to be about two and a half feet away.

"Lyra!" I called. She risked a glance over but was rewarded with slipping when the rope she was hanging onto moved five feet to the left. Now she was a few feet to my right.

"Hi, Percy." She nodded awkwardly, slipping a few centimeters down her rope. She regrouped and shimmied a little higher. "Nice weather we're having, huh?"

"I prefer rain." I risked holding on with one hand and wiped the sweat off the other one. Two more kids, each with welts the size of tennis balls, stumbled at the door. They seemed to notice us hanging and looked like they were debating ditching the rope swings and accept whatever punishment Hal would award them. I turned back to Lyra who was watching me keenly. "What?"

"I was just admiring your life line." She wrapped her wrist up around the rope, repeating the action with her opposite leg. "Would you mind testing that line for a sec?"

I only had a second to drop as she swung with incredible force and speed, sending her into the bar I was so recently clutching. She released the rope, swung her legs to the bar, and circled the bar to end up with her arms locked and the bar at her waist. Precariously balancing her feet on the bar, she stood and readied herself for a leap of grace.

"Wait. Lyra!"

She leapt for the bar two feet away. Good news: she reached the bar. Bad news: I heard a sickening crack, a quick release of breath, and she fell to only one hand grasping the bar. She twisted and jerked but managed to strengthen her hold with her second hand. Now, she was relatively secure, having stopped twisting and spinning. Seeing she was not in complete risk of falling, I shimmied up my rope in time to catch the bar, which flew to the other side of the gym, with a clearer path to the final finish line.

Lyra reached the end seconds before myself. I felt a sinking feeling as I realized I might have to fight in the ring. But five minutes later proved the tally to end up on my side by three points. No one fell off the monkey bars, but practically everyone had welts and possibly a broken toe from the staves. Katie was leaning heavily on Travis, who had a nasty bruise forming on his temple. Hal was smiling like a Fury.

"You," he pointed to Lyra's losing team, "I will see you after dinner. And you," he pointed at my team, "congratulations on surviving. Get to your rooms!"

He cackled as we lumbered from the hanger.

Guards opened the gym doors, and we limped out. The entire C group, including the other kids from other classes, slowly shambled to our separate rooms, depressed. Lyra, C23, tugged on my shirt, her gaze fixed on a guard. Suddenly, she stopped walking and punched me in the face, hard. I was too startled to react, but heard an incessant voice, just go with it.

"You bastard! Your team only won because they were uneven teams!"

I wasn't sure what was happening and stood stupidly in the hall. No one, actually knew what was going on. I furrowed my brow and looked at her incredulously.

"What?" I shouted. I figured she wanted to make a ruckus if she already hit me. Even if I didn't know what was going on, I was going to make a big deal out of whatever it was.

Throw me into the guard.

"Teams? You blame your failings on uneven teams then? Wow, didn't know you were that low, Mismatch." I sneered.

She pushed me back but managed to direct a nod at the guard she had been watching. I got the message and roughly grabbed her arms, sending her flying into the guy. The other demigods were startled but began pulling us apart before the guards could interfere and send us to the stalks. They had no idea what was going on, but since it was me, they knew we were working on a plan. Drew, daughter of Aphrodite, stood in the way of the guard on the other side, resting her hand against him and forcing a smile on her face.

"We're okay. No need to interfere."

I could feel her charm speak working at full capacity. Surprisingly, the guard nodded dazedly. Her charmspeak had actually worked—maybe because it was a relatively small request compared to last time. She had tried asking them to let us go before, but the men had shoved her away laughing.

I quickly backed away from Lyra and the guard, making a dash for my room before the charm wore off, glancing at the other kids before disappearing. The others were in their rooms, but before she slipped into her room, I saw a flicker of plastic reflecting the hall light in Lyra's palm.

=-Day Eight-=

"Good to see you again, Percy." Dr. Calder greeted me with a smile. She seemed to have recovered from my threat, her shaken demeanor replaced by the confident doctor she had first appeared as. She had her thin face covered by a clipboard, but, when she lowered it, she was smiling.

"You seem very pleased with yourself." I stated flatly, resisting the urge to tug at the hospital restraints again. I guess my outburst hadn't helped the restraint situation.

"I have the results from your bracelet."

I tried to hide the fear I felt in the pit of my stomach. There was no way a mortal technology could decipher the Achilles Curse's secrets. Right?

"They show an unbelievable bond between your skin pigments. Magical some would say," she suggested. I frowned and shook my head. Calder deflated and sighed in reply. "Can we make a deal, Percy?"

"Sure." I said. Dr. Calder smiled until I continued, "let all of us go, and I'll just burn the organization to the ground."

Her smile fell. "I was thinking more of a question and answer for special privileges?" She said, raising her eyebrows slightly.

I clenched my jaw and looked away.

"Last time you mentioned your mom?" she prodded. "You could call her?"

I caught my breath, heart beating rapidly. Half of me wanted so badly to say yes to the question and give whatever answer they wanted. But the other half would never betray my second home, my friends, my family. "What questions?"

Calder smiled maternally. As a sign of goos faith, Calder cautiously unlocked the restraints with a hesitant Glean in her eyes. "How about we start with your invincibility?"

"No!" I exclaimed so suddenly, Calder scrambled to her feet. When she realized I hadn't moved, she settled back down on her stool, only this time more precariously.

"Okay, okay. How about—your powers?"

I shook my head.

"Fine." She conceded tiredly. "All you have to do is say yes? Okay? Greek mythology is real?"

"Yes." I already figured they knew about Greek mythology existing, but actually saying it aloud seemed to solidify the situation. Maybe I could get some answers the same time Calder is trying to.

"Everything in Greek mythology—the monsters, the titans, the gods, the demigods— it all happened?"

"Yes."

"Including the heroes?"

"Yes." I had hesitated before answering, guessing where these questions were heading. One hero in particular was too close for comfort.

"Including Achilles?"

"Yes." My heart fell as Calder wrote something on her clipboard. In a last ditch attempt, I rushed to throw her off. "But the stories aren't all true."

Calder quirked an eyebrow. "How so?"

"They lied. The gods, especially heroes, lied about everything. Exaggerated their feats to seem more impressive and—godly. Um, Hercules was not as bulky as the pictures. Achilles? He was barely twenty and was only invincible because—"

"—His mother dipped him in the Styx. The same river you used to swear upon last time we met, is it not?" She was staring intently at me. "Does it really exist?"

I silently thanked the gods after finally finding my loop-hole. I only hoped I could pull it off. I nodded. "It exists. In the underworld. Only the dead can go there."

"But Hercules went there? Orpheus almost retrieved his wife from the underworld."

I wracked my brain. I have to find an excuse, I thought. If they figured out it was the curse, then they could find my Achilles heel, or worse try to replicate it.

"Hercules was more god than human, I stammered. I wasn't sure if that was exactly true, but Disney had made a whole movie about it, so... "And Orpheus was the child of the muses. Not human or a demigod."

"But it's possible for one to go to the underworld and not be dead?"

"Eh, I wouldn't know. I haven't really had an urge to try it."

Calder shifted, obviously annoyed. She stood abruptly and strutted out of the room, probably to deliver her findings or assumptions to the agents. I took a moment of hesitation but surged forward and, as quietly as humanly possible, riffled through her papers.

This was the exact moment we had been waiting for, and there were folders on everyone in the facility. Even some on other campers who had yet to be captures. One name in particular stood out from the rest. I snatched the grey folder and opened it hurriedly, glancing once to the door.

Chase, Annabeth

Age: 16

Maternal Parent: Athena, goddess of wisdom

Paternal Parent: Frederick Chase

Address: 15 Bays Lane, San Francisco

Current Location: last seen in New York City

Abilities: increased intelligence. Others unknown.

Known Items of Choice: bronze dagger, Yankee hat.

Other: Ran away at seven years of age, location unknown during runaway years, at least 9 camp beads. Dyslexia. ADHD. Interest in architecture.

Annabeth's medical records, school records, and birth certificate were there as well. I forced away the rage that was burning my veins, knowing my time was almost up, and continued to rifle through the files. I could hear Dr. Calder outside in the hallway, speaking with someone.

I grabbed the next name I recognized: Nico's.

DiAngelo, Nico

Age: unknown. 13 or 14

Maternal Parent: Maria DiAngelo

Paternal Parent: Hades, god of underworld

Address: unknown

Current Location: unknown

Abilities: unknown. Possible necromancy.

Known Item of Choice: Unknown

Other: only records of a son of a Maria DiAngelo, who died in apartment explosion, disappeared during World War II. Probable ADHD. Probable Dyslexia.

I smiled at Nico's unknown information, guessing that was probably what any file on a child of death would be. Each report was signed by a Elizabeth Calder, some more complete with information, psyche, and records than others. Placing the folders back in their original order, two caught my eye. Perseus Jackson and Lyra Thorn.

My file was full of all of the incidents at my various schools, including the snake in my crib at the nursery. The abilities included mostly "possible hydrokinesis—taking proper precautions—and invincibility." What caught my eye was the single, one answer under item of choice: pen. Without being able to help myself, I laughed out loud, slapping my hand over my mouth a second too late. The talking outside stopped.

I slammed the file shut and back in place, somehow silently, and flipped back onto the patient's chair. Elizabeth Calder entered the room brusquely. She glanced at me then the table holding the files. Seeing nothing wrong, she nodded towards the door.

"You're done for today."

"Don't I get that phone call?" I hadn't expected it so when she pursed her lips and shook her head vehemently I didn't feel too bad. I still felt horrible but not as low as possible.

=-Day Eleven-=

After another boring math class, I had free time. And unlike regular school, free time sucked. All we were able to do during free time was talk about why the people can see through the mist, where the gods were, plan to get out, and how violently we could think of killing our respective doctors. It was depressing and demoralizing. Our plans were half-baked, and there were no answers, and after Katie mentioned how psychopathic we all sounded, we guiltily stopped "killing" Dr. Calder.

I also wasn't the only one who found Calder to be painstakingly accurate in her information. The specificity of abilities, location, and weapon of choice was unnerving enough that we had a few days of angrily accusing one another of betraying the camp. Not only that, but guards had started to notice the meetings. Now, we had to rotate who could sit with us. Lyra didn't even sit with us at all anymore. She listened through the thing she insisted wasn't mind reading.

We couldn't even count the guard shifts accurately. We were able to round off the timing to about every two hours, guards would come and replace every old one—but each time was different. For example the guard by my cell door could be replaced first one day then fifth the next day. That wasn't even the biggest problem. The problem was Jones and Smith. Randomly, they have been showing up and taking kids to special tests.

We would ask the kids what the tests were, but each one was different. It pushed them to their limit, them coming back with racking shivers or unable to stay awake for more than an hour after the test. Drew went the last time. She explained they took her to a room. First it was a recording of her voice. They had told her to charm speak into the mic. Once they recorded some basic commands, they put through an audio to one person, then another, then another, and they observed how many she could charm, how long, and how forcefully. By the end she had collapsed and woken up in her room.

By the time she had finished her explanation, I hadn't heard anything anymore. I was so furious, my mind was blank, my vision flashing, and i found myself moving across the room.

I didn't even care if the guards noticed, and I stalked up to Lyra and hissed to her as quiet as I could.

"When I first got here, you said they wanted us for them. What did you mean?"

She glared at me like I was interrupting something and hissed back, "I told you. They wanted us. I don't know what for, but they don't just want us locked up. They want us."

"Like that is helpful! What's the point of being able to read minds if all you do is play mind games?" I snarled.

I turned away, not before seeing the pain and anger in her eyes, and crossed the room again, my gaze settling on the guard standing in front of the door.

I didn't care I was biting Lyra's head off. I wanted to be out of the governments clutches. There was an eight year old who won't stop crying for his mom. An eighteen year old who is failing out of high school and probably won't graduate because of this escapade. I angrily grabbed Michael by the shirt. "No more talk. We have to get everyone out. Now, either help plan or shut up and stay out of the way."

I knew I shouldn't be taking my anger out on my fellow prisoners, my friends, but I had had enough. The guard I had been watching before noticed my rage and stepped forward. He glared at the room and rested his hand on his gun.

"Free time is over. Get back to your rooms. And you," he jabbed a finger at me. "Watch your temper, boy."

"What ever you say, boss." I sneered at the man. The guard lashed out, using his nightstick to strike my abdomen, and continued to drag me out of the room. He threw me into my room with a quiet, threatening warning. I swore and kicked the door bloody, wishing for once I could actually get hurt instead of only feeling pain.