May be some disturbing concepts about government in this chapter.
Lyra P.O.V.
We appeared in the Hades Cabin. Nico slumped to the ground instantly, his eyes sliding shut. Frantically, I checked his pulse. It was slower than normal but fine. I grabbed Nico under his arms and heaved him onto the nearest bunk. He looked almost innocent without his piercing black eyes, like a normal child.
"Ghost, stay. Guard him." I kicked the soldier in the hip. Ghost growled and stared menacingly at the man. I absconded out of the cabin, taking no time to reach Percy's door. I didn't think of knocking. Generally when something important happened, you don't think of those types things. I burst in to find Percy canoodling with Annabeth. They jumped apart quickly, Annabeth's face bright red, Percy covering his face and slipping his shirt back on. Annabeth pulled her shirt down, which had ridden up.
"We need to talk." I stated, unfazed by the scene. I was one of those people who never had a filter and didn't care about awkward situations.
"Yeah. How about privacy, Lyra!" Percy stood up, irked. "Besides last time we talked, you completely ignored my advice and threatened me."
"I don't take orders!"
"Start then!" Percy shouted then he noticed the blood on my hands. "Lyra, what happened?" He reached for my hands, but I backed away.
"I just came to tell you that Nico and I grabbed one of the soldiers. I think you should see him." I retreated from Cabin Three and walked back to Sam, Percy and Annabeth on my trail. Percy called out for the other cabin heads and trotted in front of me. He made a few steps in before he backed out at the sound of snarling.
"There's a wolf in there."
I pushed past him moodily and snapped my fingers. Ghost stopped growling and nuzzled against my leg. Percy checked Nico, made sure he was fine, and let the boy sleep. I pointed at the man still unconscious on the floor. The other campers came in and stared at the man. Or more accurately, his leg. The leg was covered in black blood, veins like spiderwebs spiraling under his skin. Percy and other campers made a claw over their hearts and pushed out.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He attacked me and Nico. We were at my dad's, and he had the upper hand. That is until Ghost bit his leg." Will Solace stepped forward and ran a hand over the torn leg. He mumbled some words and healed it. The wound was only slightly open and less nauseating.
"There's something in his blood. It's not normal."
"Can you tell what it is, Will?" Annabeth inquired. The son of Apollo shook his head.
"Only that it's against all the laws of nature."
"Well, let's ask him," I said and slapped Sam's face. He stirred but didn't wake up so I slapped him again. Sam's eyes fluttered open and zipped around a few times, disorientated. "Hi, Sam. We need to ask you some questions, okay?"
"Where am I?"
"Now, Sammy. I'm asking the questions." He sneered at me and glanced at his leg. The blackness of his blood seemed to humor him. "Let's talk about your leg. Why is your blood black?"
"Go to hell." I drew my fist back to punch him, but Percy grabbed me and lifted me behind him.
"Jake, help me grab him and take him to the hole. Anyone have something to cover his eyes with?"
"Why," I said, "don't you use your shirt? You like of taking it off in front of Annabeth." Percy sent me a warning glare and snatched a satchel belt from Drew. He tied it around Sam's face and took him by the arm. Jake took the other arm, and we parted for the limping prisoner.
We secured him in the Harpies room. It was dirty, bone littered, and hot. Perfect to make him even more disorientated. We took Sam's own handcuffs and chained him to the wall.
"Drew?" Drew smiled and kneeled in front of the prisoner. Sam leered at her and glared straight into her eyes.
"Try whatever you want, cupcake. I am not scared of you."
"And you shouldn't be." She said sweetly. "I just want to have a conversation with you." She ran a hand up and down his bulk arms seductively. "Why don't you tell us about the operation?" Sam laughed and spit in her face. Drew sprang back with a cry.
"Try it again, Siren! Your magic doesn't work on me!"
"Enough." I stepped forward and grabbed the sides of his face. I closed my eyes and charged forward. When Sam realized what I was doing, his eyes grew wide and a wall around his mind began to build. He was no match for my strength and groaned. He was in pain. The more he fought to keep me out, the more pain he received from my digging. When I found something worth while, I said it aloud.
"His name is Samuel Fields. Fifth unit in the special Ops training." I clenched my eyes against the pain and pressure building in my own head. "Show me." I said both aloud and in his head. "A man in a business suit came." I winced from a sharp pain.
A man in a business suit came and observed my unit. I thought he looked odd, not a military man. He watched me carefully, observing my teaching methods. One of my trainees collapsed from the one hundred push-ups I had ordered. It was the fifth time I had told them to drop.
"Get up, you coward!" I yelled right in the boys face. The kid got up and tried to to ten more but he was shaking so hard he barely made it halfway down. I snarled at the entire group and ordered them to run ten laps around the base. The man in the suit was devoid of emotion. He stood their unwavering, brown short cropped hair, brown beady eyes, pointed nose, fairly tall and thin. I glanced at his hands. I believed hands were the way to judge a man. One that had men do work for him had dainty, pathetic hands. A man who had mangled, scarred hands acted to much. This man wore blue gloves, preventing any such judgment.
"Sergeant Maka, I presume." I nodded, and he continued. "I am Agent Z. My partner and I have been ordered to find men for a special operation. I believe you qualify."
"What operation?" I asked skeptically.
"One of great importance. Our mother land is threatened. If we want to survive the oncoming storm we must find a way to be stronger than everyone else."
"I'm listening."
A lab coat stood above me. His face was covered by a surgeons mask and he held a clipboard, making last second adjustments to my chart. My breathing was labored and hurried. I swallowed multiple times and blinked. The table was in a glass box, surrounded by armed guards and the man in a business suit. This time his partner stood beside him. My arms were tied to the patients bed, my legs and waist strapped down as well.
"For assurance," they had said. "Your body may react violently with the drug." I was having doubts about the procedure now. I was the first one they were testing.
"Out of the subjects, you are the most patriotic and honorable." The doctor looked at me. His face and hands covered. Only eyes watching his test subject through little slits between his medical cap and mask. "This is an honor for you. You are the future of our countries soldiers."
I nodded vacantly and tried to ignore the size of the needle held by the doctor. He said something medical that sounded like total nonsense. He bathed my arm vein in a yellow orange liquid and placed the needle into my arm. All of the black liquid was squeezed out, the effects instant. First my arm began to burn. The blood felt like liquid fire spreading through my body. Then it froze. I was unbelievably cold. My arms clenched and my body began to shake. I convulsed on the table, the restraints tearing against my sudden strength. Distantly, I heard screaming and yelling. The doctor scrambled back and locked the medical seal.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the pain dulled, and the shaking stilled. I was numb. The doctor hesitantly unlocked the door and checked my pulse.
"He's stabled." I didn't understand why he said that. The man pulled his mask down and smiled at me, releasing the restraints. "Carefully sit up. Please, do not attempt to walk. Your body has gone through a major shock. "Tell me your name."
"Samuel Collin Fields."
"What is your mission?"
"To protect and serve the United States of America." The doctor nodded and picked up a scalpel. He motioned for my hand, and I gave it to him. He held my pointer finger and ran the blade into the soft flesh. Instead of the crimson liquid, black blood pooled out of the cut. The doctor took the scene silently. He removed his tape recorder from his lab coat pocket and motioned for someone else to join him. A blond lady also in a lab coat joined him.
"Dr. Calder will take you to your room and run fundamental health tests." The woman smiled and offered me a hand. I took it and tried to stand. My legs buckled, but I secured myself.
"Patient received a mixture of Hydra and Aresian blood. Affects were unparalleled. Patient seems stronger-" the medical dome door shut behind me.
I slumped back. My head pounding beyond belief. I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. Samuel hung limply from his binds, head lolling to his chest. One camper was hovering over me, lifting me against the wall. I scarcely noticed I had tears rolling down my cheeks, voices mumbled near me.
"They aren't human." I thought Percy said it, but I was so out of it, Annabeth could have adopted a really low voice. "When I killed Jones, I thought-I didn't really think about it except that they acted like monsters. But they are literally monsters."
"But that's not possible... Men, mortal men, whose blood is mixed with monsters?"
I opened my eyes and saw Annabeth tugging her hair. She had just finished speaking. Will Solace was beside me, making sure I didn't pass out from the mind reading endeavor.
"What's the plan, boss?" I croaked.
"We need to do recon. Find out about everyone in the program. What kind of hold they have on the government..." Percy began.
"If they have judges and the what organizations they have in their back pockets." Annabeth continued to rattle off options of what the operation has. When she finished the lists of resources the government has, she handed the torch to Percy. I had to admit they worked well together. They knew each other's strengths.
"Aphrodites, Apollons, Hermesians, and children of Nike and of Hypnos, I want you all to use any manipulation skill you have. We take turns going out and finding bosses and whoever might have information. You use any method you think will work to get information." He paused to think. "Aresians you help with securing the camp and any camper who needs to go out to get information. Athenians work on predicting the moves and plans and the people working in the organization. Everyone else, you help secure camp. If we get a report of a demigod or anything that relates to and is important, you run it through either Annabeth or I. Children of Hecate, you are going to work on fixing and distorting the mist to our advantage and searching for the gods."
"What about us?" Came a cocky voice from the entrance. A girl with spiky black hair and silver tiara stood with her hands on her hips. "The hunters are at your disposal. We can move undetected and quickly."
"Hunters. I want you to check the corners of the earth. Hear a rumor, check it out." Thalia nodded and sent out the orders. Soon, the entire camp was active. No more waiting around to get caught. The Athenians used Daedalus' laptop to run an algorithm on potential traitors. The hunters split up, some staying at camp to help guard it, and some going off to find rumors of the gods hiding place. Will took me to my cabin. I was useless being that tired. He dropped me on my bunk, slipped a cube of Ambrosia in my mouth, and checked the bruise forming on my neck. Sam didn't do any damage, he had said. I slipped away into a dreamless sleep. A familiar white lump on my legs.
I woke up around 12:15. The crystals were no longer shining, but the sun seemed to shine through the ceiling, illuminating the bedroom. I hung my legs over the end of the bed and rubbed my head. It didn't hurt anymore.
"Lou?" I poked my head out of my section to see Lou's curtain wide open. I hopped to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, changing into jeans and a blue t-shirt.
I found the populace eating in the pavilion so I jumped onto the bench besides Ghost. The puppy was eating bacon left for him.
"Hey-lo, Ghost. Who gave you the bacon, huh?" I scratched his ears affectionately. I filled my own plate full of food and chowed down, slipping Ghost more food.
"If you keep feeding him that, he's gonna get fat," stated Percy. I shrugged and didn't respond. "You were more fun in the Academy."
"What?" Percy shrugged and went back to eating. A few bites in, he explained with a full mouth.
"You trusted me before I even woke up. What happened to the girl who thought poking me would do the job a needle couldn't?"
"You were less commando then. If you haven't noticed, I don't take orders very well." I said indifferently.
"Mm. This is how it is at camp."
"What, just because you fulfilled a prophecy, everyone has to listen to your every whim?" I ran my fork over the eggs, breaking the yoke and drawing with the juice. "I'm sorry if I'm not a blind follower."
"No, your just a blind leaper." He paused. "What did you need to tell your dad about? I get that you love your dog, but almost getting strangled to death isn't worth fetching your wolf."
"I had a dream about Z." I paused, and Percy prompted me on. "He said something about using force and making rounds. I needed to make sure my dad stayed away from them. And I had a hunch about my necklace."
"Speaking of hunches, I think you should go to the armory and get fitted. Pick out a weapon. If men really have monster and demigod blood in them," he explained, "demigod weapons should work against them."
"Fine." I stood up and turned to leave. "Oh, and, Jackson? I'm going to be part of the information crew." Percy thought about it for a moment but nodded all the same. "And you're still a dollop head."
The armory was stalked full of demigods. They wanted to get all traps, defenses, and weapons ready for a fight. The word of the monster men had apparently spread to all of the ears in camp. I saw Jake Mason tinkering away at a tiny little metallic thing in his hand so I wandered over to him. He glanced up quickly as I approached then dropped his eyes to his hand.
"What's that?"
"A-bug." He said slowly then set it carefully on the table. The metallic object was the size of a large house fly. Silver wings attached to the obsidian body and ruby eyed head. There was a pile of other types of bugs on the edge of the table. "For spying on the senate meetings or whoever is in charge of the operation."
"They'll never see their termite-ation coming." Jake glared at me. He didn't even smile. I sighed and continued. "Percy said I should get some armor. Pest-y to say the least."
"Basic armor or specialized?"
"Anything that will help me beat those weevil bastards."
"Basic it is. Go find out your measurements." He said shortly. He wanted me to go away, but I was having to much fun trying to annoy him.
"I also need a weapon. I've only ever used a gun so I don't know what kind of weapons I like."
"Do you like reach and power or maneuverability and speed?"
"Both. Two one-handed weapons? I also like chigger weapons. Like on a military pistol. I want to terrify them so badly that they'll be praying on a mantis." Jake's mouth was twitching by now. He eyes were blazing with frustration and mental pain.
"Try looking at the premade weapons. Over on that wall."
"I mite do that. Mayfly over there right now actually. Stop bugging you."
"You do that."
Before he tried to do something he would regret, I jogged away, towards the wall with weapons covering every inch. One section was completely dedicated to knives and daggers. They ranged from butterfly knives to rampuri. I plucked one knife off the wall, gold plates with a silver handle. It was extremely thin but sturdy. The handle was sleek and slanted in a curve, the blade long and sharp. I pocketed it and scanned the wall for something else. Twenty throwing knives on a leather belt. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth and I snatched them up. Before I left the armory, I waved at Jake, who glared and went back to his bug tinkering. Annabeth met me outside.
"I have a job for you."
Lyra is the person in the book cover picture. If u click on it u can c the 2 colored eyes. the copper hair is not like orange/ginger/ red but like a new penny mixed with brown
stout can also mean firm and sturdy not just fat and short, but it is short.. The blade is thin, the handle fat.. Plates refuting to the blade, just looking for another word, if u have one could u tell me it? I need synonyms for the kinda thing