The churning sea lapped against the sand beside me as I ran through the mist, searching for my half-sister. She had to be around here somewhere, unless she pranked me and now I looked stupid. I considered this possibility and stared off into the sky as I ran. Then I tripped.

"Ugh," I said, spitting out a mouthful of sand.

There was a laugh next to me, and the air shimmered. "Oh, gods," I said, looking at the invisibility cap that Annabeth now held in her hand. "That it so… cool!"

Annabeth shook her head and stuck it in her pocket. "Okay," she said, bouncing in the sand. "Tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!"

I held up my hands. "How much sugar have you had today?" I asked.

"Enough," she said, looking around and then back at me.

I shook my head, having fun with this. "So where do you want me to start?"

"At the beginning," she said. "Does he wear boxers or briefs?"

My jaw dropped. "I don't know," I said as if that were ridiculous.

Annabeth laughed. "Okay," she said. She pulled something out of the sand. "I snagged this from your desk before I left," she said. "I'm not allowed to read it, but…"

I laughed as she handed me The Battle of the Labyrinth. "Where to start?" I asked, but I already knew. "Page 203. Most beloved page of any Percy fan."

"Why?" asked Annabeth anxiously. She reached next to her and pulled out her laptop, opening a Microsoft word document. "I want to take notes."

I flipped it open and began to read. " 'What?' Annabeth shrieked. 'No! I'm not leaving you…" And so I read, slowly, approaching the big bang. "…She kissed me."

Annabeth exploded into giggles and collapsed onto her back, dropping her laptop in a soft spot of sand.

"Whoa!" I said, helping her up. "Out of character much?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Sorry," she said, once again serious. She readjusted her laptop on her lap, getting into typing position "Please, go on."

I read for hours, watching Annabeth out of the corner of my eye all the while. I saw her face go red when Calypso said she loved Percy, and tears of joy slide down her face when I read about Percy stumbling in on his funeral. She seemed to turn to stone when Rachel first came in, and laughed at every corny joke or sarcastic comment that Percy made.

As the sun began to rise and as I began to read the part about Pan, my voice cracked and I set down the book. "So… tired," I said, making a pillow of sand behind my head. Annabeth was typing at her word document like a professional typist.

"I know how you feel," she said, looking at me. She had bags under her eyes, but still looked completely refreshed, though. Only someone as radiant as Annabeth could pull that off. Percy had good taste. "This is amazing," she said.

I nodded. "That's pretty much what everyone said when they finished the book."

Annabeth shook some sand out of her hair. "Gods, I can't believe we stayed up all night reading. I think I'm gonna go back to the cabin. You wanna come?"

I shook my head. "Can't make it back," I murmured, half asleep.

Annabeth shrugged. "Okay," she said. "I'll catch up with you later, then. I'm going to sleep in an actual bed."

"Mmhmm," I said, not really caring. I heard the pound of her feet growing fainter and fainter.

I laid in the sand for about fie minutes, just listening to the sounds of waves lapping onto the shore. Everything was so peaceful and quiet. Then I heard something softly. It sounded like a lost flute looking for the marching band.

Groggily, I lifted my head. The mist had long since lifted, so I could see up to the top of a faraway sand dune, where someone sat. I realized that it was a satyr playing the reed pipes. The music was enchanting; therefore it must not have been Grover.

Even though I couldn't name the tune, it sounded familiar. I was sure that I had heard it… somewhere.

Slowly, I stood up and went towards the dune, staggering at first, but after a few steps I walked decently. As I got closer, the music got louder. Then I could see who it was.

"Jen!" I called excitedly.

A note went into a shocked high pitch that echoed after the reed pipes were lowered. Jen looked at me startled, but smiled. "Amanda!" she said, delighted. "I haven't seen you for… a whole day!"

"Shocker, isn't it?" I laughed, sitting next to her.

Jen gave me a funny look. "What are you doing out of bed. You're not supposed to be up for, what? Another hour?"

I shrugged. "I may have gotten up a little early," I said.

Jen stayed silent for a moment, maybe deep in thought. Then she lifted the pipes back up to her lips and played the familiar tune again, and I realized where I had heard it. Jen had once been playing that in the courtyard of the school. I had just been hanging out when I heard the music in the air. I thought that she had been playing a whistle, or an ocarina or something. Gods, that seems like such a long time ago

"Jen?" I asked, after a while.

She stopped. "Yeah?"

"Where do the camp borders extend into the ocean?"

Jen looked at me as if I'd gone crazy, but pointed out past the shoreline anyway. "You see that white line?" she asked.

I followed her finger to a white line going from land to land. "Yeah," I said.

"Those are the borders. Monsters can't swim in past there."

"Oh," I said.

We sat there for a few minutes, just listening to the voices of the wind calling. Suddenly, Jen's ears seemed to prick up. She twitched nervously and looked around, but there was no one there. Squinting, she looked out in the ocean.

"What?" I asked, following her gaze. The first thing I noticed were the waves rising high, but going in the opposite direction of the shore. The ocean was flowing back wards. As one wave crashed down, another would rise. It was trying to push something away.

Then, just as another wave was about to rise, I saw a dark figure. It was a small rowboat that was surrounded by a transparent cloud of purple. "What's that?" I asked, knowing it couldn't be good.

Jen held up her finger, signaling me not to talk. She squinted hard at the rowboat. She was straining to listen. Suddenly, her eyes went wide, and her face went sickly pale. She fell back and tumbled off of the sand dune.

"Jen!" I shouted, scrambling down the sand dune to her.

"Uuuuuuuugh…" moaned Jen.

"Jen," I said. "What did you hear?"

She took an uneven breath. "I heard a boy, and he said…"

"What?" I asked. "What did he say?"

"He said, 'I, Ethan Nakamura, grant you permission to enter camp.'"

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Hey, I hoped you like that chapter! (Dodges tomatoes being thrown at her) What, at least I updated! You can't be so upset about a cliffie… Okay, yeah, I'd throw tomatoes too. I'll try to update soon… so please review. The more I get the sooner I'll update. :D Hope you thought this one was good!