Percy and Jason wandered straight through the forest, not having slept at all in the past day. The moon was descending, and the horizon was turning pink as the sun rose, a slight chill that was associated with the sun rising started to set in. "There has to be a way out," Percy had said as they marched on. "This place can't go on forever." Jason agreed, but his feet still hurt.
After they had gotten out of the Devil's Snare, they both went down the same set of stairs. Surprisingly, it spiraled away and then up into the forest. They had encountered only a stray unicorn, which they left alone. They hoped to find some small birds that they could eat, but there was nothing, and their stomachs ached with hunger.
"What's that?" asked Jason, pointing at a bush.
The two of them approached it slowly, staring at the feet that protruded from the bottom of the bush. Just as Percy was going to use a spell to clear the bush away, something hit him from behind. Jason turned and saw a Ravenclaw – who he knew as Madison – pointing her wand at him. The feet had been a decoy!
Without saying anything, a jet of red light shot out of her wand and breached the feeble Shield Charm that Jason tried to produce. He was thrown back, his vision going black.