"Percy! Percy!" a female's voice cried from a distance. "Wha…?"Percy asked to the darkness. His eyes adjusted to the dim lilted room. He saw a young woman sitting on a couch crying. She looked up. "Percy!" she cried. "Please come soon!" tears flowed down her cheeks. He suddenly began to move back at a tremendous speed and the last thing he saw was a pair of glowing red eyes behind a mask She's mine, the voice whispered. "Percy! Percy!"
"Percy! Percy!" Chiron said shaking him back and forth. "Wake up!" Percy lifted his eyelids. "Chiron?" he said, with his voice a little groggy. Chiron helped him to his feet.
"Come now Percy," Chiron said, pushing him toward the bathroom. "Get ready, and then you will be taken to Olympus. You'll pick your followers and pack lightly when you get back."
Percy dozed in the bathroom. As the cold water snapped him awake, he began to think about his dream and the girl on the couch and the red eyes. When he finished up, he went outside to find Chiron, Mr. D, Argus, and his friend Rachel waiting for him. He noticed that it was still dark, before any of the campers were up.
"Hey Rachel, hey Argus, Mr. D." Percy gave a respectable nod at the camp director.
"Hey Percy," Rachel said.
"Got any predictions for me?" Percy asked, hoping for some guidance. Rachel shook her head.
"Nope. Nada. Sorry." She answered. "Looks like you're on your own. Well, not entirely. When you come back you have to pick some people, but yeah."
"Oh," Percy said with disappointment in his voice. Rachel was the new Oracle, the one who speaks the prophesis of the half-bloods and gods. She was wearing her usual ratty tee-shirt and stained jeans, with an occasional smiley face or heart drew on her arm. She had come back from a boarding school her father sent to during the year.
"Sorry, Percy, you know I can't just whip up a prophecy. It just… comes. And this is suppose to be like an 'off record' mission" Rachel apologized.
Percy looked down at the floor. "Well, I guess I better get going. See ya Rach," Percy began to walk with Argus when Chiron stopped him.
"Percy, you're going to discover things that you never knew about your er…distant family on this journey. It's vital that you know what I'm about to tell you- Do not forget to persuade your... opponent. No, that's not the right word. Challenger. No, that's not the right word either. Well, you'll know what I'm taking about when it comes down to it. Good Luck!"
Mr. D rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, good luck, blah blah blah, may the Gods be with you!" he began to walk back to the Big House in his cheetah slippers. "I'm going back to bed," he muttered.
Percy began walking again. "Oh and Percy!" Chiron called from behind his back. "I don't think you'll need Riptide this time! But it's always good to bring it!"
"Ok, Chiron, Thanks!" Percy tried to sound upbeat, but his yawn gave it away.
"We'll talk more when you get back."
"Bye!" Percy slid into the sleek black official car that Argus drove.
"Let's drive, Argus." Percy said.
Percy looked up the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th street as he got out of Argus' shiny black van. He saw the 102 stories (not counting the other 600) in their regal splendor and squinted against the blinding July sun.
Argus was leaning against the car with his arms crossed. Through the Mist, you could still see his dozens of pairs of eyes all over his head and tanned arms.
"I'll drive you back to camp when finished," he said, looking straight ahead with his sunglasses.
"'Kay" Percy said walking through the sliding glass doors. He slowly walked up to the clerk behind the lobby desk with a cautious pace.
"I need my card, please." Percy said, putting his arms on the wooden desk, almost with a sly smile.
The man looked up from his paperwork. "This a'int a hotel, son." he said with an eye roll. "Try the Marriot down the block."
Percy put a golden drachma in front of the man. "Will this do?" Percy said with a cocky grin. The man lifted an eyebrow.
"We don't take that type of currency here, boy." The clerk said. "Maybe you should─"
"─ just give me the key to the 600th floor." Percy said coolly. "I am a half-blood and I'm here to see my father."
The clerk sighed with a faint smile and handed Percy a familiar gold card. "Bring it back to me when you're finished."
Percy gave him a cocky grin and strutted to the elevators. He decided that since he was already here, he should be upbeat and embrace what's coming. He went into the elevator and closed the door before anyone entered. He placed the card into a slot under the floor buttons. A small red button reading 600 showed up under the others. Percy smiled and pressed down. "Floor number 600," the automatic operator said. "Olympus,"