Bonjour! C'est le cinquieme chaptere, j'espere que vous aimez ca!
Oops, wrong language. Oh, and I totally made up 'chaptere'.
Hahaahah
…..
Anyway. Sorry for the long wait. Better late than never, yeah?
Yeah.
So well done to Experimental Agent 1123, SeaBreeze Daughter of Poseidon and thecooldude, for getting the answer to the question of the last chapter right! It was Pasiphae. Yup.
Okay, this chapter is dedicated to Jay Foren and thestralsheartmaltesers for getting the cabin things correct. Well done!
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, but I've met Rick Riordan before :D
Who am I kidding, I haven't. Sigh. I hate my life. *
Chapter 5
I was frozen. I couldn't react, I couldn't move, I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Then everything came into sharp focus. I stumbled backwards, then continued to run, somehow hoping I could outrun the robot.
Fat chance.
I hid behind a building, thoughts running wildly through my head. What could I do? I looked up and saw a huge park with a lake. I narrowed my eyes to see better, and noticed some boats. Could it be-?
"Yes!" I whispered. I had to run for it, but the robot was slightly confused so I had some time on my side. I took off, and the robot immediately sensed my movement and bounded after me. However, luck was on my side because it wasn't so good at sensing still objects. It crashed into the gate of the park, and a loud twang echoed across the street. I took those few valuable seconds to inspect the boats tied to the dock, and more importantly, the rope that held it. It seemed like a standard sailor's knot, and I quickly untied it, praying to the gods that it would be long enough. The robot had come back to its senses, and was no steadily coming closer and closer in my peripherals. My hands shook as I unknotted the rope from the wooden post, but I tried to keep calm and finally undid it. I bundled the long piece into my arms and yelled "Come on, you big lug of metal! You want a piece of this?"
The robot ran towards me in response, and I yelped quickly and ran towards a big oak tree in the center of the park. I firmly knotted one end to the trunk, then shimmied up at sat on one of the thick, solid branches. If this didn't work the first time, I was robot meat.
That sounds pretty gross.
It came closer, not realizing any danger. I mean, that was kind of an insult to me, but whatever. His ignorance, my gain. I made a lasso with the other end of the rope, and swung t in the air. Surprisingly, I wasn't bad for the first attempt, but it landed a few feet short of Mr. Clunky. Panicking, I pulled it back and tried recklessly, but somehow it managed to loop around his head and it tightened. I high-fived myself (yes, yes, lame, I know, but I was happy) and jumped to the bottom of the tree. I ran the opposite way until the rope couldn't go any further and shouted out "Done!"
"Seaweed Brain, you have to destroy it!" Annabeth's voice rang out amongst the creaking noises the robot made.
"You're kidding, right?"
No answer. I took that as a no. Sighing, I slowly creeped back up to the tree. The robot had evidently given up, but when I was within grabbing distance, it suddenly rose and tried to step on me, the idiot. I raced around the back, double stepping to confuse it, and looked at it's mechanical stuff. Hey, I'm no gadget maker, but I knew pressing the on and off switch and pulling out some wires would do the trick, right? I clambered on to it, using the panel doors as ledges, but once the big brute realized I was on him, he started to shake violently. I nearly lost my balance, but righted myself at the last second and pulled the panel off. I looked frantically for an off button, but noticed a self-destruct one. Ironically, it was big and red. Not such a clever design, but hey, it works for me. I pushed it, and immediately heard a timer "5..."
Hey! I should get more time than that!
"4…"
Where could I go where I wouldn't be hurt? The options were limited, but I'd never make it out of the park in time. That left…
"The lake."
I raced towards it, and jumped in just as the timer went off. Lucky I could hold my breath for ages. I swam under the dock to take cover, expecting huge pieces of debris to fall in.
I waited for like 2 minutes, but nothing happened. Rising up to the surface, I took a gulp of air and looked towards the robot. There was the tiniest heap of metal and the tiniest amount of smoke coming from the base of the tree. The tree didn't even look burned.
Disappointing.
"Annabeth? Can I leave now?"
The scene flickered to the grey, boring walls and Annabeth opened the door leading me out of that horrible cell. "Not bad, Perce. Could've done it way better, but you handled it okay."
I snorted. "Please. You're just an analyst."
I don't know what happened then, but suddenly I opened my eyes (when did I close them?) and found Annabeth holding me in a death lock position.
I gulped. More scary than pretty right now.
But still beautiful.
She raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"
I violently shook my head. "Nothing. Did I say something? Nope, nope. Must've been something else."
She nodded, and stood up, brushing herself off. I stayed on the floor, utterly bewildered until she grinned at me and my heart did some stupid beat thing.
"We're all done! What do you want to do? We've got a while before dinner, want to go for a walk?"
I nodded, grinning sheepishly, still embarrassed over the fact she pinned me down, but Annabeth hummed as she walked out, already seeming to have forgotten.
We walked out into the open air, and I grabbed a slice of pizza from the tables as we walked towards the woods. Annabeth rolled her eyes and muttered "Boys."
"What?" My mouth was already full, the crammed piece of pizza getting tomato sauce everywhere.
"Nothing!" Annabeth glanced at me and smiled. "You've got something here." She tapped her chin. "Let me show you." She took my index finger and put it on the tomato smear, but I was already blushing a bright red. She let go off my hand and started to walk again; I wiped my mouth area with the back of my hand and followed her like a loyal puppy. We walked to the edge of the woods, and Annabeth glanced from side to side before diving into the thick foliage. I hesitated, then dived in after her.
"Annabeth?" I couldn't see past all the leaves, and I was starting to panic and feel claustrophobic. I ran through the branches. "Annabe- oof!" I stumbled out into a clearing and fell down, face flat. I heard the amazing sound of her laughter and looked up, blushing slightly. I got up and dusted off, before looking at the scenic view. There was a ring of trees surrounding the clearing, and a little further on they parted to reveal a bubbly river, moving at a lazy pace. I went up to the water and gently put my hand in. The water felt cool, and I was about to take it out when something bit me.
"Ouch! Hey!" I quickly pulled my hand out and saw a red mark against my tanned skin. No blood seemed to come out, but I sucked the bite anyway to numb the pain.
Annabeth laughed again, and peered in the water. "Fish."
I nodded. "Aren't you a genius?" I mumbled against my skin.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me, but didn't comment further. She sat down and waved her hand to come join her. I plopped down, successfully hitting my knee against hers with a loud bang.
She winced. "Seaweed Brain!"
I shrugged. "Sorry."
She grinned at me, and once again my heart started to beat in an irregular fashion. Damn heart. "So what are you doing here, Perce?"
My thoughts suddenly turned to my mom. In all my excitement, I had forgotten about her. "Umm, well, my mom apparently works for the CIA, but they can't find her, so they brought me here, for now. What about you?"
Annabeth turned away, and didn't reply for a few seconds, as if trying to find out how to word her answer. She gave up and sighed. "My mom… she used to be an agent. But then, on a mission in Moscow, she was killed while going after a mafia leader." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That was going to be her last mission, before she would take a desk job and stay with us. I was staying with my dad, but after the incident, he wasn't the same again. He didn't like talking about anything, and would spend all his time in his study." She remarked bitterly. "Then my step-mom came into the picture. My dad suddenly got married to her, a week after I had actually met her and they had twins." Her harsh gaze softened a bit. "My step-brothers are really cute, and I love them, but my step-mother was evil. She hated me, and blamed me for my dad being so upset all the time. I- I couldn't take it anymore. I left and came here. That was when I was seven, Percy. Nearly eight years ago."
I gazed at her with sadness, with frustration for the unfairness of it all. Annabeth, the funniest, nicest person I'd ever met had had such a hard life? I couldn't even get what I would do if I were in her situation. She was only seven when she ran away? What kind of parents would do this to a kid?
She finally looked at me, the right corner of her mouth lifting up slightly. "I'm over it now. My dad eventually found out where I was, and kept trying to get me to go back home, but this is my home. I don't belong there, and he knows it."
"Annabeth." I urged my eyes to say all the things my lips couldn't, urged her to understand. "I'm really sorry."
She chuckled a bit. "Not really your fault, Seaweed Brain." She smirked. "You were probably still being potty-trained."
That's my girl.
We talked for a while, about everything and anything, and by the time we left the woods, the sun had almost disappeared and I felt like I knew Annabeth my whole life. Birthday parties, weird obsessions with celebrities, the one time I ate pet food, (long story) you name it, we talked about it.
I told her about my fetish for blue food, and she laughed saying "You're such a Seaweed Brain!"
"Well you're a Wise Girl!"
"Percy, that really doesn't sound like an insult. It's a pretty big compliment actually, thanks!""
"Well… well… you're welcome!"
She laughed that brilliant laugh again, and I smiled, thinking how I would do anything to hear her laugh.
"What are you thinking about, Percy? You've got a weird smile on your face…" She walked closer to me, and I stood there, spluttering.
"Uh, uh, nothing… just… look, it's an ape!"
She whipped her head in the direction I was pointing, her blonde hair smacking me in the face. Oww- hey, it smells like lemon. Mmm..
"Where?"
"There! Look, walking past the fountain!"
She looked at me funnily for a moment. "Percy, that's Clarisse!"
Oh… umm… well…
"I knew that."
Annabeth was about to reply when Thalia came up to us, smirking. "Had a good afternoon, guys? Annabeth, surely your test didn't take…" She glanced at her watch "5 hours?"
Annabeth suddenly blushed slightly "Well, uhh, we went for a walk."
Thalia looked at the two of us, smirking again. "I see." She said after a few moments.
I wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.
"Well, my stomach says it's time to eat again, so…"
Thalia and Annabeth rolled their eyes simultaneously. Girls shouldn't be allowed to do that. It ruins a poor guy's self-esteem.
"Percy- " The dinner gong sounded, cutting off Annabeth.
"Well, well, shall we?" I gestured ahead. "Ladies first."
They rolled their eyes again (seriously?) and walked down towards the outdoor tables. I waited for a couple of seconds, before running in between them and causing them to be pushed away, stumbling.
"Percy Jackson!"
I turned around, jogging backwards. "What? I'm hungry!" I turned forwards again, and took off before either of them could reply.
We walked towards our cabins, having finished the sing-a-long Mr. D insisted we do after dinner. "Come on, kids, or it's 30 push-ups!"
Unsurprisingly, no one argued with him.
After changing and saying good night to everyone, I crashed into my bed, not even bothering to put the blanket over me. It had been an exhausting day, and I was just glad that I could finally sleep. For some reason though, I COULDN'T SLEEP. I was probably too excited or something, but I decided to head to the Front House's kitchen, maybe have some cookies or something.
Hey, I'm a growing boy!
I put on my shoes, and headed out softly. As I passed the veranda I shivered, the cold air outside mocking me. I walked quickly over to the main house, making sure to be quiet since Chiron and Mr. D sleep there. Neither one would be fun to wake up, but I'd probably prefer Chiron over Director Dude any day. I tiptoed into the corridor leading to the kitchen and Mr. D's study.
A light was on.
I froze, not wanting to get caught, but as I stood there for a few minutes I didn't hear either of them coming towards me. I walked slowly towards the kitchen, and saw the light coming from Mr. D's study. Curious, I walked towards the door and looked through the keyhole, instantly seeing a warm fire with Chiron and Mr. D sitting across from each other. They seemed to be discussing something urgently, and I pressed my ear to the keyhole, hoping to catch what they said.
"Sally Jackson… she went"
I stiffened. Why were they talking about my mom? Do they know what happened to her? Is she okay? Does she need-
Calm, Percy. You're doing it again.
I leaned further in, hoping it would grant me better access to what they were saying.
"What do you mean, Chiron? Where is she?"
"The agency called to say we must keep Percy here for the time being. She seems to be in a research facility in Alaska, but the shocking thing is why she isn't back. She's being held there."
"For the sake of the gods, why? Who?"
No.
It can't be.
So there we go, what's the secret? *gasp*
Hmm, you'll have to favourite / follow to know what it is when I update next!
Hahah, thanks for reading!
SO. I saw PJO and the sea of monsters. Was a little disappointed, not because it deviated from the book but I thought it was too cliché and cheesy. Just my opinion, though. Let me know what you think when reviewing!
Here's the question of the chapter: Who says this to whom? Also, bonus points if you tell me the book!
~ "Wow, Apollo's hot."
± "He's the sun god."
~ "That's not what I meant."
If you get the answer right, (personally, I think it's super easy) then you get a shout-out in the next chapter woo!
(::) – This cookie is for everyone who reviews. All you have to do is review; then press the command button and type in 12712. It will then become real and you will be able to eat it. Why not give it a try, eh? ;)
BYE!