Chapter Twenty-Four:

Day one, about mid-morning…

About five minutes later of failed attempts at breaching the shield, he realized he didn't really have to. Percy began to hear the light cracking of glass, or some material similar to that. He began to notice them, too, creeping up in the shield like small lightning bolts.

"Alright, here's the scoop, Jackson. If you haven't guessed yet, you are completely submerged in mud." The creepy voice sounded off again in his headset.

"Oh, that's cute. If you haven't guessed yet, SERIOUSLY?" Percy wailed.

"Just-listen to me. Once you get out of that-if you get out of that, don't start wandering around. Regain your bearings, and then get out of there."

"Got it, mom." He said, his voice thick with sarcasm, "And may I ask who you are again?"

"We will have more time to get introduced later, out." The headset beeped loudly. The cracks were getting larger. Percy finally slammed his fist into the glass, and mud, slowly began to pour into his vulnerable containment. He made a final choice, and took in a massive breath of air.

Percy blasted through the small hole he had smashed in, getting a fair amount of cuts from the glass in the process. He could feel the sting of the mud begin to sneak up on his small wounds. He couldn't fix them now, he had his eyes clamped shut, and one of his hands were also clasped down and pinching his nostrils.

"Terrain Tracker 2000, on." The robot voice returned once again. "Built into your contacts is a small computer chip that can lead you through tough situations Not only that, but your lenses will shield your eyes." Percy didn't know how much this would help; he was swimming in mud, after all. Then he figured it out…if the tracker was in his contacts, then…Percy slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't see much, but it was a start. He needed to submerge, and fast. But how was he going to? Swimming through mud was about the equivalent of trying to swim through molasses.

Wait. Percy thought to himself. Mud was just dirt mixed with water right? Thinking fast, he concentrated on the mud, and more specifically, the water in the mud. In his free hand, he now had a stream of cloudy colored water. He couldn't hold his breath much longer; he had his water, but had no idea what to do with it. Panic started setting in. Desperate, Percy shot the water up into the surface of the mud. A small tunnel formed, and Percy kept his grip on the water that was keeping it there. He willed more water that he used to propel himself out. Percy shot up like a rocket, briefly in air for a few seconds and was then reintroduced to the Earth. He slid in the dirt a few feet then went to a complete stop. His face burned from his make out with the ground. While coughing and spitting up dirt, Percy looked at himself-he was caked head to toe in mud.

Scoffing furiously, Percy mumbled, "That's nice." He felt his backpack still strapped onto his back, which was a relief to him.

"Hey? Disembodied voice in my ear? Now would be a really awesome time to get me out of this place." This place was nearly pitch black, and he couldn't see five feet in front of him. Percy took his pack off and did his best to search through it in the dark. He felt something that seemed like a flashlight, and when he searched for a switch, he found one. Clicking it forward, the space lit up with the yellowish light. Percy turned on his heels while he rotated around with the flashlight in hand. An uneasy feeling began to creep up in his stomach; the area was getting more and more familiar looking by the second. Percy gasped in shock. "They didn't. There's no way they could have possibly-"

It was like an exact copy of the Labyrinth had sucker punched him in the face. Even though the chambers would change, he still had a fresh idea in his mind what that horrible place looked like. He even remembered the musty and mildew-like smell that lingered everywhere there. But most of all, the smells and sights triggered the worst thing in a place like this: fear. Putting his bag on again, Percy began to hear a curdling sound from behind him, "Huh?" Another wave of sweat broke out and his armor was like a burden to him now. He turned, and no one was there; but he turned quick enough to see a splash in the thick mud. Uncapping Riptide, Percy stalked over, moving light on his feet and ready to attack anyone or anything that was there. There was complete and utter silence for a minute, then two, then three, until a roar erupted from the sludge. A wall of mud rose up, and slowly bubbled into a humanoid figure. He, or it, looked like a human bodybuilder, but faceless. Well, it did have a pair of black, beady eyes that were glaring hungrily at Percy.

It threw its head back and let out a deep roar of a laugh, "If it isn't Percy Jackson, finally here to take his grave."

"I don't think so. I'd like to live a little longer, if you don't mind." Percy sneered.

"I'm afraid," His mud-made hands stretched out into knife-like ones, "That won't be possible."

I'm sorry it was a short chapter; I wanted to add the cliffhanger in. To any of you that the school term has ended, congrats! My last day of school was today, I'm officially an eighth grader now! Maybe I'll be able to end the story by the end of the month, after all.

Happy Summer!

~iGwyn12