Author's Note: Chapter 2! Umm…I know some of you reading the story have read the original before and are finding some differences. And yes, there are some differences. For example, I'm taking out Sammy, the son of Zeus, because he was such a powerful demigod, but I didn't know what to do with him. So, yeah, he's not there anymore. Also, if you do remember the story, NO SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T! Thanks to all my Story Alert people! You rock!
Oh yeah, I forgot this in the first chapter and I don't want to get in trouble, so…I DON'T OWN PJO BECAUSE I'M NOT RICK RIORDAN. Though I wish I'd had the genius to come with the idea…
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: My stepfather makes us an escape plan
I took a seat at the back of the classroom. I wondered when Annabeth would be coming to get me, and I wondered why it was so urgent that we come to camp. I'd seriously been hoping for some peace after the Titan War last year. We'd lost so many people: Silena Beauregard and her boyfriend, Charles Beckendorf; Mr. D's son, Castor; Zoë Nightshade and Bianca di Angelo; and most importantly, Luke Castellan, the son of Hermes that had sacrificed himself to save the world from the Titan Lord Kronos. There were so many losses it was painful to think about. The last thing I wanted was to lose more of my friends.
As I was lost in thought, Paul walked over to me. "Percy?" he called.
I stood up.
"Listen to me," he said. "I'm going to try my best to get you to camp. But you have to be extremely careful and do exactly what I tell you. Understand?"
I couldn't help grinning. "Thanks so much, Paul," I told him. My stepfather nodded and told me his escape plan.
When he was finished explaining, we went into action. I slipped outside the classroom, waiting for Paul's signal. He winked at me, and I left the classroom as quietly as I could. Mr. Price's footsteps resounded in the empty halls, so I slipped quietly into the boys' restroom. Opening the door just enough for me to see what was happening, I leaned toward the door and listened very carefully.
"Paul?" Mr. Price called. Paul came out of his classroom.
"Paul, have you seen Percy Jackson anywhere? They were supposed to come to my room for detention this afternoon."
"Sorry, I haven't seen him since lunch time," Paul answered. Then Mr. Price said something unintelligible and came toward the restroom. My heart started to pound. If he came in and found me, who knows what would happen? I backed away from the door and scurried into the last stall and climbed onto a toilet to see over the stall walls. My teacher entered and searched each stall before mine. I was positive that he could hear my heart hammering against my ribs, because I could. I pressed my hands against my chest, as if that would muffle the sound. If he found me, bad things would happen, I could sense it. I prayed that he wouldn't find me. When I thought I would start to hyperventilate, Mr. Price seemed to have just remembered something, and exited. I let out a huge sigh of relief and unlocked the stall door. Everything seemed to be okay, so I walked stealthily out of the restroom.
Paul set out, walking down the hallway. I had to keep back so after Paul exited, I could keep a low profile and quickly catch up to him; not too far back though, because if I lagged behind, Paul wouldn't be able to help me if Mr. Price caught me. I was WAY too far behind and was trying to catch up. Paul opened the door and held it open for me. I wanted to sprint and yell, "Wait up!" but that would make way too much noise. If I wanted to get out of this building inconspicuously, I would have to be as quiet as I could be. So I nodded to him, letting him know that I would catch up and that he could let the door close.
I was almost to the door, my fingers barely touching the cool silver steel of the handle. All of a sudden I heard a hissing noise and felt cold air on my neck, like someone intentionally breathing on me. Then came an icy voice, "Perseus Jackson."
My teacher was right behind me. I hadn't escaped.
"You cannot escape…" he drawled. I tried to close my hand around the door handle and make my run out of here, but I couldn't move. I was frozen…literally. The air seemed to chill around me, swirling around me and entering my mouth and nose and finally making its way into heart and lungs. Suddenly, I felt this terrible stinging pain in my chest. I took a sharp breath.
"What—what are you doing?" I gasped.
"Getting rid of you, Jackson," he replied. "You might cause us some problems in the near future, and we need you out of the picture before you do."
I coughed, trying to clear my throat, but I couldn't somehow. "What are you talking about? What have I done? And who's 'us'?"
"You need not worry about who we are, young Perseus," he replied.
The icy mist seemed to be coming from his mouth, sort of like the way you can see your breath in the cold air. But it was June. It wasn't cold outside, though the temperature was definitely dropping in the hallway. And even more, inside me. I felt like my lungs were burning with cold.
"You shall bear my curse, Son of Poseidon," he said. "Your blood shall turn to ice, and the sea shall freeze over. You will suffer terribly, and die a slow, painful death."
What was this guy trying to do to me? The pain was terrible. It was the kind of horrific, heart-wrenching agony that would drive someone insane, maybe even suicidal. I let out a cry of pain. It felt like an icy hand had a grip on my lungs and was trying to squeeze all of the oxygen out of me. Pretty soon, I couldn't breathe. I collapsed to my knees, groaning. But I managed to say, "You're crazy. Poseidon rules the sea. He'll never let you get away with freezing it."
"Poseidon is only one god, you foolish boy. Against all of us, even he doesn't stand a chance. And neither do you."
I felt like I was drowning, suffocating, and I was too weak and out of breath to say anymore. Sharp pains ripped through my lungs, like they were being torn to pieces. Barely above a whisper, I croaked, "Stop…please…" I'd never, ever, EVER been through that much torture before; not even during the time I had to hold the sky on my shoulders, or even the time I had lava thrown at me at the bottom of a volcano. Bathing in the River Styx was a bubble bath compared to this torture. As I sank to the ground, my vision swam around and around like a goldfish in a whirlpool. My surroundings blended together. Before I lost consciousness, I heard footsteps like someone was running, and Mr. Price growled and said, "You may have won this battle, Son of Poseidon, but will NOT win the war."
I was at Camp Half-Blood. It looked pretty much the same, except for one thing: the beach of Long Island Sound. Where sand should've been, there was snow, and there were no waves crashing to the shore. A chilly fog settled itself upon the water…the frozen water.
The sea was frozen.
I felt cold and empty inside, and the sting in my chest returned. My dream-self clutched my chest. I was pretty sure my real self was moaning involuntarily.
A young girl stood facing the ocean, her back turned to me. Her blond hair whipped around in the wind. "Perfect," she whispered. "The first step, done. He'll be even more vulnerable now that he doesn't have his precious ocean protecting him. And if step two is done, he'll be more vulnerable than ever, even with the curse of Achilles."
My heart skipped a beat when I realized who she was talking about.
Me.
A glint of silver caught the corner of my eye. I turned around and saw something sliver and shiny flying in the cold wind. I reached up to catch it. It was a shroud. A burial shroud form Athena's cabin. In the corner, two gold letters were sewn into the fabric: A.C.
Annabeth Chase.
By the way, you know the Thunderstorm story? Well, I don't really have a lot of idea's to continue with, so if you have any suggestions, please tell me! I'd love to do them for you!
As for this story, this was a slow, short chapter and I'm sorry for that. But more is coming. Like I've said so many times, I've already written it, I'm just changing some stuff. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
~Mandi