Act I Chapter XVIII: When the Dead Speak
Percy felt his nerves twisting his limbs and making it hard to keep himself from slipping on the wet rocks. Walking along the beach showed them nothing until they came to a large cliff face. Luke and Annabeth were looking around the hill. Percy and Reyna volunteered to look along the shoreline where the cliff met the water.
"Are you doing okay?" Percy questioned as he carefully maneuvered around more rocks. Reyna followed behind, somehow looking more graceful.
"As well as I can be," Reyna answered. Percy glanced back at her and then slipped on a rock. His foot hit the water, and he felt himself tumbling off the rock. A strong hand grabbed onto his arm and kept him from doing a header into the rock. "I'll be better if you don't break your neck."
"I'll try to keep my neck intact," Percy commented as he pulled his shoe out of the water, hoping it wasn't soaking wet because dealing with wet socks was the worst. Percy froze as he realized that his shoe wasn't wet at all. Like it hadn't even gone into the water.
"That's a good plan," Reyna said dryly. Percy grinned at her and slowly edged along the rocks. He really hoped his companion didn't notice that his shoe wasn't wet. Reyna followed right behind him with much more grace than he had. Percy made it to the end of the rock face and looked around.
"What did Annabeth say this was?" Percy asked.
"Some kind of stack," Reyna answered.
"Right. Sea stack," Percy remembered as he looked up. It really just looked like someone took a chunk out of a mountain and then tossed it on the shoreline. Reyna placed both hands to the rock face. It wasn't completely smooth as there seemed to be ridges everywhere, or maybe handholds.
Percy placed both hands to the sea stack and gripped it. He tried to pull himself up and was genuinely surprised that he managed to lift himself off the ground. He had never been out of shape, but he also wasn't hitting the gym every day. Most of his exercise came from playing at school, as he always got kicked off of any sports teams he tried to join. Which was the fault of monsters and not his inability to hit the stupid baseball.
"You're just going to climb that?" Reyna asked.
"That was the plan," Percy replied.
"Hmm. I take back what I said about you having a good plan earlier," Reyna said. Percy rolled his eyes and tried to pull himself up further. He grunted as he strained to reach up for the next handhold and still keep himself lifted a foot off the rock. "Percy!"
"I got this," Percy promised as his hand grabbed the handhold above him. He yelped as the rock cut into his hand. "It's fine! Small setback."
"You have fun with that. I'm going to take the path to the cave," Reyna remarked. Percy looked down at her and saw that she was holding her hand against part of the rock face. As they made eye contact, she pushed her hand forward against the rock wall. No. Through it.
Percy carefully lowered himself and placed his hand against the same wall. It went straight through. Reyna spoke, "I guess this was the last ditch effort of the campers. Hide their Oracle in the cave and disguise it with the Mist, hoping that Romans passed by it."
"Wouldn't the Romans be too careful about that?" Percy questioned. Reyna didn't answer. "I guess if this was the last ditch effort, it makes sense."
Percy slowly placed his other hand through the wall. Then, he started to bring his head closer. Percy found himself hesitating. What if he smacked his head into the wall because it wasn't part of the illusion?
"What are you two doing?" Luke asked with a small chuckle. Percy jumped and almost slipped on the rock. Reyna turned and caught him again.
"We found an illusion of the Mist. I think this is where the Oracle's cave is," Reyna answered. "And, Percy is being weird."
"I'm not being weird," Percy argued. Reyna met his eyes. Then, she shoved him towards the wall of rocks. Percy tensed and brought his hands to cover his face from any damage. He felt a little silly as he stumbled forward and into darkness.
Percy grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. He looked around the cave that he stood in. There was a path in front of him, and behind, there was the wall that really was an illusion. Luke stepped through the wall a moment later, followed by Reyna and Annabeth.
Luke looked around with the flashlight and slowly walked forward. Percy followed a step behind him, falling in line with Annabeth. She looked at him and said, "You did look kind of weird."
"I'm not weird," Percy complained.
"I said kind of."
"Kind of is the same as weird."
Annabeth opened her mouth to speak, but she froze in place, mouth hanging open to form a word with her eyes widened. Percy frowned and looked at what she was staring at. Upon looking, he found a curtain of beads covering some kind of entrance, but he couldn't see anything past it.
But, he felt it in the air. Something oppressive. Terrifying. It felt like it was pulling the air from his lungs, and his heart was trickling down to his stomach. The air felt dead, like no one had stepped in here for decades. If ever.
Annabeth closed her mouth and swallowed painfully. She lifted a flashlight with a shaking hand. Percy reached for his pen. Annabeth spoke, "Maybe, we should just leave."
"This is where we need to be," Luke countered. He took a deep breath like he was trying to gain the confidence to step past the curtain. Percy nearly jumped out of his skin as Reyna pushed past him. She seemed the least intimidated by this dead place, or her knees weren't shaking that badly for her to walk.
Reyna slowly placed a hand to the curtain but hesitated for a moment. Then, she pushed it aside. She raised her flashlight, "It's just a mummy."
"Is it moving?" Percy questioned.
"A mummy doesn't move," Annabeth whispered to him, but she sounded incredulous. Her gaze moved to Luke. "Right?"
Percy took a deep breath and slowly walked forward. He peeked past the curtain and wasn't quite sure what he was expecting. He knew Reyna said that it was a mummy, but he wasn't expecting an actual mummy that looked like a long dead pharaoh.
"That can't be the Oracle, can it?" Luke whispered as he moved next to them. "Chiron said it was a mummy, but I thought he meant it as if she was a really old woman. So ancient that she could have been mistaken for dead."
"Well, she is one," Percy whispered back. He studied the Oracle. Along with being an actual mummy, linen wraps and all, she sat on a tripod chair, looking like a limp puppet on strings. Someone had put her in a dress, and she had strands of black hair on her head. Her glassy eyes were wide open, but Percy did not want to get close enough to see if life was in them.
"How does it work?" Reyna questioned. Her voice was steady, which was more than Percy could say for his knees. "Do we just walk up and ask her a question?"
"Try that," Annabeth agreed as she nudged Luke.
"Why me?" Luke demanded in a quiet voice as he looked at them.
"You're the oldest."
"You're a child of Athena. You can figure out how to get a prophecy from the mummy."
Percy stared at the Oracle. It couldn't be that hard. How did they do it in the old days? Percy frowned and tried to think. His gaze moved around the cave to try and get an answer.
The Oracle moved her head to look at him.
Percy jumped and grabbed the nearest solid object, which happened to be Annabeth. She looked away from Luke and gave Percy a glare. She shoved him away, "What are you doing?"
"The Oracle moved," Percy whispered as he pointed. Annabeth turned to look at the Oracle.
"She definitely moved," Reyna confirmed. She looked at Percy and swallowed painfully. The fear hidden from her voice was plain on her face. "How did you make her move?"
"I just looked at her," Percy replied. "Someone else try looking at her."
"Pass."
"No thanks."
"If it looked at you, you should try talking to it."
"None of you are helpful," Percy hissed. He looked at the three traitors around him. "I don't want to talk to it!"
"Someone has to," Annabeth said. "Luke is right. The Oracle looked at you, so you're it."
Perseus Jackson.
Percy jumped and placed both hands to his heart. He then quickly grabbed at the wall to keep himself standing, "She talked. In my head. Okay. I need to go."
Percy tried to turn away, but Annabeth grabbed him, "Talk to her. Go."
"Easy for you to say when she's not talking to you," Percy said exasperated.
"Someone has to talk to it," Reyna said as she slowly stepped forward. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Reyna walked towards the mummy and stopped only a foot from it. She examined it like she was looking for something.
There wasn't much to find. The mummy had that weird dress, and Percy wasn't sure if the campers dressed it for fun or if she just died in that. It wasn't decomposed like the rest of her body. She had a few bangles around her wrists.
"Is she speaking to you?" Annabeth whispered. Reyna shook her head. "Okay, so we need to-"
"Nope. Okay. She's talking to me too," Luke interrupted. He cleared his throat. "I should not have chugged that energy drink. My heart is going to give out."
Percy watched a green mist slowly fill the cave. His legs froze in fear, and he quickly looked at his companions. But, they were gone. Percy quickly looked around and found that he was alone in the cave. Green mist started to roll up to his legs.
"Let's not do this," Percy began as he turned toward the mummy. He stiffened as the mummy made eye contact with him again. Her eyes were no longer glass but a solid green. "Please don't tell me you're a monster."
"Please don't tell me you're a monster," Percy repeated as he closed his eyes tight. He quickly uncapped his pen. After a few moments passed, Percy opened his eyes. The mummy was still staring at him, and his bronze sword illuminated the cave.
The mummy stood, and Percy felt like a heart attack was going to end him at such a young age. Not a monster or any enemies they would meet on their quest. Just a heart attack because a mummy stood up.
Perseus Jackson. Speak.
"Okay," Percy breathed. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He was here. The others were... somewhere. Percy couldn't be scared. He had to talk to this Oracle and find the next step of this quest. And then help his friends. "Okay."
"We're on a quest," Percy began as he tried to gather his courage. He took another deep breath and placed the cap on his sword. It turned back into a pen, and he placed it into his pocket. "To bring the gods back to power. But mostly to have a safe place for the demigods in the world. What do I have to do?"
Percy felt a flash of pain behind his eyes. He winced and then closed his eyes. His vision was enshrouded and then darkened. An image reflected in his mind, and when he opened his eyes, it felt like it was being branded into his brain.
A bead necklace. Each bead seemed to be a different color, and there was a leather pouch in the middle of it. Percy didn't know what it was, but he felt in his gut that it was important.
You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
The pressure disappeared, and Percy opened his eyes. He was still in the cave. Thankfully, his friends were by his side. Luke was looking at them with concern. Annabeth leaned on the wall, looking like she had just gotten off of a roller coaster. Reyna was rubbing her forehead like she still felt that same pressure behind her eyes.
"Does anyone else feel like their brain is trying to escape?" Reyna muttered.
"Yeah. And saw a weird image?" Annabeth added.
"And the Oracle spoke to you?" Luke tacked on. "It was just a sentence for me."
"And me," Percy confirmed. He swallowed painfully and looked at the others. They all looked as confused and disoriented as him.
"We should get out of here," Luke suggested. "Find somewhere to eat and discuss what happened."
Percy nodded his agreement, but his eyes moved back to the Oracle. The green mist was gone, and her eyes were glassy once again. The Oracle was slumped forward, like someone had let go of the strings. Percy wasn't sure if the others received anything helpful, but all he received was something that worried him. He was going to be betrayed by a friend. Was that one of the people in the cave with him?