Chapter 17: I wrestle dragons
"That's her," I said sickly. "That's the demigod we're looking for!" My knees were starting to shake really bad. Glen and Sabrina got up and grabbed me by my arms to help sit me down. The two looked concerned like they wanted to ask questions. Believe me I have questions too.
" That's the name you said in your sleep last night. Sydney," Sabrina said, trying to read my pulse. She started to inspect me. Sabrina checked my heart rate along with an eye focus exam. She pressed my tummy to feel if any of that hurt which actually made me a little hungry.
" You saw her in your dreams?" Praetor Hazel asked me from the podium.
"No," I said looking up. Sabrina started to give me a neck massage and it oddly helped. I was slowly starting to feel better. I gulped trying to prepare myself for saying this. I looked over but she was staring down to the seats. All I could see was her golden blonde hair hanging over her partially visible face.
"She was a friend from highschool. She was my best friend actually. I bet Sydney arrived at camp a couple months ago didn't she? Sydney told me she was moving to be with her family. Now I know the real reason," my heart felt drained and my mind had hundreds of questions.
"How long have you known Sydney?" Annabeth said from Percy's trio. I just now noticed that the rest of the senate were exiting the building from various doors. The room suddenly became silent. I felt like everyone was staring at me which made me want to bite my nails.
"About 2 years?" That seemed about right. I didn't really know the exact date.
"That's about when the second giant war came to an end. That's when the Greeks and Romans made peace Adin," Annabeth explained to me. "Frank, Hazel, do any of you know of any significant gates nearby."
"No, we only really have Mount Othrys. What about the Labyrinth? Frank suggested.
I started to nibble on my fingernails. Why didn't Sydney tell me she was a demigod? Was she in the dark about her heritage like I was? I feel so betrayed yet I just want to make sure shes alright.
"How about we discuss this over breakfast?" Percy spoke up. "I could really use a bagel or an omelet to think this over," Percy rubbed his tummy. Which made Glen's stomach rumble worse than any monster running. So we made our way to the mess hall.
I got up and Sabrina grabbed and supported my left side. I was starting to feel back to normal besides the headache of Sydney going on in my mind. "I'm starting to feel better Sabrina really," I told her. She didn't look at me but just stared straight ahead.
"No.I got you, let me help," I could see her smile. I'm proud to have her as a friend. She is just like Sydney, tough and kind hearted. When we arrived we had the mess hall to ourselves as the Legion just finished up. There were still plates being passed out by some type of invisible force. The leftovers still smelled good. Glen got ahead start on eating while the invisible spirits got more food.
We sat down and I was served scrambled eggs and toast. Orange juice with pulp came shortly after. I slowly began to eat my food. My nausea was gone and replaced with an appetite. Nobody said a word as we ate. Everyone was thinking, including me.
Percy was the first person to speak up. I've heard of green eggs and heard, but Percy was eating blue eggs and ham for some reason. "So, anyone got any ideas on where Sydney could be"?
Everyone turned their heads to me as if I had all the answers. "No, sorry Sydney never told me anything about California".
"That's okay Adin. Frank, Hazel, there's no locations of interest at all nearby?" Sabrina spoke up for.
"No, and certainly not none below a gate. Actually, we could cross reference any recent bases or places the campers have visited recently," Hazel said. "How long would that take?" Grover asked. Instead of eating breakfast, the satyr started to eat a stack of napkins. I wanted to know how long that would take too. Sydney has to be somewhere close, I could feel it.
"Hours I'm afraid. Hazel and I will get started on it right away. You guys just rest up, Camp Jupiter and New Rome is yours. Feel free to take any weapons or armor you need. Any other equipment as well." Frank offered us.
"Just make sure you let me know what you take. We're trying to keep a better inventory log," Hazel threw in. The two got up and left to begin their search. I really, really hope they find something.
After the two praetors were out of sight, Glen leaned in towards me. " Better keep a better log of your campers too. Camp Half-blood would be panicking if we lost a camper," He whispered to me. Granted Camp Jupiter had more campers but Frank had struggled to remember Sydney's name. Gods, I wish I struggled to remember her name. Sydney is all I could think about for the past two months.
The day was now May 28th. We have 2 ½ days to find Sydney before its too late. I started to pick at my food while everyone else finished up.
Annabeth stood up from her seat once she was done eating. "I'm going to go see if I can help Frank and Hazel figure out any points of interest. I'll meet up with you guys later alright?" She told everyone.
"Wait, we'll come with," Percy said standing up.
Annabeth shook her head. "You heard Frank, these three need to get ready the second we find anything. Maybe you can show them a thing or two. Sydney is a Roman demigod. You could give them some insight on the Roman side." Annabeth said. She began to leave the mess hall but Percy grabbed her and pulled her in. He gave her a kiss on her head. "You got it wise girl".
Both Percy and Grover escorted us to an open field. It looked like a battle had happened here. There were campers putting up buildings across the field faster than I could build in fortnite. Glen walked alongside Percy and Grover like they've been best buds for years. Meanwhile Sabrina wasn't leaving my side and matched my pace no matter what.
"Alright, this seems to be a good spot!" Percy said.
"What are we doing here? I thought we were going to prepare to find Sydney?" I asked.
" We are, I wanna know how you three fight. This is the field of Mars. Those campers setting up buildings are preparing for tonight's war games. We should be far out of their way. So don't hold back!" Percy let us know.
"Oh, I think I'm going to stick this one out. I'll be the referee!" Grover said before backing up a few yards.
"Magical weapons allowed?" Glen asked. Just then Percy pulled out a ball point pen from his pocket. He flicked the cap off and it began to grow into a full celestial bronze sword.
"Ooooo, I'm going to like this," Glen said as he pulled out his twin swords.
" Wait, I don't have any arrows!" Sabrina said. Percy looked at her and charged toward us. I grabbed Fate and pushed Sabrina out of the way. I pressed the button and as Percy got right up to me it fully expanded. Percy's sword clashed against Fate and a metal sound echoed through the field.
"Sorry, but in a fight you have to be prepared. If you're out of ammo that's tough luck," Percy said. Our swords were still connected. He pushed me down and I landed in some mud. As I looked up, the son of Posiedon looked to his right. Glen came in and clashed with Percy. He had given me enough time to get back to my feet.
I looked over toward Sabrina as she was looking for something. She was searching the ground like how Velma from Scooby-doo looks for her glasses. I got in between Sabrina and the ongoing fight. I looked toward Glen and Percy. Glen had both his swords, he was pushing Percy back toward the river that ran throughout the camp.
As Glen pushed Percy more and more toward the river, the two suddenly stopped right at the river bank. Glen kept on trying to push but he started to just walk in place. I ran toward Glen to give him aid but as I got closer Percy raised his hand. From behind Percy a pillar of water began to form. Percy waved his free hand forward and the pillar hit Glen which then hit me. The water carried us further back until we were yards away and next to Sabrina.
Glen and I were on our butts soaking wet. Glen spit out water and had an annoyed look on his face. "What are you doing?" He asked Sabrina.
Sabrina didn't look at him but picked a rock up from the ground. "FInding some ammo," She smirked at the both of us.
"Are you guys alright? I didn't hit you too hard did I?" Percy asked as he walked toward us. He had his sword out like he was showing it off. The demigod looked like he wasn't trying at all. Is he really that strong?
I got to my feet and started to run, thinking of ways to attack. I took Fate and began to try to rapidly strike at Percy. Every single one of my strikes seemed to be parried effortlessly by Percy. Eventually I noticed that I was backing him toward the river. I remembered the last time he went toward the river and disengaged.
Without taking my eyes off of him I went back to my group. Sabrina and Glen stood by my side. I looked at Grover and while the satyr was watching our skirmish he was also inspecting something on his pan pipes. Percy wanted us to be prepared for anything we might face when we look for Sydney. "We can't beat him," I told my friends.
"No dip Sherlock!" Glen told me. Anger fueled his voice.
"Got any ideas?" Sabrina asked as she sharpened the stone she got with another rock.
"No I-" Just as I began to speak Glen started to attack Percy again. To be honest I kinda wanted to see how this would play out. Percy however had other plans. With a flick of his wrist he sent a wave from the river toward us. The water knocked Glen down again and surrounded us . Percy wasn't done either.
He lifted his arm up and the water shot up from beneath us. A water pillar erupted and trapped the three of us in the air. I struggled to stay afloat. A current trapped us at the top keeping us at the top unable to move. Water filled my mouth and I started to choke. Eventually I was able to grab Glen, well first I actually grabbed one of his sword handles. Which melted, then I was able to grab his shoulder.
We both struggled but were able to hold onto each other. I saw Sabrina who seemed to be staying above the water just fine. She used her bow as a floatation device. I looked around. We were high into the air by a column of water. Percy was down below with a smirk on his face.
Sabrina was able to get to the edge of the column and she readied her bow. I saw Percy say something but it just sounded like a waterfall. Sabrina placed a shaved rock in her bow string and pulled back. The rock wasn't sharp but just smoothed out so it wouldn't actually pierce Percy.
She fired the rock at Percy like a slingshot instead of a bow. It hit him in the center of his forehead. He stumbled back while placing his hand on his forehead. I didn't see any blood but just a big red spot. Then the waterfall noises stopped. The top of the water spout seemed to become calm. I looked at the other two, Sabrina had her blue eyes wide open, Glen quickly grabbed his molten weapon which was floating in the water. It turned back into a golden spear like before.
The water spout finally gave out and we started falling to Percy below us. Glen who was to my left put his arm back like he was throwing a football and launched his spear at Percy. It hit his sword with enough force to knock it out of his hand. I landed on top of Percy and pinned, holding down both his arms to the dirt as water dripped on him.
"Gotcha!" I said, staring him down.
He smirked in response and raised an eyebrow. " Are you sure about that"?
I heard a flick that sounded like plastic scraping against each other. Shortly after I felt a sharp object poking me from my left side. The pain increased and I was forced to let go and roll off of Percy. When I looked back at him he had his sword back in his hand and was wiping mud off of him.
"Alright, I think that's enough for round one!" Grover shouted from the sideline.
"Good job guys!" Percy said. "Take a break for the next round".
"Next round?" I asked.
Percy nodded his head. " We don't know who kidnapped Sydney right? It might be a god, another demigod, or something else entirely! I want you three to be prepared to fight anything," Percy was looking out for us and I appreciated it.
"I had a dream during the quest and I was seeing through someone else. At the time I thought it was Annabeth, it was a girl trapped in a cage. A figure approached me in the dream and mentioned something about having a patron god." I told everyone. Sabrina and Glen, who were covered in mud, avoided looking at me. Percy kept on nodding, he looked like he was trying to think of something to say.
"Could it be Eros?" Grover said now closer to the group. "You did say you met him during your quest".
I shrugged. "I don't know, I hope not. I really don't want to see him again," Last time he turned into a monster and was terrifying. Our only option was to run away from him. We weren't even able to get away without injury. The feeling of him hitting me with his arrow filled my chest.
"So about this round two.." Glen broke the silence. I looked at my two friends who just stood to the side listening.
"Can I at least go grab some arrows from storage?" Sabrina said as she kept on wiping mud from her body.
"I'll take you to the storage unit," Grover said, leading the way as Sabrnia followed behind.
And so we continued our training as the hours passed. Every time we were done with a "round" I would look around to see if anyone was approaching with news. Every round we got our butts kicked by Percy, who showed no mercy since that's what romans do apparently.
The day eventually started to end and we went back to the mess hall for dinner. I kept on looking around for the Praetors or Annabeth but still no news. We were eating enchiladas which had Grover drooling. I had to appreciate Camp Jupiter for having a variety of food compared to Half-Blood which only had barbecue. Despite training all day I didn't have an appetite. I just ended up picking at my food.
"Not hungry?" Sabrina put down her fork and turned to me. She was sitting next to me. In fact besides training she hasn't left my side all day.
"I don't know, just thinking," I finally took a bite of the cheese enchilada so Sabrina wouldn't worry about me. It did taste really good which made me hungrier. I ate the enchiladas and washed it down with some coke.
Then they announced the war games. I slumped my shoulders. I just got my butt kicked all day and now we had to fight more? Luckily Percy informed us that we didn't have to participate since we were not technically campers. Glen however decided to join in the war games. The fifth cohort took him in as an honorary legionnaire for the day after Percy told them to.
Percy escorted Sabrina and I back to our cabin after dinner holding a plate full of food. Grover said he was heading back to the bookshop. "I'm going to check in on our research group. Annabeth is probably deep into work and when she is, she can forget to eat," Percy said before he ran off.
Sabrina and I quickly took turns in our shower. Sabrina went first. When she came out steam followed her. She had changed into shorts and a fresh orange shirt, not a camp half-blood shirt by the way. This shirt had a light cloud design on it.
I went in after her and cleaned myself up. Have you ever had shower thoughts where your mind thinks of scenarios or just general questions. My shower thoughts only consisted of Sydney and what could happen to her. I got out and combed my hair with Fate, not the sword version just so we're clear.
When I got out Sabrina was sitting on one of the bunk beds like she was expecting me with her legs crossed. I walked past her to a different bunk and laid down. I played with my comb and Sabrina came over to stand over my bunk.
"What's up?" I asked.
"What's up with me? What's up with you!" She asked me. I turned my head to her and raised an eyebrow. Her blonde hair and bangs were now dry and she had seemed to put on makeup as well.
"What do you mean?" I went back to playing with my comb.
"Adin, you've been acting strange again".
"Me? What about you! You haven't left my side all day".
"Because I was making sure you were okay! Tell me whats really bothering you." She sat down at the edge of my bed.
I was silent for a moment trying to think of something to say. "You used all the hot water…" I mumbled.
Sabrina's jaw dropped and she smacked my leg lightly. "No I did not!" She chuckled. "Really tell me what's going on".
I sighed. "Everyone knows I'm worried about Sydney. That's a no brainer," Sabrina nodded understandingly. "Before she left we got into a fight. I was selfish and in the wrong. I've thought about what I would say to her incase I ever see her again. Now, I can actually see her again. I have faith that we'll find her soon. But what do I say to her"?
She took a moment to think of a response. "You guys were just friends right? Nothing more"? I nodded. "Just friends," my eyelids dropped a little bit.
"You said you were selfish and wrong. Maybe tell her that".
The door swung open and hit the wall with a Bang! Glen entered the cabin wearing roman armor with slashes cut into it. He had a wide smile that could rival Sabrinas. His eyes were wide open which made him look crazy. Mud was still covering him. "That was AWESOME!" He told us.
He laid down on his bunk which creaked. Sabrina and I scolded him and told him to hit the showers since he stunk like BO. When he came out he organized the armor he was given and placed it in the corner. Glen then told us about the war games. He said he infiltrated the building we saw being built and caused chaos. He said he took out a dozen soldiers. Which wasn't an exaggeration for Glen.
We settled in for the night. Sabrina and I started to talk about our favorite movies which helped me not worry about Sydney. Glen would occasionally join the conversation with a "Never heard of that one" or "That was a dumb movie". Glen and I did agree however on how Saving Private Ryan is the best war movie.
In the middle of our conversation someone knocked at the door. I rushed over and opened the door. Standing there were the two Praetors Hazel and Frank. I opened the door more and motioned them to come in. "Did you find anything!" I said.
Frank nodded his head. " We believe Sydneys being held at the Golden Gate Bridge," Frank said as he and Hazel entered the cabin. Glen stood up which I think he thought he was being respectful. Looking at Frank and Glen I could see the resemblance as they both were the same height and had muscular builds.
"The Golden Gate Bridge?" Sabrina said as she stood up to match everyone else.
"It was built by a Roman demigod in 1933. It was made to connect San Francisco to Marin county. Romans don't do sea travel that well. The bridge made it faster than going around," Hazel filled us in.
"So why would Sydney be there if it's just a bridge? In my dream she was in like, a warehouse?" I asked.
Hazel shook her head. "The bridge isnt just a bridge. The demigod who built it also put a bunker underneath the bridge for Camp Jupiter to use . There's an entrance through a service corridor".
My heart started racing faster and faster. I wanted to push past the Praetors and run to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was so close to reunite with Sydney.
"The truth is held below the gate. The line from the prophecy," Sabrina said as she walked right next to me. Her arm brushed against my arm. We seemed to match the Praetors with how close we were standing side by side.
"Come on! Let's go then!" I shouted. Everyone was just standing around doing nothing while a demigod was in danger. While my friend was in danger. I had to go rescue Sydney.
"Just hold on Adin-" Frank said.
"I can't! My friend is in danger. One of your campers is in danger." I turned around to Sabrina and Glen. Both of them were grabbing their weapons and supplies.
"We're leaving now." I told the Praetors. Frank scrunched his face and he seemed to grow in size briefly
"HOLD ON," he said in a deep voice. "We're not telling you to stay. We're just telling you to wait. Percy, Grover and Annabeth are getting ready too. We're setting up transportation for us as well".
I let out a sigh of relief. We're going to be stacked when we save Sydney. "Sorry, I'm just worried," I apologized out loud.
We gathered our belongings. Sabrina made sure all of her arrows were sharp. Frank gave her some special looking arrows as well. Glen put his armor back on which made him look dorky. I made sure I had Fate and grabbed my makeup supplies before we headed out.
We walked out of camp following the Praetors. I wanted to sprint but Sabrina made sure to pull me back whenever I tried. It was dark out now and the stars lit up the sky. We were out of the tunnels and back near the highway.
I saw Percy, Annabeth and Grover waiting for us near an unmarked van. The eight of us piled in. In the driver seat was a man who looked to be in his 50s wearing camp Jupiter attire. "Everyone ready? Make sure to buckle your seatbelts!" He sounded like we weren't on a life or death mission.
We merged onto the highway. I was told we were only forty minutes away. My ADHD kicked in and it quickly felt like the longest car ride ever. Funny, considering I've been on a way longer car rides recently. I started nibbling on my fingernails which were practically nothing.
Glen looked excited and prepared for a fight. He kept on bouncing up and down when he thought no one was looking. I looked at Sabrina sitting next to me. Her shiny blonde hair was illuminated by the nightlight. She was staring up at the moon and its dim light reflected on her. She smiled at it like she just received a compliment.
Eventually I spotted the Golden Gate Bridge. My fingernails were now reduced to nubs. We pulled off onto the side right before the bridge. Everyone filed out of the unmarked black van. In the dark we could probably pass as a swat team.
I started to run to the bridge. Luckily there weren't too many cars passing by. Just a red maserati and a Malibu passed by when I stopped to turn around. "So where's the entrance?" I looked at everyone catching up to me.
"Hold on there Adin, It's the first service entrance on the right," Hazel said. I started to run off again. "You'll have to wait, I have the key!" She continued. I started to slow down again and wait for the others.
As I waited for the others I looked over the ledge. We were hundreds of feet up. The waves crashed against the pillars. The first service entrance was at the first pillar holding the cables. Everyone made it to the entrance to the bunker. Frank went and I followed. Percy was behind me. Hazel locked the door behind us to make sure no one would follow.
We walked down flights of metallic stairs. The walls slowly expanded to make room. When we made it to the bottom of the base we were greeted by a set of dual green rusty doors. Frank peaked inside and I looked in the other door. All of it was pitch black. "Only one way to find out," Frank said as he opened his side of the doors.
I followed his lead with Percy behind me. The three of us lead the way. I had Fate ready but Percy's sword had a glow which was the only light leading into the room. I started hearing a clicking sound from around us. "What is that noise?" I heard Grover say.
Suddenly in front of us I saw a glow. The silhouettes of gears appeared in front of the light. Then the lights turned on. The lights in front of us grew brighter as well and the gears turned into a full machine. It started twitching starting at the heads. Then it started making a sound like metal grinding.
I fully realized what I was seeing, it was the hydra like the one I killed before. This time however it was an automaton hydra. Besides the gears instead of scales , it looked just like the one at G-mart. Only this time its heads were reduced to three.
And so the three heads decided to make a move. They swooped down and picked up Frank, Percy and I into their mouths. Our group screamed a combination of our names. Glen and Sabrinas stood out to me in particular. I tried to look down at them and it seemed like more figures had appeared down as well.
The metal teeth were not sharp but just flat metal. I tried to bench press the roof of the mouth the best I could. It slowly released some pressure so I could breathe properly. I turned my head at the other two pieces of meat and they seemed to do the same.
"Hold on guy, It might get rough!" I heard Frank yell. I focused on frank. His skin turned bronze. He grew scales and claws too. He started to grow and grow in size until his head prison was forced to let him go.
Frank's dragon body roared in might. That was so freaking awesome I forgot I was captured by a robot hydra. Frank charged at the hydra body and I was yanked back. Frank tackled the Hydra more and without mercy. I wanted to yell at him to be careful but couldn't after being tossed like a salad.
The robot hydra was finally against the wall and Frank did one more assault against the monster. The two dragons crashed through the wall and into the other room. My head prison finally flung me out of its mouth. I went rolling across the second warehouse sized room.
I landed against what felt like metal. I was able to protect my head from the impact. The pain went through me in what felt like waves of pain. I groaned and ached for a moment but finally was able to get up.
I slowly got up and looked against what I landed. Then I saw her. In the cage was the girl I've been worried sick for. Her olive skin was flawless and complimented her dark black hair. She looked more muscular than the last time. We made eye contact and my heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were like that of a black hole in color and purpose. They just draw me in and I can't look away.
"What are You doing here!" She crossed her arms with chain shackles on.