Half-Blood High

IX

                             Percy

"Woah." I whispered. The chamber was just like in my dream. Except, real.

I heard a clang behind me, and remembered too late: The doors had shut. And they wouldn't open.

I sighed and turned to look down the long tiled  walkway. There it was.

The sword.

It was gleaming, brighter than it had in my dream. My feet moved, forward down the walkway, toward the weapon.

Out of curiosity, I peered over the side of the walkway. Water. Of course. I wanted to reach out and touch it, just to make sure this was real and not some weird hallucination, or another dream.

I got down on my stomach and reached out, my fingers caressing the water. Then, something grabbed me with an iron grip.

A hand, green and slimy. I yelped and tried to pull away, but two more hands shot out of the water, latching on to my other arm. I yelped again and tried to pull away, but I was held fast.

A ghostly whiteish-green face appeared just below the surface of the water. It looked feminine, but with the huge frog eyes and greenish skin, it was hard to tell. The frog eyed person blinked then smiled, showing off a mouth full of blunt yellow teeth. They tugged me harder, and I nearly fell in the water. I braced my knees against the tile, clenching my teeth, begging my limbs for strength as I pulled against them.

Just when I though it was the end, someone spoke.

"LET HIM GO. HE IS MINE."

At the sound of the booming voice, the frog faces released me and disappeared under the water. I may or may not have shouted a few unkind names after them.

"I apologize. The naiads can be... over welcoming at times. Not that pulling you under would hurt you."

The voice was coming from everywhere, and no where, all at once. It echoed throughout the chamber, confusing me greatly.

(Then again, I'm always confused greatly. To this day I still can't figure out how to work a child lock. It's a real concern.)

"Who are you? Where am I?"

There was a pause, long enough for me to get to my feet. While I waited for the voice to respond, I noticed something odd.

My clothes were dry.

I mean, that wouldn't be a very big deal, if I hadn't almost been drowned by some naiads, or whatever. But I'm pretty sure that my sleeves should have been at least a little wet. But they weren't.

"Hey, uh, Mr. Voice? Quick question: Why are my clothes dry?"

A wry chuckle. "Ah, so you've noticed then. Do not be scared, Perseus Jackson. This is completely normal."

I frowned at no where in particular. "First off, I'm pretty sure this isn't normal. Second, how do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you, Perseus."

"Don't call me by my full name. It's weird."

The voice ignored me. Whoever it was, they were really getting in my nerves.

"I know all about you. And about your mother, Sally Jackson, and your half-sister, Estelle Jackson-Blofis. And about your-."

"Name something."

"... Excuse me?"

"You claim to know me, so tell me something about myself. Something no one else would know."

"Very well. You live in an apartment with your mother. You've had two stepdads, but do not know your real father. When you were seven, you had an odd infatuation with the crabs in the display tank at the Hong-Kong Chinese restaurant on fift-."

"Okay that's enough. I get it. You know all about me. But what does that have to do with this place?" I gestured around the room. "And why am I having weird dreams about it?"

The Voice sighed, like I was the one being annoying. "You are drawn to this place, because of your blood."

"My blood?"

"Yes. The blood of the Olympians runs through your veins. At least, half of it does."

"What? Does anything you say make sense?"

"It will, in time."

I sighed. "This was a waste of time, and my Mom's probably worried out of her mind by now. I'm leaving." I got up and headed for the door. The Voice offered no objections. Until I reached the door.

"We will meet again, Perseus Jackson. Mark my words."

"Yeah, Whatever." I walked outside, and began the trek back through the tunnel. As I did, two things occurred to me.

1. I had followed Grover, but hadn't seen him in the room, and...

2. I hadn't gotten to take the sword.

}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{

Piper

I waited until I was three blocks away from school before I made the call.

"Hello? Yes, Roy, I'm at Southpark Drive. Okay. Yeah. Bye."

I stuck my phone in my bag, and waited for my driver.

A minute later, Roy came around the curb, driving the limo. I ignored the curious glances from passerby and climbed in, fast as I could. I shut the door, and he took off.

"How was your first day back?" He glanced in the mirror, brown eyes full of concern. I offered him a weak smile. "It was okay, I guess. I'm pretty tired."

He nodded as he turned a corner. "Well, that's one day down."

"But dozens more to go." I muttered under my breath.

I stared out the window, watching the familiar scenery blend together, until we arrived.

Roy pulled into the garage and parked. I was out before he had stopped. I ducked through the door, past the maid, and sprinted to my room, on the second floor.

I quickly closed my door, then fell backwards onto my bed. Finally, it was quiet.

Ahh. Bliss.

I laid there for a moment, enjoying the silence, before getting out my binder and staring on my homework. I pulled on my headphones and played "Ships and Guns." Hearing Lafayette rap in French always made me feel better, oddly enough. I'd liked Hamilton ever since I saw it on Broadway a coupon years ago.

While I did my homework, I let my mind wonder.

Jason Grace. I had only met him the day before, at the school's open house, but it still felt like a lifetime ago. I knew I had fallen for him when I went home and tried to find him on social media. He had one Snapchat account, but he hadn't posted in over a year. I still checked on it daily, though.

Jason had sat with me, (and Leo), at lunch. I still couldn't believe it. He perfect. A little too perfect, in fact. I knew for a fact I liked him, but I was in doubt that he would ever like me as more than a friend.

Oh well. Time would tell.
. . .
Okay. One of five done! I want to get in 5 chapter tonight. It's good to have goals.

Thoughts?

Peace ✌️

-SilverQuillsandRoses