Half-Blood High

XXVII

                                      Piper

Note to self: Never, under any circumstance, enter a magical chamber. It will end embarrassingly.

Annabeth and I watched Kronos take control of Luke. It was super creepy, like one of those old Hollywood movies with the weird special effects that you can tell are cheap.

After he basically possessed Luke, Kronos raised a fist to the sky. For a moment, nothing happened. Water dripped from above and traced an icy path down my arm.

Then, rumbling, like from the throat of a beast. The ceiling of the Atrium was cracking, breaking apart. Chunks of smooth gray stone fell from the ceiling, landing among the weapons with a clang. Kronos was seemingly unbothered by this. A hole roughly the size of a watermelon had been created up above. Kronos squatted down, and jumped.

I thought he'd only make it a few feet, but he cleared the hole. He literally jumped through the ceiling.

Today was officially the weirdest day of my life.

Annabeth and I were quiet. Then, Annabeth exploded.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" She shouted, making me jump. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"

I backed up a bit when she started pacing, muttering angrily to herself about who-knew-What. She ranted under her breath incoherently. After a while, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Annabeth," I placed an urgent hand on her shoulder. She froze and glared at me.

"We don't have time for this. We need to-."

She interrupted me. "Don't have time for this?! Piper are you insane?! We need to make a new plan."

I shook my head. "Sometimes, you can't rely on plans. You just have to go with your gut."

She gave a massive sigh, and asked, "Okay. Sorry, I'm good now."

I nodded. "Good."

"So, What does your gut say we do?"

I turned to look at the door. "We use the Atrium."

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

                                   Percy

"Six o'clock! Time for some cotton candy!" I hopped off the roof of the pickup I'd been sitting on. Hazel stood up and stretched. "You're just all stomach, aren't you?" She teased. I rolled my eyes and started for the football field entrance.

An odd humming filled my ears. I glanced back at Hazel, who was frowning. She heard it too.

"Uh... Percy?"

The ground began to shake. The cars rattled and shook. I looked down, as a crack spilt the asphalt. It grew, going between my legs, all the way to Hazel.

The crack burst open, creating a deep, dark crevice. I knew if I fell into it, I might never stop.

"What the-?!"

A form leapt out of the darkness. It slammed into the concrete, creating a crater three feet wide. Hazel backed away until she ran into a car. I stood glaring at the newcomer.

The person stood up, and I got a good look at him. My stomach dropped.

I knew him.

I was staring into the face of Luke Castellan.

A smirk crept across his face.

"We meet again, Percy Jackson."

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