VIDEO GAMES! (p. jackson) (#1)

- ten

ROSE HAD NEVER BEEN SO SURE THAT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE.

"The other way," Percy said.

They bolted down the catwalk. This time briares was happy to follow them. In fact, he sprinted out front, a hundred arms waving in panic.

Behind them, Rose heard the sound of giant wings as Kampê took to the air. She hissed and growled in her ancient language, but Rose didn't need a translation to know she was planning to kill them. She let out a string of French and Greek curses that would've had Silena put her on pegasus stable duty for two weeks.

They scrambled down the stairs, through a corridor, and past a guard's station—out into another block of prison cells.

"Left," Annabeth said. "I remember this from the tour."

They burst outside and found themselves in the prison yard, ringed by security towers and barbed wire. After being inside for so long, the daylight felt refreshing. Rose automatically felt better, even though an ancient monster was after her head. Tourists were milling around, taking pictures. The wind whipped cold off the bay. In the south, San Francisco gleamed all white and beautiful, but in the north, over Mount Tamalpais, huge storm clouds swirled. The whole sky seemed like a black top spinning from the mountain where Atlas was imprisoned, and where the Titan palace of Mount Othrys was rising anew. The place on Rose's head where her silver streak grew pinged with a sharp pain at the sight of mountain. It was hard to believe the tourists couldn't see the supernatural storm brewing, but they didn't give any hint that anything was wrong.

"It's even worse," Annabeth said, gazing to the north. "The storms have been bad all year, but that—"

"Keep moving," Briares wailed. "She is behind us!"

They ran to the far end of the yard, as far from the cellblock as possible.

"Kampê's too big to get through the doors," Percy said hopefully.

Then the wall exploded.

Tourists screamed as Kampê appeared from the dust and rubble, her wings spread out as wide as the yard. She was holding two swords—long bronze scimitars that glowed with a weird greenish aura, boiling wisps of vapor that smelled sour and hot even across the yard.

"Poison!" Grover yelped. "Don't let those things touch you or..."

"Or we'll die?" Rose guessed.

"Well... after you shrivel slowly to dust, yes."

"Let's avoid the swords," she decided.

"Briares, fight!" Tyson urged. "Grow to full size!"

Instead, Briares looked like he was trying to shrink even smaller. He appeared to be wearing his absolutely terrified face.

Kampê thundered toward them on her dragon legs, hundreds of snakes slithering around her body.

For a second, Rose thought about drawing her sword and facing her, but her heart crawled into her throat. Then Annabeth said what she was thinking: "Run!"

That was the end of the debate. There was no fighting this thing. They ran through the jail yard and out the gates of the prison, the monster right behind them. Mortals screamed and ran. Emergency sirens began to blare.

They hit the wharf just as a tour boat was unloading. The new group of visitors froze as they saw them charging toward them, followed by a mob of frightened tourists, followed by... Rose didn't know what they saw through the Mist, but it could not have been good.

"The boat?" Grover asked.

"Too slow," Tyson said. "Back into the maze. Only chance."

"We need a diversion," Annabeth said.