Percy Jackson: The Curse of Memory

Chapter 13.

Percy's POV:

If there's one thing Percy learned, riding roller coasters in pitch black is NOT fun. Also very tiring. Every two seconds he shivered from the cold. It very much caught him by surprise too. Finally, all the dark colors melted away and turned into what seemed to be a sidewalk.

"Now I would like to know what the Hera-"  he was cut off when Nico stumbled out from the darkness, right next to Percy. "Language, Percy, " He said sleepily. Then yawned, which caused Thalia to yawn, who just appeared next to him also.

"Sorry, " Nico apologized. "At least it worked."
"Back up a bit, what worked exactly?" Thalia asked. "Shadow travel, " Nico answered hesitantly. "It's just as it sounds."
Shadow travel. Many questions flooded Percy's mind. But he didn't let any escape his mouth.

"Anyway, it took us here, so this place must be important," Nico said. "We already burned away two days, we need to keep moving." He wasn't wrong. The sun was already setting, and the sky was turning a burning orange.
But where do they head to? Thalia seemed to be reading his mind. "That field looks important, " She murmured. Sure enough, a field was about half a mile away.

"I'm pretty sure my feet are dead, " Percy said.
"I can shadow travel us down there, " Nico suggested.
"Wait! Actually, I'm fine. My feet don't hurt at all." Nico smirked, which was uncommon for him.

They all started walking down to the baseball field.

"Nico, how did you even learn to shadow travel?" Thalia asked.
"Practice, " was his response. Percy noticed how he stifled a yawn.
Along with some naps, Percy thought.

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It was like the field was calling his name. It was so close. Which was annoying, because it seemed like they were all walking in the same place. Percy's feet hurt. Badly. He also wondered what happened to Theo, Theodore, and Theophanes. He didn't even remember if those were the correct names. Memory really sucked.

He thought about Annabeth. He missed her, a lot more than he wanted to admit. Her voice calmed him. But she wasn't here right now. He needed to focus on his mission, though.

Screw it. His mission was to get back to Annabeth. He longed to see her, stare into her eyes. The only ever beautiful storm was the storm in her stormy eyes.

Crunch. He stepped on something. When he looked down to check it out, it was a dried maple leaf on the field. Thank the gods! Finally, they made it to the baseball field.

Nico fidgeted with his ring. "This place feels...off."
Thalia scanned their surroundings. Percy noticed how the sun was fully down now. He didn't appreciate that. Thanks, Apollo. The only light they had now was the street lights and the moon.

They continued walking further into the field. Thalia and Percy stopped to look at something they saw poking out of the turf while Nico kept moving. "I don't understand, " Thalia mumbled. She bent down. "Why would...?"

That's when Percy realized his mistake.

"Percy, Thalia!" Nico yelled at the top of his lungs. "Behind you!"

Chains shot out from the ground like bombs bursting in the air. They wrapped around Thalia first, Percy next. Nico was the only one sparred.

The chains embraced him in a sharp squeeze. They were so cold from be imprisoned for so long. But they weren't alone. Someone placed them there. Percy squirmed. "Don't, " Thalia warned. "Thats only making them tighter."
Just after she said that, they squeezed tighter. As if giving him a aggressive hug. That thought was comforting.

Suddenly, chilling a noise made him freeze in his place. A low gurgling with a trace of spitting and screaming (Ew). "That thing better not be a dragon, " Nico mumbled. "Sounds like one, " Thalia replied.
"Not helping."
"Wasn't trying to."

Nico gave up on talking. He walked forward slowly. The backpack laid comfortably on his back. He had his sword ready, gripping the hilt. Percy studied his every move, making sure no more chains were hidden in the ground. Percy noticed how his sword didn't reflect any light. Not even the moon. It was darker than a soul. It could have millions of souls that could be trapped inside the single Stygian iron.. That thought alone was almost as terrifying as the sword.
Thalia guided Nico to the safest place-or whatever that meant.
"Your left!"
"Other left!"
"Not there, over by the line."

Nico followed her every step. His free hand shivered. Percy then wondered where they even were. It couldn't be any place warm like California. This place didn't seem to be warm. No palm trees in sight, at least he didn't think.  He felt like he had been here, though. He brushed off that information.

" Ri-"
Nico raised up his hand, a signal to stop. He picked up a twig and threw it at the nearest line. That happened to be the line closest to Percy's feet.

He had amazing luck today, the line that had formed a square exploded in dreamy flames. They went crazy in the slow breeze. "Idiot!" Thalia yelled at him. "You legs! What are you doing?"
Percy quickly moved his legs as close to him as they qcould be. He didn't want to risk his feet turning into toast. "This is the the Scycilia Lake all over again, " He murmured.
A low grumble escaped the soccer net. Nico walked towards the net. Suddenly, a rough brown tail escaped the net. Nico jumped, as high as he could. The brown tail stunk of trash stuck in the the middle of a warm Arizona day.

Thalia already had her bow in her hand, somehow. Percy reached for his pocket, trying his best not to squirm in any way. He cursed, right as Riptide fell from out of his pocket and landed on the ground. Nico's sword almost slipped out of his hands as he saw the beast emerge from the net. Thalia gripped her arrow, her nails digging into the wood. She held onto the arrow, ready to pull back in case it came too close.

An intense growl came from ahead. He managed to flick the cap off Riptide with just a nail. His sword cast a golden light across the turf. Percy was not ready for the creatures's next move. A moved that proved they were a dragon.

The net exploded into flames.