The Demigod Games

4

ANNABETH

10 minutes after the birds arrived, they fly off of the arena. I take the wax out of my ears, and sigh. "Thank the gods. That was horrendous," I exclaim.

"Tell me about it,"Percy agrees. He puts the wax plugs in his pocket, and hugs me. "Are you okay? Luke?"

I shake it off. "Yeah...I'm fine now."

"Are you sure?" He asks softly.

"Yes," I insist just as softly. Percy nods understandingly.

Leo runs up to us, tears on his face. "Hey, guys."

Frank inquires,"What voices did you hear? Hazel told me she ran out of wax."

Leo shakes his head miserably. "I heard..my mom. And you guys. All of you screaming for help, asking me to save you from an unknown danger." He sits down, and buries his head in his hands.

Hazel walks up to him, and wraps her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, Leo. I wish I had more to give you."

"Thanks, Haze. Although, I actually did find wax in another bag. I was able to endure the last 5 minutes of the copy-bird things," he explains, still looking down sadly. Suddenly, he looks up. "Did you feel that?"

We all look around. "Feel what?" Piper asks.

"I thought I felt a drop of water on my cheek...maybe it was nothing. I don't know." Leo shrugs.

"Guys. I just felt it, too. I think there's a leak in the arena,"I say, wiping the water off my forehead.

"No, not a leak. The Gamemakers planned everything to the last detail, probably made sure there aren't any flaws,"Piper exclaims. She lifts her head up to the ceiling, and I see 2 drops of water hit her nose. "I think it's another obstacle."

Percy questions,"Tiny drops of water, though? Not much of a challenge if I say so myself."

But then, in the center of the ceiling, a steady stream of water starts flowing onto the Cornucopia. Water slides off the smooth surface, and hits the ground, making a small puddle throughout the arena.

We look at each other.

"Guys...," Hazel says. "We're in a tank. The arena is a tank. And tanks...are built for water."

I raise an eyebrow. "What, you think they're just gonna fill the whole arena up with water? That would take a long time."

"They could, if they wanted some Tributes to drown," Hazel replies matter-of-factly.

"1:03!" Leo shouts.

We all turn to him. "What?" Frank asks.

"Before my stylist left the Launchpad, she gave me a wetsuit, and said,'Here, you'll need this sometime in the arena. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11.' I hadn't known what it meant at the time, but now I do! It's 1:03, and there's water filling up the arena. That's what she meant. On the odd hours, water's gonna come!" Leo explains.

"If that's true, that means on the even hours: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, the mutations come out to play," Piper adds.

"Which means all of us will be dead within the week!" Frank yelps.

The water is up to our ankles now. The steady stream coming from the ceiling starts to flow harder, filling up the arena faster.

"Leo, you said the water comes on the odd hours, right?" I ask, taking off my socks and shoes. I throw them to the side.

"Correct-a-mungo!"

"How long do you think it'll take for the water to fill over our heads?" I inquire.

Of course, more water starts to flow from the walls. Water is now all the way up to our knees.

"I dunno. 15 minutes?"

"Great," I mutter under my breath. I look around, and my eyes settle on the Cornucopia. I get an idea. "Guys!"

All of them turn to me. "Yeah?" Percy says.

I demand,"I want all of you to climb the Cornucopia. That'll save time. This tank is filling too quickly. Go, go, go!"

We all sprint to the Cornucopia, and climb its slippery surface. I hoist Hazel up, and we're all on top. "Okay. We're safe, but only for about 10 minutes. Then we'll have to swim."