mastermind - percy jackson

vii. kampê

"I'm not letting you die."

Good news: the left tunnel was straight with no side exits, twists, or turns.

Bad news: it was a dead end.

After sprinting a hundred yards, they ran into an enormous boulder that completely blocked their path. Behind them, the sounds of dragging footsteps and heavy breathing echoed down the corridor. Something—definitely not human— was on their trail.

"Tyson" Percy said, "can you—"

"Yes!" He slammed his shoulder against the rock so hard the whole tunnel shook. Dust trickled from the stone ceiling.

"Hurry!" Grover said. "Don't bring the roof down, but hurry!"

The boulder finally gave way with a horrible grinding noise. Tyson pushed it into a small room and they dashed through behind it.

"Close the entrance!" Annabeth said.

They all got on the other side of the boulder and pushed. Whatever was chasing them wailed in frustration s they heaved the rock back into place and sealed the corridor.

"We trapped it" Percy said.

"Or trapped ourselves" Cassandra added.

Percy rolled his eyes, "Way to be positive, Ms. Sunshine."

"Shut up, Fish Face" She muttered.

They were in a twenty-foot-square cement room and the opposite wall was covered with metal bars. They'd tunneled straight into a jailcell.

"What in Hades?" Annabeth tugged on the bars. They didn't budge. Through the bars, Cassandra could see rows of cells in a ring around a dark courtyard- at least three stories of metal doors and metal catwalks.

"A prison" Percy stated. "Maybe Tyson can break—"

"Shh" Grover said. "Listen."

Somewhere above them, deep sobbing echoed through the building. There was another sound, too— a raspy voice muttering something that Cassandra couldn't make out. The words were strange, like rocks in a tumbler.

What's that language?" Percy whispered.

Tyson's eyes widened. "Can't be."

"What?" Annabeth asked.

Tyson grabbed two bars on the cell door and bent them wide enough for even a Cyclops to slip through.

"Wait!" Grover calld.

But Tyson wasn't about to wait. The four ran after him. The prison was dark, only a few dim fluorescent lights flickering above.

"I know this place" Annabeth told them. 

Cassandra looked around, "Alcatraz, right?" Annabeth nodded.

"You mean that island near San Francisco?" Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded, "My school took a field trip here. It's like a museum."

It didn't seem possible that they could've popped out of the Labyrinth on the other side of the country, but Annabeth had living in San Francisco all year, keeping an eye on Mount Tam just across the bay. Cassandra figured she knew what she was talking about.

"Freeze" Grover warned.

But Tyson kept going.

Grover grabbed his arm and pulled him back with all his strength. "Stop, Tyson!" He whispered. "Can't you see it?"

Cassandra looked where he was pointing, and her heart dropped into her stomach. On the second-floor balcony, across the courtyard, was the most horrible monster she's ever seen.