The Arena Once More: Sequel to The Demigod Games

The Seventh Hour

About an hour later, we wake up to the sight of a huge, metal 2-D donut being lowered into the arena. It's the size of what the Sixth Ring should be. Looks like the seventh hour's starting. I don't know what a metal donut has to do with it, but I don't even care. Usually my curiosity gets the best of me. Not this time. I'm done checking out. Every time I have, something bad has happened.

"Since every time Annabeth checks out the scene something bad happens, I'll go this time!" Percy volunteers.

"What? No!" I protest. "You'll just die! I know from experience!"

"I'm not you, Annabeth. Sorry, but I don't you to die next time around." He starts walking away, leaving me open-mouthed and furious.

Nothing has gone my way today. People have died because of me, and I hate myself for it. I've been completely useless.

"No, you haven't," Piper says, as if reading my thoughts. "You saved me from those weird book thingies. You saved Leo, Percy and I. You were the one who thought of climbing the shelves to avoid the spike floor. You are not useless, Annabeth. In fact, you've been more useful than ever."

I'm grateful for her peptalk. I give her a smile. "Thanks, Pipes. I owe you one."

"Please...don't call me Pipes. Jason calls--called--me that. And my dad."

"Sorry, Piper."

"It's fine. Now, why we don't we just talk about the happy times while we wait for Percy to come back?"

"Sure."
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PERCY

I slowly make my way to the Sixth Ring, looking out for any nasty predators. It's not until I reach the Seventh Ring that I run into people.

A group of maybe 25 teens are huddled right in front of the right metal slab. I approach them carefully. "Um, hi. My name is Percy. I don't want any trouble."

"We're not in the mood for killing, anyway," a girl about 16 tells me. "A girl from my--"

"--Our district!" interrupts a 12-year-old boy, gesturing to 4 people, himself included.

"Fine! A girl from our district died during the Sixth Hour. Was smashed along with some other members of the other 4 districts we're allied with. One person from each district died. So there's twenty-five of us now," the girl explains. "The name's Dixie, by the way. District 2. Our allies are 1, 4, 7, and 11."

"Hiya. So, er thanks for the pass. See ya around, I guess," I say, and start climbing up the shelf. I jump to the inner Seventh Ring circle. The metal donut is completely covering the ring. I could walk right over it if I wanted to. I walk to where I'm between the two slabs of metal, and jump.

I peek my head around the entrance, and see not regular book shelves, but metal walls that are moving toward the outer Sixth Ring shelf. So it's like a booby trap in those shows!

I quickly get back to Annabeth and the others (or what's left of the others) and report back.

"It must only affect claustrophobic people. They've already done two Rings that smash, so they won't do more than that. The metal wall will make the Tributes back up to the shelf until the walls are as close as possible without crushing them," Annabeth reasons.

"What she said," Leo adds. I roll my eyes.

"But what do we do?" Piper asks.

"Nothing we can do. We stay here. That was the plan," Annabeh exclaims. "Now, there are only fifty Tributes left, and at the rate people are dying, everyone will be dead at the end."

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"It's obvious. Like Frank said at the very beginning, this arena is a bomb. Well, actually, only part of it is. They wouldn't kill off every Tribute. I'm guessing they'll somehow trap everyone in the First Ring, where the Cornucopia is. Then a bomb will go off, killing everyone in that ring," Annabeth explains, looking at all of us.

"I think she's right," Piper inputs. "It's the quickest way to end the Games. We all agreed most of the Tributes were hiding in Three to One anyway."

"So, what? We wait till all those people die? We just sit here until the Gamemakers kill three of us?" I ask, eyes wide.

"No," Annabeth answers. "One of us waits here till all those people die. Three of us go into the closer rings and die."

"Sorry?" Leo says. "Why would three of us die?"

"Because, Leo, we can make our way to the Games faster. Maybe if we go through the enough Games we'll wake up. Three of us dying can get us through quicker," Piper says.

"Who's gonna die, though?" Leo asks.

Annabeth steps forward. "I volunteer as Tribute."

I step forward, too. "I volunteer, also."

Then Piper. "I volunteer as well."