The Arena Once More: Sequel to The Demigod Games

The Eleventh Hour

When my eyes open, I get a sinking feeling. I sit up, and look around to find I'm actually sinking into the floor. Quicksand! Gods darn it! "Percy!" I yell in his ear.

"What?!" he screams back. His eyes widen when he notices the change of scenery. The sand up to the top shelf, us sinking. "Okay, okay. I know how to get through this. I saw in an article on the Web that if caught in quicksand, just lay on your back, and don't struggle," he instructs me.

We lay vertically on our backs, and stay 100% still. "What now?" I wonder.

"We don't do anything except hope we stay afloat--so to speak," he says.

"There's a slight problem with that..."

"Which is?"

"We're both ADHD. That's a huge weakness. We can't possibly still for a whole hour," I point out.

"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about that UNTIL YOU BROUGHT IT UP!" Percy says.

"Well, sorry!" I apologize, scoffing.

"Whatever. Let's just try to get through this. We can talk."

"About what?" I ask.

"Anything that gets our mind off of drowning," Percy says. "Let's talk about...the future. You start."

"Um...okay. If we were to have kids, what would you name them?"

"Orion if a boy, Athena if a girl.

"Why?" I ask, panicky.

"Orion because I just like the name, and Athena so your mom won't kill me," he explains, taking my hand. I think about what he said. Those names are really nice. They'd definitely land the Name List if I were choosing the names.  "Okay," I respond, still staring at the ceiling. "What do you think our kids would like?"

"Hm. That's a tough one. Maybe, if a boy, blonde hair and green eyes? Or maybe black hair and gray eyes. Yeah, black and gray'd be cool. Girl would look nice with blonde hair and green eyes," he answers.

"I agree." Suddenly, I feel myself sink a little. "Percy! Talk more!"

"Okay, okay! Do you think we'll make it? Through all of this?" he asks, sounding worried. I wish I could wrap my arms around him one last time.

"I have to believe we'll make it. If we don't, we'll end up in an even worse Games. Probably a 50 foot by 50 foot desert island where the only weapons are gonna be coconuts and the only hiding places will be palm trees," I reply, quietly laughing. Then, out of nowhere, I hear a scream from far away, pursued by a cannon. 21 Tributes remaining. "Quick. Change the subject."

"What's the minimum and maximum age you wanna get married?"

"Minimum 25, maximum 35. You?"

"Maximum 30, minimum 24. Cuz when I get married, I wanna have kids at a young age. I don't want to be, like, 50, when my kid is like 14." I'm stunned. He didn't say if I  get married. He said when I get married. That means, in his mind, we are going to get married. And that makes my heart melt.

"Ditto on the kids...What do you think the next arena will be?"

"I dunno. Probably something more traumatic than this one. A theatre with Frank Sinatra blasting through the speakers," he answers. "Why don't we not talk for a while."

"Okay...but, Percy?" I ask, a single horrible thought surfacing in my head.

"Yeah."

"Who was that cannon for?"