The Silver Archer 2️⃣ (Percy Jackson)

19. Hundred-Handed-One

Adira

The good news: the left tunnel was straight with no side exits, twists, or turns. The bad news; it was a dead end. After sprinting a hundred yards, we ran into an enormous boulder that completely blocked our path. Behind us, the sounds of dragging footsteps and heavy breathing echoed down the corridor. Something—definitely not human—was on our tail.

"Hey Adi," Percy said, "can you—"

"On it!" I shouted. I concentrated and slowly moved the boulder. Dust trickled from the stone ceiling.

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

The boulder finally gave way with one last movement of my arms. Tyson pushed it into a small room and we dashed through behind it.

"Close the entrance!" Annabeth said.

They all got on the other side of the boulder and pushed, while I used the last bit of my power strength to push it into place . Whatever was chasing us wailed in frustration as we heaved the rock back into place and sealed the corridor.

And also, my eyes get brighter and glow white the more I concentrate when moving the object. Yes, the same with aerokinesis (create and manipulate air) and pyrokinesis (create and manipulate fire). Geokinesis was hardest, I felt, because it was actually moving an object. Not like force-wise like with fire and wind. It was my strength, not how hard I pushed the air or the fire.

"We trapped it," Percy said.

"Or trapped ourselves," Brett said.

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

🪨

"What in Hades?" Annabeth tugged on the bars. They didn't budge. Through the bars we could see rows of cells in a ring around a dark courtyard—at least three stories of metal doors and metal catwalks. The metal was thick and long. I had doubts about breaking them down. Fortunately, Percy thought the same thing.

"A prison," Percy said. "Maybe Adira can use her gift and bend the metals, and break—"

I rolled my eyes. Always dependent on me, this boy.

"Shh," said Grover. "Listen."

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

"What's that language?" Percy whispered.

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

"What?" I asked.

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

"Wait!" Grover called.

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

"Wait-" I said. "I know this place."

"Me too," Annabeth told me. "This is Alcatraz."

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

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

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