a story as endless as the ocean . pjo / allie jackson

0.2 rescue mission: failed

0.2 Has the World Stopped Spinning on Its Axis?

Thalia and Grover acted immediately. We speed-walked to the other side of the gym where I'd seen Luke exit and filled them in.

"Brylie had gone over and sat by them, then Luke and I were talking for literally two minutes and then they were gone. Luke went to follow Thorn and I came to find the two of you."

As soon as they were caught up and we were out of the gym, we started sprinting through the hallways, with Grover giving us directions to the quickest way outside— the most likely place they'd gone. Thank the gods I perfected the art of running in heels long ago, because if I hadn't I, and my ankles, would have been screwed.

I could just hear my old teachers' voices in my head. No running in the halls! Then I'd grumble about being told what to do and they'd say the one thing that made me actually plot murder Well, if you're going to talk back, you can go back over there and walk back.

I smirked and gave them the middle finger in my head. I was glad I didn't have to deal with those teachers anymore.

Finally, after about a minute of running, we came across a door and the cold winter air was nipping at my nose again. The sky was dark, but the snowfall had let up for a few moments. I could still see the imprints of the footsteps from the di Angelo's, Brylie, Dr. Thorn, and Luke.

Thalia and Grover didn't bat an eye and followed me as I ran through the snow. We ran into the woods and ended up taking a snowy path that was lit up by old-fashioned lamplights.

The pathway, though not long in hindsight, felt like it took us much too long for us to run. Heart pounding in my chest, we finally made it to the end of the path, where a large clearing opened up. We could see the amassed group, Brylie settled squarely behind Luke and the di Angelo's slightly adjacent to them, Dr. Thorn in front of them all, traipsing around the area dramatically.

Thorn was raving on about something called the Great Stirring and, with the hopes of gaining a little extra context, I motioned for Thalia and Grover to stay hidden in the mist that kept us from view.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well... there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" Luke asked. Probably trying to keep him stalled while he waited for reinforcements.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all— the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

We figured that was as great a moment as any, so I stepped out of the mist, an air of smugness around me as I strutted towards them.

"Hey, you asshole," I shouted, keeping his eyes on me instead of the four of them. "I'll give you a few seconds to let the four of them go before I slice you to pieces with my swords."

"Ah, Astraea Jackson, the oh-so-famous Daughter of Poseidon," he said, now turning his whole body towards me. I'm not going to lie, it felt pretty good seeing his face turn to one of terror before he tried to mask it. I grinned cockily at him and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke do the same.