ENTRAPPED ₂

24

FOR MANY NIGHTS, MADELEINE DREAMED.

She was locked in a forever-slumber, her mind contained in her body. She was a prisoner, an animal in a cage.

She had felt like this before. She gnashed her teeth and slammed against the bars with her shoulders. The vastness was infinite, and this time, there were no gods to save her.

Names slipped from her grasp. Apollo, god of the sun. Hermes, her father. Drew Tanaka, her best friend. Lee Fletcher, healer. Percy Jackson, hero. Annabeth Chase, savior. Luke Castellan, brother. Zoe Nightshade, dead.

Ethan Nakamura, her truest friend.

They fell through her fingers. A god with blue eyes and white teeth. A girl with glossy black hair and shimmery lip gloss. A boy with calloused hands. Sea green eyes. Brown curls. Braided hair.

Then Madeleine didn't remember any of them.

⎯⎯ ୨ entrapped ୧ ⎯⎯

Here was what Madeleine did remember.

Her first name was Madeleine. She had a last name. She did not remember it.

She was nineteen. She had a driver's license in her pocket with her picture and her birthday. She was born in August. She had not remembered that.

She spoke English, Greek, and Latin. She knew that the world tilted on an axis. She knew the basic properties of science. She knew that she would not fall through the ground unless the ground split open underneath her feet.

She did not know who her parents were, or where she was from, or how she had gotten here. She did not know that she had been sleeping for eight months.

She did not know the boy she woke up next to. He had bright eyes the color of the sea, and dark hair with a single streak of gray that matched her own. He told her that his name was Percy. He didn't know his last name, either.

She touched his hand. Their bodies knew each other. Their minds did not.

⎯⎯ ୨ entrapped ୧ ⎯⎯

Here was what Madeleine learned in two weeks.

Her father was Mercury, the Roman god of travelers, thievery, and good fortune. The wolves told her that she was as clever as him. They also told her that she had a haunted quality to her stare.

Percy's father was the god Neptune. He was very powerful. He could drown an enemy without touching them.

He was on her side. She was glad for that.

Madeleine did not have superpowers. She had woken with two knives and the same clothes that Percy had. An orange shirt with faded, unreadable text. Blue jeans, ripped at the knees. Percy wore laced shoes that alternated in dark turquoise and white. Madeleine wore black boots with steel in the toes.

Percy had his sword. It was called Riptide. They both had the same bead necklaces.

They were invulnerable except for in one spot. Madeleine did not remember her spot. Percy didn't remember his, either.

They protected each other fiercely. It was second nature, survival. They fought back-to-back, seamless, like they had done it for years. Maybe they had.

Madeleine hotwired cars and stole food from supermarkets while Percy siphoned gas, an acquired skill that Madeleine had taught him. They took turns driving.

When Madeleine slept, she dreamed. An earthen hand brushed her throat. A bearded man with hair the same as hers lifted her into his arms. A boy with a sneer and a scowl and an eyepatch watched her.