ENTRAPPED ₂

68

THE BASIN FILLED WITH ALARMING SPEED. Piper and Percy pounded on the walls, looking for an exit. Madeleine and Jason flew up to the ceiling and pressed on it, hoping it would give. They found nothing. Jason and Madeleine fluttered into the highest alcoves and pulled Piper and Percy up with them, but with water pouring out of each niche, it was like trying to balance at the edge of a waterfall. They all kept slipping and grabbing each other's wrists, fumbling for an edge. Madeleine's fingers were hooked so tightly in a niche, she ached.

Even with their small advantage the niches gave them, it didn't do much. Soon, the water was up to Madeleine's knees and rising quickly. From the floor, it was probably eight feet deep. And it was relentless.

"I could try lightning," Jason said. "Maybe blast a hole in the roof?"

"That could bring down the whole room and crush us," Piper said.

"Or electrocute us," Percy said.

"Not many choices," Jason said.

"Let me search the bottom," Percy said. "If this place was built as a fountain, there has to be a way to drain the thing. You guys, check the niches for secret exits. Maybe the seashells are knobs, or something." It was a desperate idea, but Piper and Jason seemed glad for something to do.

Percy jumped in the water. Jason and Piper began to climb from niche to niche, kicking and pounding, wiggling seashells embedded in the stone. Madeleine hovered a few inches from the ceiling, the wings on her shoes fluttering desperately, as she tried desperately to summon something. The problem was, there were no vines here, no trees. That was what Madeleine had been operating on. She couldn't control herself or her powers. She was half Gaea's puppet, a marionette on strings. Everything was a god damn mess.

As Madeleine fluttered back down to the niches, Percy surfaced. He was gasping and flailing, and when Madeleine pulled him up, he almost pulled her down in his haste.

"Couldn't breathe," he choked. "The water... not normal. Hardly made it back."

Madeleine's heart squeezed terribly. She felt like she was being crushed underneath a thousand pounds of stone. She felt like she was watching Zoe die all over again. Here she was, standing in a room with three of her friends, and they were all going to die. She was helpless. Pathetic.

Madeleine was back to gripping the niche with all of the strength in her thin fingers. As the water rose around her, she felt the affects of it. Her leg muscles trembled like she had been running for miles. Her hands turned wrinkled and dry, like she had been in the bath for too long.

The others moved sluggishly, too. Jason's face was pale, and he seemed to be having trouble holding his sword. Percy was drenched and shivering. His hair didn't look quite so dark, as if the color was leaching out. Piper's multicolored eyes were now the color of slate, and Katroptris trembled in her fist.

"They're taking our power," Piper said. "Draining us."

"Jason," Percy coughed, "do the lightning."

Jason raised his sword. The room rumbled, but no lightning appeared. The roof didn't even crack. Instead, a miniature rainstorm formed at the top of the chamber. Rain poured down, filling the fountain even faster, but it wasn't normal rain. The stuff was just as dark as the water in the pool. Every drop stung Madeleine's skin.

"Not what I wanted," Jason said.

The water was up to their necks now. Madeleine said some choice curse words. Dread felt heavy in her heart. She wouldn't bring Nico home. She would watch Percy and Jason and Piper die. This was the end, this was always going to be the end. She was just a helpless little girl with a dead dad.