Escape (Book Attack Series: Book 1 - Heroes of Olympus/Percy Jackson)

Prologues I - II

Prologue I

Stop of Time

Percy let go of the ledge.

Annabeth screamed as she plummeted through the hole to Tartarus. The crying faces of her crew grew smaller and smaller as she rapidly fell. She buried her face in Percy's shoulders, refusing to believe what was happening.

Classic, she thought sadly, death by giant hole.

Time stopped. Percy and Annabeth gradually stopped falling as if caught by a soft, invisible hand. They looked up to see the rocks that had been falling with them had frozen in their free-fall.

"Is that it?" Percy asked, "That's the end of the book?"

Annabeth laughed, "You're surprised? You know how Riordan likes his cliff-hangers!" The two laughed together as they imagined the faces of excited readers when they reached the end of the book.

Percy looked up at the Argo II above them, "Leo! Are you still there?"

Leo replied, a dash of relief in his voice, "Thank the gods, you're still alive! We'll meet you back at camp!"

Percy looked to Annabeth and smiled, "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Percy crossed his arms, Annabeth following the gesture. They grabbed each other's hands and softly whispered, "Glitch CHB."

They began to glitch as the book obeyed their command. When the glitch stopped, they were standing next to the big tree at Camp Half-Blood. Leo and the crew stood not ten feet away as they glitched into existence as well.

"Well that was fun!" Leo exclaimed, "Although, the mission leader falling into Tartarus via spider silk was a little much."

Piper laughed, "Because Annabeth definitely planned her almost imminent death."

Hazel giggled, "Let's just enjoy what time we have before we have to go back in The House of Hades."

The crew laughed as they walked towards the Big House. Rachel Elizabeth Dare met them half way to discuss the quest. Rachel was the only character in the entire book who shared a mind with the outside world; the creator of the story's to be exact.

"Oh my gods, was it cool falling down the hole to Tartarus?"

Annabeth sighed, "Um... No."

Rachel looked disappointed.

They'd finally reached the Big House. Frank spoke, "That's the 'Big House'? Are you kidding me? Our garden shed is bigger than that!"

"Frank, shut up. Romans like everything bigger." Jason growled.

Frank mumbled, "Still..."

Chiron and Mr. D stood on the porch waiting for them. Chiron trained almost every demigod in existence while being forced into hiding. He'd been recruiting and training at the camp for years.

Mr. D was more formally known Dionysus, the god of wine. He'd been banished from Olympus years ago, forced to train demigods at Camp Half-Blood until he'd made up for his "mistake". No one knows what the mistake was. He'll never talk about it.

"So how's the quest?" Chiron asked sarcastically.

Percy replied, "Annabeth and I just fell into Tartarus... So pretty good, actually."

Mr. D snorted, "Good? Falling into Tartarus is good? Let me tell you, they've really lowered the standards on good quests lately."

"Rachel, they're going to survive, right?" Chiron looked worried.

Rachel thought for a moment, "They should."

Everyone was silent for a while. Rachel was never uncertain. Percy broke the tension, "We'll worry about that when we get closer to publish date. We've got a whole year away from the quest!"

Nico peered around the crowd of demigods, "Let's just try to forget what happened."

A cacophonous laugh erupted through the camp. Jason's hand slunk to his side, grasping his precious gladius. Annabeth reached for her dagger and cursed. She'd lost it in the fall. Two figures stepped out of the shadows.

"Oh I think you may have some trouble with that, son of Hades." Kronos hissed, "Remind me to spare two of you. There must be some story after all."

Prologue II

A Dose of Reality

Percy's sword was ready in an instant, "I killed you once, and I can kill you again."

Gaea, eyes closed as if in a dream (or more likely nightmare), replied, "Ah, but you, Percy Jackson, did not defeat my son, but rather his apprentice Luke. You no longer have the invincibility of the river Styx."

Leo stared at Percy, awestruck, "Dude, you were invincible! Wanna show me where?!"

"Leo!!"

Kronos laughed, and soon the barrier around the camp collapsed. The monsters were running, and they were the main event.

Mr. D yelled, "Chiron! Get the seven and Rachel to the pods! They're the main priority! I'll contact the hunters to get Thalia out. Nico! Contact Olympus! Have them send two gods to help once everyone is located!"

"Follow me!" Chiron yelled. The eight had to sprint to keep up with his astonishing pace. He led them to the Emergency Tower where they flew up the stairs two at a time.

The group was greeted by eight escape pods, all different sizes to match the physical attributes of the rider. Annabeth froze at the sight of her's, "I'm not leaving. The camp doesn't stand a chance without us. We have to stay and fight. Besides, where would we even go?"

"We're blasting you all into the real world. If Kronos takes the camp, he'll kill you all and the story will be destroyed. He'll then turn his attention to the outside world. We cannot let that happen."

Rachel spoke, "Chiron, you need my prophecies. Nobody will know if the seven are okay without them."

"The prophecies are meant to make sure the seven are okay while they are inside the story. If Kronos captures you, he'll have a way of tracking the seven from anywhere. You're too valuable. This is not up for discussion and we don't have much time!"

"We'll find each other," Percy announced, "We always do."

"Everyone in their pods now."

Annabeth and Percy's pods were directly opposite each other. As they stepped in, Annabeth couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. She thought, I may never see him again.

The pod door sealed behind them as the intercom roared to life. "You are standing in the latest model of Escape Pod via Book Attack. Please strap in your feet for your safety during the launch."

The eight knelt down and strapped their feet in with the elastic bands on the floor in each pod. When they stood up, Annabeth and Percy stared at each other, hoping the other would never look away. A single tear rolled down Annabeth's cheek.

"Launch sequence initiating. 20, 19, 18..."

Annabeth pressed her hand on the window, wish she could leave the pod; stay and fight for her home instead.

"12, 11, 10..."

Percy whispered, "It's alright. I'll find you. I promise."

"3, 2, 1..."

"I love you." Annabeth mouthed, and blacked out.