Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Lightning Thief

| Chapter XXI || The Escape |

*April 25 XXXX*

***

The time had come.

Percy suddenly felt the immense power of Chaos filling his body, fueled by his will to escape. He could feel the power surging within him, trying to get free of his weak mortal form.

Pulling his arms, he broke the chains, and they shattered to pieces as if frozen ice shards, flying across the room. He stood up, his previous exhaustion overridden by the new surge of strength. He thrust his hands outwards, towards the door, and it flew off its hinges, smacking into the two guards that stood outside of it. They were crushed underneath the weight of the door, dead.

The hallway outside was brighter, and it took Percy a moment for his eyes to adjust to the sudden difference. Once his eyes had adjusted, he saw a narrow hallway, made entirely of metal, with lights strung up near the ceiling. It looked sort of like a high-tech mining tunnel.

Percy stalked down the hallway, his eyes glowing－blazing like stars. His whole body was surrounded by a dark aura, which writhed and flared around his body. It was almost like a living being itself.

He had to escape. He had to warn the Olympians. First, however, he had to save Annabeth. She was not destined for such a bleak end, and she did not deserve the cruelty that she had been given. She was tricked by the mad titan, Kronos.

He walked quickly down the maze of hallways, smashing down every door, and destroying every guard－demigod or monster－he came across. He eventually found a large amount of monsters standing outside of a single cell and knew that it was the one. Annabeth was definitely in there.

He coughed loudly, drawing their attention. They all turned and charged, raising their weapons or their claws, ready to attack. They were so packed together, though, some ended up accidentally killing their allies, and so about half of them were gone by the time they reached Percy. He easily dealt with them, throwing them aside. They crumbled under the power of Chaos that flowed through his veins.

He slammed the door off its hinges, showing a dark cell. It was just like all of the others, but unlike the others, it wasn't empty. A girl sat in the back of the room, her curly blonde hair was messy and tangled, smeared with dirt and grime. It was Annabeth.

She stood, the bland breakfast food forgotten next to her as she approached her savior.

Percy walked into the dark cell, his loud footsteps echoing loudly. Annabeth stumbled and was about to hit the ground when Percy rushed forwards to catch her. She looked up at him, her eyes unfocused. Her eyes slid closed, and she fell unconscious－as was an effect of being in such close proximity to an aura radiating the power of Chaos.

Percy hoisted her up onto his back and made sure she was secure before he opened a portal. The portal spiraled, sucking up pieces of rock and debris torn from the walls. He stepped through and the world around him folded.

Suddenly, the two of them reappeared in the forest near Camp Half-Blood. Percy stumbled but managed to trek through the woods with the last of his strength. He headed towards the camp, trying to get Annabeth to the infirmary. She wouldn't make it otherwise.

Once he reached the edge of the woods, at the top of a steep hill, he felt Chaos' power grow within his body, far too great for his mortal form to hold. He released the energy, allowing the power to flow out of him, back to his patron.

As the energy left his body, exhaustion overtook him and he collapsed to the ground. Annabeth slipped off of his back and hit the ground next to him.