The Trials

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     The water was cold. Very cold. I wasn't sure, but hopefully I could control the water temperature, as well as the water itself. I though of a warm spring afternoon, about 60 degrees. Instantly, the water warmed up at least 10 to 15 degrees or so. That's better.

     Annabeth and I swam like fishes--which we basically were--further down the ocean. Poseidon gave us a power he forgot to mention: night-vision, or the ability to see in the dark. No one, no one normal at least, would've been able to see. But to us, we could see as clearly as if we'd had goggles. Well, green goggles, that made everything look...green.

     It had been about a half hour or so since we dove into the water, and I was starving. I motioned to Annabeth. Come here. She swam over to me. "What?" she asked.

     "I'm hungry, can we eat?"

     "Think. Bread+Water=Soggy, Inedible Lunch. Does that make any sense to you?"

     "My father wouldn't give us sandwiches if he knew they would go bad. Besides, with one dry thought, the sandwich wouldn't go bad anyway." Annabeth thought for a moment. "Fine." I opened the pack. I gave a PB&J to her, and took one for myself. I cautiously took a bite, and was amazed. The flavor was highly enhanced, rich, and more spectacular than any other PB&J I'd ever eaten. Most likely the cause of godly magic. I devoured the rest, and surprisingly, I was full. There was that godly magic again.

     Annabeth and I continued to swim down, down, down. Eventually, we saw it. Atlantis. Surrounded by a huge glass bubble, with a huge lamp to represent the Sun inside, was...an exact replica of New York. Really. Even an underwater city changes according to the Flame of the West? Okay, that's weird. Actually, strike that. I've seen plenty of weird stuff in my lifetime. I shouldn't be all that surprised.

     I exchanged glances with my girlfriend. She looked taken aback as well, but she got over it and we continued to swim. We arrived at a pair of double gates, with mermen guards blocking them. I swam over. "Uh, hi, I'm Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth. Can we please...um...enter the Lost City?" I asked.

     The guard on the right looked at me. "Percy Jackson? Son of the Sea God?" he inquired.

     "Yeah, with my girlfriend," I answered.

     The guard's eyes narrowed. He whispered something to his friend, and then looked at me again. "You say you are son of the Sea God? You must prove it. You must battle a monster, and win, as your Annabeth shall, too," the guard explained.

     "Uh, which monster?" I said nervously.

     "You'll see, boy."

     He snapped his fingers, and, suddenly, I was inside a tank, a fish tank to be more accurate. I say fish because the tank was occupied. By a huge electric eel 30 times my size. The monster bared it's huge fangs, that, in fact, were big enough to chew me to bits. The fangs were oozing purple venom, which I didn't favor. The eel hissed, or at least it sounded like it, and lunged at me. I dodged it, though the eel was really quick. If it was electric, I couldn't hurt it from the outside, as it would shock me. Which left one option: I had to kill from the inside.

     The eel lunged again, but this time, I let it. Its mouth was wide open, so I just stood in place while I was devoured by the eel. I went into its esophagus, slid down it's slimy throat, and plopped into the stomach. The whole process was disgusting, and I was going to a long shower when I got home. Anyway, I was now inside. I brought Riptide out from my pack, and uncapped the pen. The sword sprang to life in my hands. I looked around, now armed. It seemed I was right in the middle of the stomach, so I would have to swim to some skin. I, reluctantly, went under. I could still see, thank gods, so I started to breaststroke. After about ten or fifteen minutes, I finally encountered some skin. I felt it, and immediately threw up. The skin was slimy, wet, and sickening. I threw up again.

     I lifted Riptide, and stabbed, hard. I heard a roar come from the eel. I had made a cut. This time, I slashed, and dug in deeper than before, and the eel roared in pain, horrible pain. The spot where I'd striked started disintegrating, and within a few seconds, I was alone in the tank, covered in slime and blood. All of a sudden, I was back with the guards and Annabeth. When she saw me, she threw her arms around me, and cried, "Percy! I thought you were dead! You were gone for so long!"

     "It's okay, I'm here," I reassured. "Surprisingly. Normally, people who battle the eel die of electrocution, or being eaten or chewed," Guard #1 said admirably.

     Guard #2 looked at Annabeth. "Your turn, girl. You battle the skolopendra, the shrimp monster."

     Uh-oh. We'd encountered a skolopendra on the way to Rome last year. They weren't easy to defeat. I handed Annabeth her knife, and she smiled nervously. Guard #2 snapped his fingers, and she was gone.

     She appeared about half an hour later. She was blanketed in dirt, blood, sweat and slime. She was also smoking. I ran over to her, and asked, "What happened? How'd you defeat it?"

     "I'll--I'll tell you later, sweetie. Promise," Annabeth shakily answered. I hugged her protectively.

     Guard #1 looked at both of us admirably. "You two have completed the trials. You may enter Atlantis, or New Atlantis, as we now call it." The huge golden double gates swung open, and we entered the Lost City.

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