Suspected Terrorists

《48》

Percy

The first thing I saw when I arrived on the scene, was a group of humanoid shadows. And no, I was not hallucinating.

Literal. Shadow. Beings.

The second thing I noticed, was a demigod lying at the feet of one of the shadows, in a pool of blood. Everyone seemed frozen, unsure whether to attack or scream. I couldn't see the face of the girl on the floor, but I could tell by the golden hoops on her wrists who it was.

"DREW!" Piper screeched.

And that seemed to snap everyone from their stupor. We charged as a unit, swords and spears high. But when we got close enough, the shadows vanished.

"What the-?" Someone stuttered.

But it was too late to worry about that now. Piper and a couple of the Aphrodite kids knelt around Drew. "Drew! Drew can you hear me?" There was no response. Piper looked up the crowd. "We need ambrosia! Nectar! Someone!" She shouted, frantically.

Will emerged and crouched beside Drew. His fingers felt along her neck for a pulse. He shook his head. The boy beside Piper stared at Will expectantly. "What does that mean? Why isn't anyone getting nectar?"

"Nectar can't bring someone back from the dead," Will answered. A morbid silence settled over us.

For what felt like hours, no one moved. Suddenly, I felt a prickle on the back of my neck that made my hairs stand on end. I called the Riptide to hand just in time to swing it towards my left where Peter stood. He jumped away like I expected, allowing my sword to slice into the shadow creature that had materialised behind him. The shadow vanished. I wasn't sure if it had just disappeared again or I'd killed it, but there was no way of knowing. Instead I shouted at the top of my lungs,

"SCATTER!"

《<>》

Annabeth

I sat up, groaning from the pain of my throbbing head. I reached up to rub my forehead, only to find my arm hindered by a thick, heavy, black chain.

"What in the Hades?" I wondered aloud.

"You're awake."

The sound zapped through my ears into my brain which pounded against my skull. I winced.

The person scoffed. "Took you long enough."

The sensory overload began to calm and my ears adjusted to the new sound. "Sorry," I muttered. "My brain hasn't quite caught up with me yet."

I glanced up, but the figure was encased in shadow. "Do you remember how you got here?"

I recognised that voice. Though my mind was too fuzzy to give me a name. So I stalled for time. "I was kidnapped by a hellhound," I recalled. I mentally chided myself for such a stupid failure - losing to a hellhound.

There was a chuckle. "I suppose you were," they agreed.

"Where am I?" I demanded in an attempt to feign some semblance of control.

"Don't pretend you have any power here Annabeth Chase. You're in no position to make demands." A calloused, pale hand emerged from the shadows and gestured to the chains.

"I'm always in control," I snarled.

"Like when you plunged off a cliff on the back of a manticore?"

"I got him away from my friends didn't I?"

"And the Battle of the Somme was successful in diverting troops from Verdun. Doesn't mean it was a success."

I frowned at the reference to a WW1 battle, when it suddenly clicked. I had had a discussion with Reyna and Frank about military tactics of the World Wars a few months back, along with some of the other Roman campers, including:

"Jason."

His grinning face came into view. "In the flesh," he confirmed.

"Why? Why are you siding with him?"

He leaned in close to me. "Because he's my king. And he respects me. More than the gods ever did."

"But what about us!?" I demanded. "Your friends?"

"You're welcome to join me." He smiled warmly and lofted my chin towards him. "You have a unique and powerful mind Annabeth. Tartarus could use someone like you."

"Never," I snarled.

Jason promptly dropped my face and scowled. "This is your only chance Annabeth. Unless you accept my offer, Tartarus will exact his revenge for Gaia upon you." His scowl morphed into another sympathetic smile. "I can protect you."

Summoning all of my saliva to my mouth, I spat into his face. The blob of clear liquid splattered into his harsh, blue eyes and proceeded to dribble down his face.

Jason wiped the glob of spit in one swift swipe. When he opened his eyes once again, I glared. "I don't need your protection."

He sighed. "Okay. I'll leave you to your fate." He turned and walked back into the shadows. "Do what you wish with her," I heard Jason mutter. "But you cannot kill her. She must he alive to enact Tartarus' plan."

That didn't sound good. I immediately began to tug desperately on the chains. My struggle was amplified when a hoarde of cyclops with mean looking weapons stepped into my sights.

"Oh look," one of them remarked. "She's happy to see us."

The rest all laughed at the joke.

Another, with a single green eye - that reminded me to much of Percy's - tapped a club against his big meaty palm that had been upgraded with rusty nails and arrow tips. "Better not keep her waiting then."

《<>》

Dang, that was dark. But I loved it. ;-)
I'm not psychopathic, don't worry. Just villainous.

I'm sorry it was late, but I wanted the details to be super spot on.

Also, RIP Drew.

Maybe I should put a warning for character death somewhere in the intro...nah. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

Hope you guys enjoyed,

~GingerbreadHalfblood

P.S. Hope you liked the little WW1 fact I threw in. I've been studying it a lot in History and it was on my mind.