Percy

Right when I had to leave, I wanted to turn around and go back to Annabeth. Without her beside me, the world was bleak, cold, and empty. As cliche as it sounds, it's true when I say Annabeth is the sunshine in my world. She makes my world warm and happy, and I didn't want to let that go.

I had a hard time focusing on preparing myself mentally for the upcoming Test when we got back from the meeting with Annabeth (I love that name. Don't you just think that's the prettiest name in the world? Annabeth. Yeah, it is).

Anyways. Concentrating. Whenever I tried to concentrate, my mind would just stray to Annabeth, her face popping up in my brain, consuming my mind and making me forget about what I was thinking.

So I spent the rest of the day trying to focus and failing. I knew I had to get my head back into the world if I wanted to pass the Test. But it was hard.

The afternoon when by in a blur, my mind overtaken by the day's events earlier, and before I knew it, Jason, Nico and I were standing together at the base of the brick building that was holding the Test. We were all organized into three separate halls, so that means we didn't go into the same door together. My door was the first one. We had stopped in front of the door that led to my Testing room. For a minute, we just stood, gazing at the big metal door looming in front of us.

"Well," Nico began, turning to look at me. "Have fun, captain." Jason smiled at me, nodding his encouragement as well. I smiled shallowly back at them, then took a step towards the door. My two second-in-commands took this as a signal to depart, and together they walked towards the right, where their doors would be stationed. As I watched their receding backs, I said a quick prayer to the gods that this would all go smoothly, and that the three of us would pass and become Heroes. Then I put my attention back on the door. The big entrance seemed to be beckoning me forward, in a way that made me creeped out and not wanting to go to the door. Yeah, that's me. The big monster-slaying Percy Jackson, son of one of the Big Three, scared of a metal door. I snorted in amusement directed at myself, trying to lighten up my own mood. I forced a foot forward. Then another. I kept going, step by step, making it to the intimidating entry. I urged my stiff hand, placing it on the door.

But the second I put my hand on the door, I got the eerie feeling that someone was watching me from behind again. I pivoted, hoping to get a glance of that person or thing before it disappeared, if anything was watching. I was met with nothing unusual. The trees swayed softly in the small breeze passing through, casting constantly moving shadows on the road. I scanned my surroundings for something, anything. But still, nothing showed. I mentally cursed Athena for putting those feelings into her enemies in Athens, for I was sure it was her. These freaky senses of things watching me piled upon the anticipation of the Test and the anxiousness and fearfulness of the threats placed on Annabeth was enough to make someone go insane. Fortunately for me, lots of people call me insane, so it changed nothing in me, other than more frequent visits from Mr. Anxiety. Remember him? Yeah. I hate that guy. (

But I pushed down the feeling, trying to remain calm and collected. With a deep breath, I shoved the door open forcefully, taking some of my worrisome thoughts out on the door. I cringed, however, when the door swung around wildly, hinges creaking, and slammed onto the wall behind it with a resounding THWACK! that echoed up the hallway. I froze, waiting for some contestant to poke their head out their door and yell at me to shut up. But when nothing happened, I exhaled the breath I didn't know I had been holding, walking as quietly as I could into the hall, finding my Testing room. Upon reaching it, I put a tentative hand forward, placing it on the doorknob, and then opening it very gently and softly. I learn from my mistakes.

I stepped into a small arena-like room. A rack of weapons stood to one side, and a few hay dummies were stored on another.

When I was tiptoeing to the center, a voice called out, starting to say something. A voice that made me stop in my tracks, looking around as fast as my head would rotate back and forth for the owner.

"Welcome to the Annual War Game. I am Phobos, god of terror and fear."

For a moment, I could've sworn it was Luke Castellan speaking. Phobos kept on explaining the Test of fears, but my heart was pounding too loudly to hear anything. I was still trying to convince myself that it wasn't Luke. I picked out the differences. Phobos' voice was more slick and fear-inducing. Luke's was raspier, more taunting and smug. I caught some part of the explanation, saying this was a Test of bravery, that we're going to have to face a fear, and how the Heroes would be decided by how fast their Test time was.

I tried to send thoughts of Luke away, concentrating on the task at hand. I had to face my physical fear. Well, one of them. I can't deny that I have more than one. I mean, I can't be as perfect as a lot of people say I am, right? Right.

Phobos had stopped talking, and then... nothing happened.

BAM!

Oh. I spoke too soon. Something did happen, and that thing happened to be a glass cage falling on top of me. It was tall enough for me to be upright in, and the round sides were wide enough for me to stand comfortably, but I couldn't move my arms out farther than a foot. It was kind of tight, and I could hear my ragged breathing.

A small, confined space. That didn't make sense. I wasn't claustrophobic, so why was I enclosed in a cramped, glass cylinder that appeared to be airtight as well? The only problem was that I'd run out of oxygen sooner or later, but even though I didn't like the prospect of suffocating, it wasn't one of my top physical fears. I looked around, searching for something that might explain this. I frowned, confused.

Suddenly, when I did a full body turn and put my foot back down, I heard a squelch. My eyes shot to my feet, which were standing inches deep in runny, gooey mud. A sharp intake of breath flew into me as I realized what fear I would be facing.

Drowning.

I know, it was pretty stupid, especially since I was a child of Poseidon, which means I can breathe underwater. So how could I possibly drown, you ask?

Well, let me tell you. Mud is basically water and dirt, but more on the dirt side, making the water too infused with dirt which results in mud. But since it does have water in it, and it's more liquid than solid, I would classify it more as drowning than suffocating if you died in it. Unfortunately, because it was more dirt, I couldn't breath under mud, despite water being in it. Therefore, I could drown.

And that's one of my top physical fears.

The mud level had risen, reaching my knees. I couldn't see where the mud was coming from. There must be a pipe or something beneath the glass cage that sends up mud.

For a moment, I was frozen, nothing registering. I just watched the mud churning. But when the mud stood at my hips, I started panicking.

I pounded against the glass, attempting to break it, but it was too thick. Riptide, I thought, cursing myself for not remembering my blade earlier. I plunged my hand into the mud, which was now at my stomach. Finding my pocket, I gripped Riptide and brought it up into the air. But by now, the dirty goo was at my chest. I didn't have enough room to swing it at the glass, much less uncap it.

The mud kept rising, extending to my shoulders, and I dropped Riptide, desperately banging against the ceiling with my fists. I didn't worry about the sword, for it would return to my pocket later. If I was still alive.

But I couldn't penetrate the thick glass. My eyes were wide and my heart pounded so loud and fiercely I wouldn't be surprised if it burst out of my chest.

My whole body was now under the mud except for my neck and head. My punching became sluggish, due to the sludge around me, slowing down my limbs. I gazed out the glass at the arena, wishing more than anything that I was out there, in clear and clean air, rather than drowning in this cursed glass cage.

My neck was craned up, permitting me to breathe a little bit more, but it wouldn't last. The mud was still climbing, consuming me. I took a deep breath, hoping it wouldn't be my last, and let myself fall into the mud. Darkness was all I saw, and my heart drumming against my ribcage was all I could hear. The gooey soil wrapped around me like a wet and deathly hug. My lips were pressed tight, not letting any of the dirt in. I had been breathing too shallowly, and already my lungs were crying for oxygen, but I couldn't answer their plea. Fear pillaged through my body, burning any hope, solace, or warmth. I was cold, now filled with panic and desperation, knowing every single attempt at rescuing myself was useless.

But there was one patch of comfort that the fear couldn't dispel or pierce.

Annabeth.

Even if someone pushed me into the River Lethe, it wouldn't be easy to make me forget Annabeth. It was like she was engraved into my mind, and they can rearrange my brain, or make me lose memories, but they couldn't get rid of Annabeth. She was a part of me.

Strength grew in me, the thought of Annabeth helping me to calm myself. She fought the fear away. I was in control of myself now, no longer governed by panic. I could do this.

One problem: I couldn't breathe.

I needed a way to breath. If I had air, that would be swell, or even water, because that sort of acts like oxygen for me. But I didn't have that.

Wait. Maybe I did.

Mud is a mixture of dirt and... water. My mind was reeling. It flashed back to the journey to Athens, when we stopped at the pond to refill our bottles, and I made the water clean by separating the soot from the river water, producing clear water. I've done it multiple times before as well. I could try it here, but I've never done it with water so polluted. If I take all the water out and bring it to my head, pushing the dirt down, then the mud would become dry and hard.

But I had no other choice. Yellow spots were dancing in my eyes. I needed to act quickly.

I tried to concentrate. Tried to feel the water in the mud with my hand. I could sense it. It was swirling around me, as if waiting for my command. Here goes.

Up, I thought hesitantly. For a second, I felt no change, just the by now familiar feel of the slushy mud against my body. But then there was a tug in my gut, and a drowsy movement was made by the mud. I realized I couldn't move my feet, for the water had left the mud there, leaving arid, caked mud/dirt behind in which my feet were confined. The water kept rising, leaving the mud and heading upwards. But it wasn't moving fast enough. I was light-headed, losing consciousness. I urged the water to go faster and soon I couldn't move my hips, for the water had left there already. Faster. It made its way to the to the top, making extremely runny mud. I forced the dirt down with a thick layer of water that I had hardened, leaving clear water in its wake. I didn't take a small breath to see if it worked, I just inhaled as largely as I could, desperate for oxygen, something so small yet so significant to humans. If it hadn't worked, oh well. I was going to die anyway.

But thank the gods it did. I took breath after breath, relishing the air coursing through my body. Slowly, the spots in my eyesight faded, and I could see through the water and the glass, looking at the room outside. I couldn't move my lower body, but I'd deal with that later.

With each breath, it seemed as if my panic was slowly subsiding. I could breathe easier now. I took advantage of my calmness, letting it help me figure out how to get out of this glass enclosure. Almost instantly, an idea came to mind.

I focused, fusing some water together. Soon, an ice dagger, harder than a rock, was floating in front of me. I nodded in satisfaction. With my powers, I spun the icy blade around, then used the water around to propel it forward with great speed and force. I smiled in relief and happiness when the blade plunged into the glass, cracking it. I increased the water pressure around the small slit, and the laceration grew larger, climbing all around until it seemed I was surrounded in cobwebs because of the white cracks in the glass. All of a sudden, the glass shattered.

I had been expecting this, and I had frozen the water around me so no glass shards could cut me. But I still closed my eyes as a natural instinct when the crash that signaled the breaking of the glass happened. When no more sound was brought to my ears, I opened an eye. Glass pieces lay scattered around the cylinder of ice and mud which I was in. Each shard looked like a diamond glistening. It would've been pretty if I hadn't hated it so much for almost taking my life.

Slowly, starting from the middle, I unfroze the water, letting it seep back into the dirt to create mud again. I could soon move my body, and relatively quickly after that, the whole dirt pile was once again gooey mud, and there was no more water around my dry face. The pile of mud slunk down around my legs, and I was free. Dirty, and a little shook up, but free. I stepped out of the mud and placed my foot in a glass-free place. Once I was completely clear of the mud, I summoned the water back out of the mud to clean myself off. I sighed in relief when I felt all that grit leave my body. It was times like these that I was extremely grateful for the powers Poseidon gave me. When I was clean and dry, I looked at the mess of mud and glass on the floor.

Only now did my body register how tired it was from using my powers. The room spun and I dropped to one knee, shaking my head in jerking motions, struggling to keep my head clear. After a moment, the room stopped circling around me, permitting me to stand without falling over and looking like a drunk Dionysus. Well, a drunk Dionysus is basically a normal Dionysus, now that I think of that.

A voice sounded out, echoing in the room. "Thank you for participating."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh, you're most welcome," I replied sarcastically to the unseen speaker. "Thank you for almost killing me." I took a deep, mock bow, indignant. I stalked off to the door, head held high, hoping he couldn't hear my thumping heart that betrayed my outward calm appearance. I yanked the door open, walked out, and slammed it shut behind me as hard as I could. Unfortunately, half of my foot was still inside the room, and it didn't like the door being smashed against it. I yelped and pulled my foot out, jumping around on my other foot as I massaged my injured one.

Yeah. I've just made myself look like a fool. There went my ounce of pride I possessed.

I could've sworn I heard Phobos chuckle from inside the room. The door remained open, and I stuck my head in, glaring at the dark walls. I voiced a few choice curses directed towards Phobos, and the chortling stopped abruptly. I smirked in satisfaction.

Then a creak sounded out, warning me just in time to jump out of the way as the door swung shut with a ferocious speed. I glowered at the door, a hand on my nose which had almost followed after my foot and been squashed by the door.

This clearly stands by my previous saying of how doors can be scary. They could take off your nose or wound your foot! So yes. Doors are scary. Don't judge me.

After I had given the wooden door a hard look (in which it stayed silent and didn't move, so I obviously won the stare down) I pivoted on my heel, nose pointed up with dignity. I strutted over to the door leading outside and wrenched it open as well, stepping into the sunlight outside. Jason wasn't out there, neither was Nico, nor anybody else. No one was in the hallway that I had just exited either. I trudged over to a tree, sitting and leaning against it, my head resting on the trunk. I wondered if I should go and wait by my second-in-commands' doors, but I dismissed the idea quickly. They had to go this way to get back to the inn. I didn't need to go get them, they'd come to me. Plus, I didn't want to get up. I was really comfortable at the moment. I was out of that room, in the sunlight and clear air. Sounded like Elysium to me right then.

The sun warmed my skin as I closed my eyes and sifted through my brain to find something to think of. It wasn't long before my searching led to Annabeth. Wasn't surprising, seeing how thoughts of her filled most of my mind these days. I remembered how she said she had a plan to get us to meet again. I don't know how we will be able to get past Athena, but I trusted that Annabeth's idea was adequate for the job.

I hoped we could meet soon. Even though I just saw her that morning, I already missed her. I wanted to see her beautiful face, hear her angelic voice, get another glimpse into her wise, intricate personality.

Oh, that sounded really good. Maybe I should become a poet once I was done with all this monster stuff. I could almost see lots of famous poems, all signed Perseus Jackson. Hmm. Yeah, I liked that.

The sun was getting hot, and I was glad when I heard Jason's and Nico's voice coming toward me from behind. I turned, wiping sweat off my forehead, facing my two friends.

I waved a greeting, and they returned it as Jason asked timidly, "How'd it go?"

I shrugged, not really feeling the need to go into great detail. Well, go into any detail, for that matter. They both nodded as if they understood, but had just brought up the Test in case I wanted to talk about it.

Together we turned and started walking away from the brick building in silence. I scuffed the dirt road beneath me with my toe, thinking. My Test time was faster than Jason's and Nico's, but it could've been slower than every other contestant that took the Test at the same time as us. In that case, I could say goodbye to becoming a Hero. It annoyed me that so many people had signed up, making it extremely hard to become a Hero. I guess I couldn't have hoped for the rare times when only thirty people sign up, therefore everybody gets in, but still. One hundred some demigods had signed up. Doesn't that seem really large? The only good that came out of it was that maybe Annabeth would've become a Hero. I know, I encouraged her and didn't shoot her down, but I still thought it would be dangerous. Especially with these threats directed at her floating around. It pained me to know that she was in danger as I was thinking these thoughts.

Well, yeah, demigods are in danger almost all the time thanks to monsters and all of that, but Annabeth had extra danger on her. I had no doubt Luke would carry though on those threats if he needed Annabeth. Annabeth had to be on guard every minute. She needed to stay safe.

A sudden thought brought a cold shiver down my spine. What if Annabeth is hurt right now, and I don't know because I'm not allowed to see her? What if the threats were true and have already been carried out, meaning she was in Luke's clutches and he was doing gods' know what with her? Or... she could be dead. And how would I know?

Woah. Wait. Stop right there, I told myself sternly, stopping the mad onrush of thoughts swarming into my head and around and around like vultures.