The Wheel Of Time

Luke

We got into one of the camp vans, and drove out.

Liz was sitting in the far back with David—even though she was the one who was directing us to the docks. They seemed to be fighting about something, though whispering too quietly to be heard.

I sat in the middle seat, next to the door and watched as the camp was swept away by the low rolling hills of long island, that turned into small houses and then into the sky scrapers of New York City.

We drove and pulled up at the chain-link and plastic fence in front of a large dock. Percy turned off the van and after we all were unloaded on to pavement, he hit a button on the keys and the van disappeared like a blanket was thrown out over it. Cabin 9 upgrades?

Liz then took the lead. She led us to the fence, and slipped through an opening, to the right of the main gate. Each of us took turns slipping in after her. When all of us were through, she started walking quickly towards a small carrier, like a fishing boat. Then I freaked out.

There was Cyclops everywhere. Moving giant containers, crates, bundles of nets; if it weighed more than 100 pounds, they were probably holding it.

“Percy?” I asked. I knew I sounded calm, but Percy could look through that. Him and Annabeth.

“Keep calm. They don’t notice a difference around us if they’re dangerous. If we are calm, everything should be fine.” Annabeth said, and I realized that I was the new camper in this. Weird.

“Oh, they know we’re here.” Liz said, yelling over her shoulder. I stiffened and held my breath as one or two of them looked toward us.

“Hi, Calvin!” She yelled, waving at a particularly big Cyclops holding a couple of fishing cages, stacked on top of each other. He smiled, his teeth like slightly rounded cinder-blocks, and nodded to her happily. I looked at the others, and they seemed just as surprised as I was. Even David looked confused.

“How do you know this place?” He asked.

“Remember when I got lost looking for Mom and Dad at that festival when I was ten?” She asked. David nodded and she continued.

“Well We were only about a hundred feet from the original company location. This is a shipping company, primarily for demi-gods, some mortal customers. Anyway, I slipped under the fence when I saw a cat. My ADHD was pretty bad at that point. Anyway I followed the cat, and ran straight into a Cyclops. I fell down and the first thing he did was pick me up. He was really worried, and me being slightly terrified, also started crying.” She laughed a little at this, and shook her head, like she should have known better.

“So the company owner came over after the Cyclops started bawling, to figure out what was going on. He found me sitting on his lap telling him, I was okay, and that I was just surprised and probably sounding like a babbling idiot.

“I found out later that he was a newer recruit, and pretty young. He was as scared of hurting me as I was of him. The captain took me over to the offices, an dgave me some water and asked me what my parents number was. Five minutes later my parents were there, and we were going home. The captain gave me his card, though, and told me if I ever needed some help to call me. I have a feeling that he knew I was a demigod at that point.

“Once I went into middle school, I found the company in a phone book, and have been tracking it ever since. Whenever we come to New York, I try to visit him. That Cyclops I said hi to? He was the one who found me. Been here for nine years now.” She finished, and kept walking like this whole story was of her learning to ride a bike.

We walked toward a relatively small building next to a sign that read ‘dock 1-10’ and ‘offices’. A tall man with greying black hair stood at a table underneath an awning over the front of the building. He was talking with a Cyclops that had to sit down to see the table. He pointed to a map and the Cyclops nodded, stood and whistled twice to a few others standing off to the side bickering over something. They all turned and walked down a dock to a huge shipping barge, and climbed on board.

Liz whistled and the man turned and even from twenty feet away you could see him light up. He smiled creating new wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He waved and Liz kept walking. Once she got closer he walked out and they hugged each other.

“How’ve you been, sea-girl?” He asked as he pulled her back to arm’s length, looking her of over, as if to see if she was still in one piece.

“Good. Um… This is Percy, his girlfriend Annabeth, my brother David, and Luke. I... I need a favor.” She said.

He nodded and smiled. “Whatever you need, sweet heart.”

She took a deep breath. “Could we get a boat ride to New Jersey? I have a port address…” Liz told him the address and waited.

“Will do; I have a couple others heading to the same place. Demigods, Too, I think.” He said and turned heading inside. Liz walked forward, and the rest of us followed suit.

“We leave right about now. If you want to tag along for the ride, the boat is third on dock 2.” He said and wrote something down on a list. It looked like our names.

“Thanks so much. I am really never going to be able to pay you back, am I?” She asked, just looking at him. He looked up smiling.

“Whoever told you that you had to pay a friend back? I love helping you, and anyone else who asks. Seeing you smile is all I need.” He said, and Liz smiled. “There it is. No go along, and load up. As soon as I get there, we’re gone.” He finished turning back to the map on his desk.

Liz turned and directed us toward Dock 2. Percy David and I grabbed the bigger, stuff and loaded it onto the deck of the boat. Then we all grabbed our stuff and went to sit inside.

Down the stairs was a long hallway with doors on either side, total of eight small room’s total. All of the doors were held open with a small rope except one.

“Guess that is the other guest.” Percy said, as he walked down the hall and into a room on the right. He set his gear on the bed and then walking back out. Anna Beth followed him in, doing the same thing.

Liz and David tossed their things on a bed in the room next to Percy’s and I put mine in the room across from theirs.

We all walked back up the stairs, and took places around the deck. I stood at the bow, and Liz stood several feet to my right, gazing out at the water. I still didn’t know who was in the picture they had given me, but it almost looked like her. I hadn’t seen her with her hair back, and she never smiled at me, so I couldn’t know for sure. But that is a completely different part of the story.

Captain Blake came onto the ship and we pulled away from the dock several minutes later. Percy sat behind the glass covering the wheel, talking with Blake, Annabeth interjecting every once and a while. He seemed to genuinely enjoy talking to them. He seemed nice, but I still didn’t trust anyone outside of camp.

As we sailed away from New York, the big billowy white clouds on the horizon grew slowly closer and darker. Before half an hour had gone by, the whole sky above us was covered in dark grey clouds. I looked to Liz, but she was looking at the sky, worry playing behind her eyes, almost fighting to get out. I turned around to look at Percy, and found him walking out towards me and the front of the boat. He stopped in front of the stairs, looking at the sky.

He didn’t see them walk up the stairs and none of us was prepared for what happened next. The man reached the top of the stairs, and tapped Percy’s shoulder. Percy turned, looked at them, and then collapsed. The woman laughed and stepped over him. I was sure that they would die, when Annabeth ran out to meet them. Liz and David and I pulled out our weapons, and watched in horror as Annabeth collapsed next to Percy.

“No!” I heard David yell.

“Stop! Don’t get near them!” I shouted to him. Liz and I looked at each other. We stood in front of the intruders and David behind. She looked towards the glass.

“Blake, get down!” She shouted. Smart man that he was, he followed directions and dropped to the floor. We slowly edged closer. I looked at Liz to get the plan and almost fainted, myself. She glared at the Man and Woman, with stormy eyes. Literally stormy eyes; they looked like little hurricanes spinning around her irises, in different shades of grey and black. She was terrifying. She lowered her sword, though still ready to fight and shouted above the building wind.

“Who are you?”

“Caleb Accriss, son of Nemesis; and This is Amy Trista, Daughter of Hecate.” He said smiling, “Don’t worry about your friends, they’re only sleep. A rather kind spell, when you think about who wants them. But that’s not the matter. We need you, too, darling. The bounty specified you three. So if you come quietly, everything will be fine.”

The Amy laughed and Caleb chuckled with her. Liz walked up to them and Amy held out her hand. But Liz continued toward her.

“No!” I yelled taking a step forward. Amy looked confused when Elizabeth didn’t stop moving and collapse. Liz walked right up to her and literally kicked her over, bringing the hilt of her sword down on Caleb’s head. He cried out and Amy barely escaped falling into the stairwell.

David ran forward to help Liz. Amy held up her hand as she stood up and David collapsed while still running towards her. And that’s when the rain started. Sheets of it coming down, and obscuring our vision.

Liz knocked the sword out of Caleb’s hand and he dived for it. She was about to bring her sward hilt on the back of his head when Amy jumped and grabbed her shoulder, throwing her off balance to the wet ground. As Caleb got up I decided he was the slightly less dangerous one, considering Amy could bring you down by looking at you.

I stood in front of him and he moved first, lunging towards me, arm fully extended. I knocked the sword out of the way, and slapped his hand with the side of my sword. That, of course, Was when Everything went wrong.


Liz POV:

Amy pushed me down, and swung her leg around trying to give me a good kick to the head. I sat up in time to see her shoe six inches away from my face. She yelled angrily, and jumped to her feet. I saw her eyes again and it sent shivers down my spine, They looked like pools of molten silver, cracking and breaking as I watched them. It was some part of this spell she used against the others. But I seemed to be immune.

I swung my sword in a broad arc, over and around my shoulder; making it flash in the dim, rainy light. She watched it, and terror seeped into her eyes. I could see it; she wasn’t trained for battle. She wasn’t fast or graceful or even strong; She had always used this magic to protect herself. Now that meant nothing.

I turned my sword slightly mid swing, and hit her over the head with the side of the blade, Knocking her out but not killing her. She collapsed in the middle of the deck. That’s when I heard the yelling.

When I turned, I saw Luke going with Caleb, one on one. He seemed to be wining; but giant waves, rocked the boat, making them both slightly off balance on the soaking deck. Luke slipped to his right a little, and Caleb took that chance, charging him, sword down and ready to strike. I whistled shrilly, and pulled Caleb just enough out of focus, to move his blade a little to His right. Luke moved enough to miss the blade, the Impact still sent him falling backward. Then he disappeared, and then in horror, I realized that he had gone over the railing.

“No!” I charged Caleb and Kicked his stomach, and when he leaned down holding it, I knee-d him in the nose, effectively knocking him out. I dropped my sword, and dove over the rail.

Luke’s POV

I slipped as I parried a simple strike and saw a flash through all the rain. My first thought was to roll away but I couldn’t manage to get up. Then I heard the shrillest sound, like a cab whistle. I saw Caleb flinch in front of my and I moved to the right as I tried to stand. The blade missed me, but Caleb hit me dead on. The momentum sent him sprawling and me tumbling backwards. I hit the railing, and before I knew it, I was falling over the side.
I hit the water as I gasped, effectively filling my mouth and nose with water. I choked, coughing in the water, and altogether making it much worse. I struggled to kick or paddle or move at all. But I didn’t know which way was up and which way sealed my fate. All I knew was that I could not breathe and even if I could see anything in this muggy water, There would be little dancing black spots in front of my eyes.

I was going to die.

I was getting dizzy, and the water seemed to get heavier. How long had I been under water? 5 minutes; two? I couldn’t tell, and I knew it didn’t matter anymore. I was slowly floating down into the black abyss, like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. My chest burned as if on fire, and the rest of me froze in the cool water. My fingers were gone; I couldn’t feel my arms or legs. Something swam past me, and a shadow fell over my face. I felt a tug on my shoulder and I passed out.

Liz’s POV.

I swam down. Even with the special underwater abilities, I couldn’t see through the water. But I could see the currants. Where were they disrupted? What were they going around?

There! I saw it; almost a form, a body, created by the lines in the currants. I swam faster towards it. I felt for the first thing I could touch, and grabbed hold. I moved the currants toward us, pushing us to the surface. I pushed harder than I thought. We both flew out of the water on a spout, landing rather hard on the deck of the ship.

Blake was leaning over the other three when He turned quickly in surprise, while slipping on the wet wood, and falling on his back.

I rolled away from the man then sat up and crawled toward him. It was Luke. But he wasn’t breathing. I remember that trick Percy taught me a few days after camp started. I leaned down and touched my forefinger to his chest.

At first nothing happened, and cold dread filled me. Then he moved. He convulsed once, and then water bubbled out of his mouth. He started coughing and I helped him roll over on to his side. I patted lightly on his back as I looked around.

In the first two hours of this quest, three of my companions had been knocked unconscious, and one of them had basically died. The most confusing part of all this was that we had been attacked by two half-bloods. And who was their benefactor?

I worried over all of this as Luke regained control of his lungs. He finally slumped down and just took long deep breaths, His face pressed against the cold, wet wooden deck. I stood next to him, and walked towards Percy and Annabeth. Percy moved and shook his head as I neared; At least he was awake. Blake had David leaned up against railing and he seemed to slowly be stirring. I grabbed the nearest rope and turned toward Caleb and Amy; But the rope only left my hands to fall back onto the deck.

They were both gone.

Notes

Hope this is living up to expectations!