“She cut me! She cut me! She cut me!” Percy cried as they wandered the shelves. He clutched his bleeding hand to his stomach, cradling it.
Luke didn't reply. He held his hand clasped tightly to Percy's uninjured one, tugging him along. This place wasn't what he expected, though to be quite honest Luke never really had a clear idea of what it looked like to begin with. I've been reaching my hands in here for years, Luke thought uneasily, and I had no idea any of this was here. The shelves made him nervous because it meant that someone was in charge of this place.
“She said we were friends,” Percy said, his voice cracking again. He stumbled and squeezed Luke's hand hard when he caught himself. “I can't believe I was dumb enough to believe her. After the way she treated me and tried to take over my quest.”
Luke turned a corner and was met with an even narrower walkway. The going was a little slower. There was stuff everywhere. Some of it obviously had monetary value but some of it was just ordinary stuff. These were the things that people hid, that people lost. Luke swallowed.
Could he take something from the seams of the world while he was inside of them? Luke tried to remember something he'd hidden in the past, something small, and the mental image of a tiny Cerberus beanie baby came to mind. He reached out, twisted his wrist, and the beanie baby was in his hand. Luke tossed it, and saw a few beads fall out of a tiny hole in the toy’s leg. It was the same one Luke took with him when he ran away from Mom's house. When Luke was nine. He shoved it into the pocket of his cargo shorts and kept going.
Percy was quiet.
Luke glanced behind him. “You alright?”
Percy's right hand was red with blood and so was the front of his shirt where he cradled his hand. “I can keep going.”
“Not what I asked,” Luke said, although he counted that as a win because he wasn't sure they should stop here. “How's your hand?”
“Numb and burning at the same time,” Percy answered.
They would fix that as soon as it was safe to stop. “What about your mentals?”
“Hmm,” was all Percy said.
They came to a crossroads, a four-way intersection. Luke looked down each of their paths but he wasn't getting any particular feelings from any of them. Each direction looked like more of the same. There was still no sign of another living creature here.
Percy squeezed Luke's hand. “There's rain coming from that way.” He pointed to the path going right.
Luke strained his ears but couldn't hear any rain. “Is rain a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I don't even know where we are,” Percy replied.
“Fair point,” Luke said under his breath. “We’ll check out the rain,” Luke decided and went in the direction Percy pointed.
Percy trotted along at Luke's heels. He fell silent, a look of intense concentration on his face. He stumbled a couple of times but his hand stayed clasped tightly in Luke's.
The hair on the back of Luke's neck rose in warning. He glanced behind them and though he didn't see anyone, he thought he heard footsteps. Did Annabeth manage to follow them after all? “Percy, run,” Luke said under his breath and then broke into a run.
Percy ran without more prompting. He kept up fairly well considering how much shorter he was than Luke. “Wait, Luke!” Percy gasped. “Wait, the rain is getting louder.”
Luke glanced over his shoulder as they ran. He still didn't see anything but he felt someone looking at them. “We'll have to risk it,” Luke said. The rain couldn't be that bad.
They turned a corner and fell into a puddle.
Luke barely had time to take a breath before the water closed over his head. He free floated for a few long moments and then there was ground beneath his feet and water streaming down his face. The rain came down by the bucketful and they were standing in a puddle. Lovely. Luke squeezed Percy's hand to make sure the kid was still there.
Percy squeezed back. “Where are we?” he shouted to be heard above the rain.
Luke looked around. Something about this place looked familiar. It inspired a feeling of dread in Luke's chest that few places did. The rain made it hard to see very far. Luke squinted and turned in a slow circle. Then he saw it, the burnt out shell of a house. Luke couldn't believe it was still standing. He couldn't believe the fire had been put out. Every breath Luke took, he could taste the smell of burning bodies.
Percy nudged Luke with his shoulder and held out his hand. The cut was healed.
Luke tried to smile.
Percy looked between Luke and the house. “What is that place?”
“A trap,” Luke said. Why were they brought here? “At least it used to be.”
“Are we going in?” Percy asked, a dubious expression on his face.
“I think I have to,” Luke whispered. He thought about leaving Percy outside while he explored the house, but it was a cold rain and Luke was half afraid that Percy would disappear if he let the kid out of his sight. “Come on. Let's see how much of the roof is intact.”
Percy took a pen from his pocket and uncapped it. It extended into a celestial bronze sword. The sword’s glow turned the raindrops to gold. He met Luke's eyes and nodded.
Together they crossed the street and ascended the stairs. The door was long since gone but the frame was still there. Luke hesitated and then crossed the threshold.
