✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 016. meeting with the wild.

THE GROUP RAN until they were exhausted. Rachel steered them away from traps, but they had no destination in mind ─ only away from that dark mountain and the roar of Kronos. They stopped in a tunnel of wet white rock, like part of a natural cave. Vivi couldn't hear anything behind them, but it didn't feel any safer.

That boy was her supposed brother. Luke Castellan. A traitor. A leader of the army. A person who gave his body to the Titan lord for what? To have his revenge on the gods. Kronos took over his body, there was no Luke there anymore; just a shell with a spirit that didn't belong there. Vivi panted. leaning against the wall. Her mind was racing with too much stuff in it.

"I can't go any farther," Rachel gasped, hugging her chest.

Annabeth had been crying the entire time they'd been running. Now she collapsed and put her head between her knees. Her sobs echoed in the tunnel. Vivi pushed herself off the wall and kneeled in front of her best friend, letting the blonde girl throw herself into Vivi's embrace and cry her heart out.

Nico and Percy sat next to each other. He dropped his sword next to Percy's and took a shaky breath. "That sucked," 

"You saved our lives," Percy said.

Nico wiped the dust off his face. "Blame the girls for dragging me along. That's the only thing they could agree on. We needed to help you or you'd mess things up."

"Nice that they trust me so much. . . Nico. . . you, uh, kind of gave yourself away."

"What do you mean?"

"That wall of black stone? That was pretty impressive. If Kronos didn't know who you were before, he does now ─ a child of the Underworld."

Nico frowned. "Big deal." 

Vivi could feel Annabeth lifting her head off her shoulder, but still hugging the girl. Her eyes were red from crying. "What . . .what was wrong with Luke? What did they do to him?"

Percy told them what he'd seen in the coffin, the way the last piece of Kronos's spirit had entered Luke's body when Ethan Nakamura pledged his service. A chill ran down Vivi's spine.

"No," Annabeth said. "That's can't be true. He couldn't ─ "

"He gave himself over to Kronos," Percy said. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. But Luke is gone."

"No!" she insisted. "You saw when Rachel hit him." 

Percy nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. "You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush."

Rachel looked embarrassed. "It was the only thing I had."

"But you saw," Annabeth insisted. "When it hit him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses."

"So maybe Kronos wasn't completely settled in the body, or whatever," Percy said. "It doesn't mean Luke was in control."

"You want him to be evil, is that it?" Annabeth yelled. "You didn't know him before, Percy. I did!"

Vivi was silent the whole time. She only new Luke from the stories she heard around the Camp and from her siblings and Cabin members. Some were about how he was helpful and always was there when someone needed assistance; others were when he choose the side of the Titan. Vivi didn't know him personally, but why would you betray your parent? Sure, maybe she doesn't like her father, but still, she wouldn't turn her back on him.

"What is it with you?" Percy snapped. "Why do you keep defending him?"

"Whoa, you two," Rachel said. "Knock it off."

Annabeth turned on her. "Stay out of it, mortal girl! If it wasn't for you. . ."

Whatever she was going to say, her voice broke. She put her head back on Vivi's shoulder and sobbed miserably. Vivi patted her head, but didn't say a word. She wasn't sure if she would start insulting her brother or be on his side.

Kronos was alive, that still rang in her mind. He was armed. And the end of the world was probably close at hand.

"We have to keep moving," Nico said. "He'll send monsters after us."

Nobody was in any shape to run, but Nico was right. 

"Come on, Annie," Vivi said softly, "We ought to move."

"I know," she said. "I'm. . . I'm all right. Thank you." 

She was clearly not all right. 

"Anytime." Vivi smiled.

They got to their feet, and we started straggling through the Labyrinth again.

"Back to New York," Percy said. "Rachel, can you ─ " the boy froze.

A few feet in front of them, a flashlight beam fixed on a trampled clump of red fabric lying on the ground. It was a Rasta cap: the one Grover always wore.

Percy's hands shook as he picked up the cap. It looked like it had been stepped on by a huge muddy boot. Something else caught their attention. The cave floor was mushy and wet from the water dripping off the stalactites. There were large footprints like Tyson's, and smaller ones ─ goat hooves ─ leading off to the left.

"We have to follow them," Percy said. "They went that way. It must have been recently."

"What about Camp Half-Blood?" Nico said. "There's no time."

"We have to find them," Annabeth insisted. "They're our friends."

She picked up Grover's smashed cap and forged ahead.

The tunnel was treacherous. It sloped at weird angles and was slimy with moisture. Half the time they were slipping and sliding rather than walking. Finally they got to the bottom of a slope and found themselves in a large cave with huge stalagmite columns. Through the center of the room ran a nunderground river, and Tyson was sitting by the banks, cradling Grover in his lap. Grover's eyes were closed. He wasn't moving.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled.

"Percy! Come quick!"

They ran over to him. Grover wasn't dead, thank the gods, but his whole body trembled like he was freezing to death.

"What happened?"

"So many things," Tyson murmured. "Large snake. Large dogs. Men with swords. But then. . . we got close to here. Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room, and he fell. Like this."

"Did he say anything?" Percy asked.

"He said, 'We're close.' Then he hit his head on rocks."

Percy shined his flashlight around the cavern and Vivi followed it. The rocks glittered. At the far end was the entrance to another cave, flanked by gigantic columns of crystal that looked like diamonds. And beyond that entrance. . .

"Grover," Percy said. "Wake up."

"Uhhhhhhhh."

Annabeth knelt next to him and splashed icy cold river water in his face.

"Splurg!" his eyelids fluttered. "Percy? Annabeth? Vivi? Where. . ."

"It's okay," Percy said. "You passed out. The presence was too much foryou."

"I-I remember. Pan."

"Yeah," Percy said. "Something powerful is just beyond that doorway."

Percy made quick introductions, since Tyson and Grover had never met Rachel. Tyson told Rachel she was pretty, to which Vivi scoffed and Annabeth rolled her eyes, taking a hold of Vivi's hand.

They waded across the underground river. The current was strong. The water came up to their waists. Percy willed himself to stay dry, an ability both Vivi and Annabeth were a bit jealous about right now. Vivi could feel goosebumps appearing on her arms as the ice water drenched her clothes.

"I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns," Annabeth said, her teeth chattering. "Maybe an unexplored section."

"How do you know?"

"Carlsbad is in New Mexico," she said. "That would explain last winter."

They got out of the water and kept walking. As the crystal pillars loomed larger, Vivi started to feel the power emanating from the next room. Her skin tingled with living energy and suddenly she was more awake then ever. The scent coming from the cave was nothing like the dank wet underground. It smelled of trees and flowers and a warm summer day. Grover whimpered with excitement. Percy was too stunned to talk. Even Nico seemed speechless. They stepped into the cave, and Rachel said, "Oh, wow."

The walls glittered with crystals ─ red, green, and blue. In the strange light, beautiful plants grew ─ giant orchids, star-shaped flowers, vines bursting with orange and purple berries that crept among the crystals. The cave floor was covered with soft green moss. Overhead, the ceiling was higher than a cathedral, sparkling like a galaxy of stars. In the center of the cave stood a Roman-style bed, gilded wood shaped like a curly U, with velvet cushions. Animals lounged around it ─ but they were animals that shouldn't have been alive. There was a dodo bird, something that looked like a cross between a wolf and a tiger, a huge rodent like the mother of all guinea pigs, and roaming behind the bed, picking berries with its trunk, was a wooly mammoth.

On the bed lay an old satyr. He watched them as they approached, his eyes as blue as the sky. His curly hair was white and so was his pointed beard. Even the goat fur on his legs was frosted with gray. His horns were enormous ─ glossy brown and curved. There was no way he could've hidden those under a hat the way Grover did. Around his neck hung a set of reed pipes.

Grover fell to his knees in front of the bed. "Lord Pan!"

The god smiled kindly, but there was sadness in his eyes. "Grover, my dear, brave satyr. I have waited a very long time for you."

"I . . . got lost," Grover apologized.

Pan laughed. It was a wonderful sound, like the first breeze of spring time, filling the whole cavern with hope. The tiger-wolf sighed and rested his head on the god's knee. The dodo bird pecked affectionately at the god's hooves, making a strange sound in the back of its bill.

Annabeth and Vivi kneeled down and when the girl looked up, she could see just how tired Pan actually looked. His whole form shimmered as if he were made of Mist. 

"You have a humming dodo bird," Percy said stupidly. He was still standing. Vivi tugged him down.

The god's eyes twinkled. "Yes, that's Dede. My little actress."

Dede the dodo looked offended. She pecked at Pan's knee and hummed something that sounded like a funeral dirge.

"This is the most beautiful place!" Annabeth said. "It's better than any building ever designed."

"I'm glad you like it, dear," Pan said. "It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid. Only pockets remain. Tiny pieces of life. This one shall stay undisturbed. . . for a little longer."

"My lord," Grover said, "please, you must come back with me! The Elders will never believe it! They'll be overjoyed! You can save the wild!"

Pan placed his hand on Grover's head and ruffled his curly hair. "You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well."

"Chose?" Grover said. "I-I don't understand."

Pan's image flickered, momentarily turning to smoke. The giant guinea pig scuttled under the bed with a terrified squeal. The wooly mammoth grunted nervously. Dede stuck her head under her wing. Then Pan re-formed.

"I have slept many eons," the god said forlornly. "My dreams have been dark. I wake fitfully, and each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end."

"What?" Grover cried. "But no! You're right here!"

"My dear satyr," Pan said. "I tried to tell the world, two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. He lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "The old story. A sailor passing by the coast of Ephesos heard a voice crying from the shore, 'Tell them the great god Panis dead.'"

"But that wasn't true!" Grover said.

"Your kind never believed it," Pan said. "You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing. And I love you for that, but you only delayed the inevitable. You only prolonged my long, painful passing, my dark twilight sleep. It must end."

"No!" Grover's voice trembled.

"Dear Grover," Pan said. "You must accept the truth. Your companion, Nico, he understands."

Nico nodded slowly. "He's dying. He should have died long ago. This. . . this is more like a memory."

"But gods can't die," Grover said.

"They can fade," Pan said, "when everything they stood for is gone. When they cease to have power, and their sacred places disappear. The wild, my dear Grover, is so small now, so shattered, that no god can save it. My realm is gone. That is why I need you to carry a message. You must go back to the council. You must tell the satyrs, and the dryads, and the other spirits of nature, that the great god Pan is dead. Tell them of my passing. Because they must stop waiting for me to save them. I cannot. The only salvation you must make yourself. Each of you must ─ "

He stopped and frowned at the dodo bird, who had started humming again. "Dede, what are you doing?" Pan demanded. "Are you singing Kumbaya again?"

Dede looked up innocently and blinked her yellow eyes.

Pan sighed. "Everybody's a cynic. But as I was saying, my dear Grover, each of you must take up my calling."

"But. . . no!" Grover whimpered.

"Be strong," Pan said. "You have found me. And now you must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you."

Pan looked straight at Percy with his clear blue eyes, and Vivi realized he wasn't just talking about the satyrs. He meant half-bloods, humans, everyone.

"Percy Jackson," the god said. "I know what you have seen today. I know your doubts. But I give you this news: when the time comes, you will not be ruled by fear."

He turned to Annabeth. "Daughter of Athena, your time is coming. You will play a great role, though it may not be the role you imagined."

Pan looked at Vivi, "Daughter of Hermes, I know you believe you bring nothing to this world, but you're wrong. Your role is major, now and in the future. You may not see it, but when the time comes, you'll know what to do. Keep everyone together."

Then he looked at Tyson. "Master Cyclops, do not despair. Heroes rarely live up to our expectations. But you, Tyson ─ your name shall live among the Cyclopes for generations. And Miss Rachel Dare. . ."

Rachel flinched when he said her name. She backed up like she was guilty of something, but Pan only smiled. He raised his hand in a blessing. "I know you believe you cannot make amends," he said. "But you are just as important as your father."

"I ─ " Rachel faltered. A tear traced her cheek.

"I know you don't believe this now," Pan said. "But look for opportunities. They will come."

Finally he turned back toward Grover. "My dear satyr," Pan said kindly, "will you carry my message?"

"I-I can't."

"You can," Pan said. "You are the strongest and bravest. Your heart is true. You have believed in me more than anyone ever has, which is why you must bring the message, and why you must be the first to release me."

"I don't want to."

"I know," the god said. "But my name, Pan. . . originally it meant rustic. Did you know that? But over the years it has come to mean all. The spirit of the wild must pass to all of you now. You must tell each one you meet: if you would find Pan, take up Pan's spirit. Remake the wild, a little at a time, each in your own corner of the world. You cannot wait for anyone else, even a god, to do that for you."

Grover wiped his eyes. Then slowly he stood. "I've spent my whole life looking for you. Now . . . I release you."

Pan smiled. "Thank you, dear satyr. My final blessing."

He closed his eyes, and the god dissolved. White mist divided into wisps of energy, but this kind of energy wasn't scary. It filled the room. A curl of smoke went straight into Vivi's mouth, and Grover's, and the others.

The crystals dimmed. The animals gave them a sad look. Dede the dodo sighed. Then they all turned gray and crumbled to dust. The vines withered. And they were alone in a dark cave, with an empty bed. Percy switched on the flashlight. Grover took a deep breath.

"Are. . . are you okay?" Percy asked him.

He looked older and sadder. He took his cap from Annabeth, brushed off the mud, and stuck it firmly on his curly head.

"We should go now," he said, "and tell them. The great god Pan is dead."

Distance was shorter in the Labyrinth. Still, by the time Rachel got them back to Times Square, Vivi was ready to take a well deserved nap. They climbed out of the Marriott basement and stood on the sidewalk in the bright summer daylight, squinting at the traffic and crowds. Percy led the way into an alley, where he could get a nice echo. Then he whistled as loud as he could, six times.

"Are you trying to crab a cab?" Vivi said.

Percy looked at her blankly, "Funny."

"I know," the girl grinned, "I'm hilarious."

A minute later, Rachel gasped. "They're beautiful!"

A flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. Blackjack, Percy's pegasus, was in the lead, followed by five of his white friends. Everybody started saddling up ─ except Rachel.

"Well," she told Percy, "I guess this is it."

Percy nodded uncomfortably.

Vivi narrowed her eyes. She was still a bit jealous at the way the redhead was obviously flirting with Percy and he was so oblivious about. The girl looked up at the sky from the back of her horse, If I did something wrong, lady Aphrodite, just tell me. I'll do anything.

Percy glanced at Vivi, who smiled at him, but her eyes cold, and patted her pegasus.

"Thanks, Rachel," Percy said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"I wouldn't have missed it. I mean, except for almost dying, and Pan. . ." her voice faltered.

"He said something about your father," Percy remembered. "What did he mean?"

Rachel twisted the strap on her backpack. "My dad. . . My dad's job. He's kind of a famous businessman."

"You mean . . . you're rich?"

"Well, yeah."

"So that's how you got the chauffeur to help us? You just said your dad's name and ─ "

"Yes," Rachel cut me off. "Percy . . . my dad's a land developer. He flies all over the world, looking for tracts of undeveloped land." she took a shaky breath. "The wild. He-he buys it up. I hate it, but he plows it down and builds ugly subdivisions and shopping centers. And now that I've seen Pan. . . Pan's death ─ "

"Hey, you can't blame yourself for that."

"You don't know the worst of it. I-I don't like to talk about my family. I didn't want you to know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," Percy said. "It's cool. Look, Rachel, you did awesome. You led us through the maze. You were so brave. That's the only thing I'm going to judge you on. I don't care what your dad does."

Rachel looked at him gratefully. "Well. . . if you ever feel like hanging out with a mortal again. . . you could call me or something."

"Um, yeah, sure."

She knit her eyebrows and Vivi grinned just a bit. Percy sounded unenthusiastic when he said it, and she may have caught him from the corner of her eye looking at her direction, but she didn't look at him. The boy was really giving her mixed signals.

"My number's not in the book," she said.

"I've got it."

"Still on your hand? No way."

"No. I kinda. . . memorized it."

Her smile came back slowly, but a lot happier. "See you later, Percy Jackson. Go save the world for me, okay? And maybe get a move on your girl or I may as well steal her."

She walked off down Seventh Avenue and disappeared into the crowds. When Percy got back to the horses, Nico was having trouble. His pegasus kept shying away from him, reluctant to let him mount.

"Go without me!" Nico said. "I don't want to go back to that camp anyway."

"Nico," Percy said, "we need your help."

He folded his arms and scowled. Vivi sighed and got off her horse and put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He looked at her.

"Nico," she said. "Please. We need you." 

Slowly, his expression softened.

"All right," he said reluctantly. "Only for you, Vivi. But I'm not staying."

Percy raised an eyebrow at Vivi, like, How come all of the sudden Nico listens to you? She stuck her tongue out at him.

At last, they got everybody on a pegasus. They shot into the air, and soon the group was over the East River with Long Island spread out before them.

niki speaks!

two more chapters and we're done
with act I!!
i'm so excited for you to get to know
isa in my next book.
i adore her and her partner!!

school has been chaotic this week,
but only so little is left, i'll get though it.

have a nice day/night!
bye!