30Annabeth had been asleep when the detective had called her. The phone going off jolted her awake, and she knocked everything off her desk in her search for the phone, picking it up before it went to voicemail.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Chase?" the familiar detective's voice asked.
"Yeah, that's me," Annabeth said. There was only one thing this could be about. Her heart was already pounding.
"The FBI has located the facility you brought to our attention. SWAT was deployed to shut it down and get all the missing kids out of there. Percy Jackson was among them."
Annabeth had to sit down on the bed. She was almost crying she was so happy. "Is he alright?"
"I'm not sure about his status specifically, but everyone was taken to the North Mercy Hospital in Vissex, Kansas."
Annabeth nodded, committing the names to memory. "Thank you so much," she said.
"You're welcome, but really we should be thanking you. Without your tip, a lot of those kids would probably be killed before we could find them."
"Do you know if Jason Grace and Frank Zhang are okay?"
"Hold on…" Papers rustled on the phone. "Yeah, both of them are listed on the kids currently at North Mercy."
"Thank gods," Annabeth muttered.
"Alright, well, I have a lot of other people to call," the detective said.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Annabeth said. "Thank you so much."
"My pleasure," he said. They ended the call, and Annabeth rushed out to tell everyone the news.
Xx
Percy was only still in the hospital because it was easier for the federal agents to keep track of everyone involved if they didn't leave. He and all the other kids had been put mostly together on the same two floors once everyone was treated. A few special cases were scattered in the rest of the hospital, like Jason who was in ICU because of his back.
Frank wasn't in the same room as him, but he was on the same floor and they just hung out in one another's room anyway. And while they were still essentially trapped since they couldn't leave the building and everyone preferred if they stayed in the same room, it was tons different from their tiny cell.
For one, the beds were more comfortable. And there was sunlight. Percy had only been this excited to see sunlight when he and Annabeth escaped Tartarus. Annabeth and the others were also supposedly on their way, if his rough link with Grover was anything to go by.
For the moment though, the most important thing was T.V. Actual television to keep them entertained. No more games of 'I Spy' or making up stories for each other.
He had also called his mom and Paul as soon as he had the chance. Many of the nurses were loaning their cell phones to the kids because there was so many of them, all without any money, and only two payphones in the hospital. His mom had been in hysterics and Paul had taken over the call, saying how glad he was that they were all safe.
They had said they were leaving right after the call, but New York was still a good day's travel away. Annabeth and the others, however, would likely be here any minute. It had been half a day, and knowing Annabeth she had found the fastest way here and made it faster.
"Hey," Frank said from the doorway.
Percy looked away from the T.V. to him. "What's up?"
"I'm going to go check on Jason, see if he's awake yet and warn him about the girls coming," Frank said.
Percy snickered and jumped from the bed. "I'll come too." He tossed the remote to his roommate and followed Frank to the elevators.
Frank's bad arm was in a sling, and there were a couple of bruises that had finally started to show, but other than that he was fine.
They were quiet on their way to Jason's room. So much time together in the last few weeks meant that they had run out of things to talk about a long time ago. The elevator ride was short, and then Frank led the way to Jason's room.
It was mostly because of pain medication that Jason had been unconscious the whole time. His back had been treated and was now completely wrapped in gauze.
"Oh man, you know what I just realized?" Percy said at Jason's door.
Frank looked back at him. "What?"
"Piper is going to kill all of us when she sees how badly Jason is hurt," Percy stated.
Frank paled. "We'd better hide now."
Percy nodded and started looking around frantically, then froze again. "Wait, if we hide then Annabeth and Hazel will kill us!"
Frank smacked his forehead and cursed. "We're dead either way then!"
"But," Percy started, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "If we meet Annabeth and Hazel before Piper finds Jason, then Annabeth and Hazel can keep Piper from killing us!"
Frank thought about it and nodded. "Yes, good idea. Just give me a sec to warn Jason."
Frank pushed the door handle down and stepped inside. Jason was sitting up, the bed reclined under him to support him. He was the only one of the three of them to actually have a hospital gown on.
He just looked at them and shook his head. "Seriously guys? Piper is not going to kill you," he stated.
Both of their cheeks reddened and they looked away. Percy scratched the back of his neck. "Heh heh, you heard that huh?"
"These rooms aren't soundproof," Jason stated.
"I'll keep that in mind," Percy said.
Jason rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Anyway, when are the girls getting here?"
"Should be any time now," Percy replied.
"How about now?" a familiar voice said behind them. Frank and Percy jumped and turned to see Piper, Leo, and Calypso standing in the hallway.
"Calypso?" Percy asked.
She crossed her arms and looked away from him.
Piper, Frank, and Jason raised a brow at that while Percy scratched the back of his neck again.
Leo just put his arm around her and shrugged at Percy. "Annabeth and Hazel went upstairs to your rooms," he said.
Percy and Frank smiled and glanced at each other. "We'll see you guys later then," Percy said. He and Frank then left, practically running to the elevator.
Piper turned to Jason, walking up to his bed and looking him over. "How badly are you hurt?" she asked.
Jason looked away and took a deep breath. "Pretty bad, actually."
Piper bit her lip to keep from crying and nearly collapsed onto the bed next to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The jostling made him wince, but he didn't push her away. He just wrapped his arms around her.
"What happened, exactly?" Leo asked, walking closer with Calypso.
Piper pulled away slightly so she could hear.
"There was some sort of knock out gas at the laser tag place, and when we woke up we were all in this one cell. Turns out some mortal who can see through the Mist made a deal with a minor god. He supplies the gladiators, the god supplies the monsters, they make money," Jason explained.
"That is terrible," Piper said. "Someone needs to stop him!"
"I think SWAT already did," Jason replied.
"But you weren't able to escape?" Leo asked. "I mean the three of you…who could ever hold the three of you?"
Jason snorted. "We tried every single thing we could think of, and usually got beat up for our efforts. If there was another way, we never thought of it."
"And how did you get hurt?" Piper asked.
"I was fighting the Nemean Lion," Jason said. "It tore open my back, and then their solution to bandaging it was to burn the wounds shut."
They all gasped and Calypso covered her mouth.
Piper's gaze narrowed into a glare. "I'm going to kill them all," she said. She was off the bed in the next instant and storming for the door.
"Piper!" Jason called. "Piper you can't just—"
She didn't stop, and she was already out of the room.
"Leo stop her!" Jason said.
"Oh, right!" Leo said. He pecked Calypso on the cheek and then ran into the hall, calling Piper's name.
Jason sighed and shook his head.
"So you're Jason, correct?" Calypso asked. She was playing with the end of her hair nervously.
Jason looked up at her and gave a small smile. "Yeah. It's nice to meet you. Leo told us a lot about you."
"He did?" she asked, a blush covering her cheeks.
Jason chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. But hey, what was that thing with Percy before?"
She crossed her arms and glared at the wall. "I don't want to talk about him."
Jason raised a brow and slowly nodded. "Okay then," he said slowly. "I'm sorry I asked."
She let out a deep breath and relaxed. "I'm sorry, I just…he broke a promise he made to me."
He furrowed his brow. "That doesn't sound like Percy. He must have had a good reason. You should talk to him."
"Perhaps. But not right now."
Jason nodded again and leaned his head back against the pillow. Hopefully he'd be allowed to leave soon, or at the very least Piper could sneak him some ambrosia. That stuff would have him back on his feet in no time, much sooner than mortal medicine could.
He couldn't wait.
Xx
Frank and Percy found the girls standing in the hall talking to each other, slightly panicked looks on their faces.
"Hazel!" Frank called, a smile spreading across his face.
Both girls turned and saw them, smiling themselves. They ran towards each other, Hazel jumping into Frank's arm. Even with one hand, he was still able to hold her to him and spin her around.
Percy, however, paused a few feet from Annabeth and held his hands up, a slightly wary look in his eyes. "You're not going to flip me again, are you?" he asked.
"If you don't get over here right now then yes, I am," Annabeth stated.
Percy smiled and closed the distance, wrapping his arms around her. "I missed you Wise Girl."
"Don't ever scare me like that again, Seaweed Brain," she said. To Percy's surprise, she was crying.
"Are you guys okay?" Hazel asked.
They both nodded. "Some nectar and ambrosia should have us right as rain in a day or two," Percy replied.
"Good," Annabeth said. "You might want to let your face heal before you see your mother. She's been out of her mind with worry. Moreso than when you were taken by Hera."
"Oh boy," Percy muttered.
"Well you can't blame her," Hazel stated.
"I don't, I blame the stupid guy who kidnapped us," Percy said.
"About that," Annabeth said, stepping away and crossing her arms. "How in the name of Athena did you all get kidnapped?"
Percy and Frank sighed, glancing at each, and then began to explain everything. They moved into Frank's room, spreading out on his bed and the chair. The boys also told them about what happened to Jason and where all of their injuries came from.
By the end of it, Annabeth just shook her head. "I'm never letting you out of my sight again," she stated.
"That goes for you too," Hazel told Frank.
Frank and Percy just smiled and hugged their girlfriends. It had been a long time coming, but they were finally safe and together again. And maybe for once it would stay that way.
I just have the epilogue left, wrapping up some loose ends. Hope you've enjoyed it so far!
Please be kind and leave a review!