Percy looked worse than before. Perhaps it was the bruises on his arms and the gravel rash on his hands, or maybe it was the bronze sword being held at his throat. I almost whimpered at the heart-wrenching sight, and I say almost because my voice wouldn't work. Pandora's ghastly face appeared mistily in front of mine, almost scaring me out of my wits.
'You have until the winter solstice to get here, or Perseus will die by his own sword. Five days Madeleine. Five days...' The scene around me, like the night beforehand, fizzled out to nothingness. I woke up soon after, but it was only when I stood up out of bed where the true effect of Pandora's words actually clicked in. The possibility of losing Percy in less than a week suddenly became very real to me, and the thought came accompanied with an unbelievable sense of grief. Then anger. I felt my rage build up inside my small frame, and, in an act of recklessness, I punched the wall. Not a good idea. The wall flew out of its foundation, landing near the barbecue hearth. I looked at my still-enclosed fist, then back at the hole in the side of cabin three. I ran out hastily, almost tripping several times in the darkness, and tried to pull the wall back up into the upright position. I gave the stone slab a push, and it moved a metre or two. I kept going like this until the wall was—more or less—back to its original position. I quickly ducked inside to change, and then once I was dressed I slung my backpack onto my shoulders. I didn't care about what the prophecy said; this was my mess. I had to fix it. And I wasn't going to wake the others up really early so they could help me fix my mistakes. I looked out the window, seeing a couple of harpies circle around the hearth. Wonderful. I checked every crevice, nook and cranny of the cabin, to see if I could find any more of those gold coins. I found one in the drawer, and another two under a broken mess of porcelain. Shoving the coins into my pockets, I looked outside again. Thank the gods, the harpies were gone. I hesitatingly opened the cabin door, and tip toed outside into the darkness. I was almost at the end of the horseshoe of cabins, when someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped at the sudden touch, and swivelled around on my heels.
"You weren't thinking about leaving me behind were you?" Annabeth said tonelessly, her grey eyes stormier than usual. I was silent for a moment, but soon found my voice again.
"Percy is in trouble. Big trouble. And it's my fault. I'm not gonna let anyone get hurt trying to fix my mess." I said venomously. There was a sigh, and I assumed Annabeth was rolling her eyes; it was hard to tell.
"Maddy you have no idea where you're going. You'll get lost before you even get out of this camp." Annabeth pointed out. I groaned frustratedly, mainly because she was right. At least, partially.
"I need to go to Boston. That much I know." I said on a whim. I didn't really know what I was gonna do once I got to Boston, but I could figure that out later.
"Boston? Well if you're going there then I should go. I have... connections there." Annabeth stated. I rolled my eyes, thankful for the dark. "And besides, how do you plan to get to Boston? And why Boston? The prophecy said to go south, not north." I groaned. Annabeth was, unfortunately, right again. But while the prophecy said to go south, I had a gut feeling that I would find some help back in that ivy covered house.
"Because I have a hunch." I replied with a huff, turning away from Annabeth. I started walking away, since I heard the harpies cawing somewhere close by. Annabeth however, was still on my tail.
"Oh yeah 'cause a hunch is going to get you really far. You can't do this on your own Maddy. I would've thought you had at least a bit of common sense. You're not stupid." Annabeth said strongly. I said nothing, but instead readjusted my backpack. We stopped at the edge of the river connected to the lake, which was glistening under the light of the stars and moon. I looked up at the clear wintry sky, admiring my favourite constellation; the Huntress. I discovered it a good few years ago, while outside with my mum one summer night. Looking back at the water, I couldn't help but feel like there was a knife twisting in my heart; the water made me think of Percy. I picked up a stone and threw it into the water as hard as I could in a short fit of self hate and guilt. Plunk. Then nothing more. Annabeth was silent; either that or she had left. Looking behind me, I saw that Annabeth had indeed left, and turned my attention back to the water. I sat down in the dirt, sand and sparse dry grass, feeling the earth around me. I listened to the quiet lapping sound of the river, but I didn't feel the same kind of oneness with it that I had before. Which felt really weird, because I had always had a special connection with water, but now it felt like that bond had been severed since Percy went missing. Hopefully that will change once Percy gets back. I played with the sand absentmindedly, completely unaware of my surroundings.
"Can't sleep?" I almost jumped out of my skin, and then turned to see who was there; it was the golden eyed girl who sits with Nico at mealtimes. I looked back at the water, and nodded silently. The girl sat down next to me wordlessly, legs crossed.
"I can't either. I'm Hazel by the way. I'm guessing you've met my brother?" She asked, fiddling with some grass.
"Nico? Yeah, he seems cool. A bit scary though.." I admitted. Hazel laughed, and looked at the water.
"That's Nico. But I wouldn't have him any other way. He's my brother and I love him the way he is." Hazel said with so much certainty that I couldn't help but admire her.
"Yeah... I just want Percy back. I know him for less than a week, became his sister less than forty eight hours ago, and now he's gone." I said sourly, looking back at the ground. Hazel pat my back sympathetically and, as she did I noticed a piece of gold in the dirt and sand. Hazel saw the gold piece too, and her eyes went wide.
"Don't touch that!" She said worriedly, but it was too late; my forefinger had already brushed against the shiny object. Immediately I felt a hot static shock pulse through my body, making me grit my teeth in response. The tiny gold stone flew up and hovered at our eye level for a brief moment, before exploding in a cascade of metallic dust. I looked at Hazel, who was staring at the now glittery sand. She got up silently, brushing off her pants and—I think it was—purple t-shirt. She held out her hand to help me up, which I took happily.
"Annabeth will be back soon. I suggest that you get moving if you want a head start." Hazel informed me. I really wanted to ask about the golden nugget, but there was something in the formality in Hazel's expression that made me think better of it. I nodded, and made my way back to the cabins; I needed a new team, and I knew the perfect candidates.

A/N: HI EVERYONE I'M BACK. Sorry about the huge hiatus I had a terrible bout of writers block but now I'm back and I feel even more inspired!!just letting you know that we're about a third to half way through this book so yeah. I love you all and so does the rest of my OCs!!

Maddy: and please comment your thoughts!

Catt: we love feedback,

Colin: and ideas!

Aspen: and if you want to vote go right ahead!

Savannah: but if you don't that's ok.

Me: OK GUYS. WE GET IT. Bye everyone!! Xoxoxo