Percy

No one knew what to do. Judging by the small barred window that was set too high to reach, it was the middle of the night. Calypso had been taken away from us a couple hours ago and hasn't been back.

Meanwhile, Leo's gone delusional with panic, just after he got ahold of his own mind from whatever Everette did. Now we're trying to solve the case.

What is the first drop zone? Why Calypso?

"Okay, let me get this straight," Frank said, "a drop zone is a what now?"

"Normally speaking, it's a place where troops or supplies are dropped by a parachute or just where someone lands when skydiving. But we aren't speaking normally, so I have no idea," Jason explained.

"And judging by what he said, there are more than one?" Hazel asked.

"I guess so," Reyna said, frowning. She blinked, like an idea smacked her in the forehead. She held out her left arm, the one absent of a tattoo.

"What if it has something to do with the tattoo!" She exclaimed. Will pondered this for a moment before realization settled on his features. "Ross said the tattoos stood for worth! Calypso, Rachel, and Reyna don't even have one. That must mean they have no worth to him."

Rachel frowned, low-key offended. "Maybe Will's right," Hazel said. "You guys are still powerful, but not in the way Everette cares about or knows to exploit. Maybe that's why he sent Calypso to this 'drop zone'. Cause she was in the way."

"How dare you," Leo stood, "say she was 'in the way'?"

"Leo," Jason warned, his voice low. "No, it's okay," Hazel said, putting her hand on Jason's chest. "Leo, I'm sorry. I'm just theorizing."

"What does this mean for us?" Rachel asked. "I don't know," was all Hazel said.

I heard a click behind me and the cell door opened, revealing Ross. He walked in and stuck something on the wall. It was a big chart/table thing.

"The Harvesters are fully equipped. Take a look at your shifts on the schedule. Each shift is eight hours. Starting at 8:00 am, so about three hours."

And with that, he left. Leo looked absolutely miserable. His face got super pale and his ears caught fire.

Hazel took a few cautious steps to view the schedule.

Everyone searched for their names on the schedule. Eight hour shifts? Judging by Leo's reaction, he knew it was bad. He'd made the things after all.

"I've got five," Jason whispered, fingering the list.

"Me too," Hazel answered.

"Four," said Nico.

"Three," said Leo.

I hadn't said a word, just stared at the schedule in disbelief.

Hazel frowned. "Percy?" She asked, noticing my silence. Her unasked question brought everyone else's attention to me.

"Eight," I whispered, than louder, "Eight shifts a week." I was met by a stunned silence.

"Why do you have three more than the highest amount of shifts?" Jason asked finally. "Why do you have the most? You're even double shifted for two days."

"Think about it," Reyna put it in, probably grateful she doesn't even have a shift. "What is the first thing any living thing needs?" She let the question dangle in the air.

"Water," Frank answered for her.

I suddenly felt very uneasy. I just wanted Annabeth. I hated what Everette did and I hated that she wasn't here with me. She was literally everything to me and I needed her. And it just wasn't right that she wasn't here. I could hardly stand it.

We sat awake talking for the three hours before 8:00. Leo just sat in the corner, too ashamed to join in. He'd lost Calypso and created horrible machines all in one day, so I don't blame him.

I have this weird feeling in my stomach, like butterflies on steroids. I feel queasy and nauseous in anticipation of what's to come.

The cell is cold. Not so cold as it's noticeable right away, but it's just a couple degrees colder than what's comfortable, so you can never really feel at ease.

Our group cell graciously has a bathroom that's closed off with a curtain. There's a few showers and a toilet, the sink equipped with actual toothbrushes.

There was a stack of blankets, but no cots or pillows.

The concrete floor definitely wasn't very comfortable. I could still feel my powers in my blood, but they were dampened enough that I couldn't use them without a lot of strain.

After having some small talk, Piper puckered her lips and gazed over at the corner Leo was sulking in. "So Leo," she started, inquiring about the Harvesters, "what do they do?"

When Leo looked up his eyes were bloodshot and hair tousled. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Piper stood, "Leo, you have nothing to be sorry for. This is all Everette. He used you to get what he wanted. None of this is your fault."

I caught onto a little bit of the charmspeak, but I knew she meant what she said. "Annabeth designed them," he muttered, not looking at me. I felt my breath catch in my throat. How far gone was she? She'd designed the machines for Leo to create?

Leo wiped his eyes on his sleeve and padded over to sit by us. Leo noticed Hazel shivering so he held out his arms to her and she snuggled in. Leo was generally warmer than everyone else, with or without his powers, so everyone was asking him for hugs in the cold cell.

"It's a slow process," Leo said. "That's why the shifts are eight hours. It's supposed to drain the demigod essence into a tangible resource. The cage is reinforced with Greek Fire and the base contains Celestial Bronze, all the mythical materials to make this work." Leo's voice was low, lower than usual, and he stared at a point in the floor.

"Oh," Frank said, and all else was quiet. Then a click of the lock and the cell door flew open. Agents poured in, grabbing my arms and hoisting me to my feet. I saw they had Jason, Will, and Frank as well. Nico jumped to his feet in protest, but one of the agents backhanded him, knocking him into Reyna who steadied him.

I caught Leo's eye before I was pulled from the room. The agents of HARVEST seem very keen on dragging us places rather than letting us walk. After a couple turns, we reached the Harvest chamber. It was an area that looked like a cross between a hallway and a room.

And in a line along the wall, were the Harvesters.

I couldn't describe the sudden feeling I got upon actually seeing them. All I knew was that I had to get away.

I wasn't the only one that got that vibe, because next to me, Will's eyes widened in alarm and he started fighting to get back. The guard holding him grunted in surprise, obviously having underestimated the strength of the son of Apollo.

Will wrestled himself loose and rammed into his guard, knocking him to the floor. Will had a wild and feral look in his eyes I had never seen from him.

"Guys! Ears!" He yelled and at first I thought that was an awfully weird battle cry, but then I realized what he was asking and I wrestled my arms free and threw my hands over my ears.

Will let loose one of his sonic whistles, and though it wasn't as powerful as it has been in the past, it still packed a punch, blowing the agents backward.

My ears were ringing when I removed my hands and upon further inspection, three of the four guards were bleeding from their ears.

Frank was the first one to start running, though I had no idea where we would go. Back to the cell to our friends? That would get us nowhere. I didn't even know where Annabeth was, and I wasn't leaving anyone behind. We needed a better plan.

Jason blinked in confusion, shrugged, and took off after Frank, Will and I on his tail.

Frank was looking around frantically, trying to retrace our steps, when a giant of a man rammed into him, throwing him into the wall. Jason didn't have enough time to slow down and a woman's fist collided with his face. Jason toppled. Will and I skidded to a stop.

The woman that socked Jason pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Will's head. "All of you. Get your asses back to the Harvesters now, or I'll blow a hole in his forehead."

Will swallowed and put his hands up, turning around slowly and inching back down the hall. I was quick to follow. The woman(I squinted and barely made out her name tag), Montgomery, motioned for her fellow agents. "Cover me," she ordered and pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of Will's skull. His hands went up a little higher as he cowered away from the gun slightly.

"Get up," one of them said to Frank, nudging him with his foot. Frank groaned but didn't complain further. Jason was still on his back, blinking lazily at the ceiling, blood dripping from his split lip.

Two agents, male and female, each grabbed an arm and started to pull him in the direction of the Harvesters, Jason facing the opposite way still too stunned to offer any opposition.

With the Harvesters once again right in front of me I noticed that each had a plaque on the top with a number, 1-8. Montgomery shoved Will from behind, into another agent who made sure he didn't try run again.

Montgomery was fairly short, 5'4'' maybe, but as I'd already seen, she sure packed a punch. She had a round face, full cheeks with freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. Her brown hair was short in a spiky/textured bob type style. Her brown eyes had a well placed grit to them.

She pulled out a key card and swiped it on Harvester #1. The door opened with a hiss and she scrolled through the smart watch on her wrist and her eyes locked on me. Hand firmly on my shoulder, she shoved me forward, forcing me to get inside the fairly spacious machine, the door locking behind me. She typed a few commands into the keypad, scanned an image of my face, and then moved onto forcing a still dazed Jason into machine #2.

I tried opening the door, but it wouldn't budge. Will was put in #3 and Frank in #4. Montgomery typed another command and I felt it starting. It was the worst feeling I'd ever had. And that's saying a lot.

It started with a tug in my stomach, sort of like when I used my powers, but so much worse. Instead of the exhilarating feeling of being in control of the sea, this felt sickening. It was like having the flu, no matter what position you're in or what you're doing, you are always uncomfortable and miserable.

I only stayed standing for about five minutes tops before I lowered myself onto the floor, leaning my head against the glass. After only the first hour, I'd thrown up three times. Luckily there was a chute for that very reason so I didn't have to sit in it.

I had glanced over at Jason to see how he was fairing and sure enough he was in a similar position. Sparks were flying from his skin to the point where his Harvester looked like a Plasma Ball. He was holding his head tightly in his hands, his glasses discarded on the bottom of the machine. If I strained my eyes I could just see Will, but that gave me even more of a headache so I stopped.

I checked the clock for the twentieth time in the past half hour or so to see that we were only three hours into the shift. I thought maybe sleeping would help ease the dull ache that was ever present and so damn nauseating, but soon discovered it was impossible to fall asleep.

The shift was so exhausting, but so uncomfortable and miserable that no matter what I tried I could not seem to drift off. And I was hungry. This thing was sapping all my energy and I felt like I was physical exerting all my strength. And after throwing up everything I'd eaten in the past few days, I was so hungry. The one meal they gave us a day was not enough to sustain a demigod, especially one undergoing a shift in a Harvester.

Long story short, it was the longest eight hours of my life. It was also the worst experience I'd had in a long time. It was a close second to Tartarus. And the thought that I had to do eight of these a week?

I was counting down the minutes until the shift was over, tears spilling from my eyes in agony. Thirty minutes. Just thirty more minutes. I could feel my 'demigod essence' or whatever slowly pulling away, getting drawn out of me by this nightmarish machine.

Twenty minutes left and I threw up again. That marks eleven times. At that point I was dry heaving, having nothing else to get rid of.

Five minutes and the tears came harder and faster. I needed out of here. I needed to be rid of this reality, back in Annabeth's arms, far away from here. I needed it so bad, I couldn't think about anything else. I almost missed the hissing off the machine turning off and the glass door opening.

I tried to stand, I really did. I got to my feet, almost straightening up, before collapsing again. The agent that opened the door grumbled something before reaching in and hauling me to my feet. I swayed and tried to put one foot forward to take a step, but I misjudged the point in which my foot would meet the floor and tripped.

The agent simply picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I went limp, not bothering to fight it, I was too tired. I saw Jason limping along, his arm around another agent for support. Frank had opted for the smaller center of gravity theory, seeing as he was crawling his way back to the cell. Will was in a similar position to me, thrown over an agent's shoulder.

As soon as we got back inside the cell and the agents left, all four of us promptly collapsed. I noticed Will had dark circles under his eyes, a property so much more noticeable now considering I'd never seen the son of Apollo looking so exhausted.

"My glasses..." Jason mumbled and I realized he must have left them behind in the Harvester.

"Are you guys...okay?" Rachel asked. In answer of her question, I threw up once again. Twelve. I didn't even make it to the bathroom, just stayed on my hands and knees and wretched. This time I wasn't just dry heaving, but throwing up bile and saliva.

"Someone get a towel," I heard Piper say, and I felt someone rubbing my back. When I felt I was done, I leaned back into whoever was holding me, Hazel, and she helped me scoot back to lean on the wall where I pulled my knees up to my chest and cried.

I got about a three hour layover before the agents came again, this time to grab myself and Hazel. I started to cry again as I remembered I was double shifted for the day. I felt like a child, desperately begging for them to leave me alone. But alas, I was powerless against them. Hazel and I got hauled off for another round.

When that one was finally over, it was 3 in the morning. After the first shift, even though I was so exhausted, I refused to fall asleep. That had proven to be a terrible mistake. The second shift was so much worse than the first time. And when the Harvester finally stopped and the agents opened the door, I was asleep before they got me out.

Calypso

I woke up in a helicopter. That immediately ruled out the possibility of being in the Harvest compound. I shook the numbness out of my legs and arms and looked around, trying to orient myself.

I was flanked on either side by an agent, a woman on my right and a man on my left, a few other agents across from me.

"Where am I?" I decided to test my luck, see if I could get some answers.

"The better question is where you're going," the man on my left said with a smirk.

I frowned. "Then where am I going?"

The woman on my right answered with an air of pride. "Drop Zone #1, in the middle of the Sonoran Dessert."

Merry Christmas to all of you! I'm sorry I haven't been updating but I've been very uninspired for awhile now, but I'm hoping to get back on track. Love you demigods:)