I blinked and groaned. I was sitting in a cold cell. Riptide was gone. I was secured into a chair with my wrists and ankles tied to it. I stretched my neck. The cell was empty, with two gray things guarding it. Great. I was a captive. Seriously, why do people think I'm a terrorist? I scowled at the thought.

Suddenly, the door opened. The blonde girl and a the guy who appeared with the gray dude came in, along with Hunkyhair. A wrinkled puffy guy was there, too. Gods, he looked old. I gave them my wolf stare.

"Perseus Jackson—"

"Percy. For the last time, people only call me Perseus when they want to kill me."

The bloated guy glared at me. "Percy Jackson, then. We know you are a well known terrorist—"

I snorted. "Great, now I'm famous among the mortals, too." Immediately I wanted to take the word back. "I mean—"

"You are not human?" He asked suspiciously. I shook my head. "N-no, it's not that, I'm human." Partly. I didn't add that.

"He's telling the truth, sorta?" Hunkyhair spoke up. I glowered at him. The girl frowned.

"Look, it's just an inside joke. Deal with it." I added angrily. Hunkyhair scrunched his eyebrows.

"Ok, now he's lying." His ice blue eyes were scanning me from head to toe. Dude, who was this guy?? He's like a living lie detector.

"I'm going in." The girl announced. I frowned. In where?

"I should help, too." He locked hands with her and they both closed their eyes.

"There they go, going full-on cognate power on you." Hunkyhair grumbled.

"Cognate?" I asked skeptically. He shook his head. "Never mind." I raised an eyebrow but didn't push him any farther.

Minutes passed and I started to get fidgety. I tapped my finger against the chair, my legs itching to run. Finally the boy and girl opened their eyes.

"I don't get it." The boy mumbled as he ran his hand through his hair. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I." The blonde girl agreed. "His mind is inpenetrable."

I coughed. "I'm still here, you know." They all shot me a look. The old dude spoke up.

"Perhaps I will try." He said. "Although I doubt I could go any farther, considering the fact that Mr. Vacker and Ms. Foster had tried as cognates." He closed his eyes, and another few minutes went pass.

He opened them after what seemed like forever. "Incredible." He breathed. I sighed. "What's incredible?" I demanded.

"Your mind. It's so...quiet."

"Great, that clears it up." I snorted. "And what do you mean, it's so quiet?"

The old dude sighed. "We cannot tell you for now, Mr. Jackson. Be patient." I scowled. Yeah, like I'm going to be patient. They turned, uttered a few words I couldn't understand and left.

Ok, I'm definitely leaving this place. I thought to myself. I struggled with the bonds. Shoot. They wouldn't budge. I strained my finger to my pocket, and sure enough, Riptide was there. I managed to uncap it and it sprung to my usual bronze sword. It cut through the rope like butter and lay in a heap at the chair. Now I just needed to find a way to get out of the cell. I called the water, feeling a familiar rug in my gut. A geyser rocketed out of nowhere and broke the bars with such force that they snapped. The gray dudes screamed and ran. I took my chances and escaped through a hole in the wall, leaving the cold cell behind.