Leo POV

The miracle happened.

Hazel sat bolt upright, staring at Frank with her hands over her mouth. Then, she bent back down and pressed her ear to his chest. Her smile was unbelievable.

"Frank is breathing! And his heart is pumping! He's alive! Oh Frank is alive!” Everyone’s heads shot up, except for Percy’s of course. Piper stood up, along with Jason, and hurried over to Frank. Piper knelt and checked his pulse.

“He’s normalizing. How is this possible? He was dead.”

“It was Rick,” I said, getting to my feet and brushing off.

“Rick?” Jason asked. “Who is that?” I debated how I should tell them.

I sighed, “Rick Riordan. He created us, and this world.” I gestured to the scene around me. “He was talking to me in here.” I pointed to my head.

“Is it bad I don’t trust there?” Hazel asked while giving me a raised eyebrow.

“No, but you will have to wonder how many times it saved your life. Anyway, Rick was the one who took your pain away. He said it could only be carried from person to person, not completely taken away."

"But why?" Annabeth said, trying to hide her sadness in confidence. She was still kneeling by Percy. He had passed out, but was alive.

"I don't know, but we probably will find out soon."

Alice POV

SNAP

I winced. 'Stupid twig,' I thought. Arthur sent me a murderous look. I gave him a weak smile and he rolled his eyes.

We had already defeated two hellhounds, and with the adrenaline still pulsing in our blood, we were pretty jumpy.

"Is it far from here?" Penelope asked, glancing around us nervously.

"I'm not sure," I said. "But Clover told me to run, so that's what I'm doing. Plus, this was your idea Penelope."

"This could be a trap," Arthur pointed out. "Nothing like dying a painful death in a forbidden forest."

"Please don't go all Harry Potter on us," Penelope pleaded.

SNAP

"Alice!" Arthur hissed.

"That wasn't me," I protested.

"Then who-" before he could finish, an arrow whizzed past us, missing me by only inches. I raised my sword and Arthur notched an arrow. Penelope picked up the arrow and studied it.

"This has celestial bronze on it," she concluded. I held up my hands and dropped my sword.

"It's the Greeks. Put your weapons down," I ordered. Arthur gave me a face of complete confusion. "Do it," I urged. Penelope dropped her curved dagger. It landed on top of my sword and made a clang sound. Arthur sighed and tossed his bow on the ground.

From above us, the trees rustled. We all looked up and found ourselves surrounded. Kids, both young and old, were in the branches of the trees, pointing arrows at us. Arthur and Penelope held up their hands, like I had. Two of the kids jumped down and landed in front of us. One was a girl, the other was a boy. The girl looked to be around high school age while the boy looked to be only in fourth grade.

The girl put her weapon away, but the young boy still had his bow and arrow ready.

"You the French kids?"

(Important note: I will not be doing the French words since I am on my phone. Basically what I will do is write them both in English, but the Greeks will not be able to understand the French.)

"Yes," I said. The girl tilted her head in confusion. The boy looked up at her, as if expecting her to have the answer.

"Uh, I said, Are you the French kids?" I nodded and mouthed,

"Yes!"

Both the boy and girl shrugged.

"Come with us," the boy said. "And pick up your weapons. We are told to trust you." I exchanged looks with Arthur and Penelope. We picked up our weapons then followed the two kids. Every so often, I would hear a snap from above and see a girl or boy in between the tree's leaves.

After a few minutes of walking, we broke through the thick tree line and emerged into a field. It was peppered with holes and trenches, as if one of the gods had been playing in finger paint. By a cliff, which looked like a burnt building, Rachel was waving to us. I smiled as we approached.

The girl and boy stopped in front of Rachel.

"Are you sure these people are friends?" The girl asked. Rachel nodded.

"Positive. Now, please scout the south end of the forest. We need some scouts on that end." The girl and boy nodded before they ran off. Rachel turned and looked at me. I could see the relief in her expression. "Thank you so much for coming to help us."

"It's no problem," I said. Rachel smiled. Behind her, a boy with blonde hair, tapped her shoulder.

"Rachel, how can you understand her?"

"Oh, I forgot. Tyler, this is Alice from the French camp. She usually speaks French, but Grover did something totally awesome and now I can understand her." She looked around. "Where is Grover anyway?" The kid, Tyler, shrugged.

"I think he was gathering the wood nymphs." Rachel sighed.

"Such a Grover thing to do." She turned to me and my group. "Did Clover lead you in the right direction?" I sighed.

"Clover was captured. The Romans found out her disquise and took her away. She told us to run, and that's what we did. We haven't heard from her." Tyler clenched his fists.

"We need to find her," he insisted. "She could be dying!" Rachel looked at him sadly.

"Tyler, we have to first get as many Romans on our side. We don't have the numbers to take them down."

"Then we send a small group to rescue her!"

"You don't understand," I said. "Clover is really strong. She can last a little longer." Tyler looked confused, and Rachel translated.

"But didn't you guys hear that scream? That really loud one? That was probably her! We need to get her out of there!"

"Tyler, you don't understand! We can't! We don't have the resources," Rachel argued. Tyler scowled and stalked away.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked. Rachel shrugged.

"I think he has something for Clover. It feels like everyone does, at least for a little while. She is really strong..." I nodded sadly. Arthur stepped forward.

"What is the plan?" He asked. "What needs to be done?"

"We need to prepare for a fight. We will either being it to them, or they will bring it to us," Rachel said. "But for now, lets get you settled in. I'll show you your rooms in Bunker nine."

And with that, we followed her inside the bunker.

Clover POV

"P-please..." I pleaded. "L-let me g-go..."

"No! Not after what you did to us!" Octavian shouted, then slammed the door. It echoed all around me and I burst into tears.

The pain inside me was horrific. It felt like I was being eaten from the inside out. I wanted to be free. I wanted to be a regular kid again.

I hung there. Cold, tired, and sick. My body tried to get rid of the Greek fire from my stomach, but it didn't work. I spat out the sour taste and cried harder.

Please...I pleaded. Help me survive this...

NOBODY's POV

Tyler packed his backpack.

Greek fire? Check.

Sword? Check.

Knife? Check.

Poison? Check.

Food? Check.

Bandages? Check.

Tyler zipped up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. If he had to this alone, he would. He left his bed in the bunker and made his way outside. A few campers gave him curious looks, but Tyler continued to walk.

"Wait up!" Someone called. Tyler turned because it sounded urgent. It was the blonde French girl, Alice.

"What are you doing here?" Tyler asked.

"Helping you."

"What?" The girl sighed and bent down. She began to write something in the dirt, and after a minute, Tyler realized they looked like letters.

'I want to help you.'

"You can write in English, but you can't speak it?" Alice nodded. He sighed. "Alright, you can come, but you can't tell." She nodded once again.

The two set off into the woods quietly. They tried to talk to each other, but it didn't really work. So, they just kept quiet.

When they reached the edge of the camp, the ducked behind a few bushes. Alice nudged Tyler's shoulder and pointed.

Coming out of the Hephaestus cabin was Octavian. He was cursing under his breath and a few soldiers closed the door behind me.

"They must have found the Hephaestus Underground Railroad." Alice gave him a confused look.

"What?" Tyler started to explain, but he whispered,

"Duck!"

The two ducked as one if the Roman eagles flew overhead. Tyler scowled.

"They've got their eagles on patrol."

"How do we get inside?" Alice asked. Tyler looked at her blankly. She sighed and wrote out her question in the dirt.

"I think we will need to take a run for it. Hopefully we won't attract too much attention." Alice nodded and pulled something out of her backpack. She unfolded it and it turned out to be a crossbow. She loaded an arrow and pointed it at one of the guards. In one quick shot, he was down. In another, the other guard had collapsed.

"Lets go," Alice said, then stood up. She stuffed the crossbow back into her bag and began to run at the door. Tyler guessed what she said and ran after her. They slipped inside and closed the door. They began to relax, but they were caught by surprise by a Roman soldier.

"Hey, you aren't-" Tyler punched him in the nose and the soldier stumbled backward. Tyler grabbed Alice's arm then pulled her toward the hatch that lead down to the maze of Underground Railroad.

When they made it safely to the end of the corridor, the two exhaled.

"Now, where do we find Clover?" Tyler asked, looking up and down the hall. Alice pointed at the ground. There was a river of blood.

"We follow that," Alice said.

"What?" Tyler asked. Alice sighed, exasperated, then mimicked walking with her fingers.

"Oh, we follow that?" Alice nodded. Tyler nodded as well, then started to follow the river.

After many twists and turns, the two found where the river finally started. In their way, a heavy metal door stood. Tyler pulled and pushed, but it wouldn't budge. Alice began going through her bag, then came up with a small container of bobby pins. She pulled one out and started working on the lock.

"Oh. Never thought of that," Tyler said. Alice smiled then the door clicked open. Tyler swung it inward then also felt to his knees from shock.

"C-clover..." He stuttered in disbelief.

She was hung by her wrists while her feet were chained to the ground. She was a bloody mess. She had one big gash in her stomach and the cut on her neck looked freshly opened. At her feet was a pool of blood and vomit.

Alice covered her mouth in complete shock. Both of them just stared until they heard someone scream:

"They were here!" Alice looked back out the door while Tyler rushed to Clover. He tried to break the chains with his sword, but they wouldn't even dent.

"Pass me the bobby pins!" He called. Alice tossed them to him while keeping watch out the door. Tyler caught them and began to pick the locks. He opened the ones on her feet first, then her wrists.

"They're coming!" Alice called out, panic raising in her voice. Tyler didn't understand what she said, but he knew it wasn't good. He finally finished the locks and Clover collasped into Tyler's arms. He shifted her weight then started toward the door. Alice pulled out her crossbow once more and began shooting the Roman soldiers as they came at them.

"Go!" Alice said. "I'll follow!" Tyler still had no idea what she was saying, but he took off. He ran around the Roman soldiers that had called to the ground and rushed down the hall. He followed the blood river once more to get out.

Alice shot Roman after Roman as she made her way after Tyler. Many of the soldiers yelled in defiance, but Alice's crossbow shut that up pretty quick. Soon, she was right behind Tyler.

The two reached the ladder they had used to get down. Tyler began to climb and Alice covered their escape.

After all of their efforts, they finally made it to the edge of the woods. They ran through the thick bushes and trees as they made their way back to camp.

Clover began to stir in Tyler's arms. She muttered something and coughed violently.

"Hold on Clover," Tyler said. "We're almost there." Alice looked over at her worriedly.

"I think she's lasted a little too long, don't you think?" Tyler ignored what she said and continued to run.

They broke through the tree line and into the field.

"Medic! I need a medic!" Tyler called, running as fast as he could toward the bunker.

Clover coughed and her eyes fluttered open. Tyler looked down at her. Her eyes looked like broken pieces of glass.

"Hang in there," he said. She tried to smile, but she winced and went rigged.

"We're almost there," Alice said. "You can do it!" Clover nodded, but didn't speak.

Will began running toward the group. "What happened?" He asked.

"We rescued Clover!" Tyler answered, setting her limp body on a table.

"She was chained up and dying," Alice said. Will nodded and studied Clover.

"Deep stab wound in the stomach, deep cut along the neck, and from what I see, she was vomiting pretty hard." He turned to one of his siblings who had followed him. "Go get a room ready for her. The best place would be in immediate care. She probably won't be doing much but healing for a while." His sibling nodded then ran off into the bunker.

Tyler looked down at Clover and brushed a piece of her blonde hair out of her face.

"You are so amazing," he complemented. She smiled weakly then rolled into a ball groaning.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked her. Clover's chin trembled as she tried to swallow.

"G-Greek f-fire..." She muttered, then pointed to her mouth. Alice paled and looked up at Will. His face had grown exceedingly concerned. He bent down and put his hand on her stomach, right above her stab wound.

"It is really warm," he concluded. "She may not live very long."

"What?!" Tyler exclaimed.

"Clover has been fed Greek fire. It will continue to eat her from the inside out. Think of it like a really fast incurable cancer," Will said sadly.

"Then get it out of her!" Tyler protested.

"That would take long surgery, and time we don't have. Unless we have hole..." He looked down at the stab wound. Will's eyes lit up with hope. "Natalie! Hurry up on that bed! Greg! Get the surgery tools ready!" Will looked at Tyler and smiled.

"She may just have a chance."