WHOOPS, I accidentally made another chapter of this. My bad. Enjoy this day 4 of updates!!

Society of the Paranormal 5

Cecil sat back. “Maybe she went to the bathroom?” he offered weakly against the battering silence.

Everyone just looked at him.

“Yeah, I didn't think so.” he said quietly.

Jason rubbed his face hard and tried to wake himself up. “We've got to find her.” He said, turning about. “What the Hell are any of you even doing up at this time?” He must have meant it as a side remark, but upon a second look at all of them Jason frowned, “No really what are all of you doing up?” He asked specifically at Nico and Percy both of whom were mostly dressed.

“Midnight walk.” Nico grunted.

“I got hungry and couldn’t find the kitchen.” Percy lied.

Jason gave them a hard look as if he didn’t quite believe them. His blue eyes looked more terrifying in the artificial light now than they had last night. “What about you?” He asked wheeling on Cecil.

The brunette froze, “What?” Cecil pointed at himself as if he was unsure what Jason meant. His hands were clammy as of a sudden and he was well aware of everyone’s eyes on him. “Me?”

“You act a bit more awake than any of us here.” Jason accused.

“Are you suggesting I had something to do with Reyna screaming?” Cecil almost laughed. “I mean this is the same girl who “could kill us all with a spork, while handcuffed to a table”. And have you seen me?” He motioned to his gangly body for emphasis. Will shot him a curious look, but didn’t say anything.

“You haven’t answered the question.” Annabeth pointed out.

Percy stepped forward, “We’re wasting time,” He said, taking control of the situation. “We need a plan and we need to find Reyna now. Even if she hadn’t been the one who screamed, her absence here is a little less than comforting.”

“We’ll split up!” Piper said quickly, “I've got flashlights stocked in the rooms--”

“No way!” Jason said cutting her off, “You are not going anywhere!” Piper went to protest but he wasn't hearing any of it, “If Reyna's MIA then your safety lies with me. The last thing I want is you seriously injured via whatever the Fucking Hell is going on!”

He glared at the rest of them, “Everyone get dressed.” It was as if he'd suddenly transformed into a commander of war. Not even Nico stuttered a protest. Cecil seriously didn't want to be on his bad side.

He scooped his phone off the for from where he dropped it in his frantic dash to find Lou Ellen. The phone itself was indestructible, tested so by many, many drops in pools, down staircases, once Cecil had even pitched it out the window of a haunted office building for purely scientific reasons and yet it still survived. So a measly drop in the hall was nothing he was going to worry about. He hurried into the room that had been issued to him, Will, and Nico.

Will had flicked on the light switch and was yanking a shirt over his head. Nico was rummaging in the nightstands for the complimentary flashlights, his bed was untouched as it was when Cecil had woken up.

Cecil scurried to his bed, unwrapping his headphone cord from his neck. He grabbed the nearest pair of pants, the ones he’d worn yesterday and shoved them on. He was slightly embarrassed by the idea that Lou Ellen had seen him in his underwear, but then he remembered she’d probably seen all of them in their underwear at one point. Like that time when Will’s pants caught fire, or when Nico was tossed off the steamboat into the freezing ocean and almost got hypothermia….They ran into ghosts at really strange places.

Cecil’s computer had been tossed to the edge of his bed carelessly. As always when it came to anything with Lou Ellen. The screen was still displaying the real time of the Entry Hall. Nico and Will were bickering over something probably stupid. Cecil made sure neither of them were paying attention before quickly logging out of it. He had seen enough for the night, enough for him to be sure of one thing.

Percy Jackson was a very dangerous person.

It was true that Cecil had been up for a while. He hated sleeping in places where ghosts possibly lingered. He’d had one too many close calls to be able to sleep completely through the night, though he’d never ever tell Lou Ellen that. He had woken up to find that Nico had slipped out and Will was (per usual) snoring like hell. Cecil had decided to check the list of names again and at least check a couple more names before he tried to sleep again. He’d gotten halfway through the records of the kitchen staff when he hit his seventh dead end.

He had rubbed his eyes, and was about to go to sleep when he checked the cameras in the grand Entry Hall. That was when he had rushed to find his headphones and hear exactly why Nico was pinning Percy to the wall. He only found them and plugged in after Nico had let him go, and Percy was saying something about not letting anyone get hurt again.

Every word the other boys had spoke set Cecil more and more on edge. Percy had said he would leave if they found evidence of a ghost, which met that Percy Jackson knew. He knew about ghosts, and he knew the signs and that they weren’t joking around trying to be some Ghostbuster knock offs.

And if anything that made Cecil morally terrified of this guy. There was a thin line between the people who did messed with ghosts and the people who stayed sane while messing with ghosts.

Of course that was when the scream had shrieked through the castle. Cecil had been moving before it even finished in the air. Will had tumbled out of bed, but Cecil was already throwing open the door.

“You can’t stop me from searching, Jason!” Piper was complaining when Cecil stumbled into the hallway again. It was just past four am, and still totally not the time for anyone to be awake, but no one dared say it, especially not when Reyna was missing. “She’s my bodyguard!”

“Keyword Pipes, “bodyguard”.” Jason replied a bit frustrated. They were both in jeans in an old sweaters as if they had planned it. Cecil had forgotten that the blonde guy was a teenager, but seeing him side by side with their host he looked more like he was going out to the movies than about to do a search through a haunted castle. “If something happened to her you are the last person who needs to be present right now.”

Piper looked personally offended. Cecil figured he would be, too, had Jason said that to him. “She’s my friend too, Jason! Who’s going to stop me from finding my friend?!”

Grover made some noise in the back of his throat, causing them both to turn towards him. “What?”

The boy seemed unmoved by their glares, “I hate to be the messenger of reason here, but Piper maybe it is best if you sit this one out.”

Cecil would have bet money that she was going to smack him. Jason on the other hand let a look of relief flash across his face.

“Hear me out,” Grover continued quickly, “Say there’s a kidnapper/ murderer/ weird...ghost... thing in the castle right now. It’s got Reyna--or something like that-- who do you think it’s coming for next?” He gave her a look, “I don’t know about you guys, but my total net worth is maybe the five dollars I have in my wallet right now.”

Will rubbed his neck, probably from sleeping on it wrong, “He’s got a point.”

Cecil watched Piper’s face flood with hopelessness. She knew they were right, but if Cecil had been in her place he might be just as crazy about looking for his friends. He’d seen what a ghost could do with a human host and it was not the type of thing he wanted to see his friends like.

The teenage millionaire let her shoulders fall and hung her head, “Fine, where do I go?” She asked barely above a whisper.

“I’ll call Hedge. He can pick you up, and take you to visit your dad or something-- come on!” Jason pulled out his phone, pressing the buttons, but the black screen wouldn’t light up. “I just charged this!”

Cecil and Lou Ellen shared a quick look. Cecil felt his own phone in his pocket. He pulled his own phone out and tried turning it on, but the poor thing was just as dead as Jason’s. A cold feeling wrapped it’s way down Cecil’s spine, because he knew it had just had seventy seven percent battery. Annabeth and Grover pulled their own phones from their pockets and frowned pronouncing both of them also dead. Percy pulled his jacket tighter around himself.

“Lou, Solace,” Nico said in quick whisper, “Go get your gear.” They both nodded and dashed to their separate rooms.

“I can take her.” Grover told Jason, nodded to Piper, “I wanted to talk to Mr. McLean anyway.”

“Absolutely no--”

The other boy whipped out his wallet and showed him a card. Cecil noticed Percy snicker and Annabeth grin.

“Quite frankly as of right now,” Grover Underwood said, “I happen to be the person most qualified to take Ms. McLean anywhere. I’m a certified bodyguard, four years of training, an internship at the police academy, and a highest GPA graduate of my year.”

“And he’s studying investigation in a small town college, go figure.” Percy said rolling his eyes. Annabeth elbowed him so hard he knocked into the wall.

“What’s wrong with investigation, Mr. Jackson?” She asked. Percy smartly closed his mouth.

“You’re a bodyguard?” Piper re enforced the question with Grover, “Why?”

The boy shrugged, “There was someone I figured it would be useful for.” He looked sad for a moment but then brightened and offered his arm to her, “I’ll make sure you stay safe until they find Reyna again.”

“I feel safer already.” She took his arm casting a glance at Jason. The blond butler showed no emotion in his blue eyes, which Cecil thought said more about how he felt than anything at all. Grover lead the duchess down the corridor, with a single wave of his hand. Cecil couldn’t help but shake off a strange feeling lingering from them.

Percy pulled the rest of the groups attention back to him. The green eyed boy twisted a pen in his hand. Cecil wondered what was with him and that pen. He vaguely recalled that he always had it with him. “Alright,” Percy said, “the rest of us will split up a search the castle for Reyna--”

“No.”

“No?” Percy repeated. Nico crossed his arms prepared for a stare off with the other boy, but Percy just sounded irritated and tired, “Nico we don’t have time--”

The boy in black stared at him hard, with a lean look of determination, “I don’t want you in the castle, either. You remember what happened last time.” Cecil was surprised by the amount of spite in the younger boys voice. An edge that made the temperature in the room drop. “And you might want to take your...teammate...with you.”

“What the Hell is your problem?” Annabeth stepped in between them, “Reyna is missing! She could be in deep trouble, or dead. Time is running thin and you need all the help you can get!”

“Nah, Annabeth,” Percy pulled her back gently. His voice was relaxed and calm, as if he wasn’t bothered by anything, but Cecil could see the hard gleam in his eyes as he had a quick and silent communication with Nico. “They’ve got it. Besides, I have another hunch I want to follow.”

Annabeth looked at him like he lost his mind. Percy must have gotten that a lot because he shrugged it off and nodded to Jason before dragging the blond girl after Grover and Piper towards the grand entrance. Annabeth’s complaints echoed faintly off the stone walls.

Lou Ellen hurried back in chewing another piece of gum and carrying the usual supplies. Will tossed Cecil his laptop and backpack, while swinging his first aid kit around and pulled the door to his room closed after him. Nico rubbed his knuckles wordlessly. Jason watched the four of them closely.

“What was that about?” He asked Nico, suspiciously. Will and Lou Ellen also looked curious, probably having heard the conversations through the doors, but Cecil busied himself with typing in his passcode to unlock his screen.

Nico looked up at the ceiling, as if he was judging how fast he could scale it. “I’ll explain later.” He said, which all three of his best friends knew was code for “It’s none of your business.” Cecil rubbed his hands which felt cold all of a sudden.

Still he tried to lighten the mood with a casual tone, “So, where do we start?”

“Do you have a map of the castle?” Nico asked Jason. The blond boy gave him a stoic look and pointed to a nearby tapestry. In the bright light Cecil recognized the outline of the castle designed with a rose vine border.

“Why do you just conveniently have that on the wall?” Cecil asked.

They ignored him.

Jason outlined part of the tapestry, “Here's Piper's room, Reyna’s is just down the hall.” he pointed, “Piper and I checked Reyna’s room, but there was nothing. If we split the castle into fifths, we can cover it all before midday. Nico here, Will here, I can take the upper floors. I know you guys have cameras up in some places, so if Cecil, you want to run through them and see if Reyna shows up anywhere that would be nice. I know there's some walkie talkies--"

Cecil and Lou Ellen shared an amused look. “Adorable.” The blonde beauty said with a laugh.

Will straightened like he had gotten struck by lightning and immediately started shaking his head at Nico. “No! No you don't! That's a horrible idea! Don’t even suggest it!”

“Thank you for stating the obvious, Will.” Nico said, he pulled a piece of chalk from his bag, so graciously provided by Will, and pointed at Cecil, “Markowitz, the biggest concentration of energy is in the great hall right?”

Cecil nodded.

“I forbid it!” Will said, and Cecil had to give him credit for trying. “The last time you tried to do this you ended up in the hospital for seven days! Seven!”

“He also had two gunshot wounds and was performing the display at noon, in the middle of a treeless field.” Cecil pointed out.

Nico shouldered the rest of his bag and gave Will a pat on the back: the most amount of friendliness he’d shone all trip. “Relax, Solace. You’re here aren’t you?”

The doctor spluttered some blotched excuse of how this was still a horrible idea, but none of them were listening. Jason watched them with a confused and worried look. Cecil could just picture him trying to call the insane asylum, except that his phone was dead. Lou Ellen nudged him with her elbow, a goofy smile on her face before she turned to Cecil.

“I'll set up the candles, you hold Will down?” She asked. Cecil offered her a fistbump for goodluck and she complied.

“What's going on? What are you doing?” Jason called after them.

Cecil shot him a grin, “Us? Nothing.” he placed his laptop on the ground by his feet, “Nico, however, is going to find Reyna before breakfast.”

Before Jason could say anything else Cecil tackled Will and they both crashed to floor. The blonde doctor cursed fiercely and kicked him off but Nico and Lou Ellen were already gone.

***

“What's up with you, Percy?” Annabeth asked, “What's up with that Nico character? How do you know him?”

She stalked after him towards Grover’s rental car. Her blond curls shone in the moonlight.

“It's complicated.” Percy replied.

“You say that every time Percy Jackson!” She hissed, “All yesterday that’s the only thing you would say!” She looked beyond miffed which made Percy extremely nervous. He hated when she was mad, or even a little upset. When she got like this she was more than willing to use violence.

Percy hadn’t been truly conscious after he’d been shot last year, but he’d heard what happened afterward from Grover and it was not pretty. Annabeth, after all, was a black belt and for some reason knew how to wield a knife better than anyone hed ever met. He could picture a couple bad endings for his own life if he pushed her a little too far.

Percy pulled open the side door, sighing. He glanced at the castle again, feeling the unease of the past few hours come to him in waves. He was betting everything on this case, and it did not help that he couldn’t even tell his own partners the truth.

Annabeth flung herself in and Percy followed suit in a much more controlled manner. Since Grover was driving Piper to the hospital to see her dad, he was taking one of Piper’s cars. That left them open for their own ride, but it was even more tense than any he’d had with Annabeth before.

“Percy,” She said after the silence of the car had reigned long enough, “Just answer me one thing, okay?”

He made a sound of acknowledgement. He could feel Annabeth watching him from the corner of his eyes. Her stare was hard, as if she was trying to puzzle him back together.

“Do you trust us?”

Without warning Percy suddenly yanked the steering wheel and pulled them off the paved road. Annabeth let out a surprised yelp, grabbing the arm rests. Percy held the brakes and put the car in park. His headlights illuminated the thicket of trees to the side of them.

The boy with green eyes turned towards Annabeth making sure to look straight in her eyes. “I trust you more than I trust myself, Annabeth.” He told her, “I can’t think of a single person I could trust more than you and Grover. You guys are the first people to have my back in a long time. When I do “some stupid selfless thing”, as you are always pointing out, I do it because I’d rather lose my own life than lose one of you two.

“Don’t you ever dare think that I don’t trust you, okay? If I didn’t trust you I wouldn’t be here. What’s going on with Nico is just a part of my past that I’m not ready to share, okay? I made a promise to someone that I wasn’t going to tell anyone what happened, and you know how I am about my promises.” Percy finished taking a deep breath.

It was hard to see in the minimal light but he thought he saw Annabeth blushing. He was struck once again by the annoying urge to tell her anything and everything that she wanted to know. But how could he? It wasn’t like he could explained it all in five minutes. “Oh hey, Annabeth! Look just wanted to say sometimes I have this totally wicked indescribable power, and I know it's completely illogical, but every physics rule you've studied is a lie!” It took years to understand the basics. It could drive people insane. Percy didn’t know if he could take it if he had to see Annabeth in a straightjacket.

She didn’t say anything for the longest time. It felt like eons before she even exhaled. Then she reached over and pressed the radio button, filled the car with some unfamiliar music station they had found on the drive to the castle.

“So Mr. Jackson, what’s this hunch of yours?”

Percy put the car in drive and he told her he wanted to go find a florist.

***

To be honest Grover didn't think they were going to be allowed in the building. It was about five o'clock and still dark outside. No self respecting hospital was going to let two teenagers in no matter who her parents were.

“Ms. McLean!” the nurse from the front desk unlocked the sliding glass door. She was an elderly lady who despite having gray locks and deep wrinkles, seemed to be more alive than any person Grover had ever met. He had no doubt that the old lady was probably old enough to be one of the patients in the rooms, and quite reasonably upset by their arrival.

“Hi,” Piper greeted her, warmly. It was the first smile Grover had seen her wear since dinner last night. “Sorry about it being so early. But I...I wanted to see my father.”

“Simply astounding!” The nurse said, “You know better than anyone that visitation hours are from eight in the morning to nine at night! I cannot allow you to go up disturbing the residents in their recoveries!”

Piper’s shoulders dropped and she looked ready to cry. Grover wanted to step in somehow but he got the distinct feeling that anything he said would be less than helpful.

“Please!” Piper begged the woman, “It’s been a rotten night and I..I just want to-”

“Rules are rules Ms. McLean! I can’t bend them not even if he’s been calling out for you all night! Honestly! You should have set up a better time to come see him again! Perhaps next time it oughta be at eight instead of five!” The nurse motioned them back away from the door ready to close it again.

Piper and Grover shared a look, “Sorry? What?”

The nurse scowled, “Your father of course! He’s been calling for you all night. He said that you would be here soon and that he needed to talk to you. Rubbish! He can wait until eight when visiting hours open again!” She went to close the door for the final time when a loud yelling filled the halls.

Two figures burst into the lobby, one chasing the other. The first was a man, tall, with pales but chiseled features. Even in the dim lighting, Grove had no problem recognizing him as someone of authority. The man wore a deep grey, hospital-issued nightgown, with cords from an IV tube swinging from the bracelet holder around his wrist. He stumbled slightly as if he was drunk.

The figure behind him was a nurse. She must have been new because she looked both scared and frustrated as she hurried after the man.

“Piper!” The man called, “Piper!”

“Mr. McLean! I insist that you get back here--!!” The nurse commanded uselessly.

The man pushed the front desk nurse out of the way and opened the sliding door with an incredible amount of force. Piper was frozen in place, a look of shock on her face. In a flash of moonlight, madness gleamed in the man's eyes.

Grover leapt in front of Piper protectively. “Stop!”

Grover wasn’t sure what happened, but suddenly he was lying in the dirt bed of the pleasant little garden by the front door. His head hit something hard and for a second his vision scattered. “Piper!” He yelled forcing himself up and whipping back to the girl.

She was fixed in time, looking both terrified and astonished. Her father grabbed her by the shoulders, roughly.

“Piper! Piper!” He yelled, almost as if he was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hear him, “My baby girl! He’s going to take her! He wants her!”

Grover scrambled to pull himself out of the bushes. Invisible branches and thick leaves scraped up his arms, but he pushed the pain to the side.

“Dad! It’s okay! I’m here!” Piper told her father, “I’m okay!”

He didn’t appear to have heard her at all. He felt to his knees, dragging Piper along, heavily, “He’s--He’s dangerous! Oh Piper! He’s going to hurt her! My girl! They’re everywhere!” Tristan McLean looked into Piper’s eyes, pleadingly, “They’re everywhere….Please keep her safe!”

“Dad?” Piper whispered, too afraid to talk any louder.

“He’s going to take her!” The famous movie star bellowed a desperate tone, just as Grover broke from the branches and made it to her side. “Help...her….”

Tristan McLean’s eyes rolled back into his head and he fell forward into the arms of a terrified and sobbing Piper.