Death and His Many Friends: Chapter Five

"So, are you up for it?" Clovis said to me, who was standing near a weird looking sink.

"I guess so..." I said, trying to sound as lively as possible. I mean, I don't mind trying to talk to this Annabeth girl, but the whole place made me feel so sleepy.

"Well then," Alice said to me, "you're gonna need this."

She held up an obsidian amulet and put it into my hand. Again, there was Ancient Greek etched onto it, which I could not read. I could hear something coming from inside it, but it was too faint for me to hear.

"It's a dream-weaver." Clovis said to me. "Specifically designed for us to tap into other people's dreams without having an empathy link. It's originally designed for children of Morpheus, but I'm sure it'll work just as well."

"What's with the funky sink?" I asked.

"Oh, that's a dream well." Alice said to me. "You just dunk your head in there, and voila. With some luck, you'll be able to contact Annabeth."

I still felt uneasy about this whole idea, but I had to do it. I put on the necklace, which was heavier than I imagined. The mechanical whirring sounds became louder and louder, so I hesitated for a while. I realized that Clovis and Alice were watching me intently.

As I put my head into the dream well, suddenly a torrent of water came gushing towards me, and suddenly I was in a dark cave, and saw a girl who was chained to the walls. She had stormy gray eyes, which were slightly open. She looked like she had been there for weeks, when suddenly I heard a voice from the distance.

"I can't afford to lose her, Eris!" a voice shouted.

"But you will not, my lord!" Eris replied. "The Jackson child will come running straight for her, and we will use her as bait."

"Yes..." he said. "Soon my plan will take effect, and the gods of Olympus will burn...!"

Suddenly I felt a hand touch my shoulder, and the girl was trying to break free from the bonds. "H-help..." she wimpered.

"A-are you Annabeth?" I asked her.

"Y-yeah..." she said to me.

"We have to get out of here!" I said to her.

"...P-Prometheus is coming..." she muttered, and suddenly I saw the shadow of a person right behind me. I felt an invisible force blast me back against the cave walls, which slightly cracked at the impact.

He had scars all over his face, and he wore a pinstriped suit which matched his eyes. "Gerard, I presume?" he said to me coldly.

"I guess so." I replied.

"Dreamweaver, eh?" he said, and laid a hand on the amulet. It burst from the pressure of his grip, and suddenly my surroundings blurred as I tried to escape from the dark cave.

The last thing I saw before blacking out was a great ball of purple flame being hurled towards me.