Kidnapped

12: The Blue Room

Percy POV

I tried not to look at Drew's pale body. She was dead, and it was my fault. There was no way to change that. The blue room was waiting for its next victim.

"One subject has to go inside," a guard barked.

Since they were all masked, I couldn't tell which guard had spoken. The guards stood in an ordered fashion, but they seemed ready to force any one of us to enter phase 5. However, I knew that it had to be me.

I started walking towards the blue room's doorway. The fluorescent light flashed onto my skin, beckoning to consume me.

"Percy, wait, this isn't a good idea," Annabeth reasoned. She caught my wrist to stop me from entering the room. I was halfway in the room already. Tears gleamed in my eyes as I watched Wise Girl.

"I have to go in eventually," I said firmly.

"Why do you want to go in so bad?" Thalia asked. "We're all emotional, and it would be best to calm ourselves before entering the room."

"Thalia's right, Percy. They are measuring our cortisol levels. All of our levels had probably risen sharply after seeing Drew," Will faltered off.

"Percy... please just wait a few minutes," Annabeth whispered. Her grip tightened on my wrist.

"No, I'm not waiting," I said firmly.

I shook my arm out of Annabeth's hand. Drew died because I wasn't quick enough. I didn't care that I was setting myself up. I was going into the blue room now.

I looked at my friends again before closing the door behind me.

Blue light surrounded me from all sides. The only other color that was present was the red light flashing from two points in the room: the metal band on my wrist and the end of a hefty chain that was on the floor.

The five-foot chain was connected to the wall.

"Connect your wrist band to the chain," a robotic voice announced.

I walked forward and picked up the end of the chain. My right hand was still in a fist, holding the key. I used my left hand to attach the chain to my wristband. The chain's outer link simply fused against my metal band, and the two red lights turned into a single green one.

However, I still couldn't find any use for Reyna's key.

At first, the room didn't do anything. I simply stood in the blue room waiting for something to happen. Then, all of a sudden, my surroundings changed.

The blue light faded away into a simulation.

I was in a meadow. Yellow daffodils were planted on the ground, and light seeds were flying in the sky around me. I looked around on all sides, and the meadow stretched towards the horizon. It was so beautiful and serene.

Stay calm, I thought. Don't stress and don't get emotional.

Meh, I was already feeling fairly emotional. A zap entered my wrist, and I winced from the shock. The electricity flowed from the chain and into my wrist.

Now, I understood where the pain came from.

If I became too unstable, the electricity would increase to the point where I'd have a heart attack and die. That's what must've happened to Drew.

I looked around the meadow. I watched the blue sky and white clouds. It was such a beautiful scene that didn't belong in an Elysium facility.

Suddenly, thunder rumbled. My gaze shifted to the right.