Run | TMR X PJO [ Editing ]

Twenty-Five | Group B

Chapter twenty-five, in which all hell breaks loose and our heroes are focused on running away from practically everything.

His expression was no longer intense, but instead full of sorrow. As a father, he should have taken care of his daughter, but it seemed like the world couldn't bear even that. The outside world was not safe, and he could do nothing but stare blankly at a girl—just a child—that he had a part in creating. "Annabeth. You still need to come with us. Put that knife down."

"No." Her face was twisted with emotion. "Not until you release my friends."

"Put that knife down," he repeated a little more forcefully. Perhaps if he closed his eyes and forgot all that he knew, he could live with the fact that the girl, oh god Annabeth, was his own daughter.

It only made her grip the knife tighter. She too was torn between family and survival. "I told you, no."

He sighed, mostly to himself. Frederick Chase always had to make tough choices, and no doubt, this was probably the hardest. He chose science over her. He chose humanity over one person. It was the right thing, he had repeated over and over in his head. A bunch of kids were nothing compared to humanity. He could live with that, if not for the girl with those startling gray eyes.

"We'll take you kids by force then," Gabriel snarled. Out of his pocket, he pulled out a vial. It was a bright neon pink, bubbling in an almost sinister way.

Kathy replied with equal aggression, her lip curled up into a snarl that could scare even the toughest. However, her height was subsequently dwarfed by the taller scientist. 

He pretended to not hear her, and he was fiddling with the vial, trying to get it open. It looked like some kind of serum to knock them out, or at worst, kill them painfully—whatever it was, the three of them certainly didn't want to be around when the serum worked its magic.

"Did you not hear me?" she growled, practically hissing at this point. "I am the Keeper of the mothershucking Runners and I will be listened to."

And with that, she kneed him rather painfully in the groin. 

She then whipped her elbow at Frederick's temple, knocking him out cleanly. He crumpled to the floor. The other scientist was bent over in pain, groaning something that sounded suspiciously like "Kkids these days..."

"Let's hurry and go," Annabeth said quickly, averting her eyes from the crumpled form of her father on the ground—she had to mentally scream that he was unconscious, not dead.

"What about our weapons?" Aris asked. "It would be a loss if we left them behind."

There certainly was time to think about—it wasn't like Gabriel was knocked out and they could go weapon collecting at their own leisure. Annabeth's eyes flashed wildly, wondering if they could even find their own weapons. From her peripherals, she spotted Kathy (bless her soul) landing a nice hook to Gabriel's jaw, causing his eyes to roll back into his head. The man slumped over, unconscious.

The three of them ran out the door, immediately spotting their weapons laid out on a nearby table. They hastily strapped on whatever they could, arming themselves with weapons like their lives depended on it—and when you actually thought about it, their lives kind of did depend on their ability to fight.

"Hey, what's this?" Kathy asked out of pure curiosity. Alongside their weapons were three rifles, although one couldn't exactly call them rifles—their double barrels looked like they weren't meant for ammunition, but something else (not to mention they looked much more advanced than anything the three of them had ever seen.) The closest word that could've worked was 'laser gun.'

She picked one up, taking careful aim at the door they had just escaped out of. A beam of light shot out of the firearm, so powerful that it nearly sent the Keeper toppling.

It destroyed the doorway. Bits of foundation and rock crumpled, effectively caving in the area. 

While she was initially shocked, her mouth quickly curled into a grin. "I'll take this."

"Buy one get one free," Aris said all too cheerfully, handing Annabeth the final one, which she caught with a satisfying slap.

"Absolutely fascinating," she commented.

Alarms began blaring loudly, causing the three of them to jump. "That's our cue to leave," Aris said, already making a beeline towards the next door. 

While none of them had the faintest clue of where to go, taking random turns was certainly better than nothing. They certainly stood no chance against Grievers, and besides, they were practically sitting ducks. The alarms continued to be a constant noise in their ears, but Annabeth was able to lead them to the storeroom that they originally began in. 

They burst out of the Griever Tunnel, breathing heavily and clutching the surrounding vines for support.

The first thing they realized: it was dark. The second thing that came to mind: no one ever survived a night in the Maze. Their weapons had only been a precaution, but they would not do very well against more than one Griever—melee combat was never anyone's strength unless you counted Kathy (she was only one person, after all.)

"Well erm," Kathy said, struggling to catch her breath and speak at the same time. "I suppose this is where I say it was very nice knowing all of you."

Aris snorted. "Stop being so negative."

"I guess I'll be a standup comedian while I'm at it," she sighed, sarcasm practically oozing out of her mouth. "Who wants to hear a knock-knock joke—"

She was kicked in the shin by Annabeth, causing the taller girl to swear loudly. "Shut up. I'm pretty sure the Grievers have excellent hearing."

"Where'd you get that from?" 

"I just know, trust me," she said. 

There was a lot of grumbling, but Kathy's voice was noticeably quieter the next time she spoke. "Let's just keep moving and have our eyes and ears open."

"All night? Are we going to even last that long?" Aris asked worriedly. 

He had a point. They were exhausted, hungry, and they were out of energy. There was no way they could keep up a fast jog all night—they would probably fall over if they even attempted a jog at all. 

"We could walk and be ready to sprint at all times," Kathy suggested halfheartedly. She too knew that none of them could handle running all night—there was no indication of the time and water simply wasn't something easily replenished.

"What happens if we get split up?" Annabeth asked, though she really didn't care about the answer.

"We won't get split up in the first place," she replied loftily. 

Aris shrugged. "But we wouldn't run, we would fight."

"Not when we're this tired," Annabeth interjected. She had no idea why she was arguing anyways—perhaps it was a way to confirm that she was still alive and keep the conversation going.

As a group, the three of them walked slowly around the Maze. None of the walls shifted, so it was well past midnight. They could survive if they really tried. Around what Annabeth guessed was four in the morning, Aris could barely walk. He had to be supported by either Kathy or herself.

They took a right around a corner. A mile or two more and they would be back at the Doors, Kathy had whispered, unable to speak loudly due to dehydration. If they lingered around that area long enough, they could get back safely. Surely the rest of the Gladers were sick with worry, Sonya especially. They thought they were home free. 

Until the Griever, that is. 

Was it karma? Whenever they least expected it, a Griever showed up. They had too many close calls lately. A few hours before they narrowly escaped a horde of Grievers. It was too late to exactly run away, as it had already spotted them. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? RUN!" Kathy roared.

Annabeth had never been more grateful for her ADHD.