ATLANTIS | j. grace

five

THE WALK FROM THE Big House to Cabin Fifteen was short, yet filled with enough awkwardness to last Elle a lifetime.

Annabeth walked ahead of them, never slowing her pace. Every step was filled with hard-set determination (and some underlying anger).

Jason and Elle tagged along behind her. Occasionally, Jason would glance at her, open his mouth, then look away. Elle kept her eyes trained on Annabeth's blonde curls, too lost in thought to even notice Jason's gaze.

Her mind was burning with questions for Annabeth, but she couldn't bring herself to ask, because would the blonde even answer? Would she, like Chiron, refuse to tell Elle anything? Or would she share Elle's entire life story if asked?

"Here we are," Annabeth announced, breaking Elle's thoughts and the stiff silence.

Compared to other cabins, Cabin Fifteen was boring. That may have been a little rude of Elle to think, but it was true. The walls were mud with a rush roof and there was no color, save for the wreath of crimson poppies that hung from the doorway (the cabin's only decoration too, might she add).

"You think this is my parent's cabin?" Jason asked.

"No," Annabeth said. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."

"Then why—"

"You've forgotten everything," she said. "If there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."

Jason glanced at Elle in confusion. Elle shrugged. Jason sighed.

They stepped into the cabin, closing the door behind them. If there were windows in Cabin Fifteen, they had to have been covered, because Elle couldn't see a thing.

She scuffled forward, only to stub her toe against a bedpost.

"Fuck!" she yelled. Grumbling, Elle glared behind her where she presumed Annabeth was. "Why is it so fucking dark in here?"

When she spoke, Annabeth sounded amused. "The children of Hypnos love their sleep."

"Yeah, well I love my toes," Elle retired sharply, "and breaking one on a bedpost isn't how I want my evening to go."

Once her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Elle noticed three kids asleep in bed. A fire burned brightly in the hearth, the only source of light. Above the mantel hung a tree branch. A strange white liquid dripped from it into a small bowl. The liquid looked thick, and with a dirty mind, incredibly wrong. A smirk quirked at Elle's lips. She may not have remembered Percy well, but she just knew this was exactly the kind of thing they would laugh with her about.

Beside her, Jason began to blink heavily. His breaths slowed. Elle glanced over, elbowing him gently in the side. She too had begun to feel the exhaustion of the day creep up on her, but she wasn't about to fall asleep: she wanted answers.

"Snap out of it," Annabeth told him. At his confused, sleepy glance, she explained, "Cabin Fifteen does that to everyone. If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the Ares cabin. At least with Ares, you can learn where the land mines are."

That woke Jason up. "Land mines?"

Annabeth didn't answer. She walked up to the closest kid and shook his shoulder. "Clovis, wake up!"

The sleeping boy, Clovis, mumbled, pulling the covers closer to his face.

"Clovis!" Annabeth began to shake his shoulders repeatedly. Finally, she stepped forward, yanking the stack of pillows out from under his head.

He jolted, sitting upright. When the immediate shock faded, he yawned.

Annabeth, Jason, and Elle yawned too.