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After Elaine freed Percy from the blade piercing through his shoulder, Dr. Thorn quickly ushered the children outside where they're met with blinding white snow.
Elaine tried to keep up with the pace the man had set, but she was never good at the formation marches her instructors taught her.
The boy, Percy, faltered for a moment, and shut his eyes.
Elaine looked at him in concern. Now that they were out of the hallway, she could see how deep the thorn had cut through his shoulder, leaving behind a gaping wound.
"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"
He opened his eyes and kept shuffling forward. "It's my shoulder." He said, sounding miserable. "It burns."
"My poison causes pain. I will not kill you. Walk!"
Thorn led them into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamp lights. The wind blowing through Elaine's sweater made her long for her coat that she didn't know she'd be needing that evening.
"There is a clearing ahead. We will summon your ride." Thorn said.
Ride?
"What ride would that be? Where are you taking us?" Elaine demanded.
"Silence, you insufferable girl!"
"Don't talk to her that way." The other girl said. Her voice shook, but it impressed Elaine that she had the nerve to say anything at all.
Dr. Thorn made a growling sound from the back of his throat that didn't sound at all human. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand, but she forced herself to keep walking.
"Halt."
The woods had opened up. They'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea.
Dr. Thorn pushed them toward the edge, causing Percy to stumble into Elaine. She circled an arm around his chest before he could hit the snow, making him wince from the pressure on his shoulder.
"Thanks." He mumbled.
"What is he? What do we do?" She asked with a lowered voice.
"I ... I'm working on it." He answered.
"I'm scared." The little boy said. He was fiddling with something a—little metal soldier of some kind.
"Stop talking, face me." Dr. Thorn commanded.
They turned to watch him retrieve a phone from his coat. "The package—it is ready to deliver." He said into it.
Percy looked behind them, trying to see below the cliff.
Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, son of Poseidon, jump. There is the sea. Save yourself."
"What did he call you?" The other girl asked, beating Elaine to the question.
