Annabeth smiled as she slid the book to you. You leaned over the book, taking in the open pages.

The font was smaller than you expected, but you didn't mind.

You: Ah, which part would you like me to read?

Nico: Annabeth, I'll read it for you. No need for (Y/N) to do it.

Annabeth: I don't mean to offend you, but you speak too softly when you read aloud.

Nico: Fine. Then give me another shot at reading the textbook for you. This time, I will enunciate my words better.

Annabeth: Let's give (Y/N) a chance.

You wondered why Nico felt intent to take your place in reading.

You: Don't worry, Nico. I don't mind. Which section would you like me to read?

Annabeth: Thanks. Can you read the paragraph beneath the section "Gods' Influence in Budist Culture."

You read the paragraph outloud. There was not stutter. There was no unnecessary pause. You didn't even stumble on the names of the gods. Quite impressive.

After you finished the first paragraph, you looked up at Annabeth.

You: Is that all you wanted?

Annabeth didn't respond. She remained frozen.

You looked over to Nico for some help.

Nico wasn't very helpful. All he did was stare at you.

You: Um...

You slid the book in front of Nico.

You: Do you want to read? Yeah, I've read enough. You can read to her now.

Voice: You are a stellar reader, you know that? You should consider being one of those audio book recorders.

You lifted your eyes from the book to see the visitor.

You glanced over to Annabeth and Nico then looked at him.

You: Who is that? Is he another passenger?

Hunter: (chuckles) Don't worry about them. Time is frozen. It's just us.

You: Oh, good. I thought my cover was going to be blown.

[Smirking Hunter]

Hunter: Well, you don't have to worry about that.

You sunk slightly into your seat, afraid of his expression.

Hunter: Although I'd like to think you didn't mean to, you betrayed Leader. Within hours of receiving instructions, you turned away from them. You turned away from Leader.

You shook your head.

Stiffening in your seat, your mind buzzed with questions. But denying Leader further would be detrimental to your situation.

You: Turning away, what do you mean?

Hunter: It's like you didn't even want to consider following our instructions. I thought you were a team player, but then you turn around and start reading bedtime stories to the other side.

You: I'm confused. I don't understand how struggling to read would earn their friendship. I thought Annabeth would like me more if I were able to help her.

Hunter: That's where you're wrong. You think you know what is happening, but you don't. Don't you realize you don't know everything? You don't know everyone on this ship has a form of dyslexia and to some extent ADHD because of their genetics? They have a bond between them that begins with their DNA, which if they thought you were a part of, they would be much more likely to bond with you. But instead, you decide you are worth more to them when literate. How selfish of you?

You: I--I didn't know. Please, give me another chance. I can pretend to have ADHD. I can pretend to be like them. I want to make this right.

Hunter paused.  A shadow fell over his eyes. His breathing was slow and heavy.

Hunter: No.

You helplessly gazed at him, silently begging for his pity. His sympathy. His mercy. Anything that may save you.

Hunter: You have already proven your inability to cooperate. You regard instructions as recommendations. You are not one of us.

You: Please...please...give me one more chance. That's all I ask. Let me prove my loyalty to Leader.

Hunter shifted, putting his hands into his pockets.

[Hunter eyes down]

Hunter: I do not make the decisions. I do not think for myself. I am acting as Leader's will. Your efforts to persuade me otherwise are wasted and quite distressing.

You bit your lip to hold back another plea, realizing the lack of effect it had. Lowering your lashes, you awaited your fate.

Hunter: Leader has offered a chance of redemption. This time, listen to me and you could manage to regain Leader's favor.

You didn't lift your head. You stared at the textbook in front of you, praying Hunter would be gone when you looked up from the book again.

Hunter: Leader wants you out of the mission immediately. Leader demands you may not speak another word because you have already put the mission in jeopardy. Therefore, you are required to make an exit where you will not utter another word.

Hunter paused as though giving you an opportunity to speak. You didn't.

Hunter walked around the table and picked up the textbook in front of you.

Hunter: Oh, that Athena girl. Leader predicted her to hit the books after last night. I thought she'd start on Norse mythology.

Hunter closed the book then examined the cover as he walked around the table.

Hunter: Oh, that makes more sense.

He tilted the book so you could see the cover.

Hunter: This is a book that covers multiple parts. No wonder it is so heavy.

He stood behind Percy and opened the book to near the end. His eyes scanned the last page and smiled.

Hunter: Wow, 868 pages, this book is incredible.

As he clapped the book closed, his eyes turned to the back of Percy's head. Before you could protest, Hunter lifted the book behind his head and brought it down, slamming it onto Percy's.

Percy's body fell forward, stopping once his chest leaned against the table. 

Hunter: When I unpause time, I want you to 

Hunter: When I unpause time, you must begin screaming. You must begin banging on the walls. You may not say anything. You've said enough.

You looked down.

Hunter: Then, you must take the first opprotunity and jump off the side of the ship.

You: (gasp) Leader wants me dead because I made one mistake?

Hunter shook his head.

Hunter: It is not about one mistake. This is about the one mistake of many that will lead them to knowing that their family is in danger. Once their family knows, they will summon their armies and strive to destroy us.

You: The crew would find it odd I just went pycho and jumped off the boat.

Hunter: They barely know you. They would simply assume you were crazy.

You: Or I could simply not jump off the boat. If I just refuse to harm myself, you will be forced to, and they would know that I'm not crazy.

Hunter: You are correct. They wouldn't think you were crazy. Instead, I could keep them from spreading the word of the danger by blowing up the ship.

You: Blowing up the ship would alert their family of the danger.

Hunter: You aren't wrong there, but there is a chance no one would notice for a few hours or days. Either way, my side is protected from the radar of the gods. So, you should consider your choice wisely.

The choice was obvious. Either go crazy and jump off the ship or stay and get blown up. Neither option ended with a happy ending for you, so you decided to pick the one that wouldn't end everyone else.

After knocking out Percy, Hunter left you. Time resumed and you threw the book at Percy's head. Then, you pushed everything off the table, screaming as you did so. Screeching, you raced out of the room onto the dock. Eyes shut, you lunged off the side of the boat.

End Game.

Go to the chapter you came from (69, 71, 73, or 75) and choose to struggle to read.