Hermione's POV

There was ringing in my ears. The table had exploded and threw us against the walls. I pushed myself up and looked around. There was smoke everywhere making it hard to see. Pieces of the metal table had flown and impaled themselves in the wall. Upon further observation, I saw that wasn't the only thing that they impaled. Percy was in his feet but holding the wall for support. Annabeth was standing and holding a knife, seeming completely unfazed by the explosion. Willa was in the process of rising. Rachel and Ron were sitting up on the floor. Philby was standing, but against his will. One of the pieces of the table had pierced through his arm and into the wall. And the pain on his face said that it had not missed. "Everyone ok?" Percy asked. Everyone responded in turn.
"Of course, Seaweed Brain."
"Yeah."
"I'm good."
"Fantastic."
"Yes."
"Um... That is debatable. Ow."
The last one was Philby's. The smoke cleared a little. There was a collective gasp as everyone realized what had happened. Willa started to head towards him but fell. Ron and Rachel had gotten off the ground and Willa rose again. Before anything else could happen, the building shook and everyone fell down again. I could hear the far off sound of police sirens. "We have to get out of here," I said. Philby tried to free himself, but he was stuck. "Hermione's right. And if the police find us, how do we explain what we're doing here?" Annabeth asked. Philby pulled the piece hard, but it held. Rachel instructed, "Philby, Ron, Hermione, and I have a reason to be here. We can say we were kidnaped and chased here. But Hermione would then have to leave too." Willa looked like she was about to object, but Percy interrupted, "Good plan, let's go." The 4 of us who were leaving started walking, but it quickly became evident that Willa was walking the wrong way. She walked up to Philby. "Willa," called Percy. Willa pulled the table part but it stayed in. "Come on," Percy begged. But she wasn't giving up. She grabbed the table and pulled with all her might. Philby cried out in pain but the piece was removed. He collapsed but Willa caught him. "Screw that plan, everyone OUT!" Rachel commanded. We left quickly, with Willa half carrying Philby. We exited out the back door. We ran (sorta) until we reached a parking garage. We stopped and sat down. "What now? I have no clue what to do. What do you guys think?" Percy asked. "What do I think?" started Willa, "I think we're screwed." I had the feeling she was absolutely right.

Ron's POV

We walked into the parking garage and up to the very top (by that I mean we took the elevator). We got to the top and looked down. Larry Ice Cream Parlor was surrounded by police cars. There was smoke all around. Philby sat down on a bench upon which he immediately passed out. We waited watching for about 10 minutes. Then Annabeth said, "What just happened? And don't tell me the table exploded. I got that part." No one had an answer for her. Because we didn't know. "Well my guess is that the table didn't just randomly explode. It was rigged," Philby said. Apparently he'd woken up. Looking at everyone's faces, I could tell I wasn't the only one who hadn't noticed. "But who rigged it?" Rachel asked. "I'll tell you who rigged it," came a voice from behind us. We turned and saw a muscular man standing there. We backed away as one, even Philby. I bumped into a wall that came up to my waist. I looked and felt lucky that wall was there because if it wasn't, I'd have fallen off the roof. The guy continued, "The being who rigged the table is the same as the being who set up your kidnaping." The fact that he used the word "being" concerned me more than anything. "Who are you?" asked Percy. "My name is Bruce, but I'm not in charge," said the guy. Bruce continued, "You'll be going down now. You'll see a throne. The being sitting on the throne is your captor. He wishes to speak with you." Suddenly the floor under our feet swung open. We fell down what felt like 10 stories. We hit the ground in a jumbled heap. We stood up together. It was kind of dark. "I'm glad you could make it," came a new voice that didn't sound entirely human. I turned and gasped. There was a throne. And sitting on the throne, was Pigwideon.