Lucas watched Thalia freeze on the other side of the cabin window. Her eyes, storm-grey and rimmed with sleepless shadows, locked onto him like he might vanish if she blinked. For half a second, she didn't move. Then the door cracked open, hinges creaking, and she dragged him in with a force that said more than any greeting could.
The door slammed shut behind him. Inside, Cabin One felt colder than the surrounding woods, and not just because of the temperature. The stone walls drank the warmth from breath and skin alike. At the center, the statue of Zeus loomed in silence, its bronze eyes catching the lantern light and reflecting it back, the cold, lifeless eyes looking down upon them all, creating an atmosphere of solemnity.
Luke and Annabeth scrambled up from the edge of the bunk when they saw him get dragged in. Annabeth's hair was a wild tangle, a mess that revealed her stress. Luke's eyes bore a resemblance to Thalia's, sunken and sleepless.
The only sound was the latch sliding back into place as Thalia bolted the door. That seemed to be the trigger as Annabeth threw herself at Lucas, hugging him. Tears poured from her eyes as she embraced Lucas, shaking as she did so. Luke didn't embrace Lucas like Annabeth; they simply exchanged fist bumps, but the movement of his arm allowed Luke to glimpse the tattoo on his neck. Lucas shook his head, silently telling Luke not to ask, while adjusting his jacket to cover the mark. Luke nodded, knowing some stuff shouldn't be spoken about, especially in camp during the recent period.
Thalia came after closing the door and punched his arm, not enough to actually hurt him, just enough to show her version of affection.
"Ow," Lucas rubbed his shoulder in exaggeration. "That hurt. If you're this abusive with me. I'm amazed Luke is still alive."
The small joke caused Thalia to scoff, but a small smile did creep onto the corners of her mouth. It also warmed up the cabin. Lucas patted Annabeth's back and gently pushed her to step back. She wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to look annoyed at him for making her cry.
They settled around the heater in the corner, as far from Zeus's cold bronze stare as possible. Lucas and Luke sat on the floor, backs against the bunk. Thalia perched on the bed beside Annabeth, who tucked her knees to her chest.
When no one spoke first, Lucas did. "How bad is it?"
Luke's mouth twisted, both in frustration of their circumstances and the mild amusement of how Lucas can pick up on the most minor details to understand the bigger picture. Thalia let out a short breath through her nose, too tired to answer. Annabeth shifted closer to the heater.
"Kratos is tightening everything," Thalia said. "All we do is train, patrol, train again. No volleyball, no campfires, not even arts and crafts. Chiron tries to talk him down, but it doesn't work. Mr. D's just pretending to nap through the whole thing."
Luke's jaw clenched. "And that's just the camp rules. With us, he's worse."
Annabeth's voice was small but clear-cut. "We can't contact the outside world; we are kept under supervision at all times and are subjected to inspection at random times."
Lucas watched as her hands fidgeted on her knee. The old camp had been full of training, but it was also mixed with relaxation and joy; it was not just a place to grow physically, but spiritually too. Now, from the sound of it, the camp had lost its soul.
Wanting to lift the weight for a moment, Luke forced a crooked grin. "How'd you even get in? If you'd just walked through the border, Kratos and his dogs would have alerted us to your return."
Lucas matched his grin, though his felt heavier. "I didn't walk through the border."
He explained what he had been doing since they last met.
How Lucas made a deal with their old acquaintance, Plutus. The name caused Luke to frown in displeasure and Thalia to scoff.
He explained how he was hunted down, but didn't voice his guesses about the origins behind some of these battles. However, Luke must have noticed something odd, as his brows furrowed in thought.
When he got to his journey back to the Sea of Monsters, nearly dying at the hands of Medea and Poseidon, constructing the haven, and finally, how he and Elizabeth fell into the Labyrinth, the trials he had to go through, and the traps he survived.
When he finished, silence settled again. Lucas truly had an eventful time away from camp; meanwhile, they were trapped here. Not only did they want such adventures too, but the fact that their closest friend could have died and they wouldn't have been there to help stung them.
Thalia drummed her fingers on the bunk's iron frame. Annabeth frowned, eyes darting from Lucas to the floor.
"That doesn't answer Luke's question," Annabeth said finally, her voice steadier than before. "How'd you come out of the Labyrinth, to camp?"
Lucas's lips curved faintly. He confirmed the answer already forming in her eyes.
"There is an entrance to the Labyrinth here at camp, me and Elizabeth entered from there."
"Wait, both of you? Where's Elizabeth?" Panic seeped into Annabeth's voice. Though she hadn't met her, Lucas had told them how close he was with her, and so she had a good opinion of Elizabeth.
Lucas lifted a hand, waving it casually."Don't worry, she's at the entrance, waiting for me to return. It's pretty well hidden, so she won't be found."
Thalia tilted her head, suspicion blooming behind her eyes. "Where is it?"
Lucas's grin turned sly. "The Poop Pile."
Luke blinked. Annabeth's brow furrowed. Thalia squinted, then barked a single laugh.
The Poop Pile was the unofficial name the campers gave to Zeus' Fist behind Chiron's back, for while it may look like a fist from a certain angle, it really just resembles a pile of poop.
"Impossible, if there was an entrance there then it should have been found ages ago," Thalia muttered.
Then some light seemed to come alive behind her eyes.
"If it can bring you into camp undetected, maybe it can help me leave."
This caused some pause. Everyone turned to look at Thalia, dumbfounded, with Luke sporting a half-frown.
"I'm not going to stay here trapped waiting for the gods to decide if they should kill me or just lock me up. If that Labyrinth can allow me an escape to freedom, then I'll take it."