Growing Up In Tartarus: One Wrong Move

Chapter 26

**Katie's PoV**

I stopped short as the blood inside my body stopped, making it nearly impossible for me to move. Travis stopped walking beside me at the same time I stopped, and I wondered if he was feeling the same feeling I was. Was he feeling the blood in his body stop moving, too?

The look of confusion on his face gave away that I was the only one feeling it. The fact that I couldn't breathe suddenly started to get to my head and I leaned against Travis in an attempt to stay upright. It ended as soon as it had started though, and I let in a frantic gasp for breath as the blood flow allowed oxygen to flow into my lungs.

"What happened, Katie?" Travis asked worriedly, wrapping his arms around me in an attempt to keep me standing. I was still pretty wobbly on my feet.

"I could feel the blood stopping in my body," I said shakily, my voice a bit breathy. "I just stopped being able to breathe."

Travis continued to give me a worried look, even when I frantically pointed at Lou Ellen, the daughter of Hecate, as she fell to the ground. Was she feeling the same thing I had just been feeling? Will Solace ran over to her quickly, being the best friend and son of Apollo that he was.

"What the Hades is going on?" Travis muttered. "I really don't want to deal with people dying while we're trying to preparing for the biggest demigod war in forever."

I managed to gain enough strength to walk over to Lou a few minutes later, leaning down beside her as she struggled to catch her breath. The others seemed to see my labored breaths and let me through, easily figuring out that I had experienced the same thing Lou had. Will pulled a stethoscope out of his little portable first aid kit and placed it on my back, listening to my breathing.

"We need to figure out what is going on," Will said.

I watched as the people that had started gathering around us nodded. It seemed that the whole camp was surrounding Lou and me; Percy, Chris, and Silena were the only three that hadn't moved closer. I narrowed my eyes at the three of them.

**Percy's PoV**

I stared back at Katie, pretending to look confused as I saw her suspicious look. Inside I was panicking, but I couldn't let that show. I started to walk down the steps of the Poseidon cabin, trying not to stumble as I felt the full effects of the exhaustion I was feeling.

I had a feeling that I probably shouldn't have used the power I had on two people at the same time - at least not as soon as I had. I was not a very strong demigod (stronger than most, but that was beside the point). I knelt down beside Katie.

"You did this," Katie said accusingly.

I felt everyone turn to look at me, staring at me. Annabeth, Conner, and Travis seemed to be the only one that couldn't look at me. I once again feigned confusion at her actions.

"I don't know I could have done this," I lied easily. I guess being with the titan king gave you better lying abilities.

"I felt my blood stop," she said, standing up quickly. I watched her teater, and I assumed she was getting a pretty harsh headrush. "You are the only one person in this camp that can control liquids."

The entire camp was watching the exchange with anticipation. I watched as more and more people turned their own suspicious gazes on me. If I was going to get out of this and protect myself from Kronos's wrath later, I needed to come up with a believable excuse as quickly as I could.

"I've barely had any practice with my powers," I said after a few seconds. "You really think I would be strong enough to control the blood inside someone's body?"

She hesitated, realizing her accusation was completely uncalled for (though completely true, but she didn't know that). The others seemed to agree with me again, making them all stare at Katie. It wasn't like her to just accuse someone of doing something and here she was doing just that. She glanced at the floor sheepishly.

I pretended to be unable to move and breathe. I passed out from exhaustion as I stood there frozen. It made me wonder if the act I had just put on would look even more real now that I had passed out, too.

9/21/17