Annabeth was in the roadside gas station for all of five minutes before everything went horrendously wrong and to be honest, she really should have seen it coming.
Despite the fact she was traveling with six of of the strongest demigods of the century, three of which being children of the big three and two having a bad habit of exploding things, their road trip from California to New York had gone suspiciously uninterrupted from any of the mythological sort and relatively smoothly. Well, as smoothly as you could suspect with her present company.
And when they had pulled over to the little gas station in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas to refill on gas, Annabeth really thought it would be impossible for things to turn sour in the matter of minutes she had exited the car to get snacks and return. Obviously, she had overestimated the rest of the seven's ability to stay out of trouble with her momentary absence. How they managed to win the war she had no idea.
She had just picked up the bag of corn chips when the entire building shuddered with the unmistakable shock of a nearby explosion, sending her stumbling into the shelves and her hand flying to the dagger concealed in her boot.
With a weapon drawn and at the ready, her eyes flew to the window, scanning for the wreckage of the Delphi Strawberry Van and her friends that were surely running around on fire. But, it was skeptically serene. No monsters, no gods, no fire, just the bright blue sky and a very unexploded, parked delivery vehicle. The young cashier hadn't even glanced up from her magazine.
Another moment of calm passed and Annabeth cleared her throat and slipped the dagger back into it's hold just as the automatic doors slid open. Her boyfriend entered, the hood of his deep blue jacket drawn and dark shades firmly in place. With the guilty set of his lips, Annabeth groaned in exasperation.
She should have known one normal road trip with a group of friends was too much too ask for.
"What did you do?"
Percy frowned, and something was completely off about the way he did it - the way his lips curved and jaw clenched that sent odd shivers down her stomach. "What makes you think it was me?"
His voice was off too, a bit deeper, smoother, like water flowing over stones. Annabeth shook her head.
"Because it's always you. Who did you piss off this time?"
His next words were interrupted by a deep whine and Annabeth glanced down to notice the golden retriever that sat at Percy's heels for the first time. And when she said golden, she meant golden.
The dog's fur was the strangely familiar shade of sunshine, but the most noticeable factor, and slightly discerning, were the unnatural sky blue eyes the dog had. They had the same familiarity too, and she picked at her brain for a memory of the odd mutt but came up blank.
Her eyes focused on its slightly mutilated maw. "Percy, where did you get the dog?"
He chuckled nervously and the harmonious sound had her lightheaded. Yep, something was very wrong.
"Well, you see…" He trailed off, his hand scratching the nape of his neck, and the dog growled in such a way that made Annabeth think that if it could talk, it wouldn't be saying very nice things. "Um, I should just show you."
He was avoiding her wrath and they both knew it, but none the less, she followed him out the door, leaving the bag of corn chips forgotten, with the golden retriever on their heels.
Even his walking was slightly different, something she hadn't noticed when he came in. It was graceful - sure, smooth steps that reminded Annabeth of the slow dance of a peaceful stream.
Percy hesitated at the van door, but with the her expectant glare and the dog's sharp bark, he accepted his imminent death and slid it open.
Nothing could have prepared Annabeth for the sight that met her.
Her jaw fell open. "Hazel…"
Said girl was suspended in mid air, sitting criss-cross on the ceiling of the van as if she were on the floor, and her eyes positively glowing with electricity. Her golden hair was frizzed and extended with static, as if she had just tried jabbing a piece of metal into an outlet.
Hazel waved once, frowning and hands sparking. "Hey, Annabeth."
Annabeth stood gaping, weakly trying to form words.
Frank leaned forward from his seat. "Hi." And then his hand promptly caught on fire.
Annabeth stumbled, arms flailing in a very uncharacteristic manner at the absurdity, that obviously said Holy shit, dude! Your hand is on fire! Why aren't you panicking?!
But Frank only sighed, as if his hand spontaneously combusting was a regular thing, then said. "Leo?"
Leo leaned forward from the back row and twisted off the cap of a water bottle. Then in one smooth gesture of his hand, the water swirled from the bottle and dowsed the fire sprouting from Frank's fingers.
Annabeth's form wavered in awe for another moment, while her mind rapidly tried to produce an explanation for what she was seeing. Her eyes widened. "Oh gods…"
She swiveled on her heel and looked down at the golden mutt that stared back at her with bright blue eyes. She spoke softly. "Jason…"
Jason whined and the scar on his muzzle quivered.
Annabeth shook her head in attempt to clear, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. Another realization came to her. "Where's Piper?"
A voice sounded in her ear. "Boo."
Annabeth whirled around, searching for her friend, but only met the sight of empty space where Piper should have been. She was greeted with an exasperated sigh.
"I'm right here." Piper spoke sullenly from out of nowhere. Completely invisible to the blonde girl and seemingly disembodied.
"What…" Annabeth's voice died in her throat. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as her anger renewed. "What happened?"
Hazel scowled from her position on the ceiling and there was a crackle of electricity. She pointed an accusing finger at Percy, who seemed as if her were trying to disappear into the side of the van. "Ask him."
Annabeth faced him, crossing her arms and raising an accusatory eyebrow. Percy's brow furrowed and he sighed with resignation. Then, without warning, he tugged his hood free and his jet black hair drifted outward like a raven wing, perfectly tousled and catching an imaginary breeze only existent for him.
His sun glasses came off next and Annabeth almost gasped as the full force of the ocean, flashing like a wave caught in the sun, anchored into her own eyes.
His lips quirked into an attractive pout and the words were spoken in an extremely seductive manner which, a fact she would bet her life on, was totally on purpose. "Would you believe me if I told you it was an accident?"