I stared out the window of the train station as we waited for our train to arrive. My mind raced over everything Chiron had told us as we'd been driven by Argus to the station. Don't ask them about their past. Don't talk about your own past. And for goodness' sake, don't mention the gods or Olympus! Surely they couldn't be that bad. Even Luke -it still hurt to think of him- hadn't been that sensitive.
"Annabeth." And there it was, the voice that invaded my dreams and made my heart race. Turning my head away from the window, I found myself looking into breathtaking sea-green eyes. I never told him so, but Percy was the most gorgeous young man I'd ever met.
"Yes?"
"The train's here," he said.
Getting up from my seat, I grabbed my suitcases, despite Percy offering to carry them. He had his own bags to worry about, and I told him so.
"Are you sure? It's not too much trouble if they're too much for you."
"I'm fine," I insisted. "I'm not helpless."
"I know you're not."
I paused and looked over at him. The way he was looking at me, I thought I was going to melt right then and there. Instead, I smiled at him and teased, "Seaweed Brain."
Not even two minutes later, Percy, Nico, Thalia and I were seated, riding out of New York, headed southwest. The train was pretty crowded but it would clear out as we made stops along the way. Once we reached Philadelphia, it would be a straight shot to Chicago where we'd have to switch trains again. It was a lot of hassle, but it was better than being blown out of the sky by a lightening bolt.
We ended up playing cards to pass the time. Unfortunately, it only lasted an hour before we got bored. The thing about demigods, our ADHD doesn't allow us to sit quietly playing cards for more than an hour. Nico was out of the game after the first twenty minutes. I guess it was worse for younger half-bloods than older.
Once the cards had been put away, we each did our own thing. Nico occupied himself with several comic books. Thalia slept. I envied her ability to sleep anywhere. I wondered about what we'd be facing. And Percy, I have no idea what he did. All was quiet, mostly.
But the quiet didn't last long.
"What are you thinking about?"
I jumped when I felt Percy's breath on my ear. Turning towards him, my breath hitched when I found him so close. My mouth felt dry and, for once, I couldn't think of what to say. He must have realized that because his smile reached all the way to his eyes. Leaning forward, I was forced to suppress a shiver as his cheek brushed against mine. I smiled warmly at the feel of his lips against the shell of my ear.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I teased, though quietly. I didn't want to alert Nico to what we were doing.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I would," Percy countered as he placed a line of kisses down from my ear to the end of my jaw. One of his hands settled on my knee before slowly sliding up.
Frowning, I grabbed his wrist, stopping his hand from moving any further up. "Percy Jackson, what do you think you're doing?" I demanded, trying to use anger to mask just how flustered the action had made me.
"Nothing." He sounded far too innocent and looked far too innocent. It was only then that I realized he'd done it, not to see how far he could get, but to make my flustered.
I glared at him then, releasing his wrist, turned away. I wasn't really angry, just trying to get control of the blush that had formed on my face. It felt like it was on fire. I didn't get much chance though because, a couple seconds later, I felt strong arms wrap around me. "I'm sorry," Percy whispered. The feeling of his lips against the side of my neck brought my blush back full force. I hoped he didn't know how much of an effect he had on me. "What is it you were thinking about?"
"This school," I told him, still looking out the window. "I know how dangerous half-bloods can be if they turn against the gods but… A whole school? I just find it very hard to comprehend that so many could..."
"I know," he said. "But we don't know the whole story. For all we know, it could all be a big misunderstanding. Or maybe it's just a few of them."
"I hope you're right."
I truly did hope he was right. I didn't say so but I didn't think I had the strength to go through with another situation like we had with Luke.
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind." Chiron had warned us it would be isolated but Percy said what we were all thinking. Having grown up in New York, or near it, I think Thalia was the only one comfortable with the fact that we were in a town with less than two hundred people and the nearest neighboring town was fifty miles away.
"So, where's this school?" Thalia asked.
I looked around. The town consisted of shops and a few houses on either side of a single street. There was a grocery store, a butcher, a post office and a few other shops but no school. So, there was only one thing we could do: Ask for directions.
Gathering up our bags, we walked away from the train station, trudging through the slush caused by the salt trucks. We headed for the first place which turned out to be the post office. Walking in, it had like getting hit by a wall of hot air. The contrast between the biting cold outside and the warmth inside made it feel like my skin was on fire as we walked up to the counter.
"Excuse me," I said to the middle-aged man behind the counter.
"Yes? What can I do for you?" he asked.
"I was hoping you could give us directions," I told him. "We're looking for-" I dug a piece of paper out of my pocket. Chiron had given it to me before we'd left. It contained the name of the school and the principal's name. "Ovatrua Boarding School."
The man's eyes darkened and, for a second, I felt my stomach drop to my feet. Please, don't let him be a monster, I silently pleaded. I hadn't slept well on the train and had very little energy. Plus, we still needed to get to the school and get settled in. And that's assuming we don't have to fight anything or anyone.
"You should stay away from that place," he warned us. "Ever since that school was built, strange noises have been comin' from those woods, gun shots, people go missing. I'm telling you, it's a bad place."
"We don't really have much of a choice," Percy told him.
The man shook his head. "They always say that," he muttered. "Follow the road out of town. You'll come to a fork in the road. Take the right turn, the dirt road. Follow that and you can't miss the school."
"Alright. Thank you," I said before picking up my bags again.
We left the post office, and its warmth, and started walking. I think we would have agreed to take a break if we knew we'd be walking for miles to reach the fork in the road. By the time we finally did reach it, my teeth were chattering, my limbs felt like they were made of stone and the sweat from the walk had frozen to my skin, making me all the colder. Judging from the others' faces, they were feeling the same.
But we didn't stop. We had to keep going. We had to make it before sun down, before the temperatures plunged even further.
We turned off the main road, walking down the dirt road. No one spoke. I guess we were all too tired and cold to try to break the silence that settled over us. We followed the road for what felt like forever but, when we turned a corner, the road came to an abrupt stop. It didn't go anywhere. It just ended. If the others hadn't been there, I probably would have broken down and cried out of sheer frustration.
But, it was a good thing the others were there otherwise I might not have noticed the path.
"Great. What now?" Thalia demanded, looking around. "Do we just stand here and hope they send out a search party to look for people they don't even know are coming? I vote we go back to town and beat the crap out of that guy in the post office."
"It would take too long to get back to town," Percy pointed out. "It would be well after dark by the time we got back. Besides, we're too tired to make it back."
"Well then what do you suggest?" she snapped. "We just stay here and freeze?"
"I suggest we keep looking for the school." I could hear he was starting to lose his temper as well. They were too alike for their own good.
"Until when? Until one of us freezes to death?"
"Uh guys?" Nico piped up.
Both turned to glare at him. "What?" they demanded.
"I found a trail," he said calmly.
He stepped aside to reveal a very narrow, barely visible path but a path nonetheless. Percy and Thalia stared at him for a few moments before glancing at each other, then away. I shook my head before walking over to Nico. "Lead the way," I said.
He nodded before starting down the path. I followed after him with Thalia behind me and Percy taking up the rear. As we walked, the only sound I could hear was that of our footsteps. Nothing else moved. It was like we were the only things left alive in a frozen forest. Nothing else existed.
Luckily, that illusion didn't last long. We had to duck under a fallen tree and weave around several half-fallen trees but, after we passed a clump of close-growing trees, we finally saw it. In the distance was an ordinary looking school. It was made of red brick and was three stories tall. There was a roughly thirty more yards of trees then a straight shot to the school.
I felt weak with relief. We had almost made it. I should have known better.
We quickened our pace, not by much but enough, hurrying towards the edge of the trees. However, the sound of low growling made us freeze. I turned my head. I mentally berated myself. With being so tired and cold, I'd let my guard down. Crouched low and moving closer, was a hellohound. It wasn't a big one but even small ones are bigger than an SUV.
We didn't even get the chance to defend ourselves because it didn't get the chance to attack. The moment it lunged at us, a round of gunshots rang out. With a yelp, the hellhound hit the ground and vaporized into golden dust.
I spun around, searching desperately for the person who had, undoubtedly, saved us. In doing so, I ended up coming eye to eye with the muzzle of a gun. I swear my heart skipped a beat. Looking past the gun, I saw that the young man who held it wasn't any older than myself. In fact, he looked a year or two younger but he made up for it. He had a hard look in his eyes, telling me that if I made a wrong move, he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
"No! Don't shoot! We're friends!" Percy said. I could hear the fear in his voice and, in that moment, I thought my heart would break.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the young man demanded, his amber eyes darting from one face to another.
"We're here to enroll," Thalia told him.
He watched us for several moments more before finally deciding to believe us and pulling the gun back away from my face. "Fine," he said. "Follow me."
He turned away from us and started to walk towards the school. Percy walked directly over to me wrapping his arms around me. I blinked in surprise, even more surprised when I felt him shaking. Sliding my arms around his waist, I held him tightly. I was fine, really, I was, and I wanted him to know that. "I'm ok," he told him.
He didn't say anything, only tightening his grip.
"Hey, are you two coming?" Nico asked.
Looking over, I saw that he and Thalia had already started to follow the, I assumed, student. I nodded before letting go of Percy. Reluctantly, I thought, he let go of me and retrieved his bags. Sticking close to each other, we followed after our friends and our soon to be classmate.
