CHAPTER 3: The Girl With The Snake Tattoo

Umm…uh oh.

The school teacher from the bus, whom smelled vaguely like bologna which I guessed, was from the school's meal for lunch. I could use a sandwich, preferably one without bologna…that stuff smells like a snake lady. Wait, crap! I realized that the school teacher was coming straight at me and the closest thing to a weapon around me was a Coke can on the side of the road; and even that was a couple feet away. As I was coming up with a battle plan, I glanced over at Barney, a mortal, getting the families out of harm's way. He looked at me and did something that injected courage right into my veins, he gave me the thumbs up and smiled. At that exact moment, I dove to the right, away from the can, and the snake lady howled in delight. I started running as fast as I could to Riptide, which had flown out of my hands when she hit a ground rule double with me. I did the signature baseball slide to Riptide and gripped it's hilt, ready for whatever the Girl with the Snake Tattoo could throw at me. Wait, snakes. Beauty. SNAKES? How didn't I realize this yet? Realizing what I was up against, I ran onto the semi destroyed bus and made my way to the back only to come to the conclusion of two things.

It was hotter than the Sun on the bus.

The emergency exit was jammed shut.

I think this classifies as an emergency. The school teacher got onto the bus and apparently my plan worked, because she looked extremely agitated with the temperature…or she was mad at having to chase me. As she made her way down the aisle, knowing I had nowhere to run, she started dragging her claws on the sides of the bus to show that she meant business.

"Ssssoon, I will be the one who killed Perccccyy Jackson." She hissed, but her mouth wasn't moving. That's not weird.

"Then, I will kill that sssstupid child outssside for what he did." Barney. Was the only thought that came to my brain, I couldn't let that happen. As much as he was crazy, he saved those people and now he was the one that needed saving.

"Do not worry Percccy, it doessssen't hurt to die…much."

After that sentence, goose bumps went up my neck as I realized the snake was talking and not the lady, with each flick of its tongue more taunts came from the snake while the woman had on a poker face made of steel. She was still towards the front of the bus with me at the back, so I took that as my chance to get a running start. I pointed Riptide straight at her and ran at her ready to stab her right in her ugly, well it was actually beautiful, body. Despite the temperature change, she still had lightning reflexes and sidestepped, swiping one of her claws at me. I jumped to the right just in time to barely dodge the striker, ripping my shirt, and stood on top of one of the blue bus chairs and sliced Riptide at her head. Her head dropped to the floor and she turned to golden dust, leaving behind the largest snake skin I've ever seen. Probably the worst spoil of war I've gotten thus far. I thought as I walked out of the bus and capped Riptide, looking really tired. The truth was that I haven't practiced in a long, long time.

I stepped off the bus and into the clearing where people were gathering. The clearing was just behind a small hill that was at the side of the road, it had grass that looked so green it looked artificial. There were a few flower clusters here and there, some white and some light ocean blue, and a few dandelions scattered like they were thrown in the wind and landed randomly. The front of the clearing was to the road, the back was to a small forest that looked calm with sun beams sneaking past the trees' leaves, and on one side there was a small pond that was what I expected it to be. By that I mean that you could tell it was water, but it looked a bit polluted from trash and other sorts, I walked up to it to see some fish swimming happily around in it as I picked up a small rock and skipped it across; only going a few feet because it wasn't a very large pond. I turned around to face the group and felt a cool breeze come from the forest on my back which was like diving into a swimming pool after the hottest day of the century. Some of the families in the group were together and consoling each other while others stood in silence wondering what had happened. I'm still not sure what they saw, but now I'm 100.657% sure it wasn't the Kool Aide Man giving a tired kid a drink of cherry kool aide. Hmmmm, I could use a nice refreshing drink now. I thought as I slipped into the crowd, hoping to go unnoticed like I was with them the whole time.

You might say something along the lines of this, "But Percy, why are you hiding? You're a bonafide hero! Go get your reward!" And this is about the time when I explain why I don't do that. See; let's just say people and I don't mix. And by that I mean mortals and demigods. Every time I do something "heroic" I end up looking like the bad guy. Like the time I blew up the Saint Louis Arch, or the time that tiger got loose in the Bronx, or when the hell hounds busted a wedding, well you get the point. I try to stay out of the public's eye, which isn't a problem seeing as how I don't like the limelight anyways. I stood alone in the back of the crowd but just enough so you knew that I was with the group. The bus driver decided now was a great idea to see if it was safe so he went up the small hill to the road. About ten minutes passed when he came back and said the bus was fixed and it was safe to go. There were a few cheers here and there, and everyone started heading up the hill. I did a quick head count to make sure everyone was there, I noticed the business man wasn't around but figured he would be on the bus. Barney wasn't around either, poor kid must have realized how much danger he was in and just needed some alone time, but I turned around to look for him to make sure he got to where he was supposed to go safely. It's the least I could do, the guy actually helped a lot. I turned towards the small forest to see his figure in the shadow of a tree and turn around quickly. I started walking towards him but decided to make sure everyone was on the bus first, which they had and were ready to depart. Okay, guess I'll walk the rest of the way. I watched as the bus started to slowly roll and drive off into the sunset, knowing I couldn't go with them in case I attracted more monsters. I made my way to the forest to look for Barney, when I reached the forest I noticed just how peaceful it actually was. The ground was shaded, but just barely so grass could grow, and the trees looked like the healthiest trees I've ever seen; besides the ones at Camp Half-Blood. I tried to look for any tracks that Barney left, there was barely a trace that he had been there but I saw a few footprints that looked like they were fading away. I decided to follow those as they were heading to camp anyways.

After a peaceful thirty minute walk in to camp through the forest, which seemed to be thinning out the closer I got to camp, I saw Barney standing underneath the shadow of a tall oak tree. He hadn't noticed me standing a few feet away from him, so I sat there and waited for him to notice me. He reached around to his pack on his back, and pulled out a water bottle that was crystal clear with bits of water on its side. He held it in his hand, looking at it for a good 30 seconds, then uncapped it and started chugging it like a mad man. As he drank the water, he titled his head back and took such a long drink it looked like he was going to drown in the small amount of water. When he finished the entire thing, he set the bottle in his bag, put his hands in his pockets and slowly started turning as he was about to walk in the direction he was heading. When he was in the middle of his first step, turning in the process, his eyes set on me. Okay, this may seem a bit weird to him. I started walking to him with a slight smile on my face and he had his cheesy smile going from ear to ear and he waved at me. As I got within comfortable speaking distance, I got my first good look at him.

The first thing I noticed about him were his eyes, they were dark brown like mud and had a sense of wonder and joy deep inside them. His eyes also had a deeper emotion hidden within them that someone would barely notice while talking to him, they held sadness. I was then that I realized his eyes were similar to some old war veterans I have seen before; with eyes that could brighten a room because of the wondrous joy, happiness and beauty they have seen, but darken it because having seen great loss and sadness just as much, if not more, than the happiness. He looked like he could provide an answer to any question, he looked…wise. His hair was dark brown like dark chocolate and was hanging loosely on his head; it looked like he tried to style it with his hands or a brush but gave up in the process and just let it do its own thing. His muscles weren't as toned as mine but you could see that he had some, barely above scrawny but appeared to be able to hold his own in a fight or any other physically demanding situation. His smile was cheerful, childish, and mischievous; it seemed like it could take away all of the pain in someone's heart, but it could also cause serious pain if he let it. He was slightly taller than me and had an air of about him that said "I know I'm a bit awkward, and I'm okay with that." He seemed like he would be really fun to hang out with on a weekend at a friend's house.

"Hey, I knew I should have taken that left at Albuquerque!" He said with a smile on his face, pointing to his left. "What are you doing here? Ya know, following someone in the forest may seem normal to you, but to me it screams creepy."

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me get those people out of there, you helped a ton." I said, wondering why he didn't stay around to get praise from the people he saved.

"Eh, it was nothing. Just trying to help out I guess." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, "What was that thing anyways? She looked like my old kindergarten teacher, except…ya know…with a giant snake for a pet and after I fired a spit ball at her again." He leaned on the tree, still smiling at me like I was supposed to get the joke or something.

"Yea, well, um it was um…" I paused for a second, wondering how to tell him, "It was—," I started but he interrupted me with a look of finally getting a punch line to a joke he heard 10 years ago.

"That was Lamia! I remember learning about her in class once." He paused, trying to remember what he learned, "I think she likes to prey on kids who are awesome— I mean bad." He stated, looking at the ground while remembering the fact then looking at me confused, "I thought she was just a myth?" Oh great…this question.

"Well, she is. But honestly?" I paused, looking at him and he nodded signaling for me to continue, "All of those monsters are real, they always have been. The Greek gods, their Roman aspects, the Underworld, Olympus…all of it. I'm not sure why you can see them though; usually it shields mortals from seeing them."

"What shields mortals?" He asked, looking like a confused dog.

"Mist." I stated simply.

"Missed what?" He asked, looking around like he missed something important.

"Ha ha, no. The Mist. M-I-S-T. It is kind of like a filter, it makes things understandable to mortals." I said, remembering my first lesson on the Mist, I still didn't understand it completely..

"But why can I see through it?"

"That's what I'm wondering, very few people can. And I mean few. There's a place I'm going to, I think you should come with. We'll be safe and figure out if you're what I think you are."

"I'm not a monster." He said, looking a bit taken back by my assumption.

"No, I just think you might be something, um, special."

"Ummm, okay. Try not to sound too cryptic there. Where are you heading?"

"It's called Camp—."

"Half-Blood?" He asked and I have to say, this guy keeps shocking me more and more with each conversation we have. "Because, well, that's where I was told to go, something about training. I'm not really one for going into the army, just the games for it! Didn't really want to go but someone convinced me and he said it would be fun, and of course…" He paused and gestured to himself, "I'm all for having fun." He said with a huge smile and a gleam in his eyes.

"Yea, it can be pretty fun, that's actually where I'm heading. Wait, who told you to come here?" I asked him; Shouldn't a satyr be with him?

"Oh, um, just a-a friend." He said and tried to avoid eye contact with me. He isn't going to tell some stranger his life story the first time they meet, baby steps Jackson.

"It'll be much safer if we go together, it's about half a day's walk there." I said, looking at him with a smile on my face, "Up for the challenge?" I was hoping we could go together for his sake; plus I was a bit lonely and wouldn't mind a conversation with him now.

"Sure, why not!" he said while slinging his bag on his shoulder, "Let's get going! Allons-y!"

So we walked for a really long time, it felt like 10 days but it was probably a few hours. Talking to Barney was like taking a Math test in slow motion with no hands… frustrating. I explained to him what Camp Half-Blood was, about the gods, monsters, training, cabins, and the people there. When we got to the subject of cabins he asked "So, that means that you have brothers and sisters? Well half-brothers and half-sisters."

"Yea, why?" I asked him, a little confused on why he would ask this question about his siblings as opposed to the monsters or Mount Olympus or even how they got here with the movement of the West.

"Do you have friends there?" He asked again, ignoring my previous question.

"Yea tons." I told him and saw his small smile as he simply said, "Cool."

The rest of the walk was pretty normal, well define normal with Barney. He has a weird sense of humor, but I caught some of his jokes and thought they were pretty clever. I could tell he was a pretty fast thinker, even for someone who looked like they had a severe case of ADHD and a sugar rush. I picked up small details about him so I could try and get to know him. He likes running, joking around, playing games, hanging with friends, dancing, bread, food, girls, baseball, holidays, the words pumpernickel and milk, and well come to think of it…this guy likes everything. I asked him if there was anything he didn't like and he stared at me like I was Hades in a swim suit having a pool party with Aphrodite dressed as a manticore.

"What's there to dislike?" He asked me, I listed some of the usual stuff.

"Oh ya know, monsters, death, loss, heights, snakes, poodles, clowns, gods in an angry mood."

"Without the bad stuff, how can we appreciate the good stuff we have? The two go hand in hand; one without the other is like Batman without Robin. So in my eyes, all of it is good in the long run. No matter how we feel about them at one moment." He told like it was common knowledge. I looked around and we could see the pine tree, marking the camp boundaries, in the distance.

"There it is, we are almost there."

"I thought you said this place was close?" I was wondering the same thing.

"Maybe you just walk slow?"

"Or maybe you are horrible with distances."

"Touché"

"Wait, don't I have to sign up for the camp? I don't have parents so I can't get them to sign a permission slip, I can't just walk up there and act like I've been there all along. I tried that at a school once, I actually lasted pretty long until they found the gravy covered banana." Wait, what?

"No, don't worry. We'll figure it out when we get there." I told him, wondering how everyone would take the news of me leading a possible mortal into camp…I was hoping I was right about what I thought he was; and it was definitely not a mortal.

(A/N) Got a couple things to say since I haven't updated in a bit due to problems I've been having. School problems, life problems, computer problems, you know...just everyday life for a teen I guess. Anyways, I'm stuck to updating/writing from school only so I won't be able to write as frequently as I wanted to. Hopefully this changes by the end of the month or middle of next month. I was having a major case of writer's block after last chapter and got some inspiration from a song I heard yesterday on Pandora. Sorry but this chapter is mainly a filler, since I wanted to expand a bit on Barney but I wanted to connect the dots on how they got to camp. Hopefully next chapter picks up a bit as that's where he plot kicks in, hopefully. I may have a short story about Barney's back story later, to explain why he acts the way he does, I've actually thought it out and I think it's rather good. I may change perspectives for a bit later, to give me a chance to write for other people. Also, since daughterofthehunt mentioned it, I got rid of the bold font and replaced Percy's thoughts with italics instead. I want to thank you all for reviewing, following, and my gods even some people favorited my first story! It really means a lot and has driven me to write more. Also, bit more dialogue in this chapter. Also, don't forget to vote on who you want to join Percy on the quest!

So far Barney, and Annabeth are joining him for sure. That leaves 2 more spots! GO VOTE OR TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL!