OMG thanks for the reviews! And thank you muchly to luis1113 for reviewing like,,, 5 times! Haha you are the best for that 3 anyway because you have made me so happy I have been pulled into a great writing mood and I hope I don't disappoint you here is the next chapter.
"Road trip! Road trip!" Jayden shouted excitedly as he entered the big blue truck.
Ten minutes later Jayden fell into a complete snore fest in the back seat of the truck. Aw he's just like a little baby! I remember my babysitter would drive around whenever I wasn't tired and then I would fall asleep in a snap. I turned from my spot in the front seat and laughed at him using Annabeth's shoulder for a pillow. She didn't seem to mind all that much.
"So how far is it to Olympus?" I asked Grover.
"Not far…" Grover added with a smile.
"That doesn't really answer my question."
He laughed and looked at me. "It'll take a few hours."
"You're kidding me." I whined.
"Ok! I can't take it anymore!" I heard Percy cry from the backseat. I turned and saw that baby Jayden had curled up his legs and was shoving Percy against the door. Every once in a while his feet would jerk and kick him a little bit.
"Aw. Now there are two babies in the vehicle." Grover crooned like a mom.
"Shut up." Percy muttered. Then he finally growled in defeat and crawled up to the front so he was in between me and Grover. He looked at me and I just laughed. "What?"
"I might fall asleep on you up here so there was no point really. Wait. No. I guarantee it." I replied simply.
Percy smirked and rolled his shoulders. "You can use my shoulder for a pillow anytime Janine."
"Whoa man nuh uh! Since when do you think you got game Perc?" Grover replied.
"I never said that." Percy shrugged innocently.
I pushed his shoulders. "Whatever." As if the kid would like me anyway. Percy told me he had ADHD, so I bet that's most of it. Plus, I'm the daughter of Hades. I'm lucky enough to have friends.
I was really starting to hate Jayden. Not really, I love Jayden, but seriously man! Do you have to go to the bathroom every thirty minutes? Anyway, we pulled over at this gas station so Jayden could do his… business.
This gas station was sketchy. Everything was old and the paint was peeling off of it. Junk surrounded it and dust was caked on the gas meters. Grover couldn't even read how much gas he was putting in the tank.
I walked around to stretch my legs. I was wandering around the side of the building, but I kept myself in view of the truck. Is that a baby stroller? Oh God.
"This place is creepy." Percy said as he approached me.
"I know. I feel like I'm in The Hills Have Eyes." I shuttered uncomfortably.
Me and Percy wandered around a bit further towards the back of the building. There was a fenced out area, and I didn't want to know what was inside the fence. It seemed that Percy did, because he kept walking toward it.
"Are you bloody mad?" I asked. I grabbed his arm.
"Shush. I thought I heard something." Percy put a finger to his lips and continued to walk in a sneaky secret agent kind of way. I crouched behind him. His James Bond sneakiness wasn't settle on my nerves one bit. :/
I listened intently as we snuck our way to the fence. It sounded like little whimpers.
"Um, it's probably a dog. Let's leave it alone." I suggested.
"Shh!"
The whimpering continued, and my heart rate continued to pick up as we got closer. We rounded the final corner of the house. I peered over Percy's shoulder to see what was hiding in the backyard.
"Look at that." Percy pointed.
"Oh wow." I whispered. There was a little something in the far corner. I couldn't see its face because it's body was wrapped up in a dirty little blanket. Although, I could see a tiny Barbie doll being manipulated to look like it was walking.
I sighed and stood up straight. "It's just a kid, Percy. Let's leave her alone before your face scares her."
"Hey." Percy retorted, giving me a pouty face. Then he turned back around to watch the little child. "It sounded like she was crying."
I watched him watch her for a moment and then finally crouched down next to him.
"Hey, little girl. Is everything alright?" Percy called out to her. She responded by flinching pretty violently and cowering further into the corner.
"Percy!" I shouted, smacking his arm. "You're scaring her."
"How did I scare her?" Percy complained.
I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really? You're a boy. All boys are scary."
"What?"
"Ugh. Never mind. Just shush up." I ordered. Then I looked at the little girl and smiled. "Hey, sweetie. My name is Janine?" I cooed softly.
She flinched again, but more to turn her head more towards me so she could listen to me more. "Hmm?" I could barely here her.
I smiled. I grabbed the chain link fence to steady myself a bit. "Can you tell me why you were crying? Did you hurt yourself?"
I heard a little whimper that heard faintly like a no. she then slowly set the Barbie doll on the ground and began to turn very slowly towards us.
"What is your name, honey?" I asked.
Then she growled. It was like a growl, but more like a hiss.
"Did she just growl at me?" I asked in disbelief.
Percy put his hand on my waist. I looked at him in surprise. "Janine…"
I looked back and saw the girl facing us. Her face was shadowed by the blanket still around her, but there were two long, pointed black ears sticking out on either side of her head.
It happened in less than a second. The little girl shed her disguise and shot out at me. She hit the fence and bounced off, but not without lashing out at me with her claws and attacking my hand that was gripping the fence.
"Ow!" I cried. Percy grabbed me around the waist with both arms and pulled me back quickly. We both lay on the ground for a second, but Percy quickly got to his feet and pulled me up with him.
I finally got a look at the creature, and it was NOT a girl. I think it wasn't. Anyway, this thing had WINGS. It was covered with feathers and had a human face that was pure black with piercing red eyes. It looked absolutely gruesome.
"Go!" Percy shouted. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him. I couldn't help but look behind me. It leaped up and perched onto the top of the fence and screeched at me.
We raced around to the front and saw Grover leaning against the truck with his crutches and Annabeth and Jayden walking out with a grocery bag full of junk.
"Time to go!" I shouted. I heard another screech and saw the thing coming right behind me.
"Janine!" Grover shouted. "Watch out for the Harpy!"
"A what?" I yelled. I couldn't hear a reply because I felt two pairs of claws grip my hood and lift me off of the ground. I screamed and thrashed around helplessly. The thing was screeching in my ear as if to tell me to shut the hell up. Then I felt two delicate soft hands stroke my face.
"I will take you to Master." It crooned with a melodic voice that did NOT match its appearance.
"AH! You're master can suck an egg! Let me go!" I squealed.
"Janine!" someone shouted. My head whipped around and I saw Grover standing on the roof of the truck. His pants and crutches were gone. As we flew over him he leaped up like a total Globe Trotter and grabbed onto one of the Harpy's wings. It dropped me in the middle of the highway.
I hit the asphalt hard, falling into a barrel roll like I've see in action movies. Those movies were legit. I think otherwise I would have broken my legs. Thank you Jason Statham!
At first I wanted to just lay there, but I could hear Grover taking the Harpy down. I stumbled around for a bit and then ran over to help him. Annabeth and Jayden got there around the same time I did, and Percy came right behind them. He pulled out a pen and clicked it open, turning it into a giant sword.
"Who sent you!" Percy demanded, pointing the sword at the Harpy's throat. Grover, Annabeth and Jayden pinned her to the ground.
"Mwahaha!" it screeched with a menacing smile. Well THAT"S not creepy or anything… It then strained its head so it looked like it was completely upside down, staring at me. "You will be the key that brings all discord!"
"Ahhh kill the damn thing already." Jayden said, clearly uncomfortable.
Percy held the point of the blade even closer to the thing's throat. It just smiled, not taking its eyes off of me. Then it seemed to disappear into the pavement, leaving an outline of ash behind.
We stood there in silence for several minutes. I kept on standing there helplessly, like I had been the whole time. After a while, everyone turned and looked at me. We were all thinking the same thing.
What the hell did that thing want with me?
