Chapter 7- I meet the cops

Percy's POV

I wake up the next morning and Annabeth is gone. I look at my clock on my wall. It is eight o'clock. I get up and change clothes. I smell something good. My mom must be up cooking. I walk out to the kitchen.

"Hey mom, what are you making?" I ask half asleep.

"Hey sleepy head, I'm making your favorite, blue waffles. How was your night sleep?" My mom asks with her back to me.

"It was good except Mrs. O'Leary woke me up to take her out last night. Where is Paul?" I ask. To tell you the truth I want to change the subject.

"Paul went for to the store. He checked on you about seven. You were sound asleep." When she said that I almost dropped my waffle I was eating. I recover fast.

"He said you were out, but your window was open. Why do you think it was open?" Annabeth must have gone out of the window. I don't want to lie to my mother, but to protect Annabeth I'll do it.

"The window wasn't open when I woke up."

"Paul closed it. Now why was it open?" Before I could lie there was a knock at the door. My mom turns the waffle maker off and heads for the door. She opens it up. There are two men in suits standing at the door.

"Hello Manhattan police department. We need to talk to your boy." The police step into the apartment. "We have a missing person case. The person is a girl named Annabeth Chase. She ran away last night." As soon as they said that I dropped my breakfast. I pick my breakfast up and put it in the trash.

"What do you think happened? Do you think she was kidnapped?" I started blabbing answers even though I knew what happen. I was putting my best acting face on.

"We need to ask some question. It would be best helpful if you corporate with us." We sit down. My mother is to my left and the cops in front of me.

"Where were you last night?" The cop with dark, brown hair said. He has a note pad and a pen in his hand.

"Are you accusing me of kidnap?" I say trying to change from that. The guy taking notes looks me in the eyes.

"We are just giving you an alibi. Where were you last night about midnight?" I could just say I was asleep, but I don't want to be in bigger trouble.

"I was asleep. No, scratch that-"The cop was writing down what I said then scratched it out. "- My dog was barking, so I took her for a walk. Then I came back and went to sleep." The cop who was sitting in silence finally speaks.

"Where is this dog?" He has a quiet voice. I can tell he either gets yelled at a lot, or he is new to the job. I get up and walk to the window. I pull the curtain back and point to where Mrs. O'Leary sits. I see something move. First I think it is Paul, but I look more closely I see blond hair. Annabeth must be hiding or something. The cops look out. I need to get them away from the window.

"Why does your pet poodle need a dog house that big or is it for hiding someone?" The stern looked cop says. We walk back to the couch.

"I'm not hiding anyone. If you want to accuse someone accuse Annabeth's step-mother. She is one mean person. The one time I was at her house her mom said she didn't care if she was died. I wasn't allowed to take her upstairs." I say trying to get off the subject of hiding someone.

"Why were you going upstairs? Were you going to do something?" The cop said. Ewww gross.

"Ewww, no, She fell and hurt her ankle. I was being nice and took her home. She could barely walk. Oh I forgot to feed Mrs. O'Leary. Be right back." I grab the bag of cow meat in a fringe. "I need to go feed Mrs. O'Leary." I run out the door and down the stairs. I head straight to the dog house. I look up at the window to the house. Strangely the cops aren't watching me.

"Annabeth the cops are at my apartment. You need to run from here." I pour the meat into Mrs. O'Leary's food dish.

"I was walking towards the gate when I saw the cops. I didn't know what to do. I ran back here, and the cops came here, but didn't see me. Then the cops headed towards your apartment. I came here to hide. How did you know I was here?" Annabeth peek out from inside the dog house. She looks up at my window and came out.

"I'll tell you what they have told me. They said someone has reported you missing. They said you left about midnight. I think they think something is up with us. If they ask about your past do you want me to say something?" I ask. I want to stay on her good side.

"Don't say anything. I'm going to stay here till they leave. Come get me when they leave. Talk to you later." She crawls back into the doghouse. Mrs. O'Leary starts to bark.

I head back upstairs. The cops are sitting on the couch drinking coffee. I look at my mom, and tell she is worried.

"Now getting down to business. Was Annabeth acting weird lately?" The cop wrote down his question.

"What are your names?" I ask. I have no idea what to call them.

The one with the pen and pad tells me his name is Officer Kirk and his quiet partner is Officer Fred.

"Now back to my question. Was Annabeth acting weird lately?" Officer Kirk asked. I look up like I'm trying to remember, but I am just trying to come up with a white lie.

"Now that I think of it, she has acted strange around this guy Luke. I don't know why." I hope they don't find out about anything.

"Do you know if she is in a relanstionship?" Officer Fred asked in a louder voice.

"No, she just moved here. I don't think she would start in one right off the bat." I wish she was in one with me. I see my mom gets up and leaves the room.

"Do you know who her friends are?" Officer Kirk asks. I think they are switching place asking the questions.

"Me, Thaila, Nico, Grover, and Malcolm. I'm her closest friend." I reply.

"Well, if we get any information we will tell you." Officer Kirk said as he stood up. "Don't leave town." They left. I looked out the window. I saw them drive away. I grab some stuff from the fringe for Annabeth. She is probably hungry.

I run to the doghouse. I see Annabeth is sitting at the back of the house with her backpack in her lap. She is holding something in her hand. I walk in. As I get closer I see she is wet.

"Don't cry. The cops are gone. I brought you some food. What do you think is your best move now that the cops are after you?" She picks up the burger. She takes a monstrous bite out of it.

"I think I'm going to flee west. Not shore where I'll go, but it's better than being on the run from cops, or wait till Monday and stay at school twenty-four seven. I'm still making a plan." She takes another big bite out of the burger. "No madder what I do you will always be my seaweed brain." I see a tear roll down her cheek. Seaweed brain where did she get that idea?

"Do not cry on me. I don't think I said anything that could give you away, but I think you should wait it out till Monday. Stay clear of the bus. I'll walk with you to school, and I'll play it by ear. Got it?" Stay strong Percy. Stay strong. I look up and I see that she nods. She puts her burger down and pulls me into a hug. I don't know what to do, but I hug her back.

"I'll stay here till Monday. I hope I'll be safe. But if things get bad I'm going to flee as a plan B." She picks her burger back up. I try to cheer her up. It kind of works. I get her to smile.

"I wish I could stay, but I need to head back inside. Are you going to be ok?" I look at her in the eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. As long as Mrs. O'Leary doesn't come in to sleep." She pulls me into a hug. I get up and walk back to the apartment.


Annabeth's POV

I woke up about seven o'clock. I got up and started to pack. I was just opened the window about to push the screen off when the door started to shake. I looked around for a hiding space. I saw the closet door was open, so I darted for it. The door opened quietly. A tall man with pepper color hair walks in.

"He is fast asleep." He whispers to himself. He walks over to the window and shuts it. He turns looks at the closet. Then he turns and walks out the room. I didn't realize I was holding my breath in, but I let it out. I waited a few minutes to walk out. I go to the window and open it. I pushed the screen and climbed out. Before I climb down the fire escape, I get a last look of Percy's bedroom. I close the window and put the screen back on, and I start to climb down.

I get all the way down. I start to creep to the front of the building when I spot a cop car. I turn and dash toward the dog house. It looks like the biggest thing I can hide in around. The doghouse entrance is big enough that I can walk in. Lucky for me Mrs. O'Leary was in a good mood.

"Fred do you think someone could hide in that doghouse over there?" I don't hear a response, but I hear footsteps coming in this direction. I get in a running position, because I'm not giving up without a fight. I look over Mrs. O'Leary. The cops' faces tell me they can't see me.

"No one is in here. It's just a poodle. Let's head up to the boys apartment." I see them turn, and walk off. Mrs. O'Leary gets up and walks to her play area. Why did the cops saw a poodle instead of a hellhound? Didn't Percy tell me something about mist that can protect people's minds? I'll sit here for a little while. Then I'll make a run for it. I decide to leave now. I walk out and look up at the window and see the curtain move. I run back in. I'll wait longer. I sit for awhile. Then I hear footsteps coming my way again. I don't get up this time.

It is just Percy with a big bag of meat. He starts to pour the meat into a dish. "Annabeth the cops are at my apartment. You need to run from here." You don't think I don't know.

"I was walking towards the gate when I saw the cops. I didn't know what to do. I ran here, and the cops came here, but they didn't see me. Then the cops headed towards you apartment. I came here to hide. How did you know I was here?" I said in one breath. I was getting worried if they saw. I peeked up at the window. No one was there. I crawled out because I was still on my hands and knees.

He told me that someone head reported me missing. I bet it was my dad. He told me other stuff. He better get back or they might come down.

"If they say something about your past do you want to say something?" Percy ask.

"Don't say anything. I'm going to stay here for a little bit. Come get me when they leave. Talk to you later." I crawl back in I get comfy in the back. I've been here for a while. I don't know how long because my dad never has let me have a cell phone. I know now it is because they attract monsters.

I pull out my pictures of my father and me from when I was little before he married that witch. I start to cry. I don't want to, but I do. We were so happy. We were on vacation at the beach. I was soaking wet from the beach water. We were laughing. Who took the picture? I don't remember. I start to cry. I'm crying so much that I don't realize Percy comes in with something in his hands.

"Don't cry. The cops are gone. I brought food. What do you think is you best move now that the cops are on to you?" Percy sounds so concerned for me. I pick up the burger and take a big bite out of it. It tastes good.

"I think I'm going to flee west. Not shore where I would go. But it is better than running from the cops, or wait till Monday and live at school for twenty-four seven. I'm still making a plan." I take another bite of my burger. "No madder what I do you will always be my seaweed brain." A tear runs down my cheek. I start to think about how much I'll miss my crush.

"Do not cry on me. I don't think I said anything that could give you away, but I think you should wait it out till Monday. Stay clear of the bus. I'll walk with you to school, and I'll play it by ear. Got it?" I nod not able to say a word or I could start to tear up. This isn't like me to cry this much. I pull him into a hug without thinking. I need some comfort that I never got being a kid.

"I'll stay here till Monday. I hope I'll be safe. But if things get bad I'm going to flee as a plan B." Percy starts to cheer me up. It works. I start to smile.

"I wish I could stay, but I need to head back inside. Are you going to be ok?" I look at her in the eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. As long as Mrs. O'Leary doesn't come in to sleep." I try to make a joke. Percy smiles. I pull him into another hug before he leaves.

I crawl up and go to sleep.