A/N: Loves! Hello! I'm back, like Adele! Thanks for the patience, I'm taking AP courses that are very difficult and time consuming. Take heart though, because once my exams are over I will have more time for you! Cheers!

Elise

Disclaimer: Me, a small bumbling idiot, could not write the powerful texts that have been given to us by Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling. All characters belong to them.

Chapter 10: Escape

Percy's POV:

"Percy." Annabeth said slowly. "His arm. He has the dark mark."

Percy felt his blood freeze. It couldn't be. The dark mark was a thing of rumors. Rumors that were spread by whispers in the common rooms at night and in dark, deserted hallways. But as he watched the man turn away, he saw it with his own eyes. Harry had been telling the truth. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was returning.

"So Professor Quirrell. He really was… transporting You-Know-Who," Percy said slowly. Annabeth nodded.

Percy hadn't wanted to believe Harry, mostly out of fear. The boy had seen a lot down there, along with Hermione and Ron. He was hoping that their stories were woven from false memories, not the horrifying truth.

As quickly as the man had come, he disappeared in to the crowd of busy travelers. Grover finished talking to the flight attendant, who beckoned them through with a red lipsticked smile.

They walked through the tunnel and on to the airplane. They found their seats, all next to each other, Grover next to the window, Percy in the middle, and Annabeth in the aisle.A

Next, to him Annabeth exhaled deeply. He understood her anxiety. They were so close to their destination, they just had to survive the flight.

Annabeth's POV:

As the rest of the passengers boarded the flight, she kept an eye out for the wizard who had tried to kidnap Percy. Every time someone bumped her arm or put their bags in the bin above her, Annabeth cringed.

However, after 20 minutes or so of complete torture, the flight attendant's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Hello. Hola. Guten Tag. Bonjour. Welcome to Air France, flying from London to New York. This flight will be 5 hours and 30 minutes long, nonstop. Please make sure your luggage is secure overhead and your seatbelt is securely fashioned. Thank you."

The message cycled over the speaker in several languages before it stopped with a click and the plane began to move.

"Here we go," she whispered to Percy, who was gripping the armrests. "Are you okay?"

"I've never been on a plane and I'm scared of heights," he answered staring at the video screen on the seat in front of him.

"It's fine," Annabeth soothed him. "You'll be okay."

The plane began to travel faster down the runway, picking up speed and creating lift. The plane rose higher and higher but beside her, Percy began to relax.

"That wasn't so bad," he whispered to her. "Not at all."

"No," she smiled. "It wasn't."

5 hours and 30 minutes later the plane touched down on the JFK runway in New York City.

Annabeth retrieved her backpack and once they had gotten off the plane and out of the airport, it was getting dark.

"So where are we going Grover?" Annabeth asked.

"We're going to Camp Half-Blood," he answered. "A safe place for demigods, home of the oracle of Delphi, and the god Dionysus."

"The oracle?" Annabeth asked, astonished. "And… a god?"

"Couldn't have eased us in just a little there, Grover?" Percy smirked.

"There is no easing in. Once we get in a taxi it's going to be a mad dash to get there alive. You have to be prepared… and you have to expect the worst. You have to know the truth," Grover's face was hard.

"That's the thing, though, Grover. We don't know the truth. You won't tell us everything," Annabeth whispered, not staring at his face.

"It's to protect you. If you knew everything… you'd be more easily recognized by monsters. Just be patient, please. You'll find out once you get there. Come on," Grover pushed ahead of them, moving towards the side street where taxi drivers loitered.

"Are you okay, Annabeth? I hope you realize, Grover is right. It's better that we don't know."

"I know, I know. It's just… that's my fatal flaw, right? At least it's supposed to be. I constantly crave knowledge. It's like… it's like I'm starved of information. And it's this… awful scroll. It's a burden, Percy. It really is. All this information, we've killed to keep it safe, almost been killed keeping it safe. And it's all at my fingertips, just the pull of a ribbon and I could know everything. It's killing me, Percy."

"Here," Percy whispered, unzipping her backpack. "Let me carry it for a little while."

He took out the scroll and placed it into his own backpack and zipped it up.

"You're not the only one who has to carry this burden, Annabeth. It's for all of us."

He put his arm around her and they followed Grover, who had pulled over a gray taxi cab. Annabeth blinked, she could swear that the taxi looked almost as if it had been made of smoke.

She and Percy climbed inside where Grover was waiting. The front section had three seats which were occupied by three old ladies. They turned around, and Annabeth gasped.

They middle hag had one bloodshot eye in the middle of her forehead. The other two on either side of her had no eyes and they all smiled in sync. The driver had one yellowed tooth and she spoke like a 50 year smoker.

"Going to Camp Half-Blood, eh?"

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