"There she is! Euryale, I found her! Oh, this'll be easy, look how skinny and puny she is, Euryale!" a shrill voice shrieked.
Oh, gods.
Monsters.
I had only been in San Francisco for a few hours, and I already managed to attract some monsters. And judging by their names and their voice, they were gorgons. I didn't think they'd be too happy once they realized that I had partly helped kill their sister, Medusa.
I flew out of my seat and reached up my jeans to grab my dagger that was strapped to my calf. I was about to burst out into the backyard, but then I noticed that the twins, Susan, and Dad were still in the dining room, staring at the scene with wide, terrified eyes. I didn't know what they saw, considering they were mortals, but it must have been pretty horrifying.
"What are you doing? Go! I can handle it by myself, just go upstairs!" I shouted at them. Bobby, Matthew, and Susan immediately scrambled up the stairs, Dad trailing behind them. He peered back at me a few times, giving me a worried look.
I shoved open the backyard door and ran outside, gripping my dagger tightly.
Nothing.
I furrowed my brow and surveyed the backyard again. There was still nothing. Had I been hallucinating? Was I dreaming?
Just as I was about to take a step towards the middle of the yard, I heard a faint hiss. I whipped around, running towards the direction of the voice. The hiss seemed to have come from the treetops of the humungous tree near the corner of the backyard. Shielding my eyes with my hand, I tried to look up at the tree to see if they could have possibly climbed up there, but with the sun blinding me and the tree being so tall, I couldn't see a thing.
"I know you're out here, just get out already. I don't have time for this!" I huffed. I knew I sounded like a whiny little kid, but I really had other things to do. Well, mainly searching for Percy, but whatever.
There was still no answer. Frustrated, I started climbing the stupid tree, latching on the sturdiest branches to ensure I didn't fall like a complete idiot. During the process, I managed to get a few scrapes on my palms and knees, but I was so irritated I barely felt a thing.
Suddenly, two figures jumped down from the tree, startling me so much I lost my grip on one of the tree trunks, causing me to fall down as well. I landed with a big thud on my butt. I winced in pain and slowly got up, staring at the two…things that had fell down.
I was right, they were gorgons.
They were both wearing bright green Bargain Mart vests over hideous flower print dresses. They each had a big button on their left breast pocket. The gorgon on the right had one that read (Well, I thought it did): Welcome! My name is Beano! The second gorgon's badge read: Hello! My name is DIE, DEMIGOD SCUM!
Well, they seemed happy to see me.
The sisters also had bronze boar tusks decorated with 50% off stickers sticking out of the corner of their mouths, creepy red eyes, rooster feet, and a writhing nest of bright colored snakes. (I couldn't help noticing that Beano had a nest of green vipers, while the other, who I assumed was Euryale, had coral snakes.)
I guessed that "Beano" was actually Stheno, and that the other one was Euryale.
"Would like a Cheese 'n' Wiener? They're only $2.99! You don't want to die on an empty stomach, do you?" Bea-Stheno offered, holding out a platter for me to see.
I fended her off with my dagger, growling at her.
"I don't have time for free samples!" I exclaimed, attempting to strike her in the neck with my dagger. Just as the blade was about to come in contact with her skin, she jabbed her talons on my palm, making me pull away. I winced in pain and backed away, ignoring the crimson blood dripping down my hands.
"Come on, just try one! If you don't have much time, you'll love these! I added some gorgon's blood, so your death will be quick!" she offered again.
My stomach churned at the thought of that pleasant meal.
"You two sure are as disgusting and ugly as Medusa," I remarked, my lip curling up in disgust.
"Thank you! Everybody always said that Medusa was the most hideous, but I always knew I was the most hideous. I'm glad that someone finally noticed!" she said, beaming. "Speaking of Medusa, I smell her blood on you. Probably a couple of years old, but still there, nonetheless!"
Euryale gasped. "She must have been with Percy Jackson! You're Annabeth Chase, aren't you?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" I demanded.
"You must be his girlfriend, am I right?" Euryale asked, ignoring my other question.
I sighed and rolled my eyes at their questions. They sure were chatty.
"Yeah, but what does that have to with anything?" I demanded again.
"Well, we obviously have to get revenge for you being a part of her death! She still hasn't returned from Tartarus, you know! And now, you can join her!"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure demigods can't go to Tartarus," I pointed out.
"Oh, whatever! Now, where is that boyfriend of yours?" Euryale questioned.
I gritted my teeth.
"I don't know!" I hissed.
"What do you mean, you don't know? Have you not found him yet?" Stheno said, looking at me questioningly.
"I'm working on it!" I yelled.
"No, he's somewhere around here, I smell another demigod! A powerful one, probably one of the Big Three, I'm sure of it!" Euryale said, crinkling her nose and sniffing the air.
I narrowed my eyes. Where they messing with me, or were they serious?
"H-he's somewhere around here? Where?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"That's for us to know, and for you to find out. Besides, there's no use in looking for him, you're going to be dead in a few minutes. And, the Romans will probably kill him soon, anyways. You two can see each other again in the Underworld!" Stheno exclaimed cheerfully.
"I am not-"
"Aww, you poor thing. You must miss him terribly! I haven't met him personally, but I heard that he's quite the handsome young man, and that Medusa wanted to keep him so badly because he resembled his father! I'm sorry that you two won't ever get to see each other again, you must have been-"
"Shut up!" I interrupted her. I did not need a stupid monster telling me I'm never going to see my boyfriend again.
"I know you want to believe that you'll get to see him again, but you must face the truth, dear. You're going to die in just a few minutes, and you won't ever see him again!" Euryale repeated.
"Oh Euryale, stop. Look at the girl, she's probably distraught! How about we just kill you quickly, so you can forget about your pain, hmm?" Stheno asked me, smiling.
I glared at her. I was tempted to kill them both right then and there, but decided to let them keep talking so I could think of a battle strategy.
I circled around them, studying them carefully. "So, are there any other reasons why you want to kill me?"
"Changing the subject, aren't we? Well, our patron will reward us greatly, we'll get the satisfaction of killing another demigod, and we'll be even more famous than Medusa!" Euryale grinned, bearing off her fangs.
"Your patron? Who, Gaea?" I hissed, just like the snakes on their messed up heads.
"Yes! She's the one who brought us back from oblivion! But, you won't live long enough to meet her, sadly."
And you won't either, I thought smugly.
I clenched my jaw and slowly backed up, making sure that I didn't keep my eyes off of them. The sisters approached me, giving me evil, toothy smiles. I swallowed hard, sweat dripping down my burning face.
It's really hot out here, I thought.
Stupid ADHD.
I studied their every move, waiting for just the right moment to lunge at them and attack. I narrowed my eyes when I noticed the sudden change of emotion on their faces. First, it was confusion, then realization, and then pure joy. I arched an eyebrow at them, still walking backwards.
Out of nowhere, I felt my legs stumble on something rubbery, and next thing I know, I'm underwater, in our big inflatable pool. Mentally, I curse my luck, inflatable pools, monsters, and my inability to kill those dumb gorgons.
I fell into a freakin' pool.
The pool was only four feet deep, so the water only reached my midsection as I stood up and started coughing uncontrollably. I completely forgot about the fact that I was supposed to be killing two gorgons, for the only thing I felt was the burning in my eyes and my raw feeling in my throat from coughing. I also just happened to feel one of the sisters attempt to grab me, but instead deeply scratch my neck with their claws when I tried to pull away from their grasp. Blood flowed down my neck like a waterfall, making me want to faint. I managed to open my eyes for a few seconds, and I realized that the sisters were literally right across from me, gripping the edge of the pool, about to attack me, again.
I realized that this would be the perfect moment to chop their heads off, but then I noticed something missing. My right hand felt oddly empty…
My freakin' dagger was gone.
"Oh, gods," I groan as I start searching around frantically. I went back underwater and searched for it. I felt the sharp blade pierce my skin, and I cursed in my head. I grabbed the leather grip and jump up and out of the pool, eyeing the sisters.
I was soaked to the bone, exhausted, and surrounded by two crazy gorgons.
Fun.
"Oh, stop acting like you're going to kill us. Kill us, and we kill your precious little boyfriend," Stheno smirked.
I froze. Could they really possibly know where he might be?
"Y-you don't even know where he is! Nobody does!" I shriek, lunging at her so fast that even I was surprised. Her eyes widened in fear as I pierced her disgusting, sickly skin with my gold dagger.
She screeched and held her shoulder. I snatched away her platter of Cheese 'n' Wieners and slammed her in the face with it. She shrieked again and stumbled to the ground, looking a bit dizzy. Although she looked like she was high, she still managed to grab my calf and sink her talons into my flesh. My whole leg felt like it was on fire. Small tears pooled in my eyes as I gritted my teeth and tried to ignore the unbearable pain.
"Gah! Stheno, you idiot!" Euryale screamed, storming towards her sister, not even giving me a second glance. I took my chance and limped towards her, bashed her in the head with the silver Cheese 'n' Wieners platter, slashed my dagger across her neck, and stepped back as she disintegrated.
Breathing heavily, I rushed towards Stheno, who was clutching her face and screaming about how I had ruined it. She looked drunk, like the people that roamed the streets at night in New York. I plunged my knife into her heart, wincing as she gave one last final shriek of pain before she crumbled to dust.
I kicked the pile of monster dust and walked away from them, hoping I could get to the backyard door without falling down. I hadn't endured many wounds, just a deep gash on my palm, some other scratches I got when climbing that stupid tree, four deep gashes on my neck, and a pretty big, deep gash on my leg.
Joy.
I shakily turned the doorknob of the backyard door, stepping inside the warm, comforting house. I noticed that my family hadn't listened to me, and instead sat in the living room, looking worried. They must have gone back down as soon as I left. Susan noticed me walking in, and immediately ran up to me.
"Annabeth! What happened? Oh my gosh, we have to get you to the hospital! Why are you wet? Are you okay, do you-"
"I'm fine, just a few little cuts. I can handle it on my own; I have ambrosia and nectar," I interrupted her, annoyed by her "motherly concerns".
"No, I think Susan is right, Annabeth. Those aren't 'little cuts', and I'm not sure if ambrosia and nectar can help for something that bad," Dad said, his brown eyes filled with concern.
Matthew and Bobby screamed in horror once they saw my leg, as if it was cut off. I had seen way worse than that in the Battle of Manhattan, but it must have looked pretty gruesome to mortals. I rolled my eyes at the twins and looked up at my dad.
"Trust me, I'm fine. I don't need your help," I said, exasperated.
With that, I ran up the stairs, ignoring the pain. I shoved open my bedroom door, rummaged around in my nightstand for the nectar and ambrosia, and rushed to the bathroom. I thrust my hand under the sink, sighing in relief as the cool water came in contact with my skin. I watched the water wash away the dried blood, grimacing at the stinging.
Trying to get my mind off of the blood, I thought of what the gorgons had said about Percy. They apparently knew something about Percy, and where he could be.
I should've tortured them until they gave me information about Percy! I thought, angry at myself for not thinking of it earlier.
Maybe my intelligence, pride, and sanity were slowly washing away, just like the blood.
A/N: Well, that was a weird ending. Sorry for the crappy chapter, I'm not that good with fighting scenes…I hope it was okay. I tried not to take too many things from the Son of Neptune, such as their lines and stuff. But, I obviously had to use TSON for the descriptions and everything.
Soo, did you like it? I have a feeling that you're not going to enjoy it...AGH, I REALLY NEED TO BE CONFIDENT FOR ONCE. Anyway, REVIEW, please. They make me smile and stuff! I LOVE REVIEWS. Almost as much as I love Percy Jackson! By the way, I'm not going to be able to update for a while because I'm going to Disney World! ;) I LOVE THAT PLACE.
But, I'll try to think of ideas for the next chapter while I'm on vacation!
By the way, school ended for me on May 24, so I don't have any homework/projects/other crap to keep me from updating.
Answer The Questions of the Day, too! XD
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:
What is the best book you have ever read? I really need some books to read this summer. :P
Did you like this chapter? If so, what was your favorite part? If you don't have a favorite part, what was the funniest/saddest/most impactful part?
I kinda want to start another story after I'm done with this one…it's going to be about those two weeks that Percy mentioned at the end of The Last Olympian, the ones that he said were the best two weeks of his life or something. Does it sound interesting, or is it over used?
P.S. If any of you are wondering about Dinner with the Jackson's, I have, like, a couple of paragraphs to go. STUPID WRITERS BLOCK. I've decided I'm going to be a nice person and insert a sneak peek:
"Percy, would you like to tell us how we started going out?" I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes like Drew when she had tried to convince Percy to break up with me.
He glared at me and faced his parents, who were not so patiently waiting for us to tell them the very embarrassing, personal story of how we got together.
"We kind of…" he mumbled, looking around the room for inspiration. His mesmerizing green eyes landed on a huge grandfather clock that I had been resting on while Percy and I had been forced to make out. The corners of his mouth twitched up as he reached for my clammy hand under the table, interlocking our fingers.
…Was that good? :/
~PercabethAndZebrasFTW~