Chapter 11
Are you absolutely positive that this is going to work?" I asked Brittany for the fifth time.
"Yes, Riley. I've checked it over three times, edited it seven times, and got Chiron to edit it twice." Brittany answered.
"Gosh, guys! Who cares? It's just a quest." James said as our whole camp weren't depending on us.
"So remind me what the plan is, again? Or can we just make it up as we go along?" Adam asked.
"Not this time." I answered. " The plan is to take a bus to Mattituck and Westchester, a train to North Carolina, to drive to Ohio, drive to Michigan, fly to Texas, and then drive to New Mexico to rest a few nights, take a bus to Colorado, take a train to San Francisco, drive to Bakersfield, fly to Washington, and then get picked up by Chiron and Argus."
"Uh... I think I got that." Adam said. "Who's driving?"
Our last driving experience ended quite unfortunately, so I knew Adam was hoping it was someone with a licence.
"I am," James answered. "I'm seventeen. I got my licence this year."
"Good," Justin, Adam and I said at the same time.
We grabbed our bags and followed Adam to the camp borders. I felt my stomach tie itself in knots. Even though I had done this before, I was really nervous.
Chiron was there to send us off just like last year. We approached him and he said, "I wish you the best of luck on your quest. Before I leave, I would like to present each of you with something."
He pulled out five bags of nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods, American money for each of us, and a sack of golden drachmas, the Ancient Greek currency.
"Thank you," we all said.
"When you go on your flights, take Olympian Airlines. Just go through the janitor's closet and you'll find it. I didn't make you book your flights because they take last minute flights and emergency flights. It'll take shorter than usual, so the plane ride shouldn't take more than a few hours to reach your destinations. It's three drachmas for a flight."
"Three drachmas?" Brittany raised her eyebrows. "That's all?"
Chiron nodded. "Argus is ready for you. Once again, good luck to all of you."
We all thanked him and then headed down Half-blood hill towards the white van. I looked back at Camp Half-blood and had a horrible vision of the whole thing being burned down and thousands of monsters raiding it.
Argus drove us all the way to Mattituck. We stepped out of the white van and thanked Argus who nodded in reply and wished us luck.
We watched as he drove off into the distance.
The five of us took a deep breathe at the same time.
"Okay, where do we find this kid?" James asked.
A sudden thought entered my mind. Jackson. Steven Jackson. He had the same last name as Percy Jackson, who was a son of Poseidon which made him my brother. I'm sure there were thousands of other Jackson's in the world but somehow I was sure of it. Steven Jackson was also my brother.
I pulled a slip of paper out of my backpack.
"He's Percy Jackson's brother." I said.
"Are you sure?" Brittany queried.
I nodded. "Positive. Here's his address." I showed them the address: 1194, Beach Street, Mattituck, New York.
"Perfect. We're on 26th Street right now so let's get walking." Justin led the way down the street.
It was fairly busy on the streets and dark clouds over us cracked and rumbled with thunder. Soon a light rain began to fall. We smelled the sea everywhere and sometimes caught a glimpse of it between houses and buildings.
We turned two corners and kept on walking. The street we were on had a stone wall raising a little bit above the street. On the other side, there was a beach. The dark grey waves rolled in and out of the shore. There were houses lined up on the beach, all of them small and very old looking.
"Okay," Adam said. "This is Beach Street. We need to find 1194." he jumped over the wall and waited for us.
James and Justin followed him and them Brittany and I.
We walked together along the beach, looking for the right address.
I breathed in the smell of the saltwater feet in the sand. This was the kind of house I wanted. Right by the ocean. I could swim all day long and not worry about anything.
Adam caught my eye and gave me a smile that told me he knew what I was thinking. He slipped his hand into mine. I smiled back at him.
"Here it is, 1194." Brittany pointed at a small house with a shingled roof, blue shutters on the windows, and light grey walls.
Justin knocked three times and after a few moments, the door was answered by a tall boy around seventeen with black hair and deep green eyes, like mine. It was Percy!
When he saw us he said, "You're here! Chiron told me all about what's going to happen and about your quest. Come inside, Steven's ready."
We entered the small, neat house and saw a boy that greatly resembled Percy and a lady with brown eyes and black hair, who must have been their mother. She looked up and smiled at us, though worriedly.
She stood up and came over to shake our hands. "I'm Sally Jackson." she said.
We introduced ourselves.
"This is Steven." she gestured at Steven.
"Hi, Steven." we said.
"Hi," he replied. He looked confused and nervous.
"Chiron told us everything." Sally said. "I didn't expect Steven to go to Camp for another two years, but... with everything happening, I decided I'd let him go."
"Thank you," Adam said.
"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Sally asked Steven.
He nodded and stood up.
She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. "You'll love it at Camp Half-blood. It's amazing there. I'll see you when the school year starts, okay?"
"Okay, Mom." he said.
"See ya, Steven." Percy said, giving his brother a hug.
"See ya, Percy," Steven answered.
"Good luck, you guys." Sally said.
"Thank you, Ms. Jackson." we replied.
Percy showed us to the door. Before we left he pulled out a slip of paper. "Call me when the time's right." he said. I hugged him before we exited the house.
We waved at Percy one last time before he closed the door.
"Where's the nearest bus station?" James asked.
"In town. I'll show you guys." Steven said. "Where do we need to go?"
"Westchester." I answered.
He nodded and took us back the way we came and then down the street towards town.
"Right there," Steven said, pointed at a bus stop. We sat down and waited for it to come in a rather awkward silence. The rain was still falling a little bit harder now.
Looking onto the road, we saw the bus approach and stood up. It screeched to a halt, spraying the water on the side of the road onto us.
"Gross." Brittany scowled.
The doors opened and let out a few passengers. We stepped in and showed our bus passes to the driver.
I slid into a seat and Adam sat down beside me. Justin, of course, sat down next to Brittany and James joined Steven in a seat across from us.