Chapter 12

San Francisco

Nico Di Angelo

When we got off the plane, the airport was very crowded. There were a lot of foul-smelling people in the airport, I hoped that they were only like that from being at the airport for too long, and they weren't all unwashed here.

Snow was in Topaz's bag that held too much stuff (undetectable extension charm, she called it. She did it to all our bags).

When we got out of the airport, we got on one of the buses, even though we didn't know where we were going. When we got our seats, we started talking about where to go. "I think we should go to the Muir Woods. It's a national park here, a redwood forest, and it's likely to have monsters." Annabeth suggested.

Percy nodded solemnly. "That's exactly what we want. Monsters to eat our face." She rolled her eyes. "Percy, they won't eat our face. We'll fight them like always, and then we'll get them to tell us what they're planning."

"What if they just commit suicide?" I asked.

"We won't let them. And if they do, we can just find more."

Topaz twisted one of her rings. "That seems kind of wrong. They're not attacking us, so we're not killing in self defense. We're just like them, hunting others down for fun or information. It is likely that not all of them are even in on the plan."

"Well, it's all we've got, unless you see something."

She shook her head. "My gift was never as strong as Snow's. She hasn't said anything about it, just theories about what she thinks may be happening. When she wakes up, maybe we can ask her."

I noticed that Sapphire, Leo, Blade, and Caspia were also sleeping. Why did he considered them more of a threat than Percy? They might have given me a lot, too, if Snow hadn't been smart enough not to eat it. Maybe they just assumed Percy would eat more food?

When we got there, we stood akwardly in the line of cars. When we got there, there was a barbie doll sitting in the booth. She had a fake tan, bleached hair, bright pink makeup and nails, and her shirt undone and tied at the waist; the shorts far surpassing regulation. Her name tag was clipped to her bulging chest. The only letters I could make out was a "T" at the beggining, and an "I" at the end. I really hated being dyslexic.

She gave us a big fake smile. "Hi! How can I help you?"

"We were going to camp here for the night. Maybe look around a bit? How much?" Sapphire asked groggily. Barbie giggled. I was starting to realy hate her. I wished Thalia was here. She would help us beat her ass. She hates Barbie more than anything in this world.

"You're going to stay here all night? You must be very brave. Or very foolish."

That sent a shiver down my back. I decided to ignore it, though. "How much do we owe you?" I growled. "Let's see, how many of you are there?"

"Can you count?"

She pouted. "Of, course. I just wanted to know if someone else was joining you. There was supposed to be 9..."

I didn't like how much Barbie knew about us. "Okay, that'll be $208.43." Topaz handed her the money. She opened the gates for us, smiling very perky and creepy.