We reached Saint Louis, Illinois two days after leaving Las Vegas and made it to the Gateway Arch not long after. I wish I could say the trip to the Gateway Arch was a great success, that we found Bobby and Hazel and the others, but I can't. Our short time at the Gateway Arch was only just shy of convincing me that the other side of Styx might be more pleasant.

Things were bound to turn sour when Reyna decided for herself that she had recovered enough that she could return to harassing Piper to no end. None of us realized that right away- I should have gotten suspicious when Piper tripped on a tree-branch while walking to the Gateway Arch, since she was the only one to fall.

When Piper moved to pick herself up, Ari came running with a dead raccoon in her grip, shouting, "I bet you couldn't bring this guy back, Nico!"

"No! No dead raccoons!" I winced. Super-gross!

"You're on, Lunatic!" Nico called back.

"Come on! It probably has rabies!" I freaked. Eww! Ari was actually holding the raccoon with her bare hands. The carcass was bloody and it was missing a leg and she was waving it around in front of Nico.

Nico snatched it from her hand. I gagged. Nico was now nonchalantly holding the dead, bloody, raccoon carcass in his hands. "I can do it so you'd better not bet something you're not prepared to lose!"

"I'm losing nothing, Ghost boy!" Ari said back. She unsheathed a bloody knife. "I bet you four drachmas!"Ari announced the stakes.

"Hey! It's Ghost King!" Nico corrected.

"No betting! You're not bringing that disgusting thing back to life!" I scolded.

"But I don't have any drachmas!" Nico worried. "Let's bet on something else!"

"No betting!" I growled.

Then I heard, "Reyna!" Ivy had crawled up and around both Jason and Piper. "I haven't done anything wrong! Please let us go!" Piper pleaded with her charm speaking.

Reyna had her fingers covering her ears, shouting, "La, la, la! I'm not listening!"

"Cut it out!" I shouted. "Why do I suddenly feel like I have to babysit all of you?" Reyna refused so I pulled out my knife and cut Jason and Piper free. Then, of course I saw the three-legged raccoon climb to its feet.

"How could you possibly…?" Ari gasped. "I cut out all of its vitals and insides!" Eww!

"F.Y.I.- I'm son of Hades, I control what dies and what lives, whether it's got a heart or not is irrelevant," Nico announced. "Now pay up, Lunatic!"

"Nico! Kill that thing, now! It's really creepy- oh, and be nice to Ari, calling her names is not going to make things easier for you," I warned him, my eyes flashed around searching for more help. Percy, Dakota, and Luke had wandered off looking for a clue from the others and Aurora was waiting with the herd.

"Calling me names?" Ari wrinkled her nose. "'Lunatic' is not a name- it's who I am, it means someone who draws power from the moon- as a hunter, I am a proud lunatic!"

Nico choked back his laughter, "Great, Lunatic, great… Now pay up!"

Whatever Ari, I thought, call yourself a lunatic all you want… I couldn't even be bothered by them now. I let them be, and I noticed Reyna was pouting, which meant there would be little damage at the moment but probably more to come later. She was probably only pouting because now Jason was talking to Piper about something or another- something totally separate from her and her attention seeking. I could see Dakota, Luke, and Percy standing beneath the Gateway Arch, and ran to join them- I could deal with everyone else's drama later.

"Find anything?" I asked Percy urgently.

Dakota handed me a piece of paper, "I found it this time, and all on my own, too, no thanks to these too over here," he pointed to Percy and Luke. "Them, Chatty-Cathies- can you get them to cut it out, princess?"

"What are you talking about, Dakota?" Luke wondered.

"You were just bad-mouthing me and Annabeth's best friend- and I don't like it, not one bit, "Dakota snapped.

"Don't drag me into this, Dakota-" I said quickly. "Who?"

"You know who! Our B-F-F, Bobby, duh!" Dakota rolled his eyes. "Sorry, princess, I just don't like it… you know, you two would make awful Romans!" Dakota insulted. "Treason is punishable by death!"

I calmed Dakota down, "Gossip's not treason, so who cares? Just go with it."

Dakota grumbled but said nothing else. He wasn't at Legion Camp anymore.

When he turned away, I asked, "What was that all about?"

"I mentioned Bobby's threats once and suddenly Dakota thinks this is espionage!" Percy sighed with a chuckle.

I laughed too, but said, "That's just the Romans- being all about loyalty and stuff, besides I think Dakota is extra touchy about all that now- being one of the few Roman along with than Reyna, Jason, and Aurora."

Percy and Luke nodded in agreement. "We've got the next 'clue' though," Luke told me. "It seems like the next stop is in New Jersey!"

I sighed as we began walking back towards Stella and her herd. Nothing good ever happened to us in New Jersey… "Where is it this time?"

Luke looked at the page from the atlas. "I can't really tell, it wasn't listed. It's just a dot on the map for now."

"Maybe it's a place we haven't been to then," I considered. Thalia probably knew of all sorts of places that would be safer to meet us at, perhaps this was her way of getting us there.

When we were walking back towards Stella and her herd, Nico came running, shouting, "I got four drachmas!" in triumph. Ari followed after, scowling at him. Since we knew where the next location was, we didn't stick around any longer than needed and set out as soon as the sun began to set. We made it as far as West Virginia that night.

We spent twelve hours in West Virginia, exactly twelve hours- any longer, I feared we might attract some monsters. Most of those twelve hours, we spent sleeping. We made camp in woods and set up our tents. We took shifts keeping watch over camp. I had the last shift going from 3 p.m. on. When Luke woke up, we came up with the idea of stealing some breakfast. Luke and I found a convenience store at a highway rest-stop not too far away. There he managed to swipe a couple bottles of soda pop and four bags of M&M's. Great breakfast.

By the time we returned, it was nearly sunset- the sky had turned a fiery orange. Everyone was preparing to leave. We all were tired of traveling, good thing we were no more than two days from Camp Half-Blood. Even Piper had bags under her eyes- even the daughter of Aphrodite wasn't in great shape. She probably could care less about the way she looked anyway. Luke shared the soda pop- the caffeine may have helped a little, for some more than others.

Before we left, I saw Nico walking out of the woods, blushing with a confused look on his face. "What happened to you?" Luke asked.

Nico scratched his head, "That Lunatic just kissed me…"

"What?" I wondered if I'd heard that right, thought for a second before asking, "Do you still have those drachmas you won?"

Nico patted down his pockets quickly before looking to us frantically, "Darn it!" Luke snorted, unable to suppress his giggles.

I smiled, "You should have expected that from a hunter."

Nico grumbled. I guess the caffeine had helped Ari. We took off shortly after.

While circling over some foreign New Jersey suburb at 5 a.m., the only thought on my mind was why do all these neighborhoods have to look the same? The page from Hazel's atlas was labeled with names of streets and listed a couple of landmarks, but that was certainly not going to be helpful from up in the air. I didn't even know what town we were looking at, but we weren't too far from New York- I could see the lights from the city in the distance. The point the others left for us was an isolated spot right off a main road- it shouldn't have been too difficult to find.

"Turn east," Percy suggested.

"We just were heading that way!"

"Then north!" Percy tried.

Stella heard him and pointed towards that way. I just about gave up after that, frustrated I let Percy take the page. With Percy interpreting the directions, we circled over a few small townships for another forty-five minutes.

I snatched the paper back. Scanned it over. I had seen every word on it a dozen times over the last few hours- the names of streets, towns, etc. On the page, it showed streets and the names of the streets, nothing more, no houses, no landmarks. I thought about what I knew- I knew about houses. I knew about architecture. Sure the atlas may not have shown the houses- but I could figure it out. In neighborhoods like this, there would be houses up and down the street, based on how far the streets were apart, I could estimate the size of the houses, just an estimate. I concluded that where the roads were further apart, I could assume there were either larger houses, or farms land. Now if only I could have a point of reference… I searched the page again until I found something- the Holland Tunnel, the tunnel connecting New Jersey and Manhattan. Perfect.

I focused, and looked down at the streets; suddenly I knew where we were.

"Percy, tell Stella to land over there," I said into his ear and reached over his shoulder to point the way.

"You found it?" Percy asked me excitedly.

"I hope so," I whispered.

I hopped off of Stella.

"We're definitely in the right place…"I started but let the sentence die.

"You sure?" Percy asked. He didn't remember it.

"I wish I wasn't, this place gives me the creeps," I answered. Percy squeezed my hand.

"It doesn't look too bad, I mean, it's called 'Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium'. That's not a very evil name," he was convinced.

Percy smiled at me innocently. I raised my hand to his cheek, "It's so cute that you actually believe that evil things have to have evil names." He kept smiling- perhaps it was better I didn't remind him of this place.

The others had dismounted and were standing around us.

"This, the place?" Dakota asked.

I nodded.

"Well, let's get inside, then," Dakota said.

I took a deep breath. Medusa was gone, Percy had cut off her head last time we were here, what did I have to fear anymore? I should have known- things had been going well for too long.

We went inside.

The next thing I heard was, "Annabeth!"

My first thought was Bobby! I knew his voice. I saw him- my heart jumped. His light hair was a mess and there was a new scratch on his forehead over his eye, still red- could it really have only been a week since I'd last seen him? Before a word could even pass my lips, Bobby had already wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tightly into an embrace. I hugged him back, not entirely sure how I should be acting. I knew Percy was right behind me and was watching silently- awkwardly.

After a few seconds, I heard Percy clear his throat. I let go of Bobby.

"I'm glad you're okay," I finally said.

"Yeah, we're all so glad you're all right, where's everyone else?" Percy butted in.

"In the warehouse last I checked," Bobby said quickly. His eyes fell back on me. Bobby leaned in as though he was going to kiss me. As that happened, Percy grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. Whoa!

"Come on, Annabeth, we'd better go say 'hello' to everyone else," Percy tugged me along. He was frustrated. I didn't blame him- I was exhausted and confused. I hadn't slept through the night in over a week, me making decisions was probably not a great idea in this state.

We walked into the next room. It was dark. We searched around for a light switch but didn't find one.

"Hello?" Percy called into the dark.

"Shhh! They were sleeping!" Bobby growled.

"It's seven a.m.- we can wake them up," I said. "Hello!"

No answer. I stepped inside, my eyes adjusted to the light. They weren't there… No tents, no nothing.

"I thought you said they were in here," Percy said to Bobby.

"That's strange… they were."

Then Luke pushed by, looking for Thalia, stepping into the dark room. "Thalia?" he called. He continued walking until his silhouette faded into the dark. "Thalia?" Nico and Ari shoved passed me as well, following after Luke.

"This is really strange. They were just here a moment ago!" Bobby worried.

"Yeah, right," Percy snapped sarcastically. "Where are they?"

"I don't know!" Bobby insisted.

"Don't pretend-"

"I'm not pretending!" Bobby interrupted. "We got here yesterday and everyone was here- they were sleeping, it was my shift, to keep watch, so, I was out here, keeping watch!"

Although the room was dark, it was most certainly empty- no tents, or anything to make it seem as though the others were sleeping there.

"Maybe they're just outside, getting breakfast or something," I suggested- I didn't believe it though and neither did they.

Then we heard a scream- a shrill sound that pierced the air, that sent a panic over us. The three of us rushed through the door into the dark warehouse. It sounded like Ari.

Then the lights switched on. The doors slammed shut behind us. My heart skipped a beat. I clutched Percy pulling myself to his side.

A shrill voice squeaked, "Dear sister, it seems we have company."

I searched around the room for the source of the sound. The warehouse wasn't exactly the easiest place to figure that out- the tall ceilings and concrete floors made sounds echo. The voice could have come from anywhere. The warehouse was also was full of crates and boxes- full of hiding places, oh joy…

I eased away from Percy, stepping out into the room, looking for whoever else was here. I drew my dagger, just in case. I wandered out into one of the isles between the crates. I waited a moment, until another voice spoke- it was still shrill, if anything slightly lighter. "Oh, sister, isn't this one handsome? "

The other voice replied with, "A nice addition to our collection…" I heard Bobby yelp briefly, after there was only silence. My skin grew cold. Whoever was here was able to take Bobby without a fight.

I kept walking with my eyes peeled. I wasn't going anywhere without a fight. When I came to the intersection of two isles, I peered out into the crossing isle cautiously. And there they were- not quite who I was expecting- gorgons. Two women- if you could even call them women- with talons for fingers and snakes for hair, like Medusa but immortal. I'd heard about them in stories before, Stheno and Euryale- the sisters of Medusa. I could see them standing over Bobby. His glare would meet theirs but he wasn't turned to stone, perhaps that was only Medusa's trick.

"A demigod," one of them hissed. "A Roman, too." Bobby was kicking at them with a free foot fruitlessly, he wasn't hitting them and one of Gorgons was tying him up, the other had his wrist pinned beneath her talon. She was looking at his tattoo. "Son of Phoebus… sister? Do we like Phoebus? I can't remember…"

"'Course not, dear sis, we don't like the gods- not since what happened to Medusa," the other hissed in reply. I stepped out into the isle with my knife ready. The Gorgons noticed quickly enough.

They came towards me ready to attack. Suddenly, I saw Percy wielding his sword, Riptide, striking one of them- Euryale, I think, off her feet. Way to go Seaweed Brain! I struck my knife against Stheno's talons, defending myself. The snakes around her face hissed and spat. Stheno move again, catching my wrist in her claws. Percy swung again hitting Stheno. The Gorgon fell to the ground in a puddle of gold blood. Gold blood- that could only mean, as I feared, she'd be back…

"…Just when I though Medusa was all the Gorgon I needed to deal with…" Percy muttered before heading off to help release everyone else. Among those tied up were: Hazel, Gwendolyn, Bellatrix, Thalia, Luna, and everyone else who had disappeared.

I went to Bobby and helped him get to his feet. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Percy was talking to Gwendolyn. He loves me- not her, I tried reminding myself. It didn't seem very helpful- but at least I tried.

I got around to talking to Hazel eventually once things calmed down.

"Thanks, Hazel, for leaving us a trail- without that we would never have gotten here and found you," I said first.

"No, that was easy," Hazel answered. "I should be thanking you and Percy for following our trail and coming to save us- we would have been goners without you. By the way, how is everyone? Last time I saw you, you were helping Reyna and Jason get to safety- how were their injuries?"

"Not too bad, Jason's arm is broken and Reyna has a concussion, but it's not as though that stopped her from going after Piper," I told Hazel.

"Oh, she's still fighting over Jason? They were hardly even a couple by the time Jason disappeared- why won't she just get over it?" Hazel asked annoyed.

"I don't know, try telling her that!"

"It might be easier to get that through her head once we get your Greek camp," Hazel said. "If we're lucky, we might be able to get there by tonight."

"Tonight? Really?" I asked excitedly. Thank the gods! Camp Half-Blood, here we come.

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter is about Camp Half-Blood- any ideas? (stuff you need to see me add like: characters, places, things, etc.) Please, write a review- reviews are helpful! Thank you!