We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, and past amber waves of grain. We weren't attacked, not even once, but I didn't relax.

I felt that we were travelling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was just waiting, waiting for the right opportunity. It could be my unhealthy levels of paranoia speaking, but when you're wanted by the normies and the mystics, I prefer to call it, 'having a survival instinct.'

Or we can all just call it good old fashioned paranoia. Does it really matter?

My name and picture were all over several newspapers. They'd somehow managed to get a photo of me in front of the exploded bus which had somehow ended up on the front-page to no less than five East Coast newspapers. I looked half-feral; Riptide was a blur that almost looked like a baseball bat while my water whip appeared to be a length of rope.

The picture's caption read:

'Twelve-year-old Persephone Jackson, wanted for questioning in the Long Island disappearance of her mother two weeks ago, is shown here fleeing from the bus where she accosted several elderly female passengers. The bus exploded on an east New Jersey roadside shortly after Jackson fled the scene. Based on eyewitness accounts, police believe the girl may be travelling with two teenage accomplices. Her stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, has offered a cash reward for information leading to her capture.'

"Don't worry," Annabeth told me. "Mortal police could never find us." She didn't sound so sure, but I appreciated the sentiment. Worst come to worst, water works on monsters and mortals alike.

The rest of the day I spent alternately pacing the length of the train or staring out the windows. I couldn't sit still. It was like the train was a cage, and I was the lion.

Once, while looking out the window, I saw a family of centaurs galloping across a wheat field, bows at the ready, as they hunted for what appeared to be lunch. The little boy centaur, who was the size of a second-grader on a pony, caught my eye and waved. I enthusiastically waved back. Awww, he's adorable!

Closer to the evening, I saw a golden lion bounding through the woods at an incredible speed, keeping up with the train for a few seconds, before disappearing out of sight. I also spotted a moving tree. No, not like a nymph; a giant fucking tree just got up and started to stretch, like it was an Ent from Lord of the Rings. Wack, man. Wack.

The train line only went as far as Denver, and- since we paid to go half-way across the country- we couldn't only afford to get berths in the sleeper car, so we dozed in our seats. I think my neck became stiffer than a corpse. I tried not to drool in my sleep since Annabeth was sitting right next to me. Fuck if I know I succeeded.

Luke was taking a well-needed nap, curled up along the row of seats in the compartment. Judging by the way he conked out, it didn't seem like he would be awake for even a monster attack.

"So," Annabeth asked me, during a sleepless bout for the both of us. "Who wants your help?"

Okay. What? "What do you mean?" I mumbled.

"When you were asleep just now, you muttered, 'I won't help you.' Who were you dreaming about?"

Look, I didn't really want to tell her anything. What if she figured out I was dreaming about Kronos? What if she became more suspicious than a cat faced with a laser pointer? What if she gutted me or something? But the point is, I had only just recently gotten her trust. Luke was fully immersed in La La Land, so with no help from that front, I reluctantly explained in the vaguest terms I could.

Annabeth went quiet for a long time. "That doesn't sound like Hades," she abruptly spoke just as I was about to doze off. "He always appears on a black throne, and he never laughs."

"He offered my mother in trade. Who else could do that?" I whispered back.

"I guess... if he meant, 'Help me rise from the Underworld' as in he wants war with the Olympians. But why ask you to bring him the master bolt if he already has it?"

I shook my head, I knew the answer but couldn't tell her. I thought about what Grover had told me, then to how the Furies on the bus seemed to have been looking for something. Where is it? Where?

"Percy, you can't barter with Hades. You know that, right? He's deceitful, heartless, and greedy. I don't care if his Kindly Ones weren't as aggressive this time- "

"This time?" I asked. "You mean you've run into them before?"

Her hand crept up to her necklace. She fingered a glazed white bead painted with the image of a pine tree, one of her clay end-of-summer tokens. "Let's just say I've got no love for the Lord of the Dead. You can't be tempted to make a deal for your mom."

"What would you do if it was your dad?" I pressed. Surely, she's got to understand my point of view?

"That's easy," she said. "I'd leave him to rot."

"You're not serious?" I've had my own experiences with bad parents in my past life, and Pai isn't really Dad of the Year, but I would never just leave them to die. I may be a petty, morally grey bitch, but I wouldn't wish my parents dead. Not with me being who I am, not with them being who they are.

Annabeth's grey eyes glinted like the spear her mother was famous for. She wore the same expression she'd worn in the woods at camp, the moment she drew her sword against the hellhound. "My dad's resented me since the day I was born, Percy," she said. "He never wanted a baby. When he got me, he asked Athena to take me back and raise me on Olympus because he was too busy with his work. She wasn't happy about that. She told him heroes had to be raised by their mortal parent."

"But how... I mean, I guess you weren't born in a hospital..." I knew the answer, of course, but she didn't know that I know.

"I appeared on my father's doorstep, in a golden cradle, carried down from Olympus by Zephyr the West Wind. You'd think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he'd take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a 'regular' mortal wife, and had two 'regular' mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn't exist."

I looked out the train window. The lights of a sleeping town were drifting lazily by, blinking sleepily out of sight. I'm not very good at reassuring others, but I can do empathy. Hopefully. With that in mind, I turned back around.

"My mom married a really awful guy," I told her softly. "Grover said she did it to protect me, to hide me in the scent of a human family. Thing is, I don't care; I would've rather been left to the monsters than have to live with his abusive ass."

Annabeth kept fiddling with her necklace. She was pinching the gold college ring that hung with the beads. Something told me it had something to do with her father, and it wasn't just the way she gingerly touched it. "He doesn't care about me," she said. "His wife- my stepmom- treats me like a freak. She wouldn't let me play with her children. My dad went along with her. Whenever something dangerous happened- you know, something with monsters- they would both look at me resentfully, like, 'How dare you put our family at risk.' Finally, I took the hint. I wasn't wanted. I ran away."

"How old were you?"

"Same age as when I started camp. Seven."

I knew this, but my heart throbbed all the same. "You were a child. That's not right. How in the world did you get all the way to Camp alone?"

"Not alone, no. Athena watched over me, guided me toward help. And then Luke found me, and Thalia, and we became a family together."

I wanted to ask what happened, to shoulder a bit more of that burden, but Annabeth seemed lost in sad memories. Instead, I carefully dragged her head to my shoulder, and just… held her. She relaxed a bit, which was what I was going for, so we just sat there. Her with ghosts for company, and me listening to the sound of my heart breaking for any and all lost demigod children. The dark fields of Ohio raced by us. Eventually, we fell into a fitful sleep.

oOo

Toward the end of our second day on the train, June 13, eight days before the summer solstice, we passed through some golden hills and over the Mississippi River into St. Louis. Annabeth craned her neck to see the Gateway Arch.

"I want to do that," she sighed out.

"What?" I asked.

"Build something like that. Have you ever seen the Parthenon, Percy?"

I thought back to my holiday in Athens in my past life; I visited the Acropolis and spent a whole day there. I also remember that my nerdy dumbass self had started crying over the great shape that the Herms were in.

"Yeah," I say wistfully. "It was beautiful."

"Someday, I'm going to see it in person. I'm going to build the greatest monument to the gods, ever. Something that'll last a thousand years."

"To the gods?" I questioned.

"Huh?"

"Why build a monument to the gods when you can build one for yourself? Your family and friends? Your achievements?"

She gave me a weird look, the one that everyone gives when I suggest something perfectly reasonable. "Because they're the gods. And building something that will last is going to be my achievement."

"Okay."

She's still young, I can't expect her to think critically about this as an adult would.

We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour layover before departing for Denver.

Luke, like the vigilant single dad he is, grabbed us by the scruff of our necks and dragged us off the train. "We can stop for dinner at a Burger King and then we're heading straight back to the station," he ordered.

"But Luke!" Annabeth immediately started. "We have to go see the arch! This may be my only opportunity to visit it."

He looked at her incredulously, "You want to go sightseeing on a quest?"

"Yes."

I internally debated it for a second before remembering important stuff happens on the arch. I need those mystical pearls! Also, I want to clean myself off in the river. Showers are the stuff of myths when you're on a quest. "I wanna go see it too! And we can eat there, I think it has a snack-bar."

Luke crumples under the weight of our combined puppy eyes. Annabeth and I fist-bump.

oOo

The Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, peering at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It was fascinating, Annabeth kept telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Luke kept passing me jelly beans.

But something felt wrong to me. I had a feeling we shouldn't be here.

"Guys," I said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade-"

Luke cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... You mean, our friend downstairs?"

"He's definitely not our mate, but worm," I said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"Worm?" She questioned, before moving on from my weirdness. "You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice council meeting."

"He was there?" I asked.

She nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus- the darkest day of the year. But his helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat if what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness," Luke confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. He can also radiate fear so intense it would either drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

"But then ... how do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" I asked.

Annabeth and Luke exchanged looks.

"We don't," Luke said. "But I doubt that he's watching three half-bloods all the time."

"Okay," I sighed. "Got any blue jelly beans left?"

Luke handed me the entire bag.

I had almost mastered my jumpy nerves when I saw the tiny little elevator car we were going to ride to the top of the Arch. My inner alarm went, 'Trouble! Trouble! Trouble!.' I hate confined places. They make me nuts.

We got shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar. I already knew they were monsters, but the fact that none of the guards said a word about the dog coming too cemented it.

We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve before, and my stomach had thanked me for it.

"No parents?" the fat lady who-is-actually-a-monster asked us. She possessed beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.

Luke gave her a tense smile. "I'm just taking my little sisters out for the day." Then he tucked us both under his arms, hiding us from her sight.

"Ah, what a good brother."

The Chihuahua growled. The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave." The dog had beady eyes like its owner; intelligent and vicious.

I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"

"No," the lady told me.

She smiled as if that had cleared everything up.

Yep, definitely a monster. Fuck, I wish I didn't leave my journal back at Camp; I totally forgot what's gonna happen next.

Riptide sat heavily on my head.

At the top of the Arch, the observation deck reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but if there's anything I like less than a confined space, it's a confined space six hundred feet in the air. I was ready to go pretty quick.

Annabeth kept talking about structural supports, and how she would've made the windows bigger, and designed a see-through floor. She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me, the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.

I steered Luke and Annabeth toward the exit, loaded them into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me.

The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."

"We'll get out," Annabeth said. "We'll wait with you."

But that was going to mess everybody up and take even more time, so I said, "Naw, it's okay. I'll see you guys at the bottom."

Luke looked nervous and was about to step out with Annabeth, but the elevator door slid shut despite his audible protests towards the park ranger. Their car disappeared down the ramp.

oOo

Now the only people left on the observation deck were me, a little boy with his parents, the park ranger, and the fat monster-lady with her Chihuahua.

I smiled uneasily at her. My hand was already reaching for Riptide in my hair, pretending to scratch an itch on my scalp.

She smiled back, her forked tongue flickering between her teeth.

Wait a minute. Forked tongue? Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hate being a Half-blood.

Before I could react by getting the fuck out of there, her Chihuahua jumped down and started yapping at me.

"Now, now, sonny," the monster-lady said. "Does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here."

"Doggie!" said the little boy. "Look, a doggie!" His parents pulled him back. Good call.

The Chihuahua bared his teeth at me, foam dripping from his black lips.

"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."

"Please tell me you're not about to attack me." I asked her, "Please, I'm so fucking tired, I don't wanna fight right now."

"I am," she laughed out, her pointed teeth coming up in a snarl.

She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were side-ways slits, like a reptile's.

The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.

The little boy screamed. His parents pulled him back toward the exit, straight into the park ranger, who stood, paralyzed, gaping at the monster.

The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind. The rhinestone dog collar still hung around its neck, and the plate-sized dog tag was now easy to read: CHIMERA-RABID, FIRE-BREATHING, POISONOUS-IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL TARTARUS-EXT. 954

Riptide the sword sat tightly in my hands. My palms were sweaty as I took my situation in. I was ten feet away from the Chimera's bloody maw, and I knew that as soon as I moved, the creature would lunge.

Wait. Fuck. Isn't this the part where I have to jump out of a national monument?

The snake lady made a hissing noise that might've been laughter. "Be honoured, Persephone Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. For I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!"

My ADHD decided to come out at the worst of times. "If you're the mother, who's the father?"

She gave me an annoyed look. "Foolish Jackson, my son shall destroy you!"

The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite.

I ended up next to the family and the park ranger, who were all screaming now, trying to pry open the emergency exit doors.

I couldn't let them get hurt.

In a moment of creative panic, I used the little kid's water bottle and blasted the door frames. The whole thing crumbled under the force of the water and my urgency, thank the gods. They ran out.

Okay, mortals? Check. Nobody else around? Double-check. I promptly turned in the direction of the glass windows facing the river.

"Stop her, sonny!" Echidna, the bitch, snarled out.

The Chimera reacted faster than I would've thought possible. Before I could wreck a hole into the glass, it opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.

I dove through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it felt like I was about to become Princess Zuko.

Not the time, brain.

Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.

Great, I just blow-torched a national monument. I'm definitely on the FBI's most-wanted list now!

As the Chimera turned, I slashed at what should be his weak spot; his neck.

That was a fucking mistake. My blade sparked harmlessly off the weird dog collar, knocking me out of balance. I tried to defend myself from the lion's mouth that was taking advantage of my disorientation, but completely forgot about the serpent tail until it whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.

My whole leg was on fucking fire. I really, truly hate being a Half-blood.

I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.

Great. Bye-bye fucko, please come back soon.

"Hah!" I shouted, bringing my precious supply of water around like a blade. The serpent let go with a hiss. It must not like being decapitated, good to know.

I managed to get to my feet, but I knew I had lost. I was nigh weaponless, and my water could do jack against that barbeque breath. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest. Riptide should return to me soon, but with the way things were going, I wasn't going to live long enough to find it out.

Judging by that malicious glimmer in the beasts' eyes, he knew that too.

I backed into the hole in the wall. The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips.

The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"

The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten. It was fucking playing with its food like a feline.

I couldn't just... die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. My head felt dizzy. I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. I had water, but I doubt this small amount could help.

Y'know what? I'm not going to just stick around and find out what happens next.

I stepped to the edge of the hole.

Far, far below, the river glittered.

"If you are the daughter of Poseidon," Echidna hissed, "you would not fear water. Jump, Persephone Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline."

I gave her a cheeky grin. "Sure!" I told her, before sticking up my middle fingers, tall and proud. "Fuck this shit I'm out!"

The last thing I saw was her disbelieving face.

I turned and jumped. With my clothes on fire and poison coursing through my veins, I plummeted toward the river.

Well, this could be worse. The river could be more polluted, for example.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get to panicking in just a sec.

A/N

Izzy: So like, update! I'm tired af and sick, so this is the chapter that took the second-longest to write. Please enjoy it, I cannot with my headache.

Raven: Ophelia has this bad habit of monologuing every other paragraph in a fight scene. We really need to get her to focus more. Anyways, I'm kinda sad she didn't drown the Chimera by punting it off the arch and into the river, but being poisoned and not thinking straight would do that to you sooooo. Yeah.

Izzy: Ophelia is an ADHD Queen with her non-focus in important situations.

Raven: I would like to reiterate; Need. To. Focus. More. All well, she'll learn.