Annabeth and Macaria were waiting outside in an alley down Church Street. They pulled Percy and Tyson off the sidewalk just as a fire truck screamed past, most likely heading for Meriwether Prep.

"Where'd you find him?" She demanded, pointing at Tyson. She had very intense glare on, staring at poor Tyson.

"He's our friend." Percy told her.

"Is he homeless?" She asked.

"What does that have to do with anything? He can hear you, you know. Why don't you ask him?" Percy snapped.

She looked surprised. "He can talk?"

"I talk," Tyson admitted. "You are pretty."

"Ah! Gross!" Annabeth said and stepped away from him.

"Annabeth!" Macaria yelled. "Don't be rude to Tyson! He's already had enough troubles at school!"

"Tyson." Percy said cutting her off, with a tone of disbelief in his voice. "Your hands aren't even burned."

"Of course not," Annabeth muttered. "I'm surprised the Laistrygonians had the guts to attack you

with him around." Tyson seemed fascinated by Annabeth's blonde hair. When he tried to touch it, she macked his hand away. Tyson had a similar air of fascination around Macaria, though it wasn't just about her hair.

"Annabeth?" Percy said. ""what are you talking about? Laistry-what?"

"Laistrygonians. The monsters in the gym. They're a race of giant cannibals who live in the far

north. Odysseus ran into them once, but I've never seen them as far south as New York before."

"Laistry-I can't even say that. What would you call them in English?"

She thought for a moment. "Canadians." She decided.

"You're joking." Macaria said and Annabeth pretended she couldn't hear her.

"Now come on, we have to get out of here." She said quickly.

"The police'll be after me." Percy said and looked at Macaria and then at Tyson. "Us."

"That's the least of our problems," she said. "Have you been having the dreams?"

"The dreams … about Grover?"

Her face turned pale. "Grover? No, what about Grover?"

Percy told her his dream. "Why? What were you dreaming about?" Her eyes glazed over and turned stormy. A similar look she had when she was thinking to hard about something.

"Have you had any dreams?" Annabeth asked her and Macaria shook her head no.

"Have you forgotten? My Uncle." Macaria stated. "If I had any bad dreams, my father wouldn't let him hear the end of it." Thanathos wasn't known for being all forgiving. Annabeth frowned.

"Right, sometimes I forget." She said. "With all the living things attracted to you." She looked over at Tyson who was standing near her, messing with some of her hair, which she allowed him to. She was known for being liked by many different things… She thought back to the strange encounter she had with Ares and shuttered, hoping she would never see him again.

"I had a dream about camp." Annabeth said, changing the subject and answering Percy's question. "Big trouble at camp."

"Our mom was saying the same thing! But what kind of trouble?" He asked.

"I don't know exactly. Something's wrong. We have to get there right away. Monsters have been

chasing me all the way from Virginia, trying to stop me. Have you had a lot of attacks?"

Percy shook his head. "None? But how…?" Her eyes drifted over to Macaria.

"My side feels nothing for Percy," Macaria said, which was an understatement. They didn't like him at all, though it was probably because of Poseidon and the weird relationship he had with her father.

Annabeth's eyes drifted over at Tyson. "Oh. I see."

"What do you mean, 'Oh, I see.'?" They asked.

Tyson raised his hand. "Canadians in the gym called Percy something … Son of the Sea God?" The trio exchanged looks.

"Big guy," Percy said, "you ever hear those old stories about the Greek gods? Like Zeus, Poseidon, Athena-"

"Yes," Tyson said.

"Well … those gods are still alive. They kind of follow Western Civilization around, living in the

strongest countries, so like now they're in the U.S. And sometimes they have kids with mortals. Kids called half-bloods."

"Yes," Tyson said, like he was still waiting for him to get to the point.

"Uh, well, Annabeth, Macaria and I are half-bloods," Percy said. "We're like … heroes-in-training. And whenever monsters pick up our scent, they attack us. That's what those giants were in the gym. Monsters."

"Yes."

Percy and Macaria stared at him. He wasn't surprised or confused. Which was strange. "So… You believe me?" Percy asked and Tyson nodded.

"But you are … Son of the Sea God?"

"Yeah," Percy admitted. "My dad is Poseidon."

Tyson frowned. Now he looked confused. "Macaria's the Son of the Sea God?"

"Nope, Thanathos." Macaria said and Tyson stared at her for a moment, scratching his head in confusion and surprise. He blinked for a moment and turned over to look at Percy.

"But then…" A siren wailed and a police car raced past thier alley.

"A taxi all the way to camp?" Percy said. "You know how much money-"

"Trust me."

"What about Tyson?" The Jackson siblings asked.

"We can't just leave him." percy decided. "He'll be in trouble, too."

"Yeah," Annabeth said with a grim look on her face. "We definitely need to take him. Now come on." Macaria scratched her face at her friend's attitude and the four of them sneaked through the side street of downtown. There was a huge column of smoke that Macaria saw from behind.

"So much for a normal year…" She said. Some time passed and Annabeth stopped them on the corner of Thomas and Trimble and fished around in her backpack. Annabeth's chin was cut, twigs and grass were tangled in her ponytail and she had slashes on the hem of her jeans that looked like claw marks. Macaria was about to ask a question when Annabeth spoke.

"Here." She said when they stopped. "I hope I have one left."

"What are you looking for?" Percy asked. The sirens won't stop wailing all around.

"Found one. Thank the gods." Annabeth said, pulling out a drachma.

"Oh, I understand." Macaria said. There must be a godly transportation.

"Annabeth," Percy said, not getting it. "New York taxi drivers won't take that."

"Stêthi," she shouted in Ancient Greek. "Ô hárma diabolês!" Which translated to: Stop, Chariot of Damnanation! She thre the coin inot the street and the coin snak right through and disappeared.

For a second, nothing happened. But right where the coin had fallen, the asphalt darkened. It melted into a rectangular pool about the size of a parking space-bubbling red liquid like blood. Then a car erupted from the ooze. It was smoky gray and looked like it was woven out of smoke. There were words printed on the door, but it was too difficult to understand with her dyslexia which made her sigh in annoyance. Some things never change.

The passenger window rolled down and an old woman stuck her head out. She had a mop of grizzled hair that covered her eyes, and had mumble as though she was drunk. "Passage? Passage?"

"Four to Camp Half-Blood." Annabeth said and she opened the cab's back door and waved them into it.

"Ach!" The old woman screeched. "We don't take his kind!" She pointed her bony finger at Tyson.

"Come on!" Macaria yelled and she narrowed her eyes at her. Macaria matched it and she sighed.

"Fine, get in." She snapped and she pushed the passenger door open so Macaria could sit in the front. Macaria got in and looked back to see Percy, Tyson and Annabeth in that order. Why they had Tyson in the middle, Macaria couldn't understand. The interior was smoky gray, but was solid enough, she supposed. The seat was cracked and lumpy.

"Hello Deino, Persis and Pemphredo." Macaria said, looking at the three women, all crammed into the front seat, each with the same look and charcoal colored sackcloth dress. The women sent her a wicked smile and said

"Long Island! Out-of-metro fare bonus! Ha!" She floored on the accelerator and Macaria felt her head slam against the backrest. A prerecorderd voice came on over the speaker: Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up! There was a large black chain instead of a seat belt which Macaria decided to ignore, for as long as she could. The cab sped around the corner of West Broadway, and sister sitting in the middle screeched: "Look out! Go left!"

"Well, if you'd give me the eye, Tempest, I could see that!" the driver complained. The driver swerve to avoid an oncoming delivery truck and ran over the curb with a jaw-rattling thump and flew into the next block.

"Wasp!" the third lady said to the driver. "Give me the girl's coin! I want to bite it."

"You bit it last time, Anger!" Wasp said. "It's my turn!"

"Is not!" Anger yelled.

The middle one, Tempest, screamed, "Red light!"

"Brake!" yelled Anger. Wasp floored the accelerator and rode up on the curb, screeching around another corner, and knocked over a newspaper box. It definitely wasn't a ride for everyone, that was for sure.

"Excuse me." Percy said. "But.. can you see?"

"No!" Wasp screamed.

"No!" Tempest screamed.

"Of course!" Anger screamed.

"They're blind?" Percy asked.

"Not completely." Annabeth said. "They have an eye."

"One eye?"

"Yeah."

"Each?"

"No. One eye total."

"Gray Sisters." Macaria explained and a light blub seemed to go off in Percy's head.

"Oh!" He said.

"Not feeling so good" Tyson groaned.

"Oh, man." Percy said, Macaria was happy to not be in the back. Tyson was very carsick. "Hang in there, big guy. Anybody got a garbage bag or something?" The sisters said nothing.

"Hey," Annabeth said, "Gray Sisters Taxi is the fastest way to camp."

"Then why didn't you take it from Virginia?"

"That's outside their service area," she said, like that should be obvious. "They only serve

Greater New York and surrounding communities."

"We've had famous people in this cab!" Anger exclaimed. "Jason! You remember him?"

"Don't remind me!" Wasp wailed. "And we didn't have a cab back then, you old bat. That was

three thousand years ago!"

"Give me the tooth!" Anger tried to grab at Wasp's mouth, but Wasp swatted her hand away.

"Only if Tempest gives me the eye!"

"No!" Tempest screeched. "You had it yesterday!"

"But I'm driving, you old hag!"

"Excuses! Turn! That was your turn!" Wasp swerve hard onto Delancy Street and Macaria held onto the street so that she wouldn't fall into the sisters. Wasp punched the gas and they shot up the Williamsburg Bridge at seventy miles an hour. The sisters were fighting, slapping each other as Anger tried to grab at Wasp's face and Wasp tried to grab at Tempest's. With their hair flying and their mouths open, screaming at each other. Finally Anger, who had the advantage of sight, managed to yank the tooth out of her sister Wasp's mouth. This made Wasp so mad she swerved toward the edge of the Williamsburg Bridge, yelling, "'Ivit back! 'Ivit back!"

Tyson groaned and clutched his stomach. "Uh, if anybody's interested," Percy said, "we're going to die!"

"Don't worry," Annabeth told Percy, though she was just as worried. "The Gray Sisters know what they're doing. They're really very wise." Macaria and Percy threw each other a worried look as the skimmed along the edge of a bridge a hundred and thirty feet above the East River.

"Yes, wise!" Anger grinned in the rearview mirror, at her new tooth. "We know things!"

"Every street in Manhattan!" Wasp bragged, still hitting her sister. "The capital of Nepal!"

"The location you seek!" Tempest added.

Immediately her sisters pummeled her from either side, screaming, "Be quiet! Be quiet! He didn't even ask yet!"

"What?" Percy said. "What location? I'm not seeking any-"

"Nothing!" Tempest said. "You're right, boy. It's nothing!"

"Tell me."

"No!" they all screamed.

"Girl! We know your mother!" Tempest said trying to change the subject.

"You can't say that either!" Anger and Wasp yelled.

"The last time we told, it was horrible!" Tempest said.

"Eye tossed in a lake!" Anger agreed.

"Years to find it again!" Wasp moaned. "And speaking of that-give it back!"

"No!" yelled Anger.

"Eye!" Wasp yelled. "Gimme!" She wacheked her sister Anger on the back and there wa a sickening pop and Anger's eye flew out, she tried to catch it but only ended up making it roll straight into Percy's hap. Percy jumped so hard that his head hit the ceiling and the eyeball rolled away. Macaria swallowed, pushing down some of her nauseous and grabbed the eyeball. The taxi slammed against the guardrail and skidded along with a horrible grinding noise, the whole car shuddered and billowe gray smoke as if it was about to dissolve.

"Going to be sick!" Tyson wanted.

"Wait!" Percy said when Macaria was about to hand the eyeball back. "We won't give it ack until you explain. What were you talking about, the location I seek?"

"No time!" Tempest cried. "Accelerating!" The trees and cars and neighborhoods were zipping by in a gray blur. They were already out of Brooklyn and were in the middle of Long Island.

"Percy," Annabeth warned, "they can't find our destination without the eye. We'll just keep

accelerating until we break into a million pieces."

"First they have to tell me," Percy said. "Or I'll grab the eye from Macaria, open the window and throw the eye into oncoming traffic."

"No!" the Gray Sisters wailed. "Too dangerous!"

"I'm rolling down the window."

"Wait!" the Gray Sisters screamed. "30, 31, 75, 12!"

"What do you mean?" Percy said. "That makes no sense!"

"30, 31, 75, 12!" Anger wailed. "That's all we can tell you. Now give us the eye! Almost to

Camp!" They were off the highway and zipped through the countryside of northern Long Island. Half-Blood Hill was head, with the giant pine tree at the crest, Thalua's tree.

"Percy!" Annabeth said more urgently. "Now" Macaria passed it to Wasp who snatched it up and pushed it into her eye socket.

"Whoa!" She slammed onto the brakes and the taxi spun around four or five time sin a cloud of smoke and squealed to a halt in the middle of the farm road at the base of Half-Blood Hill.

Tyson let loose a huge belch. "Better now."

"All right." Percy said. "Now tell me what those numbers mean."

"No time!" Annabeth opened her door. "We have to get out now." Macaria looked at Half-Blood Hill and froze. The crest of the hill was a group of campers who were under attack.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire." Macaria said in grimly.