Chapter 3
I stood on the Greyhound with my hand on the pool, an annoyed gaze focused on Grover who stood in front of me. Theseus had gone to talk to the driver, leaving Percy with his annoying friend.
"And what exactly is this card for?" He asked, glancing at the business card. "Half Blood Hill"
"It's my summer house. So uhh, if you ever find yourself in trouble, just come over." He said, slightly stuttering.
Percy scowled. Ever since the old ladies at the fruit stand, Grover had been acting weird. Either way, Percy sighed and took the piece.
To be honest though, Percy himself wasn't feeling to great. Seeing those old ladies snip the sock, it had scared him. He didn't know why, but he knew it was serious.
Before Percy could say something about it though, Theseus burst through the crowd of people.
"Hey guys." He said, breaking the tension.
Percy immediately scoffed. "I'm going back home, unless you want to put for your own ride, I expect that you follow me." He said as the bus came to a stop.
"Wait what?!"
Percy didn't care to explain as he exited the bus with surprising speed. With a confused look, Theseus shrugged before following his brother, trusting his judgement.
The two pressed down on the pavement just as the bus was starting to move again.
"Wait! Hold up!" Said Grover, but it was too late, the bus doors had already closed, leaving the two to themselves.
Percy immediately got a taxi and the two brothers got in, prepared to see their mother for the first time in months.
Theseus was absolutely ecstatic, while Percy was feeling a little indifferent.
A quick explaining about Percy and Ms. Sally Jackson's relationship.
First off, let it be known that Mrs. Jackson absolutely loved both her sons equally, though sometimes it didn't seem like it. For context, just like in everything else involving the two brothers, Theseus was always favored much more then Percy.
This wasn't intentional of course, but it was still the truth as growing up, Percy found himself to be left out of his own family. You would think this would make him dislike his mother, and brother by extension, but he did not let that be true.
It wasn't that Percy got mad about it, instead, he had simply grown used to it, used to being his brothers shadow. Actually, a shadow wasn't a good comparison, as even a shadow gets noticed.
Percy was deep in thought as the taxi reached his apartments, shaking him back to reality.
"We're here!" Said Theseus, closing the door of the taxi. He breathed in before opening his arms wide. "Home sweet home. I can't wait to see Mom!" He said as he grabbed his luggage and rushed up the stairs.
Percy followed, but he didn't really see what was so exciting. He loved his mother, of course, but there was nothing particularly special about his apartments.
After all, there was Smelly Gabe to deal with.
If you didn't know what that was, you were about to find out.
Theseus burst through the door first, and immediately frowned when he saw only Gabe and his poker friends in the living room.
"Where's my mom?" He asked.
"Not home. You got any money."
Percy could've spit at him.
Like previously stated, Percy's relationship with his mother wasn't the best, but his hatred for Gabe was enough to get a reaction out of him,
Before he could do something though, Theseus nodded and grabbed his brother, dragging him to their room.
It may not have seemed so at times, but Theseus was the older brother, and this was an example of him acting like one.
Once they reached there room (which had its closet filled with Gabe's extra close), Theo threw his brother onto the bed.
"You can't be getting mad like that. Gabe's an asshole for sure, but there's no point in letting him get the best of you." He scolded. Theseus was extremely likable, and got along with everybody, but not even Gabe could be saved.
He was one of the few people that Percy had seen make Theseus act out of character.
"Whatever, as long as he stays out of my way, I have no problem with him." He said, only speaking the half truth.
Theseus frowned, and was about to say something when the door was opened.
Theseus's mood immediately lit up as he saw his mother who engulfed him in a hug before she stepped through the frame.
"Theseus!" She said, grabbing her son and swinging him slightly.
Percy watched with blank face, multiple thoughts going through his head.
To his great surprise though, instead of continuing to hug her oldest son, Sally pushed off him and grabbed Percy.
"Percy." She said lightly, hugging him tightly.
Percy tensed up for a second before returning the energy, only slightly. His mother usually greeted him with an awkward "hi", but for some reason today was different.
His mother let go, and Theseus gave Percy a slight smile.
Percy blushed and turned away as they all three sat on Theseus's bed.
Theseus quickly got to telling his mom all about their year at Yancy, leaving in the good the bad and the ugly.
It was all going smoothly until he got to talking about the museum.
"What happened at the museum?" His mom asked.
Theo hesitated, and Percy looked away. "Nothing." Replied the younger brother, for some reason he felt bad about lying. He shouldn't have, as it was best his mother didn't worry about crazy bat monsters.
However, Percy's mom was not fooled, but thankfully she didn't push it.
"Well, it seems like you two had a great year, so I think that deserves a reward. How does Montauk sound!" She said, and a Theseus's face burst into a smile.
Percy knew his brother loved the place, but he himself found the run down cabin to be the best part.
"No way!" Said Theo. "When?"
"As soon as I get dressed." His mom replied, getting up. "Three nights, just like usual."
Theo continued his smile, and even Percy got out a couple words of appreciation. After some objections from Gabe, the three had prepared to leave within the hour.
"Not a scratch on this car." Gabe told Percy with disgust, as if the 11 year old would be driving.
Percy only scowled before getting in the back seat, meeting eyes with his older brother who was smiling at him warmly.
"You ready for a bomb weekend?" He asked.
Percy shook his head with a little smile visible. "Whatever." Was all he said as his mother stepped into the car.
After one more final goodbye to Gabe, and Percy struggling to hold back insults, his mother stepped on the gas, reaching the rental cabin within an hour.
After spending some time cleaning out the dirty shack, the little group went outside to lay in the sand.
Percy stayed quiet as his mother and brother taker, quietly munching on his blue food. Though he had disliked the idea at first, he had soon grown to like it, even more so then Theseus. (The fact that Gabe hated it helped)
Percy was busy staring at the sea, and had completely blurred out his family. Unlikes the other two there, Percy didn't feel any sort of way about the ocean. He felt like he should've, but instead he only felt disconnected.
He related much more to the shack behind him then the sea.
Percy stared blankly at the floor as he and his mom remained in silence. Theseus snored quietly to himself.
"So, how has school been for you?" She asked with a kind tone.
"You already asked that." Said Percy, a little stubbornly
"You hardly answered. I think Theseus took it upon himself to take up all the spotlight." She said with a slight chuckle.
Percy nodded. It was something he was used to.
"Well it wasn't bad, at least. But, it was a little more eventful then usually." Percy said hesitantly. He was debating whether or not to tell his mom about Mrs. Dodds, but decided he couldn't say everything with Theseus asleep.
His mom shifted a bit. "What do you mean by that?" She asked with slight worry.
Percy didn't know what had her looking uneasy, but hoped it was just the storm outside. To be fair, it was louder then anything New York had seen in years.
"I don't think it'd be smart to talk about that right now." Said Percy, turning around and getting into his bed. He would hold out on telling his mom anything for as long as he could.
He had to.
Realizing something grave, Percy's mom frowned. "Look, Percy-" before she could finish, Percy's mom was interrupted by a pound banging on her door.
Percy snapped up and Theseus slowly got up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Huh?" He asked, awoken by the noise.
The boys mom sprang out of bed before rushing to the door. She didn't hesitate to unlock the door, revealing Grover in a form the boys had never seen before.
"What the..." breathed Percy.
Grover muttered something to Mrs. Jackson before she turned on her two sons, both fully awake,
"What exactly happened at Yancy?!" She asked. Why didn't you tell me!"
Despite themselves, the two said nothing, shocked mostly by the sight of their friend.
After Grover cursing in Greek, their mom demanded an answer. Theseus was the first to regain his senses, and he stuttered out an explanation while Percy slowly gathered himself.
Percy was surprised how collected Theseus spoke despite the situation, while he himself was still flustered. After he was done, their mother demanded the three to get to the car, and they didn't argue.
As they ran, Percy found himself mesmerized, staring blankly at Grover, most notably his bottom half. This may have sounded weird, but it made sense when you took into account that instead of normal human legs, the boy had donkey limbs.
After some talking, Theseus couldn't help but ask,
"So your telling me your a donkey?!"
Grover let out a sound similar to a bleat. "A goat!" He corrected.
"So it does matter?"
"Well, unless you want to get trampled by satyrs, then yes, I guess it does." Relief Grover defensively.
Percy took in a sharp breath. "Satyrs? Like in the myths...?"
"Where the monsters at the museum a myth?" He asked, turning to the boy.
"Ahah! So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" Said Theseus.
"Of course there was! I just couldn't let you know, due to the monsters." He said, making no sense, at least to Percy.
Percy was about to ask a question when there was a deep bellowing sound behind them.
"What exactly is chasing us?" He asked, slightly worried.
"Nothing more then the Lord of the Dead and his minions." Said Grover, getting an almost comical reaction from Theseus.
"Grover!" Said their mom as she made a hard left onto an even more dangerous road.
Grover apologized before he never pushy turned around to see behind them.
"Where are we going?" Asked Theseus.
"The camp I talked about, a place where you'll be safe." She said.
Percy squinted. He remembered his mom disliking said camp, a place there dad wanted them to go, but didn't remember much from the conversations about it.
Before he could reply, there was a rumble below them just as the made a hard right. Percy caught a glimpse of a dark being behind them, and shuddered.
He tried to focus, but all he could see was the dark and rainy outside, a couple of trees stopping him from seeing farther ahead.
He was starting to wonder if maybe the sword him and his brothers used would be useful, but decided against it.
You see, he had kept the chain link necklace that appeared after the museum, but it had never turned back into a sword since then. Even after examining it deeply, it appeared to be normal.
Percy took the jewel from under his shirt, and debated taking it off to see what would happen when the card rattled and there was a loud boom! As the car exploded.
The vehicle rolled into a ditch, and after feeling lightweight for a second, Percy found his head planted into the back of his moms seat, beating slightly.
"Boys!" Called out Percy's mom, sounding worried.
"We're ok." Replied Theseus shakily, though it probably wasn't true.
"You three have to escape, please, Theseus, take your brother and Grover and pass the property line."
Theseus hesitated for a second as he looked slightly appalled. Bloom trickled down his forehead, but he didn't seem to notice, or care.
He kicked the door open and dragged out the two from the back.
"We're not leaving without you, mom!" He said. "Percy, take Grover."
His brother nodded before he noticed whatever had been chasing them.
A huge mass of a person with what seemed to be horns. Despite Grover's moans for foods and the heavy rain, the thing approaching was all Percy could focus on.
As soon as he snapped back to reality, he noticed Theseus had somehow gotten their mother out, and was walking away, waiting for him.
Percy made sure Grover was safe around his arms before he followed.
"That thing, whatever it is, it's at least 7 feet tall!" He called out.
Theo grunted. "I know." Was all he said through gritted teeth.
Percy turned to his mother. "Mom, that things. It's the Minotaur, isn't it?" He asked boldly, thunder rumbling as he did so.
"Percy, names have power, be careful." She said weakly, but the boy didn't much care.
All he knew was that if whatever camp ahead of them was considered safe, he would make sure that they all made it there in one piece.
(A bit of a longer A/N, my bad)
I've been trying to speed through some of the extra parts as we've all read the original books and despite the extra MC, they're pretty much the same.
But next chapter, I plan on trying something different.
Up until this point, I've been writing these chapters with the og lightning thief by my side, only changing the parts that effect the story and making scenes shorter, but next chapter I'm just gonna write with a clear goal of my own in mind.
It's kinda gonna be how I wrote the first Son of Thanatos book, so depending on how I feel about it will change how I'll write this story.
(If it does work out, writing will also take a lot less time, so that's a plus, lol)