Chapter 19: Let's Play the Interruption Game
"Thou are his son?! I knew there was something off about thou, but this… this is inconceivable!" Zoe said. She gazed at Bianca as if she were a foreign specimen she just discovered. "I would have never guessed…"
"I can't believe this! There are four children of the Big Three alive, instead of two like we thought? This changes everything!" Thalia exclaimed.
"I—I found four children of the Big Three?" Grover asked no one in particular. He looked mystified by the fact. "No wonder the rescue missions have never gone well."
"Wait, but that means the God of the Underworld broke the oath," Thalia said. "Twice."
"Actually, that's invalid. My father is the only one who hasn't broken the oath," I announced.
"And how would you know what the oath is?" Thalia interrogated, "You just figured out you're a half blood not two days ago!"
I was about to retort, but the clattering of bones just down the hall made me stop. That sound… Why does it sound so familiar?
"Hold up," Bianca said as she made the universal stop motion with her hands. "If I'm correct, demigods are supposed to get a claimed in order to determine their godly parents. As you can see, Nico and I haven't gotten claimed yet, meaning there is no proof that we are the children of Ha—"
"Don't say his name. Names have power. Unless you want his attention, I would refer to him as the Silent One," Annabeth wisely advised.
Bianca frowned. "As I was saying, there's no proof that we are children of the Silent One. So there really should be no reason to reach such accusations—"
"'No reason?'" Thalia interrupted quite rudely. "Do you seriously believe necromancy comes from some other god? To be able to raise the dead that naturally—there's no reason you two aren't children of the Silent One."
The clattering of bones grew disturbingly louder. I know for a fact I didn't raise anymore skeletons. So that means… My eyes widened. "Guys! Can everybody please shut their face holes for one second?"
"'Face hole?'" Percy looked confused. "What's that—"
"Shh!" Annabeth shushed him. "He's right, Seaweed Brain. Listen."
Everyone quieted down long enough to hear it. The sound of bone against bone became eerily more prominent. Several footsteps echoed just outside of the room. Everyone turned to me expectantly.
"Did thou—"
I interrupted Zoe, already knowing what she was about to say. "No. No, I did not."
"So then what's—"
"Oh, no," A very pale Percy interrupted Thalia. "I forgot about that."
"The other problem," Annabeth shakily voiced her concerns out loud. "We really need to get out of here now."
Grover frowned. "What's the other problem?"
"No time to explain. We need to leave pronto," I said hurriedly. I dashed over to the other side of the room to pick up the pelt laying forgotten on the polished floor. I have a feeling it'll come in handy soon.
"Who's com—" Bianca was yet again interrupted by the skeleton warriors charging in. At least twenty of them stood in the doorway, all dressed in grey security guard uniforms with guns in their hands. To mortals, they looked like ordinary security guards who haven't seen the sun in ages. But us demigods knew better. They raised their guns, and each skeleton aimed at one of us. They seemed to be confused as to which one of us is Percy. They aimed and fired. Gunshots resonated and the world around me suddenly moved in slow motion.
Someone's scream filled the air.
Zoe lunged at Bianca and hurled her to the hardwood floor. They narrowly missed the silver bullets aimed for their heads.
The chinks of metal echoed.
Thalia shoved Grover behind her as her shield began to form. The bullets pounded against the bronze melodically, like music. It was the song of battle.
The click of a pen resounded through the room.
Even as Anaklusmos jutted out into existence, Percy and Annabeth knew it couldn't protect them from all of the bullets. So they raised their weapons at the ready, both preparing for their demise.
No. I've come too far. I've risked too much.
I refuse to let the Heroes of Olympus go down by a few pitiful bullets. Without thinking, I flung the pelt of the Nemean Lion in their direction. Somehow, Percy caught it and covered the two of them just before the bullets hit.
Who's going to save me?
I almost laughed at the thought. Nobody has time for that. My reflexes kicked in and I flung backwards at an impossible degree. Right where my heart should have been, the bullets instead sliced through empty air.
Just as quickly, the world geared back into regular speed. A synchronization of shattering glass sounded behind us. All the tiny pieces flew around me, catching the light of the room. Like stardust, I thought.
We wasted no time sprinting out of the room. There was an unspoken agreement that we simply can't waste our time with bullets. Swords and monsters have proven to be more our speed. We raced down the halls in search of the nearest exit.
"We can try going downstairs," Bianca suggested. Her hair flew behind her like a flock of ravens in the setting sun.
"Takes too long," Annabeth and I answered simultaneously.
Then I spotted it.
Right down the hall, a single window was situated against the red brick. A pool of multicolored light shone through the colorful pane. The window was a nice piece of artwork, with vivid displays of what looked to be shapes—tons of them, ranging from circles to squares to rectangles to ovals. They all looked randomly placed and yet somehow couldn't have been more perfectly arranged. The stained glass reminded me of the Seven and the Greco-Roman Pantheon in general. Every bit different, yet one of the same.
It's a shame we're going to have to break it.
"Guys!" I pointed at the window. "I think I found our way out."
The skeletal security guards emerged from the far end of the hallway with their guns pointed at us once again. Uh, oh. Without a word, Percy and Thalia activated their shields and plowed them into the window. As the fragments of the masterpiece fell to the ground, so did the children of the Big Three. We followed not a second later. As I descended, the fragments around me sparkled in the sunlight. It created a rainbow of colors, though it did nothing to brighten the mood. It instead eerily remind me of all the colors in my drawing. So many shades falling to the ground. All the wildflowers in the field...
I tucked and rolled as the ground grew nearer. The others did the same. We didn't stop to see if the skeleton warriors were still following us. We simply made a break for it to the van. We all filed in, with Zoe in the driver's seat, Bianca in the passenger's, Thalia and Grover in the middle row, and Percy, Annabeth, and I at the very back. Zoe didn't ask where we're headed. She instead drove like the speed demon she is out of the museum parking lot.
We all breathed a sigh of relief when we were out of the general vicinity of the Smithsonian. Finally, I thought, We're safe! Then the bullets ricochet off of the back of the van, and I realized I thought too soon. Zoe tried to drive around the traffic of Washington DC, but to no avail. The cars simply refused to move, even for seven desperate demigods, Hunters, and satyr who are being chased by crazy skeletons with guns.
Fine, I thought, Have it your way, people. It's not like our very existence will determine the fate of the world as we know it, but whatever.
"There's a train station!" Annabeth shouted. "We can lose them there!"
We all abandoned the van and sprinted to the train station a yard or two away. We paid for the tickets with surprising speed and went aboard on the next train, heading west to save the goddess in chains.
