Chapter 21: What Happens In Dark and Dangerous Alleys
The train finally came to a stop after what seemed like an eternity. Seven sleepy heads filed out of the train with suspicious looks on their faces. We all kept our guard up. We do not want another run in with the skeleton warriors. As we were walking by, I noticed a sign at the entrance of the station: Sun West Lines.
Well, I thought. This pretty much guarantees we're headed in the right direction.
As relieving as it is, I still have a lot more problems on my plate to deal with. For example, I have to figure out a way to prevent my older sister's death. And I have to unite the Greeks and Romans before our psychotic great grandmother kills us all. I can't forget about our cannibalistic grandfather too. Not to mention I'm going to have to find some way to convince Percy to take a swim in the Styx without accidentally betraying him this time. I also need to resurrect Hazel, and make a silver and Stygian iron sword. Oh, and I need to find the least damaging way possible of breaking the news that Thalia's brother is still alive. Or I'm going to need to build a bomb shelter and lock myself in it if she finds out on her own.
Yep, the future's looking great.
We wander out of the train station and through the dreary town. Everywhere I looked, sleet and mud covered the roads, roofs, signs, gutters, and even the cars. There's nothing "sunny" about this town whatsoever. People sulked around the streets, acting like somebody just ran over their puppy. With the creepy vibe oozing from this town, I wouldn't put it past them. Others loitered outside of the stores, staring at the pedestrians as they walked by. Now, generally this wouldn't really bother me. I am the son of the Lord of the Dead after all. But the 10 year old side of me was frightened of all the creepiness of the street.
I scooted a little closer to Percy and Annabeth.
"So, does anybody know where we should be headed next?" Percy asked. "Because I don't."
"I think we should be walking in that direction," Bianca said. She pointed to a run-down alley in a really shady looking part of town.
"Um, should we really be heading down that way?" Grover asked. "It looks really shady."
Thank you, Grover for voicing everyone's thoughts on the matter.
"Yeah, I'm with Grover on this one. Why should we head down the dark and dangerous alley where monsters could easily jump us and we would have no means of escape?" Thalia asked. No means of escape? There's always a means of escape. Or at least, that's generally how it goes for me. Dark alleys almost always have a lot of shadows to jump through.
"I-I'm not so sure. I just have this gut feeling, you know? My instincts are telling me that's the best way to go, and we don't have any better leads," the Daughter of Hades replied.
"Okay, works for me," the Son of Posiedon said. He was about to make his way down the dark alley, but Annabeth pulled him back.
"Slow your horses, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth chided. "Zoe's the one who received the prophecy, so she should have the final say," she turned to the lieutenant Hunter. "What do you think about this?"
Zoe frowned in contemplation. "I think it is the best lead we have. Lead the way, Bianca."
"Hold up," Grover said. He made the universal stop motion with his hands. "So, we've all agreed we're going to head down the dark and dangerous alley? Just like that?" He sighed. "I hate to be the voice of reason—I really do. But someone's got to step into the role, now more than ever. Have you ever considered there could be a…" he cupped his hands into a circle on top of his forehead. "One-eyed friend down there? Or here's another thought: More skeleton warriors?"
"Dark and dangerous alleys aren't that bad!" I said. "Don't jinx it, Grover. You never know who could be listening. Besides, there's seven of us! We can take them!"
"That," Percy pointed at me. "Is the attitude that generally gets yourself eaten alive faster."
"Shut up, Kelp Head."
"Just saying, Death Breath."
"I agree with Kelp Head. That's a really stupid way of thinking," Thalia said.
"Stay out of this, Pinecone Face," Percy quipped.
"I'd watch what you say if I were you, Kelp Head," Thalia warned. A spark of electricity crackled from the Daughter of Zeus' now formed fists.
"Okay," Annabeth said as she separated Thalia, Percy, and I away from each other. "Like I said earlier, Zoe's the leader of this quest. And like Bianca said earlier, we have no better leads. So we are heading down the dark and dangerous alley whether everyone agrees or not. Got it?"
Everyone nodded and mumbled a: "Got it."
"I can't believe it took us five minutes to decide whether or not we should go down a dark alley," I heard Thalia grumble somewhere behind me.
We cautiously made our way into the dark alley. Zoe somewhat reluctantly took the lead, with Bianca right beside her, Grover and Thalia behind them, and Percy, Annabeth, and I in the very back. As we walked through the narrow passage, homeless people stared at us curiously behind their dumpster lit bonfires. A horrible smell pervaded my nostrils. A scent of rotten eggs and wet dog lingered in the frosty air.
"Hey," one of the homeless men greeted. He had a shaggy blond beard, a crooked smile that was conveniently missing front teeth, and wore a rugged red beanie to shield his ears from the bitter cold. "You want to join me around the bonfire? It's warm!"
Zoe and Bianca looked absolutely appalled that the man had asked such a thing, Grover shifted nervously behind Thalia, and Percy and Annabeth glanced at each other suspiciously. I however, stepped forward. There's something off about this guy. I gazed at the other homeless people around us out of the corner of my eye. Everyone looked somewhat presentable and calm. They hovered their hands over the fire, minded their own business, and stayed out of trouble. Is it a coincidence that this guy is the only one looking for trouble?
I studied the man. He looked out of place with his homeless buddies around him. His clothes looked way nastier and rugged than everyone else's. I frowned. It's like he's trying to seek attention. But why? Then I noticed his eyes. The bright blue orbs twinkled mysteriously in the firelight. It was so unlike the dull, foggy colors around him. A strange aura seemed to resonate from the man.
This is no homeless guy, I thought. Only one god would be so desperate for attention.
"Lord Apollo," I addressed calmly and quietly. "What brings you to Sun West Lines?"
I smirked at his look of surprise.
"Nico, what are you—"
Apollo shushed Percy quite loudly. "I'm undercover!" He whisper-yelled. "My dad doesn't know I'm here!"
Everyone exchanged looks of surprise. "How did you know it's me?" The Sun God asked.
"You're trying too hard," I answered. "If you want to blend in more, I would tone down the aura and disguise."
Apollo nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps he was filing this information for his later disguises. "Wait, time out," Bianca chimed in. "You're really…"
"Yup," the god said, popping the "p." His face darkened. "Look, I want to help my little sister anyway I can. Since us gods are not allowed to directly interfere, I figured I could… discreetly guide you in the right direction."
"And how would you define 'discreet?'" Thalia asked. "Cause' I don't think we go by the same definition."
He leaned forward, and his face was casted in an eerie glow. It strangely reminded me of someone who's about to tell a ghost story by the fire. "There is a man who lives in the sea, just beyond this coast. I think you will find his knowledge to be very helpful on your quest," he suggested.
Zoe gasped. "The Old Man of the Sea!" She turned to us. "Nereus, the God of the sea's rich bounty of fish, possesses all insightful knowledge! He even knows of things the Oracle of Delphi has yet to discover! Legend has it, he will grant anyone who captures him one question to answer," the spark of hope dimmed in her dark eyes. "But he is hard to find. He is a master at hiding in plain sight with his shape-shifting ability. Thou will not find him if thou does not know where to look."
Thalia asked what everyone was thinking. "Nereus chose to live here?" She gestured to the whole town. "The god that literally knows everything chose to live by this coast?"
Zoe wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He is known for his knowledge, not his taste in residence," was all she said.
"Maybe he thinks this is the best place to hide in plain sight," I reasoned. "It's actually pretty ingenious. No one would expect a god to live in a run down town like this one. Thus, no one can locate him. I would have done the same thing if I were in his situation."
"Makes sense," Annabeth said. "Now that leaves the question: What form has he taken?"
I frowned. "Probably something inconspicuous, like a fish."
"Definitely. And a fish that isn't eye-catching or vibrant, as to not attract attention," the Daughter of Wisdom added.
"Then again, he doesn't want to be a super ugly fish. That still attracts a great deal of attention too," I said.
"We also have to take into account the various seafood indigenous to the locals. I'm sure it would be quite annoying to get caught in a net over and over again."
"And we want to take into account the seafoods other people eat too, especially the people this town trades seafood with."
"There's a lot of factors that go into this," Annabeth pondered. "He may not even be a fish at all."
"If he isn't a fish, there's a possibility he could be shrimp or plankton."
"But he wouldn't want to be prey either. I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate constantly avoiding heroes and predators."
"Though he's a god. So couldn't he just like, telepathically tell the predators to leave him alone?" I pointed out.
"He may not even be a sea creature at all!" The Daughter of Athena exclaimed. "What animals are inconspicuous, dominant, uninteresting, not the preferred food choice, and sea creatures?"
"He might be a tardigrade," I deduced. "Tardigrades are extremely inconspicuous, to the point where they are literally microscopic. They are practically indestructible, can survive extreme temperatures, including snow, space, mountain peaks, volcanoes, and eight times the pressure of the deepest trench in the sea—the Mariana Trench. And they're super adorable little water bears too," I added. Oh, I love tardigrades. They're one of my favorite animals out there, save for the mantis shrimp.
Annabeth nodded in agreement. "I could definitely see a god taking that form, especially the Old Man of the Sea."
I gasped. "He could be a shark!"
"Sharks don't hang out this close to the coast."
"How do we know he's even hanging out near the coast at all?" I challenged. "For all we know, he could be far out at sea eating plentiful fish and relaxing."
"Yeah, though shark fin soup has become increasingly more popular over the years, especially at places by the beach."
"He might be a mantis shrimp. The species are both majestic and incredibly deadly. People probably wouldn't feel inclined to searching for them either as they can kill a person with a mean punch of the force of a .22 caliber bullet in 23 metres per second," I suggested. How do I know this stuff? All of those conversations with the ghosts of scientists really pays off.
"Good point," Annabeth said. She turned to the others. "So, we're looking for some kind of inconspicuous fish, shark, tardigrade, or mantis shrimp."
No one said anything for a solid minute. For some weird reason, Percy, Grover, and Thalia looked impressed. Zoe gave me a look of respect, and was that… was that jealousy flashing in Bianca's eyes? Even Apollo looked speechless. I frowned. Why are they looking at us this way? "Um, guys. You okay?" I asked.
That got everybody's attention. All at once, everyone spoke.
"Holy Hephaestus!"
"Guys, I think we just found the first raven-haired child of Athena!"
"He just held a logical conversation with her! That's like, impossible!"
"Thou have earned my respect."
"Wow! You guys are smart!" Apollo exclaimed.
My face began to heat up. "We—we were just thinking. It was nothing—really." I suddenly became extremely interested in my shoes. I tried to keep my head down to hide my blush, but I don't have long bangs anymore. The pink on my nose and cheeks were as clear as daylight.
"Someone's a little modest too, I see," Annabeth smiled proudly. She ruffled my hair.
"Okay," Percy said. He raised his hands in a quiet down gesture. "Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that we found a little genius? Like, one that's actually on Wise Girl's level?"
I felt my ears heating up from all the attention. Oh, lovely.
"I have to say, I do enjoy having conversations more up to my speed. I hope we can do this more often, Neeks," Annabeth said.
I nodded in agreement. I couldn't stop the small smile from gracing my face. Out of the corner of my eye, the frown evident on my sister's face didn't escape me. Why is she acting like this? I almost scoffed. Does it really matter? Still…
I suppressed a sigh. Whether I like it or not, she's my sister. I have to find out what's wrong. I have to make amends with her. Bianca di Angelo's life depends on it. Later, I thought. When we look for the Old Man of the Sea, I'll talk to her.
"Once you find the Old Man of the Sea, we will speak again," Apollo announced. "Until then."
The Sun God disappeared. We only had a second to close our eyes before the flash of blinding light could kill us all.
"Well," Percy said. "It's time to go fishing."
