Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson

Chapter 10: The Quest Begins


The next day…

Grover, Annabeth, and Percy panted as they ran deep into the woods, leaving the smoking bus behind on the New Jersey highway as the Kindly Ones screeched.

"I think we finally got away from them." Percy gasped, collapsing on the ground.

Annabeth gripped her dagger, looking around the forest. "I wonder when Christina will show up."

"I'm sure she'll be here soon." Grover said, shrugging.

Behind the three of them the trees began rustling. Percy hopped to his feet, uncapping his pen as Grover pulled out his reed pipes and Annabeth raised her dagger.

Just then, the trees parted, and Christina ran out. Blood dripped down the side of her face, the side of her shirt was ripped, dirt covered her face and hands, her hair was messed up, Seastorm was out, and she had a wild look in her eyes.

"Christina?" Annabeth questioned, lowering her dagger. "Are you okay?"

The younger girl chuckled. "Well, that's a… funny story."


Twelve hours earlier…

"Okay," Christina thought to herself as she set out away from camp. "Now I need to figure out how to catch up with them." Glancing towards the ocean off to the left, Christina grinned to herself. "I think I might just have an idea."

Setting out at a run she made her way across the empty highway and onto the other side of the road. Sprinting down the hill, the grass swishing against her legs, her feet hitting the sandy beach. Coming to a stop on the edge of the beach, she gazed out across the water.

Letting out a sharp whistle, a dolphin breached the surface in front of her. Fastening her backpack around her shoulders, Christina climbed onto the back of the dolphin, who took off into the surf.

"Head along the coast." She told the dolphin. "I'll tell you when to stop."

The dolphin let out a whistle that she knew meant that it understood, and disappeared under the waves with the demigoddess on its' back.


Six hours later…

"You can stop here." She told the dolphin, as the New Jersey coastline came into sight. "I'll be fine."

The dolphin let out a whistle letting her know that it understood, and swam towards the coastline. As soon as they were as close as they could get without the dolphin being breached on the shore, Christina climbed off and swam to the shore. She waved at her aquatic friend, who disappeared under the waves, before setting off into the woods.

"If I continue traveling away from the beach, I should be able to reach the highway eventually. Then I'll be able to find a bus and find the others." She thought to herself. "All I need to do is stay alive."

A rustling in the woods behind her caused her to turn around, pulling her sword off of her bracelet. Suddenly, the bushes exploded, and a hellhound burst into the clearing, slightly larger than the one that had attacked Percy in the capture the flag game.

"Di immortals." She muttered under her breath, backing up a bit as the hellhound focused it's gaze on her.

Darting foreword, she swiped her sword under the belly of the hellhound, but instead of disintegrating the monster, it just roared in fury and leaped at her, as Christina used all her skill to dodge and avoid becoming a monster's dinner.

"If I can find a nearby water source, I may be able to kill this thing." She thought to herself, and projected her conscious out, searching for a nearby water source.

Sensing a creek just beyond the trees in front of her, she directed all her power at controlling the water, grinning as a stream shot out, blasting the confused hellhound twenty feet away and into a nearby tree. Sending a quick apology to any dryad who might have lived in the tree, Christina ran foreword, slashing at the hellhound until it broke into dust and disintegrated.

Brushing the extra monster dust off her clothing, she picked up her backpack from where it had been thrown when the fight started and glanced around the clearing. The bushes from the direction of the creek were completely snapped and the dirt and grass had all been dug up, but other than that it looked pretty okay, enough that she was confident no dryad was going to run after and harass her for hurting their home.

Sighing, she continued off in the direction she had been heading. "I hope that's my last monster fight until I find the others."


Six hours later…

"Why did I have to jinx myself?" Christina groaned, crashing through the forest, and sending a blast of water at the harpy pursuing her from a nearby creek, grinning as she heard the monster disintegrate with a hiss behind her.

Crashing into a new clearing she came to a sudden stop as Percy, Grover, and Annabeth stared back at her in shock, all having raised their weapons in defense, but lowered them when they realized who she was.

She was suddenly aware of exactly how she looked, with the blood running down her face, torn clothes, and crazed look on her face.

"Christina? Are you okay?" Annabeth questioned, staring at her friend.

Christina chuckled. "Well, that's a… funny story."

Before she could respond, Percy darted across the clearing and pulled her into a fierce hug. "I'm so glad you're okay." He mumbled into her shoulder.

"I'm okay Perce." She said laughing and pulling back from her brother. "A few hellhounds and harpies aren't going to kill me."

Grover trotted over and pulled her into another hug. "I'm glad we found you, Christina."

"I didn't die." Christina told her friends, glancing around at their concerned faces. "I told you I would meet up with you and I did. Now, where are we heading?"

Annabeth huffed, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. "Well, we were on a bus heading west, but the Kindly Ones showed up, all three of them, and Percy blew up the bus."

"I wasn't going to leave you two to die." Percy protested. "And now we've found Christina."

Christina glanced off in the direction they had been heading before. "Well, let's get going. Maybe we'll be able to find another bus."

Together, the three demigods and one satyr set off west, determined to find the lightning thief, or die trying.


Sorry for how short this chapter is, the next one should be much longer.

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