[Percy POV]

It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me. The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas.

These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold.

Chiron said the coins might come in handy for nonmortal transactions – whatever that meant. He gave Annabeth and me each a flask of nectar and an airtight bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt.

It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector.

Grover wore his fake feet and his trousers to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on.

In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's 'So Yesterday', both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

We waved goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair.

Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised.

Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck. "This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things." I heard footsteps behind us.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you." Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. "Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me.

"And I thought... um, maybe you could use these." He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal. Luke said, "Maia!" White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them.

The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared. "Awesome!" Grover said. Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..."

His expression turned sad. I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say goodbye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth.

"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks." "Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just... kill some monsters for me, okay?" We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.

After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating." "Am not." "You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?" "Oh... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?" She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road.

"Of course she did, otherwise capture the flag would have been over before it started." Announced a voice after a thud behind us. We all turned to the voice, the only one of us that wasn't surprised was Argus.

Out popped Cassidy from behind the pine tree, two scimitars on either side of his belt, one shorter than the other, and a backpack slung over one arm, "Room for a hitchhiker Argus?" Argus didn't seem very happy to see him. Cassidy seemed to expect the reaction. "Hey, I asked this time. And you can drive I promise." He held up his hands, Argus nodded, jingling his car keys. Me and Groover were stunned into silence.

"What? You guys meet at my one good napping spot in the camp and you're surprised when I show up?" He smiled, turning around quickly and placing his hand on the tree for good luck, then following after Annabeth.

I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?" He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air... that would not be wise for you." I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea.

"Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?" His eyes lit up. "Me?" Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch. "Maia!" he shouted. He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass.

The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos. "Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!" "Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading towards the van. I could hear a chorus of laughter from here.

[Cassidy POV]

"You shouldn't come with us." Annabeth said bluntly in the car, her tone with just a hint of the pretentiousness of Athena's children because of her precious new quest. "Three is a sacred number and-"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before, but for your luck, I'm not going on your mission." Percy's face dropped rather comically, "You're not?" He asked like a child who had been told off.

"Of course not, that would be incredibly dangerous for all of us, but I'm on another quest. I have to find a son of Poseidon called Perseus Jackson, and once I do find him, I have to get what he stole from him, it's not my fault if it takes until the solstice."

Annabeth smiled at me and Percy looked close to tearing up. Grover looked relieved for the extra help. Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island.

I closed my eyes and put my music on to kill time, saving myself from the noise of Annabeth and Percy bickering. Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain. Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side.

Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot. The rain kept coming down. We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples.

Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. Percy was pretty good too, his reflexes had improved, I wasn't too bad myself. Though I had to work hard note to get too into it and splatter the apple on my arms.

The game ended when I tossed the apple towards Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared – core, stem and all. Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth, Percy and I were too busy cracking up.

Finally, the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy – enchiladas. "What is it?" I asked. "I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."

A few seconds later, she grabbed Percy and tapped my shoulder urgently. I looked forward, as the last passengers got on, she whispered "Percy." An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse.

What? Was she famous or something? Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise, they looked exactly like the first lady, same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. As Percy slumped in his chair, I caught on. Monsters.

They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves. The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan.

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy said fearfully "You know her?" I whispered back, he nodded quickly, not taking his eyes off them, he tore his eyes away to snap at Annabeth "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not." "All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!" "It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld."

"No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows." "They don't open," Grover moaned. "A back exit?" she suggested. I got impatient.

As the other three fussed over whether we were about to be attacked or not, I prepared to do some attacking myself. I leaned forward, taking the Mistform Card of my golden sword, waiting for the instant they get close enough.

One got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom." "So do I," said the second sister. "So do I," said the third sister. They all started coming down the aisle.

"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat." "What?" "You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away." "But you guys –""There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering." "I can't just leave you." "Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!" I nodded, to do what I needed, I had to get him out of the way.

He took the Yankees cap and put it on. Disappearing into nothing as each of the furies stepped closer and closer to us. The front one stopped, sniffing, and looked around. My heart was pounding as she and her sisters kept going.

I couldn't take it anymore, I leaned even further forward and got ready to stand up when I heard hideous wailing from the back row. The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. I charged them, the two closest Furies were able to dodge, the second even managing to whip my shoulder as I managed to tackle the third to the ground. As a burning pain ran across my back. The card transformed into my sword.

I pinned the wing of the Kindly One to the floor of the bus using my sword that I drove through its wing. Then, using my sword I pinned her opposite shoulder to the floor in a similar fashion, the mortals on the bus were already scattering at the commotion.

Now its body was pinned I traced my fingers on the black spirals of the blade. "This sword is cursed with necromancy. If you don't want your soul absorbed by it, answer my questions." I snarled, she didn't need to answer verbally for me to get my answer.

She shrieked and struggled as I pressed my forearm under her chin, against her throat. She knew that this could all be over in less than a second, she quietened a little as the remaining Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing. "Where is it? Where?" The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right. "He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"

"Eight years ago, you attacked an orphanage with a bunch of half-bloods and legacies and burned it down, didn't you?" I asked her, again, she shrieked at me "Where is it?" She asked, her loyalty to Hades unshaken.

She began lashing my sides with her whip and trying to wriggle free. "DIDN'T YOU!" I repeated. "Answer and it stops!" I lied. "Answer me!" I said as there was a shout from the front of the bus, the Kindly One cried once more and kicked me in the chest. Knocking me backwards and tearing into my torso in one move.

Unfortunately, this meant I was in mid air when Percy almost flipped the bus! So with the help of the Furies, I was knocked out of a window. As the bus was forced to abruptly swerve to the left I flew out of a window, the sound of shattering glass bringing back horrible memories.

After falling to the ground and rolling a few yards into oncoming traffic, my body shouted at me to roll to the left quickly, I did so and managed to miss the tyres of a taxicab by inches.

Standing up and brushing myself off, I watched as the bus screeched down the tunnel, against the barrier. With a short sigh, I watched the bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind it.

I started to jog after it. "Next time, we're taking a taxi." I was reinvigorated by the thought of capturing a Kindly one. Picking up the pace as the bus careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and somehow the driver found an exit.

When I made it out of the tunnel, I knew I was about to be left behind, I knew I had to act fast and saw a kid riding on a skateboard, that could work. I drew a Mistform Card and watched as it transformed into a replica of the kid's skate.

The bus had shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barrelling down one of those New Jersey rural roads. I finally found the bus crashed into the trees near the Hudson River.

The emergency lights were on, the door was open and as I skated up, I saw the bus driver taking a breather outside of it, surrounded by angry passengers yelling at him. I rolled up to the front of the bus just in time to see something I never thought I would.

I saw Annabeth riding on a Furies back as Grover tied the monster up in her own whip. Finally, they both shoved her backwards into the aisle. 'Mrs Dodds' tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.

"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!" She screeched, "Wait Percy Don't!-" I said as I saw Percy raise his sword and yell "Braccas meas vescimini!" I don't know if it was my injuries or my surprise, but it took my brain a few seconds to process those words.

"Eat my pants!" Thunder shook the bus; it didn't take me long to understand why "Get out!" Annabeth yelled at us. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement and quickly darted away.

We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" "Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our–"

BOOOOOM! The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs Dodds was not yet dead.

"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!" We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us and nothing but darkness ahead.

It was only after our moment of rest that I realized I was missing something, something I'd left in my bag. "My sword! That thing was a relic!" I groaned, looking down at the scratches in my shirt and realizing this day couldn't get much worse.


Please review the history. Feedback is very good and helps me improve.