Percy Jackson
Percy woke up with a jolt. He looked around, only to see Annabeth smirking at him. He narrowed his eyes at her, he knew that smirk, she always had that smirk on when she did something mischievous.
"What?" She asked in a teasing tone.
"What did you just do?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing, just—" She pinched his ribs which caused him to jump.
"Gods, I should've never let you find out about that!" He grumbled, getting up while Annabeth laughed.
"I would've found out eventually." Annabeth said, getting up and stretching.
Percy looked out the window of the train. They had stopped. He hadn't really taken walks around St. Louis but he definitely recognized the arch in the distance. Luckily, it was rebuilt shortly after he was there the first time, he silently swore to himself he was going to stay away from that thing.
He turned to Annabeth, who was looking at their tickets.
"We have half a hour to get something to eat." She said, "Wanna see if this place has Starbucks?"
Percy shrugged. Coffee wasn't really his thing but he went along with Annabeth anyways. He was getting a bit antsy on the train. He didn't mind being close to Annabeth, but he still hated being in such a small space.
Annabeth and Percy walked out of the train and looked around the station. This station looked much better than the one in New York. Unlike the last one, this station had a ton of people. Percy found himself staring enviously at a group of college guys who were laughing and horsing around while waiting for the train. He should've been in college, sitting in a boring lecture, yet here he was.
Businessmen walked past, some looking at their watches nervously while others talked on the phone. Families laughed and chatted as they waited for the train that would probably take them home or to their vacation spot. Percy even spotted a few satyrs amongst them. Luckily, they didn't say anything to him.
Seeing the satyrs reminded Percy of Grover. Grover hadn't been at Camp Half-Blood when Hektor did his betrayal. The last he heard, Grover was somewhere in Vancouver trying to help preserve a sacred forest. Tyson was up there too, mainly helping defend him from monsters.
"There." Annabeth said, pointing towards the telltale green and white siren on every Starbucks across the U.S.
Percy let Annabeth drag him to the coffee shop. The smell of coffee beans lingered in the air before assaulting his nose. The smell woke him up instantly. Annabeth pushed the door open, Percy nudging it with his elbow so it didn't come and smack him into the shop.
Annabeth let got of his hand and moved towards the counter, her eyes glancing back and forth at the menu. Percy watched as she squinted to read the sign, her dyslexia no doubt acting up. Percy was about to find a seat when he noticed they had a bunch of cinnamon buns and other breakfast pastries. He almost skipped over and peered to see what they had.
Annabeth pushed in next to him, also interested in the baked good. Her face scrunched up in disgust before saying, "Those look stale. We'll find somewhere else to eat, okay?"
Percy didn't see anything wrong with the buns. They looked perfectly fine to him but he didn't argue, he just sat off to the side while Annabeth ordered her coffee. She looked over at him and nodded for him to go find somewhere to sit.
Ten minutes later, he and Annabeth were sitting at a rather empty corner. Annabeth took sips of her coffee in between their talks of the quest and what they were going to do.
"What do you think's at Rushmore?" He asked.
Annabeth put her coffee down, "I have no idea. It could be anything really, or it could be absolutely nothing and Hektor is just sending Clarisse on a wild goose chase."
"I doubt it's nothing, Clarisse wouldn't be too happy about that." Percy knew Clarisse, she hated when people wasted her time.
"Clarisse is always happy when she has something to kill." Annabeth said, not wrong at all.
"True." Percy said, glancing out the window next to them. He raised an eyebrow at the sight of multiple station workers wearing orange hard hats and vests. They were all steering people away from the train, some of the people arguing with the workers.
"What is—" He started to say when the ground shook.
Annabeth yelped as she spilled coffee all over her pants. She stood up, looking around with a murderous expression. Percy's shocked face stared at the coffee dripping on her lap before he shook it off and stood up, making his way to the door.
As soon as the door was open, he heard people screaming in panic while a loud buzzer alarm screeched through the station. By now, police officers had started helping station workers herd people away from the train. Percy ran over and looked on both sides of the train, only to see the tracks from where had come from had exploded.
Annabeth ran over next to him, coffee still dripping down her legs. "Fuck!" She yelled, "We can't leave now, they'll close the station down!"
"Yeah, but how—" Percy was cut off by the sound of tires screeching. He turned to see a BMW slam right into a liquor store. The people from the station were starting to scream at the police, throwing backpacks, suitcases, even each other.
"Oh my gods." Annabeth muttered, "What is going on?"
Percy remembered something like this happen in New York. It'd be all normal then next thing he knew, everyone was going psycho. He watched as the police radioed for backup while drawing their batons.
"You two, get over here, now!" An officer shouted at him and Annabeth.
"Run!" Annabeth shrieked, taking off with Percy next to her. They easily outran the cop since he was the only one chasing them. All the other cops were dealing with the ever increasing riot. They broke through a entrance to the station and into the St. Louis streets, which really weren't any better.
A news helicopter flew by, followed by two black army helicopters. A pair of fighter jets roared overhead. Percy looked over to see everyone was in a full-on brawl. He watched as a little kid hit a bodybuilder over the head with a baseball bat. The loud thunk! was so loud it made Percy cringe.
The sound of two girls shrieking got his attention. Sure enough, two college girls were going at it, pulling hair, biting, and punching. They both wore different college hoodies, one red, the other blue. Their faces were red with rage and their eyes wide with insanity.
"Oh my gods, look!" Annabeth said.
Percy looked at what she was looking at. To his horror, a old balding guy had pulled out a pistol and was aiming it at two guys fighting on top of a white van. Percy flinched when the old guy pulled the trigger, only for the gun to explode in his hand, sending shrapnel and smoke everywhere. The loud bang was only a whisper amongst the chaos.
Percy's ears strained to listen as everything around him went to shit. Annabeth grabbed his hand and squeezed.
"We need to go!" She yelled over the noise.
"Okay!"
Percy had no idea where he and Annabeth were going but they sprinted through the streets, dodging out of control cars and brawls. Large black smoke plumes rose in the distance. Sirens screamed down the streets as every emergency vehicle in St. Louis tried to get to the worst areas.
Percy was suddenly stopped when Annabeth had halted and started staring at something. He looked over to see she was staring at a small clothing store. Percy tried to read the sign, but his dyslexia kicked in and made it downright impossible. He looked over to see Annabeth's pants were ruined with her coffee.
"Annabeth, you know we can't buy anything with all this going on." He said.
Annabeth looked over at him, "Who said anything about buying?"
Percy sighed but didn't resist when Annabeth sprinted across the street and into the clothing store. He followed her, mainly so she didn't end up getting into a fight with some random man or woman who thought they could take her on and win.
The inside of the store was a mess. The lights from the ceiling were on the floor, shattered and broken. The cash register was in pieces right next to a large dent in the wall. Clothes were all over the place. The cashier was busy wailing on a guy dressed as a clown.
Percy tried to spot Annabeth amongst the chaos, only spotting her blonde hair near the skirt section. She was skimming through a row of short skirts, suddenly yanking one out and running to him, "Let's go, I found something!"
Percy turned and ran with Annabeth, but not before leaving five dollars on the cashier's desk. He didn't care about five dollars of his own money, he just didn't feel right about stealing. He took off outside the store, spotting Annabeth's duffle bag as she ran through the streets, occasionally glancing behind her to see if he was following.
He had no idea how long they ran, they only stopped when they reached the calm outskirts of St. Louis. They must've reached an abandoned district because a lot of the buildings around them were old defunct warehouse buildings. He didn't hear or see anyone besides Annabeth.
"I think we're safe." Annabeth said, still holding the skirt in her hands.
"I think so too. What do we do?" He asked.
Annabeth eyed the buildings around them. "Let's just hide here, we'll go back at night, it should be quieter then." She said.
Percy didn't have any better ideas. Downtown was a mess, he didn't even want to know how many people got hurt or killed during all of that chaos. He followed Annabeth to a run down warehouse that could fit at least two private jets.
The door creaked as Annabeth opened it and peeked through to make sure they were truly alone. She turned to Percy and nodded. Percy followed her in, surprised by the maze of warehouse shelves inside the warehouse. The inside was dim with the evening sun, it'd be pitch black for sure once night hit. He looked over at a light switch and tried it, not expecting anything to happen. To his surprise, the lights came on, revealing shelves of crates and abandoned cars that looked like they were plucked from a junkyard.
"I need to change." Annabeth said, looking at him with a expecting look. After a few awkward seconds, she said, "Turn around!"
"Not like it's something I haven't seen before." Percy grumbled, turning around regardless. He smirked at Annabeth's red face before staring at a wall while she changed. He could hear her unzip her pants and slide them off. Then he heard her slip off her duffle bag and open it.
A minute later, Annabeth said, "Okay, you can turn around now."
Percy turned and almost gasped. Annabeth looked amazing in a skirt. Granted, he thought she looked amazing in everything but she really looked like a borderline goddess. He noted that she had lost a little of her tan, probably due to her spending more time indoors recently.
"What?" She asked.
"I don't mind you wearing that but did you really have to get a skirt?"
Annabeth looked down and blushed, "Well, I didn't have to get one. It's just skirts and shorts are better for moving, pants kind of limit your movement."
Percy noted she liked wearing shorts a lot. He never really noticed that about her, but she really did have a signature outfit.
Annabeth looked around them, "I'll look around and see if I can find something for us to do."
"Uh, sure, I'll be right here." Percy said, moving to one of the abandoned cars and sitting on the hood. He watched Annabeth walk off. He was tempted to take a nap but his phone ringing stopped him from doing that. He pulled his phone out which was blaring Aerosmith, the screen reading Jason's name.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Percy, oh thank gods." Jason said, sounding relieved.
"What's up?"
"Listen, I don't have much time to talk but Hektor is trying to take Annabeth. He just transferred Sherman, Malcolm, and a few other campers to his own personal hunting squad. They'll be hunting you."
"Malcolm? Are you serious?" Percy asked, finding it odd that a child of Athena would turn against one of their own.
"Yeah, he's brainwashed or something, I don't know. Anyways, that's besides the point, do not split up, no matter what happens, okay?" Jason said in a serious tone, "If Hektor gets his hands on Annabeth…well, she'll wish she died."
Percy's vision flashed red for a moment, he didn't want to imagine what Hektor would do. He wanted nothing more than to strangle his scrawny ass, but he knew he couldn't do that. Not through the phone.
"Do you know why he's after her?" Percy asked, getting his composure back.
"He didn't say but I think it's some sort of victory gesture. If he can make Annabeth his, then everyone might think he's worth following. I can tell people aren't following him naturally, something is forcing them to follow him." Jason said, "I gotta go but remember what I said, do not split up!"
"Wait—" Percy sighed when Jason hung up. He looked around and realized that he and Annabeth had just split up! He jumped off the hood of the car and started running in the direction he saw Annabeth go. He tried looking around for her but the warehouse was huge, she could be anywhere.
The deeper he got in the warehouse, the more decrypt the place looked. Old rusty toolboxes were all over the place along with metal scraps. The dust in the air made him sneeze. He could smell an odd metallic smell, though he wasn't sure what was causing it.
"Percy, come look!" Annabeth called.
Percy ran to her voice, "Coming!"
He couldn't tell where she was but he could hear her calling his name. The maze of shelves was really hard for him to travel but eventually he came upon what was calling his name.
It wasn't Annabeth.
Standing in his way was a giant Cyclops. Its eye stared at him with a rabid rage. Percy glanced behind him, seeing Annabeth bound and gagged but definitely alive. She shook her head frantically at him.
"H-hey there." Percy said, slowly reaching into his pocket and drawing Riptide. The Cyclops eyed the sword with a weary look, as if he had felt a sword's touch before. He inched back.
"Half-Blood." The Cyclops said in a deep gruff voice.
Percy was surprised it could even talk. He wondered how long he had been alive, most Cyclopes often died from either fighting half-bloods or other monsters. It was a cruel life for them, usually they were easy prey for Hellhounds when they were young.
"You can talk?" Percy asked.
"Yes. This is my home, why have you come?" The Cyclops asked, "Have you come to steal more of my things, like the other one?"
"What other one?"
The Cyclops shed a small tear, "I offered friendship to a half-blood once, he repaid me by breaking my project and stealing the parts. Never trusted half-bloods after."
"We were just trying to find a place to stay, it's not safe outside." Percy said, "I promise I wasn't trying to steal anything."
The Cyclops eyed him before turning to look at Annabeth, "Is she your companion?"
"Uh, yeah." Percy said. He flinched when the Cyclops moved towards Annabeth. He was about to rush him but stopped when the Cyclops gently took off the ropes and set Annabeth next to him.
"You may rest here, I swear on the Styx to do no harm." The Cyclops said, "Please don't steal anything, it took me years to find everything."
"We swear on the Styx we won't steal anything." Percy said, looking at Annabeth. She shrugged.
The Cyclops turned and walked deeper into the maze, whistling something that sounded oddly like a lullaby.
Percy hadn't met friendly monsters often, especially Cyclopes. Most of the good ones were in Poseidon's realm, he never met a friendly one that lived on its own, especially like the one he just saw. Regardless, he was kind of glad he didn't have to fight otherwise he'd have to use some tricks to win.
"Is it just me or does he remind me of Tyson?" Annabeth asked.
"Nah, he's similar. Tyson likes building things too." Percy said, "Come on, I need to tell you something."
It was time she knew what Hektor was planning.