Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. I know that some parts of this chapter may seem confusing, but I hope that it will give insight into Luke's struggle to cope with his surrogate sister turning traitor. As easy as it is to say he hates her, he did raise her, and it's harder to actually make himself shut off the instinct to take care of her. I hope this will show that well. Enjoy, and thanks to anybody who reviewed, faved, etcd this story.

Chapter Eight

Zombie Gardening One-Oh-One

Before any of the rest of us (meaning Thalia and I) could object, Zoe stole the keys and took control of the wheel of the car. Bianca grabbed the passenger seat, so Thalia, Grover and I took over the back of the van along with our bags. (The two Hunters kept their bags with them, least I infect their things with my maleness or something.)

"Grover, which way?" I asked him as Zoe began driving towards Manhattan at a speed that was definitely not legal.

"We do not require the satyr's advice," Zoe sniffed disdainfully. "The prophecy-" I cut her off quickly.

"My quest, my decision. And watch the road!" She looked back just in time to avoid colliding with a silver Porsche. I thought of Ana's fear of cars, caused by her mother's death, and forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat at the thought of how she would react to being in this car.

Meanwhile, Grover pulled a few acorns out of his pocket and began performing some sort of spell. He frowned at the results and redid it twice before shrugging and putting them away again.

"Washington D.C," he announced.

I blinked in surprise. "D.C, really?" I repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Grover nodded firmly. "I triple checked." He gave me an earnest look. "I won't mess this up Luke," he insisted. "It's Ana."

"Alright," I agreed. "Zoe, head for D.C."

Her fury at being ordered around by a guy was obvious, but whatever else I had to say about Zoe Nightshade, I would give her this, she would do anything for her goddess. Even follow my instructions. Although the trip was filled with Thalia and Zoe taking every opportunity to argue with each other, we didn't stop until Maryland.

Eventually, we pulled in to a gas station to refill the tank, and I grabbed myself and Thalia some hot drinks before hurrying to catch up with the others who were exiting the store ahead of me.

"Grover, are you sure?" Thalia was asking as I came up them sipping my hot chocolate. She gave me a thumbs up as I passed her the cup of coffee she had requested. Chiron would have been horrified, and rightfully so, but I figured that we could probably get away with it given the circumstances. Besides, it was decaf, not regular.

"Well," Grover hesitated despite his earlier confidence, and I felt my heart sink slightly. "I'm pretty sure anyway. Like, ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."

"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca said sceptically, like she couldn't believe it. I rolled my eyes.

"He's a satyr," I pointed out to her dryly. "Grover was learning that spell when you were learning the alphabet song."

She flushed in embarrassment, glancing at the ground. "D.C. is about sixty miles from here," she said, quickly changing the subject. "Nico and I…" She frowned. "We used to live there. That's… that's strange. I'd forgotten."

"I dislike this," Zoe huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at me. I met her gaze steadily. As scary as Zoe was, her glare still didn't compare to Ana or Thalia's during their 'time of the month'. She got closer than any other attempt I had seen though. I'd give her that.

"We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.

Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"

"Oh, scullion," Thalia repeated mockingly, her expression. Unlike Zoe's glare, Thalia's rising anger actually did make me feel worried. "You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"

"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"

"Grover's right," I said stoically. "He has an empathy link with Ana, which strengthens his spells to find her. And we know already that the two of them are being kept together, so D.C is our best option."

Zoe still didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly when Bianca also voiced her support of D.C. "Very well. Let us keep moving."

"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do. Luke is nineteen now, and actually has a license."

"Perhaps," Zoe snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."

Grover began doing more magic as we crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. Still following Grover's instructions, Zoe parked a few blocks away from the Washington Monument.

Annabeth's voice popped into my head as I clambered out and glanced at the obelisk. "The Washington Monument is an obelisk built to commemorate George Washington, a son of Athena and both the Commander-in-Chief of the former Continental Army and the first President of the United States. Located east of the-" I sharply cut the memory off, my jaw clenching.

I couldn't let myself be weak. Annabeth was a traitor, and I couldn't afford to let myself think of her as anything else. Not if I wanted Ana back alive. Ana, who was my best friend, and had proven her loyalty to me a million times over in the past two years. Ana who was right now going through gods know what at Chase's hands. Chase, not Annabeth. That was better.

"There," Grover said, pointing at the Smithsonian. "We have to go in there. And we can get something to eat as well."

The others nodded at that, Bianca patting her growling stomach, but I shook my head.

"I'll catch up to you guys at the food court," I told them. "I need to stretch my legs a bit. Get some fresh air."

"Very well," Zoe sniffed, looking relieved to get away from me as she hastened away with Grover and Bianca following at her heels. Thalia hesitated, giving me a worried look.

I forced a smile, trying to reassure her and failing epically, I could tell. She reached over and squeezed my hand comfortingly before heading after the others. She knew that I needed some space.

I found myself fidgeting with Ana's bracelet, which I had gotten back from Beckendorf last night. The shield was repaired, but not perfectly, and Beck had warned that it was a patch job.

Ana would be distraught if it got fully destroyed during the quest, I thought as I meandered around. I'd have to avoid using it as much as possible.

That was when I saw him.

A block away, the door of a black sedan had just opened. A man with grey hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, in Washington, maybe you would expect guys like that to be everywhere. Private security and stuff.

But it dawned on me that I'd seen this same car from the backdoor window a couple of times on the highway, going south. I had dismissed it originally, but now I realized the truth. It had been following us.

The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of the others, who were still in sight, though I couldn't warn any of them.

The worst of it was: when he turned toward where I had ducked behind a tree to hide, I recognized his face. It was Doctor Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall. The monster who had taken Ana from me.

Making full use of my Hermes' inheritance to make myself blend in to my surroundings (my favourite power), I followed Thorn from a distance. My heart was pounding as I tried to keep from giving into the urge to lunge at him and gain vengeance for Ana's suffering. The image of her face, contorted in agony and paler than the time she had been poisoned by Chase and Nakamura was branded into the backs of my eyelids.

Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.

Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM.

Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.

Doctor Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. At first, I thought that it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then I realized that PIRATE must have actually been PRIVATE. Damn dyslexia. Just another way to make a half-blood's life even harder. Seriously, why can't we ever catch a break?

I followed Doctor Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, but I knew that I couldn't slip in after him.

Instead, I ended up climbing into an air vent and crawling through it to see inside. I still can't believe I wasn't caught, even with my abilities.

Inside, I saw a truly horrific scene.

I was looking down at a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two dracaenae, or, as Ana called them 'Ancient Greek snake whores'.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the dracaenae was Annabeth Chase herself.

She looked terrible. Her skin was unnaturally pale (especially for a half-blood. Almost all of us had a natural tan, or developed one quickly from so much time outdoors.) and her blond hair looked almost grey, as if she had aged ten years in just a few months. She still looked angry, like she had every day for years.

I hated the concern for her that I felt, so soon after vowing not to feel anything but distrust and hatred towards her for what she had done.

Next to her, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was a man. The only part of him that I could make out were his knuckles resting on the gilded arms of his chair, like he was a medieval king sitting a throne.

"Well?" asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream, deep and strong, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.

Doctor Thorn took off his shades. His two-coloured eyes glittered with excitement as he made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."

"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where are they?"

"In the rocket museum."

"The Air and Space Museum," Ann-Chase corrected in a haughty tone. I had used to be fondly amused by that tone, but now it filled me with the same annoyance it had done to everybody else who had heard it.

Doctor Thorn glared at her. "As you say, madam."

He spat the title, and I got the feeling that Thorn would just as soon impale Chase with one of his spikes as call her 'madam'.

"How many?" Chase demanded.

Thorn pretended not to hear her.

"How many?" the General snapped, his voice making me shiver in fear.

"Five, General," Thorn answered quickly. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the—how do you say—punk clothes and the horrible shield."

"Thalia," Annabeth muttered, her hand clenching.

"And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."

"That one I know," the General growled.

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"The other boy, the blonde with the scar, went for a walk."

"Where did he go?"

Thorn hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "I am unsure, General," he admitted. "I followed the larger group."

"Fool!" the General spat. He turned to a nearby guard, and ordered him to go and find me. I held my breath, not daring to breathe in fear of discovery.

"Let me take them," Annabeth said to the General when the mortal was gone. "We have more than enough—"

"Have patience, girl," the General replied. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied, and the boy will soon be found."

"But—"

"We cannot risk you, my girl."

"Yes, girl," Doctor Thorn agreed with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let me finish them off."

"No." The General rose from his chair, stepping out of the shadows that had hidden him, and I finally got my first proper look at him.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.

"You have already failed me once, Thorn," he told the manticore in a deathly tone of voice.

"But, General—"

"No excuses!"

Thorn flinched. I'd thought that Thorn was scary when I first saw him in his black uniform at the military academy. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked more like a little kid playing dress-up as a soldier. This General guy was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander.

"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General sneered. "I send you to capture both children of the elder gods, and instead you bring only one."

"But I did bring her to you," Thorn protested. "And you promised me revenge. A command of my own!"

"I am Lord Kronos' senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! Half the goal is still failure. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you. And be glad that I am so merciful."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I almost thought that he was going to go crazy and start shooting spine spikes, but I wasn't that lucky. Instead he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

"Now, my girl." The General turned to Chase. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."

"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Chase said. "Zoe Nightshade—"

"Do not speak her name!"

Annabeth swallowed. "S—sorry, General. I just—"

The General silenced her with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my girl, how we will bring the Hunters down."

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, Lord General!"

"Plant them," he ordered.

In the centre of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "It's ready, my Lord General!"

"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and I got the feeling it wasn't wine.

The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said with a vicious smile, "I will show you, Annabeth, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Annabeth clenched her fists. "Ethan and I have spent a year training our forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—" Her fatal flaw of hubris had always ruled her.

"Ha.'" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honour guard for Lord Kronos. And you and your boy, of course, will both have a role to play—"

I thought that Annabeth turned even paler when the General said that, but it was hard to be sure.

"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted, and I said a silent prayer to the Fates for it to have gone wrong somehow, because I suspected I remembered what this was, and if I was right, we were screwed.

In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said: "Mew?"

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The sabre-toothed tiger—"

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those… those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again if you wish to live."

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

"You.'" The General pointed to another guard. "Go and get me the right teeth. NOW!"

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

"Imbeciles," muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Chase said, as coolly as if commenting on the weather. "They are unreliable."

"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General answered. "I love them."

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large, pointy teeth.

"Excellent," the General smiled. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.

Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."

"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I shall do this myself."

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth—ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."

Yup, I knew what this was. And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I watched in despair as he planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. "Rise!"

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its' scent, they will pursue its' owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"

As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men, but men with dull grey skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—grey muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.

One of them looked straight up at me, regarding me coldly, and I knew that no magic nor steel ceilings would fool it. I looked at the silvery cloth again, going over what I knew of these creatures, and what the General had said about them.

The dracaenae released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct. I didn't like them, but they didn't deserve that. I could see how Ana would act in my mind's eye, and I fully agreed with it.

I didn't give myself time to think. I just jumped down, crying out to activate my shoes and kicking the warriors out of my way so that I could snatch the scarf out of the air.

"What's this?" bellowed the General.

I landed at the feet of a skeleton warrior, who hissed.

"Luke!" Chase cried. "Stop him!"

I flew towards and open window, but heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had taken a chunk out of my shirt. When I glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream or curse, but I couldn't. I squeezed through the window and tumbled onto the ground. When I glanced back, the barrel of a gun was being aimed at me.

So I ran.