I am back again with Chapter 4! Last time, our heroes have started on their quest to retrieve the master bolt! What will they encounter on their mission? Keep reading to find out!
I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
We made our way into western Long Island with not a lot happening. I looked at all the shops and other things on the side of the road, but nothing really caught my eye. In other words, I was bored. Ten miles into our trip, Percy mentioned that we haven't seen any monsters so far. Annabeth got irritated and told him not to talk like that and that it was bad luck. Then they got into a discussion on why Athena and Poseidon don't really like each other, but I tuned it out.
Soon enough we made it to the Greyhound Terminal on the Upper East Side, where we got off and waited for a bus. I saw Percy tear down a poster with his face on it, but decided not to talk to him about due to the look he had on his face.
"You want to know why she married him right?" Grover asked Percy. Percy asked if Grover had read his mind, but the satyr shook his head. "I was reading your emotions. Sorry I forgot to mention that satyrs can do that" he said.
He then went on to explain that Percy's stepfather smelled so disgustingly human that monsters would have a hard time tracking him down. Jeez, Percy's mom must be really strong to be able to stand living with someone as horrible as Percy's stepfather, Smelly Gabe, as he liked to call him.
We got bored and started to play Hacky Sack with an apple Grover had brought along. The game ended when Grover accidently ate the whole apple. We had a good laugh at that, and that was when the bus finally came.
We all got on the bus with Grover sniffing the air. Percy asked what it was, and Grover said that it was probably nothing. I had a feeling that it wasn't nothing and silently gripped the sword pendant on my necklace. I sat next to Grover while Annabeth sat next to Percy.
A trio of old ladies boarded the bus, and Percy sank lower into his seat. I was about to ask why he was so nervous when he said that he thought they could be dead for centuries.
I realized that the old ladies must have something to do with his math teacher who ended up being a Fury. Annabeth was trying to come up with a plan to escape, when all three of the ladies stood up announcing that they all had to go to the restroom and started walking down the aisle.
Annabeth quickly gave Percy her hat and told him to escape. He tried to argue, but Grover and I quickly supported Annabeth. Percy was reluctant, but he put on the baseball cap and turned invisible. I heard his footsteps pass where the Furies were and held my breath.
Suddenly,they transformed into hideous monsters with leathery wings. I quickly unchained my sword and held it in front of me. I pointed the tip at the Furies with a glare.
"You're too late! He's already escaped from here!" I shouted, hoping to stall them so Percy could escape. They all hissed at me and pulled out fiery whips and flew toward us. I swung my sword, but I missed and one of the whips stung my cheek. I tried to ignore the pain as the mortals started screaming.
"Where is it? Where?!" one of the Furies shouted. She once again tried to swing her whip at me, but this time I actually hit on of them, turning her into dust. Her two sisters didn't look happy at all about that and tried to lunge for me. But the bus jolted from side to side with the driver seemingly unable to steer properly.
Everyone stumbled forward when the bus suddenly hit something and spins around. The doors of the bus opened and the driver tells everyone to get off. Percy joins us not long after and helps me with killing the remaining Furies.
"Guys I smell smoke!" Grover shouted. I looked and saw that there was black smoke filling up the entire bus. Percy had managed to tie up one of the furies while I swung and killed the other one with my sword. The remaining fury started screeching and Annabeth yelled at us to escape since she was calling for reinforcements. A second after we got off the bus, it exploded.
We quickly ran into the woods where we hoped no monsters would find us. After a few hours, we were all tired and dirty from our trek into the woods.
"You shouldn't have come back for us" Annabeth told Percy. Percy clearly got mad and said, "Was I just supposed to leave you behind?"
Annabeth sighed and reluctantly told Percy that she appreciated him coming back for us.
"It's just... if you died then the quest would be over. This may be my only chance to go into the real world. At camp all you do is train, but when you go on quests, that's when you find out if you're any good" she told him.
After another mile of walking, I could smell greasy food coming from a rundown gas station. It was a shop where they sell all those garden accessories like gnomes, flamingos, and other things. A neon sign hung above the place, but I couldn't read what it said, neither could Annabeth or Percy.
Grover translated for us and it read: 'Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium'. Annabeth, Percy and I were all really hungry and we could smell the scent of hamburgers. Grover looked nervous and said that going inside was a bad idea. Of course, we all decided to ignore him.
Stone statues were scattered everywhere, children, adults, gnomes, and even a satyr with reed pipes. Grover let out a loud yelp and exclaimed that it looked like his Uncle Ferdinand.
When we got inside, we were greeted by a tall Middle Eastern woman with a long black gown that covered her whole body except her hands.
"You children look far too young to be out this late by yourselves" she said, her accent clearly Middle Eastern.
"We're orphans. We got separated from our circus caravan. Our ringmaster told us to meet us at the gas station, but we got lost. Is that food I smell?" Percy asked.
"Oh you poor children! Go to the back, there is a dining area there. I will make you something to eat" she told us. We all thanked her and made our way to the back, where more statues awaited us.
"Um.. ma'am, we don't have any money" Grover told the lady, but she quickly declined. "You are orphans, yes? How could I let you starve when you are lost?" she asked.
Annabeth thanked her, and she seemed to stiffen slightly.
"It's quite alright, Annabeth. Your eyes are such a beautiful gray color. I haven't seen eyes like yours in a long time" she said. It didn't even register in my brain that we hadn't introduced ourselves.
Aunty Em went to the kitchen to make our food, and I looked around at the statues. They were so life-like. They could have been real people if I didn't know any better.
Aunty Em came back with tray of food. Burgers, fries, and milkshakes. I quickly ate half a burger and a few fries when Grover asked about a hissing noise.
"That is just the deep fryer. You have very good ears, Grover" Aunty Em said. I felt a sharp tingle in my mind, but let it go for now. Something was clearly wrong here.
Percy asked if Aunty Em got a lot of business on this road. She went on to tell a story about how she use to have a thriving business until the highway was made. She also said that she use to run the business with her two sisters. That last part seemed to awaken something in Annabeth.
Annabeth asked her about her sisters, and Aunty Em went on to talk about how she had a boyfriend, but someone was trying to break them apart. Her sisters shared her misfortune, but they passed away. Only Aunty Em was still alive.
Annabeth turned to Percy and nudged him. "Maybe we should go Percy. The ringmaster will be waiting" she told him, but Percy still looked dazed.
Aunty Em tried to touch Annabeth's cheek, but she pulled away. I was fully aware of what was happening now, and I tensed.
Aunty Em asked us if we could take a picture, and Percy agreed. We were lead into a garden of statues and told to sit on a park bench. Aunty Em was trying to position us for the photo.
"Let's see⦠yes, how about the young lady in the middle with the two young gentlemen on her sides, and one in the back?" she said. Since I was slightly taller than Percy and Grover, I was behind Annabeth in the middle.
Percy mentioned how there wasn't much light for a picture, but Aunty Em waved it off. Grover looked at the satyr statue again and was reminded of his Uncle Ferdinand.
Aunty Em still didn't have a camera in her hands, and she was about to remove her veil.
"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover exclaimed. I briefly heard a shout from Annabeth to look away from Aunty Em, so I turned around instantly with my eyes closed. I could hear everyone else shuffling around to get away from the snake haired lady.
I think Percy was the closest to Aunty Em, who was now revealed to be Medusa. You know, the one who can turn you to stone with a look? Yeah that one.
"You can stay with me, Percy. It would be a shame turn such a handsome young man into a statue" she said in a soothing voice.
"Don't listen to her Percy! Whatever you do, do not look into her eyes!" Annabeth shouted. I tried desperately to feel my way around, but I kept bumping into statues.
"Levi, can't you freeze her or something?!" Grover yelled. I fought the urge to scoff and I turned in the direction I thought he was at.
"Sure, that's a great idea! Who else wants to become a popsicle today?"I asked sarcastically. If I couldn't see her, I couldn't aim my ice at her.
We somehow all made it to a place where we could hide from Medusa. Annabeth handed Percy a gazing that he could use to somewhat look at Medusa.
"You'll have to look at her with this. Cut off her head, it's the only way" she explained.
It was decided that Grover and I would help distract Medusa, while Percy made his way to her. I placed my hand on the ground while still closing my eyes and I concentrated on freezing the ground toward the snake haired lady. Meanwhile, Grover was flying around with a bat trying to hit her.
Slowly but surely, Grover and I had given Percy enough time to come up from behind Medusa and slice her head off with his sword. Her head fell to the ground with a disgusting squishing sound.
" Why didn't her head dissolve?" Percy asked. The head still lay there, with the eyelids still open.
"Once you sever it from the body it becomes a spoil of war. But it can still turn you to stone, so don't look at it" Annabeth told him.
After that whole fiasco, Percy and Annabeth started to argue about whose parents' fault it was that Medusa existed in the first place. Poseidon brought her to Athena's palace, she turned Medusa into a monster, blah,blah,blah.
"You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines!" Grover exclaimed.
Percy looked around the store and came back with a box, and a piece of paper. He put Medusa's head in the box, sealed it, wrote something on the paper, and placed a drachma and the box with the paper and it disappeared with the sound of a register.
"The Gods won't like that. They'll think you're impertinent" Grover told him.
"I am impertinent" Percy replied.
We left the garden and made a camp in the woods. Percy said that he would take first watch to look out for monsters. I was pretty tired, so I wasn't going to argue. I went to sleep once I laid down and closed my eyes. I didn't any dreams, which I think is a good thing.
I guess Grover and Annabeth took the next couple watches, since I slept all the way till morning. I woke up to Percy still asleep and Annabeth just getting up.
I rubbed my eyes and blinked in time for me to catch a bag of chips from Annabeth. I thanked her and proceeded to eat my chips.
Grover came back a while later holding a pink poodle. He explained that the poodle's name was Gladiola. He wanted to help us on our quest by bringing him to his owners so that we could get the reward money to get us transportation to the West Coast.
Soon enough Percy woke up and we explained what our plan was going forward. Annabeth pointed to a set of railroad tracks and decided that we would take the Amtrak going west at noon. A snake lady and a pink poodle. This quest was turning out to be quite the trip.
That is all for Chapter 4! What do you guys think? I think you all know what happens next, but if you don't stick around to find out! See you next time, ^_^
