AN 5/23/15: Hey so quick question I have been curious about for a bit now: How did you come across this story? If it was the main PJATO recent story updates page or a search or anything, let me know.
We arrived at the rental cabin and unloaded at around sunset. The cabin was on the South shore of Long Island, by the tip. It was quaint little pastel box with faded curtains half sunken into the dunes. Sand and spiders were always present in the cabin but they didn't do any harm to us, though an Athena kid might fare differently. Most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in, but I was fine with that. No swimming for me. I knew Sally had been coming up here for years. I had assumed since the first time I was up here that this is where she met Percy's father. She had seemed to grow younger and younger every time we got closer to the cabin on the rides up here, the worry fading from her features. This time was no different.
We went through our usual cleaning routine and walked along the beach, feeding blue corn chips to the seagulls and ate a bunch of other blue treats. Sally and Percy had a thing for blue, it was just a little thing of theirs that I found pretty cute. On our walk I collected different seashells that were far enough away from the water to be safe for me. Once year I had even found some purple sea glass, I still have it in my room.
When it got dark we made a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. It had been a while since I roasted marshmallows at a camp fire that wasn't up here. Nick would always stuff as many of them as he could in his mouth and then end up jumping around, fanning his mouth saying how hot they were. He was such a goof.
Sally told us stories from when she was a kid, before her parents died, and about the book she wanted to write someday, once we had enough money for her to quit the candy shop that is. More than once up here I had wanted to share some different stories from when I had first grown up with them, but of course I couldn't. Eventually Percy asked about what he always did up here, his father. I just sat there quietly toasting some marshmallows while they talked about him. Then the topic came up, Poseidon had actually mentioned camp to Sally. It made me wonder just how much she actually knew about our world, aside from the monsters. I had always been pretty good at hiding any signs of me being a demigod, but she was vigilant, especially if she already knew what to look for.
"So you're going to send us away again?" Percy asked her. "To some place you have only ever heard of?" Don't do this to her Percy.. I silently pleaded with my eyes, but his eyes were on Sally.
"I don't know honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think.. I think we'll have to do something."
"Because you don't want us around?" Ouch. I actually winced. The look on Percy's face immediately after he told me that he regretted saying that. Sally's eyes welled with tears. She held our hands and squeezed them tight. "Oh, Percy, Allison, no. I-I have to. For your own good. I have to send you away."
"Because we're not normal." Percy said solemnly.
"You say that like it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. And Allison, from the first moment I saw you I knew you were different too, just like Percy. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you would finally be safe."
"Safe from what?" She met his eyes, as if urging him to remember all of the monster related things that have ever happened to us.
"I tried to keep you two as close to me as I could. They told me that was a mistake. But the camp is the only other option. But I just.. I just can't stand to do it." Percy started to ask more but Sally's expression made him stop. She looked like she would start crying for real if we continued the conversation.
The night I had a vivid dream: I was on a cliff by the ocean and it was storming. The waves were pounding against the cliff face in massive swells and the sky was lit up with lightning. Zeus and Poseidon were sure angry with each other. I looked down to see I was trapped in celestial bronze chains.
"Ahh, the child of Hades. So young, yet not quite. You are interesting indeed. You will be of use to my cause yet. Watch as the gods fight between themselves in petty squabbles, mortals and demigods alike caught in the crossfire." I looked to the ocean and saw two men fighting to the death. One had a blue aura, the other green. With each strike of the blue-one thunder would boom and lightning would streak across the sky. Each time the green-man countered or went in for a hit the ocean would pound yet again against the rocks, the ocean spray rising above the cliff edge. Zeus and Poseidon.
Then I saw Percy standing further down the cliffs. I tried to call out to him but no sound came. I struggled to get free of the chains surrounding me, I had to get to Percy.
"Do you think that you can save everyone, Miss. Cooper? Hah, that is a fool's ploy." I saw Percy's figure trying to run against the wind that was whipping onto the land from the vast expanse of ocean ahead, trying to stop the fight. I desperately tried to get to them but the voice had me trapped. It was the same voice I had heard the night of my first day of school, and the one from the Fates: the memories coming back to me full force. I could never forget that voice even if I tried. The ground rumbled and the voice goaded the brothers into fighting more, urging them to kill. Then all of a sudden a golden light enveloped Percy and the ground split open under him. I tried to run to him but the chains cut into me. He fell into the pit and I screamed for him. It was one of my worst fears: losing somebody that close to me again. The ancient voice just laughed harder..
I woke up to somebody shaking me. I rolled off the bed and landed in a crouch, breathing heavily, looking around wildly for attackers.
"Whoa, Allison it's just me! But quick, we have to go! Something's after us. Something really bad. Bring your knife." He lowered his voice at the last part. "Grover is here, but he isn't Grover exactly. He is part donkey or something! But we have to go, like now!" The storm from my dream was outside, the wind frothing up the waves and spraying up sand violently, lightning crackling across the sky. Then I heard it, a long, angry, tortured bellowing. It was like a roar. That sound felt familiar to me. The hair on my arms stood on end, things had just gotten worse than I had hoped. I quickly grabbed my backpack from under my bed, taking my knife out of its hiding place and tucked it into my waistband. I grabbed my jacket as we ran out to the car to meet up with Sally and Grover.
We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed the Camaro as rain lashed the windshield. I didn't know if Sally could see through the darkness and rain but she kept on driving, never taking her foot off the gas. Percy kept sneaking glances at Grover, a look of disbelief on his face.
"So, you and my mom.. know each other?" That.. of all things, is all you can think of to say right now Percy? Wonderful.
"Not exactly," Grover said, casting a nervous glance around into the wall of darkness that surrounded the car. "I mean, we've never met in person, but she knew I was watching you, you too Allison, after a while." I kept looking back to see any signs of the monster on our tail, trying to form a plan. There! A flutter of movement a ways back on the road.
"Watching us? Like how you said you had to protect us or something on the bus?"
"Yeah, keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your guys' friend."
"Urm.. what are you, exactly?"
"Percy, does that really matter right now? He is still Grover, and we have more pressing things to worry about besides Grover's hairy legs."
"Hey!" He protested and Percy grinned a bit despite the situation.
"It doesn't really matter though? From the waist down, I just find out now that my best friend is a donkey-"
Grover let out an indignant bleat. "Goat!" He cried.
"What?"
"I am a goat from the waist down."
"How come I haven't noticed until now? And you just said it didn't matter."
"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for an insult like that!"
"Whoa, wait. Satyrs. You mean like.. in Mr. Brunner's myths?"
"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds just a myth? " Grover was really losing his cool. I glanced back again nervously and saw the silhouette of a big, bulky, thing further down the road and it was approaching fast. This had better not be who I think it is. The last time we had to deal with him was hard enough, and we had actual weapons and more people then. I then saw the telltale horns.
"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!" Percy yelled in triumph.
"Percy! Again, does that really matter right now? We are being chased by a big monster and all you can think about is proving a point?"
"But why-"
"Look, the less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract." Grover said, like it should be obvious, but to someone like Percy it was far from it. Grover really needed to work on his skills on breaking the news to new half-bloods. "We put Mist over the human's eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good, you two started realizing who you were." Oh really now?
"Percy, Allison," Sally finally interrupted. "There is too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you two to safety."
"Safety from what? Who is after us? Some monster Allison mentioned?"
"Oh, nobody much," Grover snapped, clearly still miffed about the donkey thing. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions." That got my attention.
"Grover!" Sally scolded as I shouted over a boom of thunder, "What?"
"Sorry, Ms. Jackson. Could you drive a bit faster please?" We were passing some PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences. Darkened farmhouses flew past us and then we approached another more familiar forested area.
I had tuned out the conversation, vaguely hearing them talk about how we were going to camp and the Fates. I had to focus and come up with a plan. I wouldn't be able to get any information out of Grover right now in a situation like this on his comment about my father. My mind was racing with all possible battle strategies, some of which I had learned at camp, some that I had come up with on my own. None of these will work! We don't even have a proper weapon! I have three people to protect too!
As far as I knew I had only one steel knife to work with. I might be able to distract the monster long enough for them to get over the hill and to safety. I would have to manage fighting him again without Nick's wind abilities this time though; last time even with them had been hard enough, we had almost lost. Grant it, we weren't as experienced but we at least had weapons then. I might be able to shadow travel us to safety, but that would be an incredible drain on me and just purely dangerous with so many people. The last time I had managed to shadow travel without drain.. the last battle. Chester, Nick, the war, the pain of that last fight, seeing everyone for the last time: it all hit me like a ton of bricks, the pressure of the situation making it ten times worse.
There was so much at stake again and I was the only one who would be able to even get close to being able to get everyone out okay. Grover was here but knowing him.. I pressed my forehead into my knees, hands on the back of my neck and shut my eyes. This cannot be happening, not now. Do not cave. Everyone needs you. I exhaled a deep breath. The realness of fighting this monster again and the pressure of me being the only one to get everyone to safety, but this time without help, hit me hard. I had people to protect that I loved, I couldn't just go all out; I had to worry about what was happening with them too. No soloing it, not just myself to worry about, or Nick. He had almost always been able to handle himself though as I had. The weight of the situation was insurmountable. I took another deep breath. I felt the shadows pulling around me, then I felt a hand on my back and I jerked upright.
"Whoa there," Percy said as I came up.
"Grover! Do you have any weapons we can use?" I asked briskly, forcing aside my fears for the time being and just focusing on right then. I had to know what was in our arsenal, hopefully he had a hidden weapon. Grover looked at me in surprise, clearly not expecting that or for me to take charge.
"Um, I don't.. I didn't.." He fumbled for an answer.
"Crap," I cursed.
"Allison." Sally looked back at me sharply and I held up my hands in surrender.
"Yeah, okay I got you. No weapons. So all we have to work with is this then." I took out my knife, taking another look behind us through the rear window. I saw Grover jump back and shock, eyes bulging. Sally cast a glance to see what the sudden movement was about and she gasped.
"Allison Cooper! What do you think you are doing with that? How long have you had that?" She scolded.
"Um, that won't do us any good. Steel doesn't.." Grover started, gesturing at the metal.
"Yeah, I know. I found out with Mrs. Dodds." I lied.
"Allison, we are talking about this once we are safe." Sally gave me a stern look through the rear view mirror that promised I would get packed for this later. I gulped slightly.
Then, I was suddenly thrown against the door beside me with a resounding, jaw-rattling BOOM! It felt like the car had exploded. It was almost like when Nick and I would battle with just our powers in the woods and he would shock me, only a lot worse. I was suddenly very glad that my knife didn't have a metal hilt, but I still got a jolt from it.
I pried my head off the window and looked to see that we had swerved into a ditch. The door on my side of the car was wedged into the mud and the roof had cracked open like an eggshell, rain pouring in. So much for Gabe's car. Zeus was the only explanation for the lightning that almost fried us. I felt a growing pit of anger toward him, he can't just interfere like that. He could have killed us, he wasn't allowed to do something like that. I saw Percy trying to pull Grover's motionless body off of me and out of the other door so I grabbed my backpack and threw it on. Sally was climbing out of the passenger side door in the front.
I helped Percy get Grover out the door and we managed to get out of the wreck with only some scratches and bumps to show for it. When I looked back down the road though my blood ran cold. I felt a lump rise in my throat. Just as I had feared, the Minotaur. I rushed to where Sally and Percy were dragging Grover up the hill and took an arm, clutching my knife. We had to get up that hill now or we would all be dead.
The Minotaur was sniffling at the car we had just been at; we had managed to get partly up the hill leading to camp but were nowhere close enough to get there before he found us.
"Percy! Allison! I'll take Grover, just get over that hill. Please! That's the property line, you will be safe there." She pointed to a tall pine tree that was atop the hill. That wasn't there last time. "Run and don't look back. Yell for help and don't stop until you reach the farmhouse door."
"Mom, you're coming too." Percy's face was one of resolve. Sally was pale and her eyes were sad, like she knew she wouldn't make it out of this. It reminded me of when I was faced with that same situation. No, she will not end up like I had. I refuse to let it happen.
"Help us carry Grover. We are getting out of this." I said in a steely tone, leaving no room for argument in my voice.
"We don't have time, please. Go." We stubbornly kept lugging Grover up the hill, and just as more lighting lit up the world around us Percy looked back and froze.
"That's-"
" Pasiphaë's son," Sally interrupted. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you two."
"But he's the Min-"
"Don't say his name," Sally warned. "Names have power." I saw Percy and Sally glance back one more time at the totaled car.
"Food?" Grover moaned. Good, he's coming to. Now we can stop dragging him soon.
"Shhh," I hissed at Grover. He needed to be quiet.
"Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"
"His sight and hearing are terrible, he goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."
I stole a look back at the Minotaur in time to see him pick up the car's remains and throw it down the road. When it landed there was a big fiery explosion as the gas tank blew up.
"When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way-directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?" I nodded, the memory of Nick doing exactly that when we had battled it, but with the help of the winds flashing through my head. Hopefully I would be able to get everyone over the hill in time, if I was lucky. I was mentally trying to come up with any alternatives to pulling another "Last Battle" again, but the options weren't great.
"How do you know all this?" Percy asked.
"I've been worried about an attack for a long time now. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you two near me."
"Keeping us near you? But-" He was cut off by a bellow of rage from the Minotaur. The pine tree was only just a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker from the downfall as we approached the crest of the hill. Grover wasn't getting any lighter either. The Minotaur was closing in, just another few seconds and he would be on us. It was now or never.
"You two take Grover. I got this. Just trust me and get over the border." I slipped out from under Grover's arm, leaving the rest of the weight for Sally and Percy to carry. Sally caught my eye but I stared back at her, willing her to trust me and just get to the top of the hill. She nodded after a moment and I ran off to the side, knowing that I could trust her to get there.
I ran far enough away from the three of them so they wouldn't get hurt in the crossfire. I whirled around to see the Minotaur bearing down on me, his black eyes glowed with hatred, the smell of rotten meat hitting my nose. He lowered his head, aiming his razor-sharp horns at my chest and charged. My plan had worked so far, I had gotten his attention. Now to just stay alive.
I held my ground just long enough to jump out of the way at the last moment, the Minotaur storming past me like a runaway train. He bellowed in frustration and turned, but this time he was facing Percy, Sally, and Grover. No! They slowly set down Grover in the grass; they had reached the top, almost to safety. They had a brief exchange, Percy gesturing like he was pumped full of sugar.
I started running toward them, but Percy had already separated himself from Sally. He was trying to get the Minotaur to follow, but it was already pawing the ground, ready to charge. Sally tried to stand her ground but as the Minotaur neared her he stretched his arms out to the sides, blocking any form of escape. Sally tried to sidestep, ducking under his arms but he grabbed her by the neck. She struggled as he lifted her, kicking and pummeling the air desperately. I got an unwanted image of Nick with Chester's sword at his throat in remembrance.
"Mom!" Percy yelled out as I kept on running, trying to save Sally in one last attempt but the ground was against me. I switched my grip on my knife and I hurled it at the Minotaur, trying to distract him long enough for me to get there. It just bounced away from his head, poking him in the eye. That only caused him to roar in my direction.
Sally looked away from the Minotaur long enough for her to choke out one last word: "GO!"
I made a desperate attempt to unseat some of the ground around the monster to knock him off his feat with my powers but only caused some rocks to fly and hit him and a painful tugging in my gut accompanied some of my energy draining away. With an angry roar the Minotaur closed his fists around Sally's neck and she dissolved into light, a shimmering golden form. Then with a blinding flash she was gone. I skidded in the grass to stop myself, slipping and crashing into the grass and mud. I felt something snap in my ankle as it hit against something hard and twisted. I couldn't help but let a small yelp escaped my lips before I could stop it. The Minotaur turned to face us, focusing in on where the noise had come from. Damn you! You should have been able to stop him before he got Sally! She's gone now! I berated myself, cursing myself for not being strong enough with my powers yet.
"Hey!" Percy screamed, rage filling his voice. He was waving around his red rain jacket, trying to catch the monster's attention. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!" I struggled to get up while his back was turned.
"Raaaarrrrr!" The Minotaur was shaking his meaty fists as he charged Percy. Percy's back was to the pine. I grabbed Grover on my way and brought him over the property line, rolling him unceremoniously down the hill. Sorry buddy, but you're safest down there. I turned back to the action in time to see Percy jump up and onto the Minotaur's head, latching onto his horns. The Minotaur crashed into the tree and I saw Percy's grip falter, but he quickly recovered. This was not going as I had hoped. Of course it isn't going well, it's you for the gods' sake!
Thunder and lightning rolled through the landscape, the storm intensifying. I pushed past the pain in my ankle and tried to run toward Percy and the Minotaur as best I could. The Minotaur was staggering around and bucked, trying to get him off. Then Percy's face suddenly filled with more anger and he grabbed one horn with both hands and pulled. The monster froze, grunted, and then went and flung Percy through the air. He landed with his back in the grass, head smacking into something. He sat up but still looked dazed. He was still holding the Minotaur's severed horn in his hands. I made one last push as the Minotaur went to charge Percy again only to lose my footing and start sliding down the wrong side of the hill.
"NO!" I screamed. Just as he was about to trample him, Percy rolled to one side and came up kneeling, driving the horn into the monster's belly and up toward his heart. The Minotaur roared in agony and he flailed around, disintegrating. I made a snap decision and shadow traveled the rest of the distance, appearing in the shadow the moon cast on the tree. In one last attempts he swung at Percy's head with his giant hairy hand but I dove in the way, latching onto Percy. I felt as the Minotaur struck me but I had already pooled all of the rest of my energy into shadow traveling Percy and I away.
The familiar tug and rush of darkness that came with shadow traveling encased us and we landed with a the porch of the Big House, inside the borders. Safe. I groaned and rolled over, off my backpack and away from Percy, heart pounding. I called out to Chiron with the last of my energy and heard hooves approaching, holding my side before I blacked out entirely.
Thanks for reading, leave a comment or something, those always help a ton! Enjoy your week!