CHAPTER 2: Cryptic Much?
"Okay, then Percy Jackson. It was nice having a near-death experience with you. I'll be going now," I stated sarcastically as he continued to stare, and I moved to turn away.
"Ttthat's it? You don't wwwant an explanation or anything?" he stuttered in disbelief.
I turned to look at him crazily. "There are only two logical explanations for what has just happened, Percy," I said with conviction.
His confusion was evident in his words, "And they are?"
I breathed deeply and sighed. "Well, either I got hit pretty hard by a car and became delusional, hallucinating this entire ordeal until I finally wake up in which I grow up to become prom queen… So I guess option one is I am crazy," I said as if I were thinking out loud. "Or, everything that just happened is in fact real. And in that case, I don't really want to know."
Percy looked at me with slight respect, and he continued to look in disbelief. "Well, that happens to be the strangest reaction to all of this—" he said as he motion to the sky and himself, "—that I have ever seen." He smiles to himself a little. "Apparently I can still be surprised."
"Hurray!" I mock cheered. "If you don't mind—well I don't really care either way—I think I will be going now." I walked down the alley and out to New York City embracing the sunshine that now filled the city.
"Wait," he called but I continued walking towards Central Park. Somehow, the alley we managed to force ourselves into was the ONLY ALLEY in the Upper Side. He galloped to keep up with me. "I can tell you everything you want to know."
"Don't want to know."
"I can show you everything," Percy pleaded.
"Don't care," I said curtly.
"I know things about you that you don't know," Percy said quickly.
I gave it mock consideration. "Hmm, cryptic much?"
"So you really are just going to ignore what you saw back there? What you did?" he spewed out angrily.
I stopped abruptly, cutting off the person behind me, who gave me a kind, New Yorker gesture. "And really what did I just do? Created raw energy from my hands? Threw a lightening bolt at that thing? I am well aware of what I just did thank you very much. I've been trying to keep control of it for years and now I have to try even harder at that," I spat coldly. Oh, did I not mention that.
That sure shut him up
"Wait— you've known about our parents for years? Why do I only know who you are now?"
I gave him a strange look. "I don't have parents. And I don't even know who I am now, let alone who you are. Just leave me alone," I said, my voice suddenly quiet and sincere, lacking any evidence of humor.
"If you don't want me to help you let me find you someone who you want to help. Please— as a favor to the guy who just saved your life."
"Hmmph," I practically snorted. "You think you saved my life? Give me a break; now your attempts are just desperate."
Percy's emotions must be some kind of turn table because he now was looking frustrated at me. "Look, I just need to know how you managed to stay alive so long."
I stopped at this one, effectively cutting off another New Yorker who pleasantly flipped me the bird. Charming.
"What do you mean 'managed to stay alive for so long'?" I asked coldly.
He gave an exasperated sigh as he said, "People like us don't seem to live very long. Let alone remain a secret from all of them for so long. Especially someone as powerful as you," he added as an afterthought.
I forced my face to remain stoic as I processed this cryptic information. "Just lucky, I guess. You said 'our parents.' Are we related or something?"
He raised his eyebrows as if it were the most complication question he would answer. "Yes and no. Well, technically, yes but not really. I mean our parents are related, but we aren't. And—" he finally stops when he realizes how silly he sounds.
I stared at blankly until my face contorts itself into a smirk. "Yeah, I am sure you have all the answers—can tell me anything I want to know." I walked away proudly, sure that I just beat this argument with my wit and logic. I am well across the street and to the park when he grabs me by the arm.
"Why are you being so… stubborn?" he asks exasperated. "It's just complicated and if you can just trust me—"
"Sorry, but I would rather not get hit by traffic, so if we could," and I motioned to the park.
I walked to the park leisurely, as Percy hurried ahead, clearly frustrated. I know this is cruel but seeing someone more annoyed than me at the moment made me the teeniest bit happy. I am totally going to hell.
"Actually, it's Hades," says Percy absentmindedly. Since when can he start reading my thoughts? Oh, I guess I said that out loud. Wait, what?
But my question of his odd statement halted when I realized Percy was desperately searching for something once we were deep enough inside the park. The sight of this was mildly amusing to me, since he looked like a pigeon with his head cut off as he was searching for some unknown goal.
I stood beside him, hands behind my back as I smirked amusingly. Like a curious child I asked, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Looking for the entrance," he said, obviously distracted.
My face beamed uncontrollably. "What are you, like CIA or something? Is there a secret entrance by the big rock over there?" Mocking Percy had just become one of my new favorite things to do.
"What? No, I'm trying to—there it is! I found it" Percy breathed in relief and exclamation.
"You found the golden ticket! Good job Perce!" I really loved patronizing him.
He turned and pretended to laugh. "This is better than a golden ticket. This is like a golden apple. This is how you and I get answers."
"And what do you need answers for, Percy, when you so kindly offered them earlier?" I asked with fake sweetness.
He turned to face me. "Not now. Now I definitely need answers.I am just as in the dark as you are on all of this," he says, motioning circles as if he meant everything. "It's almost as bad as it was when I was younger," he muttered.
I stare at him with bemusement. "You know what, Perce; I have nothing better to do today. Let's go prove our insanity!"
He grimaced slightly before turning away. I heard a clicking noise as he Percy looked on smug. He did find what he was looking for: some lame secret entrance to something. Not giving him the satisfaction of being right, I tried to hide my curiosity.
Percy motioned for me to follow him as we walked down a peculiar corridor. It basically looked like a tunnel system for New York, but older. Though I don't consider myself to be a very brave person, I think that going underground in a strange tunnel in a city where there are more than a billion rats was pretty brave.
I do not know how long we were walking for, but it was long enough to get us to our destination. Apparently, our destination was close otherwise I don't think Percy would have said this. "I'm not normally so at a loss for words, or fumbling and anything like that. But the fact that you exist…"
"The fact that I exist… and what: you don't know about it?" My reaction was normal: furious and frustrated.
"NO!" The tunnel system we were in shook from the plead in his voice.
"It's just… they promised me it wouldn't be like this anymore. It's not that you 'exist,'" he emphasized, "but rather that we didn't know about it. Anyway, we're at the camp." For the first time today I noticed how tired Percy seemed; the way he carried himself, the number of circles under his eyes, the exhaustion in his own voice even. Obviously, he usually wasn't like this. In fact, as we began to walk in, I was pretty sure that Percy didn't usually have such a large stick up his ass.
If describing this next part to you doesn't make me completely insane, then I advise you to admit yourself or at the very least question your own sanity; since I'm already counting the few marbles I have left.
When we walked into this… place, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. From my eyes, I could have walked into anything on a scale of low-level gaming competition to the lost city of Atlantis. Of course, what I walked into couldn't even register on the scale I created for myself.
Though it didn't seem that way at first; in fact, it looked like your every day forest, probably part of Central Park somewhere. Of course that idea changed once I saw what can only be described as a Greek mythological delusion… and the bloodiness that surrounded it.
