We Aren't Nominated for a Grammy Award

I woke up to Leo shaking Percy. I'd passed out? Leo was screaming, "PERCY! HELLO! IT'S LEO! ANSWER ME!" How had I slept though this? I couldn't feel my shoulder any more. That was most certainly a bad thing. Percy was in the same position I had left him.

"Um... Leo? Are you OK?" I asked. Leo turned toward me and threw his arms around me. What on Earth was going on? His body started shaking and I realized that was because he was crying. "Leo, what's going on?"

After a few more minutes of this, he pulled back and his face was wet. "I thought you were dead. You just fell over a had this blank expression on your face, and there was no light in your eyes. Percy is just passed out," he explained with sniffs every now and then.

Just then, Percy yawned and stretched. He opened his eyes and murmured, "Thank the Gods." In a second, he was wrapping his arms around me saying, "I'm sorry, Bianca. You were right. You do exist." Oh, joy.

"Percy, what happened to make you change your mind?" I asked with a stony expression. I was still mad at him.

He looked around. After he was satisfied with what he saw, he pulled us into a little huddle and whispered, "Gaea told me. She told me you existed, and that it was her who set you free." This was news. We were all silent for a moment.

"Dude. Why was Gaea talking to you?" Leo asked with a little smile on his face like he didn't believe him. Understandable.

Percy rubbed his eyes, still looking tired, and muttered something under his breath. Probably something like, "Good for nothing, son of a-" because his muttering was cut off. A siren was sounding and things were appearing. Monsters. Surrounding us. Percy and Leo stood up, but I remained on the ground. My thigh was still in agonizing pain. I grabbed the low branch of a tree, and heaved myself up. I stood on one leg, the other being dragged helplessly behind behind me.

Leo grabbed my hand and whispered to Percy and me, "We have no chance. We have to run." I looked at him.

"You don't seriously expect me to run, do you?" I asked. His face flushed, but Percy picked me up like I was a baby. "Thanks," I murmured.

"We'll switch off, OK? On my count. One. Two. Three!" Percy said and we were off. Leo ignited his fists and Percy drew his sword. we barreled through a cluster of monsters and they were so shocked that we'd ran that they just stood there. Heh heh heh. Stupid monsters. After a few minutes of running, Percy stopped and traded me to Leo. I felt so useless. Bianca. You need to treat those with nectar and ambrosia. You're going to die if you don't. By the way, this is Nico. In case you wanted to know. What the heck? Nico talking to me in my head. I must've been hallucinating, but the nectar and ambrosia thing was a good idea.

We stopped running at the edge of the forest and Leo set me down. "I need nectar and ambrosia," I said, my voice coming off as weak. Percy nodded and after that was over and done, I felt stronger. We walked out of the trees and to a bus stop where, conveniently, a bus was just pulling up to. Percy and Leo ran as I limped far behind them. At least I could walk. They held the door open for me and helped me find a seat near them.

I was crammed in next to Percy with Leo in the seat in front of us. I gritted my teeth as I was pushed against the side of the bus. Owwwww... I forced myself to look out the window and saw no monsters in pursuit. Odd. They should've been out of their shock for a while now, which made me think they were plotting a different way to get us. Oh, that was it, wasn't it. They were saving their energy for something worse. The thought sent a painful shudder through me. My shoulder hurt again. I cringed as the bus went over a bump. Percy put his hand on my good shoulder to steady me. I smiled at him. "Thanks."

He just nodded. I could tell he missed Annabeth. It must've been hard for him to be separated from her for so long. I sighed. Leo glanced back at me and gave me a crooked grin. "Bianca. Hey. Guess what?" he said. I raised an eyebrow. He pulled out what looked to be a bullhorn and said, "It's a bullhorn!" I laughed. Leo could be so ridiculous sometimes.

"Dude, let me see that," Percy said, grinning, and snatched the bullhorn. He turned it on. Wondering what he would say, I waited patiently for him to figure it out. "ABCDEFGHIJK ELEMENENO PQRSTUVWXY AND Z!" he screamed into the bullhorn. We were all cracking up. Some of the people who were standing on the bus just fell over, they were so startled. Others just gaped at us.

Someone in an expensive looking suit piped up and said, "Now, who wouldn't nominate that for an award." He leaned over and extended his hand. "I'm on the Grammy Award nominations board, an sir, you have a lot of talent!" I glanced at Leo who was still laughing. Percy shook his hand, smiling.

"Thank you sir," he responded. The man beamed as the entire bus gaped at him. I stifled a laugh.

The man now addressed the rest of the bus. "Would anyone vote for this boy in the Grammy Awards?" There was a pause.

"NO!" everyone said, and we all laughed, not knowing what on earth this guy was up to. He looked disappointed and sighed, saying he was sorry to Percy.

I woke up. Percy glanced at me and asked, "How'd you sleep?"

I yawned and grinned, remembering my odd dream that had seemed so real. "You didn't get nominated for a Grammy Award."

Percy raised an eyebrow and I laughed. "Hey Leo. Do you have a bullhorn in your backpack?" I asked. Leo turned around (FYI- We were still on the bus I had dozed off on).

His eyes widened. "WHOA! How'd you know that?" he responded. I chuckled and looked out the window as the bus rolled to a stop. There was the man in my dreams who'd offered Percy an award. Huh... Wait a minute? To my horror, the man got on the bus and sat in the seat behind me. As he passed us, he flashed me a wicked grin. What was going on?