Chapter 14!

We have less than 200 pages left in the book!

For whatever reason I feel like the last chapter was more tense than others. Do you guys think it was tenser?

Last time: Suddenly the book snapped shut and flew out of Hades hands. They all looked up to see Destiny. With a bright smile she said, "Well! That was an exciting chapter wasn't it?"

Now:

Hestia was the first to speak up, "It was indeed. May we continue the story?" Destiny smiled sweetly at the oldest olympian, "Yes we may. But if you don't mind Lady Hestia I would like for you to read this chapter." Hestia blushed and accepted.

14 I BECOME A KNOWN FUGITIVE

Percy freaked out form the bubble he was still in, while Percy just laughed. Everyone else from the future rolled their eyes.

I'd love to tell you I had some deep revelation on my way down, that I came to terms with my own mortality, laughed in the face of death, et cetera.

"You're twelve Prissy. Too young to have deep revelations and laughing in the face of death." Clarisse said, then smirked to freak out poseidon, "Wait until you're sixteen."

The truth? My only thought was: Aaaagggghhhh!

All of the younger kids laughed, despite it being a serious situation.

The river raced toward me at the speed of a truck. Wind ripped the breath from my lungs. Steeples and skyscrapers and bridges tumbled in and out of my vision.

And then: Flaaa-boooom!

As Hestia read a giant wave splashed the steps of the throne room, a suiting example of what was happening in the story.

A whiteout of bubbles. I sank through the murk, sure that I was about to end up embedded in a hundred feet of mud and lost forever.

"Naaaaah. That's too peaceful!" Thalia said while laughing.

But my impact with the water hadn't hurt. I was falling slowly now, bubbles trickling up through my fingers. I settled on the river bottom soundlessly. A catfish the size of my stepfather lurched away into the gloom. Clouds of silt and disgusting garbage-beer bottles, old shoes, plastic bags-swirled up all around me.

Destiny snorted, "Maybe your stepfather does live there."

Both Percy's laughed at the idea.

At that point, I realized a few things: first, I had not been flattened into a pancake. I had not been barbecued. I couldn't even feel the Chimera poison boiling in my veins anymore. I was alive, which was good.

"Always a good thing."

Second realization: I wasn't wet. I mean, I could feel the coolness of the water. I could see where the fire on my clothes had been quenched. But when I touched my own shirt, it felt perfectly dry.

Many noticed Percy exploring his own clothes, and he apparently found them dry as well if the look of wonder on his face was anything to go by.

I looked at the garbage floating by and snatched an old cigarette lighter.

Leo's eyes widened curiosity shining brightly in them.

No way, I thought.

I flicked the lighter. It sparked. A tiny flame appeared, right there at the bottom of the Mississippi.

All of the younger demigods looked at the book, eyes wide with wonder. It was probably the most innocent any of the gods had ever seen them. It sent a pang through there hearts when they realised how battle-hardened even the youngest of them already were.

I grabbed a soggy hamburger wrapper out of the current and immediately the paper turned dry. I lit it with no problem. As soon as I let it go, the flames sputtered out. The wrapper turned back into a slimy rag. Weird.

Annabeth shook her head fondly, "Only you would describe something like that, like that." Percy smirked from the water and mouthed so that only Annabeth could see, "You know you love me!"

But the strangest thought occurred to me only last: I was breathing. I was underwater, and I was breathing normally.

Everyone got excited as they realised that that was the reason Poseidon had no qualms about putting a literal bubble around his son.

I stood up, thigh-deep in mud. My legs felt shaky. My hands trembled. I should've been dead. The fact that I wasn't seemed like ... well, a miracle. I imagined a woman's voice, a voice that sounded a bit like my mother: Percy, what do you say?

Now Percy looked at the book with obvious hope and excitement.

"Um ... thanks." Underwater, I sounded like I did on recordings, like a much older kid. "Thank you ... Father."

Poseidon smiled warmly. It warmed even Zeus's stubborn heart.

No response. Just the dark drift of garbage downriver, the enormous catfish gliding by, the flash of sunset on the water's surface far above, turning everything the color of butterscotch.

At the word butterscotch every demigod imagined swimming in different types of butterscotch related foods and drooled just a little. Even though lunch was a little while ago, the demigods wanted something to eat.

Why had Poseidon saved me? The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I felt. So I'd gotten lucky a few times before. Against a thing like the Chimera, I had never stood a chance. Those poor people in the Arch were probably toast. I couldn't protect them. I was no hero. Maybe I should just stay down here with the catfish, join the bottom feeders.

Clarisse laughed, "Like Pine-cone face said Prissy. That's much too peaceful for you." Percy, in a very mature manner, stuck his tongue out, making everyone double over in laughter.

Fump-fump-fump. A riverboat's paddlewheel churned above me, swirling the silt around.

There, not five feet in front of me, was my sword, its gleaming bronze hilt sticking up in the mud.

I heard that woman's voice again: Percy, take the sword. Your father believes in you. This time, I knew the voice wasn't in my head. I wasn't imagining it. Her words seemed to come from everywhere, rippling through the water like dolphin sonar.

Poseidon was slowly starting to smile. He had a feeling about who was talking to his son.

"Where are you?" I called aloud.

Then, through the gloom, I saw her-a woman the color of the water, a ghost in the current, floating just above the sword. She had long billowing hair, and her eyes, barely visible, were green like mine.

Poseidon was really beaming now, making everyone slowly back away from him.

A lump formed in my throat. I said, "Mom?"

No, child, only a messenger, though your mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe. Go to the beach in Santa Monica.

Percy smirked and pouted and said through the water, "Why can't every quest be that straight forward?" Making all of the demigods laugh, and confusing the gods. Were the prophecy's not clear?

"What?"

It is your father's will. Before you descend into the Underworld, you must go to Santa Monica. Please, Percy, I cannot stay long. The river here is too foul for my presence.

Bianca frowned softly, "I feel sorry for her."

"But ..." I was sure this woman was my mother, or a vision of her, anyway. "Who-how did you-"

There was so much I wanted to ask, the words jammed up in my throat.

I cannot stay, brave one, the woman said. She reached out, and I felt the current brush my face like a caress. You must go to Santa Monica! And, Percy, do not trust the gifts...

Now everyone was confused, what gifts?

Her voice faded.

"Gifts?" I asked. "What gifts? Wait!"

She made one more attempt to speak, but the sound was gone. Her image melted away. If it was my mother, I had lost her again.

Percy looked so sad that Percy whispered in his ear, "Don't worry it wasn't her."

I felt like drowning myself. The only problem: I was immune to drowning.

Poseidon muttered something that no quite caught.

Your father believes in you, she had said.

She'd also called me brave ... unless she was talking to the catfish.

Giggles burst from a few, now that they were most certain that the danger had passed… for now.

I waded toward Riptide and grabbed it by the hilt. The Chimera might still be up there with its snaky, fat mother, waiting to finish me off. At the very least, the mortal police would be arriving, trying to figure out who had blown a hole in the Arch. If they found me, they'd have some questions.

"Only some?" Nico said with a half smile at his future cousin.

I capped my sword, stuck the ballpoint pen in my pocket. "Thank you, Father," I said again to the dark water.

Aphrodite tried to hold it back, she really did, but it just burst forward, "Awe! That is so sweet of you!"

Then I kicked up through the muck and swam for the surface.

I came ashore next to a floating McDonald's.

Nico perked up at the words McDonald's, making Percy and Annabeth laugh.

A block away, every emergency vehicle in St. Louis was surrounding the Arch. Police helicopters circled overhead. The crowd of onlookers reminded me of Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Destiny made a motion for Hestia to pause for a moment. "Poseidon, your son is fine. Do you think you could release them now?"

Poseidon blushed, he had forgotten they were still there, and lowered them with a splash, hosing down everyone near them but both Percy's were still completely dry.

Hestia laugh quietly and continued to read.

A little girl said, "Mama! That boy walked out of the river."

"That's nice, dear," her mother said, craning her neck to watch the ambulances.

"But he's dry!"

"That's nice, dear."

"Well she's a good mother." Thalia said sarcastically. "That little girl could've wandered off and she wouldn't've noticed!"

A news lady was talking for the camera: "Probably not a terrorist attack, we're told, but it's still very early in the investigation. The damage, as you can see, is very serious. We're trying to get to some of the survivors, to question them about eyewitness reports of someone falling from the Arch."

Survivors. I felt a surge of relief. Maybe the park ranger and that family made it out safely. I hoped Annabeth and Grover were okay.

Piper would never admit it but she thought it was so sweet how his first concern were the mortals that were still in there when he fell.

I tried to push through the crowd to see what was going on inside the police line.

"... an adolescent boy," another reporter was saying. "Channel Five has learned that surveillance cameras show an adolescent boy going wild on the observation deck, somehow setting off this freak explosion. Hard to believe, John, but that's what we're hearing. Again, no confirmed fatalities ..."

"Yes cause that makes sense!"

I backed away, trying to keep my head down. I had to go a long way around the police perimeter. Uniformed officers and news reporters were everywhere.

I'd almost lost hope of ever finding Annabeth and Grover when a familiar voice bleated, "Perrrcy!"

On instinct Percy began to smile.

I turned and got tackled by Grover's bear hug-or goat hug. He said, "We thought you'd gone to Hades the hard way!"

Percy laughed, "Grover the way we're going is the hard way!"

Annabeth stood behind him, trying to look angry, but even she seemed relieved to see me. "We can't leave you alone for five minutes! What happened?"

"Oh you know the usual." Percy said, trying to act nonchalant while also hiding his laughter.

"I sort of fell."

That sent everyone else into a laughing fit.

"Percy! Six hundred and thirty feet?"

Percy shrugged making everyone laugh all the harder.

Behind us, a cop shouted, "Gangway!" The crowd parted, and a couple of paramedics hustled out, rolling a woman on a stretcher. I recognized her immediately as the mother of the little boy who'd been on the observation deck. She was saying, "And then this huge dog, this huge fire-breathing Chihuahua-"

In his best doctor voice Nico said, "This woman is obviously delusional from shock and trauma." Making everyone giggle some more. He steadfastly continued, "My professional opinion is that she should be watched and heavily medicated." That was all he got through before he broke down in laughter.

"Okay, ma'am," the paramedic said. "Just calm down. Your family is fine. The medication is starting to kick in."

"I'm not crazy! This boy jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." Then she saw me.

Bianca giggled, "Uh-oh."

"There he is! That's the boy!"

"Percy's in trouble!"

I turned quickly and pulled Annabeth and Grover after me. We disappeared into the crowd.

"What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my high-dive act, and the underwater lady's message.

"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad."

Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break, and I almost froze in my tracks when he said, "Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."

"In your defense you aren't technically a wanted fugitive yet." Annabeth said in between giggles.

We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley.

"First things first," I told Grover. "We've got to get out of town!"

"Ya think!?"

Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station with-out getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind us.

Hestia marked the page and announced, "That's the end of the chapter." Then she tried to hand the book to Grover but Destiny intercepted it and handed it to Ares with a slight glint in her eye that sent shivers down his spine.

Then she announced, "Let's have a fifteen minute break to run off some demigod energy shall we?"

I can't wait for chapter 15! It's one of my favorites!

Tell me what you think!

See ya next time!