I watched and waited for something to happen but it didn't, the way to North Carolina was like riding on a bike. It was smooth and fast. I watched the sky change from a pale grey to a brilliant blue then back to a pink. Finally we hid the ship back in another cove. We set out the following morning, reaching Georgia by noon, one more state to go!

But then once again Pearl froze, but this time we could see something weaving in the water. I caught the glimpse of it, yellow scales. Percy and Pearl glanced at each other a mutual connection was between them at that moment. Then the thing leaped out of the water I saw it, a giant eel, yellow scales, teeth the size of knifes, black eyes so luminous it was like staring into a pit of darkness.

It went for the boat and grabbed the edge and ripped it off. Water sprayed into my face and I felt the solid surface beneath me and I fell in. The monster spotted me and dove deep into the water. I tried to stay afloat but never having a swimming lesson in my life, it was pretty much next to useless. I dipped under water and pulled upward but I couldn't the monster had hold of my leg in it's tail. I kicked and tugged but it wouldn't let go. My lungs were burning, black spots dancing in front of my vision. But I didn't give up, I kept kicking, but it seemed to just keep wrapping itself tighter around me. I couldn't go on…I gave up, sorry world. I thought my last attempt, just as I was going limp I saw a fish or maybe a human swimming near me…

"Come on Penelope cough!" Someone said in a labored way, it was Percy. I realized I was alive! I wasn't dead, I felt pressure on my stomach making me hack water up.

"Penelope! Your alive!" Pearl squealed. She threw her arms around me and engulfed me with her seaweed smelling wave of hair. Percy sighed in relief and leaned back into the sand.

"What happened?" I asked, my throat throbbing and my lungs still gasping for air. I shivered despite the warm sunny day.

"I was just about to slice the blasted montery's head off, but I saw you were drowning. It was either you or the bloody beast. Of course I'd choose you, but the blasted thing was choking you! I called Percy over and he sawed the one side I sawed the other finally the thing let loose, Percy caught you." Pearl smiled as she explained.

"Thanks you guys I would be dead if it hadn't been for you."

"Well that's what friends are for, got your back always…no matter the situation." She walked to the shoreline and stuck her foot in and walked further in, until she was to her chest she dove in and disappeared beneath the blanket of blue. I watched for her but she didn't return, what the heck? I saw Percy at the shoreline he sat with his knees pulled up to his chest. I couldn't help but stare. He saved my life, caught me before I sank. Risked his whole being for me. What do I do? Go over and say, 'Well thanks for almost killing yourself for me, I wish I could have gotten you something better!' Gods that sounds like a good thank you. I ventured over to him his black hair waved in the breeze, and his eyes were glued to the distance.

"Percy?" I called. He glanced back and a small smile played on his lips.

"Yeah?"

"Um well I don't know how to say this but…um I was just going to say thank you for ya know almost…well uh killing yourself for me." He tilted his head back and laughed.

"Sure, my pleasure nothing I haven't done before. I've probably done that about sixty times."

"Oh…"

"Listen ya know, I'm sorry about how I acted the first few hours of the quest. I'm not usually like that I'm actually a very nice person, but I don't know, having a sister and a god on the quest is a little over whelming." He smiled at me his teeth weren't the straightest, but his smile sure was amazing.

"It's ok I just I feel like I haven't been that much help."

"Your going to be, once we get on land that'll be Phoenix's category, then yours will come."

"Yeah but I just wish I was of some use now…" He looked at me his eyes were serious,

"Everyone has a part in a quest weather you know it or not." His shoulders were tense and on edge. He got up and walked over to me. "Right now you make Pearl and I stay on our toes." He smiled and walked over to a few pieces of wood. But I hardly noticed all I could think about was how close he stood to me. Phoenix apparently could change into a bird, like in the Harry Potter books. He came soaring in the sky his wings flaming and making a blaze.

He landed and morphed back into his true form. He looked like he was in no mood to talk. His eyes hard and cold, his jaw set he walked stiffly over to Percy and they began to reconfigure the boat pieces. Which surprised me because I hadn't even seen more then a few pieces of the boat. I saw then that Pearl was emerging her eyes tired, she grasped something in her hand. I rushed to her.

"Pearl what's wrong?" She held up something, in it was a small coin like thing. But engraved in it was a name. It was in ancient Greek, never having really taken any classes in it, I couldn't read it. "What does it say?"

"Penelope my daughter…" She pushed it in my hand, I studied it was tarnished and scratched from being in the ocean for so long. I saw it was made out of pure gold it was slightly lit by a glowing little green. I knew Pan had left this for me. I pressed down on it and it was illuminated by the brightest green light ever. It stretched and became a long bronze sword then bright living vines and roses grew on it I saw it was deadly to the point.

"I-this…what!"

"He left it for you I'm guessing."

"But how…did you know?"

"I saw it glimmer in the distance." She gave a tired smiled and walked over to where the boys were standing. I looked back to the sword and then lifted my falcata out. Two sharp things...COOL! A smile grew onto my lips and I saw on the sword the coin was in the handle. I guessed that if I pressed it, it would shrink back to a coin. I did so and I was right it shrunk back to a little round coin. Then coin had grown though a tiny bronze chain, I latched it around my neck and felt pretty kick butt.

"Penelope- whoa is that a falcata?" Percy said.

"Why yes it is." I smiled and flung it into a near by surfboard that stuck up in the sand, the surfboard fell to the sand. But the falcata glowed a light green and swung back around and right back into my hand.

"That was frekin sweet!" Percy exclaimed.

"It is pretty cool."

"Hex yeah it is!" Pearl said she winked at me her eyes no longer tired, but were jovial. She pulled out her own blade which was made of a beautiful blue crystal with tiny bronze medals indented in. She ran towards me and took a jab at me. "Want to try?" She laughed.

"Sure." I became excited my heart pounding. She leapt up and went straight for my stomach, I moved my falcata over my chest and blocked it. She gave a sly smile and then jumped right over me, and went for my back, I spun quickly around and went for her neck. She pushed me down and kept me down with her sword. I quickly rolled my neck to the side and then used my legs to kick her in the stomach she fell to the ground crunching in pain. Then gave a breathless laugh.

"Nice work goat girl." She smiled and then her face contorted with pain. I heard Phoenix and Percy laughing.

"Dang girl, she killed you!" Phoenix teased. They both shook with laughter, then a giant tidal wave came and wept over both of them. Now Pearl laughed,

"You suckers! Don't ever mess with a severely in pain daughter of Poseidon." She gasped with pain. Then she got up and gave me a blue hoodie I slipped it on and shivered.

"Jeez Pearl your going to give the poor girl a cold!" Percy chided.

"She's fine just a little wet! I don't see you idiots getting that ship done do I?"

"You're not helping smart mouth!" Phoenix said.

"So? I'm the one who….who um… well I'm here just be happy about that!" She stomped her foot, turned on her heel, and with one fluent motion of her hair walked away.

"Dude no offense but your sister's a little bit of a…" He laughed and Percy agreed. I looked away and tried not to hear the awful word. Pearl wasn't that at all, she saved my life! I'm not going to start saying bad things about her. I saw Pearl was out in the water hip deep grabbing fish right out of the water; I looked up and saw the darkening sky once more. Phoenix lit a fire and then magically made a rod he stuck it in the fire and then took the fish away from Pearl. He manifested a silver knife and cut a hole in each one then shoved them down the rod. He got up and wiped the sand off himself. He watched Pearl and Percy fight with their swords down farther on the beach.

"Phoenix what happened, where were you this afternoon?" I asked. He was silent then he sighed and looked at me, an unreadable gaze struck me.

"I had been called by my mother, she wanted me to discuss some affairs with her."

"What affairs?" Suspicion boiled in my blood.

"That's none of your business, if you know what's good for you, then you'll stay out of it." He grabbed the rod which was flaming red from the fire and flipped it around. A shiver ran down my spine, what was Phoenix hiding. I got up and walked down to where Pearl and Percy were fighting. I was surprised how fast Pearl recovered, from the wind being knocked out of her. Percy went for her breast, but Pearl blocked it then went back at him he parried. Her tongue hung out from the side of her mouth, obviously Percy was a better sword fighter then me. I watched their swords clang against each other for a while longer and then grew tired of it. I walked back down to the fire and saw that Phoenix had put the fish on paper plates.

"Where did you get paper plates?"

"A god can get anything he wants." I remembered that he could manifest things since he was the son of Hecate. I grabbed one and started to eat but then I grew disgusted with it, the taste of blood filled my mouth. Ew!

"Gross! Phoenix what did you do to the fish?"

"What did I do? I cooked em' Pearl's the one who caught them, ask her." I pushed it away. I was too disgusted to eat it. I saw that seaweed lay by the shore, what if this was Pan's way of saying, 'You vegetarian, eat seaweed!' yes, and I did picture my dad saying that in a Chinese voice. I picked up the slimy crap and took one of the paper plates and set it down by the fire. It shriveled up and dried. I took some seawater and made Phoenix make me a pot then I put the pot on the fire. It quickly started to boil then I put my seaweed in. Then I waited for about ten minutes. Then I picked up the pot by the handles and waited for it to cool. Then I took a prong and pierced my seaweed with it and took a bite of it. It tasted pretty good considering how I boiled it in salt water which probably had tens of millions of microorganisms crawling in it.

"Whatcha eating there?" Asked Percy as he came and sat down next to me, his shirt drenched with sweat it clung to him revealing his chest beneath. I looked away in order to not stare in awe.

"Seaweed, the fish tasted nasty."

"Really I think it tastes pretty good."

"Well that is you." I smiled and he smiled back our eyes met and once more too many times, I was lost in them.

"Hey Penelope nice meal ya got there." Pearl plopped right down next to me, ruining the moment. Gods damn Pearl! I yelled in my mind. I forced a smile,

"Yup." I turned back to it and took another bite.

"Dang this is like a episode of Survivor, when Brad goes to the extreme and drinks his own pee!" Pearl exclaimed her eyes got excited. "Dang'it! What time is it?"

"Um I don't know, maybe seven or eight."

"Eight! Ug I'm missing it!" She stuffed three fish in her mouth and then took off I couldn't help but laugh. Pearl, my new friend. I should be honored. I laughed to myself, Percy cocked his head and then realized what I was laughing about.

"How are we even related?" He smiled.

"Got me." I laughed. I leaned back and saw the sky was so luminous and bright with over a million stars. Each one shining, it was as if each one was locked to create a gate to Olympus. I thought back to a time where things were simple…

It was about a year ago when I just turned fifteen. I sat on a blanket gazing at the zillions of stars and hadn't even noticed my mother had come and laid next to me. We didn't talk but just looked up at the stars, both of us having a feeling in the same. I listened to the summer breeze echo through the trees, the sweet scent of a summer night on my tongue I closed my eyes and listened everything. Thinking of just about everything, when a shooting star shimmered across the sky. I sighed in awe at it; I couldn't help but be in amazement as it rocketed across the night sky.

"Mom, how many do you think are up there?"

"Well that's a good question, love, but I don't think that's a question that stays unanswered, even NASA doesn't know."

"I'm going to bring down from the sky, and bring it to you, Mommy."

"You already did, sweetie, just by being here, being my sweet beautiful daughter." She turned and faced me I smiled at her and wrapped my arms around her in an embrace.

Tears streamed down my face, I would never see her again. The woman who had raised me by herself, I missed her terribly. My vision blurred and I knew it wouldn't be long before someone saw me weep. I had to get away. I got up shakily and stumbled over to by the fire, Phoenix no where in sight. I sat down and sobbed my heart beating sadly and I was overwhelmed. I missed Jake, I missed Mom, I missed Ashes, I even missed her disgusting boyfriend, Fleen. I cried into the hoodie, Pearl had given me. I wished I could sore across the sky and fly to Orcas Island and see my mother, just one more time before Camp Half Blood had become part of my life. I had only been gone a few days and I knew I would be here for a long time.

I grabbed one of the towels that lay around the beach and blew one out, then laid down on it. I saw the colors of the flames blurring together as a new batch of tears poured out of my eyes, like two pitchers of water being tipped. I closed my eyes and saw my mother's beautiful face pop up and I began to wail out loud unable to contain my grief. Fortunately no one came to my aid; my cries must not have been loud enough to reach my mother.