Chapter 8
Percy slumped in the booth of the late night coffee shop he'd stopped at. He and Annabeth were sitting across from one another, cups of hot chocolate sat in front of them. White whisps of steam flowed from the coca brown liquid.
They had been flying for hours, mainly looking for a place to land. He and Annabeth had agreed that going to his mom's place was out of the question. Not only was Percy concerned about the monsters that they'd attract, but also because of the possibility camp would be able to find him there. Nothing good would come out of a confrontation.
Eventually, Blackjack got tired and Percy settled on landing near a late night café. To most people, a late night café would've sounded weird, who would want to be drinking coffee in the middle of the night when they're trying to sleep? Well, there was a reason New York City was called the city that never sleeps.
Percy gently grabbed the cup of hot chocolate and took a sip, letting the warm sweet chocolate wash over his taste buds. For a second, he felt better. The taste of the chocolate, the warmth of the café itself, and the easy music that played softly soothed his normally chaotic mind.
The truth was Percy knew he only had a few places in mind that were safe: his mom's apartment or Camp Jupiter. He refused to go to his mom's apartment, now was just not a good time. Other than leading monsters there, he didn't need whoever had it out for him knowing where his mom lived. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if something bad happened to his mother because of him.
That left Camp Jupiter. Percy reckoned he and Annabeth would be safe there. He was considered a war hero there and since Annabeth was his girlfriend, they'd accept her too. He could see them living in a small apartment while finishing up school or maybe they'd serve some time in the Legion. Frank and Hazel would surely give them a chance.
Yet there were obstacles in the way. He and Annabeth would have to travel all the way across the country to get there and the only transportation they had was Blackjack. Blackjack was fast, but he could tire very easily after such a long distance. Eventually, there would be a point where they would have to go without him and that's where Percy figured it was really going to get hard for them.
Annabeth typed away on her computer. Unlike Percy, who had at this point decided to just settle for a cup of hot chocolate, she had decided to take it upon herself to make a plan to get them somewhere remotely safe. He wasn't sure if she would succeed since he didn't know of that many places that were safe for demigods like them.
No monsters had shown up yet, but he knew they were bound to show up eventually. His scent and Annabeth's scent would draw them like sharks to blood. He wondered if he could try spraying a bunch of Old Spice all over themselves to see if the monsters would still be able to sniff him and Annabeth out, yet he had a feeling it wouldn't work.
Annabeth's gray eyes lit up across from him, a hopeful look spreading across her features. He found himself getting hopeful just by looking at her.
"I think I know where we can go." She said excitedly.
Percy set his cup down and leaned forward, "Where?"
"New York Public Library." She said, "The Schwarzman building."
He resisted the urge to chuckle yet he still ended up laughing anyways, it was just like her to want to hole up in a library.
"Annabeth, any monster can get into the library. We won't be able to hide in there forever." He said.
"That's not what I'm talking about, dummy." She turned the laptop towards him. He found himself staring at a blueprint of what looked like a underground bunker. There was Word document attached to it that Annabeth had minimized.
"What am I looking at?" He asked her.
"I was looking through some of Daedalus' files and I found this." She said, "It's something called the Haven Protocol."
"Yeah, but like what is it?"
Annabeth smiled, "It's a work of art. Apparently, Daedalus didn't spend all his time just sitting in his workshop. He used the Labyrinth to go all over the United States, setting up shelters like this everywhere he went. They're almost impossible to break into and I don't think anyone at camp knows about them."
Percy nodded in approval, he had to admit, secret bunker sounded way better than being chased by uglies all the way to California.
"You think we can go there tonight?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said, "The library will be closed but I don't think that'll be a problem."
Not once in Percy's life did he ever think he'd be breaking into a library, yet at the same time, he wasn't surprised. Stranger things had happened before.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill, setting it on the table before climbing out of the booth.
"Let's go."
Ω
Percy and Annabeth peered around the corner of the sidewalk to see if anyone was at the front of the library. The steps were empty, devoid of any patrons or tourists, not that Percy expected anyone to be at the library at one in the morning.
Annabeth kept a look out for any cars coming up and down the street. The last thing either of them wanted was for a cop to pass by just as they start trying to break into the library. Sure, they could use the mist but Percy wanted this to be as smooth as possible.
Annabeth placed her hands on his back, the signal that it was all clear. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at her before sprinting around the corner and up the steps towards the marble columns and the imposing entrance to the library. He could really see the Greek and Roman influence in the architecture.
Just as Percy got to the doors, he stopped. Something was wrong. Annabeth came up behind him, nearly running into him as he had stopped so suddenly.
"Percy, what's wrong?" She whispered.
"The lights." He said, "They're on."
He watched as Annabeth looked up and at the windows above the wooden doors. Sure enough, he watched as her face registered surprise at the lights inside the building being on.
She shook her head, "Percy, that can mean anything. Some buildings never turn their lights off."
Percy watched as she walked forward and grabbed the handle of the door. She pulled on it and sure enough, it came open. The creak of the door only added to the foreboding feeling that started creeping up his spine. Why would the door be unlocked? Shouldn't the staff have locked the door when they left to prevent theft?
"Annabeth, I really don't feel too good about this." He said.
"We'll be fine." She assured him, "I promise."
Percy couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone. Yet he had no choice as Annabeth proceeded into the library. He followed her into the lobby. He was nearly taken aback by the huge hall they were in.
Their footsteps echoed as they walked, both of them looked around apprehensively for any night guards.
"Come on, we need to find the door." Annabeth coaxed.
"Did the blueprints say where it was?" He asked.
"No, the file just said to look for a Delta sign."
Percy nodded and let her lead the way. He followed her through a doorway, the walls painted with the words 'do you want a revolution' as well as with a bunch of colors. Behind the doorway was a huge maze of art exhibits, Percy didn't really care for the revolutionary messages, he never thought much about social change in the mortal world, his life was already complicated enough with demigod matters.
The maze of art was downright empty, as he expected. Yet as he and Annabeth swiftly walked, he couldn't help but hear what sounded like someone else walking around with them. He wasn't sure if the library was haunted or something but he wouldn't be surprised if it was. The footsteps sounded like high heels clicking against the floor and considering he was a straight dude who would rather be caught dead than wearing heels, he knew it wasn't him. He also knew it wasn't Annabeth since she was wearing her typical black and white Converses.
Eventually, he and Annabeth ended up back where they started.
"Shit, it's not in here, let's check the rest of the floor. If it's not here, then we have to go up the stairs." Annabeth told him.
"Alright."
He followed her throughout the library, they avoided the religious section, the last thing he and Annabeth needed was some ancient text summoning some demon or some cross to start glowing. Percy had a feeling they'd lose horribly if Jesus appeared. He was real apprehensive about that stuff now, if the Norse and Egyptian gods existed, who's to say the Christian or Islamic one didn't exist either? If the stories were true, he and Annabeth wouldn't stand a chance. He was probably scaring himself but he wasn't going to risk it.
Eventually, he and Annabeth ended up in a study room. He brushed past the sign telling him that he was now entering a quiet zone. The computer upfront that would normally be staffed by a staff member was shut down and empty, much to his relief.
"It's here." Annabeth said, "I can feel it."
He looked around, the lights were on but he didn't see anything. The windows only showed the New York streets and he couldn't make anything out amongst the walls of bookshelves and tables meant for studying. The air smelled a little like old books, which probably smelled like heaven to Annabeth but to him, it just reminded him of the textbooks Mrs. Dodds used to make him erase answers out of.
Annabeth slipped her hand into his, grasping it gently before leading him to one of the bookshelves. She stared at the shelf, her eyes darting left and right as she looked for something. She pursed her lips as she did so.
"What are you looking for?" He asked.
"Hold on." She said.
He waited until she sighed out of relief and reached for a book. He was about to tell her that now wasn't the time for some late night studying but when he saw the book, he was surprised. The book had a blue cover with a white Delta symbol on the front.
Annabeth opened the book, revealing it wasn't a book at all but a empty container. It reminded Percy of those gift books that weren't actually books but just cleverly made boxes to store personal belongings in. Inside the book was a celestial bronze key. The key was ornate with a owl designed onto it. A inscription was written on the body in Greek but the small lettering was hell on Percy's eyes.
Annabeth turned back to the bookshelf, counting the books as she went.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I need to find the book on the sixth row and sixth column." She said, "Aha! Found it."
He watched as she jammed the key into a book. The bookshelf trembled for a moment before retracting into the wall and sliding away, the sound of gears working echoed through the study hall. Behind the bookshelf was a door that looked like it belonged in a top-secret military base or a prison, it was made of metal with steel rivets on the lining. A glowing Delta sign glowed where the doorknob should've been.
"How did you know this was here?" Percy asked.
"I don't know, I just followed the instructions." Annabeth admitted, "It was like I could feel where it was. You know, like when you feel someone tugging on you but there's no one there."
"I didn't feel anything." He said, "I guess it's some sort of Athena thing huh?"
"Probably." She smiled before walking to the door and placing her hand on the Delta sign.
The sign glowed a brilliant blue before fading. The door clicked and creaked open, revealing lights behind it. He was about to walk in with Annabeth when he heard a woman's voice behind him.
"What are you two doing in here?"