Chapter 10

The sound of the train chugging along the tracks sounded like white noise to Percy as he sat in a seat near the window. Annabeth sat next to him, checking their bags to make sure they had everything they would need.

Percy looked down at the ticket in his hand. He and Annabeth had left New York City not long after breakfast. He figured the sooner they got started on this quest, the better.

"We'll need to be careful in Pittsburg." Annabeth said, "We have a two-hour delay before the next train."

"What's wrong with Pittsburg?" Percy asked.

"Percy, it's a huge city. Cities are full of monsters, New York isn't the only city full of monsters." Annabeth explained, "Anything could be waiting for us."

Percy wasn't too concerned, he and Annabeth could deal with any monster that came their way. He was more worried about Jason and camp finding out that he was gone. He knew they'd come for him which meant that he needed to move quickly and he couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long.

"So, this ring that we're looking for. Have you heard of it before?" Percy asked.

"No," Annabeth shook her head, "I'm not surprised if something like that exists though. A lot of people like to think the Aphrodite cabin is just make up and perfume but that's not right. They're great at using magic, especially if it has to do with love or fashion."

"But what if it turns out that your mom is wrong and the ring doesn't work?" Percy asked.

"Don't think like that." She said, "If it doesn't work then we're in trouble."

Percy didn't like that at all, leaving their chances for his quest up to a single ring sounded unwise but he figured if that's what they had to do then he'd go along with it.

He looked around the rest of the train car. Like most train cars that left New York, it was packed with all sorts of people, everyone from tourists with their suitcases to college students in their university shirts and jackets. He didn't notice anything off about the crowd, he didn't see any monsters or orange camp shirts.

He turned to Annabeth, who was busy counting their money. He figured she was keeping herself busy since it would be at least a hour before they got to Pittsburg.

Then he noticed someone coming down the aisle of the train, he guessed they were heading to the bathroom. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know where the bathroom was. He looked up and found the person coming down the aisle was a girl about their age. She wore a red varsity jacket with a pair of black designer jeans. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail while her red lipstick glinted in the light.

He looked away when she looked at him, he didn't want to seem like a creep. She was good-looking but not his type. He had Annabeth to thank for ruining his taste in girls, he couldn't imagine dating anyone other than her now.

Percy continued looking out the window, only to see something in the reflection. He looked behind him and nearly jumped when he saw that same girl had slid into the empty seat behind him. He hadn't seen her walk up the aisle before so he knew she didn't sit there.

"Well, if it isn't Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase." She crooned.

Annabeth spun around in her chair. She stared at the girl before looking over at Percy then at the girl, "Who are you?"

"Oh, we haven't met." She said, "But you've met my sisters before. I believe you know Kelli?"

As soon as Percy heard the name, he jumped back. The girl jumped up and stabbed her claws into his seat, her appearance morphing into a horrid creature. Her fangs dripped with saliva while her eyes turned reptilian with a black slit for pupils. Her claws effortlessly clawed through the seat's fabric as she withdrew them.

Everyone started screaming, mainly the poor woman next to the empousa. She fell out of her seat, her scream the loudest out of everyone. She got to her feet and sprinted down the aisle.

The empousa lunged for him, her fangs ready to pierce his skin, only for her to get knocked into the window by a hard punch from Annabeth.

"Get back, Percy!" She yelled.

Percy let her drag him out of the seat and into the aisle. He reached into his pocket and drew Riptide, bringing his sword up just in time to block the empousa's claws. She snarled at him as her eyes blazed with rabid anger.

Annabeth drew her sword and slashed at the monster. More passengers screamed, Percy wasn't sure what they saw but he doubted they liked it.

The empousa made a final lunge at Percy but before she could get to him, he kicked her. His shoe impacted against her midsection, sending her back with enough force to shatter glass, which she did. The window behind her broke into hundreds of sharp jagged pieces, cutting into her skin. The empousa cascaded out of the window, a loud scream tearing itself out of her mouth.

Now that the empousa was gone, Percy and Annabeth looked around them. Passengers cowered in their seats and recorded them.

Great. Time for me to end up on national television. Percy thought.

"Gun!" A guy in a suit screamed.

"Gun?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"Your sword!" She pointed at Riptide.

Percy glanced at Riptide and muttered, "Shit. You're right." He capped Riptide but the damage was already done, the mist must've done its job. He was sure that plenty of pictures and videos were taken of him.

"We need to get off this train!" Annabeth said, grabbing his hand and dragging him through the aisle. She yanked their bags out of their seat and tossed him his. He held his bag tight.

"Where are we going?!" Percy asked.

"The back of the train, there's a emergency exit!"

Percy and Annabeth had just reached the second to last train when the empousa from earlier crashed through a window in front of them. She landed on her hoof and metal foot, her claws outstretched and scary.

"You can't run from me that easily!" She snarled, drool dripping from her mouth.

"You wanna eat glass again?" Percy asked, "Back off."

"Where do I start?" The empousa asked, "Maybe I should start with your eyes, those look like they'd be tasty."

"Back off, bitch!" Annabeth yelled.

The empousa growled before charging them. Annabeth brought her sword up just in time. Somehow, she managed to get a good hit on her, cutting her at her forearm. She screamed before exploding into dust, yellow dust landed all over the floor and seats.

The train slowly came to a stop as Percy assumed the driver had put the brakes on after hearing all the screaming.

"Come on!" Annabeth said urgently before making a break towards the last car.

When they reached the back car, Annabeth pulled the emergency exit lever and shoved the door open. He jumped out of the train with her. When he looked around, his chest felt like it was sinking as he realized they were quite literally in the middle of nowhere. They were in the middle of a plain with thick forests being about a football field away.

"Into the forest!" Annabeth grabbed his hand and started running.

Percy couldn't believe how bad their luck was. They'd just left New York and they'd already been attacked. Now they were somewhere in Pennsylvania with no transport and no friends nearby.

He and Annabeth took cover behind some trees. Annabeth panted while Percy leaned against the tree. He watched the train to make sure no one had followed them. Then he heard the sound of helicopter blades buzzing in the distance. Annabeth must've heard it too since she knelt next to him and looked around.

About a couple of minutes later, a police helicopter came into view. It flew a circle around the train, Percy guessed it was looking for them.

"We should get out of here." He said.

Ω

Percy lost count of how many days it took for him and Annabeth to find a town. When they'd been forced to abandon the train, they ended up having to do it in the middle of the Pennsylvania wilderness. They weren't too worried about the animals or environment, but rather the monsters that had come after smelling their scent.

As if the monsters weren't bad enough, they also had to deal with mortal police and no way of navigation. Percy found that they had to hide in the forests to avoid being spotted by police helicopter patrols, who by now had started circling the area looking for them. Percy tried his phone but couldn't get any service, Annabeth ran into the same issue.

It took them a while but eventually, they did find some civilization.

Percy carried Annabeth on his back, piggy-back style up a hill. Her arms were wrapped around his neck while he had his hands hooked under her thighs to keep her steady. Normally, he wouldn't be carrying Annabeth like that but in this case, he had to.

During one night while they were walking through a forest, a baby basilisk had struck out and bitten Annabeth's ankle. Luckily, it was young enough to not have its venom glands yet. She tried to walk but after a few yards, Percy had enough of her pained moaning and just started carrying her.

"I think this town might have a drug store." Percy said over his shoulder, "I'll see if they have something for your ankle."

"Percy, I'm fine." Annabeth said, "I can walk."

Percy shook his head, "No. As your boyfriend, it's my job to carry you when you can't walk."

"Is it also your job to embarrass me?" She asked.

"Yeah, that too."

Annabeth suppressed her laughter into his neck but he still heard and felt her laughing.

He got a few strange looks from a few people as they passed him but he didn't really care. He didn't see any of them with a hot blonde wrapped around them, so in his eyes, he was the winner here. Said blonde was now as red as a tomato as people also stared at her.

While Percy carried her, he looked around to make sure there weren't any monsters around. Any monsters seeing a wounded demigod would be more than willing to attack, it was like seeing a hot and ready happy meal being offered for a dollar. He could probably fight them off but he wasn't sure how much help Annabeth could offer.

"Up there." Annabeth pointed to a small corner store up ahead.

Percy looked at the store. Green cure was written in green neon. He hoisted Annabeth onto his back before walking down the sidewalk towards the store. As he walked, he noticed a clothing shop with a mirror facing outwards. He nearly broke down laughing when he saw the image of him carrying Annabeth on his back.

"What's so damn funny?" Annabeth snapped.

"Look at your face!" He chuckled, nodding towards the mirror.

As soon as Annabeth saw her grumpy face in the mirror, she buried her face into his shoulder blades. Her hair tickled his neck but he didn't say anything. He continued walking to the drug store, eventually kicking the door open after failing to open it a couple of times.

When Percy walked into the store, he instantly started looking around. The last thing he needed was for a monster to get the jump on him.

The store wasn't that big, it was just like a typical drug store. The cool air caused him to shiver while goosebumps ran up his arm. He felt the carpet under his shoes, he could definitely fight if he had to. He saw a few people in the store but none of them looked suspicious but to be fair, the empousa on the train didn't look suspicious until she attacked. The cashier looked to be some teenager maybe their age.

Annabeth shifted a little behind him.

"Your ankle isn't broken, is it?" He asked her.

"No." She rotated her ankle for good measure, "We just need a bandage and some anti-bacterial cream."

Percy nodded and carried her though the aisles, waiting until she told him to stop. By now, he was surprised that he could even feel his arms, Annabeth wasn't at all light. She wasn't by any means fat but she was easily around 150 pounds. Her height played a huge role since she was actually taller than your typical teenaged girl.

Annabeth picked out a small roll of bandages and a small tube of ointment that he couldn't even pronounce but he trusted her, if she said it was good then it probably was.

"I got everything we need." Annabeth said, "We can go now."

As soon as Percy got to the counter, he knew something was off. The cashier was some young guy around their age but he had a skull tattoo on his forearm along with a nose ring. It wasn't his appearance however that made Percy anxious, it was the way he was eyeing them, especially Annabeth in particular.

Annabeth handed him the supplies which he set on the counter.

The cashier started ringing the items up but not before saying, "She's way too pretty for you."

Percy watched the balance appear on a monitor. He set the cash down to pay for it but before the cashier could reach for it, he growled, "Wanna run that by me again, dipshit?"

"Percy, cut it out." Annabeth whispered into his ear.

"You heard me." The cashier said, "She's way too pretty for a city boy like you."

Percy had been around assholes before, this guy reminded him of Matt Sloan. He hadn't seen Matt in a while but this guy would've fit right in with Matt's gang.

So of course that led to Percy seizing the cashier by the throat. The cashier clawed at this hand, trying to break Percy's grip but he failed. His grip was like iron, it would take a knife going through his hand to force him to let go.

"Let-go-of-me!" The cashier wheezed out.

Percy let go before chuckling darkly. He said nothing before grabbing the medical supplies off the counter and walking out of the store.

"What the hell was that, Percy?" Annabeth hissed when they exited the store.

"He was a asshole." Percy said, "It was deserved."

Annabeth let out a noise of disapproval.

He lugged her over to a bus stop and set her down on the bench. He knelt down in front of her and set her leg on his lap, "You got bit here, right?"

Annabeth nodded, "Just be careful, basilisk bites sting."

Percy nodded and broke the seal for the ointment. He squeezed a small glob out onto the tip of his finger before pulling Annabeth's jeans up to take a look at the bite. He knew adult basilisks had rows of sharp teeth but baby ones only had fangs.

He found the bite marks, two small holes just above Annabeth's ankle. He winced when he noticed how red the surrounding area was, he'd never been bit by a basilisk and now he definitely didn't want to get bit. He rubbed the ointment on before tearing open the packaging for the bandage. He had some first aid lessons from Will back at camp, so he knew how to dress a wound. He was no expert but if he had to score himself, he'd give himself a solid B.

"Thanks, Percy." Annabeth said, moving her leg off his lap.

"That's what I'm here for." He smiled, getting up and throwing away their trash at a nearby trash can.

When he walked back over to her, she was on her phone. He figured she'd probably get service now since they were in a town and not in the middle of nowhere waiting to be turned into monster chow.

"There's a bus coming that'll take us to Pittsburg." She said, "But it's a seven-hour ride."

"Let's just take it." He said, "It's not like we have any other choice."

He sat next to her and sighed, he wasn't sure if going to Chicago was the right move. There was a second cache they would have to check.

"So, this place in Chicago, where do we go if we can't find the ring?" Percy asked.

Annabeth scratched her head, "Well, the next stop is in New Orleans. It's better we check if it's in Chicago first before going straight to New Orleans."

"Alright, what about Proteus's house?" He asked, "Did the map show where that's at?"

Annabeth nodded, "Yeah. We'll need to go to Louisiana, apparently his house is supposed to be at the mouth of the Mississippi river."

"It's going to take us weeks to get this done." He said, "You think camp figured out that we're gone yet?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, I doubt they'll be able to catch us anyways. This would be way easier if we had the camp van or something instead of having to use public transport, I mean, there's always a chance we'll get attacked by monsters if we go by bus or train."

Percy knew she was right, buses and trains were very risky for demigods. He knew using the metro in New York was risky so he didn't see a difference in using the national train system. Traveling by sea was out of the question since New Orleans was all the way down south, it would take them days if not weeks to get there and Chicago wasn't connected to the ocean. Obviously he couldn't fly thanks to his parentage.

"I mean, we could call Blackjack but he can only get us so far." He said.

"Yeah but I think you might wanna save him for emergencies only. We'll work something out." She said.

Percy nodded and looked to the sky, it didn't matter how they got this quest done, as long as they got it done, then that was all that mattered.