Chapter 11
Authors note:
Hey guys. I hope you like the story so far. Please tell me how you think and thanks to all my followers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor any of its characters, I just own my own character Antheia/Alyssa.
It didn't take long for Percy or Alyssa to pack. All they really had was one extra pair of clothes, a toothbrush, and a backpack.
When the campers saw that Alyssa had returned, they stared at her and whispered among themselves, wondering how she could possess such powers. They all left her a wide berth, too scared to try and talk to her.
The camp store loaned them a hundred dollars cash and twenty gold drachmas, which were basically Ancient Greek money for any non-mortal transactions.
Chiron gave all of them each a canteen of nectar and a ziplock bag full of ambrosia squares which were to be used only in emergencies.
Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which was a twelfth birthday present from her mom, a book on architecture written in Ancient Greek, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve.
Grover wore his fake feet and pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta cap to cover his horns that were just starting to leak out under his curly hair. He had an orange backpack filled with scrap metal and apples to snack on and he had a set of reed pipes in his back pocket.
As they waved goodbye to the other campers, they took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House before hiking up to Half-Blood Hill to the tall line tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.
Chiron sat waiting for them in his wheelchair. Standing next to him was the surfer dude from the medical center with the multiple eyes whose name was Argus.
As the were packing the van, they heard footsteps behind them.
Luke came running up the hill, carrying an old pair of converse.
"Hey," he panted. "Glad I caught you in time."
Annabeth and Alyssa both blushed, like they always did when Luke was around.
"Just wanted to say good luck." Luke told Percy. "And I thought that maybe you could use these."
He handed him the sneakers and yelled "Maia" and immediately the shoes sprouted whited wings and began to flap around.
"Awesome!" Grover said.
"Those served me well on my quest and I just thought that you could use them."
Percy didn't know what to say.
"Hey, man. Thanks."
Luke smiled. "Go kill some monsters for me, Perc."
They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head, gave Annabeth a good-bye hug, who looked like she might pass out, and then turned to Alyssa and leaned down to whisper something in her ear.
"Come back to me..." He said in a quiet raspy voice before quickly kissing her on the cheek so that no one else would see, making her blush before stammering.
"I..I will."
They hugged again and Alyssa watched painfully as Luke turned around and started walking back to camp, feeling a somewhat strange feeling in her stomach.
Percy looked at the shoes in his hands, knowing that he couldn't use them because of Zeus. Of he went up in the air, there would be a pretty good chance he wouldn't come down. He looked over at Grover and got an idea.
"Hey, Grover. Do you want a magic item?"
His eyes lit up. "Me?"
"Ya," Percy said handing the shoes to him.
He soon was flying around, not very well, but he seemed to be having a lot of fun.
Percy was about to climb into the van when Chiron grabbed his arm.
"I should have trained you better, Percy. If only I had more time..."
"That's ok... I just wish..." Percy said before trailing off. He wanted a magic item from his dad too.
"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you leave without this."
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pen before handing it to Percy.
"Percy, this is a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. At first I thought it was Alyssa... But her parent is still unknown, if she even has an Olympic parent. She might just be a nymph of some kind. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."
Percy looked down at pen again, remembering what happened at the field trip. He took the cap off and the pen grew longer and heavier in his hand, taking about a half-second before turning I to a shimmering bronze sword.
"The sword has a long and tragic history that we don't need to discuss. It's name is Anaklusmos."
"Riptide." Percy translated, surprised to see how easy it came.
"Use it only in emergency and only on monsters. This sword is celestial bronze, forged by the Cyclopes. It's deadly to monsters but the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion."Chiron advised.
"Good to know." Percy said tucking it back into his pocket.
"Don't worry," Chiron chuckled. "You can't lose this pen. It's magic so it will always reappear in your pocket if you misplace it."
Percy smiled, trying to cheer himself up, knowing the danger of the upcoming quest.
"Relax," Chiron told him. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."
"Relax," Percy said. "I'm relaxed." And with that he climbed into the car with the rest of the crew and drove off, leaving Camp Half-Blood behind in the dust.
Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird being on a highway again, with all of the kids sitting in the back as if they were normal carpoolers. After about two weeks at camp, the real world seemed like a fantasy.
"So far so good," Percy said to Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster.
She gave him an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."
Percy turned away, wondering why she hated him so much.
He saw Alyssa sitting at the end, looking out the window up at the sun, rubbing her necklace in between her fingers. Percy leaned over to her.
"Hey, Alyssa."
She jumped at the sound of his voice.
"Gosh Percy, you scared the crap out of me."
"Sorry, I just wanted to know if you were all right."
She turned her glaze back out the window, staring at the landscape that rolled by, her eyes watery and blank.
"The thing is, Percy... The thing is I'm so lost right now. I don't have a real family, I have no idea who or what I am, and now we have to finish this quest in a matter of days.."
Percy placed his hand on her hand. "Shh, Alyssa. Don't worry. You still have a family; Mom and I will always look to you as a sister and daughter. We love you and nothing's changed."
She gave a heartwarming smile. "Thanks, Percy. That was a really mature thing to say. Your growing up and I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks."
The rest of the car ride was sat in silence before Argus dropped them off at the Greyhound Station, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with a picture of Sally, Percy, and Alyssa saying: Have your seen these people?
Both Alyssa and Percy's eyes widened and Percy quickly ripped it down before Annabeth or Grover saw it.
As they were waiting for the bus, Percy couldn't help but think of how close he was to his old apartment. His mom would usually be coming home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there right not, playing poker, not even missing her.
Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street where Percy was looking.
"You want to know why she married him, Percy?"
Percy stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"
"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and stepdad, right?"
He nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell him.
"Your mom married Gabe for you." Grover told him. "You call him smelly but you have no idea. The guy has this aura...Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week.
"Thanks," he said. "Where is the nearest shower."
"You should be grateful,Percy. Your stepfather smells so atrociously human he could mask the presence of any demigod."
Alyssa looked down at the ground after hearing this, a small tear escaping her eye.
The truth was neither Percy or Alyssa didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt,or saving the world ,or even helping Percy's father out of trouble. All they cared about was their mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back.
Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around and sniffing the air.
"What is it?" Alyssa asked.
" I don't know." He said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."
But she could tell it wasn't nothing. She started looking over her shoulder, too.
She was relieved when they finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. They stowed their backpacks, Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.
As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto Percy's knee. "Percy."
An old lady just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange knit hat that shadowed her face. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glistened, and his heart skipped a beat.
It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more weathered, but definitely the same evil face.
They scrunched down in their seats.
Behind her came two more old ladies: One in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds. Triple demon grandmothers.
They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was a clear message that nobody was leaving.
The bus pulled out of the station, and they headed through the slick streets of Manhattan.
"She didn't stay dead for long." Percy said, trying to keep his voice from quivering.
"I said if you're lucky." Annabeth said. "And you're obviously not."
"All three of them," Grover whimpered.
"It's okay." Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the underworld. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."
"They don't open," Grover moaned.
"They won't attack us with witnesses around," Alyssa said. "Well they?"
"Mortals don't have good eyes." Annabeth reminded her. "They'll probably see three old ladies killing us."
They hit the Lincoln Tunnel and the bus went dark.
Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."
The other two got up and said the same thing.
They all started coming down the aisle.
"I've got it." Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."
"What?"
"You're obviously the one they want,besides Alyssa. Turn invisible go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can go to the front and get away. We'll stay here and make sure Alyssa stays safe."
"But I can't just leave you."
"Don't worry about us." Grover said. "Go!"
His hands trembled. He felt like a coward, but he took the Yankees cap and put it on.
He started creeping up the aisle and managed to get ten rows up before ducking into an empty seat just as they past by.
One of them stopped and started sniffing and looked straight at Percy, but apparently she didn't see anything.
Percy made it to the front of the bus, about to press the emergency stop button when he heard hideous wailing from the back row.
The old ladies weren't old ladies anymore. Their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws.
The Furies surrounded Grover, Alyssa, and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing:"Where is it? Where?"
The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats.
The Furies raised their whips and Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grab a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.
Percy quickly grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right.
"Hey!" The driver yelled.
They wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel.
Somehow the driver found an exit. They ended up barreling across an empty country road.
Percy had another great idea: he hit the emergency brakes.
The bus whirled, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crash into the trees. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out,the passenger yelling as they stampeded after him.
The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife around. Alyssa had taken out a small knife and was following Annabeth's lead and holding it out in front of her.
"Hey!" Percy yelled, unwilling to leave his friends behind.
This Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at him and the exit suddenly seems like an excellent idea. They started walking towards him and he pulled out Riptide, which made them hesitate before continuing to advance at him.
"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
"I liked you better as a Math teacher." Percy told her.
"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
"Nice try." He replied.
She lashed her whip around his sword, but he managed to not drop it. He struck her in the face with the hilt, sending her tumbling back before slicing her neck, making her explode into dust.
The other two Furies were wrestling with Annabeth and Alyssa as Grover threw tin cans. Alyssa managed to get her Fury in a choke hold before stabbing it in the stomach, killing it. She turned around and saw that Annabeth was struggling, about to get whipped. She took her small blade in her hand before hurling it at the Fury, impaling it in the head.
Thunder shook the bus, the hair on Percy's neck rose.
"Get out!" Annabeth yelled. "Now!"
They rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian shirted tourist took a picture of them before Percy could recap his sword.
"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our-"
BOOOM!
The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightening shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail for, inside told them that one of the Furies had survived.
"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcement! We have to get out of here!"
They plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind them, and nothing but darkness ahead.
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