Chapter 12
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor any of its characters, I just own my own character Antheia/Alyssa.
Percy, Annabeth, Grover and Alyssa were all walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the sky night yellow behind them, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in their noses.
Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."
Alyssa was pretty much in shock herself. The explosion of the bus windows still ringing in her ears. But Annabeth kept pulling them along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."
"All our money was back there," Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."
She turned and looked at him with with a huge scowl.
"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-"
Percy went nearly livid, screaming: "What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"
She scoffed and looked away. "You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."
"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."
"Shut up, goat boy." Annabeth growled.
"Hey," Alyssa said warningly, "we need to stop fighting otherwise we'll never get out of here."
They sloshed across the mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees.
After a few minutes, Annabeth fell in line with Percy. "Look, I... I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."
"Well, were a team, right?"
She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died, aside from the fact that it would really suck, it would mean that the quest would be over. This may be the only chance for me to see the world because I haven't really gone out since I was seven."
Soon the city lights behind them were gone, leaving them all in complete darkness.
"It's a wonder any of us haven't run into anything yet," Grover said amazed.
Alyssa chuckled from somewhere to the left of him. "Your welcome."
"Alyssa, you mean to tell us that you are moving all of the trees and plants out of the way?" Percy asked in disbelief.
"Well, yeah. I might as well use my powers for something, maybe it will help me remember my past."
Annabeth cut in. "You know, Alyssa. I've been thinking about your memory loss and it doesn't seem like normal amnesia where you hit your head and forget what happened. I... I think someone purposely made you forget."
Alyssa went silent, stunned by the fact that someone would actually want her to forget who she was...
"Look!" Percy pointed ahead excitedly.
There was a light ahead, like the colors of a neon sign. They could smell food. Fried, greasy excellent food. Percy realized they hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since they arrived at Camp Half-Blood.
They kept walking until they saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a weird roadside curio shop, like a place that would sell lawn flamingos and wooded Indians. There was a large warehouse behind neon sign was impossible for Percy and Annabeth to read so Alyssa, who didn't have dyslexia, translated it to Aunty Em's Graden Gnome Emporium.
At the entrance were two cement garden gnomes, smiling as if they were about to get their pictures taken.
Percy crossed the street, the smell of hamburgers luring him in. The rest followed hesitantly behind, instantly suspicious of the place.
The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.
"Bla-ha-ha!" He bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand."
The stopped at the warehouse door, uncertain of what to do.
Suddenly the door cracked open, and standing in front of them was a tall Middle Eastern women. She wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands.
She had an accent that sounded vaguely Middle Eastern as she said, "Children, its too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"
"Were orphans, M'am." Annabeth cut in, using a slightly pleading tone in her voice.
"Ya we got separated from our caravan," Percy stupidly said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station, but he may have forgotten, or meant a different gas station."
"Oh, poor dears. You must come in. I'm Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There's a dining area."
They thanked her and went inside.
Annabeth muttered to Percy. "Circus caravan?"
"Always have a strategy, right?" He replied with a smirk that made Alyssa roll her eyes.
"Your head is full of kelp." Annabeth said.
They continued walking through the warehouse, which was filled with more statues: people in all different poses, wearing different outfits and with different expressions.
They soon hit the dining area, complete with a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything they could want plus a few picnic tables.
"Please sit." Aunty Em said.
"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."
Before Percy could jab him in the ribs, she replied, "No, it's quite all right. This is a special treat for such nice orphans."
"Thank you, ma'am." Annabeth said.
The women stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but quickly relaxed.
"Quite all right, Annabeth." She said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, dear."
She then disappeared behind the snack bar to start cooking. Before they knew it, she'd brought them plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of fries which they immediately dug into to.
Grover picked at his fries, still to nervous to eat.
"What's that hissing noise?" He asked.
"Hissing?" Aunty Em said. "You must be hearing the deep fryer oil."
Grover didn't ask anything else, but Alyssa could still see he was suspicious.
"So you sell gnomes?" Alyssa asked.
Aunty Em seemed to freeze at the sound of her voice, her hands stiffened and her whole body tense.
"Oh yes." She managed to spit out, but it almost sounded like she was in fear.
Percy's neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at him. He turned around to see a statue of a young girl holding a basket. The detail was incredible, much better than the normal statue. But something was off with her face, almost like she was startled, or even terrified.
"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You noticed some of my creations didn't turn out so well. I used to have two sister to help me, but they passed on and I'm all alone with just my statues for comfort."
Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"
"It's a terrible story. Not for children, really."
Percy suddenly felt bad for her. His eyelids kept getting heavier, his full stomach making his sleepy.
"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking him awake. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."
Alyssa nodded her head, eagerly agreeing with Annabeth.
"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it's been a long time since I saw eyes like those."
She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but she stood abruptly.
"We really should go."
Grover and Alyssa both jumped up as well.
"Please dears." Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least let me take a picture. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular.
Annabeth shifter her weight from foot to foot. "I do think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy."
"Sure we can." Percy said irritated. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"
Alyssa grabbed his arm. "Please, Percy..." She said with bright pleading eyes, but she and Annabeth let Aunty Em lead them into the garden of statues.
She directed them to a park bench next to the satyr.
"Now," she said. "I'll position you correctly. Lets have Annabeth in the middle with the two gentlemen on the outside. Alyssa, dear. It seems like I don't need you in this, could you please stand next to me and I will get a separate photo later."
Alyssa hesitantly obliged, giving one last pleading look at Percy.
"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.
Aunty Em stepped back, as if admiring the shot.
"Now, the face is that most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone?"
Grover looked at the cement satyr next to them. "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."
"Grover," Aunty Em chastised. "Look this way dear."
She still had no camera in her hands.
"Percy-" Annabeth said.
Some instinct told Percy to listen to her, but the old lady's voice brought a comforting lull.
"It will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "I can't see very well in this cursed veil..."
"Percy, something's wrong." Annabeth insisted.
"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.
"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She placed her Yankees cap on and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and Percy both off the bench.
Alyssa stood frozen in fear, staring at the back of Aunty Ems head which now had multiple snakes for hair.
"Run!" Grover yelled, shouting "Maia" and started flying away.
She started walking towards Percy. "Such a pity to destroy a handsome face."
"It's Medusa!" Annabeth yelled.
"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy." Medusa said. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful women into this."
Thwack!
Medusa was thrown to the side, being hit by Grover, who was flying around with a large tree trunk.
Right next to Percy, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy, you have to cut her head off."
"What! Are you crazy?" He replied in shock.
"That's the only way to kill her. I'd do it myself, but she wouldn't let me get a ten feet radius of her. Look, do you want her turning any more people into statues?"
Alyssa finally got out of her shock and turned to Medusa, looking at her feet.
"Stay away from my friends!" She yelled, lifting her hands up, making all the vines and ivory wrap around Medusa, holding her in place as she struggled to get out.
"Curse, you, Antheia! You were suppose to be dead!" Wailed Medusa.
Alyssa froze in shock, not only from the name Antheia, but the fact that Medusa said she should be dead.
Percy immediately leapt into action, pulling out Riptide and making a clean slice, sending Medusas head tumbling to the ground. He could feel a warm ooze socking his socks, but he couldn't look.
Annabeth came up behind him and very carefully place Medusa's black veil over her head.
"Are you ok?" She asked Percy, her voice trembling.
"Yeah." He said nauseously.
Grover moaned as he climbed down from a statue that he flew into, a large welt growing in his forehead.
They found some plastic grocery bags and wrapped the head, making sure nobody could see it.
"So we have Athena to thank for this monster." Percy finally said.
Annabeth flashed him a irritated look. "No, your dad. You probably reminded her of him."
His face was burning. "So now its my fault we met Medusa?"
Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of his voice, she said, "it's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"
"Hey!" Grover yelled. "What are we going to do with the head?"
They all stared at the plastic blob of the head at Grover's feet.
Percy stood up. "I'll be back."
"Percy," Alyssa called after him. "What are you-"
He went into Medusa's office and found a large cardboard box. He also found her account book that had all her shipments to the Underworld with the address of DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California.
In the cash register, he found twenty dollars and a few gold drachmas which he slipped into his pocket.
He brought the account book and the box back out and packed up Medusas head and filled out a delivery slip:
The Gods
Mount Olympus
600th Floors,
Empire State Building
New York, NY
With best wishes, Percy Jackson
"There not going to like that," Grover warned him. "They'll think your impertinent."
Percy poured some of the gold drachmas on top of the box and it disappeared with a pop.
"I am impertinent." He saik, looking at Annabeth, daring her to criticize him.
She seemed resigned to the fact that he just ticked off the gods.
"Come on," she muttered. "We need a plan."
Alyssa stood silent, not caring what they did. She felt a weight in her chest, a single thought haunting her mind: she was suppose to be dead...
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