Been a very busy week. Two siblings graduated and school finals. But hopefully I will update more often in the summer. :) Chappy 36!

Percy

We were in the midst of traveling two hours after dawn when Nico's horse suddenly reared, whinnying forcefully.

Instantly, weapons were drawn, bows were loaded, and eyes were trained on our surroundings. Our horses were trained to react if they sensed monsters or something nearby, but if it was monsters, then any horse would react that way.

For the first minute, nothing happened. I was a about to tell everyone to stand down when Artemis let an arrow fly.

I watched the silver arrow shoot through the air, following it's path with my eyes. It hit something behind a tree, out of my sight, but in plain view for the goddess standing yards away from me.

Silence. Then a large Laistrygonian giant toppled into sight, falling face first into the earth, a silver arrow protruding from his stomach.

A nanosecond after it had fallen, another arrow was sent, this time by Lee Fletcher, a son of Apollo in my group. Another giant fell. Both monsters were now just piles of dust.

Then it seemed as if the trees had come alive. Scores of Laistrygonians poured our from behind the trunks, attacking the group of demigods. My sword came down in a steep curve, cleaving a giant in two. I didn't pause, but kept Riptide swinging, taking down another Laistrygonian.

In the back of my mind, I was irritated that we had two big attacks two days in a row. But that was pushed aside when I realized that like yesterday, Artemis was our only chance of winning this fight. Tons of giants were present, and it seemed as though every time you killed one, two took its place. The questers were trying their hardest, sending several Laistrygonians back to Tartarus, but it wasn't going well.

Even as I watched, a giant swung his huge hand with great force, hitting Nico square in his jaw. It not only knocked the son of Hades out cold, it also sent him flying off his horse into the air, slamming him into a tree. The back of Nico's skull hit the solid trunk with a nauseating clunk. I heard Hazel's cry of anguish as she got a front seat view of her brother getting hurt. Dismounting from her horse, Arion (who had wicked speed, just so you know), she ran towards Nico, leaving Frank to guard her with his bow.

A sword went through the leg of Connor. The Stoll paled, crumpling to his knees as his leg gave out from underneath him, blood gushing from the wound in his thigh. Travis appeared, fending off more attacks and protecting his sibling.

"Don't you dare touch my little brother, again, you disgusting manure filled maggots!" He roared, his anger from his brother getting hurt directed towards the monsters before him.

Connor was safe for the moment, but many more of my questers were falling as well. I didn't know how many were fatal, but I knew we had to get ambrosia to the injured.

Panic was overriding me. I was defending two of my questers that had been knocked out from the giants. As I thrusted my sword into the belly of a giant, I saw a long, jagged cut traveling up my forearm. I didn't know I had gotten it, much less when and how. But I couldn't feel it, so I ignored it, going back to my game of "try to kill as many Laistrygonians without getting killed in a painful way." I think I was winning at the moment, seeing as I was still alive.

But we were falling. Horses were whinnying, some were running away from the scene, their riders on the ground fighting or injured. Blackjack had been kicking giants next to me, but a sword went cut through his wing, sliding through muscles. Blackjack whinnied in pain, rearing up and coming down on the giant. Still, Blackjack was wounded badly, and wouldn't be able to fly until he recovered.

I sliced through the giant that had wounded my horse, mad that he had been able to when I was right there to help Blackjack, then beheaded another Laistrygonian, turning it to dust. My strength was ebbing, but I had to keep it up to help my questers. I was the Captain. I had to stay up, and protect my group. I was about to sever the arm of a Laistrygonian when an arrow flew by my head. I heard a deep grunt behind me as I finished the giant before me. Spinning around, I saw a silver arrow laying in a pile of a dust.

Artemis bounded up, grabbed the arrow, and shot it again, killing a monster that had snuck up to me and was about to strike.

"Thanks," I said, breathless.

She nodded, then said to me, "Go. This is the pack I've been hunting. I'll take care of it. Take your questers and flee to Aegium. Some monsters will follow, but I'll keep the bulk of them here and finish them."

I know I shouldn't leave someone behind, but Artemis would be fine. She's a goddess as well, so she couldn't really die even if the monsters could touch her.

"Thank you again, Lady Artemis."

"Treat your wounded quickly." Then she dipped her head, "Ride swiftly, stay pure, and may the Fates be in your favor, Perseus Jackson." She whirled around and took off, drawing her two deadly looking hunting knives.

"Everybody, mount up!" I yelled as loud as I could. Questers glanced at me before obeying my commands. "Grab the injured and ride as fast as you can south! We'll rendezvous once we are out of the forest!"

I saw Frank turn into a dragon and swipe his tail, making a little room around him, Hazel, and Nico, who was still unconscious. The blue dragon gently picked Hazel up and ascended into the air.

"Jason! Get Nico!" Hazel shouted, pointing at her brother. Tempest, Jason's spirit horse, galloped over. Jason jumped onto his back, then leaned down, hoisting a limp Nico up. Jason slung the son of Hades across the front of Tempest, then bolted away, his horse weaving in between trees as he headed south. Travis followed Jason on his steed, leading Connor's horse as well. Connor sat on the back of his mount, clutching a bleeding leg, his pale face contorted in pain.

A Laistrygonian popped out from behind a tree, swiping at Connor. The demigod was too dazed, and couldn't move out of the way. The monster would have succeeded in hitting him had a fireball not gotten to the monster's hand first. The giant had just enough time to stare at his incinerated hand before another sphere of fire hit the Laistrygonian between the eyes.

"Thanks Leo!" Travis called, saying it for his brother who was unable to talk at that time. He urged the equestrians to run faster, bringing himself and Connor out of danger.

"No problem, man!" Leo shouted, launching another blast of fire at one more giant.

He looked at me, grinning crazily. "Not only is she smoking hot, cap'n, but she's got some skills! What a gal!" He said, gesturing to Artemis, who was still leaving a path of carnage wherever she went.

The goddess paused in her work, her fierce eyes glaring at Leo. She said icily, "Be quiet, you idiot of a male! No more foolish comments or I will skewer you!"

Leo had a sarcastic smug smile on his face, and he said to me, "She loves me already. What can I say? All the ladies can't help but fall for this handsome devil right here." He pointed at his torso, then spread his hands in a I'm cool, I can't help it gesture.

I mentally face palmed as I directed Riptide to slash a Laystrygonian, "Leo. On your horse. Now."

The fire user flashed me a wide, crooked grin, mounted, and took off, singing a song about pretty girls in the world.

I rolled my eyes before whistling Blackjack over. With one final glance at Artemis, I hopped on, and kicked my legs. Blackjack moved into action, thundering into the forest.

"Blackjack! How's your wing?" I asked him, my head low over his neck to avoid branches whipping past overhead.

It isn't fatal, but it sure does hurt, boss. But I'll be alright.

I frowned and pursed my lips, concerned for Blackjack.

The pegasus must've sensed my discomfort, cause he whinnied reassuringly. I'll be fine! Now if you please, could you draw that hunk of metal in your scabbard and kill the monster chasing us?

I smiled, drawing my "hunk of metal." Riptide came out of the sheathe with a slight ringing sound, and I turned to see where the monster was. Sure enough, a giant was lumbering between the trees, gaining on us. Normally any horse would be able to easily outrun these beasts, but not in this forest. The trees were really close together, and required a lot of agility to move quick in it. Blackjack was having a hard time dodging trees, and the fastest he could go was a canter, but only for a few seconds before he had to slow to a trot to twist through the trees.

Being on foot would be easier, therefore the Laistrygonian was slowly catching up to us. I turned in my seat on Blackjack. I couldn't swing Riptide in a side arc, cause the blade would hit a tree before it hit the monster. I had to settle for a thrust, which was difficult sitting and twisted around like I was. Nevertheless, I managed it, and we were monster-free for a little while. I saw glimpses of other horses riding in the trees, other questers defending themselves and their mounts, and the injured person on their horse as well if they did have one.

The trees were thinning, signaling that the forest was close to ending. Blackjack could now run at a steady lope, but still had to serpentine through trunks. I heard a shout ahead of me. I peered through the trees, and saw three things. A horse on the ground, covered in blood, and a demigod and Laistrygonian fighting.

I recognized the quester. It was Charles Beckdendorf, son of Hephaestus. He was a massively built boy my age, with dark skin and hair. His hands were calloused from working in forges, but it had made his upper body full of muscle. He easily dispatched the Laistrygonian, but was left with no horse to ride.

Seeing that he needed help, when we cantered by him, I held out my hand. Beckendorf (we always call him Beckendorf, never Charles, and definitely not Charlie) grabbed my hand, and swung around onto Blackjack.

I could see the border of the forest, and more horses with riders were visible through the trees. Beckendorf and I broke through the line of trees, opening us to the sight of a peaceful meadow with a village just beyond the top of the hill.

"Percy! Beckendorf!" My head turned as I heard my name. Hazel was running over to us, a frantic look on her face. Behind her I could see Frank lying in the grass.

She reached us, panting, "It's Frank! We landed for a moment to help Jason and Nico who were getting chased, and Frank got stabbed trying to protect me! I don't know how he's doing, and I don't know where the wound exactly was, cause there is too much blood to tell!" She was rambling, her countenance showing nothing but panic and worry.

I left her, running to Frank, Beckendorf and Hazel following right behind. Hazel now had tears running down her face. When she reached Frank, she sat down and picked up Frank's head, cradling it in her lap. Jason was running over, as were many other questers. I did a quick headcount, taking in the demigods that were still on horses, either unconscious or unable to move.

We were all here, and I started giving out commands, "Beckendorf, get me some ambrosia for Frank. A lot of it. Jason, go wake up Nico, and see if he needs any help. The rest of you, tend to the injured. We have little time, we need to get going again so any Laistrygonian's that might still be following won't be able to follow."

Everybody moved out, and Beckendorf ran to get some of the godly food.

I knelt and tried to clear some of the sticky blood off of Frank's torso. I managed to find the wound, which was on his upper stomach. Beckendorf came back with the ambrosia, and I handed it to Hazel, ordering her to feed it to the son of Ares. I held off the flow of blood while she fed Frank the food, and watched for his signs of reaction.

He swallowed, and I saw Hazel holding her breath, waiting. She relaxed with a big sigh when color returned to Frank's face, clearing away the paleness. My gaze went to his wound as it healed itself, the dark patch that was gushing blood now closing. His breathing became more even, and the injury was now fully closed.

He gave a shuddering gasp, and his eyelids flew up. Frank looked around, grimacing. "What happened?"

Hazel laughed in glee before hugging Frank and giving him a quick kiss, "You're okay!"

Frank tried to sit up, and Hazel helped him. I smiled in relief, "That was a close one. You've lost a lot of blood, and the ambrosia will help, but I reckon you'll still be weak for several hours, maybe even a day."

Frank looked at his clothes, then groaned, "I look like I took a bath in blood."

"There's a pond down a little ways to our right, if you want to wash off." Lee Fletcher had come up, and was supporting his half-brother, Michael Yew. Michael's leg had been slashed from the thigh to the foot, and even though he had had some ambrosia, he still couldn't put his full weight on it.

"You doing alright, Michael?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I'm good," he replied. "And we just saw Jason and Nico, they said they wanted to talk to you."

I nodded, "I'll be right there. Frank, you gonna go wash off?"

Frank bobbed his head, "Yeah." He tried to stand up, but staggered, and almost fell if Hazel didn't throw out her arms to steady him.

"Woah. Why is the world spinning?" Frank asked, swaying. He lightly shook his head, then stopped, shutting his eyes tightly, "Ugh, major migraine."

I frowned, "Um, I don't know how you are going to get to the pond. Mayb-"

I was cut off when Beckendorf stepped forward. He picked up Frank like he was no more than a long piece of paper in his hands, and started off in the direction of the pond.

I stared after them. "Well, that works."

Hazel smiled at me, then handed me some ambrosia for me arm before jogging forward, catching up to Frank and Beckendorf. I watched her disappear over the hill, then turned, searching for my two second in commands. I found them close to the border of the trees. Lee and Michael followed me over to them. I paused though, and thought for a moment. Then I beckoned over two demigods, a son of Ares and a son of Hephaestus. They walked over to me, a questioning look on their faces.

"Yes captain?" The son of Hephaestus, Jake Mason asked.

"You two are on guard duty for this short while. I don't know if any Laistrygonians are still tracking us down, but if they are, then I don't want to be undefended. Just pace the border of the forest until we start up again."

Mark, the son of Ares, nodded, standing to attention. "Yes captain."

He and Jake strode off, their hands on their weapons. Lee watched them go, then said, "I'll watch with them." He cast an asking glance at me, and I nodded. He drew his bow, then paced towards the two demigods going to the border.

"I'm gonna go help with the injured. Captain." He dipped his head, then limped off.

I came up to Nico and Jason, who were distributing water. I put a hand on Nico's shoulder, "You doing alright, Nico?"

"Just dandy, Cap'n," he replied, grinning. Then he added, "I was just asking Grace over here if he's missing someone." Nico very coughed in a loud and fake cough, and in his cough was the word that was obviously meant to be heard, which was "Piper."

Jason rolled his eyes, and I smirked at him, "That's true. I wasn't able to ask you about that little…. friendship."

The son of Zeus glared at me. I was managing to keep an innocent face, but Nico wasn't doing too well. Jason looked at Nico, who had a retarded look on his face, trying hard to keep in his laughter.

"You guys are full of it," Jason muttered, handing water to a demigod.

Nico grinned, "Ahh, come on! Just tell us!"

"There is nothing to tell. And what about you, Nico? Hm? Thalia ring a bell in your romantic life?"

Nico shrugged, unfazed. "That was just a little something. Gone, really. Now we have more like a brother/sister friendship. Man, does that girl rub heads hard." He absentmindedly scratched his head where Thalia had rubbed her knuckles on it when saying goodbye. "But back to you, Jason. Come on. Pweeease? Pwetty pwetty pwease?" Nico pouted, sticking his lower lip out.

Jason glowered at him. "No."

Nico whooped, "Dude, big mistake! If you had said it was just a friendship, then we would probably believe you. But since you don't want to share anything, you obviously have something more than a friendship, huh?"

Jason ignored him, stalking off. Nico grinned widely at his back before turning to me, winking, then going off to give some people more water. I rolled my eyes, wondering not for the first time why I made these two my second in commands.

"Aegium's just over the hill! We've made it! Finally, might I add." Lee had been scouting ahead, keeping alert for the town that was our destination. It had been four days since the Laistrygonian fight. Since then, we hadn't had any major attacks, so we had journeyed according to plan.

I told Jason I was going up with Blackjack, and then proceeded to prod the pegasus into the sky. Wind hurtled against me as Blackjack climbed into the sky, trying to knock me off. But my hold was tight, and I squinted, trying to make out as many details of Aegium as I could.

The port city was big and bustling, many people moving around. Being noon, it was a busy point of time for all cities. Several ships were docked at the harbor, and were being unloaded or loaded, the goods coming into the town being brought to shops. The main street was full of vendors trying to sell their merchandise. Restaurants and stores lay up the road as well.

I was looking for someplace to stay, though. An inn big enough to fit my group without it being so noticed. So a pretty large inn used to housing big clans of demigods. My eyes fell upon a substantial building. Screwing up my eyes, I tried, but to no avail, to read what the sign said. I didn't dare get closer to the town in fear that some mortal might see me. Even though they all know what a pegasus was, it still would be weird to see a single pegasus with a rider going above the town. It isn't exactly something you see everyday.

But I spotted a stable in the outside of Aegium where we could keep our horses for the time being. We also needed to replace the horses that were lagging behind. The equestrians that had died during the Laistrygonian fight had been substituted with mounts that we had found at the nearest city. We didn't get fancy or expensive steeds, just ones that could get the horse-less demigods to Aegium, where we could buy proper horses. We get a sufficient amount of funds from Zeus to help us on the journey with circumstances like these, so money wasn't a huge problem if we spent it wisely.

I came back to my group, landing down next to them. Telling them about my recent discoveries, we set off to the stables. It was a handsome stable, with new wood, plenty of horses, and set in a pretty part of the town. We all dismounted, and I let Blackjack fly away. He would stay out of town for the few days, and I could call him back when I needed to.

Seeing someone who looked like the manager, I addressed him. "Good day, sir. We need nine stalls to hold our horses, and we have five horses that we are looking to replace."

The man nodded a greeting at me, "Good day to you as well. And we have open stalls for your horses, and horses for purchase as well. How many days?"

We worked through the remaining details, and some stable boys came to take our mounts. I decided that we would buy our new horses when we were ready to leave, and once we were finished, we took off, heading for the inn that I had seen.

It was a little off the main road, which was good, so we didn't have to go through crowds of people. I identified the inn, and read the billboard.

ALLSORTSOFPEOPLE INN AND TAVERN
FIFTEEN DRACHMAS A ROOM PER NIGHT

"Allsortsofpeople? Really?" Nico was standing behind me, and I turned to see him shaking his head at the billboard.

I chuckled slightly, "Well, I guess they needed a name."

"But seriously. Why couldn't it be something cool. Like Handsome Leo's Palace, or Hot Leo Inn. Man, would they get service or what?" Leo asked, grinning.

Hazel rolled her eyes, "I think it would become abandoned."

"Har-dee-har, Hazel."

She grinned at the fire user, then said, "Come on, lets get inside. I'm starving."

We followed her inside, and once in, looked around, scrutinizing the place. There were a lot of people, but that would cover our big group more. The tavern laid on one end of the large main floor and round tables were set out on the floor, many of them occupied by people. On the other side of the place stood what looked like a check in table, and stairs led up to the next floors behind it.

I turned, handing Jason some drachmas. "Go get three rooms, then meet us down here for some lunch."

He nodded, and walked off. I gathered the group and we walked over, taking three tables. After ordering what seemed like a week's worth of food (Hazel was shaking her head as each boy ordered so much food it might've been a whole cow) we dug in, stuffing our faces.

Soon enough, though, I wasn't hungry. Lately I've been not eating much, and I know why. But I didn't care.

I stood up, "I'm gonna go for a walk around town, and scout out some places we could start looking. I'll be back before three, alright? Jason, Nico, you two are in charge." They nodded, their mouth's full of chicken.

I walked outside into the street. Sunlight hit my face, washing it with a wave of warmth. It wasn't exactly warm outside, the air was chilly, but the sun was like Elysium in the sky. I strolled down the street, taking in everything. I suspected that the bad guy group, however many there were and whoever they might be, would probably be staying in an inn, like us. But I'm guessing not that big of an inn. My eyes were scouring the buildings on the sides of the street, looking for a lodge that would seem shadier than normal.

After about a half hour of walking, my eyes landed on a patched up wooden building. It was big, but not incredibly. People passing by stepped away from it absentmindedly, and wary glances were cast at the shabby inn. I decided I should probably start here, and after making sure Riptide was with me, I headed towards the inn.

It was a dark, dingy, and smelly place. You could easily tell that ale was the main thing sold here. Stains plastered the floor and occasionally the wall, and whether it was from blood or vomit, I didn't know. Nor was I keen on figuring out.

It was mostly deserted. Two farmers sat at one table, talking in low tones. Another man sat at the bar, his head on the counter and snoring loudly. Then there was another man, sitting in the corner in the shadows. He had a cloak on, and a hood that omitted any view of his face. His hand was visible, however, clutching at a tankard full of liquid. The hand had long white scars on it, making it look like he had been slashed by a lion or something. He didn't look up, acknowledge, or even give any sign that he had noticed me come in. Frankly, I preferred it that way. He was unsettling. But I pushed him to the back of my mind, focusing on the present situation.

After sitting at a table, I waited for the waiter to come up. Soon, I heard footsteps behind me. Wait, they weren't footsteps. They were clip clops, almost like-

"Good day to you, sir. Is there anything you would like to order?"

I grinned, happiness watching over me. I knew that voice. It was the voice of one of my greatest friends that I hadn't seen in forever.

He was behind me, so he couldn't see my face when I answered jokingly, "Yes, I would like two cooked cows, three barrels of mead, five apples, and from loaves of bread. Oh, and put two cakes on that order for dessert."

Silence, then the satyr walked into my view, saying with ann incredulous voice, "Percy? Is that you?" He smiled so wide, I could see his molars. I mirrored his smile, then jumped up, embracing him like a brother.

Grover and I have known each other since we were little kids. We met on Mount Olympus, on one of the trips that Poseidon would take with me to the home of the gods. Grover and his family worked on Mount Olympus, so when I was walking one day, we met. We became best friends almost immediately, and I would constantly look forward to the times when my dad would take me to Mount Olympus, because I would get to see Grover.

Soon, Grover and his family moved down to Thessaloniki, where I lived. We were closer, therefore we spent even more time together. However, when I became Captain, we separated. I asked him to join my group, but he refused. He had good reason, and I didn't blame him, for his father had died, and his mother needed his support. I haven't seen him since my first quest.

"Long time no see, Gover!" I said enthusiastically.

Grover laughed, clapping my shoulder, his brown hair waving around. "Where have you been? Why are you in Aegium? How are you? What have the quests been like?"

"Woah, slow down there! I've been around Greece, doing plenty of quests. A quest is the reason that me and my group are at Aegium, I'll tell you about it a little later, and I'm fine. You?"

"Great! I'm awesome! Seriously, though, tell me about everything!" The satyr sat down opposite of me, and waited eagerly.

So I spent the next half hour telling him about all our quests. He oohed and aahhed when exciting parts came.

I left out Annabeth, though. I didn't feel like describing Annabeth (well, she is sorta indescribable, in my standards). And if I was forbidden to see her, why would I need to tell him about her anyways? My mind flew back to the promise on the River Styx that I had made, swearing that I would see her again. One way or another, I would, but I didn't know how.

So I skipped all of that, and just said we came back to Mount Olympus and got our next quest, and now we are here.

"Wow! I am so jealous of the journeys you and your crew have been on! So what's this quest about?" Grover asked.

I explained, but quietly. There's no need to let everybody else hear. Grover looked frightened about the rebellion that was large enough to command the personal attention of the gods. I said that the main reason was to find out who was the leader of the rebellion. I know I lied, seeing as the main reason of this quest was to figure out why Annabeth is being targeted, but I didn't want to bring her up.

"So, yeah. That's about it. How about you? Where's your mom? Why are you in Aegium instead of Thessaloniki?" I questioned.

Grover's face fell. "Well, my mom- she died a few months ago."

I was shocked. I had met his mom, and she was caring and kind, and very nice. "Oh, I'm sorry, man."

"It's fine," he said. "And before you ask, I've been doing okay about it. Juniper has helped a lot with it-"

"Woah woah! Wait… Juniper? That's a girl's name right?" I asked, smirking at Grover, who blushed.

"Yeah, she's kinda… you know… my girlfriend."

I grinned, happy that Grover had found someone. "You got a girl, Grover! Never in my life did I think I would live to see that." I added sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes and punched my shoulder. Grover changed the subject, obviously not wanting to talk about his love life now. "What about you, mister? You got a pretty damsel in distress waiting for you?"

My smile faded, and I looked away. I stammered, "No. I- I don't." I shook my head, confirming it and trying to look truthful.

Grover studied me. Being a satyr, I knew he could read emotions. He said slowly, "What happened?"

I clenched my teeth, trying to not let memories overflow me. "Nothing." He looked unconvinced, but I changed the subject before he could push me any farther. "Well, I didn't come here to meet you, although that was a very welcome surprise. I actually was going to ask whoever stays here if they had seen a group that looks a bit, I don't know, suspicious or shady."

Grover pursed his lips, but then apparently shoved the earlier subject out of his mind. "Well, a lot of shady people end up at this place. I only got a job here because it was open. People don't want to work here because of the atmosphere, but I didn't really care, so I took it. It pays pretty well too. Anyways, let me think."

He concentrated, "Hm. Well, I did see a rather large group come in a few days ago. But they seemed okay."

Suddenly he snapped his fingers, "Oh! One came in two days ago. Well, not one guy, it was four, I think. But they were talking about a group they had outside, so I'm assuming there was more of them. They definitely seemed suspicious. And I caught a wisp of their conversation, and they were talking about how they should help Nakamura, whoever that is. But they saw me coming and didn't say anything more."

My heart beat fast. "That must be them! The person that was a prisoner that we have is named Ethan Nakamura! Do you know where they went?"

My voice was urgent, and I stood up, Grover getting to his feet as well, "Yeah, they said something about the house at the end of Serpent Street. They also were talking about when they were leaving and they said… oh no." He had a panicked look on his face.

"What? Tell me!" I commanded, needing to know.

Grover looked at me, "They said they were leaving today."

My heart sank. We needed to get to them. "Can you bring me to Serpent Street?"

Grover nodded, then said, "But you can't possibly be thinking of taking them on your own?"

I thought for a moment, then stated, "No, I won't. I'll just see what I can find out, and when they are going to leave today if they already haven't. Then we can go get the rest of the group. But we have to hurry."

I practically jogged out of the door, Grover following behind. My eyes rode over the spot where the cloaked man had sat. He was gone. I narrowed my eyes, but let it go. He just left, and there's no reason why that should bother you.

Grover and I dodged people outside on the street. It took us about fifteen minutes to get Serpent Street, and I was cursing, mad about the precious time that we had lost. This street resembled the beat up inn that Grover worked at. Wooden houses that looked like they could collapse any time stood next to each other. Dogs that didn't look too friendly were chained to posts outside houses, and creaky doors swung open at random. People gave us suspicious glances with narrowed eyes, but just hurried past.

We got to the last house. It was the biggest out of them all, having two floors. All the windows were boarded up, and holes could be seen in the sides. Grover and I ducked out of view from it, hoping that nobody in there had seen us. We redoubled back, then turned to the back. When we traveled to the house again, we were now approaching it from the back, where no windows were present. Still, I stepped warily, waiting, and watching for any sign of movement in the house. The back door was shut, but I wondered if it was locked.

I was thinking fast. We needed to get in there fast. It would take a long time to get my group. The best chance we had is if I could sneak it, get some information, and get the group as fast as we could. All without being seen.

I turned to Grover and opened my mouth, but he interrupted me with a stern voice. "No, Perce, you are not going in there."

"Grover, it's the only way! We need information, of any kind really. I'll be fine. You just wait back out here for me. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Grover protested violently, but I hushed him, and walked away without another word, dancing from shadow to shadow, creeping up to the door. I looked over my shoulder once, and I saw Grover looking at me with wide, worried eyes. I gave him an encouraging smile, then laid my hand on the door knob. I turned it, and it moved without a sound, thankfully.

Slowly, I pushed the door open. For a moment, I couldn't see anything, cause it was dark in the house and I was used to the sun outside. I blinked a few times, trying to clear everything. I shut the door quietly behind me. My hand rested on my pocket, ready to draw Riptide at a moment's notice. I couldn't open it right now, cause it was cast a light, and I didn't know if this house was deserted.

It was eerily quiet. My eyes had adjusted, and from what I could see, the room was a mess. The walls had scratches and holes in it, furniture was turned over, sheets were thrown about, and there was a musty smell that meant that this part of the house was almost never used anymore.

I took a tentative step. No sound. Another step. No sound.

I passed through the first doorway, and now I was in what looked like a bedroom.

Gaining confidence, I took two steps. Nothing happened. Peering around, I looked for anything. It was black in this room. I couldn't see anything. I needed to get out of here, anything could be in this room, and I can't see it.

I was about to retreat a step, when a heard a slither of steel. A second later, something cold was pressed to my throat. My heart climbed up in my chest, banging against my body. I still couldn't see anything, but I sure as Hades could feel the steel pressed to my throat.

A cold voice in the room made me stiffen. "Ah, Percy Jackson. You do seem to get in our way a lot, don't you?"

A fleeting thought ran through my head. This was a bad idea.

Well, there you go! Shoutouts: XxBanewolvesLiveAgainxX, Mandy0817, Love4books, PercyJacksonLover033, .noelle, Percabeth4eva, AnnabethChase712, Luna Lerman Jackson, Ember, Sperry, henrie locker, Percabeth12-7, ICECREAMROCKS don't dis me, Castle-of-Dreams, eyes-front-soldier, Jessica Jasso. :) :)

Answers and chit chats! :) :

Mandy0178: Injuries… lets see! I'll try to do more, though! :)

.noelle: I seriously have no idea what you mean by .noelle and not .noelle…. aren't those the same thing? :\

AnnabethChase712: I love your reviews. Just saying. Thanks so much! :D

Ember: Annabeth likes the colors silver and green. Like, ocean green. :)

Percabeth12-7: Annabeth's POV is going to be the next chapter. Sorry, you'll have to wait to figure out what happens to Percy. :)

ICECREAMROCKS don't dis me: Frank is about sixteen, and Hazel is about fourteen.

eyes-front-soldier: You are very welcome for the shout out! Thank YOU for reviewing. :)

Thank you to all my reviewers. You guys seriously don't know how much it means to me. I remember each and every reviewer, and whenever I read one, I'm like, "Hey, I remember that reviewer from before! I like that reviewer!" :) Also, when there is a new one, I'm like, "YAY! Another great friend!" I hope you don't mind that I consider you all best friends. :) Love you guys!