I don't know what it is about Annabeth's mom.
I mean, we're all teenagers. Half of us nearly adults. But give us a parental figure in a time of crisis and you'd think we were still toddlers. Maybe we crowd around her because Ms. Pallas is calm and collected. Maybe it's because even despite a zombie apocalypse, she has managed to keep her white shirt spotless. Even Thalia and Jason come join us. Ms. Pallas doesn't even blink, she just ushers them over to where Annabeth stands with Grover and Juniper. We clump together as we wait for our group to be called. They are only letting so many people through Lincoln Tunnel at a time.
I haven't seen my mom.
I hope that means that she went ahead of me. I should probably be glad that she never got into the whole zombie thing, or she never would have left.
"I spoke with your mother, Percy," Athena says.
"You did? Was she okay?"
"She and your stepfather are fine. I told her to go on to the other side and try and get accommodations set up for all of us." She smiles at me like she knows exactly how badly I wanted to keep my mom safe.
Mom and I have always looked out for each other. For many years it was just her and me. My parents were never married. Dad had wanted to, but he skipped out when his father threatened to take away his inheritance if my father did not marry my stepmom, Amphitrite. I think I was six before my parents were actually on speaking terms again. Mom has always insisted on being independent and despite Dad's many offers it wasn't until I started having trouble in school that she accepted a dime from him. I guess she thought a smaller, private school would work better for a kid with ADHD and dyslexia. Luckily for her MO caters to kids just like me.
That's right. Annabeth Chase, local genius, is dyslexic too. If I hadn't known her for so long, I don't think I would have ever guessed that. It's probably the only reason she hasn't skipped grades.
"I'm not sure I like the way you are looking at my daughter, Mr. Jackson."
I jump a little. Okay, maybe I was looking over where Annabeth is standing bringing Thalia and Jason up to date with everything that's happened.
"Uh," I say. "If you mean with admiration and complete respect, I don't see why not." Am I sweating? I think I'm sweating. Or it could just be the shirt. Should have changed when I was at home. Why didn't I change when I was at home?
"Make sure it stays that way." And she fixes those eyes on me. Gray and cold. Ms. Pallas' eyes have always been disconcerting to me. It feels like she knows every thought that I am thinking right now. Even the ones that I'm not thinking. Because there are some thought I am definitely not thinking right now.
I nod like I we've reached some mutual agreement (though I have no idea what it is) and retreat to where my cousins and friends are standing. On the other side of the circle from Annabeth. Ms. Pallas' gaze feels hot on the back of my neck. Jason lets me into the little circle.
"So what about Nico and Bianca?" Annabeth is asking Thalia. My cousin shakes her head.
"We haven't heard from them. According to Dad, Uncle Hades was planning on having them picked up from the apartment helipad, but then the air space was restricted." Thalia shrugs. There was supposed to be another helicopter picking her and Jason. I think she might prefer getting eaten by zombies. Thalia hates heights.
"Do you think Hazel's with them?" I ask.
"Who's Hazel?" Annabeth looks at each of us in turn. "Don't tell me Nico has a girlfriend."
If there weren't people being eaten by zombies right I would laugh. I forgot how out of the loop Annabeth is. Beside me, Jason coughs. And Thalia manages a grin.
"Hazel is Nico and Bianca's half-sister," Thalia explains. "She moved up from New Orleans last year after her mom died. She goes to a girl's high school nearby."
Annabeth looks at me and I know she's doing the math. Until last year, Hades had been the only one of the Kronos siblings that had a spotless reputation. Having a daughter just a few months older than his son kind of ruined that. Annabeth has been privy to enough Kronos family feuds to know that that Hades held that fact against Zeus and my dad. I shrugged. My dad's family is majorly screwed up.
"Persephone wasn't very happy," I say. "But Hazel's pretty cool."
"We should go back and get them," Jason says. "Annabeth still has the keys to the car."
Annabeth shakes her head. "We need to stay inside the safe zone. Let the rescue teams know about them. That's their job."
I see Jason's fists clench.
"Look, you may not know the meaning of family or friends…"
"Jason, she's right."
Which is probably not my smartest idea. My cousin wouldn't hit a girl. I on the other hand am a different story. We have gotten into our fair share of fights. And dished out our fair share of broken noses and black eyes. What can I say, we're family. Lucky for me, we are all distracted by the fact that the mass of people is shifting forward. The girls and Grover move closer to the tunnel. Thalia starts talking to Ms. Pallas (I have never in my life called her Athena and I never will, I do not want her to smite me). Jason hangs back, grabbing my arm to keep me with him.
"Seriously, Percy, you're going to side with Annabeth?"
"She's right."
"They're our family," he says. He looks over at Annabeth, who is still wearing my swim team jacket. "Oh my gods, you like her." Jason's eyes seem to grow brighter. Like they're crackling. It's a trait he and his sister inherited from their dad. I start to defend myself, but Jason just plows on. "Percy this is Annabeth Chase. The girl who ditched us and moved to San Francisco."
"That wasn't her choice." Deep breaths, I tell myself. Deep breaths. If I swing at Jason, the men with the guns will probably think I'm a zombie on the rampage and getting shot is only slightly lower than getting eaten by zombies on my list of 'Things I Never Want to Do'.
"You don't owe her anything."
"Yes, I do." This time I'm the one who cuts Jason off. "Look, if Annabeth hadn't gone after me, I would be dead. She's the reason we made it here alive. So forgive me if I'm following her lead right now. Besides, I promised my mom I'd meet her on the other side."
Jason isn't paying attention to me anymore. Great. He's giving me the silent treatment. I thought only my mom did that.
"Ignore me all you want, Grace…"
"Um, Perce."
"What."
"I don't think that's gonna happen." He points behind me. At first I think he's pointing at Annabeth. But she's not even facing us. She's looking towards the tunnel. There is a mass of people running away from it. Those screams. They're the same screams I heard last night as Annabeth and I hid in the dumpster. The screams of people being torn apart while they're still alive. Ms. Pallas grabs Annabeth and Grover and shouts over her shoulder at the rest of the group.
"Come on boys," she says as she passes us. It's obvious where Annabeth inherited quick-thinking gene that makes her so good at surviving during an apocalypse. For a minute, despite the fact that Annabeth is blonde and her mom's hair is dark. Despite the fact that Ms. Pallas draws heavily from the Greek side of her background, but Annabeth looks more like her dad, they are exactly the same.
"Over there," Annabeth says. "It's Frank. Frank!"
We slip between a line of soldier running towards the zombies and regroup around Frank. I'm glad I'm not the only one who is intimidated by Annabeth's mom. Frank stares up at Ms. Pallas like she's actually the Greek goddess that she's named after and fully capable of turning him into some small, easily squished creature.
"Frank, what's going on? What happened," Annabeth asks.
"From what I heard over the radio, a herd broke through on the Jersey side." He answers Annabeth's question, but he's looking at her mom. He's got his shoulders thrown back, his arms crossed behind, like he's reciting to a drill sergeant. "They've got it under control, I think, but a large group managed to make it into the tunnel. The soldiers will have this side cleaned up shortly. Ma'am."
"Is there somewhere we can wait this mess out?" Ms. Pallas asks.
Frank nods and we follow. He leads us to a group of camouflage tents that are in the wrong kind of jungle. A burly man with a buzz cut is just leaving a tent, I think he might have an entire armory strapped to his chest.
"Frank," he says.
"Dad. Just getting these civilians to safety."
"That's my boy," he says. Hooking a thumb in his belt, he extends his other hand to Ms. Pallas. "Ares Ultor."
"Athena Pallas," Annabeth's mom says, taking his hand. She ignores the way his eyes travel up and down her body, despite the wedding ring on his hand. After one business-like pump, she lets go. "I hope you'll pardon the intrusion."
"Not at all, ma'am. Less civilians in my way out there. Now if you'll excuse me." He starts offs, then turn back. "Frank, I know you'd rather be out there with your old man, but you know how your mom'll feel about you getting into trouble."
Frank's face relaxes as his dad strides away.
"We should be safe here as long as…" His eyes are fixed on a set of television screens. Apparently, we've been watched. One camera is trained right on the gate. Not content with merely causing mass mayhem as they run around panicking, people are literally storming the gates. The two soldiers stationed there are beyond outnumbered. One of them fires his gun into the air, but the crowd quickly figures out that they don't want to shoot live people. The crowd rushes through first one gate and then the other.
"Frank," Ms. Pallas says, "we need weapons and we need weapons now."
"Why. What's the big deal? If they wanna take their chances in the city, let them," Jason says.
Annabeth's mom just points to the screen.
"Holy Hera," I say. Annabeth was right about noise attracting zombies. A colorless mass is moving towards the gates and they are still wide open.
Frank nods and motions for us to follow him inside one of the tents.
"Whoa. Mr. Brunner's got nothing on this dude."
Ares has obviously left most of his arsenal behind.
"Yeah. My dad is prepared for pretty much any possible apocalypse. Here are the zombie weapons." He points to crates of swords, knives, guns.
"Alright, do any of you shoot?" Ms. Pallas asks. We all shake our heads except for Frank. "Fine. Better that way, anyways." She hands out knives and swords. When she holds a machete out to Juniper, the girl looks at her with wide eyes, then, even though her hand is shaking, Juniper reaches out and takes the weapon. Thalia gets a spear and a crossbow. Frank is busy stuffing guns and ammo into a rucksack. Jason has found his own sword. Annabeth adds more bolts to her quiver. She can't always retrieve the ones she shoots. Ms. Pallas picks up a shield and spear as Frank attaches a silencer to a handgun.
When we exit the tent, we don't need to look at the monitors to know what is happening at the gate. The people are flooding back through the gate and they're being followed. The zombies have entered the safe zone from both sides. Ms. Pallas and Annabeth pause, and their body language is so similar they could be the same person.
"Mom, do you think…"
"Yes." She turns to us. "Percy, Jason, I want to take the front. People will get out of your way. We'll follow you. Frank and I have the rear. Try not to hurt anyone. Annabeth, show them where to go."
Jason and I go, Annabeth right on our heels. Behind me I listen for the noise of Frank's gun. That's when I'll know we're in trouble.
"Just go straight ahead," Annabeth says.
Jason starts to say something, but I shoot him a look and he shuts up. Or maybe it's the pop from Frank's pistol that gets him moving. Ms. Pallas was right. When people see Jason and I pushing through the crowd, they start to get out of the way. We shoulder and shove and people don't argue. They just adjust direction and continue panicking. There are two more pops from Frank and the crunch of metal meeting flesh and bone.
"Over there," Annabeth says. She points to a narrow alley that is block off by a high, chain link fence. Too high to climb. And I would not want to tangle with the razor wire at the top.
"How is this any safer?" Jason asks.
Annabeth brandishes a crowbar.
"We're not staying here. This isn't safe anymore. Can one of you give me a hand with this," she says. I'm reaching out to help, when Ms. Pallas calls out.
"Percy, Thalia, a little help." We head to the rear. The zombies aren't thick, yet. But there's a steady stream of them that we're having to fend off. Frank and Thalia try to cut them off before they can get to us, Ms. Pallas and I take care of the ones that get by them. Behind us, I hear the sound of metal scraping against stone. And then the bouncing of chain link being pushed aside.
"We're good," Annabeth calls out.
"Frank, you and Thalia go first. Make sure the path is clear. Jason, go with them, the rest of you follow. And be careful."
A group of people run past, creating a barrier between us and the zombies. Ms. Pallas steps back and grabs Annabeth, pulling her into a tight hug. Her shirt is no longer spotless.
"I love you," she says. She kisses the top of Annabeth's head. "No. Don't argue. I want you to go. Forget about me. If I make it through this I will find you. But don't wait for me. I want you safe." Annabeth's hands clutch at her mom convulsively, before she is pushed away and into the alley. The fence is destroyed and I understand why Ms. Pallas is staying. Someone has to keep the zombies from going back through that whole for as long as possible.
One by one, my friends slip into the quiet alley. The mayhem at the gate must've drawn all the zombie off. I'm about to go through when Ms. Pallas grabs my arm.
"You take care of my daughter. Do you hear me?" she says.
"Annabeth can take care of herself," I say. I glance into the alley, where everyone is waiting for me. Annabeth's mom shakes her head.
"She will think that, you'll survive longer together. She can be stubborn and hard-headed, but you stick with her. Help her stay safe and she'll return the favor," she says. For the first time, her eyes don't scare me. She smiles and places her hand on my shoulder. And I realize that she knows. She's asking this of me because I will be there and she won't. "Your loyalty to your friends is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness, Percy Jackson. Try not to let it get you killed."
She shoves me. I stumble to the other side of the fence. When I turn back to her, she just shakes her head sadly.
"You remind my daughter that I love her. Remind her every day." She turns to face the oncoming horde. It's a mass now. And hard to tell which are living and which are dead. I turn and run. I could take a minute to pull the fence back into place, but it wouldn't hold long if a group of zombies decide it looks like a door. And besides, it might be a way out for someone else.
Annabeth and Frank are at the entrance to the alley. She looks at me and I shake my head. She nods and then her attention is back where it needs to be. I envy how easy she makes it look. It's taking everything in me to stay present and not be freaking out about my own mom.
"So what now?" Thalia asks.
"We get the hell off this island, that's what," Grover says. Next to him, Juniper nods.
"There has to be somewhere that's safe," she says.
"Percy." Annabeth turns to me. "Does your dad still have boats at his lakehouse in Montauk?" When I nod she goes on, "Then that's where we'll go. We'll pick up food and supplies along the way, enough to last us for a while. But first, we go find Nico and Bianca."
My eyes flick to Jason, who is nodding. He catches me looking and blushes a little. I could bring it up later, but I won't.
"We should go now," Frank says. "While they're distracted."
"Alright," Annabeth says. "Once you cross 11th, just keep going. Keep going until I say stop. Keep quiet and keep alert."
Everyone nods. Frank and Thalia take the lead and the rest of us follow, Annabeth pushing us on from behind. Frank has put his gun away for now. Instead, he has wicked looking knife. But we don't encounter many zombies. I wonder how large a crowd is attacking the safe zone. That many living people and that much noise, I'm surprised that it took this long. We pause a few times so that Annabeth and Thalia can take out stragglers with their crossbows.
"We need a new set of wheels," I say to Annabeth, she nods.
"There," she says. She points at a dry cleaner's as we pass it.
We call out and the others stop.
"Gee, Annabeth, you trying to say something?" Grover asks.
"I'm saying that I think you can fit a lot of teenagers in the back of a delivery van." She tries the door. Whoever left did not think that locking up was a priority. She opens the door and we all head inside. "Jason, Grover, go see if any of the delivery vans are still here. Thalia, see if you can get Bianca to answer her cellphone."
"Mine's dead," Thalia says.
"Use Percy's," Annabeth replies. "The rest of us are going to see if we can't find some warmer clothes. We'll need them if we're going to survive winter."
"Hey." I grab Annabeth's arm as the others start to head off. "You okay."
Annabeth swallows. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she says. Neither of us move. "Do you think she made it, Percy?" She doesn't look up as she asks the question.
"I don't know." I shrug. "Do you think mine did?"
"I don't know," she says. Her voice is raspy and it cracks as she repeats the sentence. "I don't know." I put an arm around her shoulders. I'm not sure what I expected. Maybe for her to lean into me for just a second before running off with that speed and determination that always made her so formidable on the soccer field. Instead, Annabeth rests her forehead on my shoulder. It takes a minute for me to realize that her shoulders are shaking.
"Hey, hey," I start, but I stop. Because it's not okay. Nothing about this is okay. So instead I say, "I'm right here." She wraps her arms around my waist and cries harder. Horrible, heartbroken sobs. I put my other arm around her and glare at the others. Scram, I mouth. They disperse to carry out Annabeth's orders.
I want to tell her that it's going to be alright. I want to tell her that I'm sure her mom is fine. But we'd both know I was lying. Because I'm pretty sure we're on our own now. So I just hold her as she cries and I try not to think about my own mom.
"Sorry," she mutters when she's cried herself out.
"It's fine," I say. What else can you say? 'You got snot on my shirt', just doesn't seem like a legitimate complaint anymore. She sniffs and wipes the tear tracks away. I squeeze her shoulder once, before ducking behind the counter. "Do you think we'd find anything in the employee break room?"
Grover and Jason burst into the room before Annabeth has a chance to answer. Jason takes one look at Annabeth's red streaked face and looks a little sheepish. Grover glances from me to Annabeth and then starts talking.
"Okay, so no go with the van, but Jason thought he saw one up the street a little ways," he says.
Annabeth goes to the door and unlocks it. She opens the door and then closes it again quickly.
"We've got zombies," she says. She looks at me. I don't have to ask what that means.
"Then I guess, we wait them out," Jason says.
"There'll be more the longer we wait. They've probably finished down at the barricade and now they're spreading out through the city again. If we're going to get to your cousins, we don't have time."
"So you're saying, someone has to go out in that?"
Annabeth looks at the three of us. "Do you have a better idea?"