~ Attack of the… Grain? ~
LYKOS
Screams of pain.
Cries of agony.
Roars of fury.
Laughter of sadistic pleasure.
This is all Lykos hears as he lays on the ground, chained by his wrists to the black stone beneath him. It's cold. Freezing cold. No warmth or light to be had in this desolate, horrific place. There is nothing, but darkness, violence, and evil. He wound up here again, after another attempt at forever ending the pain, but even though he is successful at taking his own life, it only meant that he would end up in this place again and wait to suddenly return to the mortal world.
Except this time, he made a horrible mistake.
In his desire to inflict his rage on others in the hopes that they would kill him, he had offended one of the leaders of the monster factions. He attacked the empousai, knowing that they are one of the few species that could take him on. In doing so, he had killed a close friend of the faction's leader, enraging her. She demanded vengeance, she demanded punishment, taking the matter straight to Lycaon himself. Let her have Lykos to unleash her wrath upon, or wage war with the Pack.
Lycaon did not take his side in the matter.
He handed him over to the empousai, claiming they could do as they pleased… and they have done just that. They took him to a place in this horrid place, the PIt, where they would take many prisoners, traitors, or any who had earned their wrath. A place where they could inflict every kind of pain imaginable, a place where he could never escape, a place where they would make him forget what had once made him human. He is not the only one here. Other monsters, for one reason or another, were chained here like him. They all learned to fear the one who was in charge of dealing their punishments.
Her name… was Aspa.
It meant 'welcome.' A play on how she enjoyed welcoming new victims to her place of torture. A cruel, sadistic sense of humor. She seemed to be especially amused with the things she could do to Lykos. Perhaps it was because of the lycanthrope's conditional invulnerability. Only silver or fire could truly cause lasting harm to him, so she found great pleasure in abusing those weaknesses. She approaches him now, humming a happy little tune to herself as she skips towards him with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Hellooo, Wolfy!" she greets him in a singsong voice, passing him by to go straight for the rack of instruments mounted up against the icy black boulders. "Did you sleep well? I know I did!"
Lykos can't even find it in himself to talk back to her or even growl right now. His body is beaten, bruised, scarred, and lacerated from their number of past interactions. He's been laying here for weeks, yet he's exhausted. She turns back towards him with a flogger; a short whip of multiple straps, each one tied with a shard of silver at the end. It's one of her favorites, because as she told him, she enjoys that she can inflict so many wounds with fewer lashes… not that it makes her lash him any less.
"It's been a little too long since I visited you," Aspa chortles, turning the hilt of the flogger over in her hand, lovingly feeling the leather grip. Lykos remains silent, only turning his head on the ground to follow her with his eyes. He may as well save his breath… he's going to need it in a minute.
"Giving me the silent treatment again, are we?" the demoness prowls around him, letting the straps of the flogger slither over his bare back. His skin burns and stings at the touch of the silver shards, making him grimace. An ever-so-subtle growl of pain escapes his throat. He swears by the names of any deity he can think of, the things he would do to her if he ever got out of these chains. He imagines himself one day breaking free, catching her off guard. He imagines transforming himself as he lunges upon her. He imagines the crackling of her skull in his teeth, the splitting of her flesh beneath his claws.
"Mmm, I love when you make that sound. It's how I know you're still feeling the pain, how I know that you will never get used to it. I don't know what I would do if suddenly you could tolerate our playtime," Aspa sneers. "However, as cute as your little growls are, I want to hear your screams."
She suddenly lashes the flogger down his back, raking the shards through his skin and splattering his blood over the stony ground. Lykos' body spasms at the brutal contact of silver, curling himself into a tight ball with his fists clenching so hard that his claws draw blood from his palms. He can feel his voice get caught in his throat, wanting to escape him, to unleash itself and let all who hear it know what is happening. But he forces it down. He knows he can't contain it forever, but he refuses to let her win so easily. She may enjoy his suffering. She may enjoy it when he does cry out… but he knows that she hates how hard she has to work for it. She hates that it takes her a great deal of effort to get him to that point. She hates being defied this way. He could tell from their first few… sessions, together. Her body language became stiff when he withheld, her voice would even lose its careless, sadistic edge on occasion.
In this way, he obtains his own small victories, knowing that no other of her victims can make her get so frustrated.
"Try to hold it in all you want," she growls. "It just makes me hurt you more."
She lashes him again.
Then again.
And again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
. . . . . . .
Lykos awakens to the feeling of something pressing into his side, something small, soft, and warm. For a moment he is confused, trying to move as if he were in human form, but his confusion only lasts for that long before he realizes that his human form did not come with him from his memory. Here, in the waking world, he is still stuck as a wolf. Sighing, he lifts his head and glances over his shoulder to see what the pressure is. It's only Chloe, nestled against him, using his side as her pillow. Nestled against her, is Saphira. Both girls are fast asleep, seeming to be content right where they are. A year ago, Lykos would have never allowed anyone to do this with him. Now though, he's become so much more relaxed, letting people be close to him. He can't believe it still, his friendship with Saphira, much less with the rest of the Hunt.
A small part of him wonders if the other wolves know what's become of him. He can easily imagine Lycaon himself absolutely losing it upon finding out that Lykos is now the hunters' Guardian. An ally to the enemy… or at least, all his brethren referred to them as the enemy. Lykos never wanted to be a part of that war. He stayed out of all the recent ones as much as he could. He did not join his former king in the hunt for the Seven. He did not rally to the side of Kronos before that. He simply wanted to be left alone… and now, he has gotten a life that is even better than that.
The Hunt is where he belongs now. They are his friends, his family. His pack.
Lykos looks towards the front of the van. Percy has taken over driving now, while Annabeth is curled up in the passenger seat, fast asleep. It is dark, though probably not later than midnight. He's been asleep for hours. He wonders where they are now. Looking through the windshield, he can see that the sides of the road are lined with wide, vast fields of crops… stalks of grain or wheat.
With a great yawn, Lykos shuffles about to get himself more comfortable, but with the two sleeping hunters on him, he finds it a bit difficult. He's feeling a little restless after having slept for so long, and being cooped up in this van isn't helping. While sometimes he would doze for long periods during the night back at camp, most nights he would be awake and patrolling the woods to ensure no danger was anywhere near them. When he did sleep, it was under the open skies and within the cool forest air. This closed metal space is the exact opposite of that.
There were also many times that he and Saphira did not even remain in camp during the night.
Lykos wishes he could express to her how much their time together meant to him. It had become a sort of tradition between them, and a few times they were joined by Chloe, but just the pair of them made it feel more special. Their long runs through the forest, under the moon and in the cool air, sprinting side by side with nothing and nobody holding them back… it's the truest, purest feeling of freedom and companionship in his eyes.
And it always reminded them of the first night that they had truly bonded, back before the Hunt even knew about their secret, just after she had treated him for his wounds. She had come to him alone in the middle of the night, just because she felt like she could be with him, because she trusted him. They ran together. They ran in the forest, in the frigid night and the rain. They ran across the plains, under the light of the shining moon, until they were out of breath and could run no more… and then they simply sat together to gaze at the starry skies.
The memory will hold a special place in his heart for eternity.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Percy's hushed voice breaks through his thoughts, drawing his attention to the front of the van. The sea child casts a glance over his shoulder at him with a friendly smile. Lykos huffs in reply to show he's acknowledged him.
"Can't sleep anymore?" Percy asks with his eyes back on the road. Lykos rumbles softly, not wanting to wake the girls. "I'll assume that means yes. Hey, any chance you know if Saphira plans on letting us stop to eat? I'm starving."
Lykos waits until Percy's looking at him in the rearview mirror before he shrugs, much to Percy's evident disappointment.
"Damn. I really could use a snack right now," he mutters.
It hadn't occurred to him before, but now Lykos finds himself also feeling quite hungry. None of them have eaten today, as they had left, first thing when they woke up. Perhaps he should wake the girls after all. With all the traveling and fighting they will be doing, they'll need to keep their energy up. He turns his head back and gently pushes his muzzle on the side of Chloe's ahead, taking a few tries to get her to wake up before she finally does.
"Hmm? What's… Lykos?" The healer sleepily rouses, looking at him in drowsy confusion. "What is it?"
He smacks his jaws, his way of letting the hunters know food is on his mind. Chloe drops her head back down on his side and replies with a groaning yawn.
"Aw, buddy. You really woke me up for that?"
"My fault. I brought up food because I'm pretty hungry myself. None of us have eaten today. Maybe we should pull over and get some food into us," Percy says.
Chloe yawns again, covering her mouth as she seems to ponder the thought, before she replies. "Maybe you're right. Now that we're all talking about it, I'm hungry as well."
She turns her attention to the still-sleeping Hesperide, running her fingertips through her hair as she begins to stir her. "Saph? Bestie, wake up."
Saphira's awakening is much quicker than Chloe's, her eyes opening and propping herself up, lifting her head from Chloe's abdomen to look around.
"What's wrong?" is the first thing that comes out of her mouth.
"Nothing, just waking you up for dinner. We're pulling over so we can all eat," her friend tells her.
"Oh. Are we almost there?" Saphira asks.
"About halfway. At this rate, if Annabeth and I shift again later, we should get there by morning," Percy explains.
Saphira nods and sits up, as does Chloe, much to Lykos' relief as he now can finally take the chance to stretch his muscles. Percy pulls them over to the side of the road, gravel crunching beneath the tires and shifts the gear into parking. He then leans towards his sleeping girlfriend and carefully brushes some of her golden curls from her face.
"Annie, wake up. We're stopping for a minute to eat," he softly calls to her.
Annabeth stirs and lazily swats him away. Her eyes not even opened yet, she grumbles.
"5 more minutes."
Percy smiles and shakes his head in amusement. "You can go back to sleep after you eat something. Just a small snack at least."
"Fine." She yawns, stretching her arms wide with a yawn. She then looks over her shoulder at Lykos and the hunters. "Everyone doing alright?"
"Yeah. I feel as though that was one of the most peaceful rests I've ever had," Saphira says.
"Same. Lykos being a fluffy pillow helps a lot," Chloe remarks.
Lykos rolls his eyes and bumps her with his head, knocking her over into Saphira with both girls squeaking indignantly.
"Lykos!" they scold him together. He replies with a chuffing laugh and waits as they sort themselves out. Everyone digs into their packs for whatever food they've brought.
Percy and Annabeth both fish out some kind of wrapped sandwiches; ham and cheese by the smell of it, with some lettuce and mayonnaise in one or both of them. Chloe pulls a pack of an assortment of wild blueberries and raspberries. She pours some into her hand and places them before Lykos, smiling at him and nodding for him to go ahead. Aside from the fact that she is Saphira's other best friend, the healer has earned a very special place in his heart for her kindness and never failing to offer him some extra snacks. Berries are among his favorites. Tangy, juicy, and sweet.
He thanks her with a nuzzle before he begins to eat. Meanwhile, Saphira is searching for his actual meal until she pulls it out; a long, meaty rib of a deer. Good thing the hunters' backpacks are magical so that they can fit far more they would seem to be capable of handling. Lykos scarfs down the berries just before she hands him the rib, licking his muzzle clean before digging into the next part of his meal. For herself, Saphira seems content to share berries and dried strips of wild turkey between her and Chloe.
"We should have brought some of the plates from camp," Percy mumbles around his sandwich.
"We wouldn't be able to. We're short on drachmas and Chiron's now charging us for taking camp supplies," Annabeth says. "After we brought all those plates on the Argo, and well… that got destroyed."
Percy hums in agreement through a mouthful, when he pauses. The sandwich lowers into his lap and he stares at the dashboard in silence. Annabeth picks up on it as well, as she prompts him to speak.
"Percy?"
The sea child shakes his head and heaves a sigh. "Nothing. It's just… Leo."
Annabeth blinks, her gray eyes clouding with memory. "Oh."
"Who is Leo?" Saphira asks.
"He was one of the Seven. He built our ship, piloted it and navigated it around the world. He was a brilliant mechanic," Annabeth replies.
"And a good friend," Percy adds.
"Was?" Chloe repeats in question. The couple nod in unison.
"He died during the battle at camp, sacrificed himself to take down Gaea," Annabeth says.
"A hero. He would have achieved Elysium," Saphira offers as console.
They continue to eat, with Percy and Annabeth recounting stories of their past quests. Lykos listens while he crunches the rib bone in his teeth, hearing how they traveled the country to retrieve Zeus' bolt, ventured into the Sea of Monsters, navigated the Labyrinth… so many adventures for their young age. Suddenly, the topic turns and then it's the hunters' sharing stories.
"So, you two are like, two thousand years old, right?" Percy asks, directing that to Lykos and Saphira.
"Yes," the Hesperide answers.
"Gods. You must have seen so much."
"Indeed. Some of it, wondrous… some of it, not so much." Saphira sighs. "Too many wars, for one."
"Have you fought in any of them?" Annabeth questions.
"I have. I was there for the Persian invasion of Greece. We sided with neither, but we targeted any and all who would commit heinous acts on the innocents. My sisters and I killed many men, both Greek and Persian, who would dare harm a woman or child," Saphira replies. "I fought in the first Wolf War too."
"First? How many were there?" Percy asks.
"Two, but the first lasted for nearly fifty years. The second one was far shorter."
"Did Lykos fight in the first?"
Lykos' ears fall back when he sees them all looking at him expectantly. He was alive and present for that war, but he didn't fight in it much, just as he avoided it the second time as much as he could. Still, the little time he did spend fighting in either war, he had shed the blood of the girls he is now tasked with protecting. In those moments, it was him or them. Most of the time, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time… but it doesn't make him feel any less guilty about it.
Saphira picks up on his hesitation and seems to understand why as she places a hand over his paw. Her volcanic orbs are filled with her compassion, smiling at him reassuringly.
"I know that look. You don't need to feel guilty about anything. War is war. I promise nobody will hold it against you," she coos. "Trust me. The Hunt has done terrible things in the past too, things I wish Artemis never made us do… but it's different now. We are different."
"What sort of things did she make you do?" Annabeth questions curiously.
Saphira raises a brow at her. "Do you really want me to tell you while you're eating?"
Wisdom's daughter hesitates before she responds. "Probably not."
The Hesperide nods in agreement. "Most recently, I also took part in the American Civil War. We sided with our fellow Greeks against the Romans then. We would have fought in the World Wars, but Artemis kept us far away from that as she deemed it far too horrible for us. The Big Three's conflict was out of control. She did not wish us to shed our blood for their troubles."
Lykos finishes off his food at the same time that Percy does, the sea child crumpling up the tinfoil wrap and setting it aside.
"I'll get us moving again while you girls finish eating. We should…"
Lykos stopped listening to him the moment he heard the faint noise from outside. Close, soft, and he almost missed it the first time. Light pitter-patter on the gravel, like the footsteps of a child running around outside. He sits upright immediately, already letting the growls build up in his throat, startling the others.
"Lykos, what's wrong?" Saphira asks him with urgency. He responds by getting his face up to the rear window and peering outside and she gets the message. "Something's out there."
That sentence has the tension in the van spiking up like a rocket.
"Okay, definitely time to leave!" Percy declares and turns the key in the ignition, when suddenly the pitter-patter shoots right towards them. Lykos can hear it come right up to the van and a second later, the rear driver-side tire pops loudly, dropping the van on that side to be only supported by the other three tires.
"Christ! Something just popped the tire!" Annabeth exclaims. She turns in her seat, scanning through her window with her eyes. Saphira and Chloe both grab their bows and fit arrows to their strings.
"Lykos, back here!" Saphira demands, and he obeys. She and Chloe keep their arrows trained on the back doors of the van, should something try to open them… but nothing does. In fact, the noises outside have retreated a greater distance. Lykos hears them farther away now, but still present. There's multiple ones, whatever they are.
"We need to get out. We're sitting ducks in here," Annabeth says as she takes the hilt of her drakon-bone sword in her grip while Percy draws his pen.
"We don't know what's out there," Percy warns her.
"Lykos, the noises outside. Did they sound like they were from something… big?" Chloe whispers to him. Lykos shakes his head in response. Again, they sounded like the running of children.
"Okay, something small. Harpies?" Percy suggests, keeping his eyes on a swivel.
"Harpies wouldn't be messing with us like this," Annabeth replies. "Has to be something else."
Lykos deeply inhales the air through his nose, taking in all traces of scent around them. He smells no monsters. Only the scent of their group, their food, the van, and grain-
Grain.
Of course! He knows what's out there now, and now he's no longer afraid of their predicament. If anything, he's merely annoyed, angered even by the fact that of all things to slow them down, it's the creatures outside. With a gruff rumble, Lykos rises and gets right to the back doors, taking the handle in his teeth and pulling to open the doors and swing them open.
"Lykos!" Saphira and Chloe both hiss at him, but he ignores them, leaping outside with a ferocious snarl and landing right on top of one of the little beings causing them trouble. It squeals in surprise. It resembles a fat toddler or infant, but with green skin and beady eyes, and a mouthful of sharp, needle-like tiny teeth. The creature flops onto its back, crying out and flailing its little hands at him in a pitiful attempt to defend itself before his teeth come down over its head. The next moment, it bursts into grain, blowing away with the breeze.
"Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!"
"Watchout!"
"He'll eat us!"
Dozens of voices burst into an uproar all around him, high pitched squeaks and squeals as a horde of the creatures scramble to put some distance between him and them. Saphira and Chloe spring out of the van after him, bows at the ready and followed closely by Percy and Annabeth brandishing their swords. The hunters and demigods look surprised when they see what they are faced with.
"Karpois!" Chloe exclaims.
"Gods damn it, not you guys again!" Percy complains.
Karpoi, grain spirits, minions of Gaea. Lykos has had a few run-ins with their kind before. Annoying little pests, though to the inexperienced warrior they can be dangerous in high numbers. The sight of the two demigods gives them another fright though as they scramble a little further away.
"Oh crap! It's those two!" one cries in dismay.
"How are we supposed to beat Olympus' champions?!" another wails.
"Quiet you babies! Show them no fear!" a third snaps at the others. It steps forth from the horde, pointing a pudgy finger at the group and sneering at them. "Behold, heroes! You face your greatest challenge yet! Look upon us, the spirits of the grain, and know fear!"
Lykos irritably twitches an ear as he glares at the grain spirit with disdain. Saphira steps to his side with her arrow aimed right at what Lykos assumes to be the leader now.
"You're making a poor choice, little demon. Stand down. You do not want this fight," she states with an even, cool tone. "This is your only warning."
"Shut your trap, hunter scum! You are speaking to Rye, brother of-" the karpos begins, but he's quickly silenced.
Sfft!
The silver arrow pierces right through him. He bursts into a pile of grain, leaving the others to be shocked.
"Nooo! Brother!" another karpos cries out, falling at the side of the pile of grain. He scoops some of it up. "Don't worry, Rye! We'll grow you back!"
"Christ, that was merciless," Percy says, staring at Saphira with a look of surprise.
"He can grow back in another patch of wheat. They always do," she replies, loading another arrow to her string.
The karpos glares at them. "You just sealed your fate! We will tear you piece by piece and scatter you to the fields!"
"Don't be stupid. You don't stand a chance against us. Your best move is to disappear while we still allow it," Annabeth retorts. "You're facing two Champions of Olympus, two Hunters of Artemis and a Wolf of Lycaon."
"What are you even doing here? Gaea's been returned to her slumber. Her uprising was canceled. Your kind shouldn't even be thinking about trying to pull a stunt like this," Chloe chimes in.
"We do this for her!" the karpos snaps back. "The dark entity promises us aid in reawakening the earth mother! We will rise to glory once again!"
"Again? You had glory before?" Percy questions innocently.
The karpos doesn't like the implication very much.
"You think so low of us? Fine! We'll show you the might of karpoi! Attack!"
The horde of grain spirits surge forth from all sides, shrieking and wailing their fury… er, what passes for the fury of grain spirits anyway. Lykos curls his lips back to reveal his fangs and replies to their war cries with a great snarl, making the first wave in front of him skid to a halt. Their hesitation is brief, but long enough for him to take advantage of. Charging into them, Lykos clamps his teeth down over the head of the closest karpos and thrashes it side to side, using its body to slam its brethren away before it turns to grain in his mouth. He whirls on another to rake his claws down its torso, splitting it open and lunging forward to do it again to a third. Other karpoi attempt to leap at him from his right, but he pivots on his forelimbs to swing his hip and flank into them, knocking them all away. Another springs right at his face, only to land in his teeth and squeal before he clenches his jaw muscles down hard enough to bite it right in two.
His companions are also easily cutting through the enemy. Annabeth slashes every karpos that tries to pounce on her, expertly side stepping and catching each one with a clean cut through the neck. Percy hacks at the hordes around his feet with his sword, sometimes resorting to stomping or kicking the little pests. Chloe shows her mastery with her bow, nocking two or even three arrows at a time, sniping karpoi out of the air without missing a single shot. Those that get too close, she simply cracks them on the head with her bow or boot.
Saphira, however, is a whirlwind, an image of speed and grace that Lykos would dare say could one day rival Artemis herself. A silver knife in each hand, she spins, slices, flips, and stabs her way through the hordes of karpoi. She holds centuries of combat experience under her belt and it shows as she expertly dances around and between the dozens of attacking grain spirits. Nothing can get near her without being sliced into by her long, gleaming blades. Several times, she's able to slash through several karpoi with a single swing, other times she can throw her knives with deadly accuracy into those that try to pounce on her, only to catch her knives when they fall back into her hands from their dissolving bodies.
Even as he observed the others handling themselves, Lykos never lost the upper hand himself. He's lost count of how many karpoi he's killed by now. He bites, rips, claws, and thrashes every single one, but more replace them. Despite their superior numbers though, the karpoi are losing their drive. Little by little, they become hesitant to attack, with some even running away and fleeing into retreat. He can sense victory closing in, and it spurs him on.
Several karpoi give one of their final efforts as they all clamber onto him, clinging to his fur and attempting to bite into him, but as sharp as their teeth are, they're tiny and their jaws are weak. Lykos shakes his pelt to lose some of them before he simply throws himself into a roll and crushes them beneath him. Some burst into grain on the spot while others are simply winded. He grabs one and whips it around to hurl it into its brethren, knocking them all down for him to finish off quickly.
"Gods, they just don't stop coming!" Chloe growls, batting a karpos into the sky with her bow.
"Eager to meet their own extinction," Saphira mutters as she slices two springing from either side with her knives. "They're just making us waste our time and energy!"
"Agreed. We need something to scare them off," Annabeth says. She kicks another karpos hard enough to knock its head straight off.
Percy stomps on two karpoi at his feet. "If I remember right, these guys are afraid of fire! Do we have any of that?"
Chloe perks up at that, glancing at him while sniping another out of the air. "Yes! We have flares in our backpacks! Cover me while I get them!"
The healer springs into the still-open van through the back, grabbing her pack and ripping it open. Lykos, Saphira, and the couple back up to close ranks at the doors and prevent any karpoi from getting to Chloe. It only takes her a couple seconds longer to remerge with a flare lit and burning, and the effect it has on the enemy is immediate. The karpoi instantly reel back in fear, wailing.
"Fire! Fire!"
"Fire!"
"She'll burn the fields!"
"That's right!" Chloe yells, holding up the flare as if it were a mighty weapon. "I swear I'll throw this into your precious fields and burn your entire existence to a crisp if you all don't back off right now!"
"Nooo!" all the karpoi cry at once.
"Then get lost! If you ever try to bother us again, next time I won't even give you the chance to retreat!" she threatens, hopping down from the van and thrusting the burning flare at them. "You have ten seconds to disappear before I change my mind! One, two… Eight! Nine!"
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Run away!"
"Every grain for himself!"
The karpoi flee in every direction, disappearing back into the fields from which they came. Saphira fires a few arrows after them for good measure, taking a few more down with each shot before the rest vanish. Chloe exhales in relief before she tosses the flare into the middle of the road.
"Good call on the fire," she says to Percy.
"I remembered from our quest on the Argo. We had run into the karpoi once, scared them off with fire," he explains.
Annabeth flips her hair out of her face as she sheathes her sword. "Well, now that we won that relatively easy fight, we need to address our other problem." She looks back at the slashed tire of the van with a sigh. "Our ride is out of commission."
Saphira looks rather angry at this as she stomps over to investigate. "Curse those vile little pests! Can we not fix this?"
"Not without a spare tire, which we don't have," Percy replies. "We won't get very far on three wheels."
"Then we will go the rest of the way on foot," Saphira decides.
"Whoa, hold on. We just need to get somewhere that has another ride for us. We'd never make to Illinois on foot anyway, not in time to catch Asteria," Annabeth says. She looks to her boyfriend. "Where did we end up exactly?"
"Uh, we're in Ohio right now, only a few miles out from Toledo. That's the closest city," he says.
"We could steal another car there," Chloe suggests.
Annabeth nods. "Right… but then we run the risk of mortal law enforcement coming after us. Trust me, it's hard enough to travel on a quest without having to worry about the police chasing you."
Percy shudders. "Ugh. So many times where I was a wanted criminal."
"Get the map. I want to look for something," Annabeth tells him. Percy obeys and climbs back into the van for a minute to retrieve the maps from the dash. Once they are in her hands, the wisdom child examines them for a few seconds before she speaks again. "Okay. It says here that there is a Greyhound bus station in Toledo. That's our ride to Springfield."
"Is it fast?" Saphira questions.
Annabeth shakes her head. "It's a bus, not a sports car. Anyway, you don't need to worry about fast just yet. We have more than a whole day still before we need to get to Springfield. Chances are we'd still beat them there to find Asteria."
The Hesperide sighs, but seems to understand there's not much point in arguing over it.
"In the meantime, we still have a few miles to Toledo. Normally, I'd rather we camp for the night but if we want to make sure that we get there first, we should just run it now," Chloe says.
"Oh boy. That's a lot of running, really fast running," Percy mutters.
Chloe smirks playfully at him. "Can't handle it, Percy? Don't worry. Us girls can carry you if you get too tired."
Percy frowns. "Hey now! I didn't say I couldn't handle it! I just said it's a lot of running is all."
"Sounds like you're not sure if you can handle it," Annabeth chimes in with a snicker. "Like she said. Us girls can carry your sorry butt if you get tuckered out."
The sea child throws his hands up and looks to Lykos. "Lykos, some support? Us guys gotta stick together."
Lykos scoffs and moves to stand beside Saphira and Chloe to show where his allegiance lies, much to Percy's dismay by the look of betrayal on his face.
"Dude!"
"Sorry, Perseus, but he's already chosen his best friends," Saphira says. "Now, let's grab our packs and get moving. Maybe we can even beat the sunrise if we hurry."
"Good thing we slept most of the ride," Chloe remarks as they do as she says.
"Gonna need another nap once we get there," Annabeth sighs.
Saphira shoulders her pack and bow before looking to Lykos to silently ask if he's prepared, to which he nods. "If time allows it, we all will. Let's move!"
. . . . . .
What can I say, except I'm not dead! ~
A/N: Hello and happy holidays to everyone! I know it's been a while but I've been so busy with the holiday season that I hardly had time to write even this short chapter. I hope everyone is having a great time and that you're all doing well!
I hope you all enjoyed this latest update as we start to really get into the adventure. Something majorly exciting is in the works, something that I think many will love when it comes to be! Be sure to stay alert for the next few chapters!
That's all from me for now. Stay safe and I'll see you in the next update.